SWR on My Taranis?

[iflylilplanes]

Last year I had an incident where, I hit myself with my quad, it took the antenna off the Taranis, but did not draw blood. I had when I purchased the Taranis purchased the 5dbi antenna kit just in case I took up FPV fixed wing (haven't yet), so I fitted the kit, being the original Taranis , not the Plus, the antenna cable is soldered direct to the board. I had an electronics friend from work check my soldering (all good), and I fitted a standard 2dbi antenna, no need for the 5dbi as yet.

Now, in checking online, I found that the SWR app in the TX is used to test the antenna, as I understand it the meter should sit between 0 and 1 for optimum antenna use, I found that if the antenna is set straight out from the TX it reads 0 to 1, at 45 degrees it reads 0 to 1, over 45 degrees it reads 16 to 21. I have found that the RSSI doesn't change, whatever the position of the antenna. I am one of these pilots that move the antenna during thermal flights with my comp gliders, (no need with powered sports flying as I don't get that far away). I find the TX antenna position can be changed to increase RSSI % when I am at long distance when following a thermal, I have found the optimal antenna position when at long distance is with the antenna laying to the right 90 degrees, this gives a stronger RSSI %, but, the SWR is sitting on 16 to 21 with the antenna in that position.

I have read, and, have had conversations about the SWR meter in the Taranis, some say it's important, some say it's not and others say forget it it's not very accurate the RSSI is what you should work from. I thought I could see what this forum's members take on this subject would be, ..............................anyone have experience with the SWR in Frsky's transmitters?

 

[Wayne]

We love the SWR feature as it is a functional test of the antenna quality, especially with the Taranis radios. We have seen a reduced range with higher SWR values, so it does function. Yes, it is not a true SWR value, but it serves the same final result for our warranty work.

At Aloft we have adopted a no antenna mod stance. We have tried and or seen every form of antenna mod and while some may work better for a while, it seems they all go to %^@ eventually. We sell only the stock Taranis antennas, even our Special Editions have a stock antenna!

We have far fewer issues with the stock antenna, they just work great with the Taranis and Taranis Plus radios. If you really want to mess with different antennas I usually recommend installing an external XJT module instead. Or if you want longer range, just bite the bullet and get a long range module like the TBS. You will be much happier in the long run.

 

[iflylilplanes]

I have not yet had any issues with operation of the Taranis since the antenna repair. I never used the SWR before the antenna was damaged, so I don't have any data to work from (on my TX) on the original antenna's use.

I remember from the discussions on various other forums I have read, the range most Taranis SWR meters indicated was between 1 to 17 average (with both original and after market antennas) with no adverse range issues, others, have voiced that as long as the reading is under 51 (I think that's a bit high, but that is the number they state) you should not have any problems.

Is there an upper range that one should be aware of as being an issue to safe use of the Taranis?

Should I be concerned with a reading of 21?, it's never gone higher.

And lastly, is 0 all the time OK?

 

[ThomasCee]

Pulling back from my Ham Radio days, a 1 is the best possible (they call it a 1 to 1 ratio for the technical term). Interesting it has an SWR function built it, that's pretty cool.

Also interesting on your stance on antenna mods... Will note that in my memory bank

KF6HLN

 

[Wayne]

I like the Taranis radios to have a low reading of 0 or 1. It will usually have a little higher reading when the antenna is pointed off in one direction. Not sure why this happens, but seems common. Anything over 17 is suspect to me on the Taranis. Horus X12S is a bit different as it typically has higher SWR feedback due to the design changes on that radio.

Can you fly with an SWR higher, sure, but keep an eye on things. If it is too high, the radio will not power up the RF circuit, this is an attempt to avoid killing the RF chip.