What to buy for video piloting. Updated Oct 25st 2008 - Page 5

skunkworks2006 · Jul 26, 2007, 02:18 PM

HELP!
I'm completely new to this part of the hobby. Will this ant. be beneficial to me?
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=279

Also, does putting this sort of ant. on a tripod greatly increase range/clarity?

JMSTECH · Jul 28, 2007, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skunkworks2006

HELP!
I'm completely new to this part of the hobby. Will this ant. be beneficial to me?
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=279

Also, does putting this sort of ant. on a tripod greatly increase range/clarity?

Well you can check out these guys http://www.aircables.net/antenna-rubber-duck.html for those omni directional antennas. If you plan on flying close then those are just fine. But if you plan on going far then get a flat square "patch antenna" like a 8db or a 14 db. The higher the db on the patch, the farther you will fly successfully but also the narrower the reception beam gets. (that means you have to point those things at the plane as much as possible.)

Omni on the other hand; you do not have to point them at the plane, just don't fly too far. If you want to use Omni and go a "little" far then look into a 9db antenna. (higher db)

I flew with a 14 db patch and got around 2.5 to 3 km with no video loss! (Could of easily gone further but my wing folded!) I flew with a 10db omni directional and suffered video signal break at approx .5km but at least I didn't have to point the antenna at the plane.

So both have their ups and downs but it all depends on your flying habit.

You can absorb more info on Crash9 website. http://www.fpvvideo.com/ He's done a great job compiling a lot of valuable FPV info for newbies.

PS

I assume you checked out the first page of this thread? It list all the places to shop for anything to do with this hobby.

Kilrah · Jul 28, 2007, 05:44 AM

High gain omnis are usually unsuitable for our application, you won't want more than 5dBi, I'd suggest sticking to the 3dBi.
The problem is that retaining the 360° horizontal coverage means reducing the vertical one.
With a 9dBi you'll end having about 10° beamwidth above horizontal, no need to say you'll always be flying way above that so it's just useless.

JMSTECH · Jul 28, 2007, 10:11 AM

There you go skunkworks2006.... thanks for correcting on the omni Kilrah!

So does a 3db omni get 1000 meters on the RX?

skunkworks2006 · Aug 02, 2007, 11:27 AM

Thanks for the help guys.
Yeah, I did check out the first page, but I was just looking at these locally and wanted to get better range. I went ahead and picked one up.
Here's what I discovered: range was about doubled. I set the omni at about a 30 deg angle and it seemed to work pretty good in the park with a few fuzzies and cut-outs.
On the patch ant... what kind of angle of reception do they have? I fly mostly park flyer foamies and really don't need more than .5 miles of range to have fun. I realize however that I always want more range than the airspace I plan to fly in.

skunkworks2006 · Aug 02, 2007, 11:53 AM

One more quick question: What could I do to the cam Tx to increase range on this camera? http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...rentPage=search
Is it possible or beneficial to increase or change the tx antenna?

skunkworks2006 · Aug 13, 2007, 11:42 PM

anyone?
cricket.....cricket...?

runout74 · Aug 13, 2007, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skunkworks2006

One more quick question: What could I do to the cam Tx to increase range on this camera? http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...rentPage=search
Is it possible or beneficial to increase or change the tx antenna?

skunkworks2006,

FYI, the RadioShack link goes to their home page.

Runout74

skunkworks2006 · Aug 14, 2007, 11:21 AM

Whoops. Sorry.
Here is the link to the manufacturer
http://www.swann.com.au/s/products/view/?product=483
The camera has just a tiny ant. and the tx is all built in.
I've been getting fair reception in "park range" but I'd like to extend the range and thus the reception at the fringes. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mr.Pibb · Aug 14, 2007, 12:27 PM

skunkworks2006,

I doubt you are going to gain anything by changing the TX antenna. We don't want those to be directional since the plane's orientation is going to be changing. It's a tradeoff as others have said, higher gain=narrower signal. The only thing I would do is to focus on the ground antenna. A patch antenna is your best bet. The Goof Proof Patch Antenna is the cheapest way to go, and has great performance, but you need to be able to put it together.

Take this advice as you want, but I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time or money trying to get a whole lot out of that system. I went that route last year and wasted both time and money, and eventually wound up with a 900MHz system from Rangevideo that works GREAT! It doesn't matter if you go with 2.4GHz or 900MHz, the cameras and TX/RX Rangevideo, Blackwidow, Futurehobbies, and others sell will give you orders of magnitude better quality with orders of magnitude less fuss. I wish I had gone that route in the first place myself...but I'm glad I did now. I know you spent the money on the Radio Shack system, but IMHO that's what E-bay is for.

All that said, I have a 200mW 2.4GHz E-Bay system that I never used beyond hooking it up and testing it out on the ground and a 2.4GHz 14dBi patch antenna from Rangevideo that I've never used that I'm considering selling if you (or anyone else) is interested. It seemed to work fine, except that it picked up some interference from the DX6 I had at that time and I didn't want to take a chance of interfering with the DX6 while the plane was in the air so I went with a better 900Mhz system.

Tim

skunkworks2006 · Aug 14, 2007, 12:40 PM

Thanks Tim,
I was just so darn anxious to get started.

It actually works pretty well in the park with my 7db omni mounted horizontally, but I'm just not confident at any longer distance with the set-up. I'll look into the patch ant. The Goof Proof looks like a nice project.
PM me with the details about your 2.4GHz system. I'm certainly interested if I can squeeze it out of my budget.

minitelemaster · Sep 02, 2007, 09:42 PM

Has anyone checked out Boostervision.com? It seems like a good site, and cheaper than most too, but no one has even mentioned it in this forum! Should I take this lack of mention as an ominous sign, or can I consider it as a viable fpv system such as the proven one from RV, futurehobbies, etc? Any opinions?

zaguruinzasky · Sep 03, 2007, 12:26 AM

thanks for the link, just added to the first post list.

hawker800 · Sep 16, 2007, 02:58 AM

Good Day all!

Im very keen to by a fpv set up for model aircraft and have found Fat shark very helpfull. Does anybody have any comments on their set up that they are selling. Is it good?
I would like to set up a head tracker system for this. I am using a JR 2610 at the moment, any ideas on ways to set this up?

Thanks guys

hawker800 · Sep 16, 2007, 06:45 AM

I have been in contact with fatshark on goggles and camera set up. Are there any other places on the net that provide this sort of thing i could contact?
Any set up somebody could recomend?

Thanks

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Jul 26, 2007, 02:18 PM	#61
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	HELP! I'm completely new to this part of the hobby. Will this ant. be beneficial to me? http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=279 Also, does putting this sort of ant. on a tripod greatly increase range/clarity?

Jul 28, 2007, 05:44 AM	#63
Kilrah Happy FPV flyer Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Switzerland Posts: 1,525	High gain omnis are usually unsuitable for our application, you won't want more than 5dBi, I'd suggest sticking to the 3dBi. The problem is that retaining the 360° horizontal coverage means reducing the vertical one. With a 9dBi you'll end having about 10° beamwidth above horizontal, no need to say you'll always be flying way above that so it's just useless.

Jul 28, 2007, 10:11 AM	#64
JMSTECH Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Somewhere in Vancouver Island, Canada :) Posts: 2,698	There you go skunkworks2006.... thanks for correcting on the omni Kilrah! So does a 3db omni get 1000 meters on the RX?

Aug 02, 2007, 11:27 AM	#65
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	Thanks for the help guys. Yeah, I did check out the first page, but I was just looking at these locally and wanted to get better range. I went ahead and picked one up. Here's what I discovered: range was about doubled. I set the omni at about a 30 deg angle and it seemed to work pretty good in the park with a few fuzzies and cut-outs. On the patch ant... what kind of angle of reception do they have? I fly mostly park flyer foamies and really don't need more than .5 miles of range to have fun. I realize however that I always want more range than the airspace I plan to fly in.

Aug 02, 2007, 11:53 AM	#66
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	One more quick question: What could I do to the cam Tx to increase range on this camera? http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...rentPage=search Is it possible or beneficial to increase or change the tx antenna?

Aug 13, 2007, 11:42 PM	#67
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	anyone? cricket.....cricket...?

Aug 14, 2007, 11:21 AM	#69
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	Whoops. Sorry. Here is the link to the manufacturer http://www.swann.com.au/s/products/view/?product=483 The camera has just a tiny ant. and the tx is all built in. I've been getting fair reception in "park range" but I'd like to extend the range and thus the reception at the fringes. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Aug 14, 2007, 12:27 PM	#70
Mr.Pibb Cleanroom Ninja Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lewis Center, OH Posts: 1,740	skunkworks2006, I doubt you are going to gain anything by changing the TX antenna. We don't want those to be directional since the plane's orientation is going to be changing. It's a tradeoff as others have said, higher gain=narrower signal. The only thing I would do is to focus on the ground antenna. A patch antenna is your best bet. The Goof Proof Patch Antenna is the cheapest way to go, and has great performance, but you need to be able to put it together. Take this advice as you want, but I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time or money trying to get a whole lot out of that system. I went that route last year and wasted both time and money, and eventually wound up with a 900MHz system from Rangevideo that works GREAT! It doesn't matter if you go with 2.4GHz or 900MHz, the cameras and TX/RX Rangevideo, Blackwidow, Futurehobbies, and others sell will give you orders of magnitude better quality with orders of magnitude less fuss. I wish I had gone that route in the first place myself...but I'm glad I did now. I know you spent the money on the Radio Shack system, but IMHO that's what E-bay is for. All that said, I have a 200mW 2.4GHz E-Bay system that I never used beyond hooking it up and testing it out on the ground and a 2.4GHz 14dBi patch antenna from Rangevideo that I've never used that I'm considering selling if you (or anyone else) is interested. It seemed to work fine, except that it picked up some interference from the DX6 I had at that time and I didn't want to take a chance of interfering with the DX6 while the plane was in the air so I went with a better 900Mhz system. Tim

Aug 14, 2007, 12:40 PM	#71
skunkworks2006 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,285	Thanks Tim, I was just so darn anxious to get started. It actually works pretty well in the park with my 7db omni mounted horizontally, but I'm just not confident at any longer distance with the set-up. I'll look into the patch ant. The Goof Proof looks like a nice project. PM me with the details about your 2.4GHz system. I'm certainly interested if I can squeeze it out of my budget.

Sep 02, 2007, 09:42 PM	#72
minitelemaster what the... Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 240	Has anyone checked out Boostervision.com? It seems like a good site, and cheaper than most too, but no one has even mentioned it in this forum! Should I take this lack of mention as an ominous sign, or can I consider it as a viable fpv system such as the proven one from RV, futurehobbies, etc? Any opinions?

Sep 03, 2007, 12:26 AM	#73
zaguruinzasky Smoke on , go ! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Verona - Italy Posts: 1,468	thanks for the link, just added to the first post list.

Sep 16, 2007, 02:58 AM	#74
hawker800 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3	Good Day all! Im very keen to by a fpv set up for model aircraft and have found Fat shark very helpfull. Does anybody have any comments on their set up that they are selling. Is it good? I would like to set up a head tracker system for this. I am using a JR 2610 at the moment, any ideas on ways to set this up? Thanks guys

Sep 16, 2007, 06:45 AM	#75
hawker800 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3	I have been in contact with fatshark on goggles and camera set up. Are there any other places on the net that provide this sort of thing i could contact? Any set up somebody could recomend? Thanks