New pilot exploring FPV solutions

Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
349
Reaction score
67
Age
74
Location
White Oak, NC USA
Hey Guys, new member, new pilot here, so please excuse any questions that seem dumb or trivial to the veterans. I'm one week into Phantom 1.1.1 ownership, and like so many, I am already looking at upgrades. I've been reading this forum and the P1 forum for weeks before I ever purchased my bird, and your advice and experience has proved to be very valuable. I was just about to score a DJI AVL58 TX/RX pair and saw a thread from the author of the "cheapest price" sticky on this forum, in which he states "you do not want an AVL58". I did some more research for a about a week and found the Boscam FPV 5.8G 400mW AV Transmitter Module TS353 to have the range, pinout, weight, and other advantages that I'm looking for. So with that in mind, here's my question: The TS353 shows an audio L and audio R input on their pinout, but the functional schematic drawing it shows a microphone mounted on the TX module itself. Is it best to use the audio in lead fed by the camera's microphone or the onboard mic on the TX module? Also, when using the audio in from the camera feed, do you disable the onboard mic, and if so, how? I want to have all this stuff clear in my mind before I purchase. I need audio as part of my FPV setup for a voltage monitor which has an audible alarm. Thanks in advance...
 
The TS353 (and all little FPV transmitters like that) CAN actually transmit audio along with the video, but we don't ever use that in a Phantom application. Even the recordings straight on the gopro all you hear is the prop buzz.

I'm not nearly as familiar with the Phantom 1 all my experience is on the Phantom 2 I'm afraid... but just working logically from what I know about the TS353... those wires represent a Audio L/R input (the output of course is via the transmit antenna).

99% of us snip those audio wires off since we don't use them. On a P2 with a gimbal/gopro the only signal being brought from the gopro is video, not audio. I'm trying to understand what exactly you want audio for... you saying you have some sort of voltage monitor on the Phantom itself that has an audible alarm? and you want to hook that into the Audio-in feed on the transmitter so that if the alarm goes off, you hear it on your FPV monitor on the ground?

You may be able to accomplish the same thing (monitoring voltage) better simply by doing what's necessary to add an iOSD Mini to your Phantom... that way you have battery level, voltage, and a host of other information right there on your FPV screen.

Or you could ditch the Phantom and go to a Phantom 2 where all this is easy... iOSD Mini, FPV all plug and play :)
 
Thanks QYV, for a quick response. I'm trying to digest as much information as possible, so if some of my questions seem inappropriate, that's probably why.

QYV said:
Even the recordings straight on the gopro all you hear is the prop buzz
It's true that the prop buzz sometimes seems to permeate the videos, but from my perspective, it's all part of an overall information gathering environment. In fact, I usually turn down the audio when I'm watching one of those videos, but when I begin FPV flight, I want all the information I can get, including an audio response to my throttle adjustments while flying. Maybe it's the nature of being new at all this and I'll drop it later on as I gain experience.

QYV said:
the only signal being brought from the gopro is video, not audio
It's true that most of the standard PnP cables that allow A/V out from the GoPro (and SC4000) at the mini-USB port only use the video out wire on pin 4 and ground on pin 1, but some of the custom cables also allow for audio in this same harness, if I'm understanding the articles and videos I've seen correctly. If that's not the case, please correct me, so I don't continue on a false assumption.

QYV said:
you saying you have some sort of voltage monitor on the Phantom itself that has an audible alarm? and you want to hook that into the Audio-in feed on the transmitter so that if the alarm goes off, you hear it on your FPV monitor on the ground?
That's correct, but only for the time being. I'm very interested in the iOSD mini and am familiar with its voltage readout. So at some point, as I mentioned earlier, the need for audio may be displaced by other information systems. It's just that I can't implement all these solutions at once.

QYV said:
Or you could ditch the Phantom and go to a Phantom 2 where all this is easy... iOSD Mini, FPV all plug and play
Ah yes, in a perfect world where pockets are deep, this would be a sweet solution. But it took me months to scrape up enough for the P1, so even these small upgrades, purchased one at a time are a challenge.

At any rate, thanks again for your input and for your sticky on the forum main page. The only thing not discussed here was the onboard mic on the TS353. Is it on all the time? If so, I wouldn't need the audio input wires.

Thanks for your patience...
 
I had never noticed before but now I'm curious myself about this "on board" or "built in" microphone that is mentioned in some TS353 listings. I've been heavy on this forum since I joined especially in the FPV section and this is the first time I can recall someone asking or seeing anything about it so I simply don't know, but I'm going to do some testing soon!

having a "built in mic" insinuates that it would not be using the audio feed from a gopro... when I said "the only signal brought from the gopro is video" I meant in the P2 application with a H3-3D, and all the "gopro usb video" cables I've seen only have 2 cables: yellow (video) and black (ground). You may be able to find or make one that carries audio, but if there's a mic on the TS353 anyway it's a moot point isn't it?
I also noticed this thing in the "related" section of the TS353 while I was browsing around not sure exactly how it relates.

like I said before we're pretty far out of my area of expertise and while I'm going to do some testing with my TS353, hopefully some other folks around here will chime in and help because I can't. if you've got some custom voltage monitor thing then theoretically you could take an audio out from it, to the audio-in on the TS353 but that's going to be on you to figure that out, nothing like that is used on a P2 and I just don't know enough about P1's.
 
Welcome to the forum!

I want to offer you a little tip. When you ask questions, use the 'enter' key, to make paragraphs. It makes for easier reading, along with periods for short sentences.

Again, welcome!
 
In an attempt to answer your question. Although the A/V transmitter shows audio inputs, it does it have stereo microphones onboard. Disclaimer: I don't have FPV. But, I believe I'm correct.

So, use the audio out, from your Hero camera, to the FPV transmitter. I have to say that even though the rotor noise gets annoying, I would want it on my first FPV. You can always delete it in editing.

Plus, if your Phantom is taken by a REAL UFO, you could sell the video AND audio to a major news network! Spend it fast as our government will be 'eliminating' you soon or otherwise putting you somewhere to never be seen or heard of again!

Edit: If the A/V has a stero microphone onboard, use it as the additional audio cable, to your Hero could affect the Gimbal's movements.
 
Hey Fanatic, thanks for the tip and the welcome. I guess my intro post was a "wall of text". I'm a little confused about your second sentence where it says "it does it have stereo microphones onboard". Would that be "it doesn't have" or "it does have". Not trying to nitpick, just looking for a clear answer. And that's a good point in your edit, about the cable causing restricted movement with the gimbal (which I don't have yet, but someday).

The UFO abduction was almost realized by my neighbor. He was flying a smaller sized drone in his yard and a redtail HAWK swooped down and shadowed it for a time. He was afraid he would hook it and be gone!

Anyway, thanks again for your input. I'm heading to a local hobby store soon to see if they have a TS353 that I can eyeball for the alleged onboard mic. If I'm able to see one, I'll report back. Later...
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

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