Can't see video on FPV setup

Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
I have Phantom 2, Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal, and GoPro Hero3+ Black, TS832 600 mw 32 channel transmitter, and Black Pearl 7" video dual receiver. Just using standard antennae on everything until I get video signal but I have new mushroom TX antenna for transmitter and a mushroom antenna and patch antenna for the diversity receiver.

With Black Pearl turned on, GoPro turned on, and Phantom 2 turned on I can go thru all 32 channels but no video picture. Monitor is snowy on all but 2 channels, then it has clear black screen. GoPro switches to playback mode with Phantom power on which is what should happen. No, I don't have the lense cap on and I never powered on the transmitter without an antenna connected. I even replaced the ribbon cable with the spare which comes with the Zenmuse gimbal.

GoPro and DJI are no help because I'm using 3rd party hardware ( TS832 transmitter ). I'm about to scream because I have checked every connection to verify it's wired correctly and all wires have good continuity.

Can anybody offer a solution or suggest something else to check. Thank You in advance.
 
GA Tech perhaps there, yellowjacket? :)

What channel did you set the TS832 to? You shouldn't have to "guess" and scroll through all the channels on the display... somehow on the TS832 you select which channel it's broadcasting on.. the specific channel frequencies are in the pic below ( just googled ts832 channels)... once you know which exact frequency the TS832 is broadcasting, match up that frequency with your receiver and you'll know exactly which channel on the receiver to pick. no guessing.

So, assuming one of those channels is one of the 2 black/non-snow channels on your display, that means the transmitter and receiver are working it's just transmitting blank because it doesn't have any video signal coming in.

Describe to us how exactly the gopro is attached to the transmitter... do you use a direct cable? did you manually patch into the video feed using the internal gimbal cable? something else?
pics would help if you can
av%20tansmitter%20receiver-4.jpg
 
I agree that the transmitter and receiver are "talking" to each other on one of the clear black screen channels. I am resoldering the wires right now but when I'm done I will make sure to match the actual frequencies on both the TX and RX.

The Phantom 2 has a 4 wire lead hanging out the bottom of the body and the TS832 has a 5-wire lead. I ignored the audio lead and connected the other 4. 11.8V positive to positive and negative to negative, yellow video to yellow video, and video ground to video ground.

The gimbal wiring has a mini-USB that plugs into the side of the GoPro. The power leads are working for sure because the charge light comes on and the GoPro switches into "playback" mode.

When I installed the gimbal it came with a small PCB and an 8-wire ribbon cable. I attached the new ribbon to the main board from the new PCB and moved the old ribbon from the main board to the new to the new board and out to the gimbal connector. The gimbal works nicely and I can tilt it up and down with the lever on the back of the radio control.

I'm still using the normao Phantom software to operate everything. Do I need to change to Naza or something else like that?
 
you definitely don't need to change any modes on the flight controller. That 4 cable ribbon that was hanging down under the phantom may have different function than what you thought... it's not audio+video... the 4 cables are video+ground (for video signal), and power+ground for powering a video Tx from the Phantom. This is a guess but it sounds like you may just not have soldered the exact right cables.... not counting power you need the video signal + ground to go into your video Tx.

check out this thread on a similar topic, in it I describe in detail the cables in that ribbon and what goes where. The video I link is not a 1:1 for what you're doing but it might help you sort it out if my descriptions don't.
 
I just have to ask this, are you sure the camera is on and working?
On the display, on the camera, is it showing the timer indicating that it is working?
If not, no signal.

You did not mention if you're using the hub or not.
If you are, there is a small switch in one corner. You MUST slide it to the iosd side.
 
Camera is turned on and I know it works. When connected to laptop via provided cable, picture is perfect.

I'm considering buying a separate mini-USB cable and running directly from camera to transmitter. The ribbon cable supplied with the Zenmuse H3-3D is ridiculously flimsy and I see tons of posts about its quality. AND nobody can get spares from DJI. A direct connection from the GoPro to the transmitter, bypassing the gimbal wiring, should rule out wiring problems shouldn't it?

What is a hub and why would I need to use one?
 
correct me if I'm wrong but you do NOT have an iOSD Mini in the mix here, correct?

did you watch that video I linked previously where the guy soldered the power and video connections for the video tx and iosd mini? Let's say you were starting fresh and installing an iOSD mini and the official DJI AVL58 transmitter. DJI's fpv hub eliminates the need for any cutting/soldering and everything just plugs into the hub.
other fpv hubs for their kits, same concept.

did my linked post help with the wiring diagram? it really sounds to me like you just may have connected the wrong cables... that 4-cable colored ribbon isn't intuitive, but I wouldn't consider it flimsy. it's lightweight because weight is a factor for Phantoms. the grey ribbon cable you pretty much have no choice.

I have no experience using the direct USB out and patching it into the videoTX since my install went flawlessly in line with that video I linked but other guys say that's what they're doing.
 
I don't have iOSD.

I did watch your video.

The gray ribbon cable is not what I'm talking about. On the gimbal there is a flimsy mylar cable connecting the GoPro with the gimbal. Like a printed circuit board. No wires, just copper plated mylar in a Z shape which plugs into a connector with a clamp.

I need some way leave the P2 and the gimbal out of the picture and hook the GoPro directly to a powered transmitter so I can verify these 2 things work. That would also test the Black Pearl diversity receiver. Any suggestions on this?
 
yellow_jacket said:
I need some way leave the P2 and the gimbal out of the picture and hook the GoPro directly to a powered transmitter so I can verify these 2 things work. That would also test the Black Pearl diversity receiver. Any suggestions on this?

Yes, for the purpose of isolating the issue while testing you can connect a video feed straight from the gopro to the video transmitter (as long as the transmitter has another source for power). Using that while flying may cause issues though as the gimbal can react badly to even the light amount of tension the connected cable can add. When testing you might want to avoid powering on the gimbal for that same reason.

This is the cable you're looking for: http://www.amazon.com/Transmitter-Real- ... B00G6CDDIW
 
OI Photog is the man he taught me so much when I first got my Phantom. That cable will work for the video feed but you still have to power the TS832 somehow.

yellowjacket I know the cable you're talking about now.

can you post a picture of your cable patching currently? and/or confirm that right now, you're using the colored 4-wire cable that initially ran down the leg of the phantom, and you've patched that 4-wire to the cable that came with your TS832?
Looking top down at the cable (as in the picture below) let's number the plugs from RIGHT to LEFT as in this picture:
anschlussbelegung-des-ts832-fpv-senders_1203_7.jpg


TS832 plug 5 -> Phantom red/brown pair RED cable
TS832 plug 4 -> Phantom red/brown pair BROWN cable
TS832 plug 3 -> Phantom yellow/brown pair YELLOW cable
TS832 plug 2 -> not used
TS832 plug 1 -> Phantom yellow/brown pair BROWN cable

I'm not sure but I think it's important not to mix the wrong grounds, make sure you're using the ground from the right pair for each (power ground vs video ground).

If that's accurate.. man I dunno.. take off the lens cap? :)
 
Thanks for the kinds words and the assist :)

yellow_jacket, QYV's diagram above should give the rest of the info you need to bypass the gimbal's video feed and run it straight from the camera to the Tx.
 
Your picture is exactly like my transmitter wire harness and the numbered wires are exactly they way I soldered them together. I have even ordered a second transmitter and re-wired it, with the same result. I know if you do something wrong twice it still won't work but I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.

The lens cap is not on, haha. Could it be because the transmitter and the receiver are within a few feet of each other? I'm going to order the cable suggested above. If that doesn't work then I'll be wondering about the receivers in the Black Pearl...
 
yellow_jacket said:
The lens cap is not on, haha. Could it be because the transmitter and the receiver are within a few feet of each other? I'm going to order the cable suggested above. If that doesn't work then I'll be wondering about the receivers in the Black Pearl...

trying to think ways to test... since you know exactly what channel you're broadcasting on and your receiver is on that channel, if you turn OFF the Phantom (and transmitter) the receiver should go back to being snow, instead of flat black. I believe if that occurs then you know your receiver is receiving that black signal.

I actually have one of those cables if you haven't ordered yours already I'd be happy to send it to you for the cost of shipping. If you don't have Prime or want to make a $35 amazon order should save you a few bucks. PM me about that
 
I have the same problem. However I know that the transmitter is working and the OSD is working as well (I see them on my screen), but I do not get a video feed from the go Pro camera on the Zenmuse 2d gimbal (also connected to the fpv board). Any thoughts?
 
It's been awhile since I had similar dramas, in the end it was matching Pal/Ntsc settings in both Gopro & monitor, worth a play/ check?
 
I have the same problem with black pearl, avl58, iosd mini, Zenmuse h33d, fpv hub. It's been working great for months, now all of a sudden black screen. It turns to snow as well when I turn the Phantom off. No solution.
 
Hi guys,

Went through this whole feed as I have had similar issues.

I have a Boscam 200mw tx with RC305 RX and everything was working perfectly for a few months. I turned everything on the other day and got no video feed. I thought that there may of been an issue with the Tx and Rx and I couldn't get any video. I removed the Boscam Tx and tried with an avl58 and Blackpearl monitor, I got no video feed except for the black screen.

Then I accidently arc'd the red and brown cables for the power and blew a resistor by the ribbon cable connector next to the brown capictor on the board (the one for the Tx etc) there was no power coming out after I tried to reconnect. So I got the resistor replaced and now when I reconnected the Tx I got power! So that was good, but still no video. I then did the work around by plugging in the usb connector directly to the GoPro and to the Boscam Tx and after some fiddling, I managed to get video! But, I don't want to have to keep flying like that as it is a mission because I have to recharge the GoPro after a few flights, depending on what setting I have the camera.

Is there anyway I can check to see that video is coming out by the cables that was intended for it?

Also I don't have miniosd installed.

All suggestions very welcome.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers