xtratorque

Well I eventually want to get into some FPV flying, nothing seriously elaborate just enough to be able to appreciate a good view. Can I use something like a portable DVD player to plug the receiver into? I'm not sure how much I like the idea of goggles, plus I'll be doing it with my dad a bit annd it would be nice for him to be able to see what I see. Also, is it possible to make an FPV system transferable from one plane to another without much hassle? Any tips will be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking of getting the future hobbies system 1000mwh, would that be a pretty good setup?

JMSTECH

Plugging a DVD player is ok if it has the video input to support it. I started out with a cheap LCD monitor from Ebay connected to a video amp/splitter. Flying by LCD monitor is fine to start out with because you can still maintain visual contact with your plane and have a quick peep at your video. Why did I use a splitter/AMP? Well the A/V TX might loose some of it's strength if you split it too many times like to more than one monitor or a monitor and video goggle. (violating the 75oHM rule ) Anyhow if you do go with the monitor just be sure to cover the sides with card board to cut out the intruding daylight from dimming your video on the screen.

If you wish to make your pod or camera platform transferable, I can't see why not? I presently am doing that on my Easy Star, by making it possible to velcro onto a different plane or to swap cameras whether it's a 5 or 12 volt camera or a 5 or 12 volt A/V TX OR add my OSD with GPS. Sure anything is possible!!!

n00bflyer

I'm just about to start getting into it too. Here is my clunkey set up. 15inch CRT color TV, VCR, BIG marine deep cycle battery, 1600 amp peak DC to AC inverter, 2.4ghz camera and reciever. Not long range but should be good for several hundred feet. Wish me luck. I know all the guys at the field are going to laugh at my set up but I don't care. I'm just so excited to try it. JMSTECH, how much did you pay for your LCD? Did it have RCA or S-video inpits? Thats the way I wanted to go but a $30 power inverter was cheaper for now.

JMSTECH

I paid about $24.00 USD for that LCD and powered it with 8 AA rechargeable batteries. Beats lugging around a deep cycle battery Anyhow I wish you luck and if you need any help, feel free to ask me via PM I could help you save a lot of headaches and money

JMSTECH

JMSTECH

BTW just to get you all riled up here are some videos of my FPV flights. One is recorded by my miniDV and the other one is by my laptop.

miniDV
http://www.vimeo.com/852517

Laptop
http://www.vimeo.com/448699
http://www.vimeo.com/371745

xtratorque

I was wondering about the daylight dimming the screen. Would I simply be better off using the goggles? The problem is then my dad wouldn't be able to watch what I'm doing, I'd feel bad if he couldn't watch it. What would I need to hook up the receiver to a laptop and block the sun from getting into it?

JMSTECH

Well for the most part, I wouldn't fly by laptop because there is a slight video lag. Instead get your self a cheap video amp/splitter from www.rc-tech.ch and from there you can hook up a TV and perhaps later a video goggle at the same time. (video amp/splitter has 4 output.) As for your question on shielding the daylight, try a cardboard box. Put your video display source inside that .