Turnigy 9XR mods

The 9XR is a nice transmitter, but the Australian stock only included a mode 1 models, and I wanted mode 2, but also wanted it ASAP. This can be changed easily in the settings, and the springs can be swapped between the gimbals - if you find yourself getting the soldering iron out you are doing it wrong. Seriously, it's way easier to pull each gimbal apart, swap the pillars and springs and put all of the sensors back in the exact spot they came from.

Internal Antenna

The orange box 'features' an external antenna, but the threads are weak, and just putting it down on it's back, or knocking it over will result in it breaking. I broke mine quickly, so I needed another option or to live with extremely limited range. I saw a few posts of people using the internal antenna on the previous revision of the orange box, but saying it was no longer possible.
I pulled it apart, and while it wasn't as easy as they had found it was certainly doable. The SMA connector footprint is close enough to hold a u.fl connector, and the box is set up for dual antennas, so I didn't even need to remove the old one. Bridge the signal trace with a solder bead, and attach a u.fl surface mount to the footprint.

Then use a IPX or u.fl to MCX cable - shorter is better. Check the fit with the internal connector, and work out what needs to be removed from the orange ccase. Cut it out, cover with electrical tape, connect the u.fl (try not to do this multiple times, they aren't meant to be undone without the right tools) and pack it all back up.

Update: after a few months this seemed to start failing abit more often, and eventually I had to replace the transmitter, It may be fixable, we had some issues with some other ones with the board to board connectors failing due to a lack of physical strength.

Faceplate

I also changed the face plate to distinguish mine from everyone else's transmitter. It fits adequately, but is a little bit larger than the stock one. It works best if you tighten down the screws rather than try to get the faceplate on before adding the screws. You'll also need a torx driver, maybe a T6 T7 T8? - I had one in a multitool kit.