FPV- which one do you use?

[Davek]

And what is it you like and don't like about it?

I wanna buy a system and add the mini osd. I've been reading but some of the info is dated and lots of it isn't really consolidated into one place. Not sure if I'd like goggles or just an LCD to view with. I'd think I could at lease share the experience with a display. I get the need for circular polarized antennas or perhaps directional antennas but I'm not gonna fly this far. The phantom gear is only good to a Km anyways. But, I read the 5.8 is only good for line of sight. Is this true? I can't fly around a house without pic breaking up? Or through the woods? The idea is NOT to have to have line sight. I also read that 1.3Ghz and 900Mhz systems have more punch power but perhaps those are more needed for people flying 5 miles away and back. I'm guessing that the fatshark systems are the way to go and I should perhaps pick one of those based on cost. But was really curious what it is you don't like about yours and how well the goggles work and feel.

Thanks!

 

[kenskid]

I have a Fatshark Dominator. I currently use goggles. I'll try a display soon.

And what is it you like and don't like about it?

I wanna buy a system and add the mini osd. I've been reading but some of the info is dated and lots of it isn't really consolidated into one place. Not sure if I'd like goggles or just an LCD to view with. I'd think I could at lease share the experience with a display. I get the need for circular polarized antennas or perhaps directional antennas but I'm not gonna fly this far. The phantom gear is only good to a Km anyways. But, I read the 5.8 is only good for line of sight. Is this true? I can't fly around a house without pic breaking up? Or through the woods? The idea is NOT to have to have line sight. I also read that 1.3Ghz and 900Mhz systems have more punch power but perhaps those are more needed for people flying 5 miles away and back. I'm guessing that the fatshark systems are the way to go and I should perhaps pick one of those based on cost. But was really curious what it is you don't like about yours and how well the goggles work and feel.

Thanks!

 

[ElGuano]

And what is it you like and don't like about it?

I wanna buy a system and add the mini osd. I've been reading but some of the info is dated and lots of it isn't really consolidated into one place. Not sure if I'd like goggles or just an LCD to view with. I'd think I could at lease share the experience with a display. I get the need for circular polarized antennas or perhaps directional antennas but I'm not gonna fly this far. The phantom gear is only good to a Km anyways. But, I read the 5.8 is only good for line of sight. Is this true? I can't fly around a house without pic breaking up? Or through the woods? The idea is NOT to have to have line sight. I also read that 1.3Ghz and 900Mhz systems have more punch power but perhaps those are more needed for people flying 5 miles away and back. I'm guessing that the fatshark systems are the way to go and I should perhaps pick one of those based on cost. But was really curious what it is you don't like about yours and how well the goggles work and feel.

Thanks!

Yeah, you've got the gist of it. 5.8Ghz isn't good with obstructions; I don't know how often you'll be behind a house (if you think about it, that's flying pretty low), but being behind a tree can definitely cause interference. On my 600mW 5.8ghz setup, If I'm within 100ft, I don't need LOS, I can be in any room of my house and FPV the Phantom blind. But anything more than that and I have to keep LOS for a good signal. If you're looking for BLOS distance and flying around obstructions, 5.8ghz isn't your best bet.

I use a monitor because I don't exclusively fly FPV. I constantly switch between looking up at the Phantom and down at the monitor. The monitor is quite useful for those instances when you're more than a few hundred feet out and the Phantom is just a speck in the distance; you can see which direction you're pointing and confirm location even if you lose sight of the quad. I also have a couple of different mounts - a TX mount for convenience, and a small table stand for when I want to share the feed or just have the space to set it down somewhere.

The farthest I've been on my setup is 1.1km, and that's right when the control signal cut out and the Phantom started RTH. Further distance should be no problem with good antennas, it seems the mW output is really secondary to that.

 

[Davek]

Thanks Elguano.... awesome screen name btw. But I'm really disappointed to hear that you really must have LOS for more than 100' and you have a super huge Tx at 600mw. I may consider a 1.3Ghz system then even though it is a harmonic of the 2.4Ghz. Also wondering if it's true that from what I've gathered, the 900Mhz is just too noisey in the city??

 

[rilot]

If you're having range issues switch to some skew planar antennas. They make an enormous difference.