ok so this has been bugging me for a while and i finally decided to post about it. running a rush tank solo on my 5inch, 400mw, and past maybe 150-200 meters the video just starts getting these horizontal lines through it and then breaks up pretty bad. under 150 it's actually really clean which is why i'm confused. i'm on 5.8ghz.

the antennas are just whatever came with my old goggles, i think they're the pagoda style ones? one of them might be slightly bent where it connects but i figured it was fine. my buddy runs basically the same VTX on his quad and gets clean video way further out than me so now im wondering if its the antennas or if something is wrong with the VTX itself. i dont have a way to test output power right now.

also im flying in a park with some trees so maybe thats just it? but 200 meters feels really short for 400mw

almost certainly the antennas, especially if one has a bent connector. a damaged MMCX or SMA connection causes exactly that kind of gradual degradation pattern you're describing, clean up close and then falling apart as the signal margin gets thinner. the bent part probably means the center pin isn't making great contact and you're effectively running way lower power than you think, or getting a bad VSWR situation that could even be damaging the VTX output stage over time if it's bad enough.

honestly just grab a pair of lollipop or pagoda antennas for like 8 bucks and swap them out first before assuming anything is wrong with the tank. 400mw on 5.8 should be getting you comfortably past 500m in open conditions with decent antennas. trees will definitely eat into your range but not by that much.

yeah i had almost the exact same issue last summer and it was a cracked antenna base, looked totally fine visually but there was a hairline crack in the housing. swapped the antenna and problem went away. also worth checking your goggle antennas not just the quad side, people forget that the receive end matters just as much. if those pagodas on your goggles are old and beaten up they could be the weak link even if the VTX is putting out fine.