Newbie Woes

[Mark Picard]

Mark Picard wrote:
A newbie here - I just got my Phantom with the H3-2D Zenmuse Gimbal as a Christmas gift that came all assembled as a upgraded kit from B&H. In the kit was a FPV monitor (4" ToteVision model LCD410). It came with audio and video cables, but nothing else. I have no idea what, or how, I'm supposed to hook this up electronically to make the monitor "see" what the camer's seeing.. What additional parts will I need to make this monitor work? Help!

Quote: Mark, are you sure the only thing they installed in/on the Phantom was the Zenmuse? They may have installed an FPV transmitter on the aircraft. If not, you'll need that in addition to a receiver on the ground end to connect to the monitor. The video output from the camera will then be broadcast over that setup for you to watch on the monitor.
Was the 4" monitor on the list of accessories in the bundle you ordered? It does seem weird they'd include that but no FPV Transmitter/Revceiver.

Turns out I did get the transmitter/receiver and the transmitter is indeed installed on the copter. I also have the receiver. But other than the parts, I have no idea how to correctly wire the receiver (both transmitter and receiver have their own antennas too) to the monitor. The monitor has it's own battery pack. Does the receiver get it's power from the monitor once they're connected? In the box were a few wiring setups and I assume one of them is the correct one. It also came with a adapter to switch one of the wires to an RCA end? Again, I'm not an electronics person, and basically am flying blind here! Unfortunately there is no instruction/wiring manual with this kit. Thanks again!

 

[OI Photography]

If you have a link to the description of the bundle you got, or even just pictures of all the loose parts included, I can help you figure it out. The receiver will also need power and usually gets it from the same battery used to power the monitor (or an similar small one). Sometimes those kits require you to splice a lead from the battery in place of the standard AC power adapter to the receiver, but there's often pre-made cables you can get for a few bucks that will do the job. Once we can see what you have exactly it'll be easy to know what you need, it just depends on exactly what receiver you have and what cables they already gave you.

 

[Mark Picard]

If you have a link to the description of the bundle you got, or even just pictures of all the loose parts included, I can help you figure it out. The receiver will also need power and usually gets it from the same battery used to power the monitor (or an similar small one). Sometimes those kits require you to splice a lead from the battery in place of the standard AC power adapter to the receiver, but there's often pre-made cables you can get for a few bucks that will do the job. Once we can see what you have exactly it'll be easy to know what you need, it just depends on exactly what receiver you have and what cables they already gave you.

Here's the kit I got. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... raphy.html I already had the GoPro. The receiver says AVL58 5.80 Video Link Receiver on it. There is a one page instruction paper with pictures on how to wire it, but I can only go about halfway through it and I get stuck. It shows me how to put an BNC to RCA adapter on the video output cable, only to find out there's no place to plug it in to the monitor. Not a coupler of the right size/shape that lines up correctly to be found! It appears that the correct terminal end for both of the video in on the monitor and video out on the receiver take the same coupler (they're right angled, and about 1/2 inch long where it plugs in), but I don't have a single cable that does that. The various cables included all have different ends on them than what I need, and some of them are multi-cabled so I would have extra ends going nowhere even if I could rig something up from what I have. I'm really frustrated! Maybe I'll call B&H tech support tomorrow morning and possibly they can sort this out for me.

 

[OI Photography]

One of the cables you have connects to the AVL58 receiver by what looks like a headphone jack. The other end(s) of that cable has 4 connectors: 1 battery connection, two DC power leads, and an RCA plug (like the kind that have been used on TV's and video connections for years). That's how the video comes out of the receiver (the RCA plug). The monitor has BNC inputs, and you should have the adapter connected to one that allows an RCA plug connection...that's where the video signal from the receiver plugs in. You may need to supply an RCA extension cord between the two, you probably have one forgotten in a drawer or box somewhere.

As for getting power to the receiver, I don't know what battery was included but there needs to be some kind of connection between that and one of the 3 remaining plugs on the receiver's multi-cable.