I've got one of the 2.4ghz 2000mw tx/rx systems described in a thread on this forum and am looking to start piecing it together. Right now I've got a 800mw CMOS setup that I've only had up a few times and had some video drop out issues. They could probably be resolved with proper antenna placement but why fiddle with a pea shooter when you've got a shotgun? The CMOS camera on that unit wasn't too bad and I could hack it to the 2000mw TX. Still, I think I'd like to run a CCD camera on this TX as they provide premium video quality. I'm not looking for anything exotic or of best quality. Just a cheap, tiny, light CCD camera that will provide decent video. I'm also wondering what the power requirements of these things are? I thought I read that most are in the 5V range? I'll be powering the TX off the plane's 3 cell lipo as that's perfect for it's 9 to 12 volt input range. Plan to make this a real portable setup by simply soldering a few deans ultras together that can plug into the ESC battery plug, offering a pass through plug for the battery to plug into. For the camera, I'm wondering if using one of the RX ports to feed it power is a viable option. It would seem most RXs put out around 5 or 6 (?) regulated volts to the servos. Just wonder if the CCD would have too much amp draw for the RX to handle? Another option would be to run the camera off it's own regulator. I've got a few 9V ones laying around. Still, I'd like to keep things simple.

Hi critter,

Most all CCD cameras are 5V anymore. Your receiver doesn’t regulate voltage, just passes the battery voltage or voltage from the ESC to the servos. Even if it's from an ESC, you may overtax it running a camera and servos. Fortunately, your starting voltage through a linear regulator @5V would be a perfect solution. The cameras really need clean, regulated voltage to produce a clean result. You likely don't want to share voltage with servos or other noisy items anyway.

Hope this helps,
Q

PS. CCD’s are just more expensive than CMOS.