How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

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Neons
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How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by Neons »

Here is a compiled Newbie Guide of Video instruction to help those that want to get into FPV flight. Flight Personal Video. I have inserted the whole article here to get you started into a whole new field of flight. Right now I would say that the FPV field is a 50/50 split between Aircraft and Mulicopters. This is up to date info as of 12- 2013
Bob P.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear **neons**,

Mini-HowTo How to FPV: Newbies thread - New night flight How-to - in the FPV Talk forum of RC Groups.

This thread is located at:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... to=newpost

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************

---Quote (Originally by IBCrazy)---
*_Newbies to FPV please post your questions in this thread and we will try to answer them!_*

*This page will be continually updated to ensure everything is relevant. No need to read the entire thread. It's all right here.*

We see the same questions repeated over and over again from people wanting to get into this aspect of aviation. Attached is a document I put together covering most of the questions newcomers have for FPV and included many of the questions they should have as well. The document deliberately leaves equipment out of most of it's pages. The reason is that the equipment is usually subject to opinion on what is good and what is not. I also am affiliated with certain FPV vendors and do not want to appear biased in anyway. However, I will say that Hobby King equipment historically has performed measurably worse than anything the FPV vendors sell. When in doubt, buy from a specialized FPV vendor.

*How-to videos!*

*FPV Basics*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dZfovzd ... e=youtu.be

*Selecting the proper airframe*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ok3Xm7m ... e=youtu.be

*FPV video system and Frequency selection*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9DPy0zm ... e=youtu.be

*FPV Antenna Selection*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd3K5cB19P4

*How to build a ground station*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78dIIZ2 ... ature=plcp

*Advanced FPV systems*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJyUXNospbA

*How to wire it up:*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOmld34A ... DA&index=2

*Making your first flights:*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_wu4-0B ... DA&index=1

*Radio Communication Explained*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdUes1uW ... e=youtu.be

*How to make a long range flight (and what can go wrong in the process)*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e09Ukc3x ... DA&index=1

*How to make a night flight*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtRnyEfR ... rlHfp5jQYA
*_What makes a good FPV system?_*
There are two items that make the greatest impact on the enjoyment of your FPV plane: The camera, and the antennas you select. Selecting a good camera that performs well in different lighting conditions will allow you to see well at dusk where many cameras simply black out all ground definition. 420 TVL resolution is good enough for most purposes. It is better to select a camera with excellent BLC (back light compensation) and color saturation than one with a high resolution.

Antennas are the critical link between you and the aircraft. The proper selection of antennas is perhaps the most important thing to FPV flying. The antennas are the difference between a long range system capable of 20 miles and a system only good for short range. Most range issues are in fact a result of multipathing of the signal. People having problems with multipath interference should consider using a circularly polarized antenna system or a directional antenna of moderate gain.

The following items are listed in order of importance to your FPV flying success:

1. Proper selection *_and use _*of the antenna system. *_High gain omni antennas are absolutelty horrible for FPV!_*
2. Proper selection of a performance camera
3. Quality video receiver
4. Use of proper filtration equipment (ie chokes, ferrite rings, power filters, ect)
5. Selection of a good, _familiar_ airframe (this does not necessarily mean a basic plane)
6. Selection of the proper VTx and proper power

*_Help us help you fix your problem/answer your question_*

I must get 10 of these Emails a day asking what the problem is or what range to expect. 9 times out of 10, I can't answer it. Why? The person doesn't understand the information they need to provide in order to get a fairly accurate answer. RF is not easy nor intuitive, but a little knowledge goes a long way.

Here's what you do:

*If you have a problem post the following:*
- A picture or several pictures displaying how it is set up
- A photo of your ground station as you would have it set up for flight
- Several photos taken of you while flying from different angles. I need to know what your surroundings are and see your ground station in action.
- A short video clip of the problem.
- Full description of equipment used (frequency, antennas, radio system)
- A description of your flying location
- Did you turn off your cell phone or leave it in your car?

Cell phone? Really? Yes! They operate very close to the bands we use for FPV. Turn it off or leave it in the car.

*If you want a range estimate we need the following:*
- Frequency
- Tx power
- RX sensitivity (if not known, simply telling me the RX you use with a link is ok)
- Antennas you plan to use
- A few photos of the area you wish to fly
- A description of your intended surroundings
- How you intend to fly (high and straight, low, doing stunts)

*_Other resources:_*

For a glossary of terms and troubleshooting guide, go here: http://www.webx.dk/rc/uhf-link3/explain-names.htm

An excellent source of information is here in secret squirrel's blog. (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=119473)

Some advice from a very experienced FPV pilot: Team Black Sheeps system philosophies for success (http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php ... ilosophies)

A very complete guide on what is possibly the most popular FPV plane: Kevin's FPV Easy Star thread (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1394883)

Additionally, there is a wealth of information on everything from antenna construction to scratchbuild airframes to motor design in IBCrazy's blog (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=103113).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The range equation *- Use this equation to estimate how far (in miles) you will be able to achieve:

*Range capability in miles = 1/2 + number of hours under the hood/40 + number of study hours/100 + hours spent talking with an experienced FPVer/20*

Thus if you have 24 hours of airtime experience under the hood, 50 or so hours of research, and an afternoon talking to a highly experienced FPV pilot, you can expect to be able to make a 2 mile flight successfully.

Have fun in your ventures,

-Alex

Please note: I am not endorsing any specific person or vendor. I do this of my own free will and desire to help out the newcomers to the community.
---End Quote---
thanks i just downloaded fpv antenna selection file and a great must read for people new to fpv was very simple and straight forward
***************
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bob Pacheco
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Re: Interesting Guy- RC Engineer, Hacker, and Hobbyist

Post by Neons »

Some pretty wild stuff and messing around in RC. His videos are fun.
http://www.rchacker.com/
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Build a 360 degree camera view for you FPV aircraft

Post by Neons »

Last edited by Neons on Sun May 18, 2014 9:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Anther way to help prevent a loss of your plane or copter

Post by Neons »

This will explain it all. About 15 minutes to view. Find the GPS in Ebay or Amazon.
This is new tech. Setup a GPS Tracker in your RC Aircraft and find it in case of a loss. Track elderly, kids,animals, car theft, or anything with this unit and with a Smartphone and Google mapping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdHL_EPC7ZE

Manual
http://solidgoldsecurity.com.au/gps-tra ... 02-manual/

Unit GPS
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MINI-CAR-PERSON ... v4exp=true

Uses standard SMS card for T-Mobile, ATT , or unlocked phones only
Bob Pacheco
tomapowa

Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by tomapowa »

Cool gadget Bob... they've been around a while but were like $100 or more a few years back.

If you plan to use a pre-paid SIM from AT&T, be sure to first make a call/text using the card and a cellphone... this will register the SIM with the provider... else, if you were to just plug the SIM into the tracker, it will not work... ask me how I know... ;) The GPS receivers on these gadgets are cheap though will get you in the approximate location (+/- 8-10 meters). I purchased a few last year for a customer project ($45) and now see them on Amazon for just under $30 (you can also get a free SIM if you look around). Battery life was initially like 2-3 days idle... but over time, the customer was only getting a day if that (he used them on his motorcycles, sort of like his personal LoJack system which we eventually integrated into his bikes so they got power from the bike for charging/operation).

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Portabl ... 6KA0JNK3H9
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Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by Neons »

Maybe it could be jacked into the flight system battery. I saw a 100meg contract for $6.95 at Bestbuy. I just need the basic with texting. One reply I read said it would be enough for 1 month usage. I do not know yet until I do some more looking around.
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Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by Neons »

I asked PureTalk about a text plan and these guys set me up with a minimal cost per 50 minutes month plan for my GPS Tracker. 3 text messages equates to 1 minute.. This will give me 150 return text messages from the Tracker. That is 1 return text per checkup call. That should be plenty. If I need more it is $5 more.
I hope it works. This works out to cheap GPS Tracking insurance for my quads and tricopter. They send me the card free and $5 charge for the 1rst month when I get it in a week or so.
MY ORDER
Order ID:
Item: Pure TalkUSA Standard SIM Card [$0.00]
Plan: Simple 50 Plan [$5.00]
Shipping & Handling: Standard Shipping [$0.00]
http://www.puretalkusa.com/
Bob Pacheco
tomapowa

Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by tomapowa »

Bob,
One thing we found out about these GPS trackers is if the orientation of the device (ie GPS antenna) is not in the proper direction, the device will not be able to give you precise/proper GPS coordinates... We found out that if it was mounted to his bike in a certain orientation, it would not only be able to get a GPS signal, but it also could not make a call... :\ Experimentation is in the near future I guess :)
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Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft Setups

Post by Neons »

The one I have has 2 very strong magnets embedded in it to clip to a metal surface. The top edge has a brown band on it. It is the antenna. So it is possible to lay it horizontal or vertical. That is the question to find out I guess. Still it is better than nothing right now. There is a need to find ways to recover lost aircraft. I do not know of many yet. Going flying now.
Bob Pacheco
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Re: How to Enter FPV Flight. Multis & Aircraft MEGA Index Si

Post by Neons »

Found this Quadcopter and Tricopter Megalink Index Site
This is big. They are into Update #4 now. Aug 2014
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... st12906859
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