fpv setup questions

[Flightspeed]

Nice!

 

[Flightspeed]

I’m so pumped rn, there’s some people going to be flying at the local high school in about an hour, going to take my arrow, apparantly some of the people r really big into rc, basically nobody flies around here so I’m pumped at least a few people do, maybe get to see some cool planes too.

 

[Phin G]

You have to also think about how resilient antennas are. Great range is totally useless if you keep breaking them or ripping them off on gates, tree limbs.. anything else. Clover leaf and pagoda style antennas are a no go just for that reason. I recommend the axii because I have not broke nor lost one since I started using them. I was killing at least two clover leaf's a week running gate practice from them hooking on the gate at high speeds. After killing a second VTX along with one of them I switched immediately.

Everyone talks about great range but technically that's a non issue as you cant legally fly beyond normal vision. A simple stock dipole gets that job done. No need for fancy and expensive directionals and such anymore. Specifically if you fly smaller quads. Flying long range on them can mean kissing them good bye. Specially if you crash upside down so you cant direction find them or worse if you eject a battery. they are hard enough to find in the front lawn at times let alone having to walk any major distance to back track your flight.

I also use and recommend that iron. Mine is going on near 4 years old now with ZERO issues on original tip too!! Best $20 investment into the hobby so far.

When i occasionally fly my 5” I always put on a stubby as if i crash into gates or send it into the grass like a lawn dart then i wont break an antenna. I have gone through 5 cloverleaf but only gone through 1 stubby. Now since the uk rules have changed (again) i dont fly my 5” that often. (I also need a new receiver for it as i am using it on one of my toothpicks. I normally fly toothpicks or 3” and they just have the small pigtail antennas. Only lost my vtx antenna once but then found it in my garden it ejected with the battery ( i think the battery hit it off. @PsyBorg Good advice

 

[Flightspeed]

I’m so pumped rn, there’s some people going to be flying at the local high school in about an hour, going to take my arrow, apparantly some of the people r really big into rc, basically nobody flies around here so I’m pumped at least a few people do, maybe get to see some cool planes too.

It was a blast, nice people, a guy gave me a really cool battery meter thingamajiger it plugs into your balance plug and produces ear splitting heaps when your battery is low! Already used it once and it works extremely well!

 

[PsyBorg]

When i occasionally fly my 5” I always put on a stubby as if i crash into gates or send it into the grass like a lawn dart then i wont break an antenna. I have gone through 5 cloverleaf but only gone through 1 stubby. Now since the uk rules have changed (again) i dont fly my 5” that often. (I also need a new receiver for it as i am using it on one of my toothpicks. I normally fly toothpicks or 3” and they just have the small pigtail antennas. Only lost my vtx antenna once but then found it in my garden it ejected with the battery ( i think the battery hit it off. @PsyBorg Good advice

Any time I have a receiver antenna or a dipole VTX antenna I always use a zip tie on the frame then heat shrink the antennas to that. Never had a damaged or missing antenna since.

 

[Flightspeed]

Ok, how the heck does all hook together and get powered🤣

 

[Flightspeed]

@PsyBorg @JasonK

 

[JasonK]

are you using a flight controller?

There should be a wiring diagram that came with the VTX. If using the flight controller, you will need to do video out from the camera, to video in on the FC and video out on the FC to video in on the VTX, the rest of the wires are going to be relevant power lines to be hooked up to appropriate spots. and if you have smart audio of some sort, connecting one of the UARTs on the flight controller to the smart audio pad on the VTX.

 

[Flightspeed]

?

 

[Flightspeed]

I’m not using flight controller,

 

[JasonK]

ok, no flight controller, what you have there might be right, but I can't tell you for sure as I can't see the pin outs.

 

[JasonK]

would still need to get power to the VTX

 

[Flightspeed]

How?🤣 these things r confusing

 

[JasonK]

How?🤣 these things r confusing

if the VTX can take your battery voltage, via the accessory lead on your ESC red to red, black to black. if it can't you need to get an appropriate BEC to do the same thing.

 

[Flightspeed]

Ok there’s my arrow? And what’s a bec? I’ve never figured that out.

 

[JasonK]

BEC -> battery eliminator circuit, basically a regulator. for example your Servos and receiver want 5 (or sometimes 6 volts), definitely not 3 or 4s voltage levels, so that brings down the voltage to a 'happy' level for the items.

Do you see that red plug off of the ESC that isn't connected to anything? that is your auxiliary battery connection, that will give you battery voltage at that jack.

if this is your VTX: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/panda-rc-vt5804m-v2-5-8ghz-fpv-switchable-48ch-vtx-0-600mw-7-24v.html
Wide input voltage 7~24V
then it it will work with ~2s to ~5s.

What cell count are you flying with?

 

[Flightspeed]

3s

 

[Flightspeed]

Do I need some plug to soldier onto the wires that aren’t used?

 

[JasonK]

Do I need some plug to soldier onto the wires that aren’t used?

it looks like you have 1 unused wire, which is probably the smart audio wire, I would just tape it off.

then get the matching connector to that accessory plug and put that on the red/black wires off the VTX

 

[Flightspeed]

So I do need a female version of that plug? I’m tempted then to just cut it off and soldier them together. Instead on waiting for a plug to ship