Equipment we use

[typicalaimster]

To start things out.. I'd like to start up a quick equipment thread. This should help share some of the vendors we use out there.

For my Video equipment I use the Black Widow 600mw brown bag setup.

http://www.blackwidowav.com

According to a posting on RC-Cam.com (http://www.rc-cam.com/lawmate.htm) these are TX's are imported from a company called Lawmate (http://www.lawmate.com.tw/english/home_en.asp). However before you think you can order directly from the OEM.. Think again. Last time I emailed them Lawmate requires you to purchase at least $1000 worth of equipment. Plus the wire fee for a money transfer to their country. Not to mention international shipping. For now I'd suggest sticking and supporting your local countries dealerships!

After doing a bit more research for OEM dealerships.. I ran across Hyperlink Tech's website. They sell the 8dbi polarized (http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg2409pc.php) antenna. Keep in mind that the Lawmate video RX's use a SMA. Hyperlink and most other vendors sell their antenna's with a Female-N connector. The SMA connector is a special order costing you more money. In the long run after shipping and handling.. You pay the same price at Black Widow!

A few more OEM dealers include the following..

http://www.sharperconcepts.net/
http://www.jefatech.com/
http://www.wifi-link.com/

Not only do the above companies sell antennas, but they also sell the pigtails and various other things. Recently I broke my antenna on my Spektrum DX6. I ended up ordering a U.FL to RP-SMA pigtail and replaced it myself.

Please feel free to add a few of your frequently visited equipment vendors!

[kevinhines]

Hi Aimster,

Thanks for getting this FPV/video piloting equipment discussion started. I am a newbie to FPV, and I appreciate the advice all of you veterans are posting. I am starting out as a number of you have recommended, i.e., for now I am recording aerial videos of my home flying fields, before I step up to FPV.

In preparation for me to make the step up to FPV/video piloting, I'd really like to know what hardware equipment setups all you FPV veterans are using. Please don't leave any details out, as newbies like me are struggling to understand what equipment has worked well for others, in order to lessen the pain and the expense of the significant learning curve involved in getting onto FPV/video piloting.

I'd like to see veteran video pilots express their opinions of recommended, good components and vendors for:
1-video camera
2-video Tx
3-video Rx
4-video goggles (including goggles for those who wear prescription eyeglasses)
5-video recorders
6-gyros/pan & tilt control systems, for contolling the video camera's pointing direction
7-navigation recovery systems (eg, FMA's co-pilot, GPS return to base systems-if these exist, etc.)
8-altitude (AGL) control systems
9-Tx & Rx for aircraft control (eg, Futaba 9CAPS PCM, Spektrum DX6, etc)
10-favorite FPV / video piloting hardware components

I appreciate your advice.

Thanks!
Kevin

PS - My setup: I am currently using a MicroWireless VideoPod for recording aerial video of my fields, but its video signal (without a high gain antenna) has been cutting out at a slant range of about 600 to 800 feet for me, so although it is an inexpensive start to get into aerial video, I do not recommend the VideoPod for FPV/video piloting.

[FredericG]

I would like to start experimenting with a downlink and the final goal is FPV. I was thinking about a migration path:

1. Attach a downlink to my existing photo camera via the video-out. Let somebody else watch and trigger the camera.
2. Using a light camera on a pan/tilt system
3. Data onverlay
4. Head tracking system


I have been browsing the BlackWidow and the RangeVideo sites and have a bunch of questions. I suppose many people follow that path, so I presume my questions fit in this FAQ.

1. Do all these transmitters accept a standard composite video? When I buy a system that transports the signal of the video-out of my photo camera, will it also work with a camera like the KX131? On the website of BlackWidow they seem to make a distinction, is it just the connector that differs?
2. How does the signal of a KX131 compares to the typical video out of a photo camera?
3. Different cameras send signals in different resolutions. When you buy a standard (TFT) video or goggle, will it just rescale the image to fit on the screen?
4. I suppose the downlink system has nothing to do with the pan/tilt option. When I buy a downlink of, lets say 200 mW, will it be usable for my FPV ambitions?


EDIT: questions answered here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=617461

Thanks,
Frederic