Originally Posted by 57sailplane

thanks ian,

is there any reason not to go with the 1w unit other then price? i am just saying if the price is the only issue then why would i not want the more powerful unit to begin with..

i read that a more powerful transmitter can mess with your rc rx but in this case i would be running at differant frequancies. can the more powerful unit interfeer even though the differance in frequ.

thanks again andrew K..

i have the lawmate 900/500mw and the 1.2/1000mw, both with 8dbi patch.. i get almost mile with the 500mw with lots of fuzz and the 1watt crystal clear past that and my futaba 7c 2.4 cuts out first so idk when the 1watt will fuzz

i live in tustin, i have 2-900/500mw and 2-1.2/1000mw fpv planes and i get alot of lock outs and wrecks flying at fairview park in costa mesa i use a spektrum dsm2 and son uses futaba 7c 2.4 with no problems

Originally Posted by subsonic

Alex I'm currently flying one of these cameras from security camera 2000 and am looking at upgrading. If given the choice again, would you consider the recent Pixim cameras over your 600TVL Sony's? Like this one
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/pr...-OSD-Menu.html

TIA,

sub

I can't comment on Pixim cameras. I never used them before.

Originally Posted by subsonic

Alex I'm currently flying one of these cameras from security camera 2000 and am looking at upgrading. If given the choice again, would you consider the recent Pixim cameras over your 600TVL Sony's? Like this one
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/pr...-OSD-Menu.html

TIA,

sub

Like Alex, I do not own one, but they are OSD and the version of WDR that they use (up to 120db) appears to be better than the standard (up to 100db) WDR OSD cameras. I was not aware, but it appears that they are not a type of CCD. They are a type of CMOS, but have decent shutter speed.

These are large cameras. Not suited for small planes.

User ssassen uses them as "the only 12v camera worth using", you might PM him. He really focuses on 5v cameras.

Here is an FPV video, which shows that it does a bit better when looking at the sun. I would guess that this is with the default settings. With any OSD you can tell it to allow the sun to overexpose and thus get the ground to expose enough to see it well.

Here is a dealer thread on it.

If I had to have only OSD or only WDR, I would take the OSD.

I was happy with this one until I broke it. It is a two board camera without case (difficult mounting) and requires re-wiring to leave the "OSD button only board" off to make it easier to mount. $49 shipped.

If price were no object and I didn't require a small camera, I would get the Pixim SeaWolf for 97 to 107 shipped.

If I didn't mind some re-wiring, I would get the cheap, light, medium sized, $49 shipped OSD WDR camera.

If I had to have small, I would get the Eyemax SQ-560E. A heavy but quarter sized OSD camera. (I have one).

If I wanted the best night vision, I would get the Clover HDC041 (heavy) plus an F1.2 lens. (I own this too)

Cliff

Originally Posted by FPV_Habu_Flyer

Hi
Someone please help!!!
My new system from Range Video has never been flown. This is my first FPV system and I have little idea what I am doing... When I plug in the system I see static on my monitor and hear a weird noise. I think my system might be defective but am not sure. I also do not know if the problem lies in the TX, RX, or antennae.
Thanks!

Unfortunately I do not have this system, so I cannot help you. Can someone who has one of these chip in here?

Know that you must have an antenna on the video transmitter whenever it is powered up, or you may damage it.

Typically the transmitter in these systems are locked onto one legal frequency. The receiver is probably not locked onto that frequency and may just need to have the correct "channel" selected. Try all the receiver channels.

When you buy a system designed for FPV, it usually comes pre-wired so all you have to do is plug things in the correct place. Each component needs both power and signal:
- camera has power and video out
- transmitter has power and video in
- receiver has power and video out

Test components one at a time if you can. For instance, plug the camera into your TV set's aux input to see if it works. Remember that the camera must have power to run.

Cliff

Originally Posted by mykwilwin

i live in tustin, i have 2-900/500mw and 2-1.2/1000mw fpv planes and i get alot of lock outs and wrecks flying at fairview park in costa mesa i use a spektrum dsm2 and son uses futaba 7c 2.4 with no problems

I presume your son does not fly FPV, so the question is whether your problem comes from Spektrum or from the FPV transmitters...

It would be interesting to put his Futaba into your FPV and see what the result is.

Cliff

I finally got my system in the mail yesterday. It looks pretty good and I thought the box would be bigger but it's not which is pretty good. Unfortunately 2 items from my order are missing! I was looking forward to getting my cheap watch and they didn't send me my watch... Oh yeah, bestofferbuy did charge me for those two items but someone decided not to put them in the box so how good are they on this sort of thing? I know it took them a while just to send me this stuff, so I'm just wondering since this was my very first order.

OK thanks for the help but the antennae was plugged into the transmitter at all times. I looked at Range Video's site and although my system is 1.3ghz, it looks like they may have given me a 900mhz antennae. Is it possible the vendor made a mistake, the 900mhz antannae and 1.3ghz antennae look very similar... Is this likely what is causing my problem?
Thanks

Sorry I have some newbie questions. I am a newcomer to FPV and I guess I understand some basics from the first few pages and posts, particularly from Alex (thanks for starting this informative thread).

However when I'm getting down to purchasing my first FPV unit I was getting lost to the point where the "everything-in" packages seem the least intimidating to start with. The one I'm looking at as my first system is the Fatshark 5.8ghz goggle system from HK which comes with everything except the camera: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=15126

I have a gopro which I intend to use eventually, and I suppose I may purchase another wide angle camera to practice with before mounting the gopro on my 330s-x quad. The reported range of this system varies from a few tens of feet to the marketed 900 feet.

I'm using a Walkera 2801tx and rx-2801pro which runs on 2.4ghz with a supposed output of 100mW that's supposed to cover about a 1km rc range so I don't expect I'll be doing any long distance flights since I'm only flying a quad and micro helis which only have about 10 mins flying time.

Would be an adequate starter system for someone with my setup to get into FPV?

efx,
Sorry about your shipment being 'shorted'. Hopefully that all gets worked out easily.

Please take some pics and give us the progress reports as you go along

My system is in SF customs, and should be here later this week.

Oz

Thanks Oz, yes I'll take some pics of this stuff. Well, I guess it happens so it's just a matter of contacting them and waiting to see what happens. So right now I have this and an rma from hobbyking so I'll put any other orders on hold until I get this stuff squared away for the time being. So far though I can tell you this system looks pretty good, but I'm still waiting for the camera so we'll see.

Originally Posted by Orcoz

efx,
Sorry about your shipment being 'shorted'. Hopefully that all gets worked out easily.

Please take some pics and give us the progress reports as you go along

My system is in SF customs, and should be here later this week.

Oz

Originally Posted by efx

I finally got my system in the mail yesterday. It looks pretty good and I thought the box would be bigger but it's not which is pretty good. Unfortunately 2 items from my order are missing! I was looking forward to getting my cheap watch and they didn't send me my watch... Oh yeah, bestofferbuy did charge me for those two items but someone decided not to put them in the box so how good are they on this sort of thing? I know it took them a while just to send me this stuff, so I'm just wondering since this was my very first order.

I have had both good and bad experiences with them.

One order I did had an antenna in it and they shipped the wrong one. I emailed them with a picture and they sent me the correct one without even asking for the wrong one shipped back.

On the bad side, more recently I ordered a brand name high speed rating memory stick from them (and paid with paypal). What I got was not a name brand and was not even close to the speed I needed. They wanted me to send it back with insurance and a tracking number (which they don't use when sending items out) which would have cost more than the item (including free shipping) did in the first place. I contacted PayPal and they refunded me after much explaining.

Email them for a re-ship (nicely). Then threaten to reverse the charge. Then reverse the charge. It may be a pain, but it keeps them honest. I would use email so there is evidence when you go to reverse the charge.

Cliff

Originally Posted by FPV_Habu_Flyer

OK thanks for the help but the antennae was plugged into the transmitter at all times. I looked at Range Video's site and although my system is 1.3ghz, it looks like they may have given me a 900mhz antennae. Is it possible the vendor made a mistake, the 900mhz antannae and 1.3ghz antennae look very similar... Is this likely what is causing my problem?
Thanks

Wrong (band) antenna is a fairly common problem, but it will not (in my experience) damage the transmitter, and it will not keep you from testing the rig. It just won't work as far (say 1/10th the range).

I have not bought RV equipment, so my saying it will work at reduced range is my guess based on my Fox-800 units on 900 that came with 1300 antennas.

Do the camera, transmitter, and receiver all get a little warm after say 15 minutes? Transmitter hot, receiver warm, camera maybe less warm?

Cliff

Originally Posted by nese

Sorry I have some newbie questions. I am a newcomer to FPV and I guess I understand some basics from the first few pages and posts, particularly from Alex (thanks for starting this informative thread).

However when I'm getting down to purchasing my first FPV unit I was getting lost to the point where the "everything-in" packages seem the least intimidating to start with. The one I'm looking at as my first system is the Fatshark 5.8ghz goggle system from HK which comes with everything except the camera: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=15126

I have a gopro which I intend to use eventually, and I suppose I may purchase another wide angle camera to practice with before mounting the gopro on my 330s-x quad. The reported range of this system varies from a few tens of feet to the marketed 900 feet.

I'm using a Walkera 2801tx and rx-2801pro which runs on 2.4ghz with a supposed output of 100mW that's supposed to cover about a 1km rc range so I don't expect I'll be doing any long distance flights since I'm only flying a quad and micro helis which only have about 10 mins flying time.

Would be an adequate starter system for someone with my setup to get into FPV?

Being you are into small helis I would say your first consideration would be FPV frequency as that controls the size of the transmitter antenna and somewhat the weight of the airborne package. 5.8ghz is nice for it's small antennas, but remember that it is almost required to put Circularly Polarized antennas on it. Reports of the users of the 200mw version say the range with CP omnis is 3km. With omni CP antennas you should get 2km on that 100mw version.

If you can lift several ounces (say 4) for a complete FPV system including camera, transmitter, and antenna, I would point to my earlier post which includes a 1280mhz video link. The extra battery is not strictly required. You can use your motor battery if it is 12 volts (3 cell Lipo). This does not include any display device. For your display I recommend the EasyCap video to usb converter and a laptop as that is by far the best bang (display and record simultaneously) for the buck ($7 shipped on eBay for the XP 32 bit version) if you already have a laptop. You will need a cardboard dark box to use a laptop in sunlight.

I tend to buy cheaper individual items rather than more expensive packages, so I can't help you with package deals. There are probably as many opinions as there are systems out there. It is like asking "what car should I buy".

Good luck.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff. Well, I know these things happen and no one likes returns and things like that. So I always ask kindly and try to keep it that way unless someone is really an ass with me about a return. I'll give them a bit of time for them to figure things out, if not then I'll go ahead with whatever else I need to do. Let's see what happens...I know I have to wait a bit due to time differences...