Prodrone Quality

Quality and measurement

Every Prodrone antenna is tuned and measured individually before it ships. This page describes exactly what that means, what we reject, and what the numbers on your label refer to.

The sequence

1. The antenna body is assembled from semi-finished parts.
2. Your connector is fitted — SMA or RP-SMA, straight or angled. This step is part of the tuning: the match is set as the connector goes on.
3. The unit is swept on a vector network analyser.
4. Radiator dimensions are corrected and the unit re-measured, until the resonance sits inside the target band.
5. The final result is written on the label and the unit is packed.

There is no batch sampling in this process. Step 3 happens to every antenna, not to one antenna in twenty.

What we reject

Our guarantee is VSWR no worse than 1.3 across the antenna's stated range. Over 90% of units come out well below that.

Some models have tighter internal limits. A crosshair that will not reach below 1.2 is not sold — the few that end up between 1.2 and 1.3 are given away rather than shipped as catalogue stock, and are marked accordingly. A unit that cannot be brought inside 1.3 is scrapped.

Sets

When you order a set, the antennas are tuned to each other, not just to the band. Each unit in the set is brought to the same target frequency, so the pair or group behaves consistently rather than each unit sitting at a different point in the band.

Reading your label

Every antenna ships with a label stating the frequency it was tuned to.

On 5.8 GHz models the label also gives the measured span and the VSWR ceiling inside it, written as for example 5696–5745 < 1.1. This means the VSWR of that specific unit stayed below 1.1 across the whole span from 5696 to 5745 MHz. It is a measurement of your antenna, not a specification for the model. Outside that span the antenna still works — VSWR rises gradually — but the figure quoted applies to the span shown.

On narrower-band products such as 2.4 GHz and 868 MHz the label gives the frequency only. The usable range on these is narrow enough that a span figure adds nothing.

Keep the label — it is the only copy. We measure and label every unit as it leaves, but we don't keep a per-order record of individual figures on our side. Once the label is gone, so are the numbers. A photo on your phone is enough.

When you order a replacement or an additional unit later, send us the span from your label and we will tune the new antenna to match what you already have.

Ordering more of the same

Send us the label figures and, if you have it, the order number. We tune the new unit to the same target rather than to the model default. This is the only reliable way to add an antenna to an existing set months or years later.

What our figures mean, and what they do not

We publish what we measure and nothing else.

VSWR figures are measured at the connector with the antenna in free space. Once the antenna is mounted, the match changes — a metal frame, a carbon arm, a battery or an enclosure close to the radiator all shift it, and so does the cable run in your aircraft. This is normal antenna behaviour and not a fault. If you measure a different figure on your own installation than the one on the label, the installation is the variable, not the antenna. We are happy to talk through a mounting problem if you send us the details.

We do not publish gain or radiation-pattern figures obtained from simulation as though they were measured. Where we quote a measured value, it came from an instrument.

If something is wrong

Contact us with the order number and the figure you measured, and where possible how you measured it. Antennas that do not perform as labelled come back to us for measurement and are replaced or corrected. You will be dealing with the person who tuned the unit, not with a returns portal.

bartek@prodrone.pl, +48 725 908 725 (also WhatsApp)