3D printed cloverleaf antenna maker - eviltoast
  • wjrii@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    I have no idea if this is a clever bypass around expensive commercial offerings, a clever waste of time that barely improves over doing it by hand, or somewhere in between, but it sure looks like a nice design and print.

    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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      11 hours ago

      Yeah, definite neato factor but by eyeball at least I feel like I could do that bend by hand within a mm tolerance of this. Hard to imagine this precision is needed. Makes sense if mass producing these I guess.

      • Wilshire@lemmy.worldOP
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        10 hours ago

        This is a workshop for combat FPV drones, so precision is extremely important.

        • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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          4 hours ago

          Interesting. Important for balancing? Or does the signal reception really depend on that much precision? I’m Suprised to learn that either way.

          • Wilshire@lemmy.worldOP
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            3 hours ago

            They have to operate at very long distances in an electronic-warfare saturated environment. Even the tiniest imperfections can be the difference between life and death.

      • ramenshaman@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        I make a lot of stuff and I don’t think I could bend it that precisely by hand. Also I would take much much longer.

      • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        I think the black thing they show at the end is the usual tool to do it, this just looks like 20 extra needless steps.

      • yokonzo@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        I’m not a radio guy, but for a drone antennae, wouldn’t you want vertical range rather than broadside range?

        • lemmyman@lemmy.world
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          8 hours ago

          A drone operator usually is not standing directly under the drone, so no. Or alternately, the drone if probably further away from you horizontally than vertically during most of its operation.

          One interesting thing here is that, for a given altitude, the antenna gain will be higher the further away the drone is.

  • The Pantser@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    Do these come flat packed is that what the tool is for or do you form the whole thing first then use the tool to bend?