"hacker/maker"s frist FPV setup ? (warning dyslexia inside!)

[colour_limited]

hello, everyone.

first of all, I'm severely dyslexic so sorry for the horrible spelling/grammar, if you don't understand me don't hesitate to ask me to translate XD.

built an FTspear and after seeing how much space I have for more equipment I'm itching to get some sort of PFV setup in there. the issue I have is i have a lot of time and not much money. the one thing i do have on my side is a workshop setup for basic electrical engineering.

I'm going to brack this down into categories, transmit and receive etc. I'm hoping to use as much equipment as I already have for example I own a ocuse rift DK1 that in my mind would a ok pear of googles ?

camera:

now, this I will have to buy?
unless a can hack apart an old VGA webcam (which I have several in the loft) from want I understand most systems use the S-video? so that might not work.


transmitter/receiver:

of course, they come hand in hand.
one thing i do have lots of is ESP8266-11/12 & 01 wifi modules I believe the bandwidth will be the limiting factor with using those. wifi seems to be the best way to hack a setup togeather.

display/googles:

I was thinking if I go for a display I have lots of old VGA monitors that I can strip down strip it back to bare bones and add a li-pi power management system, if there is any formatt problems vga to svideo or somthing like that can buy some cheap coversters from ebay or the like. i do have a old aluminium carry case that could mount it all into to make a base station witch would be cool

if I go for the goggles as I said I own a DK1 that takes HDMI so I think I could end up with something similar to the display but googles.


thanks for suffering from my rambling and spelling. any idea's or thinkings that I have missed please tell me

all the best:
colour_limited

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

G'day!

Good on you for stopping by and asking for recommendations before jumping in!

I have only been FPVing for a few years but I will help if I can. :black_eyed:

So you mention you have a workshop set up for electrical work, but are you good with the soldering iron? FPV is going to involve a lot of it!

I am going to link things to Hobbyking as that is where I usually order from.

Camera:

I like the HS1177, it has clear video and good picture.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-hs1177-v2-1-3-sony-color-had-ii-ccd-camera-for-fpv-pal.html

If you want to be recording video, I use this and get photos like the below.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hawkeye-firefly-q6-yellow.html



More to follow,
Abe

 

[JimCR120]

Hello colour_limited.
You've come to the right place to exchange thoughts. This is a thrilling hobby and we enjoy the camaraderie that comes with it. We thrive on it.

No worries about any wording slips, ours is a worldwide community where even when words aren't perfect (or even the same language) we focus on the connection. As long as the communication is dignified, respectful, and family friendly all will be well.

Welcome to the forum.
—Jim

 

[ElectriSean]

Welcome to the forum

Most FPV (with the exception of the super high end HD stuff) is done with old school analog video transmission and composite video signals. The HS1177 camera linked above is pretty much the standard, many of the higher end ones use similar components (RunCam Swift etc). You may be able to hack one of your webcams to provide such a signal, I've never attempted anything like that though.

Wifi has a fairly limited range and pretty bad latency, so it isn't used much for the flight camera, though aerial photography systems use it to frame their shots. Most commonly used is an analog transmitter/receiver in the 5.8gHz band. Very low latency and respectable range, which you will need flying a larger wing like the Spear.

I'm sure you could make something work with the components you listed but it will definitely be sub-optimal. Whatever you decide to do, post pictures and video's, they are the fuel that powers these forums

 

[Userofmuchtape&glue]

Transmitter/Receiver

Now I am not sure of the current/legal power limit in the UK, but this is what I would recommend:
Like Sean said wifi is not great for FPV as there is quite a large lag.

The higher the mW the further you can fly basically, but a 200mW unit should get you distances of 1.5kms with proper antennas
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/x50-2-200mw-tx-cnc-alloy-case.html

For the receiver, I would recommend getting these goggles as they have one built in.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/quanum-cyclops-v2-fpv-goggle.html

Now technically you could use what you have, but it will involve a lot of soldering, stripping, hacking, and all that to put together and in the end it probably won't work as well as a bought setup like I have been linking.

Once you get used to FPV, I say go for it and see what you can do but at this point you will save yourself many aches and pains if you buy one.

How much experience do you have flying your spear?

Abe

 

[makattack]

It sounds like your idea of repurposing existing hardware for FPV may be overly complicated and not result in a great experience given the trouble and potential expense. As others have said, inexpensive FPV gear can be purchased that are proven performance-wise, and affordable. A look at a few UK FPV vendors shows a VTX and camera combo can be purchased for about 33GBP, and a box goggle for about 40 quid. If that's too much, I suspect ordering direct from some vendors in China can lower the price a bit more and potentially avoid the VAT if they're sneaky about labeling the contents of the package as "gifts"