Help! Hi! Newbie FPV Question

[odie0817]

Hey all, newbie here! Kinda niche question here. Looking for FPV TX and RX recommendations specifically for the 1.3GHz range. What I have going on is looking to mount a battery operated camera to an over head crane's skyhook. In our steel annealing lines, cylindrical casks have to be lifted off columns of material that are ~50' high once the process is completed. The overhead cranes in this area do not have cabs and are operated from the ground by remote. Operators currently do this by "feel" or if needed call in a scissor lift so they can be hoisted up to see what they are hooked to. Scissor lifts presents issues with our H&S team, time to get a lift, etc. Was thinking a little FPV setup would be perfect to help the operators out and would be simple enough they would ACTUALLY use it, just fashion up some magnetic mounting system and boom down to place the camera on the hook before a lift.

The reason for the frequency requirement is we have infrastructure Wi-Fi flooding this area on all channels in the 2.4 and 5GHz range. We would be stepping on channels that remote sensors are transmitting production system data, I cannot do that. Any other thoughs or suggestions?

 

[mastermalpass]

I used to work for a data company that mainly sold H&S data systems to construction companies. Once when configuring a report for 'blue' scores (where green was good, blue meant very good), I noticed someone had gotten a blue score for sticking live cameras on the arms on an excavator. So pull this off and you're in for a handshake from the H&S manager!

I wasn't expecting 1.3ghz transmitters to be so elusive. The first five results were all 5 gig. Found this cheap little module though.

Next you'll need an antenna. You're not flying and looping around, so this basic lollipop one should do the trick.

Important note for newbies: DO NOT power on a Video transmitter without an antenna attached: you'll fry the circuits!

The camera now needs a power supply. You can tap the wires onto any LiPo, but you'll need a voltage regulator. The Video Transmitter I linked seems happy on 6 to 36 volts. So here's a 10v regulator. I'm not very clued up on electronics though, so if there's a sparky on site, you may wanna talk to them about this and get their thumbs up.

Okay, that's the bits for a camera and a broadcast, now you need something to view it with. Now most of us FPV flyers like to wear goggles, but on site, I assume it'd be better to have something more than one person can look at. So I'm thinking something like this cheap screen should be enough. Emphasis on something like: that screen says it's for 5Ghz. I don't know if it can be tuned for 1.3Ghz. Can't seem find anything specified for that, so here's hoping it's just a matter of tuning a secreen in.

Finally, batteries. We all use LiPos here 'cause they're the best for flying with. But, you're not flying, so Li ions are an option for you, but I'm really not clued up on those. So, here's the standard LiPo we all use: a 3S 2200mAh. Once again though, talk to the sparky. LiPos can be a real fire hazard if they get bashed, pierced, overcharged, overDIScharged, imbalanced or too hot.

Hopefully this is a good starting point. I haven't checked the reviews for any of that equipment, so do shop around. Either way, I'm sure you'll find what you need eventually.

 

[odie0817]

I used to work for a data company that mainly sold H&S data systems to construction companies. Once when configuring a report for 'blue' scores (where green was good, blue meant very good), I noticed someone had gotten a blue score for sticking live cameras on the arms on an excavator. So pull this off and you're in for a handshake from the H&S manager!

I wasn't expecting 1.3ghz transmitters to be so elusive. The first five results were all 5 gig. Found this cheap little module though.

Next you'll need an antenna. You're not flying and looping around, so this basic lollipop one should do the trick.

Important not for newbies: DO NOT power on a Video transmitter without an antenna attached: you'll fry the circuits!

The camera now needs a power supply. You can tap the wires onto any LiPo, but you'll need a voltage regulator. The Video Transmitter I linked seems happy on 6 to 36 volts. So here's a 10v regulator. I'm not very clued up on electronics though, so if there's a sparky on site, you may wanna talk to them about this and get their thumbs up.

Okay, that's the bits for a camera and a broadcast, now you need something to view it with. Now most of us FPV flyers like to wear goggles, but on site, I assume it'd be better to have something more than one person can look at. So I'm thinking something like this cheap screen should be enough. Emphasis on something like: that screen says it's for 5Ghz. I don't know if it can be tuned for 1.3Ghz. Can't seem find anything specified for that, so here's hoping it's just a matter of tuning a secreen in.

Finally, batteries. We all use LiPos here 'cause they're the best for flying with. But, you're not flying, so Li ions are an option for you, but I'm really not clued up on those. So, here's the standard LiPo we all use: a 3S 2200mAh. Once again though, talk to the sparky. LiPos can be a real fire hazard if they get bashed, pierced, overcharged, overDIScharged, imbalanced or too hot.

Hopefully this is a good starting point. I haven't checked the reviews for any of that equipment, so do shop around. Either way, I'm sure you'll find what you need eventually.

Thanks for the response mastermalpass! Since posting this question I had an imposed requirement from my management team. The wanted to be able to access the video feed from anywhere... worldwide.... Yeah, that was definitely out of left field. Anyway, I actually managed to do it (well so long as the crane has cellular connectivity available)!



This goes well beyond my initial question, but for those interested we have a RaspberryPi micro computer running a web server and connected to the internet with a Sixfab 4G LTE hat, a few 3S Li-Po batteries, DC-to-DC converter, and a consumer grade web cam. Oh, and can't forget the king cake, it is Mardi Gras season currently, lol! The box has two 90mm diameter neodymium magnets on the bottom to secure it to the crane hook like an oversized refrigerator magnet.

Unfortunately we have quite a lot of IP protected property on site, so I do not think I can show any of the video of this thing in action from our initial testing. If anyone would like a full writeup feel free to comment and I can expound on everything and perhaps get some video if it clears our communications and legal teams.

 

[mastermalpass]

Oh wow, yes that goes far beyond the initial brief, but it does sound much more practical for the regional team.

The Internet accessibility part reminds me of this thing one of my clients showed me, where he could view a bunch of cameras on site via his tablet. One feature I liked was how he could speak into his tablet for his voice to come over a tannoy at the site. He told me how early one morning, he was having his breakfast and had a look on the cams to see if anyone was there yet. There was just one: his Site manager, walking around with no PPE or hi-viz on. So he said he just pressed the mic button and said "Errm... David..." site manager bricked it and B-lined straight for the office haha!