Just been looking around for a Slope combat toy and found this:
http://www.flyingwings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=57&product_id=382
I like the approach and the cost, hmmm st some time in the future  :evil 

That looks very interesting. I';m tempted to give it a go myself...

I wonder if i would get better video quality with a smaller screen at 640x480 than i';m getting with my current setup running at half of that with the helmet and without the lens.

A good cheap way of bringing along an FPV passenger too.

Well i was convinced - I';ve just bought myself the foam housing and lens it comes with.

I will have to order a new screen as well - my current one doesn';t even manage 640x480 - but i will probably try it with what i have to start with.

Quote from: teslahed on Saturday,April 13, 2013, 15:53:52
Well i was convinced - I';ve just bought myself the foam housing and lens it comes with.

I will have to order a new screen as well - my current one doesn';t even manage 640x480 - but i will probably try it with what i have to start with.

Have to admit I thought of you when I saw it - looks like a really good solution if you want to keep costs down. Will watch with a great deal of interest!

Chris, I don';t know if you went to the thread linked to in the ad, but on the last page someone mated the housing to some ski goggles

I did spot that, thanks Biffa. I think I';ve got some old ski goggles somewhere so i will be doing something similar.

Now i just need to track down a 3.5 inch screen that does 640x480 and doesn';t blue screen on signal loss. 

Quote from: teslahed on Saturday,April 13, 2013, 16:42:03 Now i just need to track down a 3.5 inch screen that does 640x480 and doesn';t blue screen on signal loss.

That appears to be the Holy Grail

As for the bluescreen problem, could one not cheat the monitor into never knowing the signal is lost?
Maybe plugging in an OSD on the ground end, something that would keep a signal going regardless of what the receiver is outputting.
The code for something like this: http://www.multiwii.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1498 could maybe be stripped down to just keeping the signal going and used on a barebone arduino + LM1881 .

That';s not a bad suggestion - i wonder if i could use something like the super simple OSD that displays just a voltage and timer in between the receiver and the monitor. It could actually be quite useful as it would display the ground side lipo voltage if i did it right.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16662__HobbyKing_E_OSD.html

Oh, I forgot about those. I actually have (a burnt out) one somewhere.

This looks interesting, maybe some one here can give a short review?

Just ordered one of these myself to give it a try.
Cant go wrong for the price & hope I managed to get my order in before they went out of stock.

Quote from: laters on Saturday,April 13, 2013, 19:37:04
Just ordered one of these myself to give it a try.
Cant go wrong for the price & hope I managed to get my order in before they went out of stock.

lol - me too now. I am sure it was in stock when i ordered - i can only hope their inventory system is accurate.

Lol that';s a bargain.  Look forward to your test review.   I think it will work well for you Chris , because you';re used to your fpv helmet.  You';ll love the total light block out,  giving total immersive fpv.

I';m not sure what the "blue screen" problem is.
I bought some 4.3" screens (7 usd) with double inputs; the low prio is a camera on top of the TX;
the high prio is the FPV.  Don';t snap your neck when they switch from one t';other.
They make 1/2 width double screens the size of a large rear-vis mirror for about 70 usd
if you want to hook up a 3d viewer. They also have double inputs to feed in a low-prio pic.

The blue screen problem is that some of these screens do not show static. They default to a blue screen when they receive no signal because the think it looks nicer.

When fpving this is a disaster as it means when your signal starts to go the screen may just turn itself off and show you blue instead of showing you the partial image with static. A partial image with static can still be good enough to turn around and fly back home - a blue screen isn';t.

QuoteI bought some 4.3" screens (7 usd) with double inputs; the low prio is a camera on top of the TX;
the high prio is the FPV.  Don';t snap your neck when they switch from one t';other.
They make 1/2 width double screens the size of a large rear-vis mirror for about 70 usd
if you want to hook up a 3d viewer. They also have double inputs to feed in a low-prio pic.

This sounds interesting but I';m not entirely sure i understand what you are saying?

What am I saying?
With 2 inputs -- as these things all seem to have -- you either see av1 if there';s a signal there; or you see av2.
So if av1 is the fpv then make av2 the "failsafe" los (2x mag maybe) camera. Unless you';re facing the other
way then you at least see the quad instead of a blank screen.
Was that the unclear part?

Yes i hadn';t considered using a failsafe camera to simulate line of sight for situations when the FPV camera fails.

That';s mostly because i fly with an FPV helmet where i can easily look passed the screen and still see the outside world when i need to.

If i was flying with goggles and the FPV camera failed i would likely knock them off my eyes so they fell down around me neck and just look. I can';t imagine having a camera attached to my helmet or head would work better or more reliably for this kind of thing than just using my eyes.

Have you found using a line of sight camera easier or better in these circumstances than your eyes would be?

When i fly FPV i don';t face my quadcopter - I would find it quite tricky to track the quadcopter whilst also paying attention to the FPV screen. I think that would break the immersion of the experience. If i was using a directional antenna without tracking i might be in the habit of tracking manually with my head whilst flying, but i';m not.

Hey guys, I had this idea a few weeks back after my first FPV flight. I made my shroud from cardboard though then covered it with black insulating tape.

You gotta love ghetto mods :)

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24518191&postcount=2164

Looks like a good idea   

My fpv rig is not so easy to flip up out of the way. Beside a little screen glued to the top of the TX  I';m using some cheap PRC 3d goggles and if you move too fast various pieces end up on the ground or underfoot.

At present fpv flying is not strictly legal in Australia. I like to show the nice folks that may turn up when someone is standing in an open field with something buzzing around overhead I am really flying los, and maybe looking through the camera on the aircraft with just one eye.  :)

Either that, or you need a trustworthy-looking mate next to you. According to the regs now the one with the con needs the los; the other guy can watch the nose camera.

Pointing in the direction of the model has the advantage of signal boosting the small panels I';ve hacked on for the TX and downlink. Again, I may be nudging legals because we';re limited to ~ 30 dbms in both 2.4 and 5.8. 5.8 only was recently covered by a class license; some time back (perhaps in an era when I was using imported equipment anyway -- I';m not saying)  it was not strictly allowed.

Anybody who ordered the goggle kit heard anything?
I got a email on Monday late afternoon saying the order has changed to processing then nothing.

Maybe I am being a bit impatient

I can feel myself getting sucked in to this FPV lark ... I haven';t got the money but I am desperate to try the idea I had of a welding mask ....


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LASER-Flip-Lens-Welding-Helmet-Mask-Visor-For-Welders-/390233377000?pt=UK_BOI_ProtectiveGear_RL&hash=item5adbb8c8e8

1) I think it has advantages over skiing goggles in that it will have a head band and will be tilt-able upwards when not needed or not in use quickly and easily (unlike goggles) - it rotates around that knurled nut on the side.
2) I can see the smoked lens housing for welding being easily removed and extended or changed to hold an LCD screen.
3) The weight of the lens housing would be supported by the mask head band not by elasticated straps.
4) It has a good ';wrap around'; to darken the peripheral vision areas.
5) The space under the lens housing can be trimmed off to stop breath from clouding inside the mask - or even drilled with holes for the same effect.

I';m going to order one and try it with a screen -  if it works like I think it will  I';ll buy the TX/RX and have a pop at FPV - even though I originally said I wouldn';t ... but the call of the fettling needed is too strong to resist.

I know one thing - I am NOT buying Fat Sharks - If I can';t fettle something on the cheap I';m not doing it at all 

I think you will find that with a welding mask unless you do something to space the screen off it will be way too close; not beyond sorting out but inconvenient.

Yes - sussed that - so aim to take out the welding lens and build a ';tunnel'; of some kind from the aperture similar to the ski goggles thing.... ply is my building material of choice - it doesn';t need to be foam as the mask will be stronger than goggles I think.

What do people think the optimum distance from the eyes is for the screen  ???

I remember toying with this idea before, I used my mobile to see how far it needed to be away from me before I could focus and it was around 6 inches or so.

Well my mum always told me that if I sit to close to the tv I would go blind 

QuoteWhat do people think the optimum distance from the eyes is for the screen  ???

Already blind for some other obscure reason - can';t remember what 

I have now found a cheap as chips welding helmet with no lenses and a spot on aperture ready made for a tunnel and screen https://www.cromwell.co.uk/KEN8857160K


Eat your heart out Fat Shark  (if it works  )

My goggles kit arrived today.
Dry assembled it with some tape to try it out. Only screen I have at the moment of the right size just happens to be my satnav.
Coupled together with some £5 motocross goggles from ebay the kit and lens to focus seems to work quite well.

Need to find myself a screen now before I start the build for real.