Help! FT Arrow FPV setup

[BlockerAviation]

I'm currently working on some ft Arrows and am now unable to figure out what FPV system I should get for them. I'm looking for a a setup that shows my battery voltage and maybe my flight time for some midrange cruising. I've found a few transmitters by wolfwhoop that seem to be of good quality but I'm at a loss of what camera to get, let alone witch antenna to get. Here's a pic of the Arrows that I'm building.

 

[Battery800]

I just built my ft arrow today that I got from a value bundle and am wondering the same. I’ve been looking into fpv as I’ve never used one and thought this would be a good start

 

[Ryan O.]

I'm guessing you may want something similar to this for the battery voltage and flight time:

Nowadays there are some products that perform similar functions to this and aren't too expensive.
For cameras there are several, and other guys know much more about it than I do. I've always heard the Runcam Eagle, Swift, and Phoenix were good.

 

[Merv]

Here is the first is a series of videos that I found very worth while.

 

[Merv]

Here is a video to add voltage to your video. In part 2 he adds GPS with an arrow pointing home.

 

[BlockerAviation]

Here is a video to add voltage to your video. In part 2 he adds GPS with an arrow pointing home.

Thanks but I was wondering if there was anything that didn't need to be programed and was cleaner and more up to date. I've herd that there are cameras that have a voltage osd built in, but I don't know what cameras have a built-in osd.

 

[PsyBorg]

Are you using just a normal receiver or one of the new flight controllers for wings? If the latter I believe some or most now have a pass thru for OSD in various degrees. Camera gets plugged / soldered to an in put and the out put gets fed to the vtx all the osd stuff is set in the flight controller.

 

[BlockerAviation]

Are you using just a normal receiver or one of the new flight controllers for wings? If the latter I believe some or most now have a pass thru for OSD in various degrees. Camera gets plugged / soldered to an in put and the out put gets fed to the vtx all the osd stuff is set in the flight controller.

I'm using a normal airplane rx

 

[PsyBorg]

I'm using a normal airplane rx

The runcam cameras I use have an osd that shows basic battery voltages. If you want more the best option is to go to a flight controller with built in osd. I have yet to see a stand alone osd that wasn't a nightmare to deal with.

 

[BlockerAviation]

The runcam cameras I use have an osd that shows basic battery voltages. If you want more the best option is to go to a flight controller with built in osd. I have yet to see a stand alone osd that wasn't a nightmare to deal with.

The bat voltage is all I need. My next question is witch runcam do you recommend and how would it be set up for this vtx, Thanks!

 

[PsyBorg]

Any of the Swift 2 and microswift 2 cameras have it. I think the newer pheonix 2 does as well but I never looked since I use the betaflight osd with the last build. The Pheonix 2 is the best camera I have used for analog video so far. The view in the goggles is super detailed and I can see twigs when flying my quad inside a trees branch system. It does not however translate well into DVR footage as they are still super low resolution and scaled for like 600 tvl not 1000 tvl they use.

Basically you would power the camera from the same tap for your VTX (check voltage ranges on which ever camera you get to be sure) Ideally a clean 5v signal is best camera wise to manage heat build up from the internal regulator but 3s and 4s power on the variable range ones will be ok too. Then the two lines + - labeled BAT go to the battery connector to read right from the battery BEFORE any other electronics.

 

[BlockerAviation]

Any of the Swift 2 and microswift 2 cameras have it. I think the newer pheonix 2 does as well but I never looked since I use the betaflight osd with the last build. The Pheonix 2 is the best camera I have used for analog video so far. The view in the goggles is super detailed and I can see twigs when flying my quad inside a trees branch system. It does not however translate well into DVR footage as they are still super low resolution and scaled for like 600 tvl not 1000 tvl they use.

Basically you would power the camera from the same tap for your VTX (check voltage ranges on which ever camera you get to be sure) Ideally a clean 5v signal is best camera wise to manage heat build up from the internal regulator but 3s and 4s power on the variable range ones will be ok too. Then the two lines + - labeled BAT go to the battery connector to read right from the battery BEFORE any other electronics.

Thanks for the help!

 

[PsyBorg]

Thanks for the help!

Good luck mate.

 

[mrjdstewart]

the arrow fpv is one of my favorite planes to fly. they are fast, fun, easy to build, and can take a beating. i use a 3D printed center pod that has an AIO camera mount built in. i either power the camera off a 1S battery or off the balance plug with a micro 1A BEC. had a blast with it the last 2 weekends and today unfortunately had the battery go dead and hard cut-off put it into the dirt. these things love to split in half, good part is a little hot glue and it will be just fine and tearing up the skies again wednesday. should have some video from today at some point. when i do i will post a link.

have fun and good luck,

me

 

[Sero]

Any of the Swift 2 and microswift 2 cameras have it. I think the newer pheonix 2 does as well but I never looked since I use the betaflight osd with the last build. The Pheonix 2 is the best camera I have used for analog video so far. The view in the goggles is super detailed and I can see twigs when flying my quad inside a trees branch system. It does not however translate well into DVR footage as they are still super low resolution and scaled for like 600 tvl not 1000 tvl they use.

Basically you would power the camera from the same tap for your VTX (check voltage ranges on which ever camera you get to be sure) Ideally a clean 5v signal is best camera wise to manage heat build up from the internal regulator but 3s and 4s power on the variable range ones will be ok too. Then the two lines + - labeled BAT go to the battery connector to read right from the battery BEFORE any other electronics.

Thanks for the help!

Keep in mind the VTX you posted requires 7 volts minimum, not 5.

 

[mrjdstewart]

video from today thanks to @Hoomi

don't mind the uncontrolled start. i accidentally hit the "search" button when pulling my goggles on. for a few moments i had nothing. i also obviously need to get some new batteries because that was short and died fast.

laters,

me

 

[Battery800]

can you power the camera off of the jst connector on the esc?

 

[PsyBorg]

Keep in mind the VTX you posted requires 7 volts minimum, not 5.

That would be why I stated at 3s or 4s you would be fine and why I also suggested to run the camera from a filtered 5v supply if possible.

@Battery800 you can but its generally not the best place to tap from. Thin wires and higher watt vtx can melt and fuse the wires which would be REALLY bad. Second thats more plug in / disconnecting on an already tiny connector so you could be shortening its life span.

Here is an example of the Pheonix 2. bear in mind high tvl cameras do not dvr well which is what the lines are NOT what I see in the goggles. Also this was before I cut the colors back from stock as the saturation was wayyy to high for my liking. It washes out the tiny scraggle branhes I need to see when flying IN a tree not around it.

without osd showing.

With what I use in betaflight osd showing.

 

[mrjdstewart]

can you power the camera off of the jst connector on the esc?

which ESC and camera are you talking about?

if using the AIO i have and a Flite Test ESC then NO, you need a BEC to drop the volts. the "auxiliary" plug they add gives full battery voltage. you only need 3.7 - 5v

can you power camera off the RX? yes, but run the risk of brown outs from pulling too many amps. check the BEC rating of your ESC to ensure you have enough.

one of best is to use a separate BEC off balance plug (or FT auxiliary) plug. this way so long as you have battery you have camera.

next best is to run the camera off a single 1S battery you know will last the 5 mins of flight. that way if your main battery does die, like in my video, you still have camera.

once again, this is for an AIO (25-200mW) camera, your setup may be different and require diff power inputs.

laters,

me

 

[BlockerAviation]

Keep in mind the VTX you posted requires 7 volts minimum, not 5.

Yeah I normally run it on my main battery witch is a 3s