Hey drone enthusiasts,
Just a little post on my FPV setup to help those who are new to this whole thing. I was a noobie about this time 2 months back, so wanted to pass on some options for people to consider. This post will detail my final purchase decisions, a mistake (which you can learn from) and will also include some pictures of the setup and a description of the the 3D printed parts that I used during this project. I will also say a little bit about my flying experience and FPV experience overall.
Intro/Background
I previously had a stock P2 + H3-3D and wanted to jazz it up a little bit with an FPV solution. However, didn't want to spend massive amounts and so went into it with a view of keeping costs to a minimum.
Purchase decisions
Did a lot of research and purchased the following parts (sorry for the confusing prices - I'm Australian so some things are in AUD):
DJI iOSD Mini: $56.70 USD (http://www.dx.com/p/dji-iosd-mini-contr ... Lfio3vpfK8)
TS353 Transmitter (Tx) (RP-SMA): $42.47 AUD (http://www.surveilzone.com/5.8g-8ch-vid ... fpv-ws1140)
'Boscam' (actually, it's a Boscam rip-off but still great quality) RX-LCD5802 Monitor + Receiver (SMA): $160.02 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Boscam-FPV-R ... 3ce6501ff4)
ImmersionRC FatShark antennas (RP-SMA): $43.98 USD (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... _SMA_.html)
90 degree adapter (RP-SMA): $1.48 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Male-Jack-Ce ... 5d4eef2688)
SMA to RP-SMA adapter for monitor/receiver: $1.29 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131175291002)
TOTAL COST: $332.57 AUD (or roughly $261 USD)
NOTES ON INSTALLATION
Installation is not too difficult. You can go down 2 roads (easy and hard):
Non-soldering (easy)
Purchase this: http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Video-Cable- ... xtech.html
Soldering (hard)
You need to make a wire 'harness' to connect the iosd mini and Tx to the board. There is a video tutorial here: http://youtu.be/GCZAN51mJOE (in fact, you can use this for most, if not all, of the installation).
You will also need double sided tape.
There are plenty of videos on how to install all this stuff on Youtube, you just need to do some searching.
Mistake
I neglected to purchase a charger for the 'Boscam' monitor (RX-LCD5802) and needed one for a photography event I was doing - so ended up forking out ~$30 AUD to get one quickly. However, if you're purchasing that monitor - you must remember to order this part so you can charge it (cost: $6 USD): http://www.banggood.com/Boscam-RX-LCD58 ... 17321.html
Here are some pics
Why are there pictures of sunglasses?
Because you need them when looking into the sun (e.g. flying drones) and they can be used as eye protection if you hand-catch your P2 (see the 'DJI Phantom owners' FB page for pictures of what can happen if you don't wear glasses when hand-catching).
3D printed parts that I used in this project
I designed a component (for use with another part I found on Thingiverse) which would make mounting possible. I gave the design to my father, who coded it in OpenSCAD and we then printed it. Worked on the first shot. So here it is everyone - free for you to download, print and enjoy.
Again, I designed this component and my father coded it. Available for free.
This is a great little lens cover / gimbal protector for the P2. I had nothing to do with the design.
My experience so far
I am yet to make any videos of flying so far. However, in terms of range, I can say that I have reached 500m using the stock antennas in a high density metro area - so that's a good sign. I am yet to take it out to a more secluded area where I can do some real range testing. I have noticed that sometimes I lose signal with the P2 at short distances (e.g. 200-250m) however I think this has more to do with external interference (from metro area) than anything else. I will post back once I have done some more testing.
In terms of the quality of video/audio coming into the monitor - I'm impressed. It's pretty good quality vision and I can certainly tell where I am and what I'm doing as long as I have signal.
Hope everyone found this post helpful. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments.
Just a little post on my FPV setup to help those who are new to this whole thing. I was a noobie about this time 2 months back, so wanted to pass on some options for people to consider. This post will detail my final purchase decisions, a mistake (which you can learn from) and will also include some pictures of the setup and a description of the the 3D printed parts that I used during this project. I will also say a little bit about my flying experience and FPV experience overall.
Intro/Background
I previously had a stock P2 + H3-3D and wanted to jazz it up a little bit with an FPV solution. However, didn't want to spend massive amounts and so went into it with a view of keeping costs to a minimum.
Purchase decisions
Did a lot of research and purchased the following parts (sorry for the confusing prices - I'm Australian so some things are in AUD):
DJI iOSD Mini: $56.70 USD (http://www.dx.com/p/dji-iosd-mini-contr ... Lfio3vpfK8)
TS353 Transmitter (Tx) (RP-SMA): $42.47 AUD (http://www.surveilzone.com/5.8g-8ch-vid ... fpv-ws1140)
'Boscam' (actually, it's a Boscam rip-off but still great quality) RX-LCD5802 Monitor + Receiver (SMA): $160.02 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Boscam-FPV-R ... 3ce6501ff4)
ImmersionRC FatShark antennas (RP-SMA): $43.98 USD (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... _SMA_.html)
90 degree adapter (RP-SMA): $1.48 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Male-Jack-Ce ... 5d4eef2688)
SMA to RP-SMA adapter for monitor/receiver: $1.29 AUD (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131175291002)
TOTAL COST: $332.57 AUD (or roughly $261 USD)
NOTES ON INSTALLATION
Installation is not too difficult. You can go down 2 roads (easy and hard):
Non-soldering (easy)
Purchase this: http://www.dpcav.com/xcart/Video-Cable- ... xtech.html
Soldering (hard)
You need to make a wire 'harness' to connect the iosd mini and Tx to the board. There is a video tutorial here: http://youtu.be/GCZAN51mJOE (in fact, you can use this for most, if not all, of the installation).
You will also need double sided tape.
There are plenty of videos on how to install all this stuff on Youtube, you just need to do some searching.
Mistake
I neglected to purchase a charger for the 'Boscam' monitor (RX-LCD5802) and needed one for a photography event I was doing - so ended up forking out ~$30 AUD to get one quickly. However, if you're purchasing that monitor - you must remember to order this part so you can charge it (cost: $6 USD): http://www.banggood.com/Boscam-RX-LCD58 ... 17321.html
Here are some pics
Why are there pictures of sunglasses?
Because you need them when looking into the sun (e.g. flying drones) and they can be used as eye protection if you hand-catch your P2 (see the 'DJI Phantom owners' FB page for pictures of what can happen if you don't wear glasses when hand-catching).
3D printed parts that I used in this project
- RX-LCD5802 Adjustable FPV Mount for Phantom 2 Controller
I designed a component (for use with another part I found on Thingiverse) which would make mounting possible. I gave the design to my father, who coded it in OpenSCAD and we then printed it. Worked on the first shot. So here it is everyone - free for you to download, print and enjoy.
- TS353 Transmitter (Tx) Housing / Mount / Attachment for Phantom 2
Again, I designed this component and my father coded it. Available for free.
- DJI Phantom 2 h3-3d Gimbal clamp/ GoPro 3 lens cover
This is a great little lens cover / gimbal protector for the P2. I had nothing to do with the design.
My experience so far
I am yet to make any videos of flying so far. However, in terms of range, I can say that I have reached 500m using the stock antennas in a high density metro area - so that's a good sign. I am yet to take it out to a more secluded area where I can do some real range testing. I have noticed that sometimes I lose signal with the P2 at short distances (e.g. 200-250m) however I think this has more to do with external interference (from metro area) than anything else. I will post back once I have done some more testing.
In terms of the quality of video/audio coming into the monitor - I'm impressed. It's pretty good quality vision and I can certainly tell where I am and what I'm doing as long as I have signal.
Hope everyone found this post helpful. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments.
There are 2 versions of the cable, one for Boscam transmitters, another for the ImmersionRC transmitter which makes the whole thing no-solder, plug and play between the P2 mainboard, iOSD mini, and vTx.
