Antennas

Monopole, Dipole

Patch

Cloverleaf, Skew-Planar Wheel, Pagoda

Helical, Patch, Crosshair

Monopole Antenna

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• Monopole antenna is the simplest form of antenna, which is basically just a piece of un-shielded wire.

• Very common in radio receivers because they are cheap and easy to repair.

• Not as effective as Dipole antennas.

• The length of the exposed wire is crucial as it determines the resonant frequency (frequency that it can pick up).

Dipole Antenna

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• Nearly all video transmitters and receivers come with a dipole antenna. They are light weight, and can be made very durable against crashes.

• Dipole antennas has a simple design. It’s basically just a monopole antenna with a ground sleeve at under the active element. The ground sleeve can supposedly boost the performance considerably.

Cloverleaf and Skew-Planar Wheel Antennas

• The cloverleaf and skew-planar wheel have been the most common antennas for mini quad FPV. Cloverleaf has 3 lobes while skew-planar wheel has four lobes.

• These antennas are omni-directional like dipole. But they are circularly polarized and provide better reception and yet also less susceptible to multi-pathing, so you can fly around walls and trees with better video quality.

• They are however relatively fragile therefore often come in different cases and protection. They are sometimes called “mushroom antenna” because of the shape of the housing.

Pagoda Antenna

• Pagoda is a relatively new antenna design in the FPV scene since 2016. It’s an omnidirectional circular polarized antenna. The unique design and use of material (PCB) makes it very durable.

• It’s relatively easy to make and so very popular among DIYers as well.

Helical Antenna

• Helical antennas are spring-shaped, directional circular polarized antennas. The number of turns of coil determines the gain of the antenna.

• Quite easy to make (3d printed centre and copper wire looped like a spring)

• Very directional (this is both good and bad)

Patch antenna

• Patch antennas are also directional, and can be found in linear and circular polarization.

• These antennas are less laborious to manufacture in a reliable way, as they are essentially just copper traces printed on circuit boards. However the dielectric constant of the circuit board means they are inherently less efficient compared to other types of antennas such as the helical.

• Generally have less directionality than Helical, and smaller foot-print.