My first FPV & GoPro3B flight...

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My first FPV & GoPro3B flight...
GoPro HERO3 Black, Skeleton Case Mount, Boscam 5.8 GHz FPV
Take Off at 800 m (ASL), quit windy and rainy, new 3.12 firmware - semiautomatic take-off, video is not stabilized, balanced DJI black props 8x45, anti-vibration plate - no jello
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUamB2c43u8[/youtube]
 
Very enjoyable... I like the way you interjected snippets of propeller noise from the Phantom into the soundtrack. Where was this filmed? The countryside is amazingly beautiful.

Also, do you normally fly in the rain? I live in the foothills of the Cascade Range (Washington state) and it rains quite often here. I've been afraid to fly with any rain or even mist, but perhaps that is too cautious?

Finally... are you able to fly behind trees with your FPV? I couldn't tell from the video if you were also within sight of the Phantom.
 
Thanks so much, I shot it near our lodge in the Ore Mountains, a mountain range in the west of the Czech Republic (near Karlovy Vary - Carlsbad), direct on the border with Germany.

Normally do not fly in the rain, but during the flight it started to rain, which I discovered thanks to FPV, because at one time were on the lens GoPro see drops of water. But I think it will be a major problem, I believe that the blame raindrops blowing air currents from 4 propellers :)

That you have a lot and often it rains I know, I recently saw the U.S. version of the TV Show "Killing", set in Seattle, and there during the two seasons the series might never stopped raining :)

It was my first FPV flight, so rather first such testing, but several times I was out of direct sight, I did not see Phantom. Yet the picture does not fall out. It was a pleasant surprise for me.
 
Nice video good work - much better than my first FPV flight! When using the gopro skeleton case the Gopro is mounted upside down on the phantom, but the gopro people must have anticipated this because there is a setting on the go pro to turn the image upside down. I did that. HOWEVER the gopro doesn't just flip the image vertically, it must rotate it 180 degrees which also swaps left and right, so all my control inputs were backwards! I was not expecting that. I tried a high flight this morning and got completely disoriented. To the point where I first lost sight of the phantom and then I could not hear it any more - pucker time!!! :eek: Luckely my futaba TX has a fail safe panic switch which I hit and the phantom returned home! :D

Are you using a separate FPV camera? If you are using the gopro as the FPV camera, how are you flying it upsidedown?
 
Mindbender,

I've had the right/left switch once and not since. Think I was using 4k or 2.7k when it happened. What were you using?
 
Buk said:
Mindbender,

I've had the right/left switch once and not since. Think I was using 4k or 2.7k when it happened. What were you using?

I was recording 1080p/60. To see the effect use the iphone app to turn on upside dow and view the live stream. Set the gopro to view yourself and turn he iPhone and turn the phone around to right the image. Now raise your right hand. The "person" your watching will be raising their left hand!

I have been thinking about a solution, and come up with three possibilities: 1. easy, 2. hard, and 3. practical

1, easy: Turn the gopro around and fly the phantom backwards. This would reverse left/right control to match what I'm seeing. Unfortunatly it would also reverse forward/back control adding another source of confusion. ( I guess I look into programing the TX to reverse the the left/right roll stick?)

2. hard: I could modify the water proof skeleton case to allow the gopro to remain upright when slung under the phantom. This would involve cutting apart the case and epoxying it back together in the new configuration. This would be difficult and result in a high probability of case failure down the road.

3. practical: I could stop using the gopro as my FPV camera and install a second FPV forward facing camera. Some have suggested this is a good idea anyway since the gopro's live stream will just shut down when the battery is low or the microSD card is full. This has the added benefit of allowing the gopro the stay sealed in its water proof case ( I had to cut a hole in it to allow for the video cable.) and if I want to just fly FPV I could remove the gopro and have a much lighter more nimble phantom.

I think I'll go with option 3. does anyone have a recommendation for a good lightweight FPV camera?
 
I haven't done FPV yet, but ran a Hero3BE at 1080/60 a couple of days ago and all was good. Wonder if this a problem created by FPV.

I'm unsure why you worry about battery in the BE, the Phantom will need a battery change long before the BE. If you used the new skeleton case and added battery bac pac and the appropriate case back that would give you two hours of recording time. Recording time and FPV would be limited by resolution, frame rate, memory card size and power drain from FPV.

The image problem should be addressed by GoPro. I don't think that is right to have the R/L switch. Especially at such a common setting of 1080/60.

I know how the reversal looks. I was driving on the left side of the road, instead of the the right.

I should also ask, do you have the latest firmware in your BE?

(Apology to gardenroute for hijacking your thread - great video by the way)
 
Yes, apologies to garden route, but he says he is using a gopro with skeleton case, so it got me to wondering how he is getting this to work. Buk seems to indicate that this left/right reversal doesn't always happen . Intriging. Since it is a result of rotating the image 180 degrees; which is the result of correcting for a camera that has been rotated 180 degrees; and would seem to be the correct behavior. It always happens for me. It screws up the live feed and is no good for FPV, but produces a correct video recording.

Which leads me to the conclusion that I should abandon using an upside-down gopro as the FPV camera. Yet garden route and others seem to be using this setup successfully. Puzzling?
 
Thank you very much guys, my FPV setup uses only one camera GP:
- GoPro 3 Black, mounted upside down
- Inserted in Skeleton case, modding with a hole for the video to FPV
- In the video you can see that there is absolutely no Jello effect
- Picture is of course turned in setting GP
- FPV Tx (200mW) & Rx its Boscam FPV
- I am now waiting for the delivery of FS Dominator goggles and special Rx module with Boscam frequencies for insertion into FS Dominator goggles (from Black Sheeps)

Detail of my Phantom
 

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Gardenroute,
I don't get it? Your setup is the same as mine except for the nice isolation platform, and you are not noticing a left/right reversal?
I just checked my gopro again in 720p and 960p (4:30). When the gopro is put in upsidedown mode its image is rotated 180 degrees. Things that were on the right side of the screen are now on the left and vice versa. Using this as your FPV guide if you steer toward something on the right in reality the phantom moves toward the left! While flying FPV down my road I landed on the left side of the road. At first I could not find it because it was actually on the right side of the road! I must be missing something since others are flying just fine. I just wish I knew what it was! :|
 
Update,
I just did a test with my iPhone at 960p and did NOT experience the left/right reversal. I have to wait for this storm (I am in CT) to pass to test with my Fatsharks. But I am encouraged. :D
 
Gardenroute, it looks as if you are using an anti-jello mount of some kind. If that is correct, can you give us details? It is very encouraging to see video that doesn't require a gimbal to be so enjoyable.
 
Another update
Just did a test with the fatshark (not flying - just moving around the house) and it seems to be working. I don't know why. All I did was change resolutions and turn the upside-down function off and on. I have to wait for good weather for a flight test. But for now I am happy. Thanks everyone for your responses and sorry if I waisted anyone's time.
 
mindbender,

If you have the time, make sure you have the latest (April 23, 2013, I think version 3.03) software/firmware in your camera.

If you have the latest, reinstall it using the manual method. If you don't have it, install using the manual method. This sometimes clears up problems rather than the automatic method. Perhaps inconvenient, but sounds easier than all the hoops you may jump through otherwise.

*EDIT* never mind....good, it works!!
 
My Anti-Jello platform is suppose clearly visible in the photos - it's quite a simple solution by Czech company TELINK( Authorized dealer DJI Innovation for professional solutions - sorry, their website is only in Czech lang.), consisting of 2 pcs. fiberglass thin plate, 4 rubber dumpers and 2 nuts. Platform weight is 11 grams.
antivibracni-deska-2x-deska-4x-valecek-2x-matka-0.jpg

antivibracni-deska-2x-deska-4x-valecek-2x-matka-1.jpg


I think a great job against JELLO makes even the original GoPro Skeleton case, and the fact that I have not had a proper opportunity to shoot in full sunshine (we ended up here 3 weeks floods), which is likely to occur Rolling Shutter Effect.
Against this has probably no vibration aids do not help, and you need use optical ND filter before the GoPro Lens .
I will now intensively tested with full sunshine, i hope ;)

Too bad that when I get a gimbal (Zenmuse or ARRIS CM2000), I will have to say goodbye Skeleton case ...
(And sorry for my English :? )
 

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mindbender said:
Gardenroute,
I don't get it? Your setup is the same as mine except for the nice isolation platform, and you are not noticing a left/right reversal?
I just checked my gopro again in 720p and 960p (4:30). When the gopro is put in upsidedown mode its image is rotated 180 degrees. Things that were on the right side of the screen are now on the left and vice versa. Using this as your FPV guide if you steer toward something on the right in reality the phantom moves toward the left! While flying FPV down my road I landed on the left side of the road. At first I could not find it because it was actually on the right side of the road! I must be missing something since others are flying just fine. I just wish I knew what it was! :|

That sounds rather odd, I dont have my fpv setup yet its in the mail :mrgreen: but I always have my gopro upside down and set it to upside down mode in camera setup. Orientation is correct when I shoot my videos there is no mirror flip effect like you seem to have. I have never heard of that but when you play the videos off the sd card after, is the left right still flipped or is it only when using your fpv setup? I dont see how it can be doing that unless something weird is going on with your transmitter befause gopros dont flip the image when upside down.
 
I have a problem with mirror image not yet seen, but someone's been documented elsewhere. But I recommend updating to the latest firmware
 
Flying around the lake

My next flight, this time without FPV (still waiting for Dominator goggles) LOS just a little around the nearby lake, which is the persistent rains in our country still pretty cool.

I have a small problem at full throttle Phantom vibrates and video is shaky. Propellers are balanced, that the engines? Gains have set factory only ATTI gains have reduced to 100% for better control when shooting.

7.6.2013, GoPro HERO3 Black, Skeleton Case Mount, LOS
Take Off at 450 m (ASL), light windy, 3.12 firmware - video is not stabilized, balanced DJI black props 8x45, anti-vibration plate
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdAVgzgcSN8[/youtube]
 
The shake at full speed is something I found with my anti jello mount much like the one your using. Mine was the vge carbon fiber one and I found the rubber grommets a bit too soft, this made the camera wobble quite a bit at speed or in strong winds. Best way I found to deal with it was to put some foam between the 2 mount plates to stiffen it up a bit. I then broke my mount in a crash and replaced the rubber balls with foam, this works much better at speed but I noticed more jello flying at slow speed in some wind compared to when I had the rubber and foam. I have ordered another mount from a different supplier so I wonder if this will be better or similar to the vge mount. The videos showing the dji version with the gimbal seems to have fixed this issue at speed so im sure there is some way of fixing it. Also you may want to try and put a small thin piece of foam between the dji gopro mount and your anti jello plate as this mount does have a tendancy to wobble side to side quite a bit.
 

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