I'm just jumping in here. I found the stock antennas are crap and right away ordered some cloverleaf. On the 200 ma TX my range was max 1 km. I upgraded to a 600 ma Tx and I can get up to about 1.5 km.Ok, an update.
This week I flew a few times and I think I figured it out today. However, this is what I tried and in the order I tried it.
1. New location: Result - a bit better, maybe 50ft more range. But that was on open pasture with absolutely nothing around. If I had to fly there every time I did fpv I could find myself getting bored very quickly.
2. Different antennas: A friend let me borrow his Fatshark 5.8G antennas - No change
4. Power from a 3s: This was done after I found my range steadily decreasing as the 2s I was using was loosing power. Result - My range is still not 1.5K, but it can go fairly far.
I also found that I have a short in the video cable that transmits signal to my screen. The flickers look identical to what I see when I lose signal from the TX.
My next purchase will be a set of nicer antennas - My hope is that as I upgrade items, the pieces I get work with what I have. That way I won't have to buy all new gear.
Thanks again for all the words of wisdom!
It looks like you are using good antennas and now you should expect an OK range. I have always used a 12v battery.
I now have a 14db spironet antenna and have gone up to almost 6km but very directional and need to keep in front of the antenna.