brandon429

I have exceeded all possible use of my $99 2.4 ghz hobbytron FPV setup on both my planes and rock crawler. still not looking to go into the $800+ range for the pro stuff, I was hoping you techs could help me maximize this next purchase to see if its the right thing. People who don't know much about FPV but want a non confusing purchase guide might like you guys' help on this thead too, thanks!

the hobbytron setup was $99 for both the cam (built in tx) and receiver, there is nothing complicated about it to move between a plane or a car/rock crawler. I am not looking for telemmetry, osd or anything other than getting a super long video signal transmission back to my home base. My current main goal is to explore the woods in deep ravines with my rock crawler so I want your guesses about how this upgraded 1.3 ghz system will do with non line of sight, tree-blocked instances. I am using a JR 75 mhz fm radio meant for gliders, because its range is sick. When Im deep in the forest its the video thats the weak link, never the tx for the platform and now I need a cam that will keep up! I have never had a non line of sight control limitation with this TX and any camera that can match it in distance is perfect, but the technical jargon is just too much I was shopping only for something simple, but better, like posted below.

the 2.4 ghz 99$ setup works fine on my block line of sight, but the range is limited and flickers in and out a lot when I start to turn off the block. would moving from a $99 cheapo 2.4ghz system to this 1.3 ghz system allow my video to reach farther around the next block, or two? I built a portable 12vdc converting system to back pack it all out into the field, now with today's upgrade options there's just too many and they are too technical to see if you are getting literally everything you need in the delivery box for *simply better/longer range* than the previous $99 dollar system. After hours of searching, I settled on this for cost and effectiveness, do you agree it will work and not interfere with my fm 75 mhz controller?

http://www.futurehobbies.com/product...s/fhv-1-3-1000

I can also afford maybe the $500 900mhz setup from them if that's better for forest exploration and an FM controller. I read the part about getting a license, I can do that locally after figuring out which system I need from the 1.3 ghz choice or the 900mhz choice

vh2q

My Feedback: (5)

I would also like to hear others' thoughts on a basic low cost FPV system, airborne, that will align with a "normal old-fashioned" FM72 TX/RX setup. You can't legally fly over the horizon in the USA, you have to maintain line of sight. So no point in paying for a 10km system when you can only fly circa 1km legally. Fixed aspect camera is OK, we can't fly looking sideways without OSD. Don't need OSD, you can see how high and fast the plane is flying! BUT system should be able to grow without chucking it out and starting over. And video quality is the one thing that should not be compromised. No fun looking at a fuzzy blurry picture.

dknovick

I'm no expert, but here goes...

The lower the frequency, the better penetration a transmitted signal has. So 900MHz goes through walls better then 2.4GHz (and it's probably why you get really good range on your 75MHz TX)

To increase the range, there are a few things you can do:

1) Improve the Line of Sight
2) Increase the power
3) Get a good directional receiving antenna.

Planes are very good for #1, since they fly above most things. Ground vehicles, not so much. The range is really reduced when you put the TX antenna close to the ground.

You can only increase the power so much and stay legal

A patch, or Yagi directional antenna will help improve the range, but you will have to keep it pointed at the vehicle.


-Dave

TSky28

My Feedback: (3)

Put your glider up as a relay. Broadcast from the crawler up to the glider which in turns repeats the signal back to you at your ground station. Have a buddy control the glider and maintain link and you will be limited only by your fuel on the crawler. You essentially have doubled the glider to home base range by doing this. I don't know how you would manage this but it would give you a big boost. And bragging rights.

brandon429

MEGA smart great idea

updates
now i have a set of transmitter antennas for the video gear, the tiny 2db one, the medium 3 db rubber duck and a 16 inch 5 db rubber duck. it seems that changing them out affects the reading in neighborhoods or on terrain. when I go down the end of my block the smallest antenna is actually the best strangely enough.

I get a lot of static but its enough to navigate and the radio 72 mhz is no where near taxed at that distance...but in the forests the tall 5 db one is best with minor tree interference.

how wobby goes that far, with not even one line blip of static in his vid, is beyond beyond beyond me dang it.

the vehicle performs well in pitch black night because I use two mountain bike led array headlights as lights for the truck. for the rear, its an ultra bright red led array so its really visible.

the best times to crawl my area are at midnight, theres no one, no traffic, and when you have to get out to drive to go right a roll over no one sees you...night roving is very hard to do in the woods however. Ive found the moon to be an invaluable navigation tool, as well as an onboard walking talkie so you can beep it for location. night driving is incredible fun however

one of the best improvements is I can make the 2 block square run now from the plasma in the living room and hold it rather solid (they have terrible refresh rates for flickering video we know)

the solid part is I have true link for 2-3 blocks around me, any speed, so doing loops up through the alley then back down a block and over to home is fun but needing more distance. new video coming...I believe the next venture is UHF, ultra non line of sight freq? the main thing I like about ground based non line of sight work is that you don't smash up your gear in wrecks like in a plane and you can use it all weather. my emaxx is waterproof, we FPV in light rains all the time with it now. snow in winter should be neat~

where I enjoy this most is in the mountains. I can send it up a rather large mountain trail meant for bikes and watch it through fatsharks, if the trail is luckily straight up that helps my video tracking and I estimate I routinely get out 300 yards up the trails consistently. but on broad flat land that's also all it will get, what the hey happened to two miles how can the ground be that big of a deal still within line of sight?

brandon429

I want to also add a critique of 5 out of 10 possible on fatshark video goggles.

For newcomers who haven't bought any, consider other sources Id say and here's why.

Imagine saving up money to buy a 60 inch flatscreen, and when you install it and turn it on it only plays 4:3 aspect ratio and no other field of view. that is what fatsharks are like. In the dang goggles there's equal dark space around your visual field as there is to playing screen, so it looks like you are looking into a 1970's rotary video toy only slightly better quality screen lol

the upside is they stick to your face and block out light. I think for that much money they should have a simple zoom feature that lets me switch out pixelation for screen size simple solution and they wouldn't actually have to use better video gear.

+10 to rangevideo. they are in miami, Im in tex, placed an order for the fatsharks and they arrived in 20 hours, fastest shipping I've ever seen for the price! not their fault about the gogs, I wouldn't trade them back I've alreay modded them to work with my glasses, but somewhere I got the notion fatsharks were a "simulated 80 inch plasma" and so when I first saw them I wanted to stomp em a little bit.