Gents thanks for your patience in advance,
I posted an intro in the New Member forum but would like to share where i'm at right now as i think i need more help than i care to admit :-[ I will keep everything in a "bullet point" fashion so its easier to quote or give valued input.
- My FPV kit will be mounted to my trusty 600 Nitro Heli. I do have a 500 Elec. Which would be better with regards interference? Best way to eliminate?
- Best place to mount Camera and Vid Tx on a heli as mine is Carbon Fiber framed and bladed (both of them)?
- Range Range Range - I checked out a post by Coyote and my Video Rx/Txworked out to 1.9km LOS. How far will my Futaba 8FG 2.4g go and can it be increased?
- What is Dbi? The stock antenna that came with the kit are 3dbi, i know nothing about antenna theory lol - lost.
- Tracking antenna? Big white box thing and not these stubby whip "rubber ducky" things?
The Groundststion and Camera/Tx are yet to be assembled but everything is there (i think i need) but some advice would be welcome. I've stripped away the leads to make the pic look more simple. I have a Tripod on the way to put the VRx on.
Emprex HDD TV Recorder powered by UBEC 5v and 800mah 2s Lipo (about an hour recording on a single LiPo) ^-^ Tested
Video goggles - self powered - Batt good enough for a day of use.
3.5 or 4.5in LCD Tv Screens - I have a 7in screen coming to be mounted instead of the other 2. I think bigger is better (for onlookers).
5.8Ghz VTx -Rx. :-[ i wont say the mw as it appears 10 is the max after reading here!
All powered by 3s Lipo. 3700mah for ground station, 1000mah for Vtx and Camera
Sony CCD 1/3 Colour cam.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/ukbeast/IMG_0770.jpg)
Feel free to rip me apart and add your comments worth.... The more info - the better?
Ta! :P
From what I can gather, Standard 2.4g rang is a bit mystical and I could never get a strat answer 800 meters ish maybe who knows, I first looked in to rang improvement on my 2.4g Spektrum, it involved using a Indoor High Power 1000mW 1W WiFi WLAN Wireless Signal Booster Amplifier 802.11b/g 11g, that I boult from Amazon, ther are some good fred's on hooking this up, on theresa forms, of course I think its totally illegal and I didn't bother in the end, and switched back to 35mhz for FPV.
the rest of your questions are probably left to more experience flyers of FPV on this form.
try this link.
http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-boost-your-24ghz?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A123599&page=4 (http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-boost-your-24ghz?id=705844%3ABlogPost%3A123599&page=4)
regards Gordon
To help you get started, make sure you have some time to kill then sit down with a cuppa and watch this :
http://www.fpvuk.org/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=item;in=16 (http://www.fpvuk.org/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=item;in=16)
Andy does very well to try to explain some of the theory behind using antenna.
If your on 2.4ghz control in the Uk your then limited to 5.8ghz video use only legally. Not carbon friendly, so the vtx antenna if possible is best out on the rear of the tail, keeping away from the frame
The camera location is flexible, some like it straight on the nose, other between the landing gear. As long as you can cure the vibrations your good
Range for 2.4ghz is LOS or a little more.
Thanks for the feedback,
I think it's safe to say my Video setup range far exceeds my Futaba's capabilities!
Coyote, Thx for the Vid, it explained a lot, just waiting for a few odds and ends then i will carryout a range check and go from there.
I don't think there is an easy way of doing this apart from jumping right in!
Just an afterthought,
Something i wasn't aware of was the myth of Tx Power Vs Rx Power. I have 3dbi (supposedly) antennas on both tx and rx.
1. If i were to place a 5dbi antenna on the rx, what would be the overall benefit?
2. Does an increase in Dbi on the rx mean more power will be drawn?
3. I read somewhere NOT to put the say "5dbi" on the Tx - why is this?
thanks for all the assistance with the noob q's :P
If you put a 5dbi antenna on your rx being higher gain its range over the vertical plane will increase, expect less than twice the range. But increasing the gain though decreases the antennas pattern in the vertical plane, making the pattern more disk shaped.
Bearing in mind that the omni is normally mounted vertically and on the ground, the vertical plane being reduced is a disadvantage, not an advantage, the higher up the plane the greater the cance of signal loss. It is also worse for db loss in manouvers as well
No, no extra power is drawn, the antenna is still a 50 ohm load. Db refers to the pattern of the antenna not the resistance
Now you can see the disadvantage of having that pattern on the floor, having that disadvantage on the plane is much much worse, as the plane is in constant motion, increasing the potential for total signal loss
Thanks again Coyote
A few more items arrived the other day, ^-^
I am getting nearer to my first flight, not long now...... :o
Will keep you posted
lets see ya plane!
:-X errm it's a heli lol,
the big decision is do i use the 500 electric or the 600 nitro.... My mind tells me the 500 as it has a flymentor fitted for ease of hovering and stability but the devil says the 600 nitro for flight time and fun!
I'll test the options this weekend, tweak play and enjoy.... i'll report back soon :D
OK. 600 nitro or 500 electric.
Plus sides for the glow:
Better flight times.
That's it.
Plus sides for the 500:
Electric-less vibrations (glow helis are a bit bad when it comes to vibration-I put a cam on my Raven 50 and it was OK but I would never use it for FPV).
The 500 has the hover stabilisation thingy-you'll need it as you don't have the spacial awareness to hover with FPV without any stabilisation.
As for the carbon on the heli, I'd extend the wires on the VTx and have the VTx wires going down the tail boom and attach the VTx to the vertical fin thing on the boom at the back. That is the only way you'll get reception.
Hope this helps.
Sheldon
Not many have had success with Helis. Liam is abou the only one in UK I have seen post an FPV flight.
The multirotors like Tri's, quads and bigger are much more popular. Also much more efficient for better flight times.
Love to give one a go though.
Firstly, Shikra, Sheldon, thx for the input :D
Secondly, I took everything out to the field for a test.
Lessons learned here with a wealth of teething problems.
- My Video RX/TX had a range of 10m, any sudden move of the camera and reception would drop out for 1-2 secs.
- My Goggles have a resolution of 320 x 240, i don't think this is good enough or is it?
- I have a Sony CCD camera but the default contrast seems way to bright
- Overall a bad day and never got around to attaching the camera to the heli - just didn't seem worth it after a 10m range check!
- I think i'll wait for my 7in screen to tip up rather than use goggles for now
- I think i'll invest in a better camera - any suggestions?
- On a plus note...... i had a good day flying the heli around the field - just a shame i couldn't record anything!
I think that i will stick to the 500 size electric for FPV as there is less carbon and the heli is "more expendable" than my beloved nitro lol
Back to the drawing board!
Hmm... That's weird... 10m you say? I personally have no experience with 5.8, but I have a... Well... Next step up from a 10mW VTx (times 10 by 10, times that by 40, divide that by 20, divide that by 10 and finally times that by 5 and you get my mW), and I was able to walk all the way through the house today with almost no picture drop out whatsoever. However I know you need a higher mW on 5.8 to get the same results as 2.4 E.G. for the same range as 2.4 on 10mW, you will need, I believe, a 100mW or higher 5.8 Tx.
Just check all the antennas are screwed on tightly, replace them if need be, and try again. 10m range sounds more like what you get when there is no ariel connected.
Also, try and make do with what you've got right now until you get it all working. The goggles and cameras will have nothing to do with a dodgy downlink. Also you could try a 900mHz/1.2gHz setup. That would probably work well. But as for the goggles, of course higher resolution with bigger screens is better , but see how yours are. TBH I'd be more inclined to use a screen with helis, as you don't get the same immersive experience as with the goggles, but if you screw up you can look up quicker.
Also, some links to your equipment would be helpful.
Sheldon
10m is way short of what you should be getting, somethings very wrong.
Whats your setup ?
:(
Yes weird indeed. The thing is, when i got home and checked the RX/TX again, the signal seemed 10x more solid and did not drop out while shaking the camera and Tx.
I'm using a 5.8ghz 305 8 channel Rx mounted on a tripod with a 3 cell 2250mah Lipo for power with a 3dbi antenna, and dare i say a 200mw :+ 5.8Tx powered by a 1000mah 3cell lipo linked to a sony ccd camera again with a 3dbi antenna.
I must have a loose connection somewhere of which i will re-check. I found that even standing in front of the Rx/Tx caused massive signal loss....
I will not give up though lol.... \0/
i will push onwards and upwards to glory !!
Oh it says Video for everything.
We can't even discuss hypothetically!
You should be getting 100`s of meters of range with that setup
If you getting a picture, camera and transmitter are working.
That then leaves one of these :
1) Faulty rx
2) Antenna mis-match, ie the antennas connector doesnt match the rx`s or vtx`s
3) Burnt out vtx - Vtx left plugged in, either with no cold air passing over it for a few minutes or without an antenna connected or an antenna with wrong sma end ( female to female )
:+
Quotei will stick to the 550 size electric for FPV as there is less carbon and the heli is "more expendable" than my beloved nitro
Ok - update here, this is either good or bad karma but i switched from spektrum to futaba Tx and while setting up the 550 managed to spool up the heli in the workshop while setting fail safes of all things. :o Tail boom and Carbon blades took the hit so i would say:
a: always disconnect the motor when tweaking settings .... this is the one time i didn't! :-X
b: i'm fine but the pride has been dented somewhat!
Now the good Karma .... my 550 has since ceased production, no spares. I just need a non-Carbon Fibre cheap helicopter to map all the electronics across and i'm back in the game ^-^
Project on hold
I'll be back!
(Try buying a basic non-bling Helicopter without carbon fibre! It's Ninja!)
Oh dear, not to plan at all, ive done the same with my Blade 400 once, it fired up in idle up and mashed itself into the ceiling putting an end to setting up rather quickly :)