Airplane fpv?

Flightspeed

Convicted Necroposter
Hello, for some while I have been wanting to get fpv for a rc airplane, but of course u need a lot of range. The only system I can seem to find is the dji system but I’m not willing to shuck out 1grand for fpv. Any other systems out there?
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
Hello, for some while I have been wanting to get fpv for a rc airplane, but of course u need a lot of range. The only system I can seem to find is the dji system but I’m not willing to shuck out 1grand for fpv. Any other systems out there?

for digital, there is also fatshark's sharkbite...

but the 'low' cost path to FPV is analog. (which you can get into for less then $100 with a $15-20 AiO camera/vtx thing and some low end box goggles... but if you stick with it, you will want to replace all of that with something higher quality)

If your in the US (or any other country that has a LOS rule), you really don't need a whole lot of range, as LOS is going to limit you to a fairly short distance anyways. In the US, you will also need to get your HAM license (not sure if you need to do that for the DJI system, that might be FCC approved without one, not sure) to run basically any FPV video transmitter, and when you learn what you need to get that, you will learn about high gain directional antennas and things like that and you will be able to get more range then you can legally fly out of power levels lower then you can use for FPV transmitters.
 

Flightspeed

Convicted Necroposter
for digital, there is also fatshark's sharkbite...

but the 'low' cost path to FPV is analog. (which you can get into for less then $100 with a $15-20 AiO camera/vtx thing and some low end box goggles... .
What’s the range like on the Aio? It seems like you would need at least 900 feet for a fixed wing.
 

Flightspeed

Convicted Necroposter
👍cool. Got any recommendations on goggles? A while back when I was thinking about getting into fpv I was going to go eachine. They have some you can record your flight and stuff.
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
What’s the range like on the Aio? It seems like you would need at least 900 feet for a fixed wing.

Range is a function of transmit power, receiver sensitivity, antenna gain, and a few other things... so I will give you my experiences and let you make your on choices.

I have FPVed quite a few craft with a 25mW AiO with a RHP circular polarized antenna on it with some lower end box goggles (I am looking at upgrading, but with going to FF, thinking about waiting to see the vendors there) with diversity with a omni-directional and a patch antenna on it. looking at the field I was flying at, I was staying roughly in a 600ft 1/2 bubble around the flight line, including flying behind some trees. With this I got a few static moments, but nothing that was a big deal. I have since upgraded to a higher end device and am running 100mW and getting basically 0 issues.

If I wanted to get more distance, I could get/make a better directional antenna, but then I would have to make sure it was aimed at the plane. I will say for the size planes I was flying, don't think I would need more then 100-200mW TX power to cover anything that could be considered in LOS.

There are also AiO's that can go up to 400mWs, so if you go on the high end of them, you can definitely get enough power to cover you.

If your really sure you want to get into this, it wouldn't be unreasonble to expect to spend $500+ even for Analog to get a good set of goggles + a reasonable camera/VTX.
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
👍cool. Got any recommendations on goggles? A while back when I was thinking about getting into fpv I was going to go eachine. They have some you can record your flight and stuff.

I think Joshua has it correct here:

CHEAPEST WORTH HAVING -> EACHINE EV800D

that is the second google I got, and they work fairly well, my biggest issue is all the weight floating way off my head, limiting how I can position my head/move it.
 

Flightspeed

Convicted Necroposter
About the aio antenna, how do you creep those little clover leaf antennas from breaking if you have a hard landing, is there any way to fix it if it breaks?
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
About the aio antenna, how do you creep those little clover leaf antennas from breaking if you have a hard landing, is there any way to fix it if it breaks?

well... you can mount it inside the frame, or be ready to replace the AiO... also, realize, your spending about as much on that AiO as you might on just a high quality antenna.
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
You can also get AIO cameras with Dipoles that are more durable. The cloverleaf is really not that critical if you are flying in areas without many RF reflections.

I like the cloverleaf still because it makes the orientation less of a deal, so you don't get a sudden reduction in signal quality when you roll/flip/turn hard/etc and change the angle of the VTX antenna. if you have 2 ideal dipole, they get zero signal reception at 90deg orientation to each other, the cloverleaf's signal pattern avoids this (at least to an extent... and real dipoles aren't ideal so it won't go to zero, but it could drop out significantly).
 

LitterBug

Techno Nut
Moderator
I don't bother swapping out the RHCP antennas on the RX/Diversity side and have no problems picking up the dipole on the plane. I am using a VAS omni and VAS Directional antenna on the diversity
IMG_20210624_070736190.jpg
 
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CappyAmeric

Elite member
I’m not a fan of FPV on a plane because it is always jerky and takeoff and landing is always a problem. If you want the thrill and SMOOTHNESS of FPV, stick with quadcopters and DJI (analog is woefully ugly). Unlike some high watt analog systems, DJI does not require a HAM license, and the range is more than you will ever need.
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
I’m not a fan of FPV on a plane because it is always jerky and takeoff and landing is always a problem. If you want the thrill and SMOOTHNESS of FPV, stick with quadcopters and DJI (analog is woefully ugly). Unlike some high watt analog systems, DJI does not require a HAM license, and the range is more than you will ever need.

sounds like you have had some bad experiences... take off and landing has been a breeze for me, very easy. regarding the jerky, either you have some bad setups or are just flying in rather turbulent air. and sure, servos are slower to respond then current motors, so a well tuned quad and out correct much of your turbulence issues. However, when I get my rather small wings above the turbulence from the wind going over the trees, the signal is very smooth. I am looking forward to trying out iNAV 3.0 on my FT Dart, as it has added D term as an option for fixed wings, so we will see how it does with that added and my digital servos running at 100hz.
 

Flightspeed

Convicted Necroposter
I’m not a fan of FPV on a plane because it is always jerky and takeoff and landing is always a problem. If you want the thrill and SMOOTHNESS of FPV, stick with quadcopters and DJI (analog is woefully ugly). Unlike some high watt analog systems, DJI does not require a HAM license, and the range is more than you will ever need.
how much moola you think I got🤣 the dji system is just a touch over what I’m gonna spend for fpv😂
 

Ratcheeroo

Legendary member
Here is the setup I have for my FPV, camera was $25, receiver was $22, free app for my phone(GoFPV - allows you to record as well) and a cheap set of 3D goggles that I think I got for $10-15. Works great for where I'm at with it at this point, don't really see a need to spend any more than that
 

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