FPV and general Q's

[joshpit2003]

I'm interested in getting into the FPV crawler sport.
I've done a good deal of research, and this is my "buy list" thus far:

Camera:
Mobius Action Camera : http://www.amazon.com/Mobius-Action-.../dp/B00DP1WYD2
+ Mobius lens extender: Amazon.com : 8" Lens Module Extension Cable For The Mobius ActionCam HD Camera : Camera & Photo

Video Tx:
Mini 25mW 5.8 GHz: Mini 25mW 5.8GHz FPV / Repeater Transmitter RangeVideo TX-5800-25-mini

Video Rx:
N/A because included in the display device

Display Device:
Headplay: HeadPlay HD FPV Headset w/ 40ch 5.8GHz Receiver (Pre-order) Headplay headplayhd

3-Axis Head Tracker:
Trinity External: the Trinity External Head Tracker (3 Axis)


I think all of the above completes my FPV requirements, so now onto the basics: Radio Tx, Radio Rx, ESC, Motor, Steering Servo


Now here come the long list of questions:


Re: the Radio Tx
To "future-proof" my purchase, I believe I need at least 7-9 channels:

1. ESC (throttle/brake)
2. Steering Servo
3. Camera Pan Servo
4. Camera Tilt Servo
5. Camera Roll Servo
6. Steering wheel servo (visual)
7. Lights (optional)
8. Winch (optional)
9. Additional Steering Servo (for optional 4-wheel steering)

Q1. Can anyone point me in the direction of an 7-9+ channel radio tx that is ideal for crawlers?

I'm also interested in installing a gyro on-board the crawler, and having it feed back angular data to me for the sake of making a sort of heads-up display. Being a noob to RC, I originally thought I could just have additional channels and have that data sent from the car to the hand-controller, then from the hand-controller to my computer. However, it seems every hand-controller I find is strictly a Tx device, and does not allow for any Rx. (one-way communication only)

Q2. Is there a radio setup that acts as transceivers (2-way communication) instead of the typical Tx / Rx setup?

Q3. If not, how would you propose I pull data from my crawler back to me? (say... my laptop)

I'm familiar with Arduino, and may be implementing some of RCArduino's work as well: RCArduino

Thanks.
-Josh!

[AYA]

I'm mbed user and interested in your project well.

For Q1, please consider Shift servos and Reverse servo.
- CH10 & CH11: Shift Servo
For example RC4WD provides follows:
a) R3 Scale 2 Speed Transmission (Z-U0025)
b) Helios 2 Speed Transfer Case (Z-U0032)
Totally 4-level speeds are available.

- CH12: Rear wheel servo for 4WS
Of course, if you can bu servo reverser, this channel is not needed. But if you want to configure the direction of rear servo (normal and reverse direction), I recommend to prepare one channel.

For Q2, Telemetry type Tx/Rx for airplane/heli/drone may be used.

For Q3, XBee may be used. But 2.4GHz band signal will cause interference on your Transmitter/Receiver signals. So I think 800/900MHz band type is better. Off course it depends on your country's radio limitation (like U.S. FCC). In my country JPN, 800/900MHz cannot be used...