ok so this has been bugging me for a while and i cant figure out if its the antennas, the vtx, or something i did wrong in the build. running a 7 inch long range setup with a 1w vtx, using a pair of those pagoda antennas on the vtx side and a cloverleaf on the goggles end. works great going away from me, solid picture out to probably 800m or so. but when i bank and turn back toward myself i get these like 1-2 second dropouts, not a full loss just goes staticky then comes back. its consistent enough that i can kinda predict when its gonna happen.

my gut says its an antenna polarization or placement issue because the dropout almost always happens when the quad is side-on to me and the antennas are tilting away but i really dont know enough about RF stuff to be sure. the pagodas are mounted flat on top of the frame which probably isnt ideal but i ran out of room on the back. also the vtx is set to 600mw not the full 1w because i heard pushing it to max causes heat issues with this particular one, dont remember which brand it is off the top of my head.

yeah that dropout pattern sounds like a classic antenna orientation problem. pagodas have a pretty specific radiation pattern and when theyre flat on top of the frame the null zones line up in exactly the way youre describing - side on approaches are the worst case scenario for that mounting position. people always think more power fixes everything but antenna placement matters so much more than an extra 200mw.

honestly the easiest fix before you rebuild anything is to try tilting them about 45 degrees backward off the back of the frame, even just zip tied at an angle makes a noticeable difference. or if you can fit a single pagoda on the back upright thats usually better than two flat ones. whats your receiver setup on the ground side? because a directional on the ground can compensate for some of this too depending on how youre flying.

i had something similiar on my 5 inch last year and spent like two weeks convinced it was interference from the ESC. turned out the ufl connector on the vtx was just slightly loose. worth checking before you change your whole setup around. those connectors are surprisingly easy to knock loose during a hard landing even if it still feels like its clicked in.