Working principle of drone antenna and commonly used communication frequency bands

How it works

‌The working principle of drone antennas is based on the radiation and reception characteristics of electromagnetic waves to achieve communication between drones and ground control stations, satellites or other drones. ‌Drone antennas use the radiation and reception characteristics of electromagnetic waves. The design needs to consider multiple parameters such as frequency, gain, directivity, polarization mode, etc. to ensure the stability and efficiency of signal transmission.

According to their uses and technical characteristics, they can be roughly divided into GPS antennas, image transmission antennas, data transmission antennas, measurement and control antennas, and emerging multi-band integrated antennas. 

（1）The GPS antenna is responsible for precise positioning to ensure that the drone does not lose its way;

（2）The image transmission antenna is responsible for high-definition video transmission, making the operator feel as if they are in the scene;

（3）The data transmission antenna is used to transmit control instructions and flight data to ensure that the instructions are accurate;

（4）The measurement and control antenna integrates monitoring and control functions and is the key to remote management of drones;

（5）The multi-band integrated antenna represents the future trend. By integrating multiple frequency bands, the antenna utilization rate is improved and the design complexity is simplified.

Commonly used working communication frequency bands

◆840.5-845MHz‌: used for the uplink remote control link of the unmanned aircraft system, of which 841-845MHz can also be used for uplink remote control and downlink telemetry links in a time-division manner. This means that the drone receives signals from the remote control to execute flight operation instructions, such as takeoff and landing.

◆1430-1444MHz‌: mainly used for downlink telemetry and information transmission links of unmanned aircraft systems. The data sent back by the drone includes information such as location, speed, altitude, battery power, etc. Among them, it should be noted that the 1430-1438MHz frequency band is used for police unmanned aircraft and helicopter video transmission, and other unmanned aircraft use the 1438-1444MHz frequency band.

◆2408-2440MHz‌:It can be used as a backup frequency band for uplink remote control, downlink telemetry and information transmission links of unmanned aerial vehicle systems. It has the characteristics of strong diffraction ability, good compatibility and strong transmission capacity.

◆5.8 GHz: Mainly used for wireless microwave video transmission in the field of aerial photography, it is light in size, low in heat, has a long transmission distance, a large number of channels, and little interference.