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[eddiesolo]

Hi guys, my grubby fishing boat is nearly finished, she has the motor, speed controller fitted. She originally came with a 35mhz 6 channel TX and RX, these have been swapped for a 2 channel 2.4ghz TX and RX. Fitted and all is well...apart from I have a question:
On the old RX the ariel from the unit was long and ran from the RX up through a hole in the deck and up the mast. Now, this unit has been removed and the ariel removed from the mast. My new RX fits in the same place as the old one but the ariel is really short-so, does this matter? Can the ariel just sit in the hull and the boat still be operated from shore or will it just loose the signal and drift away?    Do I need to get the end of the ariel, silver looking through the hull and attached to something? Messing about at home, 2 foot away with the boat on its stand is one thing...standing on the shore while the boat drifts away into the middle of the pond is another...advice/help needed! 
Thanks.
Si:)

[Peter Fitness]

2.4Ghz radios have much shorter aerials on both the transmitter and receiver than the old 35Mhz or other frequency units. In my experience, as long as the Rx aerial is above the waterline in the hull then you should have no problems. I keep the aerials in all my models, whatever type of radio, as high in the hull as possible, but I have never had to resort to putting them through the hull or deck. I think it's fair to say that most modern radios, and lots of older ones too, have an excellent range over water, and an even long range in the air. As long as you can see your boat you should have no trouble.


Peter.

[essex2visuvesi]

also if the receiver has twin antenna wires then it is good practice to have them on different planes (ie horizontal and vertical)


If possible also mount the receiver as high as possible.

[eddiesolo]

Thank you guys for the advice, will reposition the TX higher up and get the ariel more straight.
Appriciate your time.
Si:)

[w3bby]

...will reposition the TX higher up....

Hope you mean the Rx 

Depending on the make of your 2,4 set and the aerial connection there could be longer aerials available (scroll down - GA 49). The short silver bit is the aerial the rest is a fine coax.

[eddiesolo]

Hope you mean the Rx 

Er...yeah
Thanks for the link, very useful.
Si:)

[Nemo]

Eddie: I always 'reinforce' my Planet 5 Rx aerial with a small piece of plastic tube held on by waterproof tape. This helps keep it vertical (when craft is level!) and gives it a bit more security from damage.
Bob.

[eddiesolo]

Nice one Bob, thanks for that.
Si:)

[Tugtower]

The 2.4ghz aerials on transmitter and receivers are shorter because they are high gain systems bla bla could get technical but no need really to go into the what for's, just easier to think you wont poke your eye out 


Just keep in mind that the Receiver & its aerials  should always be above the waterline in your models as 2.4ghz has a hard time penetrating water (although it can but its slower to respond)


The transmitter aerial doesn't have to be up and straight either (myth that it does) if u ever look at the joint you can see the 'wire' going up.. its so short it has no effect on its position, i tend to run my spectrum DX5E set with the aerial still bent and i get full coverage of our lake (all 1 mile of it) with no issues, i have more issues seeing the model at that distance then i do with the communication between the system.