FPV Helmet progress

[XH558]

The diddy little screen arrived from China - so tonight was a first crack at thinking how it';ll fit in the welding helmet ....

Pretty pleased with it so far .... I started by making a 6" tunnel - then realised that my glasses are 3" away from the front of the moulded aperture in the helmet what with the curve of the helmet... so the tunnel has been cut down to approx 3.5"

This makes it stick out less - and less heavy as a result.

Sides are 3mm ply - bolted through the helmet then 1/16th balsa top and bottom to form the tunnel..... I shall probably then make a second 1/8th balsa tunnel inside the helmet to get the tunnel shape nearer my eyes/glasses to cut more light out - although it';s pretty good already.

Mounting the RX and battery on the helmet is going to be dead easy as the plastic is well thick enough to bolt to anywhere for velcro straps or cable ties.

I think this will be spot on when sealed with filler and finished inside and out in black ....

[laters]

Looking good.
Ive just been dry running my goggles kit here as my screen arrived this morning.
Not sure if I should have gone down the welding mask route that you have taken.
I will get the foam bits glued to the motocross goggles and see if that improves them.

[XH558]

Pretty much finished now - just waiting for the TX/RX from China before I can wire up.

No weight to it and it';s very solid and strong.

Pretty pleased with it - I think it';s going to be fine 

Not going to bother with an internal tunnel extension - I think it just needs some black cloth adding to the top of the helmet that just hangs loosely over my head ....similar to an old fashioned camera.

[MOFO64]

Nice one, looks sound.

Ghetto mods FTW 

[XH558]

Camera arrived ... jury rigged it to the helmet and it seems I do need to add a fresnel lens as the image was slightly blurred with my glasses ... so I cut the fresnel lens I had down to size and put it in the cut out where the welding lens would have been and now it';s absolutely spot on .... brilliant...

It WILL need something over the top of the helmet to reduce light incursion - but as I';ve said previously a small piece of black cloth will do that fine.

Now waiting on the TX/RX 

[laters]

Looking good, my camera arrived from china the other day & I was messing around with the camera/screen/goggles setup and was surprised by how close the fresnel lens has to be to the front of the goggles to get the focus right. As yourself Ive got my specs on too so that could be coming into it too.

Can t wait for the video tx/rx from china but should be here soon as camera was ordered same day.

[XH558]

Who needs FatSharks 

TX/RX arrived and with the help of Teslahed';s idiot guide to wiring it up I managed it first time and it';s friggin brilliant 

Added those nice egg whisk antennas I got from Gav 

The great thing about the helmet plastic is that you can drill it easily so attaching stuff was a doddle ....

It';s MUCH better than I ever imagined ... looking forward to getting it on my QAV500 clone ...

Parts for the quad build are arriving daily .... aluminium arms arrived today.... just need to start cutting out the ply plates and figuring out attachment of everything..

[nub]

lol i';d get some mad looks wearing that down at the field hehe

looks good though and will do the job which is main thing :)

[XH558]

lol i';d get some mad looks wearing that down at the field hehe

looks good though and will do the job which is main thing :)

Fortunately I have no field to go down to .... and at my age I don';t give a sh*t what I look like 

[Ross]

Good work.

  (Should frighten the kids!)

[teslahed]

Your FPV setup looks very impressive - i think i may have to redo mine having seen yours as it does look like a good way of doing it. I might stick with the helmet for comfort but i think i will rebuild myself a better tunnel similar to yours and see if i can put a slightly larger screen in it.

The other good bit of news; i think you';ve got the same screen as me. It doesn';t bluescreen - it shows static - which is very good for fpv.

[bunnygirl80]

You have to keep your trademark box instead of the black cloth. It just wouldn';t be the same if you had a welding hat! 

[teslahed]

I have made this topic sticky because it';s the best example of someone building a relatively cheap FPV helmet we have on the forum at the moment 

It';s not hard to do something like this;



But i';m not going to try and produce my own ';how to'; guide until i';ve neatened mine up a bit

[ericb]

This does look like a good idea for the not so fashion conscious. I stuck my Galaxy note in front of me and likewise wear glasses, and struggled to get focus. Just off to check ebay for a lens.

I also feel that you should stamp something of your own identity on the project, so who will be first ? And they must sell Cybermen welding helmets surely ?

Eric

Welding helmet has arrived and I';ve found this : http://www.goodluckbuy.com/5-8g-7inch-8ch-tft-color-monitor-hd-built-in-lipo-battery-1s-3-7v-for-fpv-aerial-photography.html

[XH558]

This does look like a good idea for the not so fashion conscious.

MMmm now let me think ... cheap as chips versus fashion conscious  ..... cheap as chips versus fashion conscious  .... cheap as chi...  nah you can keep your exorbitantly expensive designer sunglasses  ... I don';t give a monkeys about fashion / image  ... cheap as chips gets it EVERY time 

PS thanks Teslahed for making this a sticky ... well chuffed I can contribute something worthwhile ...

[teslahed]

I recently had the chance to compare my new FPV helmet with the Fat sharks that other people are using.

Fat sharks are more portable and a lot lighter. Very good if you have to walk half way up a hill before you fly.

However, i was getting better quality video with my screen (in my opinion) than i was with other peoples fat sharks. As long as you pick a screen that does at least 640x480 so you are not losing detail on the ground you can get a very good picture this way.

I found the fat sharks looked dimmer, more blurry (harder to make out the OSD detail) and gave me more eyestrain.

Personal preference is definitely a factor but don';t discount the cheap option just because it';s cheap!

http://www.multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=3790.0

Link to my latest FPV helmet. The build is still quite rough and ready (large amounts of duct tape) but it';s pretty comfortable to wear and i can see fine.

[ericb]

Inspired by the helmet projects and seeing Chris on Saturday, I thought I would get it done. Probably wont get a shot till the weekend but it';s ready. Now if only I could fly like Teslahed  :embarrassed

[XH558]

Now there';s a modification I never thought of .... I added my RX / battery / aerial on the sloping side of the helmet and missed the nice flat bit I';d made on the top of the screen box at the front ....  well thought out that   

[teslahed]

Inspired by the helmet projects and seeing Chris on Saturday

That looks great. I had to put a lot of weight in the back of my FPV helmet to counterbalance the screen at the front - even with a 4500mAh 3 cell powering the whole thing also right at the back. Has yours balanced ok? Those welding helmets with the strap at the back look like they might support more weight at the front more easily than a regular helmet - how do you find them?

[ericb]

The only thing is it dips down with the weight. It';s only plastic ( £8.40 on ebay ) but I had thought of maybe a bit of foam at the bottom to keep it out. It only weighs 900 grams, so feels ok. Its only a reversing monitor for a car. but was £14, yours will be the next monitor or even this which sorts everything out really.

http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/video-goggles-screens/7-screen-with-built-in-diversityto

or the chinese one

http://www.goodluckbuy.com/5-8g-7inch-8ch-tft-color-monitor-hd-built-in-lipo-battery-1s-3-7v-for-fpv-aerial-photography.html

worth a pop at £60

[teslahed]

I wonder how the range of those screens with the built in receivers compares with the separate dedicated systems. I would definitely double check that before buying one. I have a feeling it may not be as good but i am really not sure.

[dazza22]

as anybody tried 1 of these ?  http://www.flyingwings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=57&product_id=382

looks interesting ..

[teslahed]

I tried one but found the screen size too small for my liking without using the fresnel lense and the lense lowered the quality too much when i used that. Which is why i went up a screen size and made my own.

[teslahed]

I used that in my mark 2 FPV helmet. It works fine but i prefer a bigger screen with more separation distance and no lense than the smaller setup close to your face flyingwings have gone for.

[rokit5]

I found the fat sharks looked dimmer, more blurry (harder to make out the OSD detail) and gave me more eyestrain.

There is a few factors that may have been overlooked regarding the fat sharks especially when it comes to Blurry and eye strain...
Does the owner of the fat shark wear glasses and does he use the lens pack as an addition to each eye piece?
What';s your glasses Rx, -3 to -4 diptres? Then you have the effects of your astigmatisms as well, this would make a big difference. As for brightness, maybe a mod is in order.

[Hands0n]

Brightness and Contrast are adjustable on the Fat Shark goggles.  I didn';t know this when I first used mine and the image was very dark indeed.  Having read the brief manual I found the button and since then have no trouble with that particular aspect.

Regarding focus and astigmatism - I do have astigmatism in my right eye, and at this age have long vision that has to be correct with prescription glasses.  However, very strange, I do not need correction in the Attitudes, I can resolve the GoPro OSD information clearly, also the FPV image itself.

One thing about the diopter correction lenses - on the Attitudes at least, you have to remove the UV protection permanently, exposing the LCDs to increased damage from the daylight. So be careful if you do that.

[DarkButterfly]

as anybody tried 1 of these ?  http://www.flyingwings.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=57&product_id=382

looks interesting ..

I use one of these, it works great.

I tried one but found the screen size too small for my liking without using the fresnel lense and the lense lowered the quality too much when i used that. Which is why i went up a screen size and made my own.

I hear what you';re saying about the quality issues,

yes it does lower quality somewhat due to the fresnel lens magnifying pixels, it';s all about finding the "sweet spot" with the lens, slide it back and forth until you are happy.

One other thing I found with these lenses is when they get a bit of dirt on the grooved side, they';re a bugger to clean.

[Mike00top]

MMmm now let me think ... cheap as chips versus fashion conscious  ..... cheap as chips versus fashion conscious  .... cheap as chi...  nah you can keep your exorbitantly expensive designer sunglasses  ... I don';t give a monkeys about fashion / image  ... cheap as chips gets it EVERY time 

PS thanks Teslahed for making this a sticky ... well chuffed I can contribute something worthwhile ...

What a Hoot !!!!   i love this,  it puts  fun into our hobby,   i guess you gotta be careful where you fly with this on, so as not to get arrested though !    LOL

[TBC15]

Another possibility

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RITECH-II-Head-Mount-Plastic-Version-VR-Virtual-Reality-Glasses-Magnet-Google-Cardboard-for-3-5/32312925459.html

[quadfather]

Another possibility

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/RITECH-II-Head-Mount-Plastic-Version-VR-Virtual-Reality-Glasses-Magnet-Google-Cardboard-for-3-5/32312925459.html

Isn';t that for 3D stuff like Google Cardboard?  Or does that work for normal video as well?

... slide it back and forth until you are happy.

Now, where did I hear that before?