Anyone Else Have FPV Anxiety?

[CrackerMcGillicuddy]

Hi,
I have a cheap 900mhz FPV system from HobbyKing. It works OK (static here and there, nothing major). I don't have goggles or OSD or the "return home/return to launch" stuff. I use a small monitor to see the video. I also use my Go Pro for video feed and recording. FPV looks like a lot of fun when Trappy does it but the anxiety stops me from doing anything "daring".

Problem is, I don't like looking at the video. It's FPV "anxiety" - a fear that I'm going to lose the plane: lose line-of-sight, lose signal and/or lose orientation. Yeah, I know these problems could be solved by buying more electronics but my wife would have a cow. I also could drag someone along to spot for me...yada yada yada.

Anyway, does anyone else have FPV anxiety?

 

[Brian fred carr]

I have the same system from hobby king and the same worries you have.I think myself personally I am going to wait till I have a good osd and a return to home feature before i venture too far

 

[lobstermash]

Haha, yeah, I've got the same system too which I got for Christmas. I've been really cautious with it, only fired it up once in the house. I've made excuses every time I go to buy something like an Easycap for my screen solution. I've got a flight stabilisation system (infra-red, not gyros) but can't seem to bring myself to take the first step.

 

[bmsweb]

FPV looks like a lot of fun when Trappy does it but the anxiety stops me from doing anything "daring".

Anyway, does anyone else have FPV anxiety?

Totally normal. If you look at someone like Trappy he's done a lot of hard work in getting the system right and its been lots of stepping stones along the way. No different to what you are doing now . . so you're on the right track.

My son and I have started pretty much the same as yourself. We are at the stage now where we have a reasonable OSD with RTH. So for the first time we will be venturing past the 1klm mark

As far as Anxiety goes I think we all get them

 

[arif]

Yeah I know exactly what you're talking about. I still get the anxiety but definitely not as much. As you build more confidence it should get better

I actually just purchased my first OSD with return home function. Hopefully that will give me more confidence.

 

[schraut5]

I get that anxiety too! I do have a few recommendations of how to overcome this.

First - Get an easycap, bring your laptop to the flying field, and do a few line of sight flights. Then watch the FPV video that you record. This will give you a good idea of the video quality that you are transmitting and should give you the confidence to fly in the area that you tested your system in. Seems simple, but this is a great way to get up and flying.

Second - fly within an area that you are not afraid to crash in. When I can, I go out into the middle of fields and fly - and I don't fly out of that field area. Then I know that I will not lose my plane and equipment if I crash/lose signal.

Third - scratch build your FPV planes!!! This is honestly the best way to fly, at least at the beginning. If your plane is $100+, on top of all of the other equipment, a crash is very financially disabling. I personally scratch build all of my FPV planes. And I have crashed before - all I have to do is spend the time to rebuild my $10 plane and all of the electronics can be salvaged.

Fourth - test, test, test, and re-test your equipment. If you have confidence in your RC and video signals, it will give you the confidence to fly. I still get a bit anxious when I fly. The first time I flew to 1 mile out at 1000 feet in the air - I thought I was going to piss my pants. But now I fly to that distance without even breaking a sweat - because I know that my system can safely take me that far.

Just my thoughts based on my experiences.

 

[alexw]

I also get that feeling....lol

Hello my friend,

I know how you feel and I still feel this way after a year. I started last summer to back into RC planes and jumping right into FPV. I built a Mickey`s rc plane to start and kept it simple. I also flew in an area that I knew well and also went on Google earth to get a better view of the area. It was fun but I was always scared to loose my plane, no RTH or gps.

I finally picked up a Skywalker V5.1, but this time I spent some money on insurance and peace of mind. I changed my video system to 1.280mhz and 800mw from 5.8ghz 200mw. This made a big difference as I was not worried about loosing my video feed at a distance of 1km. I also added a FY31AP, now this is the life and money saver. You can fly anywhere you like and if you get lost just hit the switch and your plane will fly back to you. On tope of that I picked up a Cyclopes OSD V1.5, this will give you a peace of mind on your battery power and will also give you a home arrow which is alone worth itès wait in gold. If you can afford a FY20A to stabilize your plane that would also help so you can only worry about flying.

I did my second flight yesterday with goggles on and my first landing under full fpv. I was the only guy at the field and jumping around like a complete fool I was so happy. Ever at 49 you can be a kid....lol

Take your time and find a club or a large open field to fly. Keep the plane close. Try to fly higher as it will be easier to see the surrounding area also. I also brought my girlfriend a few times to spot for me and this makes a big difference in your confinence level.

The biggest secret is to just have fun. It is a great hobby and I am sure you will enjoy it.

Alex

 

[Heliosphere]

I only have one quick successful FPV flight under my belt and was also nervous as hell about losing video and RC links the whole time, but read the other day about a great technique to use for next time: point the antennas at the plane (or thereabouts) and if you do lose control or video then immediately turn the antennas up right which should give that extra bit of range to be able to bring the plane home. I'll definitely be trying that next time as I reckon it should reduce the anxiety somewhat..

 

[RELLIK DEMANON]

It depends on what antenna your using. If your using a "rubber ducky" antenna, you do not want to point it at the plane. There is a hole at the top that actually does not send signal at all. This is a common mistake With rc hobbyist. There is a good reason the antennas fold and thats to keep the polarity as intended. Imagine it like a donut. If you Place the donut over your antenna, that is how it is transmitting the frequency. Notice the whole of the donut being at the bottom and top of the antenna? That is the hole i mean. Aiming that hole(meaning the tip of the antenna) will actually be helping you lose your signal. my advice, go with a frsky system for your controls. Its frequency hopping is so fast, you wont even feel a loss of signal if you had one. I tested the boot up comparing it to a futaba tx and rx and it beat it by a second or two. For your video, circular polorized antennas are the way to go. A patch couldnt hurt either. Hope this helps.

 

[elvenpure]

best thing you can do is write your name phone number and write cash reward.
this is not necisary but it would change the way some people felt about returning or not returning your model.
if you really value it them this is worth it.
again google earth is important.
when i studdied google earth it was from far out and when i finally flew i realised the plane was much closer to the round than the image.
although saying that i always get a surprise when i take off the goggles to see that im higher than i thought.
so my advice is to study google earth at different altitudes.
dont make too big of a fuss or you will never explore.
elf.

 

[Heliosphere]

It depends on what antenna your using. If your using a "rubber ducky" antenna, you do not want to point it at the plane. There is a hole at the top that actually does not send signal at all. This is a common mistake With rc hobbyist. There is a good reason the antennas fold and thats to keep the polarity as intended. Imagine it like a donut. If you Place the donut over your antenna, that is how it is transmitting the frequency. Notice the whole of the donut being at the bottom and top of the antenna? That is the hole i mean. Aiming that hole(meaning the tip of the antenna) will actually be helping you lose your signal. my advice, go with a frsky system for your controls. Its frequency hopping is so fast, you wont even feel a loss of signal if you had one. I tested the boot up comparing it to a futaba tx and rx and it beat it by a second or two. For your video, circular polorized antennas are the way to go. A patch couldnt hurt either. Hope this helps.

Yep pointing the antenna at the plane is intentionally degrading the signal, so you can be confident that if you lose signal then you can instantly change the angle of the antenna and get control back. See this post:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1409955
I was very surprised at the range that was possible in that instance with a stock 2.4 GHz setup.

 

[ilovefpv]

Hi,
I have a cheap 900mhz FPV system from HobbyKing. It works OK (static here and there, nothing major). I don't have goggles or OSD or the "return home/return to launch" stuff. I use a small monitor to see the video. I also use my Go Pro for video feed and recording. FPV looks like a lot of fun when Trappy does it but the anxiety stops me from doing anything "daring".

Problem is, I don't like looking at the video. It's FPV "anxiety" - a fear that I'm going to lose the plane: lose line-of-sight, lose signal and/or lose orientation. Yeah, I know these problems could be solved by buying more electronics but my wife would have a cow. I also could drag someone along to spot for me...yada yada yada.

Anyway, does anyone else have FPV anxiety?

Yes, but it definitely gets better with time...

Here's my latest FPV Flying...

 

[UndCon]

I tried to go FPV this weekend but something was broken - my video dropped after a few hundred meters.
LOS only...tested 2 HD cameras and my er9X radio in the Skywalker as well.
Now I rebuilt my groundstation removing lots of excess wires - keeping it all neat.

I also resoldered the wire to the cloverleaf on the SW - hopes any of the above helps...will perform a check in my local block again

//UndCon