been messing with this for a while now and kind of at a loss. running a 5.8ghz analog setup, vtx is a rush tank unity pushing around 400mw, goggles are fat shark dominators with the stock pagoda antennas. everything is fine close range and even medium distance but once i get out past maybe 300-350 meters i start getting breakup, not total loss just heavy static, and if i push further it gets bad enough that id be flying blind.

i know 5.8ghz has range limitations compared to 2.4 but my buddy runs almost identical gear and gets way more range out of it. makes me think its either my vtx mounting or antenna placement on the quad. the antenna exits right under the battery which i know isnt ideal but i didnt have a lot of options with this build.

thinking about trying a patch or helical on the goggle side to get more directional gain but id have to track pretty precisely. anyone gone down this rabbit hole with analog setups, is it worth it or should i just look at the quad side first.

antenna placement under the battery is almost certainly hurting you. carbon fiber and lipos both block and absorb RF pretty aggressively. even a couple centimeters of carbon between your vtx antenna and the sky makes a real difference. if you can route the antenna out the side or rear of the frame above the battery plane youll probably see an immediate improvement without changing anything else. thats where id start before spending money on directional antennas for the goggles.

also double check your sma connector on the vtx isnt loose, those work themselves free over time especially after crashes and a bad connection there tanks your effective output even if the vtx is technically putting out 400mw.

i went the patch antenna route on my goggles for a while and honestly it was more trouble than it was worth for freestyle. great if youre doing long range cruising in a known direction but the moment you turn or dive the signal tanks because youre off axis. ended up going back to omnidirectional on the goggles and just fixing my quad antenna positioning instead. way less headache.