Ever since I made a video showing how to do the FrSky Taranis 5 dBi antenna mod, I have been getting reports of people having problems with it. Even when SWR is low, people report reduced range and eventually radios that fail entirely. I experienced this myself just this week, and so I am officially advising that you DO NOT PERFORM this modification at this time.
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FOLLOWUP VIDEO with info about why my Taranis died and how I think you can prevent it is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiBlbsHOPNU
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Right now, there is no clear reason why so many people are having problems with this modification. People have had their radio fail even when SWR is low. Even when they are good at soldering. Even when they cut the coax to 84mm like you are supposed to. Even when the use an anti-static strap!
If you have a Taranis Special Edition with the SMA connector already installed, it seems likely that you will be fine. It's completely unclear what it is about the home-made modifications that damages the boards, vs. the factory modification which presumably is okay or FrSky would really be in trouble.
If you have done this mod years ago and have had no problem at all with it, good for you. Not everybody will be affected. But SO MANY people have reported problems with this mod to me that I feel obligated to advise you NOT TO PERFORM this mod at this time, unless you are willing to risk damaging your radio.
