Rob's ground station... evolved

[rob.thomson]

I think I am on my 5th or 6th ground station.

I keep ripping them apart and starting over.  I guess that what happens is you find the flaws in one setup - so change to another format!

At the moment I fly using three key methods.

1.  Goggles Only
2.  A Duo Diversity with a 5 turn Helical & Clover
3.  A Duo on a Skylark with a 12dbi helical + Clover.

While I love flying with the tracker - the bottom line is that it is heavy, and a pain to pull out for those quick sessions.  Far more suited to those planned days, where you know you are going to be pushing the limits a bit.

The point being - option two is actually easier and simpler to use for most sessions.

My latest ground station is evolving to improve my setup for use of option 2 & 3.

What I am doing is getting a small suitcase sorted out that has an LCD,  DVR & RELAY station in it.  The suitcase will have the appropriate filtered power supplies etc in it to cover both antenna receiver systems I use.

What this means is that I will in effect be able to get away with taking one flight box, and a suitable antenna with me.  In effect - reducing my 'parts count' and making it all reasonably portable.

My 'bits' arrive next week - so I will be posting pictures at some point soon.

Rob

[rob.thomson]

Hmmm.

Another update - and this ones a good un!

I am going to reduce my tripod count slightly.

The antennas on my light wright tripod are going to be moved and mounted direct to the ground station case.

The receiver in the case will be wired into an eagle tree av diversity controller.

What this means is - if I want go and fly - I only need to take the case with me.

But.. 

Plug my tripod and tracks in, and I automatically get diversity off the eagle tree system.

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[rob.thomson]

Phase one...



This is the first part of the puzzle.

Lots of work to do to get it ready :)

Rob

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[Gundummy]

Rob,
       mounting that clock on top of the case is ugly.  Use the timer on your Tx mate.  :laugh:

[rob.thomson]

I know.  I have been looking forms digital one, but just ended up settling on the big wooden analog one :)

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[lrosm]

what DVR are you using?  i am just looking for a nice small cheap one.
cheers.

[rob.thomson]

Thinking one of these.


http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=251355903414

But not decided yet.


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[Coyote]

This might help you make your mind up :

Review: $60 DVR for FPV

Unfortunately, the results were less than impressive -- although perhaps not a total failure.

Here's my summary:

Pro's:
- cheap. Just $60-$70 on eBay
- good playback options
- fairly well built.

Con's:
- creates MJPEG files (large, not particularly good quality)
- drops frames in fast scenes (even with a class 6 card)
- noise can cause it to lock up

Unfortunately, the bottom line is "thumbs down".

I'll be looking at other DVR options shortly.

[rob.thomson]

Any suggestions?

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[Coyote]

Best DVR out there : Mini DVR

£100 but you wont buy any other after you have bought this. I love them, best quality by a million miles

[rob.thomson]

My next picture....

You can see in this example how I will have a helical and clover mounted on the lid for my compact station.

And a relay on the front left corner.

Now...   The beauty of this is that because of the additional eagle diversity inside the case, I get the ability to plug a tracker into an rca port in the case.

Then instantly I get quad diversity.

2 antennas in the tracker, and 2 antennas on the case.

But if I don't plug the tracker in - it still 100% works with no change.

Clever hey?

:)



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[rob.thomson]

Some more views...





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[BlueFlyer]

Best DVR out there : Mini DVR

£100 but you wont buy any other after you have bought this. I love them, best quality by a million miles

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

I bought mine from BEVRC though, arrived within 5 days from China and I managed (somehow) to avoid customs.

[rob.thomson]

I will certainly consider it :)

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[eSoarer]

Best DVR out there : Mini DVR

£100 but you wont buy any other after you have bought this. I love them, best quality by a million miles

I agree - the only problem I have is that I have not yet found a way to remove the overlay - some of which is right where I want my OSD info.

Anyone?