I really liked the story, great job to everyone involved. I'm glad they didn't slant it negative as they could have.

I've been considering trying FPV, though I have a long way to go before I'm ready for it. Is the stuff on HobbyKing and similar any good? It looks like you can get vtx/vrx/camera setups for ~$100. Add a screen/goggles at the base station and and you can fly. Obviously short range without an LRS. I have the Ham license (Tech) so that's good to go.. Anything else to watch for? I was thinking the CTH Albatross or the new Storm Chaser would be a good platform. How's RFI in the SLC/Utah county areas on the various frequencies? I would think 2.4Ghz would be crowded, particularly when other RC people are around, but 5.8 should be pretty clear, and 900Mhz is iffy. I'd probably go with 433Mhz for control, but it would be nice to start with 2.4Ghz for short range stuff.

Yeah, the part they didn't capture, and the part nobody wants to see, is the part where I sit in my den for several weeks, doing post stabilization on hundreds of shots, compose music, and edit those videos together. There's a reason so few people use FPV for scenic flight videos.

Fortunately, I have a really crappy memory, so within a few days of finishing a video I'm eager to get back out and do it again because I've forgotten the tedious and painful part.

ttabbal,

RF noise around town is pretty nutty on 2.4. I'm o 2.4 video, so I can't really fly anywhere near town for more than a few hundred feet. 1.2ghz is your best bet if you want long range FPV around civilization. 5.8 will get you a mile or two with really good antennas.

If you're gonna start simple without UHF, 72mhz control would get you better range than 2.4ghz control.

I haven't used any of the HobbyKing gear, so can't comment on it. Quality and Price are usually directly linked.

Originally Posted by Wind_of_Change

ttabbal,

RF noise around town is pretty nutty on 2.4. I'm o 2.4 video, so I can't really fly anywhere near town for more than a few hundred feet. 1.2ghz is your best bet if you want long range FPV around civilization. 5.8 will get you a mile or two with really good antennas.

If you're gonna start simple without UHF, 72mhz control would get you better range than 2.4ghz control.

I haven't used any of the HobbyKing gear, so can't comment on it. Quality and Price are usually directly linked.

Thanks for the info. What do you recommend for the video hardware? For range, I figured I would run 2.4Ghz for learning, no more than flying around a field and such. Then move up to UHF for longer range.

While cheap is nice, I do prefer to buy once and perhaps spend a little more.

If you're avoiding 2.4ghz, Lawmate VTX/VRX 1.2 ghz is good gear.

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...index&cPath=75

If you're flying on 5.8, you'll definitely want a diversity setup with two receivers. The Immersion 5.8 diversity receiver is probably your best bet on 5.8. It includes 2 receivers and handles the diversity switching to give you best of the two signals. That means you need two receiver antennas.

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/ind...roducts_id=265

Originally Posted by Wind_of_Change

If you're avoiding 2.4ghz, Lawmate VTX/VRX 1.2 ghz is good gear.

What do you recommend on 2.4ghz? I'm willing to wait till I get a UHF setup if needed. I don't expect I'll be doing a lot in the city anyway, so outside of control issues I don't see any reason to avoid 2.4ghz.

I read in the FPV forum that there's only 1 frequency on 1.2Ghz that's legal to use in the US... That alone makes me think it might be better avoided. I'd hate to be unable to use my gear if there's someone else doing FPV nearby.

ttabbal,

It's true there's only 1 legal frequency on 1.2, and there are only two legal frequencies on 2.4, which means you're gonna run into somebody eventually. It's already happened once down here when Scott flew past another plane he didn't know was in the area, and their video signals got swapped. He pretty much totalled his plane that day, it was a huge loss.

Might be a good idea to eventually have a frequency scanner and a secondary FPV setup on a different frequency. I'm contemplating investing in a 5.8ghz system as a backup in case I run into somebody on 2.4. Chances are though, if you run into somebody else on your frequency, you better have RTH capability or you're gonna lose your plane. There are enough of us in the state flying now that it's gonna become a problem.

I personally think we need to identify who in the area is flying on what frequencies and keep a frequency board like people did on 72mhz control.

I'm using 2.4 channel 2. So if you're down in Utah Valley area flying, be sure to either avoid that channel, or let me know if you're planning on flying on it in this area. I have RTH on my main plane, but not on my multirotor.

Hey Cory, Gabe,

I must have misplaced or left a small plastic zip bag and/with a container of hardware and an allen L-wrench. Did that land in any of your tool kits or cars? My tricopter is non-maintainable without that hardware collection.

-Steve

Was that the bag with the zipties in it?
If so I'm fairly certain I left it in your box, but I will go through my gear an check all the same.
-Cory

Thanks Cory.

I still have not found the bag. More details: It was a 3 by 4 inch zip-lock back, inside is a few loose screws and standoffs, and a snap-packet of hardware and the Allen key wrench thing. Probably left it in the engine compartment of my Explorer, hence, long gone on the road. Or, I dropped it near someone's kit when we were fixing Gabe's SMA connector. Now everything is turning to mush in terms of memory,.... must... find... it! Ah!

Thanks,

-Steve

A couple of FPV videos for you guys! These aren't my usual high-end scenic videos, but should still garner a few smiles.

ROLLER COASTER + RIDES at LAGOON 2012- GoPro HD (7 min 1 sec)

MultiRotor Desert Terrain Exploration - Flown with Dragonlink UHF (6 min 13 sec)

Todd,

Are you still using the NAZA?

Yeah. It's okay, but not perfect. Holds altitude well, but flies weird. Just really has a mind of it's own.

I have been looking at it very seriously.


You have me backed up now...


could you be a little more specific, and would you recommend it?

I can't get my Naza to fly the way you expect it to. It has two modes, ATTI which is attitude hold mode, and the sport flying mode. Sport flying mode is extremely sensitive, I can't get it to fly stable.

Atti mode is SO stable that you can't fly without it trying to counter your flight choices. If I start flying forward, it'll let me do it for a while, but it will gradually try to level out. So after about 20 seconds, even though I have my pitch stick jammed all the way forward, it will level out and stop flying forward altogether. It's retarded. So when I let my stick off and let it go to center, the quad suddenly jumps backwards for a ways and then levels out gradually.

It's messed up.

So for just hovering and gradually moving around stuff, it flies great. But if you really want to get out and have fun flying, it's not the controller I'd recommend.

I finally got my hands on an Open Pilot Copter Control board, I'm gonna try that next.