Video progress report!

[jperkosk]

Hexa Belt re-maidened

First couple of flights last Wednesday, can you say uppercase STEADY?:

[ame]http://youtu.be/EkNZj1CJBpw[/ame]

Discovered that GP while recording generates interference making Immersion VTx send out snow, and completely dropping the signal at 200m. With the GP video cable unplugged, the interference disappears and I tested fpv link up to 400m with no problem

Did more tests on the bench and found that the GP was interfering with VTx over the 5V supplied by VTx to GP for the purpose of charging. Disconnected the lines and powered GP from another 5V BEC, more details in the build thread. Second re-maiden flights took place yesterday during out club's "Piper over San Luis" event, so you'll see lots of Pipers and other planes there, it was a busy day. 460m out at the furthest point, very little snow at some orientations.
@4:30 IOC test. This is a first time ever that I activate it and use it on purpose. Not quite useless, I must say.
@6:15 referee correctly decides there was no off-side situation but the goalie runs out and saves the situation.

[ame]http://youtu.be/MJkJtRm5u2I[/ame]

Both videos shot with Protunes on, edited in GP Studio, first with the fisheye preserved untoutched from the camera, second with fisheye removed in the software. Cool.

[copterboy]

Enjoyed watching both, but I am at a complete loss as to the terminology!!

[sutty]

I take it you soon got to grips with the software then. Fisheye removal, cuts, fade in and out, at different speeds I thought I noticed, annotation, variable speed playback, plus a few other bits and bobs that I probably don't remember. Since neither you or I really did much editing before, it shows it must be pretty good.

Looked very good too. So looks like your plans all came together well.

IOC, well, I guess you were traversing along the runway, to get it nearer, whilst you yawed it around, so I understand that the test was successful, but I still can't see it being for me. I'm going to be leaving it off for some goodly while yet at least. Whatever you do though, don't forget you have it switched on, or you will pile it in. Then again, maybe not, with much more MR experience than I, you may have much better reflexes to just let go of the cyclic when things are going astray. When I had my crash the other day, I simply couldn't do that, and was fumbling around and flicking at switches like a fool, whilst trying to fly it, badly, lol.

and yes, as Denis said, I enjoyed them both too.

Cheers

Sutty

[jperkosk]

As we're slowly becoming cyborgs with antennas sticking out of our heads, Denis, our vocabulary adjusts accordingly. Get an antenna for your own head and you'll catch up in no time at all

Warning: antennas sticking out of the head are deterrent to chicks, who simply don't dig them. If planning any romantic involvement at all, they need to be removed ahead of time.

[Heli Yea!]

I just caught up vith all the vids. I had the day off today so I decided to catch up.

@ Sut looked like fun minus the crash. I cant wait to go chase birds.

@ Tom you are a lucky bastard to have somewhere like that so close. I had to watch straight through cause it was too awesome to turn my head. That is an FPV monster!

@ Jerry I love your flying field too. Yes you can say STEADY, quite impressive is that the Tarrot T-2d gimbal. I'd agree Jerry the chicks seem to like the antennas sticking out of the pants more.

[jperkosk]

Originally Posted by Heli Yea!

I'd agree Jerry the chicks seem to like the antennas sticking out of the pants more.

That's roughly what Mrs. P. says. She always makes me take off fpv goggles before getting into the bed

[jperkosk]

Originally Posted by Heli Yea!

@ Tom you are a lucky bastard to have somewhere like that so close. I had to watch straight through cause it was too awesome to turn my head. That is an FPV monster!

+1. Same here, once I put it FHD and full screen I couldn't take my eyes of it. I like pan and tilt, but am unsure if it's necessary on a multicopter. Tilt yes, definitely, but pan is so easy to do with the craft...
BTW, what's the round structure on the top of the ridge on your 2 o'clock? A missile silos?

[Tomstoy2]

Only big antennas, Denis, in case you were wondering.

[Tomstoy2]

Nice, Jerry! She flys really nice. Next time firewall the forward speed, does the gimbal hold?

[Tomstoy2]

This is more fun than a barrel full of monkeys!

Had my first fpv flight today. Went back to the same spot, eary morning, no wind again. Did the whole thing, except takeoff and landing, under the goggles.
Was no big deal, really. Didn't take long at all to adjust. I flew 26 minutes, did the math and flying in that style I should expect 32 minutes until I hit the 20% mark.

Sut, forgot to answer your question. On top of the ridge is a water tank and some kind of comm tower.

Spent a good deal of time orenting myself to the osd display.
Most of the time I flew just from that, using the display to keep myself on track. A few times I would loose signal, but using the osd data you can see if your climbing or decending, your speed, weather your turning and which way to direct you back home, altitude, power info such as mah consumption and amp draw battery voltage, rssi info such as satelite lock and uhf signal strength, and vtx signal info such as good and bad packets recieved from which you can predict when you need to increase altitude
to gain strength back. So, dropping video signal is no big deal.

I have attached to my goggles a crosshair antenna which you need to keep pointed in the general direction of the acft and a few times I got turned around.

About mid video, I fly way past the lake 130 feet off the ground. I'm below the ridge, so I'm blocked for a hell of a long way! This was done with 5.8ghz and 200mw vtx! Gives you a pretty good idea what you can do.

Other area's along the ridge, the fresnel effect would cause problems, so you never really know.
Plus, most of the time, after I became comfortable, I kept the altitude pretty low. The osd you can program an alarm to warn you if you exceed what I have set at 400 feet and a distance of 1 mile. Freaked me out when it first happened, as it was the first thing to happen!

I kept things pretty close this time, not pushing anything until I know what to expect. There's jiggle when I accelerate, this is slop in the pan servo, feels like the top bearing? Anyway, will work that out. Vid is raw.

26 minutes is a long time to stand. Next time I'm bringing my 'flying chair'.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=LTUTUQs5s8E

[sutty]

Very impressive range Tom, and looks like you must have had a blast. Not sure if you were behind the ridge, judging by the video, and I watched it all. I was fairly sure each time you turned to face home, or turned past it, I could make out your spot. You certainly got close to that though point though as you went to the far side of the lake. Can't see how it could go through a mountain, mine won't go through a tree at 50 yards, and it's 250mW. I know your equipment is better, but that seems crazy, when high frequency notoriously has less penetration. By the way, do you have a directional antenna on your goggles, it looked different to a normal polarised antenna. What do you think of these that I'm pondering getting to combine with my new high power vTx?

Tx antenna.

Rx antenna.

Well, the last set is a pair of course, but I would be using just one. The Rx one, if they are different. They are compatible with my equipment, and give much improved range, apparently.

So your ceiling warning is 400 feet. So is mine, though it just sets off for home if I breach it, but I am really scared about the number of light aircraft that fly past me. They look like they are less than 400 feet, and that makes me very cautious about flying high without a spotter. I have a spotter available now periodically, so that might be okay, and if I can get range behind the trees, it will definitely be okay, because I'd be happy to stay very low if my signal holds up whilst I potter around down there.

By the way, do you ever get aircraft that look like they are flying lower than 400 feet?

One day, after I had just landed, a police helicopter flew over at what was certainly way below 400 feet, and right over the garden. I suppose they make up their own rules, but I don't see how an FPV craft, even with a spotter, is meant to give way to aircraft when they come over so low and fast. I can't plummet to the ground!

Just some random ramblings as I ponder another £90, lol.

Oh, one last thing, is there no way on a plane to run with a gimbal for the video camera? Between the landing gear struts maybe?

Here are my exploits from Monday.



Cheers

Sutty

[copterboy]

Andy, Mrs S watching from the kitchen window whilst doing the washing up doesn't count as a spotter

[Tomstoy2]

I'm dancing on the edge of loosing signal over the lake. When I was past it, when I accelerated, that's when I totally lost signal. At that point, all I did was increase throttle and slight pressure back on the elevator, let her climb. After 125 more feet a solid lock was established and I turned for home.

From where I stood at the car the water tank is about 1/4 mile away and roughly 100 feet higher. The lake is about 1/4 mile back of the ridge. Over the lake I was 130 feet above, definitely out of direct sight, bad packets were dangerously high. All I could catch was whatever could get thru that clutter. That's where a good antenna pays dividends.
I fly with an IBCrazy crosshair antenna on the goggles. It was able to collect enough info out of the chatter to maintain contact.

It's much like the antenna you have posted, the patch antenna. It's directional, so you will need to track it with head movement to maintain signal. 13 db of gain is excellent. You will like this antenna.

The cloverleaf antennas are great, too, and will pair up nicely with the patch, both being left hand.
You'll get all the range you'll need.
It doesn't matter which antenna you choose for the vtx, The sw, ( 4 lobe ), will actually give you a better spread pattern.

The range was nothing on the uhf side. Never started to see any change in signal strength there.

If I got above 400 feet a big ALARM displays on the screen and starts flashing. I have it programmed to last about a minute and then go away.
The Penguin only has a stabilizer, no rth or any of that. When it happened the first time, I freaked, forgot all about that.

You're pushing out there pretty good there now yourself, Sut! The fields all look amazing.

[Tomstoy2]

Here's the 2nd fpv flight. Much shorter, I promise. Damn near crashed her!

What happened is the battery became loose, ( didn't check it before buttoning things back up, (.
This caused the cg to shift, the stabilizer then had to fight it to fly. It would have been impossible in manual mode to fly!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=kZdLT2OKqqw

[sutty]

Wow, that looked hairy. Congratulations on getting her back. A real handful for sure judging by the footage.

Thanks very much for the info about the antenna. I pretty much figured I would have to head track, but that doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Tigger pulled.

Cheers

Sutty

[sutty]

Originally Posted by copterboy

Andy, Mrs S watching from the kitchen window whilst doing the washing up doesn't count as a spotter

Ha, you have no idea.

Ooo, there's a plane going right over head now, you'll have to come down. Sec, I'll take a look. That's an airliner at about 30,000 feet! So no, she doesn't count.

[sutty]

Inspired by Chad's great night videos, making me realise it could be done, and needing to test my new camera switch set-up, I just ventured out during a gap in the rain.

I discovered several things. First, Chad must have the biggest set on the planet. Second, I haven't. Third, even though the GoPro is good in low light, it isn't good in no light. Fourth, when scared, I completely forget my plans.

Oh, and fifth, spot lighting selection is no good in the dark, as it cuts down the exposure when it picks up a street light in the middle, causing massively varying light levels overall. Average would be much better, in such cases I think.

Was so scared I had to auto land, which went well, as it happens. At the end of the video you can see how well the GoPro does with just the outdoor lights, but no lights, rubbish.

So, no switching test, I forgot, but I did discover something. The new directional antenna is so directional, if I don't bother to look up at my aircraft, even at 50 yds, I forgot, it is already breaking up. Will do much more thorough testing tomorrow, and hopefully learn how to follow it, but if it's too difficult, I might go back to a pair of clovers. We'll see.

Anyway, here it is:



Cheers

Sutty

[sutty]

Today's switch test.



Cheers

Sutty

[Heli Yea!]

I loved em' the dark was well, dark. The switch test was great the sheep did look quite unimpressed. Maybe they want a go in the gogs. Which switch did you get again? Looked like a lot of fun as usual.

[sutty]

Here is the switch.

But, bear in mind it didn't work properly, or I broke it, which is certainly not impossible. There was no power on the output side at any of the cameras. Hence the little bit of DIY wiring inside.

Definitely good fun, and some good fun today too. Got a little further out still, and the best part of all, with my directional receiver antenna, I could get there at a much lower height. You probably know, and Tom has mentioned it too, height is pretty much everything with aerials, at least that's what was explained to me at college, anyway, further than ever before, and low enough to definitely be below the aircraft that are constantly flying right over me on that side. Which had been a concern in terms of flying over there. More power, when it arrives, will let me get further, whilst staying lowish, which will be better still.

Inspected a pond at the other side. I must have a thing for ponds. They make nice little targets to aim for I suppose. If the pond had been further, I probably would have gone further until I got there anyway. Slowly slowly though, don't want to run before I can walk.

Got lost on the way back, which is pretty silly, but as Jerry pointed out to me once, you're not seeing through full HD crystal clarity like on the videos. Anyway, I'll post it up later this evening. Just the pond bit.

I wonder if I could put the new antenna up a pole, and feed the goggles by co-ax? Probably too much loss at 5.8GHZ in coax, not sure. Would be good though to get it higher, and to be able to twirl it by hand.

Not doubt Tom or Jerry or both know whether this could work or not. Could soon rig up a clothes prop or similar with it at the top.

Cheers

Sutty