FPV Gear - What to get?

[mailman35]

Im looking to finally make the fpv jump however I got a few questions
Ive been looking at the starter package’s on readymaderc. Based on the fact that I will have to anticipate the possibility of a tree coming between me and the MR, so ive been thinking of 900-1300 for the frequency range. Not looking for an osd at this time, it will be in the next purchase, I don’t plan on flying that far away.
The question comes what band should I pick
These are the kits
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=279
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=508
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=840

 

[kloner]

everything you posted is out of stock... the whole old rx's without 1258 are no longer being carried. let me make you a list of a premium system for you mostly from tim but couple other spots to save some money and get more bang for your buck.

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_34_44&products_id=1020
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=838

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=823
or
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=475

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_30_38&products_id=1017
or
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_30_38&products_id=437

for a cam, you want this
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/p...0TVL-D-WDR-DNR-Mini-Board-Camera-DIY-FPV.html

for power i like this
http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Adjustable-Voltage-Regulator-1-35V-SEPIC-Type.html
&
http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Power-Supply-Filter-L-C-Type.html

if you were gonna only run 4s, this step down is better but would stil want that filter above
http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Adjustable-Voltage-Regulator-1-35V-Step-Down.html

those are instead of seperate packs....... lemme know if you got any questions. the helical type patch would give you like 2-3 miles out front, mile to the side and a couple miles behind it so usually just set it in the yard, but if your going down behind stuff, point it that way and your never gonna loose signal. That 300mw vtx is what most guys are using. it is super clean, barely uses and power and is the most efficient. rhcp antennas are the bomb for down low, behind stuff and tilting alot like quads do. when you can tilt 45 degrees, it makes regular antennas like you posted in your links suck. those are stright up or straight to the side, then the quad tilts exacly half way, worse possible scenario for a uhf polarized antenna. I'll sell you a crosshair and cloverleaf for half what they want, and mine are in stock and can be customized. i got all kinds of materials for them. just got 50 feet of the coax rg316 for em. all is welding wire and painted.

 

[mailman35]

how directional are the antennas? do i need the tracking setup like you have? or is that more for the 5.8?

 

[kloner]

that's the part about helicals or crosshairs are the way to go, one helical/crosshair on your receiver, one cloverleaf on the craft and your good to 2-3 miles out front, mile to the side, couple miles behind ya.

the antennas you linked are not circular polarized but horizontal or vertical so they only work when there both the same angles. like mentioned 45 degrees is exaqctly where it sucks. if your hovering is fine, but fpv your gonna find it leaning forward alot.......

tracking is needed when your going long distance. i'm using it ow for planes, zephyr II and a bixler/skysurfer. it'll go double digit miles, tracker cause now your not easily in range but way out of range except down the throat of higher gain patch antennas like crosshair/helical

 

[mailman35]

cool cool. thanks for filling in the blanks, now to figure out what to get
and where to get the money from

 

[kloner]

this is what i've come to the conclusion as the ultimate quad fpv station. The velcro lets them be aimed any direction, can use high and low gain patches or couple different type pointed the same way to get the ultimate coverage. crosshair tend to go higher and reach behind stuff better but are more directional than a helical that has the side and rear coverage, little less height but less penetration too.

above what we talked about your looking at a diversity receiver from immersion, does 2s and also has the lawmate channels, there offering a 1.3 version soon, if it were me and unless the money was burning a hole in my pocket i'd probably wait for or consider getting later. the stuff we looked at links earlier is all 12volt so like 3s packs which is fine, just makes more interference than the lover voltage packs. that is the foxtech monitor for $100 and a tripod. you can hook em up to anything with avi inputs, red white, yellow

a single receiver though with a helical is a mad man for a quad. that and the 300mw vtx and you'd be pretty happy. i had problems with the larger vtx's interferring with the naza gps but i was mounted to the frame, no risers, most likely the problem

2.4 video is alot easier, smaller antennas, just as good if not better penetration and clean, clean vid. They both are if you get that receiver with the saw upgrade i linked

 

[kloner]

BTW, that lawmate video transmitters are worth the money if you can find them. There have a lower noise floor and are just cleaner overall. next best is that 300 and that 1000 i linked to at ready made. The others like 800mw and 1.5 aren't as nice. I got em all. Immersion everything is my favorite but i don't do crazy long distance, yet

 

[mailman35]

lawmate for the tx or the rx? or would both have to be the same?

 

[kloner]

not at all. this is where things get a little weird. see this

lawmate 1 watt
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_30_38&products_id=437

sunsky
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_30_38&products_id=924

see how they both do 1280mhz, that's all that has to match. That new v.2 tan receiver i linked above is the bomb. has a readymade hack that makes it work right. changed something inside, there just superior. having the new 1258 is nice, but not as important as that hack, and the saw filters

I fly low around heavy iron content mountains.... i use the 1watt lawmate tx in 2.4 and love it. Had the 300 and 800mw in 1.3 on it and the video was great, the naza gps just didn't like it, but i also run 433mhz rc controll so can do it

 

[kloner]

in the us the only legal band in 1.3 we can use was 1280, now the 1258 lets you fly near somebody else flying 1280, that's the main advantage of the extra channel. the video receiver that is marked DIGITAL does down into 900 and all through 900-1.2 and 1.3. 900 sucks, kinda dirty and not very colorful, but that's it's advantage. any of the saw upgraded receivers are alot like immersion gear in that's what they use.

 

[kloner]

one other thing, if you wanted to ditch the dpcav power supply and filter, for another $35 you can get the team black sheep core. it offers two of the power supplies/filters either 12v or 5v and it includes an osd that's more than enough for a quad. it shows mah used, electric current and if you have the wire, an rssi signal that shows how well the rc receiver sees the transmitter. alot of futaba receivers have it, but you gotta solder to it off the board. tutorials are on rcgroups on what pins they are.

The gps part isn't really needed, your not that far away once you get used to knowing where your at. speeds are nice though

http://team-blacksheep.com/products/product:14
youd need the current sensor too
http://team-blacksheep.com/products/product:94

that site got really hard to read, but they got he best stuff

 

[mailman35]

yeah i got a futaba 7c, and i have 2 futaba rx's as well as a frsky one. i get pretty good range with both, i think ive flown out to 100-200m ( i think havent measured) but its 300-600ft so i think i have done that.

 

[unclearchie]

hi
i am looking to build a compact ground staition in a case.
i want to attach a screen to the inside of the case, but im stuck as to which monitor to buy due to blue screen issues. I live in the uk and cannot source the popular ones the usa guys use as a decent price. so having a browse around on the web i came across this screen.(within my budget)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-LCD-...sGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item3a741c5f54

does anyone have experience of this one? , does it blue screen?

 

[mailman35]

when i get all this together i was thinking about using the backpack method that ive seen to old the rx antenna, battery, receiver and a place to hold the goggles.

 

[kloner]

I'm gonna doa case next. keep trying to buy that bolton on ebay, pelican clone, perfect subject for a boats fpv setup

The backpack is cool, but you still need something to help support the parts like a mini tripod or something. i've never seen inside one.

this guys the man, this is what he does. Seems like a ton of work for something so simple.

 

[RTRyder]

FWIW, I just changed my TBS Disccovery over to a Lawmate 2.4 gHz VTX and I also got the low cost Lawmate receiver. Last night I made a Crosshair antenna for the RX and a CP for the TX, just did a test flight out back and I cannot believe how much better the 2.4 is with this antenna setup VS the RMRC 1.3 with the SAW filter RX with SPW and 1500 mw VTX with CP antenna. The clarity of the video on the Foxtech monitor is outstanding and other than a couple blips of wavyness in the video stream I never lost a clean picture even when I was directly overhead in what would normally be the null area for standard antennas, that it could do this with a couple of homemade antennas just blew me away!

If you're good with soldering the antennas are fairly easy to make and for the cost of the materials you can make many for what you would pay for a ready made set of Bluebeams. If you don't have the time or capability then definitely buy the Bluebeam antennas, they're far superior to the cheap whip antennas that usually come with the TX/RX.

I'm now looking at the Immersion diversity RX since I like the idea of having two types of antennas for general FPV flying and I'm pretty much sold on the 2.4 gear, looks like I'll be selling off the 1.3 TX/RX/antennas soon.

Ken

 

[kloner]

crazy clear aint it. the immeresion rx is really nice, no flicker going between antennas and it seems more reliable than the 5.8. when the quad is one direction it'son that antenna. my 5.8 would bounce back and forth, drove me nuts cause it happened so much it made a shadow flicker thing everytime.

I have a digital rmrc, the one with the red number on it for channel with saw filter and a 300mw rx i'll be moving soon too, all used a couple times.

the only downside to the 2.4 video is you gotta move onto to a $300 long range radio system, but honestly you want it anyways cause it increases the control out a lot more secure and solid especially flying low and far. 2.4 when get's static is by far the least obtrusive

them crosshairs really work good and easy to make, don't take up much room. i've been sealing them off and not using posts and i think they work even better that way. the 2.4 i just lay a solo cup over a hot glued crosshair and it keeps em from moving and makes it transportable. the 1.3 i moved onto a poly overlay around the 4" fence material, looks like you bought it. the only other problem with 1.3 is the antenna sizes are huge compared. this crosshair is the low gain and i think was 7"x7", high gains were like 10"x10" for 1.3

 

[RTRyder]

As soon as I started flying further than the quad could be seen by eye I switched to EZUHF. I had good results with the basic JR 11X 2.4 out to 2000 feet but I knew I was pushing it at that distance, better to spend the $ for an LR system than have to replace the entire quad because it went down someplace where it can't be found or retrieved from!

If the 2.4 performs as well at the field as it looks like it's going to I may sell off both the 1.3 and 5.8 gear and go with the single frequency on everything. I already have the UHF system, I'll just need to buy one more UHF RX to outfit all the FPV quads with the same gear.

I'm finding that FPV really isn't any less expensive than the big APV ships I was flying before, if anything it may be a little more expensive, but it sure is a lot more fun...

Ken

 

[mailman35]

kicking this thread.
i bit the bullet and got Fat Shark Predator V2 Video Glasses w/Transmitter and Camera and the 5.8 GHz SpiroNET Antenna Set. i figure its a good enuff starting point for me. while i get the hang of fps, and then move to 1.3ghz for the lawmate.

 

[kloner]

that's a great start. is how i got going, and all my 5.8 stuff other than the goggles are still in service. it makes my 2.4 video feed go into a few different way to watch wirelessly. we fly in a group and they all have 5.8 tuners so they can also tun into the ground feed. it's a tracker so the thing spins all over the place, hard to hook a wire to it. My other receiver is a diversity setup i can put on the roof of my car then go get in the shade to fly wirelessly