Pulling my hair out trying to work out legal FPV!

[BlueFlyer]

Basically i live in the middle of nowhere with some lovely empty forests that i plan on exploring. I want to be able to fly around the trees not only for fun but for race practice.

My comments were based upon what the OP was saying here, not a scenario I made up in my head to justify a silly answer. no mention of friends, but plenty mention of living in the middle of nowhere and wanting to fly around the trees.

600mw will not disturb or cause anyone issues out in the sticks

[Ratty]

My comments were based on this:

and also race it when possible.

[BlueFlyer]

Which is why I had already said this:

If a FPV racing series states your equipment must be legal, then 25mw is your limit

I'll summarise then so we can be in agreement...

"legit" racing events - 25mw
messing around with mates in a small field - 200mw
practising in the middle of nowhere in and out of trees - 600mw+

[Ratty]

Sounds good to me.

[elmattbo]

Just to add another option...
Practicing in the middle of nowhere in and out of trees - 200mw with a 3 turn helical on the receiver.


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[Billy_boy_2010]

With 5.8 you have to get used to flying through interference. This is really tough and really seperates the men from the boys IMO.

As a begginner, he will very likely pannic and crash when he first experiences more than a moment of interference. The more forgiving a setup he has, the less likely this will be.

Hence i would go for a high power setup to begin with- he has enough to worry about as a new pilot than video signal added to the mix. A 3 turn helical isn't a bad idea either provided he is careful to only fly in front of himself.

Also he needs an alarm buzzer too!

Whether he goes for 600mW or 200mW matters far less IMO- they are both vastly better than 25mW. If 200mW is much cheaper he could get 200mW and a 3 turn helical and a pair of clovers- that would be a great package.

Also- lets be honest- it's going to be a long long time before he's able to race in official races with others where they regulate the power output. Is his video Tx really going to survive until then? I doubt it. In which case, whatever he buys now, he doesn't need to plan months or years ahead until he gets to racing standard. Even if it does survive, he wont mind spending a bit of extra £ on a legal Tx for racing at this stage. He will already have sent 3x that amount on props and double that on batteries!

[Ratty]

While will he have to wait a very very long time to race?

At a race I was at there were at least two pilots racing that had been flying for less than a week.

One had got his quad on Wednesday and was racing on the Saturday......

[Roundozo]

Thanks for all the helpful tips people.

Think I'll get higher for practice and 25 for race. Not much of an extra cost. I hope to be racing rather quickly in all honesty. I've flown rc helicopters etc so I think I should be able to pick up quad flying rather quickly. Mastering it will obviously take more time. I'm jumping straight into 4s power as why not. Yes I'll probably crash a bit more at first but hey, who cares but my wallet.

I'll update you all when it's all done and I'll also give some feedback on the relative equipment I end up getting.

Once again thanks for the clarification on the legality of 25mw and over.

[BigT]

Why not go straight to 1.3 from RMRC? Or is that not allowed in racing?


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[Ratty]

You will find quads pretty cheap compared to helicopters. You cant crash (or even land rough) a helicopter and have it cost you 50p to get back in the air.  :laugh:


Big T, 1.3 would get destroyed by all the 2.4 radios I would think, and most race events like to try and stay legal.

(none that I have been to have managed to yet, even though you have to prove youre insured, it would be void lol)

[Roundozo]

Ratty you're 100% correct. Most helicopter crashes I've had have been pretty severe. My current helicopter is sitting in bits in my man den. Was out flying along, happy as Larry and something failed on the board. Fell out of the sky like a brick from quite a height. Hit a tree stump on landing/crashing. Not much left of it now. :(  Going to strip for parts and sell them I think. Had enough of helicopters especially as quads look like so much more fun.

[Ratty]

Ouch, I feel your pain. I have not flown my helicopters since starting 250 racing. It is just sat in the cave collecting dust.  :D

250s, are cheaper, easier and quicker to work on, immeasurably more durable and a whole lot of fun. 

[Badlands]

The chairman of the bfpvrl told me he went seeking an exemption from OFCOM for the UK nats earlier this year, they asked him what band & power, they said no exemption was necessary for such low power.

FPV race events atm are limiting power to 200mW on 5.8 - which is perfectly fine.

[BlueFlyer]

The chairman of the bfpvrl told me he went seeking an exemption from OFCOM for the UK nats earlier this year, they asked him what band & power, they said no exemption was necessary for such low power.

FPV race events atm are limiting power to 200mW on 5.8 - which is perfectly fine.

This is fantastic news, and could pave the way for an increase of the current 25mw limit in general

[Billy_boy_2010]

While will he have to wait a very very long time to race?

At a race I was at there were at least two pilots racing that had been flying for less than a week.

One had got his quad on Wednesday and was racing on the Saturday......

Racing within a week? Suspect you're using the word "race" pretty loosely. But fair enough.