New Product Eagle Eyes Ground Station: Antenna Tracking, Diversity, Telemetry, distribution

[billpa]

Hello!

Eagle Tree is pleased to announced our new Eagle Eyes ground station, that provides the following:

* AV receiver diversity - you connect two video receivers to it, and it picks the better one and outputs the better signal.
* Antenna Tracking - when used with our OSD Pro, data are transmitted from the plane via your Video TX, which are interpreted by the ground unit, driving a pan/tilt tracker
* Full Telemetry to your laptop, sent digitally from our OSD Pro, via a USB link (supports realtime Google Earth!)
* Multiple A/V outputs (no need for a separate distribution amplifier)
* Programmable low voltage alarm


Here are the preliminary specifications:

* Two video inputs -NTSC/PAL (using your video receivers of any frequency)
* Two audio inputs - monaural
* Four A/V outputs
* Headphone jack audio output with volume control. Amplified PC speakers can be connected to this, if headphones are not desired.
* Outputs for pan and tilt mechanisms.
* USB Port for connecting to PC, for live PC display of telemetry and firmware update
* adjustment of video and audio input levels, for matching of different brands of receivers for diversity
* Price $60 - $80 USD



Regards,

Bill, for Eagle Tree

[Blue Sky]

Sounds like a capitol idea!
So, "secret signals" in the blanking interval?

[Carlyle Harper]

If you build it I will buy it. I think an entire system that is integrated and talks to one another is a great idea.

I would like to have two video and two audio outputs, one set for goggles and another set for a recorder, this is what the oracle has and I use both this way. Mono audio is fine by me on each receiver input.

And well, you might want to consider building the device which will perform the motions of the tracking as well, for us to mount our patch antennas on.

[G-unit]

Hi Bill,
I think that this is a awesome idea,and for that price u will sell allot of them

[G-unit]

Originally Posted by ssassen

Well, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but we've had this (antenna tracking) for quite some time now (we introduced it months ago), and are currently selling it, so Eagle Tree didn't come up with this idea, they're simply copying ours, which happens to all good ideas I guess.

Cheers,

Sander (for ImmersionRC)

Hey Sander,
Well maybe u had the idea before ET but i don't think u came up with it first??
and what about the OSD did u come up with this first and every one copied you?? i think not well i guess this is what computation does to some people

[Mr.Pibb]

Bill,

The antenna tracking sounds like a great idea. What other data can you send in the "secret" area of the video signal?

Tim

[tychoc]

Originally Posted by ssassen

Well, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but we've had this (antenna tracking) for quite some time now (we introduced it months ago), and are currently selling it, so Eagle Tree didn't come up with this idea, they're simply copying ours, which happens to all good ideas I guess.

Cheers,

Sander (for ImmersionRC)

I've had my homemade antenna tracker working before you started writing about yours on RCG and so have many others. This is nothing new and has been high on the list of products that the FPV community wants. I don't think you can claim to be the one whom came up with this idea
I certainly read about it elsewhere before you got into it.

The problem with mine is that is uses very expensive components that I get donated at work, so it's not a viable solution for others to copy.

-tychoc

[JustinONE]

Count me in also...

what's the trade in value my new/un-used Eagletree OSD? I'de like to go Pro at a reasonable price.

[nathanj988]

I'd buy one as well.

[BlueAngel2000]

I would buy also one device.
I have already the oracle, but an device with including antenna tracking would be great.

I am also for 2 video and audio outputs.
stereo is no so important, but would be cool, for stereo transmitters, where on the left channel the mic sound and on the other sound the variometer sound will be sent.

[henkvdw]

Amplified audio at the ground station will be helpful for those not wanting to wear ear/head phones.

[ob1]

Originally Posted by billpa

Hello!

This thread is spawned from another discussion occuring on our OSD-Pro thread.

What we are discussing is a ground based unit that provides the following:

* AV receiver diversity - you connect two video receivers to it, and it picks the better one and outputs the better signal.
* Antenna Tracking - when used with our OSD Pro, "secret signals" are sent from the plane via your Video TX, which are interpreted by the ground unit, and drive pan and tilt servos.

The reason we're considering combining these two features is that there is a lot of hardware and firmware overlap between them, and big cost savings would follow.

Here are some specifications for discussion:

* Two video inputs - these are simply NTSC/PAL composite inputs, meaning that you connect your own video receiver(s) to the unit
* Two audio inputs (does anyone need stereo, or is mono sufficient?)
* One video and one audio output (again, mono or stereo?)
* Outputs for pan and tilt servos
* various buttons and LEDs for configuration/status
* Port for connecting to PC, for live PC display of telemetry and firmware update
* Soft adjustment of video and audio levels, for matching (just like we do with audio with the OSD-Pro)
* If you already have (or don't need) the diversity feature, antenna tracking will still work via one video input
* Likewise, if you want only diversity, and don't want antenna tracking, no need to use thetracking.
* Price guestimate: $50 - $70 depending on feature set

Regarding the actual antenna pan/tilt mechanism, I suspect we would solicit drawings for this, and provide those drawings for home building. And/or, maybe a third party can design and sell a pan/tilt mechanism that works with particular patch antennas.

We'd really appreciate your feedback on this!

Regards,

Bill, for Eagle Tree

I like your starting config outlined above, so here are my 2-cents:
- mono audio is sufficient since most of the vtx's we use currently support only a single audio channel. if possible, please treat audio input similar to video input so that even though you might not be assessing the "quality" of each input and choosing the best, you most certainly need to insure that at least one of the audio inputs is working....so if we lost the audio signal from one rx you would still pass the audio along from the other rx
- you need at least two separate video AND audio outputs (in addition to the one you suggested for the pc), so that we can continue to hook up our goggles PLUS recording devices like dvr, camcorder, mpvr, etc. Personally i dont care for the thought of lugging a pc to the field, but your suggested config above should accommodate those who wish to do so.

Looks like you are on the right track by soliciting input from this group Thx.
Regards,
ob1

[ob1]

Originally Posted by ssassen

Well, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but we've had this (antenna tracking) for quite some time now (we introduced it months ago), and are currently selling it, so Eagle Tree didn't come up with this idea, they're simply copying ours, which happens to all good ideas I guess.

Cheers,

Sander (for ImmersionRC)

Hmmm...."don't mean to hijack this thread".....looks like that is exactly what you meant to do.....and did.
BTW: you certainly have already delivered your solution, but you actually didn't "come up" with the idea either.....many have suggested or "wished" for this capability and several have implemented their own "home-made" version. I'm not trying to detract anything from your version and we applaud your ingenuity and marketing prowess, and we are appreciative for all of IRC's FPV solutions.

So now, please let ET have their shot.....I dont recall them hijacking any of your "EZxxx" threads.

Regards,
ob1

[MorrisM]

Bill, At $50 to $70 for diversity switching and antenna tracking, I'm thinking this will be very popular.
There are pan/tilt systems available that should work well. How about this one from servo city:
http://servocity.com/html/spt200_pan___tilt_system.html