New to flying r/c
- Thread starter Morgajus
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FDS
Elite member
Both your motors are too big and too fast for the mini scout.
Motors are under $10! Just buy a smaller one, plus a couple of props.
If you want to re use those other motors sometime then they might fit bigger planes but the high KV will still be a problem for some things but might be good for others like flying wings. You will use them at some point.
Lesson- Until you have some more flight experience, buy close to what’s recommended by FT if you are building their stuff and always build as light as possible. Planes made that way will be easier to learn on.
Motors are under $10! Just buy a smaller one, plus a couple of props.
If you want to re use those other motors sometime then they might fit bigger planes but the high KV will still be a problem for some things but might be good for others like flying wings. You will use them at some point.
Lesson- Until you have some more flight experience, buy close to what’s recommended by FT if you are building their stuff and always build as light as possible. Planes made that way will be easier to learn on.
MorningViewFPV
Active member
i have eachine ev100 goggles. they are great for the price.
Thank you for the advice.
Unfortunately, motors are only under $10 if I buy them online. My local hobby store that does planes carries weird brands (ones i couldn't find online, chinese maybe?) marked up to 200% what would be expected, then claims they price match with advertisments for exact matches, I think $35 was the cheapest brushless outrunner I saw in the case. (The owner is really rude too.) So I will have to work on my patience for shipping times.
On the motor recommendations, I thought that I was sticking close to what was suggested... but my dyslexia may have gotten the better of me since they are both 2212 motors... that's probably what happened, thinking about it.
Maybe I'll throw some weight in the nose and have my nitro-flyer buddy tow me up as a glider. We are both aerospace engineers (students, focused on rockets), we can figure it out.
Thanks for the input.
What size/type transmitter do you use? I have a habit of planning 6 steps ahead and FPV is one of the things I would like to try. So I build wishlists of gear that *should* work for the application. But the only people I know that do fpv are only interested in racing drones (sounds fun, but not what I'm interested in right now.)
FDS
Elite member
If you want to do FPV any 6-12 channel radio will be fine, it doesn’t interface with the TX at all, the only time that you might need the radio is for a servo to tilt the camera with the rudder on planes. If you are making an FPV Quad then be aware that Flysky currently have only limited choices for small SBUS receivers. Spektrum finally released one but it’s quite complicated to set theirs up. For quads FRsky or Jumper radios have the best support and range of receivers.
All you need to try FPV on a plane is a $20 All in one camera and VTX combi and a pair of goggles. I got a second hand set of Eachine 800’s for $45.
Do yourself a favour on the first build and either order a power pack with your speedbuild kit or buy everything from one online retailer. Stores are usually useless for getting FT stuff, they only carry boxed bits and expensive parts. Hobbyking are great if you use the warehouse in your country, never buy anything on backorder or from the international warehouse.
All you need to try FPV on a plane is a $20 All in one camera and VTX combi and a pair of goggles. I got a second hand set of Eachine 800’s for $45.
Do yourself a favour on the first build and either order a power pack with your speedbuild kit or buy everything from one online retailer. Stores are usually useless for getting FT stuff, they only carry boxed bits and expensive parts. Hobbyking are great if you use the warehouse in your country, never buy anything on backorder or from the international warehouse.
MorningViewFPV
Active member
i use a eachine 800mw video transmitter. https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-TX...saTkRoCeoUQAvD_BwE&ID=512671&cur_warehouse=CN
MorningViewFPV
Active member
To get started in fpv, like FDS said above, to do fpv all you need is a "all in one" (aio) camera/vtx. About 20 dollars and some of them do 200mw (if you want a little range). Can be powered off the receiver or directly off the battery or charging wires. Besides that a cheap headset or screen with receiver built in. Cool thing about a setup like this is that you can throw it on anything with a little velcro. cars planes boats and drones.
800mW? Do you need a HAM license for that? What kind of range do you get?
Is there a general rule of thumb relating VTX power to range?
When I get that far down my list an aio set-up is probably what I will start with. But I like the idea of having more video range than controller range so I can see where it comes down in a pinch.
Ooo another question, I was watching a youtube video about fpv and it looked like the guy had a heads-up display on his fpv (gps, horizon, flight data, compass). Is that common, or atleast commercially available/relatively affordable?
You need a HAM license for anything that's NOT FCC certified, regardless of wattage, in the United States. The good news is, it's not hard to get, and the license is good for 10 years, plus you can renew online.
Depending on where you take it, you might have to pay for the license, but when I did it, the test was free!As for range, it's a crap shoot for how far you can see with wattage. I had a buddy of mine fly a Baby Hawk a half mile away, no signal loss whatsoever, using a 25mw VTX. He tried the same thing at the ball field across the street from his house - he got from home plate to the outfield and started seeing weak signal. A lot of it is due to environment and other interference, as well as types of antennas used for signal.
The OSD, or onscreen display, depends on the board being used. Some of the older equipment doesn't really have things like the attitude guide, but it might have info like battery life, or video signal strength. The OSDs are commonly found on quadcopters, but you can certainly have them on planes as well; it really depends on the VTX setup and sensors you have equipped on your plane.
FDS
Elite member
You would need a board with sensors like barometer, magnetometer and GPS to get a full heads up display. There’s a number of mini OSD’s around like this one which will do quite a lot of what you mentioned.
You don’t need any of that stuff to get started, range on a 200mw transmitter will be more than you need. For power output you need a 5x increase in output power to double the signal strength/range, so more is always more. A more expensive VTX with 1W power output will get you stupendous ranges, well outside the legal limit.
You certainly won’t need that to try it out. You can get in deep with FPV, 100’s of $ deep.
You don’t need any of that stuff to get started, range on a 200mw transmitter will be more than you need. For power output you need a 5x increase in output power to double the signal strength/range, so more is always more. A more expensive VTX with 1W power output will get you stupendous ranges, well outside the legal limit.
You certainly won’t need that to try it out. You can get in deep with FPV, 100’s of $ deep.
You need a HAM license for anything that's NOT FCC certified, regardless of wattage, in the United States. The good news is, it's not hard to get, and the license is good for 10 years, plus you can renew online.
As for range, it's a crap shoot for how far you can see with wattage. I had a buddy of mine fly a Baby Hawk a half mile away, no signal loss whatsoever, using a 25mw VTX. He tried the same thing at the ball field across the street from his house - he got from home plate to the outfield and started seeing weak signal. A lot of it is due to environment and other interference, as well as types of antennas used for signal.
The OSD, or onscreen display, depends on the board being used. Some of the older equipment doesn't really have things like the attitude guide, but it might have info like battery life, or video signal strength. The OSDs are commonly found on quadcopters, but you can certainly have them on planes as well; it really depends on the VTX setup and sensors you have equipped on your plane.
Thanks for the wisdom
I will probably need the cert then. Most of the stuff I'm looking at is cheap/chinese. I think it's offered locally here in august (right about the time my electronics should arrive
)Was just reading an article that says the maximum theoretical range of a 25 mW tx is 1.5 miles without a high gain antenna. And from a physics standpoint, the ball field (with its metal fences) sounds like a big reflector ring, which would cause interference due to overlapping signals that are slightly out of phase. So that makes sense to me.
All of this being said, I will force myself to be patient. One step at a time, still need to install the electronics on my first plane(s)... Hurry up, China!
Thanks for the wisdom
I will probably need the cert then. Most of the stuff I'm looking at is cheap/chinese. I think it's offered locally here in august (right about the time my electronics should arrive
Was just reading an article that says the maximum theoretical range of a 25 mW tx is 1.5 miles without a high gain antenna. And from a physics standpoint, the ball field (with its metal fences) sounds like a big reflector ring, which would cause interference due to overlapping signals that are slightly out of phase. So that makes sense to me.
All of this being said, I will force myself to be patient. One step at a time, still need to install the electronics on my first plane(s)... Hurry up, China!
LOL use that time to study up on the test.
I looked at the online review tests that were out there for free when I took the test a few years ago; I kept taking the test over and over again until I knew the material. I still missed a few when I took it, but I was able to pass, no problem. Here's a couple of links:
http://arrlexamreview.appspot.com/
http://aa9pw.com/technician-license/ (On the right hand side, look for the button that says, "Take Exam")
MorningViewFPV
Active member
I often dream i am flying FPV. Some gigantic mountain range. Nothing i have done on this planet is comparable. Anyway, yes 25mw is great if your outside in the open. Almost all drone racing is done at 25mw. I fly in the city (alone) and amongst lots of rf noise so i use higher power. I need to get my cert. Should probably get my drivers l's first. equations throw me off..... you should loose video way before you loose radio signal, should. as far as the osd's are concerned...once you get more involved, i have found some fpv cameras have osd in them so no "flight controller" or external osd board is needed (between cam and vtx)...perfects for airplanes or rc cars/boats where no autopilot (flight controler) is needed.
Driver's license is probably a good choice. But if its free, the ham operator cert isn't a bad idea. I haven't seen any equation questions yet though, so they might stump me too.
So a flight controller can act as an autopilot, to some extent? I've not done any real research on them besides a few youtube videos that had them onboard but never said why.
I've been looking at the little aio fpv setups for a low level entry point. $130 after shipping and one can get a headset and aio that runs off the rx.
But first, i must complete a plane and learn to fly...
Flight controllers can KINDA work like an autopilot; what they really do is to help smooth out flight a bit by making minor adjustments during flight. The problem, though, is that you don't learn the smoothness for yourself.
And I can't guarantee the HAM test will be free. It was free for me; the clubs in my area have some sort of subsidy for taking the test. I think they get it because they also train military personnel for HAM radio use at Camp Pendleton? I don't know the exact reason, but it was free for me to take it. Otherwise, I think it's like, $10-$15?
And seriously, it's not hard to get - you just need to study for it, like any test.
According to the ARRL, it’s set by the test coordinator and is usually $15 or less; however, that is set by the VEC (Volunteer Exam Coordinator), so it can vary (or even be free!)
FDS
Elite member
Upper limit for unlicensed users in some places is 0. Here we don’t need a licence. However I may or may not break the 200Mw legal limit sometimes...
For a fully automated flight set up you want something like Ardupilot, Pixhawk or iNav, it’s a fully GPS linked programmable flight controller that will allow you to set up “missions” on a laptop and then have the plane take off, fly and return without you doing anything. They don’t usually auto land, some people like to take off manually too, depends on the system you have. Beyond line of sight flight is illegal in many countries,
Learn to fly LOS first, you will need to do that before anything else.
For a fully automated flight set up you want something like Ardupilot, Pixhawk or iNav, it’s a fully GPS linked programmable flight controller that will allow you to set up “missions” on a laptop and then have the plane take off, fly and return without you doing anything. They don’t usually auto land, some people like to take off manually too, depends on the system you have. Beyond line of sight flight is illegal in many countries,
Learn to fly LOS first, you will need to do that before anything else.
MorningViewFPV
Active member
Yes a flight controller or FC is a autopilot. It automatically pilots the aircraft, one way or another. The primary way it does this is with a gyro, accelerometer, and other sensors. Flight controllers are highly underused in the fixed wing RC hobby. My opinion.
So many responses, thank you all.
Checked with my local club, turns out I already know a few of the members lol. They ask $10 normally.
So generally its a 200 mW limit?
I agree LOS before fpv. I'm trying to be responsible with my hobbying (leagally and monetarily.)
When I get into long range fpv stuff I will definately look into a flight controller to smooth out latency issues and/or random wind changes in the mountain passes.
Checked with my local club, turns out I already know a few of the members lol. They ask $10 normally.
So generally its a 200 mW limit?
I agree LOS before fpv. I'm trying to be responsible with my hobbying (leagally and monetarily.)
When I get into long range fpv stuff I will definately look into a flight controller to smooth out latency issues and/or random wind changes in the mountain passes.
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