Category Archives: FPV

FPV, FPV Components, FPV Ground station, FPV Howto

Creating a 12v distribution hub for FPV components

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Making a simple power distribution hub is easy.  However, to make sure things will work and not result to magic smoke, make sure that:

  1. All electronics that will be used for this must have the same voltage (e.g. all 12v or all 5v)
  2. You MUST know the maximum power draw in Amps of all the components that may or will be connected to this hub.  Refer to your electronics documentation to get the maximum amp draw and add them all up.

Next, prepare the materials:

  1. Get a UBEC suitable for a) the voltage and b) the maximum Amp draw of all your components.  In this example, I’m making a power distribution for my portable FPV ground station which is attached to my transmitter.  My components consists of a 7″ LCD, the AV receiver and (soon!) an EzUHF LRS transmitter.. all of which draws a maximum of 1.8A. This means a 2.5A UBEC at a minimum should be enough (it wont hurt if we get something with a higher Amp output).  This 12v 2.5A UBEC from HK is adequate for my purpose.
  2. A male XT60 or Deans plug, a servo extension (this is optional in case you dont want to hardwire distribution plugs to the UBEC) and several female JST cables. Of course this assumes that all your components will have JST male power plugs as well =)   Anyway, here’s the materials prior to assembly:
L to R: male XT60 (to connect to LiPO batt), UBEC, (optional) extension cable and then the JST female plugs.
L to R: male XT60 (to connect to LiPO batt), UBEC, (optional) extension cable and then the JST female plugs.

Finally, solder them all together making sure that the positive wires are connected to the correct connectors otherwise.. poof!  Ok here’s the end product:

Custom made 12v 2.5A power distribution. Need a bigger Amp? simply unplug the servo extension and replace the UBEC.
Custom made 12v 2.5A power distribution. Need a bigger Amp? simply unplug the servo extension and replace the UBEC.  Note that I added an extension between the XT60 plug and the UBEC, the longer wire means more flexibility for my application.

Make sure to use heat shrink tubing to insulate soldered connections.

FPV, FPV Components, FPV Howto, FPV Transmitter

Mounting a 2W FPV Video Transmitter

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My FPV kit arrived about a week ago, having opted to get the (relatively) humongous 2W transmitter (at 180g) and which does not have any mounting to speak of.. what you get is an aluminum heat sink and perforated steel sheet casing at the bottom.

20130809_125511

Some folks insert steel clamps at the bottom, whatever those are they must really be small and almost impossible to find anywhere.  My solution was make a custom mounting made out of PVC sheet using good ‘ol used phone cards (or credit cards).  The first thing to that needs to be done is to take the screws off the the fan (dont worry they’re pretty much securely screwed in the aluminum heat sink):

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The next step is to cut out some kind of base from the phone card, this will be attached and screwed on top of the fan.  Dont worry the screws are long enough for a good secure fit.  Here’s the end result:

I purposedly looped the leading end to leave space for the fan intake.
I purposedly looped the right end to leave space for the fan intake.
The custom mounting installed.. the lowered segments is where I'm going to attach velcros.
The custom mounting installed.. the lowered segments is where I’m going to attach velcros.
perforations for more air
perforations for more air
Transmitter as mounted.
Transmitter as mounted.

Now this transmitter is ready to be mounted anywhere!

FPV

FPV Kit finally arrives!

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Ordered my FPV setup from AliExpress, the all made-in-china-everthings-here portal, and decided to go with the following setup:

  1. Go for a 5.8Ghz system (so as not to affect 2.4Ghz RC systems)
  2. Bit the bullet, and what the heck, might as well get a 2W transmitter which promises range from here to the moon (not!) with a 2 AV out port on the receiver end.  Getting the “5.8G FPV 2W 12 Ch 2000mW Wireless Audio Video Transmitter AV Sender+ RC5808 Receiver Kit” seems to fit the bill.  This set me back USD 105.00.
  3. Get a high TVL CCD mini camera.  For this I got the “700TVL Sony CCD OSD control Menu Megapixels 3.6MM lens mini camera FPV camera light Wide View Angle Lens“.   Note, make sure to check the suppliers main site as occasionally they may have promotions which is not seen when you simply get to the product via the search tool.  In my case, immediately after I made my purchase I noticed that the suppliers main page (just click on the store name) had a promotion where they’ll include a free lens for every camera purchase.  After I pointed this out to the supplier they agreed to throw in the free lens (I requested for a 2.8mm for a wider FOV).  This costs USD70.

Total shipping costs for both is about $40.

So the kits are finally here.  Here’s whats in the box for the 2W 5.8Ghz system:

L to R: Users Manual, Transmitter, Power and Camera Cables, Rx Antenna, Receiver, Power Cable and AV Cables
L to R: Users Manual, Transmitter, Power and Camera Cables, Rx Antenna, Receiver, Power Cable and AV Cables

The TX/RX ‘almost’ arrived as advertised.. right now I have no way of knowing, short of plugging the TX to a spectrum analyzer if its really throwing out 2W of power other than that at first glance, it seems the kit items are complete, and then I noticed that the RX only has one AV out port and I specifically ordered the set because of the 2 AV out ports.. a quick email to the supplier and they responded that the one they sent was the ‘new version’ and that the new receiver has a ‘higher receiving power’. $%#$%!

The camera kit  (from a different supplier) also seems complete:

L to R: OSD cable, assorted screws and spare connectors, AV plug, spare lens and Camera
L to R: OSD cable, assorted screws and spare connectors, AV plug, spare lens and Camera

..that is until I verified with the product page which shows that the tiny spare connectors should have had wires stuck into them already.. @#$!! anyway, for these prices,  I really have nothing much to complain… ok I’m still pissed at the single AV out.

 

FPV, Gopro 3, Hitec Skyscout, UP Diliman

Flying and more grass eating in UP Diliman

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Did a couple of flight checks at UP Diliman over the weekend.  The RC field is at the corner of University Ave and CP Garcia.  Perfect for park flyers and 3D planes, quads and ‘copters..Good field to fly in on a lazy afternoon.

However, it can get quite muddy after a heavy downpour which is a big inconvenience OR saving grace.. during the Skyscouts maiden flight a few weeks ago, I managed to nosedive and crash it. As an experienced dirt-eating RC pilot, I thought that was it. However, from a distance the plane was strangely perpendicular to the ground.. it turns out the nosedive was perfect with the nose stuck a good 5 inches in the mud!  The front section was just slightly bent (and still is today, even after the  hotwater/hair blower treatment). Without the mud, I doubt if I’d still be flying the skyscout today.  Moral lesson is, even mud has a purpose.

 

 

FPV, Gopro 3, Hitec Skyscout

Hitec Skyscout 1st Flight with Gopro3 black

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The first step to my FPV dreams is to get a good mini camera onboard my Skyscout.  Looks like the Gopro is the best way to go on this one..At $399- this took a huge bite off of my ‘hobby budget’.  There being no price difference from distributors and retailers I decided to buy the thing directly from Gopro.

Mounting it on the plane, I had to decide whether to include the Gopro’s waterproof case.. the problem with the casing is it weighs  more than the camera itself.. I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out how to balance the added weight relative to the CG.  The only way I can do this is if a) I place all the electronics behind the CG — not a good idea since the servo cables are pretty much set and I dont want to make unnecessary access holes in the fuselage —  or b) move the battery to the CG  or  b) put a counter-weight on the tail.

In the end, I decided to just go with minimal weight changes and did the following:

1)  Took out the ESC from within the fuselage and placed it on top (also took out the motor power cable extensions to lessen the weight)
2)  Made a camera platform from some good ‘ol appliance hard styro.
3)  Transferred the battery placement nearer the CG (it used to be flushed in the nose of the plane), a bit aft of the orange Orange RX in the pic.
4)  Used a black garter with sewed-on velcro for a custom made adjustable camera clasp.  This is what’s keeping it on top of the styro platform.. that and a strip of double sided tape at the bottom.

Here’s how it looks like:

Skyscout with gopro 3
With minimal weight changes and just a tad nose heavy.. the first flight went well: