cheap FPV -phantom 2. what do you think?

[holoboss]

Hi
I am a bit broke, but I need to set a reasonably well working FPV system for my phantom 2.
I think of iOSD mini, immerse transmitter, and a cheapo combo receiver/monitor from ebay
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/251333598139?ssP ... 1438.l2649

What do you think? would it be a reasonably good working system? I don't need to break records of long range, or amazing experience, I just need to control my phantom 2 well at a bit of over visible limit,
to use my gopro for video/photo at a bigger range than just 50 meters.
and as I said - I am a bit broke. I plan to buy taranis set soon after, so money are a concern here.

If you think some other components would do better, please give me your opinion.

I learned so much from this forum, I appreciate all your input. without your advice and help - DJI would be bankrupt.
Their customer service is horrible...

Cheers, happy Easter!
Derek

 

[DeweyAXD]

Hi Derek

Its a gamble. I'm sure it will probably work fine as a basic unit but you'd need to check a few things.

Crucially you need to know whether it connects to the Fatshark/IRC 'airwave' based frequencies (5740, 5760, 5780, 5800, 5820, 5840, 5860MHz iirc). This is important as many/most ebay recievers don't use this. You could still buy this but you'd need a vTX that is compatible.

There is also nothing about what it does when transmission is weak.... some cheap screens default to a block blue screen input signal from their source (in this case the reciever) drops by like 20%.... that is really bad news for FPV flight as 80% signal is never likely all the time and especially not at 500m + range with liear antenna like that has. Better units allow you to see the static/broken transmission which gives you a fighting chance. This might be the case but you'd need to check.

What with that and the worry that you might get stung by customs dutie when it arrives I would be put off. You could end up with a good, cheap product that works well but you could also end up $120 (or more with customs) out of pocket with a useless bit of plastic junk.

All comes down to rolling the dice. If money is really tight then it is definatley better to be patient, save up and pick up a tried and tested bit of kit from a reputable source.... at least then you know your are getting true value from your hard earned cash and you have some form of legal domestic warranty.

Hopefully there might be some people in here that can shed light on this exact product though but my advice (as painful as it is) would be to save up.

Cheers

 

[holoboss]

Thanks, Devey, for your detailed answer.
Part of my problem is that I don't know much about what stuff is available and which works well with what. I am rather new to it. I do photography for over 40 years - but I fly my Phantom for just a few months.

So, what in your opinion would be a lower priced - not very fancy - but a solid, working combo? If you can throw names of components worthy buying, I would really appreciate that.

I am not sure if fatshark googles are good for me, as often I don't need to fly very far. they may be just an obstacle when I only want to quickly target gopro camera, take photos and come back. (that is what I think, but I never tried them).
Any recommendation - with a tight budget in mind - would be really appreciated.
Thank you!

 

[DeweyAXD]

Thanks, Devey, for your detailed answer.
Part of my problem is that I don't know much about what stuff is available and which works well with what. I am rather new to it. I do photography for over 40 years - but I fly my Phantom for just a few months.

So, what in your opinion would be a lower priced - not very fancy - but a solid, working combo? If you can throw names of components worthy buying, I would really appreciate that.

I am not sure if fatshark googles are good for me, as often I don't need to fly very far. they may be just an obstacle when I only want to quickly target gopro camera, take photos and come back. (that is what I think, but I never tried them).
Any recommendation - with a tight budget in mind - would be really appreciated.
Thank you!

Quite a few options but you'll need to spend at least $150 for a decent combination.

One of these @ $55:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... x_Set.html

Plus one of these @ $94:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... light.html

The monitor is a clone of the one I have which is excellent and the Boscam setup is designed to talk to each other. It will do a comfortable 500 metres on those stock antenna.

I know you say about goggles not being for you but all the Fatshark goggles have a video output so you can choose to plug them into a monitor and use that instead of the goggles if you prefer (the goggles are still used as the reciever). The downside is the bottom ranking set is the Fatshark Teleporter v3 kit which comes with everything you need apart from a monitor for $199.

Goggles take a little getting used to but they do work well because they keep the light out (mostly). You get more security using a monitor though as you can keep an eye on both especially if you are not going more than say 1000m away.

 

[holoboss]

Thank you, Devey! Will look into these options.