Hi Guys, I have some exciting news. Teradek is proud to announce the latest addition to our line of zero delay wireless video transmitters, the Bolt Pro 2000. Priced at $7990, BP 2000 offers up to 2000ft of range, 3G-SDI input/outputs, and support for 1080p60. Like our current line of Bolt transmitters, BP 2000 has less than 1ms of delay, performs best when line of sight, and has a number of mounting options suitable for cinema, broadcast, and even UAV use. There will be limited quantity on hand when it begins shipping on December 16th. The preorder notification page can be found here: http://www.teradek.com/pages/bp2k-sign-up
I would be cautious on being an early adopter…. I have an early Bolt, and apparently I cannot update the firmware without returning the unit to the manufacturer. Which is a very costly exercise as I am in New Zealand... I asked a question about this on Teradek's contact form a while back, and received no reply. Also, as we have discovered… the range advertised with the Bolt is no where near what is advertised. As my video assistant put it when asked about the new model '2000 feet then? … so halve that and you may be in the ball park'
Hey Ben, Im sorry to hear nobody responded to you. If you have an early model Bolt, we cover shipping and the cost of updating your board. Shoot me an email and I can get you setup. Be sure to include the serial number of your system (Mike @ Teradek . com) Regarding Bolt's range, we test 100% of our units before they ship to ensure they hit 300ft. If you're not hitting anywhere near that, then something is either affecting it in your environment (moisture, interference) or your unit has a hardware problem. As for the Bolt 2000, we have a video showing that it does indeed hit 2000ft. If you haven't seen it, you can view it here: You can also read user reviews about the new model here: http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=19495&page=3 (Reviews by Robert Starling, Jon Beattie, and Nick Parker).
Just a quick one, has anyone tried alternate antennas on the receiver ... or transmitter for the bolt pro 2000, to get better performance. I emailed terradek about this, but am still awaiting a response. Would replacing the antennas on the receiver with CP, patch, or high gain antennas work better? Or would that interfere with the black magic that goes on between the existing five antennas? We have been happy with the performance so far, but have experienced a couple of drop outs within line of site, we are looking to record the signal on the ground to an SSD directly. Having the HD feed is great. Thanks
Thanks Dan, Nice looking antenna! Is there a polar plot of the receiving angles for the antenna? My limited antenna theory would make me think that this antenna is totally directional so when the copter is behind the antenna there will be limited reception, but forward of it the reception would be excellent. How about overhead? Thanks for the reply, I'm keen to hear more. I could end up with a teredek receiver bolted up to a parralinx antenna yet Cheers Chris
Our polarization is set in an Open Palm format, optimized for the type of COFDM radios that our systems utilize. It has about a 120 degree beam angle, and I have gotten surprisingly good results with a copter behind the antenna - like at least 200-300 feet behind the antenna, max distance has been tested at a little over a mile, but with cars and trees in the way using this antenna on the receiver. I would recommend using an antenna tracker if you are planning on an omnidirectional flight path, but in a fairly linear scenario you should still be able to get really good results.
Thanks Dan, thats great feedback. Our flight patterns are typically in an area, so an antenna tracker may be excessive, that level of performance behind the antenna sounds good, and with a 120 degree beam angle, I take that if I tilt the antenna up 60 degrees, then that would cover from ground level to over head comfortably then Cheers Chris