Turnigy 9xr Internal Antenna Mod

How to take advantage of the internal Turnigy 9xr antenna.

I originally got the idea from a thread on the Flite Test forums, but i can't seem to find it now.

The reason i did this mod was because I broke the original antenna on my orange RX module. I was at Flite Fest (which was awesome by the way), I went out to pick up my crashed bloody wonder, and i stepped knee deep into a gopher hole. When i fell, i tried to stabilize myself with the hand that my transmitter was in. Thus, breaking the antenna. This How-to will work as a repair, or as a mod, simply to remove that annoying antenna from the back of your transmitter. This will likely work for most modules that work with the 9xr. Just open up your module and chekc the plug thats connected to the antenna before you buy the pigtail cable.

Lets get started.

The antenna broke of right at the screw base. I figured, rather then trying to fix the broken antenna, fix the problem all together. (Josh Bixler's signiture on the battery door there)

There was a small tab right on the end of the plastic. That broke off, so the antenna doesnt stay in the screw mount anymore.

First, you're going to need to search online for a "RG178 MCX Male Right Angle U.FL IPX Pigtail Cable." I found mine on Ebay, from a US based seller called wifi_expert. I suggest buying from them. Great service and the cable i received is very high quality. I chose the 8" version because i wasn't sure how much cable i would need. I could have chosen the 4" cable and still had enough.

The cable i received along with the Ebay seller's card. Great pricing, fast shipping. I was very happy with my order. Anyway, on to the mod!

Before you start hacking up your module, test fit the plug in the transmitter. Mine fit well, but stuck up higher than expected.

Next, pull your module apart and disconnect the original antenna connector.

Test fit the new connector. Fits perfectly.

Mark out the hole for the antenna plug. The hole needs to be fairly large so that you dont kink the wire when installing it. 

I cut the hole out with a Dremel cutting tool, and cleaned up the edges with a file.

Since the wire needs to go around the PCB, you also need to cut a relief in the side of the case so the wire doesn't get pinched between the case and the PCB. Cut using a Dremel tool.

Cleaned up using a file.

Test fitting the antenna plug. Fits without any problems.

I now slid the PCB back into the case, and plugged in the antenna wire. I checked the module to make sure it was working, which it was.

Rather than remove the antenna plug, i decided to leave it, to keep dirt and dust out. Also, so that i don't need to go find it incase i ever want to go back to it.

I simply taped the plug to the inside of the case so it wouldn't cause any shorts inside the module.

You can see the relief working here.

If you got the 8 inch wire like me, coil it up inside the module without making any kinks.

Screw the cover back onto your module, making sure that your bind and change id buttons line up with their respective holes. Make sure to do a range test before you go and fly. The internal antenna has sufficient range for park flying, which was all I needed.

Thanks for reading! I hope this tutorial helped someone get rid of that pesky antenna on the back of their 9xr. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, I'll do my best to answer them!