FPV Axial SCX10 Setup (CA, Bay Area)

[joshpit2003]

Hey guys.

I just recently got my FPV setup assembled and installed.
Here is a pic:

I purchased a Headplay headset that I'm pretty happy with.

Currently the camera is fixed, but in the near future I hope to take advantage of a head-tracking unit that I purchased and laser-cut a gimble to work with it. But that's also going to require hacking my Transmitter to have more channels, which isn't really something I'm looking forward to doing.

Anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area that is a fan of FPV?


I noticed that how much I enjoy FPV depends entirely on the terrain type. Hardcore rocks, which are fun w/o FPV seem to be very lame in FPV. Yet unusual, and relatively boring terrain (if at the proper scale) tends to be a blast in FPV and lame without.

I found what I think it a great spot for FPV in the East Bay (Berkeley Piers area, near Cesar Chaves Park). It's a small beach with hip-high boulders that are a trip to drive though in FPV.

Anyhow, I'd love to check out other ppls FPV setup. Post-up, or Message me. Thanks.

-josh!

 

[MaxxPain]

I understand what you mean about the rough terrain vers simple terrain for FPV. I picked up a Fatshark Predator setup at Xmas and have had a great time creeping around my home.

 

[joshpit2003]

Experiences thus far:

1. I was much happier with the immersion of having the camera inside the vehicle vs outside (sitting on hood), but I wasn't particularly happy with the limited visibility. So removing the windshield on my SCX10 helped a LOT. Having the roll-cage and dash still visible is great, because that still gives me the feeling of being inside something. I should probably install the steering wheel too...

2. I'm using the mobius camera battery to power itself (not using external power for that), but I'm running power to the video TX through my main LiPo balance leads. I was concerned that the noisy voltage supply would be an issue (since my main LiPo also powers my entire RC car), but that issue is very minimal for my setup. I only notice a very minor improvement in video quality (at nearly the video-range limits) from backing off the motor-power... so a seporate video TX battery, or a power filter from the main battery isn't really something I am looking into any more.

3. The antenna can be quite directional when pushing the range-limits. My antenna is pointing directly backwards (see photo in first post). Ideally you would want the antenna pointing straight-up, but there's no good way to do that and still protect it. I've crawled through a lot of holes, bush-wacked, and rolled enough times already in my 2 outings that I know I made the right choice to keep the antenna inside the cage, and pointed backwards.

4. The Headplay unit is freakin' awesome! I've never used the fatsharks, but I can't imagine the clarity or immersion is nearly as great. Perhaps one day i'll meet up with someone running a fatshark FPV setup.

5. There is no depth-perception. Unfortunately, the only way I can think of to get depth perception is to have a Google-Cardboard type of video playback, and the headset to boot. Google cardboard headsets (similar to fatsharks and other FPV) send each eye its own video feed. Unfortunately, sending each eye it's own video isn't enough... the recorded video needs to be the equivalent of filming with two cameras (of equal distance that separate your eyes) of which I have never seen a FPV setup implement. So my quest for Google-Cardboard-esk depth perception in FPV is going to require more than my credit-card.

6. I believe a head-tracking setup would visually help the lack of depth perception, so I plan on giving that a try as well. But again, not something I can solve with a credit-card if I want to still use the conventional pistol-grip RC transmitters.

 

[MaxxPain]

The more I drove, the more I saw a dedicated vehicle for FPV would be something to consider. I started with the straight antenna Fat shark gave me, but then started looking for a better antenna as I could not get to far out of my garage. Being on the ground is a tuff compared to being in the air. After watching IBcrazy videos on youtube, I went with this antenna after watching him beat the tare out of it on youtube.

IBCrazy 5.8 GHz Bluebeam Ultra Antenna Set

I have not tested them out much but they do work better. Here is an example of how far I could get with the straight antenna.

But at my local school I was amazed how far it would go, meaning the more open the better.

 

[joshpit2003]

yeah, I went for the clover antennas right away. I'm pretty happy with my range, very similar to what you are showing, and my antenna is laying flat.

I haven't figured it out yet, but transmitting AUDIO would be helpful. Are you doing that?

 

[MaxxPain]

Wow, laying down really limits them. No audio. I have been rethinking my FPV setup as I cant decide which vehicle to do it to as I have a few to choose from. Plus I was thinking of using a DX7 radio instead of my 4PL to gain more channels. But I consider that a down grade of a radio IMO. I bought the Fatshark Pan/Tilt servo but it broke on a roll over. So I have just been placing the cam on the roof for some basic driving.

 

[Thinkcooper]

Hey Joshpit - cool project. I'm in Santa Cruz and am thinking of cannibalizing a solid video 5.8 ghz cloverleaf TX/RX from an older Phantom quad to set it up on a Gmade R1, and view it through a Fatshark HD (don't have that yet). Looking forward to seeing how your project progresses. I work for Lytro, we make light field cameras. Unfortunately all our cameras are too burly to fit into any reasonably scaled RC rig, but we were able to hack an Illum to output and transmit stereo to an Oculus Rift DK2 (about a year ago). The DK2 used its positional tracking data to rotate a brushless gimbal. We only could get about 30mm of IPD off the light field sensor, which didn't yield very dramatic stereo but it did produce enough to provide a sense of perspective for gauging distance on objects in a stationary scene. We never tried it moving. Heck - maybe I should find that set-up in the lab and cannibalize it!

 

[JatoTheRipper]

This is awesome! I've always wanted to try FPV.

 

[Jslick]

We love our FPV setup for our club, we used it this past weekend.

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[triggerhapy]

Im gonna use 1.3ghz for more range for video and eventually switch to uhf for long range controls.