A/V sleds, all-thread and RF

[iter]

I sit down to build an A/V sled and put it on 6" eyebolts as I see everyone else doing when suddenly the thought of eyebolts acting as antennae hits me.

I plan on installing two RF circuits on this sled: a 2.4 GHz RX for R/C deployment and a 900 MHz TX for telemetry. I wonder in particular how much of what I'm radiating on 900 MHz the eyebolts might absorb as they are frighteningly close to 1/2 wavelength.

Am I making this up? If this is a real issue, how are others dealing with it?

Ari.

 

[cerving]

If your "real" antennae are connected to the RF circuits with properly shielded coax cable, then the eyebolts shouldn't matter much. To be safe, however, I'd still keep them away from your antennae, by at least 1 wavelength (300mm). You may get some reflections from them.

I sit down to build an A/V sled and put it on 6" eyebolts as I see everyone else doing when suddenly the thought of eyebolts acting as antennae hits me.

I plan on installing two RF circuits on this sled: a 2.4 GHz RX for R/C deployment and a 900 MHz TX for telemetry. I wonder in particular how much of what I'm radiating on 900 MHz the eyebolts might absorb as they are frighteningly close to 1/2 wavelength.

Am I making this up? If this is a real issue, how are others dealing with it?

Ari.

 

[iter]

How can I get the antenna away from the bolts that are holding the sled that it's sitting on?

The RF modules all have proper coax and SMA connectors from the factory.

Would it help to connect the bolts to ground?

Ari.