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Minimal FPV Guide

Started by teslahed, Thursday,March 14, 2013, 12:34:14

Previous topic - Next topic

teslahed

I thought i would start a thread to try and describe the bare minimum setup needed to get FPV working.

SAFETY

READ THIS FIRST - FPV and the law http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=1379.0

And if all else fails; think in terms of common sense. Don';t fly over public roads. Don';t fly over members of the public. Don';t fly over people';s houses. Don';t fly over anything which, if your quadcopter were to fail for some unknown reason, you';d cause damage to. Even a smallish quadcopter falling from height could do some serious harm if you were unlucky enough and if you are flying 2kg + monster you could take out a whole crowd of people if things went really bad.

Quadcopters / multirotors can fail at any time for any reason. A small bead of moisture on the wrong electrical component (after flying through rain or cloud/fog) - a software error - a counter fit chip on one of the circuit boards randomly melting down. You might never discover the reason your pride and joy now consists of 1001 pieces and a small crater somewhere.

Don';t be ';that guy'; who ruins the fun for the rest of us by getting caught doing something stupid - or worse - injuring or killing someone.

In other words find yourself a nice big empty field - especially when starting out!

Quadcopter (multirotor)

I will start with the quadcopter. Obviously you want a working quadcopter that flies well, can carry a bit of extra payload, and which you are happy with and consider reliable. Learning to fly line of sight first is also very useful as whenever anything goes wrong flying FPV you will be dumped back to line of sight (if you are lucky, anyway).

If you intend to fly further than 100 meters from where you are standing, and especially if your quadcopter weighs more than a few hundred grams, you';ll want return to home. If you have a flight controller like the NAZA this should be simple enough to setup and - with failsafes properly programmed - should save you from disaster. I will not describe setting up the quad or flight controller any further as i will assume both these parts are properly setup from now on.

Finally you want to make sure you radio has enough range for where you are flying. If you have a 2.4ghz radio you will probably find you get almost a km line of sight, if you fly behind a small hill or large building you may get much less. Understanding your radio';s range will help you avoid losing your aircraft. The faster and more powerful your aircraft the sooner if will fly out of range so don';t start fpving with your fastest quad and cheapest radio!

[smg id=17]


Equipment on the Quadcopter


The quadcopter needs a camera, something to power the camera and something to transmit the signal from the camera to your receiver on the ground.

The camera

In terms of cameras you want to look for ';Wide Dynamic Range'; or ';WDR'; as this means you wont be blinded flying from dark to light conditions and vice versa. This camera is a good choice;

"600TVL SONY Super HAD CCD II D-WDR Mini FPV Camera 2.8mm Wide Angle Lens"

It has Wide Dynamic Range, A good field of view (90 degrees approx) and isn';t too pricey, relatively speaking. Also it runs off 12 volts which makes the wiring simpler. You can get cheaper cameras but you may not be able to see very well depending on lightning conditions.



Low pass filter

To power the camera you can take 12 volts from your main battery using your power distribution board or whatever handy solder points are nearest. But your power is noisy - all those high frequency motors / speed controllers etc. This noise will reduce your video quality and range so you need a low pass filter. A low pass filter just filters out the high frequency noise in between the camera and video transmitter, and the rest of the quadcopter - so you want 12 volts going in to the low pass filter and all your video gear running off the output from that;



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26246__L_C_Power_Filter_for_FPV_A_V_Systems.html

If you are handy with simple electronics you can make one yourself easily enough and save a couple of quid - it';s a simple capacitor and inductor filter circuit;

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=2985.msg23898#msg23898


Video Transmitter


Finally you need something to transmit the signal. You can buy a variety of different brands of transmitters and receivers - not all of which are cross compatible - so i will focus on the cheap generic stuff.

I am using 5.8ghz for my video signal. There is lots of 5.8ghz video equipment available now and it doesn';t interfere with 2.4ghz on your controller. If you want to run video at 2.4ghz you will need a different controller frequency.



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__27145__TS353_5_8G_400mW_FPV_Transmitter.html

Within 5.8ghz there are a variety of standards. You need to look for;

QuoteChannels
5.8G : 5705,5865,5665,5645,5885,5905,5925,5945MHZ

where 5705, 5865 etc are the individual channels the transmitter and receiver cover. If you buy these separately you need to check that at least some of the listed frequencies match up. There will be jumpers (or buttons on the posh stuff) that let you adjust the frequencies between the various different available options on the transmitter and receiver you bought.

I am using an RC305 transmitter and receiver that i bought as a set;



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__15295__5_8g_200mw_FPV_Wireless_AV_Tx_Rx_Set.html

http://www.foxtechfpv.com/fpv-equipments-58g-fpv-video-equipment-c-70_76.html (these guys also have a good selection)

You may make life easier if you buy them as a set because at least you know the frequencies will match. But you may have more choice in terms of high power transmitters and more sensitive receivers if you buy the transmitter and receiver separately.

Wiring

So on your quadcopter you now have a camera, a transmitter for the video signal and a low pass filter between the camera and transmitter and your main 12 volts supply. They should be wired up like this;



And for novelty value - here is all the wiring, including FPV gear, taken off one of my quads after a bad crash destroyed the frame but left everything else intact. The low pass filter is on the right, the Camera on top of the small square plate and the receiver is unfortunately hidden underneath - you can see the aerial poking out;

[smg id=196]

Equipment on the Ground

On the ground you will need a receiver, something to display the video signal on and another 12 volt battery to power it all.

Receiver

If you bought your video transmitter and receiver as part of a set this should be fairly straight forward. You will need a 5.8ghz receiver that covers the same channels as your transmitter.

I am using the RC305 receiver unit;



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__15415__RC305_5_8G_8_Channel_AV_Receiver.html

which runs off of 12 volts and covers the same channels as my transmitter.

If i was buying again i would get a receiver with diversity. It lets you plug in two aerials and will take the signal from whichever is getting the strongest signal giving better reception and range, depending on the aerials you choose;



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__27778__5_8GHz_8CH_Diversity_A_V_Receiver_w_Dual_Output.html

Display

You will need something to display the video signal with. If you can afford them you want to look at ';fatshark'; video goggles. If you are using generic cheap transmitters and receivers you will want to get the Base SD fat sharks (probably) as these don';t have a built in receiver of their own (which uses different channels);



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=33475

Alternatively you can use a small screen bought from somewhere like ebay for £20 or so;





http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140949217415?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

The only thing to be aware of is that some screens go to a blue screen image when they receive static - because they think it looks nicer or something. When flying FPV this would be disasterous as you want to see any static, you don';t want your partial image changing to blue when you still have enough visibility to turn your aircraft round and bring it back home otherwise!

If you can get a screen that does at least 640x480 you will get maximum video quality. Most FPV cameras transmit at about this resolution so if you get a lower res screen you will lose quality on the ground.

Some more discussion of various screen options in these threads;

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=3278.0

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=3768.0

Wiring

Both your receiver and your display will require a 12 volt input. I use an old large capacity 3 cell lipo for this with an appropriate 2 way splitter for the power cables.

Your receiver will have a video input cable - your display will have a video output cable. You need to wire the two together.



Building an FPV helmet

And finally, you';ll want to build some kind of contraption to hold the receiver up high and the screen in front of your eyes - preferably with a visor to mask the display from glare from the sun. In keeping with the minimal theme i used an old helmet. I';ve stuck the video receiver on the top with the aerial pointing upwards for maximum reception and i';ve used some scrap fibreglass poles to construct a ';tunnel'; which I';ve fitted the screen into the end of. Some people prefer fat shark style video goggles as they give a more immersive experience. I have had a chance to try both fatshark goggles and my own FPV helmet with the screen and i have found i prefer the screen - i get a better picture quality from it. Personal preference is a factor here but if you wear glasses you may find a screen is easier to use.




(picture taken before i added the side flaps to help glare the screen)


(first attempt at attaching the screen to my controller - wasn';t easy to use)

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=3790.0 (my latest FPV helmet project)

As an alternative suggestion which i have not tried for myself, a ';LASER Flip Lens Welding Helmet'; (found on ebay) might also work well for this in a similar way to my helmet and save a bit of work construction the glare shield;



Here is one of the better example on the forum of someone (XH558!) who';s gone down this route;

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=2357.0

Job done!



One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

teslahed

#1
Things not yet covered;

On Screen Displays (OSDs)

these go in between your camera and your video transmitter on your quadcopter and put extra information into the video feed. Stuff like a timer, volts left in your main battery, total mAh consumed, even GPS coordinates and headup displays on the more sophisticated ones. Bare minimum is a timer and voltage remaining - this gives you enough warning to turn around and come back home before your main battery dies and your quad falls from the sky. Without one of these you want to estimate your battery life, then half it, and fly with that - and it';s still risky.



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__19369__Super_Simple_Mini_OSD.html

Aerials / Antennas

The basic aerials that come with your video transmitter and receiver are not likely to be great. You can improve performance around small obstacles using a cloverleaf (or Circular Polarized spiroNet) antenna and you can improve range over straight lines using a panel antenna. 



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__541__543__FPV_Telemetry-Antennas_Cable.html

Hobbyking do the cheapest suitable antennas (scan down to the bottom of the page). The performance is great, amazing compared to the standard none circular polarised aerials that come with most FPV transmitters and receivers (they are simply not worth using) and much cheaper than these things used to be. I stunt fly with these aerials all the time and don';t worry too much about damaging them in a crash because of the price.

Gav (a member of the forum) does the best FPV antennas that i';ve tried. They cost a bit more but once you aren';t crashing every other flight and want a bit more range and performance - they are worth it!



http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=3871.0



One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

neagron

 :thankyou:   Chris,thank you for takeing the time to write that,its cheaper than I thought,and youve made it look easy.Marty. :scotland:

XH558

Yet to plough through it all - but I PM';d him and asked him for some guidance on entering FPV on a slim budget and how does it all work/fit together ... and here';s the result  ~~

Thanks   :notworthy: :notworthy:
David :)
[url="//www.mh434.com"]www.mh434.com[/url]
[url="//www.lincsaviation.co.uk/news/lancaster-nx611-return-to-flight/"]www.lincsaviation.co.uk/news/lancaster-nx611-return-to-flight/[/url]

teslahed

Now updated with extra pictures and a bit more info. I will expand the section on OSDs and improved antenna at some point in the near future but i don';t want to get bogged down in too much detail - it is supposed to be a ';bare minimum'; guide.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

robshaw

Brilliant guide. Although I';ve already bought my kit, still an enjoyable read and picked up some good advice. Thank you.
Tunrnigy Talon Tri, TBS Discovery, TBS Discovery PRO, Spnky 250 Mini, EZUHF, EZOSD

Gaza07

A very good guide Chris well done  ~~
[url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN6zN99iLCIJea5FCQPKf_g"]YouTube[/url]   [url="https://www.printing-3d.co.uk"]printing-3d[/url]  [url="https://www.thingiverse.com/Gaza07/about"]Thingiverse[/url]  [url="https://www.3d-printworx.co.uk"]3d-printworx[/url]

firey1

Great guide   :beer2:  almost exactly the same as i have setup
I bought a transmitter tray for mine that mounts the 7 inch screen and VRX and i run them off a 9.9 life battery
will take some pics tonight all going well of my complete kit

Mike
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

bunnygirl80

Hi Chris,

As promised, I';ve had a read and well done. 10/10 your sbelling is correct!

Stef  :eating:
Always smile because you never know who could be falling in love with it. :) Drone Operator in North Wales. [url="//www.aerialworx.co.uk"]www.aerialworx.co.uk[/url]

firey1

this is my quad setup along the lines of your list only difference i have is instead of fatshark goggles im using video glasses
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Electronic_Gadgets/Cool_Gadgets/4_GB_Portable_Video_Glasses_with_AV_function


i did have the minim osd but that has decided to have a hissy fit and stop working
i do have the cyclops osd i was going to put into my 185 cessna for fpv but may use it on the quad for awhile
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

teslahed

Very nice, thanks for posting.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

Ross

Just the job for newbies..:beer2:
Let';s not forget the safety and the CAA rules in our enthusiasm though!
Let's be careful out there.
SAFETY is.. NO accident.

teslahed

Good point - i will insert the link at the top of the page in red / bold.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

Ross

Thanks for that.  ~~

Too many people think rules are not for them.... :rolleyes:
Let's be careful out there.
SAFETY is.. NO accident.

dp106

Isn';t the video tx you recommend illegal in the UK without a radio licence??

teslahed

I don';t know. I would certainly recommend people check the laws wherever they happen to live before purchasing any radio gear.

Do you have any more info on what is / isn';t allowed in the UK. I will add it to the original post once i have more detail.
One circlip short of a quadcopter.
 1 lobe short of an antenna.

dp106

Quote from: teslahed on Friday,March 15, 2013, 20:10:50
I don';t know. I would certainly recommend people check the laws wherever they happen to live before purchasing any radio gear.

Do you have any more info on what is / isn';t allowed in the UK. I will add it to the original post once i have more detail.
Can';t remember where I found it but I';m sure I';ve seen the maximum you are allowed is 25mW.

firey1

just one thing i found on the 305 VRX is that using 12v supply it gets really hot the specs say it can run on 5v-12v  im finding that the 9.9 life battery is a good compromise as the 305 tends to stay cooler and for connection im using
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=23133 makes life alot simpler for connecting  i use the same on the quad for connecting the video TX to main battery and seem to be getting good clear video without the filter
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

firey1

#18
Gutted  :cry after some fun flying yesterday(first time using video glasses ) I was working on the quad last night trying to get the minim osd working   plugged in the video TX  and must have blown something on it have the red light showing power but no power feed going to camera from it  :-/

so ordered a new one and an hour later had a brain wave of powering the camera through a y harness and hey presto back up and running now i will end up with a spare  :rofl:
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

juanchilo

What does thw mw mean on the transmitter? I guess what am getting at is how can you tell the range?

firey1

M.W = milliwatts of power
theoretical distance on 200mw video TX is 2 kilometres but reality about 1-1.5 in good conditions unless you use better aerials to help increase distance
but in saying that the higher the MW does not equate to doubling the distance but more say punching power to get around  objects doubling the MW = about 30% increase in distance

this is based on the gig hertz freq
im not sure on the UHF versions
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

jimbo385

Hi,

This article is very informative!  ~~

I went and bought this on Ebay and wondered if it will do for FPV.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221213959815?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Cheers.
F450 Clone KK2.0 General Batting around!

FPV550 KK2.0 FPV No gear on it yet!

DJI F350 Naza Lite Naza Experience

FPV 250 With RCTimer Power kit. Pocket Rocket!

Wishlist - Tarot FY680 Pro

Riggsbie

Quote from: firey1 on Friday,March 15, 2013, 04:06:04
this is my quad setup along the lines of your list only difference i have is instead of fatshark goggles im using video glasses
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Electronic_Gadgets/Cool_Gadgets/4_GB_Portable_Video_Glasses_with_AV_function


How do these video glasses work ?  Is the video feed overlaid on what you can actually see ?

Sounds like an interesting concept.......does it reduce the motion sickness feeling ?  Are they good in really bright light ?

Thanks

Paul

firey1

hi paul

the video receiver plugs into the glasses through the rca plug and system acts just like the usual fpv goggles

they come with a rubber surround to help keep out light or without and you can look over the top if needed ( i fly alone so very handy for checking before landing )
i have worn them on sunny summer days with no problems 
MIKE

550 RC Spider quad for FPV
550 Alien quad (my sons now)
F450 quad
450 size bell 212, MD500,Augusta 109
600 size Huey running apm 2.5  3 planes  Taranis and 9xr  radios Skyzone FPV goggles

Riggsbie

Ah......sounded like they projected the FPV feed onto the real world.....boo hoo :-(

Gary


wmsfootball28

This is a great guide, thanks!

wobblybob

Great post .
I';m a tight bugger and do it all on the cheap . Just in the process of upgrading the screen on my V1 Quanums .
Found this on bangood .

http://www.banggood.com/Blue-Sky-5-Inch-HD-Digital-Panel-Display-800x480-Snowflakes-Screen-p-970382.html
No blue screen and my VRX cost £12 VTX £15
.
A decent cam under a tenner for a Sony CCD with effio chip
.
http://www.banggood.com/SONY-DC12V-800TVL-13-Inch-960H-2_1mm-Lens-Wide-Angle-CCD-HD-Camera-For-FPV-Multicopter-p-1015547.html
My quad cost under a ton. Fly s why beyond my capabilities after only  a years RC experience under my belt .
[attach=1]
Iv';e probably fried cracked and lost each one of the components in that time  :laugh: .
But at a tenner a throw I can live n learn without spending a fortune .
It can be done and enjoyed without having to hide the paypal account from the other half  :beer2:
Alien frame,Emax 2213 935 KV motors Emax 30amp ESC,AMP2.7,X8R Rx,