X2 XDS95 mod. Who wants to try it?

Vic Winters · #1 12-30-2009, 08:59 PM

Came across a writeup on adding external antennas to the XDS95. Who wants to give it a shot and post the results?

http://xds95modification.blogspot.com/

Vic Winters · #2 02-19-2010, 12:09 AM

Even though there didn't seem to be any interest in this, I'm going to to give it a shot. I just ordered the parts on eBay ($9.99 for everything). I'll post my results when completed.

Petebass · #3 02-21-2010, 06:58 PM

How did it go?

To be honest I haven't had any dropouts on my X2. I thought I did once but that turned out to be the death of the patch cable.

Am I correct to assume you're trying this because you have had dropouts?

diechris · #4 02-21-2010, 07:10 PM

I've not had drop outs with mines... I think most drop outs were issues with the cheap cable they send these out with..

Vic Winters · #5 03-10-2010, 11:16 PM

Ok, the parts finally arrived this week and it went far better than expected. I keep my rig in the basement/practice space and managed to still hear the signal on the second floor in my bedroom. I'm going to try a distance test sometime this weekend.

PhatBasstard · #6 03-11-2010, 03:41 AM

I bookmarked the page as I'm probably going to do this in the future.
Is someone on eBay selling the extra parts as a set?

Vic Winters · #7 03-11-2010, 06:12 PM

Cable

Antenna

PhatBasstard · #8 03-18-2010, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

I bookmarked the page as I'm probably going to do this in the future.
Is someone on eBay selling the extra parts as a set?

Well maybe I won't be doing this. Some company in Chicago just sent me the new Line 6 wireless system to evaluate.

Here's a link:
http://line6.com/relay/

robd · #9 03-25-2010, 09:01 AM

So did this mod increase the range or improve the reception?

thanks

sadbut99 · #10 04-29-2010, 05:06 PM

Vic Winter has wrong antenna.
It should cover 902~928 Mhz.
2.4ghz antenna is for WiFi, not suitable for xds95.
Also antenna gain 2db or more (higher the better)
Make sure that the antenna and plug connection because some ebay seller list the item wrong.(there's confusing definition of male and female.)
the core wire should be soldered on internal antenna and shield wire to main PCB.
Most of drop out caused by defect cable which line 6 has replaced better one recently right before releasing the RELAY series.
The transmitter cable should connect to guitar's ground so guitar itself works like antenna for transmitter.
Antenna mod is good idea but it's not greatly improve it's performance because the range is mostly determined by the transmitter's RF out put.
xds95 transmitter has 10mw output and xds-plus has 15mw
and xdr95 has 15mw with 8db gain antenna on receiver.
I moded with 4db dual antenna,but there was no outstanding difference. (maybe a few step more?)
Just stay with your original xds95 or get xds-plus or even xdr95 if you need more distance.
Relay G30 G50 G90 seems to be good because they use 2.4ghz frequency.(should be more stable?) but a little expensive.

PhatBasstard · #11 04-29-2010, 05:28 PM

I just got done evaluating the new Relay 30, which is Line 6's successor to this one. They sent me one and I was able to use it for a few weeks on various gigs.

It was rated at only 100 ft. / line of sight, but my guitarist (he's also evaluating one for the same company) and I found them to have much more range, even when blocked by obstacles. He walked outside while playing and didn't lose signal until he was about 150-200 feet away through 2-3 walls. I did something similar at a slightly smaller club and never lost signal. My receiver stayed on my board the whole time and I never had any dropout anywhere.

The sound was also excellent (even better than a cable). I will be actually buying one in the near future.

SPECIAL NOTE: The transmitters on the Relay series have 1/4" inputs! No more special $40 replacement or updated cables (the 1/4' they give you is still garbage though). I just used one of my good, spare double right angle patch cables. WhooHoo!

marleaux · #12 01-14-2011, 02:17 AM

I have wrote that blog some years ago....

Of course there will be more suitable antennas for this modding but 2db wifi antennas did the job very well for a very funny price at that time...

My dropouts was not related to the cable because this modification totally solved my problems. I was getting dropouts in a 1 meter diameter area on stage. I had to put the device right behind to keep the reciever and transmitter in eye contact. Was a terrible period of time untill modding it.

After my mod, Line 6 has developed a newer model with antennas. So feel free to mod your pedal which is an easy operation for anyone who has a little soldering and drilling experience...

And this wirless set cost 300bucks to me and now you can have it around 100+... After modding it for 10bucks you will have a cable quality(better than cable with a higher frequency range) digital wireless instrument system. Which is light as a cigarette box and very easy to attach to a pedal board...

Some people installed antennas on the sides of the device so they dont need to cut a piece of the motherboard but this was useless for me according to my pedal board setup. Antennas on the top is more suitable for regular pedal board setups...

PhatBasstard · #13 01-14-2011, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

SPECIAL NOTE: The transmitters on the Relay series have 1/4" inputs! No more special $40 replacement or updated cables (the 1/4' they give you is still garbage though). I just used one of my good, spare double right angle patch cables. WhooHoo!

I have since learned since stating this that only the Relay 30 has this feature. The two higher series use a special cable.
This is a real head scratcher as being able to use my own, easily replacable, 1/4" cable is such a no-brainer over previous wireless units.
And why just the lowest unit and not the whole series?!?