UAV Platform

Thread Starter

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
Yes, there is, but it's not a starter's item. The cost starts from at about $300 and can go as high as you can.

You start with a camera. As usual Hobbyking can give you a feel of what kind of technology is available in the market:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__538__543__FPV_Telemetry-Cameras.html
I hear that the Mobious and Boscam cameras are quite good.

You get an analog video signal out of them and feed it onto a video transmitter:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__540__543__FPV_Telemetry-Video_Tx_Rx.html
In the US you can use pretty much any frequency. In Europe the 900MHz band is restricted. You also don't want to occupy the 433MHz band as you may need it later for a long range control system.

The antenna selection then comes to play: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__541__543__FPV_Telemetry-Antennas_Cable.html
Circular polarized antennas give better protection from multipathing, and high-gain directional antennas in the ground station can extend your range significantly. The trade-off is that they receive in a cone, which you must direct towards your plane to keep it in the antenna's field of view. Automated rotating antenna trackers exist for that purpose.

Finally, you need something to project you video on. You can choose between a screen or a much cooler pair of goggles.

All this is a lot of information.
Check what Team Black Sheep uses for their setups, Alex Greave's aka IBCrazy's channel on youtube and some reviews by Bruce Simpson.

To walk the path of FPV, you must either do a lot of reading or find someone who has done it already.
And something very important! Do not attempt to fly your aircraft via the video feed until you are very proficient in flying it in line-of-sight! Accidents are waiting to happen.
 
Last edited:
Top