yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
Got the WiFi antenna mounted :)

With the mount that I put on there it actually sits up at a comfortable angle for watching movies or playing games

I ordered a 14dbi directional antenna, not sure how I plan on mounting that yet :P

Sent from my HTC One XL
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
And I bet you're noticing that box is a pretty cool thing to hold on to when watching YouTube in bed or whatever huh??

I looked at mine when I was finishing up and I kept thinking how all my mounting crap would be in the way all the time... but now I can't imagine it NOT being there ... it's so much more comfortable to hang on to something on the back of the tablet where my hand ain't in the way.

Who did you order your 14dB from? That should work pretty damn good... and you have good mounting options with the box back there now

I've got 500mw and 1000mw boosters coming to amplify the signal from the drone and the tablet to take this thing to the next ten levels ... all sponsored by two different antenna companies who noticed my activity here and on YouTube... AND I made the Friday "video of the day" on the Parrot AR Drone Facebook page today

I gadda figure out a way to make some money off all this crap :p
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
That was the first thing I noticed, I was reluctant to put it on there at first thinking it would be a pain

I got it from some hong Kong seller, it was cheap and I was low on funds at the time after buying the drone. I hope it isn't a POS

And wow! That's awesome dude

Sent from my HTC One XL
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Let me know if that antenna doesn't work out... I may have extra stuff lying around after my sponsor videos are finished up... probly end of November
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
Got my ar.drone and broke it in the same day :P

The gear and shaft broke after it it crashed

I fixed it with a new gear and a nail with tape at the end to keep it from coming off.... I'll be ordering a new shaft soon :/
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
I'm going to order one soon. I saw a post about 3 different sized batteries. If I got the midsized battery would it affect flight very much? Also after reading the post above what spare parts should I order?
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
Definitely get a extra set of gears and shafts. They both are pretty fragile
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Holy crap bro!!! Tape at the end of the shaft sounds like the next accident waiting to happen :silly:

Not sure what you mean by midsized battery... some numbers would help

Stock 1000mAh.... 10min

1300mAh............... 15min

1550mAh............... 18min

2000mAh............... 22min

2000 flies like crap... real heavy

Definitely order TWO sets of gears and shafts (come together in same pack)... like he said... they break and bend easily
[Nexus 7 General] distortion:
Has anyone successfully used an external WiFi adapter via OTG to boost WiFi reception for a drone?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Most just go with a repeater/range extender... never heard of anybody try OTG to a external card... this gives a whole new twist to my next little project...

Can you confirm that OTG to WiFi adapter works and has decent streaming speed... HD video stream plus flight commands gets busy
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
I decided against flying it for that reason, I'm either going to solder the tip or find a way to put a keeper on it

I'm going to end up doing all of them because they are just too fragile

Edit

Messing with the box I got with the drone a bag of gears and shafts fell out :P so looks like I got lucky
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Thanks for the info. How does the 1300 do with flying?
[Nexus 7 General] distortion:
I don't have a usb WiFi adapter yet. Trolling craigslist ATM. I have to be creative with my gadget purchases. Otherwise The Director of War and Finance will have my ass. ;)

Still not 100% sold on the Nexus 7. Might get the 10 next week and return this.

Also, looks like you are in FL. What part? I am in Melbourne.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Fort Pierce :cool:
[Nexus 7 General] distortion:
Cool. Almost took a job at the nuke plant by you.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Beautiful... almost exactly the same weight as original battery... even the 1550 is a good one... like 8 or 10 grams heavier
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Thanks for the info. Ill be ordering it tomorrow. Its going to drive my dogs nuts indoors :)
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
Here she is :)

Had to repaint it because it just looked ugly before

And DBS or b00m as your called here on xda, I appreciate the offer for the antenna but I think I'll decline.

After flying this a few times today Im actually pretty scared to fly it too far away from me. I feel more comfortable pairing my phone with my PS3 controller, throwing my phone in my pocket, and flying it that way :P the video feed is just too choppy to fly it that way.
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Nice paint job! I'm ordering mine today and I may paint it black and gold....Go Steelers!
[Nexus 7 General] aLPaSLaN07:
Noob question here..

If I manage to mod my Nexus by soldering a powerful antenna and stuff, do I not still need to do something for drone itself, like modding the drone with powerfull antenna? Powerfull antenna (on nexus) can receive low signals coming from drone?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Not "necessary" to mod the drone... but it depends on what you're shooting for... with a stock drone you can get insane range with the Nexus antenna mod... but if you're looking for over a 1500 feet... you may need to up the drone antenna... 1500 feet is a lot though... you can't even see the damn thing at that distance
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Oh snap... I didn't realize you had the first version... that one has better antennas onboard anyway so your close range stuff is way more stable than the 2.0 version... I went with a NASCAR Dale Earnhardt #3 theme on mine for awhile... just peeled off all that stuff a few weeks ago
[Nexus 7 General] superchilpil:
My father would love your drone :)

Yea I had to buy it second hand because I just couldn't afford full price. I'm still pretty happy with it tho
[Nexus 7 General] distortion:
So which is a better version of the drone? The original or the 2.0?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
2.0 is the better of the two as far as features go... HD 720p camera with on board recording to USB drive or record to control device.. barometric altitude sensor... and magnetometer for absolute control mode
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Well I ordered my birthday gift early. I won't get it till next week but I'm pumped about getting the 2.0. I want to mod the WiFi but I don't want that gigantic antenna. I'd like a smaller one that can give me a little extra distance. Any advice boom?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Totally bro... I don't use the huge antenna when I'm just goofing around the yard... any nice little 3dBi will give you solid 500ft range easy

Something like this here or similar

eBay link
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Thanks for the info. So would I be able to find the male connector for that antenna at a radio shack?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Not sure... been a long time since I've been to the shack... eBay has so much more stuff

I ordered some of THESE .... you need the thin coax cable to run inside the nexus back cover to where you drill your exit hole ... and they have 20cm length so you can cut it to desired length
[Nexus 7 General] RaySorian:
Very cool mod!
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
I got my drone today. It only took 2 days to get. All I can say is wow! I only got to try it out for 10 minutes before work but its really cool. I'll throw a video up when I get a day off. After I get the hang of it I'll probably have more questions for the Boom
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Right on man... I just got another sponsor to send me a custom designed WiFi signal booster for the Nexus 7... so look for me to be posting videos in the next few days... not only drone stuff but WiFi signals being received from over s mile away here in my neighborhood... this booster is really cool... I'll post some pics as soon as I get it mounted up all nice
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Pics of the new drone booster board and antenna

Haven't had a chance to do any real testing with the Nexus 7 HeliPad yet due to windy conditions but I'm ready and waiting...
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Is that your own mod or an updated board sold by parrot?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
That's my own mod with a board hacked from other antenna booster equipment...
[Nexus 7 General] Psipher27:
Possible work around opening up N7

OK so this is a noob question, is there any way to use the micro usb port on the N7 to hook up a usb network adaptor with external antenna to get the same results without having to crack open the N7. I know that there are rooted N7s that can use the micro usb to tether to a network cable for internet from the internal wifi to a computer but I could not find any reference to useing the N7 with a external wifi card.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Nexus 7 WORLD RECORD

UPDATE DECEMBER 1ST 2012

As of December 1st ... The Nexus 7 antenna mod holds the AR Drone 2.0 world distance record for WiFi controlled flight at 2,400ft (732 meters)

[YouTube]4xLmuA7j52k[/youtube]

There's more to be done here but ain't nobody keepin up with the Nexus 7 HeliPad ......... Yet .... :-/
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
All the searching I did previously always got me to dead ends but I haven't done any searches for that feature in quite awhile... And with the situation I'm in now I don't think I would go that route anyway... My right hand covers the Nexus 7 USB port when I'm in my comfortable flying position so having something plugged in right there would get awkward for me.

You might wanna do some forum searches or start your own thread in the General or Q&A sections
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Wow that's sweet! You could be the first man to fly an ar drone around the world :) I wanted to fly this weekend but it was too windy. I got my parts for the antenna that gives it up to 500 ft but I'm skeptical on me doing it myself.
[Nexus 7 General] ddlooping:
Congrats on getting the record, b00mb00mchuck, that's very impressive. :)
[Nexus 7 General] Ryou_Concord:
Holy hell, you're AMAZING! I've always wanted the ARDrone but I never thought I'd get much use out of it because of it's range. But more than that, you've given me a fantastic idea on how to extend my wifi range when I'm in my car or something.

You. Are. Awesome.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
wow

Thanks for the awesome comment bro... I'm gonna print that out and hang it over my desk!!

I'm about to start a new thread here... Just set a new world record for WiFi controlled FPV flight on December 4th by breaking the 1 kilometer mark set by Parrot and Alcatel-Lucent Technologies... And they actually flew using 4G instead of WiFi

Couldn't have done it without the awesome Nexus 7 tablet WiFi antenna mod!!!
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Turns out they'll let your thread ride all day until you get a conversation going and send links to your friends and then some youngster makes a rude comment and closes your thread... So I had to come back and update this one

Fifty thousand threads about protective covers and the 4.2.blah blah update..... but two threads about a WiFi antenna mod is too much I guess

So anyway ... I updated the OP with the story and video and I'll put the video here also

[YOUTUBE]iIo2MgdeacI[/YOUTUBE]

At least the members here are nice... I really appreciate all the awesome comments and feedback I've been getting from all around the world

You guys are really cool
[Nexus 7 General] monkey082506:
This is absolutely incredible. I never would have thought about something like this. Congratulations on your success!

" The playground is open" just got a whole new meaning!
[Nexus 7 General] ddlooping:
Amazing, Chuck, and congrats once again. :)
[Nexus 7 General] gianptune:
No, what happened is you didn't create a really retarded looking thread title. You have to put random words inside the square brackets and don't string together more than 3 words in a row. Make it look like you are a 12yr old who is incapable of forming a complete thought.

[MOD][NeXuS7][WiFi] [wORLd rECORd]

[NOT a ROM][N7][DRONE!!!!!!!!!] [antenna][POTATO]
[Nexus 7 General] Jay Aristide:
Flag on the play, Unnecessary Roughness

You have a lot to say about the way these forums are moderated for someone who has contributed a whopping 38 posts in 2 years.

While I don't think Chuck's other thread should have been closed, I think your subtle stab at the people who moderate XDA is equally uncalled for. There are channels you can go through if you feel an action has been taken that shouldn't have, and they almost always start with PMing the mod who did it and telling them how you feel. They're real, live people, and they'll listen to your grievance. In fact, that's their job, here.

Please show some respect to the people who volunteer their time here; their only goal is to keep the boards free of clutter, useful, and enjoyable for everyone.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
just to keep this updated

We keep setting big numbers... Pushed it to 4500ft (1372meters) this past week and we're going for a mile this weekend if the weather cooperates...

This number was set with just the antenna mod on the tablet and a booster mod on the drone...

Here's the clip of the new world record on December 8th 2012

[YOUTUBE]qCAFK3si85w[/YOUTUBE]
[Nexus 7 General] ddlooping:
Awesomer!! :good::cool:
[Nexus 7 General] Jay Aristide:
That's amazing, dude! You're so close to a mile!!
[Nexus 7 General] R4DK0:
Wow. Nice job, I would love to se more pics of the wiring itself if you made them prior to closing the back cover. As I own N7 for just 9 days, I'm not willing to do any hard modding, I already spilled Pepsi on my table while N7 was on it. The buttons were jamming so I had to open it up and there I saw the possibility of adding better antenna prior to noticing your thread. I am interesting of hooking up my ALFA 8187 card over OTG with a 9dBi antenna.

Great work b00m.
[Nexus 7 General] wavrunrx:
the pope approves of your mod.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Thanks man... I would love to hear if the OTG idea works... I get people asking me about that all the time but don't wanna go out and buy the stuff to try it out... Keep me posted if you get it done
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Thanks a lot guys... (I like the pope comment :laugh: )
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
The magic mile

WE DID IT , WE DID IT, WE DID IT!!!!! WE BROKE A MILE BY A BUNCH!!!!

AWESOME MORNING THIS MORNING... NOBODY CAN STEP TO WHAT THE NEXUS 7 HELIPAD CAN DO!!!!!

[YOUTUBE]H5P_LmEpxxQ[/YOUTUBE]
[Nexus 7 General] kieso:
Holy crap that's awesome! So much for posting my pitiful 100 ft flight, hahaha. You can do 2 miles but I don't think your drone will make it back to you.
[Nexus 7 General] zlewe:
A mile!!!!! Beyong godlike!!!
[Nexus 7 General] Miami_Son:
Hey Chuck, are you stalking me?:laugh:
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
This has to be reverse stalkerism... I created this thread way before you popped up on the DroneFlyers site....

That's my theory and I'm stickin to it...
[Nexus 7 General] Miami_Son:
Yeah, but I was on XDA way before you stumbled in.;)

Small world, eh?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
I've been on XDA since Nov. 2008... From 09 till this year I was mostly on DroidForums ... When I came back over here I couldn't log in ... I guess there's a slight chance I forgot my username but I really don't know... I use the same couple usernames everywhere :silly:

Small world bro
[Nexus 7 General] ddlooping:
Pretty amazing, Chuck, congrats. :) :good:
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
I think I've figured out the whole 2 mile deal... I have a little bit better battery to use and landing points setup on the way back in case I don't make it all the way... I mean the point is to show it's range right.... No reason why I have to land in the same spot I took off from I guess...

We'll see how that goes soon... Waiting on weather and volunteers to be ready at the same time :D
[Nexus 7 General] gianptune:
Seeing as how you are now getting limited by the battery life, have you thought about hardware modifications/optimizations on the drone itself? I mean, have you looked at different shapes and sizes of propellers that would give better lift and/or less battery drain? Is it against your drone-league rules to use helium balloons to make your drone weigh less, and thus use less power to lift it to the same altitude?
[Nexus 7 General] lastot069:
Very cool.
[Nexus 7 General] Jay Aristide:
I think helium would definitely be cheating, but lighter/differently-shaped propellers/fuselage could take him a long ways...
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
The helium is out.. They would provide extra lift going straight up but then cause so much drag during forward movement it would be counter productive...

Lighter and shaped fuselage has been done to increase battery life and reduce drag... I'm down to the point where I have just enough body left to house the flight controls and carry the battery in an unaltered AR.Drone configuration... I could rebuild that entire part of the drone but I feel that would depart from it being an actual AR.Drone anymore... So I'm trying to stick with something that is readily available from retail... Bits and pieces removed for performance... But not an entire rebuild that would alter the original design and require a machine shop and 3D printer to achieve. Just average hobby skills and basic funds.

That leaves propellers... A tricky subject when considering a device that is flown by a computer with preprogrammed firmware running the show... You don't fly this drone... You just suggest through control inputs what you would like it to do and those commands are carried out by software...

Based on a whole slew of testing ... The props can only be altered so much before the flight control see's the difference as some sort of problem and starts responding the wrong way or shutting down with "Motor emergency" errors due to improper RPM's and current draw... Increase the blade pitch too much and they become too aggressive and draw too much power and the drone falls out of the sky due to some software safety feature... Decrease the blade pitch too much and the software detects the blades are spinning too fast just to maintain hover and the drone auto lands itself...

I think my best bet to reach two miles is the best possible battery I can get my hands on... A perfect day with no wind (I caught a little wind in that last video... Not bad though)... And an aggressive flight plan... No goofing around at the 2 mile marker... Just turn and burn back to control point.

I think it is doable... But I may let this sit for awhile and get my efforts geared towards finding the right battery solution... It'll fall together itself once I work that out
[Nexus 7 General] maek_it_happen:
Android , is there anything it can't do
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Word...

Blows my mind every time :eek:
[Nexus 7 General] Ryan79:
B00mb00mchuck, I hate it... too bulky and you ruined the tablet look!! :P :P :P

JK.... dude, AWESOME JOB!!!

Just got my father the AR for Christmas, had so much fun Christmas day that I picked one up myself :P been looking at mods to both the AR as well as the controller device (phone or tablet)

Not sure we will be shooting for the range you're playing at... but who knows??

been reading up on ball bearing replacements to the stock bushings for the prop shafts, as well as battery and prop mods

again, great work!! gets us pointed in the right direction :D :highfive:
[Nexus 7 General] PVL_93_RU:
I didn't understand a heck
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Coolest comment ever... Thanks man!!

Least understandable comment ever... I have no idea what this means :eek:
[Nexus 7 General] Miami_Son:
Ryan79, Chuck and I hang out in here. Lots of great Drone info.:good:

http://www.ardrone-flyers.com/forum/index.php
[Nexus 7 General] FierceMist:
Now that was truly epic.
[Nexus 7 General] xateeq:
Too much awesomeness.

Sent from my Nexus 7
[Nexus 7 General] Jack Torrance:
return trip video

regarding video glitches on the return trip, possibly the ultrasonic sensors are blocking the signal on the return trip. at that distance and angle coupled with tilt of the craft, the sensors may be interfering with the signal reception of the external antenna inside the drone.

i enjoyed your video. sorry i had not read the entire thread.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
Turned out the video glitches were just an old crappy amp and 3dBi antenna I had installed on the drone... In the following video I had upgraded to a much newer amp and better quality antenna and all my problems were solved, even out at much longer range ... Since then I've modified the antenna location and got a better battery giving me up over 18 minutes flight time so I hope to get out and beat this distance pretty soon if the weather will cooperate ... :p

[YOUTUBE]PnaTiYoN-cs[/YOUTUBE]
[Nexus 7 General] brakke97:
Totally true! :D
[Nexus 7 General] wavrunrx:
Hey what's the name of that song in the new YouTube video?
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
"Life's a beach" by "Studio"

It's just one of those generic YouTube audio choices you can stick on any video
[Nexus 7 General] xateeq:
this just makes me say wow.
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
I still feel that 'wow' when I see the drone come back into view again...

Must look like an idiot standing there talking to my Nexus 7 like like a track coach...

"C'mon baby... Just another half mile... YOU CAN DO IT!!"
[Nexus 7 General] Miami_Son:
Hey Chuck, I flew two batts tonight. The air here was so still I couldn't resist. The AR was boxed up all through the holidays. Felt good to get some sticks time. :D
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
I must've been flying right around the same time as you... Still wanna do a flight session with you and the camera setup when you get a chance... Another thing I wanna try is testing your wheel mod with my nexus mod to see how they get along together... That would be the cheapest way to get good range without any boosters setup.
[Nexus 7 General] Miami_Son:
I spent so much time on the phone with Gary tonight that I didn't get the mod done. Hopefully, tomorrow. The AR is all apart just waiting.:good:
[Nexus 7 General] Ryan79:
Hey guys... just getting back to this thread :) My 2.0 showed up Friday, been getting used to it using my GS3.

Thanks for the forum link Miami, I'll be checking that out next!

having been playing around with the drone.. can tell that the stock limitations are the battery (1000mAh on a package that big? seriously??) and the WiFi range (horrible)

how much of a difference did the amp and antenna mod you did to the drone affect your range with an un-modded android device? been studying the tear down videos of the GS3 that Adam Outler did... but I fear a WiFi antenna mod for it would be a bit more... involved... then the N7 (might have to break down and get an N7, since they are available again haha)

also, what batteries have you been looking into for it? anything you would recommend?

Thanks!! :D

---------- Post added at 09:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 PM ----------

also, quick note.... I noticed you can telnet into the drone, and have root access (runs linux, but I didn't check to see what distro it is) might be interesting to see what software enhancements could be done
[Nexus 7 General] b00mb00mchuck:
I haven't even tried my boosted drone with a stock android device... I guess I could check that out with my Droid Bionic and post back...

For batteries I usually go on eBay... They have a stock looking battery from China that's cool ... It charges with the Parrot 2.0 charger and fits the drone the way it should... It's rated at 1500mAh but it runs more like a 1300mAh ... Good enough for 15minute flights though so I ain't complaining.
[Nexus 7 General] djwyman:
This is awesome...Congrats on your success. And the fact that it was just one guy doing this in his garage as apposed to the guys who spent large sums of money and vans full of equipment makes it that much more awesome.