now I've introduced myself in the newbie section I thought id start a build thread. today I bought the flight box kit today from Simon(very helpful guy) and I also ordered a robbe gemini(google it) although whether I will ever Use this as an fpv plane I don't know, I must admit Im Going to buy a multiplex easystar to do my first fpv as it all boils down to the fact there are so many mods,spares,upgrades etc avaiiable for this plane that it should provide me with all I need for a while and I'm looking to keep things simple for now so a rtf option suits me for now. also later if I do upgrade the kids can learn to fly with it . Anyway flight kit will be here tomorrow so that will give me plenty to play with until I get an easystar.
Had my first attempt at fpv tonight,saw about 4 seconds of ariel view before crashing lol as reciever had fallen over and i lost picture. The gemini performs really well as a fpv plane though and no damage . one of the wires snapped on the transmitter though so soldering tonight and will not be so lazy next time and will mount the reciever to a tripod like i should have done in the first place. Whats the best way of going from normal view to google view i found myself panicking and getting all muddled trying to switch lol.
sean.
Sorry Sean, missed this post originally.
Great start by getting the flightbox, good move :) The Easysta is alo a good choice too :) I take it you were flying with an omni antenna ? If so they will still work directly connected to a receiver sat on the floor.
Ive tried a few ways with the goggles, recently i have them just sat next to me and pick them up but ill revet back to my old ways. I sit the goggles on the end of my nose and look over them, as im flying i glance down to check the picture. Once im happy i just push them up my nose and off i go :)
Hi mate,yes ive got the omni antenna althohgh already thinking about upgrading the transmitter was sat on the ground after i turned it over but the pic was rubbish to be honest. i will mount the reciever on a tripod to see if this solves it if i can re solder the wire on the transmitter that is lol,top tip for the nose goggle trick i have a large nose so should fit on the end fine lol.i went for the axn floater in the end but like a fool i bought from hobbyking placed order 4 days ago and still shows processing oh well just as well i have the gemini :-).
Hey Sean
Grats on your first FPV flight... even if it was only 4 seconds :)
Since getting them I've flown from launch to landing through the goggles, its now second nature... try it, it might work for you.
Its just getting the bottle to do it pasty lol. Some good news today though, hobbyking have dispatched my gear. As soon as it gets here i will start putting some pics of the build up :D
Thought id post some pics of my very basic ground station and my fpv robbe gemini as im waiting for the axn floater to turn up.
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-03-30213418.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-03-30213521.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-03-30213355.jpg)
Thats one weird looking plane you`ve choose lol :)
Flew one a lot last year. Can take off from grass,gravel,dirt also take off and land from water brushless upgrade gives it tremendous 3d capabilities will fly in very strong wind and is very stable. Do you get the idea i like it by any chance lol
Lol just a bit, it looks wacky, wacky i like :)
Have a nose on youtube theres loads of videos of it :-)
Cool its different thats for sure ..
I have wimbleball lake 10 mins from me so am looking forward to some fpv water action in the summer :-)
Picked up a futaba 7cp today with a fp-r138df reciever and a r168dp reciever with dual conversion crystal set for 70 quid (is that about right?) Ive set it up in pcm mode ? Any top tips ive used the r168dp is this the best of the two recievers to use?
Just need my axn to turn up now :-)
Th R168DP replaced the R138DF, the R168DP has a smaller case and no hi - lo band designation. But apart from that identical. Its a really good receiver. For FPV we tend to fly in PPM mode though, as your range reaches its limits you get failsafes indicating this in PPM, but you dont in PCM mode, it just stops
Cool once again thanks for the advice coyote changing mode now
Well went out today and flew for 2 hours on and off although not all of it fpv(aint that brave yet). Absolutely brilliant although i still struggle with positioning and landmarks seeing its on the moor and there arent many lol.
I have the 8dbi circular polarised antenna and a ??mw transmitter but found the range not as good as i expected.flying directly in front of me i reckon 2-300m before video starts to go? I know that cant be right so something must be wrong. Picture is perfect at closer ranges with no lines/static etc. Also i find the kx131 camera a bit crap to be honest , grainy and generally not too clear. Anyway any ideas what may be causing the video range issues guys and heres a few pics.
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-04-07195616.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-04-07195504.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x83/sheep600fx/rc%20stuff/2011-04-07200420.jpg)
Hi Sean, with a low power transmitter its surroundings are critical. From what i see it could be a few things.
1st thing to check is the antenna on the vtx, these types of vtx are prone to the wire coming away from the board. Check its soldered joint first. It should be soldered to the middle pin of three together. Make sure its a good connection and not in conact with the two other pins.
2nd, The camear is very close to it, this will bloack a lot of the signal when the plane is flying towards you. Also your main flight lipo is directly below the transmitter too, so blocking the signal below, as the planes up high this can cause a drop in performance.
I think with that transmitter it might work a lot better to the rear of the plane, along the tail would be best
Also have you tried this on other channels in case its interference
Thanks for replying mate. I will move the transmitter as you suggest and will check connections. I assume with the transmitter/antenna combo i have i should be expecting a lot more. Im also trying to figure the best angle to have the antenna as im getting about the same distance as i was with the 10mw transmitter and 8db omni antenna. if i upgraded to the transmitter you have would that make much difference ?
Yes it makes loads of difference. But no needed unless your going "the distance" lol
Yours should be going much further. The antenna on the vtx wants to be vertical, the antenna on the floor varies, but ideally you want it on the deck, but on a tripod will work fine for now
So when you say on the floor ideally should the antenna be on its back so to speak pointing up?
No half a wavelength up from the floor ideally. So around 5cm, thats why simon sells those mini tripods just for this. But ive had mine up high from the start with no bother. If you do have it low, it wants to point where your flying at around 45 degrees
Ok thanks again mate. Im going to do some modding lol
Right extended the wires and moved the tx back behind the wing, couldnt go any further back as ran out of wire lol. Tested camera and all is working so will test tomorrow. I checked the antenna on the vtx and its secure and is not touching other solders. Voltage wise i use a fully charged 11.1v 3 cell lipo(1600 mAh ) when you say change channel how ? The video signal only works on channel 4 so i assume theres a way to change it ?. I will try again tomorrow and see how it goes. There cant be any outside interference as there literally nothing here within miles of where i fly
There are 4 switches under the rectangle on the vtx lable to change channels
Okedoke will test tomorrow and see if i can get better results.
Quote from: Coyote on April 07, 2011, 10:48:45 PM
Make sure you vtx is getting as higher voltage as possible. As the voltage drops off so does the transmission power.
This is not true. The transmitter has a regulator so the transmitter module, and the camera, always get exactly 5V. Its actually better to give the system fewer volts so that less energy has to be converted (wasted) into heat.
:-)
Oh yes, regulator on board, my bad