FPV tank experience?
03-22-2015 | 06:35 PM
#1
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FPV tank experience?
So I would like to put a video system on a tank.
Can anyone w/experience give me tips or pitfalls to avoid? Any examples of systems that work well for tanking / ground vehicles?
I've been researching, but there is a lot to learn.
The tank will use a stock Turnigy 9x (2.4ghz) for control. My initial research says 5.8ghz system is what I need.
Right now I'm pretty much just figuring out what is required for hardware. Would like to keep it as inexpensive as possible. If I can get 100 yard range through the woods I think that would be a success.
Thoughts from anyone who has done this before?
Can anyone w/experience give me tips or pitfalls to avoid? Any examples of systems that work well for tanking / ground vehicles?
I've been researching, but there is a lot to learn.
The tank will use a stock Turnigy 9x (2.4ghz) for control. My initial research says 5.8ghz system is what I need.
Right now I'm pretty much just figuring out what is required for hardware. Would like to keep it as inexpensive as possible. If I can get 100 yard range through the woods I think that would be a success.
Thoughts from anyone who has done this before?
03-22-2015 | 06:57 PM
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From: Quakertown PA
Imex-Erik has experience with some FPV stuff. He is actually working on a setup for one of his tanks. Check out the autonomous tank project thread that is on the forum.
03-23-2015 | 06:57 AM
#3
Ok so far I've found a few pros/cons of the FPV tank setup. Lets start with the Pros:
-Lots of room to set up a system inside either the turret or upper hull
-Lots of places on the tank to set up cameras
-If mounted on the mantlet the experience is very different
-OSD can easily make long range tanking very real
Now for the Cons:
-Limited ventilation for VTx. Heat will need to be dissipated or run a smaller transmitter. 250mW will get VERY hot.
-Limited options for antennas. Luckily you can fit an omni-directional inside the upper hull, but if you wanted to be pro you would do 433/915mHz VTx and use the antenna as a slightly out of scale antenna for the tank. Very ugly though.
-Lots of EMI with stock electronics. Will need a filter for power.
The FPV system is nice to run on the tanks, it makes for a very different RC experience. The mounting and antenna options make it a bit difficult but nothing that cant be fixed with a bit of work. Finding a way to mount the camera is the biggest thing. CCD cameras are small and can be hidden or enclosed as to not make it too obvious. You can use a FPV video switch and mount 2 or more cameras (say one to the front and back) and use a switch on your transmitter to flip from one to another. OSD will make things very nice long range as well. Most OSD's are dirt cheap and can be programmed to only show what you need such as compass, position from home, battery stats, and whatever else you want to put up.
I actually even thought about making a 2 person IR battle tank just for fun. The first person has control of the tracks only while the second person controls the turret functions and wears the FPV goggles. The second person then relies on the driver to tell him where people are and such. Even if it wasn't used in a battle it would be a very interesting thing. I didn't receive much interest in it so I didn't go any farther. The APM project is still in the works, I just have to wait until after the next show before I can start working on it again. I only have 3 APMs at my house and all three are currently in use
-Lots of room to set up a system inside either the turret or upper hull
-Lots of places on the tank to set up cameras
-If mounted on the mantlet the experience is very different
-OSD can easily make long range tanking very real
Now for the Cons:
-Limited ventilation for VTx. Heat will need to be dissipated or run a smaller transmitter. 250mW will get VERY hot.
-Limited options for antennas. Luckily you can fit an omni-directional inside the upper hull, but if you wanted to be pro you would do 433/915mHz VTx and use the antenna as a slightly out of scale antenna for the tank. Very ugly though.
-Lots of EMI with stock electronics. Will need a filter for power.
The FPV system is nice to run on the tanks, it makes for a very different RC experience. The mounting and antenna options make it a bit difficult but nothing that cant be fixed with a bit of work. Finding a way to mount the camera is the biggest thing. CCD cameras are small and can be hidden or enclosed as to not make it too obvious. You can use a FPV video switch and mount 2 or more cameras (say one to the front and back) and use a switch on your transmitter to flip from one to another. OSD will make things very nice long range as well. Most OSD's are dirt cheap and can be programmed to only show what you need such as compass, position from home, battery stats, and whatever else you want to put up.
I actually even thought about making a 2 person IR battle tank just for fun. The first person has control of the tracks only while the second person controls the turret functions and wears the FPV goggles. The second person then relies on the driver to tell him where people are and such. Even if it wasn't used in a battle it would be a very interesting thing. I didn't receive much interest in it so I didn't go any farther. The APM project is still in the works, I just have to wait until after the next show before I can start working on it again. I only have 3 APMs at my house and all three are currently in use
03-26-2015 | 05:07 PM
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Not super concerned about hiding everything. Was thinking I would just have a camera sitting on top of the turret.
But one thing I had not considered was the heat. So, I will have to consider that.
But one thing I had not considered was the heat. So, I will have to consider that.
