What's the current preference for CS8 HL/Red/5DM3/GH4? Will the arrow w/ boosted antenna compete with Tomahawks range? Or do I spend the extra $2k for extra range? Will fly up to 1000 ft downrange LOS. Nothing more frustrating than losing vid signal on a long follow... thanks!
Arrow-X. Ask yourself if you really want to be flying your drone beyond 700' from the pilot? In Canada, that is the legal limit (line of sight), so not sure what you'd gain by purchasing the Tomahawk, unless you are going to use the system in non-drone environments, then as Ben has stated, it's worth it to get the pricier unit. I own the Arrow-X and very pleased. Initially had lots of problems with the unit we received - Paralinx told me they had a firmware problem (was getting less than 150' distance), they fixed the problem promptly and all is great. Only issue is if you go out of range, the current firmware won't let you reconnect unless you power down the receiver once the transmitter is back within range. Supposedly going to be a future firmware fix, which can only be done by Paralinx which is a pain. Have to ship the units back.
The Arrow won't get you far. Keep in mind they advertise lets say 300' - that doesnt mean you will get this distance at all timeS or maybe even ever. I tested the Arrow and found that its useless for UAV operations unless you want to stay within 50-100ft. The Arrow-X or Bolt 600 might be a solution - but I have not tested them. I don't think you will get 600ft with either unit - but hopefully solid 300-400. Tomahawk/Bolt 2000: Again I have not tested the Tomahawk but I just got the updated Bolt 2000 (they use the same Amimon chipset). The Bolt is amazing! I had some issues with the old Bolt 2000 (probably due to a busted rental unit) but the one that I just got is absolutely great. I did some tests in Brooklyn (I assume NYC might be one of the worst RF polluted places out there) and got 1,500' LOS until I lost the signal. Upgraded CP and Vitenna 5.8Ghz antennas helped with even better quality for the 1000-1500' range but it did not extend the range overall. Also the Bolt instantly reconnects once it gets back into the range. Of course on the flip side $9k is a hefty price. My take away from this is: Will I need a 1000ft range? Probably not. But I want a super reliable HD link for 300-500 feet and the Bolt 2000 seems to best option out there. Hope this is helpful. Cheers!
Are there any Tomahawk alternatives? It's such a good product but just way to expensive. Sure it's the newer side of things but there must be other ones coming out?
Teradek would be their direct competitor. IDX also has some HD transmission systems - worth a boo on their website for more info.
Do yourself a favor and check out the Paralinx Triton - amazing for UAV and Gimbal work. The manual frequency selection will allow you to maintain much more range, and it's a DIY'ers dream compared to the Arrow. Light enough to be carried by a phantom 2 without harming flight time, and it will easily run from a 3S or 4S battery or BEC. You will be blown away: http://www.paralinx.net/store/paralinx-triton
Hey Guys, Drew here from Wild Rabbit Productions. We have been doing some testing with the new Paralinx Triton and are getting very excited about the results! We are testing it as a back up system or for ground work but we have not been abel to exceed its range under normal LOS flights. Under the right conditions we have been pushing close to 700-900ft but I would expect around 500-600ft of clean video in most other situations. It will not replace our Tomahawk on large productions due to the HDMI out only on the RX but it will make a perfect back up as well as a primary downlink for smaller productions without the need to send feed to video village.
How do you find the Triton when it gets further out range wise, say beyond 600' ? Does it degrade well at those distances? Ie is it still usable for framing at 700-1200' ? Most of our aerial work is within 600' but there are time we need to push it for some shots.