Looking at getting into fpv

[-kenny-]

Hey guys, i've been into heli's for a few years now but am getting a bit bored with them. So i've been looking at an fpv quadcopter for a while. But all the terms, frequencies, filters and so on, are just so overwhelming to me i give up every time i start looking into it.

I would like to try it at limited budget first to see how i like it. I've never built, even flown, a quadcopter before. I've been looking at the fat shark complete starter sets but it seems that they are pretty limited in image quality and range.
I would like to get atleast about a km range out of it.

Any tips, pointers or advice is more than welcome.


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[steve28]

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=266
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=877
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?
main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_49_97&products_ id=1255
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...oducts_id=1193
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/pr...-Menu-DNR.html
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=700
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...oducts_id=1633
You will need a tripod ,
buy a few of the 450mAh batteries and swap them in and out of you quad or plane as the video transmitter and camera use it up. The 2600mAh battery is for the video receiver and goggles, just attach it to the tripod ground station and make a parallel cable so you can provide power to the goggles and the video receiver at the same time.

[-kenny-]

Wow that's a whole lot of links. Like i said, overwhelming...
Thanks, i'll look into them.


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[-kenny-]

I just looked into the links. Everything actually seems quite straightforward. Only the video camera seems a bit harder to wire up.
Also, why do you recommend the seperate video rx over some goggles with built in 5.8 rx?
Can i use my spektrum dx7s in combination with this all? What is the actual range on this transmitter with a standard rx? I can imagine it won't be a mile so i'll probably have to invest in a longer range transmitter system too, no?

Oh, and the third link doesn't work...

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[steve28]

Originally Posted by -kenny-

I just looked into the links. Everything actually seems quite straightforward. Only the video camera seems a bit harder to wire up.
Also, why do you recommend the seperate video rx over some goggles with built in 5.8 rx?
Can i use my spektrum dx7s in combination with this all? What is the actual range on this transmitter with a standard rx? I can imagine it won't be a mile so i'll probably have to invest in a longer range transmitter system too, no?

Oh, and the third link doesn't work...

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sorry forgot about this, the camera comes with a couple different cables you can use to make the required connections and it comes with a diagram. The dead link was for the circular antennas that you can get, they help a lot to improve performance of your video link.
I recommend using a separate system instead of using the built in system for a number of reasons first it allows room to grow and build on your system progressively, your not limited to what receiver module or frequency your goggles are compatible with. Second with a receiver built right into the goggles the receiver is always at your head level and the antenna may or may not be vertical if you move your head much when you fly or if you sit down when you fly your antenna is not as high off the ground as it could be ideally up higher not moving on a tripod. Third you are somewhat limited to what size battery you want to wear on you head when you use a built in system, with a tripod you can use one big capacity battery mounted to the tripod to power the goggles and the receiver and anything else you want to power like additional displays or recorders or what have you. And last, the newest Base SD have a great picture.

[Mike A.]

What kind of flying will you be doing? I would suggest going for an easy plane to fly for your first FPV experience. The Bixler or Sky Surfer are great for your first FPV plane.

Quads are great if you are wanting to fly in tight places, through obstacles ect. The problem with quads when you are just wanting to do more basic FPV..aka flying around is that you will have limited range and cramming all the radio gear onto one is a big challenge as keeping frequencies separated. Also if you lose one motor or one ESC down it goes.

If you are going to stick with your DX7 you will probably have a solid 2k ft of range but with 2.4ghz control it's iffy once you get far out. That brings up another problem with quads and first time FPV'ing. If you get a failsafe from flying out of range the quad will fall to the ground. In a plane you can set the failsafe so that it circles to the ground in a somewhat controlled fashion.

If you do want to use your DX7 then you will want to use 5.8ghz for your video signal. 5.8 works great for general FPV and produces clear video. The problem with 5.8 is the signal is blocked easily so it's useless for flying low behind things.

FPV is a massively indepth part of the hobby. There are so many choices a single one is perfect. Your best chance of success is a simple setup at first on a plane.

Here is my quad

[-kenny-]

That thing looks high tech i would really like a quad because i would like to get into some aerial photography. Don't know about the long range fpv anymore... I can have a REAL good deal at a local hobbyshop for a dji f450 with naza m2 + gps and zenmuse h3 2d...
One thing i notice on a lot of fpv copters is they have a gopro and a second camera. Isn't it possible to use a gopro as fpv camera AND have it recording att he same time?
Also, isn't there something like "return home" to be used as failsafe? Loose connection and the quad returns home?


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[Mike A.]

I went kind of overboard with this quad build...kind of wish I had just bought the Goblin 700 I've been wanting.

The Naza does have return to home. The GoPro can do video out and some people use it with no issues. Others are afraid they that the GoPro may freeze up in flight which they are known to do sometimes. It does simplify the setup to use the video out from the GoPro.

[-kenny-]

Yeah that's what i was thinking, it makes for a simpler setup. But since nobody seems to do it that way i was kind of doubting it was possible all together.
Especially in combination with the the zenmuse it seems easy to do. Just use the video out on the zenmuse, connect to tx, done.
But it can still record too then, right?


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[Mike A.]

Yes it can still record at the same time. If you are going to use something like the Naza that has return to home then it's probably less of a concern. If you lose video you can just flip the switch and have it fly back to you.

The Naza isn't completely fool proof though. Search for "Naza flyaways" on youtube or google.

[Mike A.]

Here is a short video that I just did today with my QAV400

[ame]http://youtu.be/Yq4CEdB21nc[/ame]