Help! Issues with FT Caddx Ant AIO

[CaseySC]

Hey guys!

Picked up the CADDX Ant AIO from FT, and went to install it on my FT Explorer. Well, I powered it up to try and find a good spot to mount it so I could see but also see a little of the nose of the plane. Took a minute, but I was able to scan with my Eachine goggles and locked on. Great video signal!

Used the FT hot glue to glue the back to a popsicle stick, which I stuck down into the fuselage. Here I thought I was being clever. Couldn't find any other great way to mount it. I powered it up to aim it with my goggles, and...it melted the hot glue. So off I went to come up with a way to mount it that wouldn't melt or catch fire. (It was extremely hot!) I used a tongue depressor, drilled a hole in it for the lens to go through, and came up with a nice little mount for it that didn't rely on hot glue.

I fired it up, and then I just couldn't get solid video out of it. I tried the previous channel with no luck. (Does it change each power up?). I scanned for it and would occasionally see a horizontally scrolling image in unclear black and white and my goggles would just keep scanning. Like being tuned one digit off of a local radio station.

I read the limited instructions that are included on the product page about pressing buttons to change settings, but really it just says that you can. Not what the flashing lights mean. I was hoping to pin it to a specific channel and then my goggles as well, as well as set the power and such.

I've spent the last hour searching for a manual of some kind, or any sort of information on how to adjust this and found nothing.

Any suggestions? Anything I'm missing here? Is it just getting too hot from powering it up right away? Doesn't give me confidence in flying with it. I'm tempted to just consider it a loss and opt for a whole other system.

 

[LitterBug]

How did you power it? Most importantly, how many volts did you send to it?

 

[CaseySC]

How did you power it? Most importantly, how many volts did you send to it?

I plugged it into my receiver (FlySky IA6B), so it should have had 5 VDC. I'm guessing the small circuit board on the power cables is a voltage regulator? Possibly a noise filter?

 

[LitterBug]

I have had several AIO cameras like those of different origins. The Higher (100mw+) output ones do indeed get hot. I have always tried to make sure they get plenty of airflow and don't leave them plugged in for long if they are not moving. I have used 3D printed holders and glued the holders to the lens rather than holding heat in the board and/or obstructing airflow. My dead ones have been a result of impacts. My most thermally abused one is glued into the front foam of a Nano skyhunter. None of mine were sourced from FT and none look exactly like the pictures in the FT Store.

 

[CaseySC]

I tried it again today having fully cooled down, and then had my wife hold a hair dryer on it (with the heat off) to get some airflow and was able to successfully lock on video. Unfortunately, I don't know what power it's set to, and the channel is different at each startup. So there will be some time it heats up while it's sitting, and I'll have to be very quick to get video and then get it into the air. Thanks for your help!

Side note: can I power a little Runcam Thumb via the receiver as well as this FPV camera? I'd like to avoid a 12v stepdown to 5v if I can help it.

 

[Mr_Stripes]

I tried it again today having fully cooled down, and then had my wife hold a hair dryer on it (with the heat off) to get some airflow and was able to successfully lock on video. Unfortunately, I don't know what power it's set to, and the channel is different at each startup. So there will be some time it heats up while it's sitting, and I'll have to be very quick to get video and then get it into the air. Thanks for your help!

Side note: can I power a little Runcam Thumb via the receiver as well as this FPV camera? I'd like to avoid a 12v stepdown to 5v if I can help it.

Probably, both have relatively low power consumption do you know the output on the receiver?

 

[CaseySC]

Probably, both have relatively low power consumption do you know the output on the receiver?

Unsure. It's a FlySky FS-IA6B, and I can't see any kind of output other than voltage (which is around 5v). No amperage listed.

 

[CaseySC]

I was able to just plug them both into the receiver without issue. Powered them all!

 

[CaseySC]

I'm off the Ant. It ended up being extremely unreliable. Every time I powered it up, it was on a different frequency, I couldn't decipher the signal strength or any other adjustment as there's no real manual for it, and it got so hot while I was scanning for what channel it was on that I ended up not getting to fly some.
I pulled it out and replaced it with a Foxeer T-Rex and a Rush Tank II VTX. Much better. And the Rush has a pit mode so I can fiddle with camera settings and such on the bench without it overheating on me.