Second - The FPV Rig

The second part of my project includes the building of an FPV rig that I could attach to the quadcopter that I had built.

Here is that diagram again about how I wired it.

And in the end, here is what I had built...

I mounted it on some foamboard, but should have found something thinner.  Anyway, I power the FPV rig from a separate battery for now.  It adds significantly more weight but is convenient for testing.  I will have to research a compact and lite solution for filtering the motor noise when I choose to use one battery.

The total cost of the rig is about... $35.

• Camera $18
• Voltage Regulator $6
• AV Transmitter $11

Of course with a $19 AV Receiver the price goes up to $44, but is still inexpensive.

Camera

• 170 Degree Field of Vision
• Runs on as low as 3.3 volts (so can run directly from 1S)

Voltage Regulator

• Polulu Step-Up/Step-Down 3.3V Reglator
• Really just needed a 3.3V stepdown

Video Transmitter

• TX5823 Operating on the BOSCAM bands
• Runs off of 3.3V
• 200mw

Video Receiver

• RC805
• Runs off of 5-12V
• Two Video Outs (2.5mm 4-pole plugs)

First... The Basic Quadcopter

My inspiration for a DIY FPV Setup was this Boing Boing post.  I thought it was great that you could have such a blast with a small investment in time and money.

For my first build, I wanted to use something I was familiar with, so I decided I would transplant a Hubsan flight controller into a new frame.  Along with 4 replacement motors (2 Clockwise and 2 Counter-Clockwise), that would be all that I needed to put together my own light, but powerful quadcopter.  Here are some pictures of the result...

The most difficult part of this task was making sure the board was level and aligned correctly.  The better job I did with this... the less trimming I would need to do to fly it.

I guess I should talk about the frame.  A Picnic Quads - Tiny Hawk.

This tiny frame has a motor span of 120mm and has 4 foldable arms that tuck in towards the body.  It uses nylon screws, which I have dyed here a cool neon green color.  The booms are polycarbonate and have been pre-sized for the 8.5mm diameter of the motors.

All told, the 120mm motor span has a negative effect on the quadcopter's maneuverability.  It flies stable and can keep a hover fairly well.  Where it has trouble is with banking and turning.  The flight controller is tuned for more like 80mm distance between motors as on the original Hubsan X4.

Since I have an extra Hubsan flight controller and four motors, I may order a smaller frame and try that.

FPV First Steps

Well the Boscam TX5823 Video Transmitter module arrived and I immediately put together the rest of the FPV Backpack Module I had been planning.  Here are some pictures of the results...

More details to come.

Here is some of my quadcopter pictures...

Micro FPV Update

In my penny-pinching quest to enter the world of quadcopters and FPV flying, I am slowly working into the hobby.

At this stage, I am attempting to build a micro FPV backpack for attaching to small quadcopters so that I can fly them via FPV.  Of course I don't own a pair of Fat Shark goggles yet... so I plan on using a temporary "base station" setup to use for my first flights.  Here is the basic wiring of the backpack (excluding the battery).

Including shipping, the parts cost are as follows:

• 600 TVL Wide Angle 3.3v CCTV Camera ($18)
• 3.3v Step-up/Step-Down Pololu Voltage Regulator ($9)
• Boscam 200mw TX5823 Video Transmitter ($11)

Which is about $40.  But you have to have a receiver... 

and that will be about another $20.  If I use my TV to display the video, then the total cost is under $60.

My next step is to actually finish the backpack.  For this, I am waiting for the TX5823 to arrive in my mailbox.  Anyway, until it arrives... I could attempt to build a circularly-polarized transmitting antenna.  I also need to figure out how to mount all of the pieces onto some sort of platform.  It needs to be light, strong, thin and stiff.  I am also not sure if the camera should be somehow separate.  I'm sure the battery can be off-platform... because I may at some point use the main battery.

Of course the biggest concern is weight.  Then there is the issue of weight distribution.

Things to think about and investigate.

Quick Update

Today's exercise will be the testing of the camera module I ordered from EBay.  I believe I can run the module off of the same 3.3V Pololu StepUp/StepDown regulator.
The problem it did not work before was because I was going through the 12V reduction cable. 

More to come...

Current Obsession

I have had a new diversion to occupy my time... quadcopters.  Yes, I have been bitten by the drone bug,  

I'll explain more later... but for now, I want to document my latest outing with my Hubsan X4 H107C quadcopter,

It's an inexpensive, Ready-To-Fly quad that I picked up from my local Fry's Electronics.  I actually upgraded the camera module from the SD version to the "HD" version when the original camera began to have problems.  Anyway, here is some test footage from yesterday.

I'll have more information, pictures and videos of all of my latest projects.  I just need to set aside the time to do it!