Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Servocity.com sells some parts to join two Hitec servos together for a pan/tilt platform. I have it but havent used it yet due to vibration worries so mine just pans for now. Im using one of the variable slider switches on my Futaba 9C for the pan effect. All the way up is forward, all the way down is rearward and center is looking straight out along the wing.
My KSA videos show it working. That two camera setup is very interesting but I am still getting the bugs out of using ONE camera. Might add a second camera facing downwards or mounted on a servo for forward/downward axis.
Hmmmmm.

mr.rc-cam

The cameras were Panasonic CX161's. I am not sure how much power Yb2normal was using, but it was from BlackwidowAV.com. I suspect it was 200mW {of real RF power} or less.

The two camera video switch uses electronic switching for glitchless camera selection. No servos are involved; instead it uses a Maxim video mux IC and PIC based R/C decoder. It was a private design presented a few months ago on the RC-CAM forum site.

RC-CAM

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Hmmm.
Looks to be a project that is over my head. For now.

yb2normal

Hey Skrag, I'm glad you like my video!

As eluded to by RC-CAM, the video transmitter puts out 200mw of *RF* power. Most of the units you see for sale on ebay are, unfortunately, quoting the power drawn from the battery, so a system quoted as being 200mw is actually putting out 1-10mw of RF power.

It is unfortunate that there is an inconsistency in how different vendors report "power" and it tends to lead people to believe that you need 800mw of RF power to get good results. The popular Spylinker 800mw unit is actually putting out closer to 100-200mw of power. The truth is that with properly selected antennas, a system that puts out 100mw of RF power will do just fine for the vast majority of people.

Fortunately, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence presented on the different RC forums to allow you to make an informed choice, so watch the videos posted by your fellow RCers and judge from that!

Regards,
Bill

skrag

Thanks for the info Bill. I will check into the power issue a little more. As for antenna's has anybody messed with either changing those cheapie camera antenna's to get a more stable picture, or can someone post what they think is the best approach to nailing down good solid video capture from ground to air? And what about the receiver? Is that where the most gain can be made in influencing the video, or is it a combo of changing aerial antenna, and receiver? I am just probing for info on how to tinker with to make things better. [&:]

Bill B.

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Easiest rx tinker you can do is mount that sucker on a length of PVC pipe, the higher you can, the better.
For my 900mhz system I am looking into a closed loop yagi antenna tho it costs 200 bones.
When I get a 2.4ghz system I will check into making one of those GPP patch antennas.

W4UAV

Dan,

Check the beamwidth on the yagi antenna first. It may be really narrow, especially the more directors it has on the boom. If I had my choice, Id get
this patch antenna from Hyperlinktech:

http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/hg908p.php

Its for 900 mhz and you can get a customized connector (SMA MALE)
and its got a 65deg. Vertical and 75deg. Horizontal beamwidth!!!

For $55, its a great deal!

Im using the 2.4ghz version and it works wonderful!!!!

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

My dad ( MUCH more knowledgeable than me) says its a closed loop yagi so would be perfect for us. We figure we will have to aim it, of course. If its small enough, I might do the helmantenna bit and mount that sucker on a hard hat.
The problem with a patch antenna is that we fly on a pretty small field and are frequently almost directly over the antenna on the rx and that is where we get the signal dropouts. Im just disgusted that the system that cost us 7 times what the spylinker system costs performs poorer. Much better picture but the reception we are getting kinda bites.
Might get one of those patch antennas for slope flying tho!

W4UAV

Ive seen the closed-loop yagi antennas, but Ive never seen the radiation pattern
of a typical one, but I would imagine the longer the boom, the smaller the pattern.
Mounting on a hard hat sounds like a great idea!

I had my first case of Adjacent Channel Interference on 2.4ghz on SAT. The guys from the Univ. of Florida Micro Air Vehicle project were out there with us and running their video on Channel 2, I was on Channel 1, every now and again on my cloud dancing video, you can see a glimpse of their video cutting in. I switched to Channel 4 and fixed that!! I think their little MAV plane was flying in between the LT-40 and the patch antenna.

What was cool was all I had to do is switch to Channel 2 to receive their video. At one point one of them came down and said I was getting better reception than they were. They have an array patch but it was mounted in the lid of a Pelican case, the lid stayed open, therefore pointed at the ground! Some minor lid closing fixed their problem!

wsmalley

My Feedback: (6)

My SU27, under construction, is crying out for an OSD!!. How far is this from becoming a reality-you know, I send $ and you send a 'plug and play' unit?

engwerda

i have heli and i want to put a small camera on it as everybody does.
I've fond one at http://www.revolutionshop.com/ (bottom left of page) but i need an expert opinion or possibly information on wher to buy a better one. I have a small budget and live in australia so shipping could be costly.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
-Josh

skrag

Well, that is the same camera that you can find all over ebay for anywhere from $30 to $50 US. So if that comes our about the same AU then that's about right. Almost all of those wireless pinhole cams on ebay are advertised ad 200mw, etc. I have been doing a search on ebay for 800mw wireless cameras, and there are some pretty good deals on those to, but as some of the previous posts have stated, this may not necessarily translate into better performance.

I broke my little pinhole cam and have been looking for a way to buy JUST the camera, and NOT the whole receiver, etc., (200mw jobbie I have) but have not been able to find a source. I'm cheap and just hate to have a worthless receiver lying around, so didn't want to just break down and buy a whole new unit.

If anybody has any sources on that, I would appreciate it.

Bill B.

engwerda

thanks a lot skrag!

trance20

I fly a small park flyer(GWS Tiger moth). I want to have a wireless camera onboard and fly using the video. Where should i start and what should i buy.
I came across lots of stuff on the internet(2.4 GHz, 100 mw etc).
Is it possible to fly using video. What will be the range. Is it possible to use a digital camcorder with the receiver.???

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Try BlackwidowAV.com for the 2.4ghz equipment. You can also purchase an all-in-one 200mw "spycam" from Spylinker (Search by seller on Ebay for Spylinker) that claims to put out 200mw. It is very cheap but operates on 1.2ghz which is illegal, however so keep that in mind.
It is possible to fly by video but not easy, especially using a system that a Tiger Moth MIGHT be able to carry. Not sure if a Tiger Moth can actually lift one of these.
Range is hard to calculate due to many factors but several hundred feet should be doable.
I use a Sony TRV-120 Digital 8 camera to record all my airborne video but my Father uses a Sony Hi-8 for his. You just need to be able to record thru the analog AV port. Check my website for video examples and check the Video Links page for other RC fliers results!

trance20

Thanks for the suggestion. Is a license required to use the 2.4GHz system from Blackwidow.com. I have not yet seen the video clip on your website(i only have a dialup at home- i will try from office tommorrow). Have you flown them by only watching the video on the camcorder screen.

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, the 2.4ghz systems require a Ham License. Very easy to get, however. I have not flown by video as yet. Im too chicken! I dont even have the monitor facing me. If you check my links page [link=http://fubar1.freeservers.com/rc/movies/video links.html]Video links![/link], the most recent addition includes a video where the guy flew his mini Piper by viewing the video feed.
If I ever get a glitch free video feed working, I might be willing to try to fly by wire. Also might not.

W4UAV

I flew for 10 minutes a week ago by video only, veiwing my converted flatscreen monitor which was on the bed of my truck. I took off like normal, made sure everything was working ok, got the plane up pretty high, then backed up and walked over to the truck (20 feet or so) The key is to remain calm and fight the panic that comes from the moment you stop viewing the video feed to turn around and look up to find your plane again to land it. If you become familiar with the view of the area you are flying over on a regular basis, you can tell if you are straying out too far and need to turn and bring it back. I have memorized a spot on the side of the fuselage in the camera view where level flight should be, I think Ill put a line there for reference. I think remaining calm and practice is the key to success at flying via camera view only, and a good reliable video signal!! Also, an RC trained friend on a buddy box might help, have them "standing by" just in case!!

trance20

Very interesting guys. I think if its more of viewing( i remember i had a small lcd colour handheld television sometimes ago) would be suitable and its cheap too. Also i am planning to go for another foam electric plane which would carry all these stuff without problems. My GWS tiger moth may not cope with strong winds and very light.

Martin V

It's definitely a good idea to know what your flying area and all adjacent areas look like before attempting video flying. I'm the guy that crashed my mini piper (mentioned a couple posts ago) due interference and not knowing the surrounding area. If I knew what the area looked like on the other side of the trees I may have been able to bring the plane back.

I think it's also a very good idea to have another pilot spotting so if you get into trouble while watching video you can hand him the controls. If you start flying out of visual range, he can warn you.

Next time I video fly I think I will install one of those audio alarm that are set of when the plane loses radio contact. On a bigger plane i'm also looking to install a gps receiver and transmit data to a computer on the ground. If I lose the plane and the gps survives it will transmit the crash site coordinates to me.

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Added your video site to the Video Links page last night.
[link=http://fubar1.freeservers.com/rc/movies/Video Links.html]Airborne Video Links![/link]

scolpit

Wow, excelent project... a little expensive plane to fly around, but.... perfect

Scolpit
Portugal

Mr Boulevard-delete

Something I would like to try in the future.
I wonder if it's possible to have a meter to measure the incoming signal strength from the transmitter and possibly a measurement/scale that can warn when to turn for home, something like your voltage meters on the Tx units.
If I could I would add 3 gyros each visually telling me (though the vido) which way the aircraft is going or orientented (roll, attitude, yaw and add another gyro for vertical acceleration) not neccessarly as autopilot function.
The Tx could act as a beacon, because it's continuously transmitting, so maybe a second directional reciever could also give a visual information about which direction the signal is coming from, however if you fly over someone else's area and they are using the same frequency and equipment, your signal might not be strong enough to regain back control of your model.
This is something way off for me, as I have yet to master my trainer, which would be a good platform, we will see.

Well that's my two bits...
Mr Boulevard

Mr Boulevard-delete

Hi Fubar-One,

Wonderful video's!!!
I wonder if anybody has done one with floats on ?
I kind of noticed that the Spylink system, had a strage colouration to it, any ideas? The Pt and the Kadet were nice vids. I couldn't see much of a difference to be honest.
OH by the way, where can I get some of that DR WHO music! lol I'm so old!
You had a Kadet with ailerons, I was considering this for my trainer, but the kit doesn't have these, did you add them yourself or was the ARF version? I live in the Blue Ridge mountains and I know of a place, might not be legal though... that I can get some great mountain views... is there anyway to increase the resolution above 480 lines? or is that the internet just doesn's serve the camera well (compression)?
Thanks for the info,
Mr Boulevard.

W4UAV

You dont need any of that. A PCM receiver set up to engage a PDC-10 (GPS servo controller)
when it loses signal from the transmitter, (failsafe) the GPS setup to have one waypoint in its current GOTO list: where
you are standing! An FMA Co-pilot would keep the wings and tail level as it returns to you. Its been
done many times, works great! If you lose sight of the plane even though youre still in control, turn off
the transmitter, the plane will return to visual range, you turn on the transmitter- regain control.

http://www.u-nav.com/pdc10.html