FrSky Antenna Clamp (for X-series Rx PCB diversity antennas)

thingiverse

Yet another FrSky two-part dual antenna mount. There are several similar designs here, but none of them had quite the mounting orientation I wanted, and I couldn't find one with source code attached, so I coded this from scratch in OpenSCAD. I get Rx RSSI telemetry on my Tx, and values are significantly higher with this mount on my X-quad. My old mounting arrangement was closer to horizontal plane, with no means to keep the relative orientation of the two PCBs orthogonal. A worthwhile and simple upgrade. Looks neat too. Should snap off in a crash. I have included .stl files for both parts. The dimensions are tested and optimized. They hold my X8R antennas very securely with just one clamp screw (a 10mm M3 socket head and nut are required). Chances are you will want a different mounting geometry too, but the good news is that I'm posting the OpenSCAD generator, so you can revise or get rid of my simple side-mounting tab as you like. You can revise the clamp dimensions as well. I coded all primary dimensions as global variables. The SCAD file will render either part by commenting or uncommenting variable defines. See the file for instructions. Instructions This prints great and fairly quickly in ABS at 0.1 or 0.2 mm, 100% infill. Any other setup, and you are on your own. Dimensions optimized for IC3D black ABS filament. You may need to tweak some dimensions to suit your setup or filament, but it is a cheap one to dial in. Installation is pretty foolproof, just be careful not to pinch the wires when tightening the clamp screw. If you do use my mounting tab geometry, the tab doubles as a nut trap. It will take a little force to get the M3 nut into the trap on part 1. Put the part flat on the table, align nut with hexagonal hole, angled down below the tab (use tweezers if you have dubious manual dexterity like me), then press the raised edge firmly with a flat-bladed screwdriver. It will pop in, and it will not come back out. If you want your nut back, you will have to break the tab off. If your nuts are bigger than mine (cue laugh track), you can always add a few microns of clearance to the hexagon (in line 67 of the SCAD file, change the 0.05 to 0.06 say). I tested this procedure on several prototypes though, and it always worked for me. EDIT 8/30/2015: Revised mounting tab code for more intuitive parameterization and rescaling without blocking nut trap.