New to FPV

[duceno1]

Hi all, I am a newbie to this, and wanted to be sure I have the basics of FPV gear I need for my Phantom 2:

I plan on purchasing the following:

Black Pearl monitor (which to choose, 7 or 32 channel?)
Immersion RC 600mw 5.8 Ghz A/V transmitter
Plug & Play connector to attach Immersion RC transmitter to Phantom 2

And I'm a bit confused about antennas. Was looking at either spiroNET or Circular wireless omni-directional antennas. Which do I connect to the transmitter on the Phantom 2, and which do I attach to the Black Pearl??

Am I missing anything to allow me to do basic FPV?

 

[nwillitts]

7 channel bp to match up to transmitter.

 

[phenom3030]

I'm researching the same and have read that the 7 channel BP gets better range than the 32 channel. I'd advise getting your FCC Technician license as well, if you're using the ImmersionRC 600mw in the USA. Just passed the test for mine yesterday, wasn't too difficult. I spent quite a few hours on ARRL's exam practice as well as hamstudy.org.

 

[DattaGroover]

Hi all, I am a newbie to this, and wanted to be sure I have the basics of FPV gear I need for my Phantom 2:

I plan on purchasing the following:

Black Pearl monitor (which to choose, 7 or 32 channel?)
Immersion RC 600mw 5.8 Ghz A/V transmitter
Plug & Play connector to attach Immersion RC transmitter to Phantom 2

And I'm a bit confused about antennas. Was looking at either spiroNET or Circular wireless omni-directional antennas. Which do I connect to the transmitter on the Phantom 2, and which do I attach to the Black Pearl??

Am I missing anything to allow me to do basic FPV?

I would not fly my P2 without my mini iOSD. That will give you important (critical) data on your monitor (height, distance, battery life, direction, etc).

I used an auxiliary hub to connect my mini- there may be another way to do it. I think it is the easiest way.

I have a older single - antenna Black Pearl, and the reception is awful - I've heard the newer ones are better, and am going to get one soon.

I would ONLY use the SpiroNet antennas. I've used other circular antannas that were crap. You would technically need 3:
2 for the Black Pearl, one for the TX. I have both the ImmersionRC 600 and the Fat Shark 250mw, and I get better performance with the 250 - but again, that's with an older Black Pearl.

Hope all that's helpful.

 

[DattaGroover]

I'm researching the same and have read that the 7 channel BP gets better range than the 32 channel. I'd advise getting your FCC Technician license as well, if you're using the ImmersionRC 600mw in the USA. Just passed the test for mine yesterday, wasn't too difficult. I spent quite a few hours on ARRL's exam practice as well as hamstudy.org.

Ditto. Especially as rules and regs change, this will become more important (and it's easy).

 

[DattaGroover]

I used an auxiliary hub to connect my mini- there may be another way to do it. I think it is the easiest way.

Correction: Your plug and play solution is better than using a hub.

 

[QYV]

check the stickythread "lowest prices for FPV components" which will have useful things for you.

You definitely want the iOSD Mini, it is invaluable for real time flight data when you're flying FPV.

In that thread you'll find a link to the plug and play cable for ImmersionRC transmitters and iOSD, it's only $10 and that's the only thing you need to tie it all together (no other hub necessary)

I would recommend splurging on premium antennas. Antennas can make or break a FPV system regardless of transmitter. more on that in the stickythread but there's a kit from FPVLR that (no offense DattaGroover) is quite a bit better than the Spironets. Spironets are fine in the "regular" antenna category but the FPVLR's are in a whole other (premium) category. With the kit you get a nice pinwheel omnidirectional for the transmitter (pay attention in the stickythread, and get the right connector! ask here if you are unsure) as well as 2 for the receiver: another pinwheel and a long range helix (directional - must keep pointed at Phantom). many folks around here including myself swear by the FPVLR's. they're a little more expensive, but you get what you pay for. You can even offset the cost a bit by getting the cheaper RX-LCD5802 receiver if you don't plan on using the BP's HDMI out.

I also recommend you go ahead and get that 3d printed monitor mount for the RC linked down near the bottom of the thread... it's a little pricey at 20 euros but totally worth it... also it helps cut down on interference, often times if you mount the display on the little front silver thing on the RC you get interference from the RC.

 

[Hughie]

I'm researching the same and have read that the 7 channel BP gets better range than the 32 channel. I'd advise getting your FCC Technician license as well, if you're using the ImmersionRC 600mw in the USA. Just passed the test for mine yesterday, wasn't too difficult. I spent quite a few hours on ARRL's exam practice as well as hamstudy.org.

I would like to do similar in the UK, but this does not seem possible. RAE Foundation would take allow from 10W up, but explicitly excludes transmission from the air.

 

[DattaGroover]

Antennas can make or break a FPV system regardless of transmitter. more on that in the stickythread but there's a kit from FPVLR that (no offense DattaGroover) is quite a bit better than the Spironets. Spironets are fine in the "regular" antenna category but the FPVLR's are in a whole other (premium) category.

Good to know, thanks for the tip!

 

[DattaGroover]

Antennas can make or break a FPV system regardless of transmitter. more on that in the stickythread but there's a kit from FPVLR that (no offense DattaGroover) is quite a bit better than the Spironets. Spironets are fine in the "regular" antenna category but the FPVLR's are in a whole other (premium) category.

Good to know, thanks for the tip!

Those are more $$, but if they work better, they would be worth it. Pardon my ignorance, but what's with the kits that have several sets of different kinds of antennas?

 

[mendezl]

[/quote]Those are more $$, but if they work better, they would be worth it. Pardon my ignorance, but what's with the kits that have several sets of different kinds of antennas?[/quote]

These kits come with 3 antennas. One is for the phantom, the other two are for the monitor. Get a monitor with Diversity, meaning that it has 2 receivers built inside the monitor. The monitor automatically switches between these two receivers depending on which one is getting the best signal. On the monitor you can put one receiver antenna for good all around reception and another for good long distance reception.

 

[QYV]

Those are more $$, but if they work better, they would be worth it. Pardon my ignorance, but what's with the kits that have several sets of different kinds of antennas?

let's just explain the P2 (non-Vision) kit, which has 3 antennas.
First, you have one antenna for your transmitter, a pinwheel style which is omnidirectional... it puts out a spherical signal pattern so that no matter where the Phantom is or which direction it's pointing, hopefully some signal is sent in your direction.
Next we have another pinwheel but for a receiver. If you're doing short range flying (up to a few hundred meters depending on your transmitter power) then you can just use the pinwheel receiver antenna and you don't really have to worry about it being pointed directly at the Phantom for it to work.

Finally we have the helix. This is a longer range, directional antenna meaning you have to keep it pointed at the Phantom but the range is significantly better. Just a few days ago I took my P2 over a mile (1650m) with the helix on my receiver and the FPV video was just as solid a mile away as it is sitting right next to me. Of course you do have to keep it pointed at the Phantom as you fly around.

So that's the difference between pinwheels (omnidirectional) and helix (directional, longer range)

 

[DattaGroover]

Those are more $$, but if they work better, they would be worth it. Pardon my ignorance, but what's with the kits that have several sets of different kinds of antennas?

let's just explain the P2 (non-Vision) kit, which has 3 antennas.
First, you have one antenna for your transmitter, a pinwheel style which is omnidirectional... it puts out a spherical signal pattern so that no matter where the Phantom is or which direction it's pointing, hopefully some signal is sent in your direction.
Next we have another pinwheel but for a receiver. If you're doing short range flying (up to a few hundred meters depending on your transmitter power) then you can just use the pinwheel receiver antenna and you don't really have to worry about it being pointed directly at the Phantom for it to work.

Finally we have the helix. This is a longer range, directional antenna meaning you have to keep it pointed at the Phantom but the range is significantly better. Just a few days ago I took my P2 over a mile (1650m) with the helix on my receiver and the FPV video was just as solid a mile away as it is sitting right next to me. Of course you do have to keep it pointed at the Phantom as you fly around.

So that's the difference between pinwheels (omnidirectional) and helix (directional, longer range)

Great, thanks. What's the part number on that set?

 

[QYV]

he's got 2 different part numbers, one has a Tx antenna connector for Boscam transmitters, the other has a transmit antenna connector for ImmersionRC. You can find both parts in the FPV components stickythread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=26413

regardless of your transmit antenna, I would also email the sales address (sales at fpvlr) and confirm which receiver you have so they are sure to send you the right antenna connectors for your receiver. (goggles, display, separate receiver, etc)

I gotta be honest with my distances, I had a crash and broke the transmit pinwheel antenna that comes with the kit so I circled back and got the slight upgrade pentalobe transmit antenna.

When bought individually, on the website the pinwheel and pentalobe are only $10 difference (30 vs 40) so if I were starting from scratch, I'd email the sales address and ask if you can get the kit but upgrade to the pentalobe transmit antenna for $10 more. If he won't go for THAT, then I would just get the Pentalobe (tx) and helix (Rx) for $100 (40 + 60) instead of the kit for $110.
I know that may seem counter-intuitive like why wouldn't you want the kit and get a Rx pinwheel for $10 but honestly I never use the Rx pinwheel. If you hook up both antennas together (for diversity) my receiver basically never uses the pinwheel anyway, and the pinwheel is way more delicate than the helix (it's easy to bend the pins, which you just can't do on the helix) so I usually just leave the pinwheel at home nowadays. I guess it's a nice backup but like I said if I were starting from scratch, for roughly the same money just get the better pentalobe Tx and the helix.

 

[DattaGroover]

he's got 2 different part numbers, one has a Tx antenna connector for Boscam transmitters, the other has a transmit antenna connector for ImmersionRC. You can find both parts in the FPV components stickythread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=26413

regardless of your transmit antenna, I would also email the sales address (sales at fpvlr) and confirm which receiver you have so they are sure to send you the right antenna connectors for your receiver. (goggles, display, separate receiver, etc)

I gotta be honest with my distances, I had a crash and broke the transmit pinwheel antenna that comes with the kit so I circled back and got the slight upgrade pentalobe transmit antenna.

When bought individually, on the website the pinwheel and pentalobe are only $10 difference (30 vs 40) so if I were starting from scratch, I'd email the sales address and ask if you can get the kit but upgrade to the pentalobe transmit antenna for $10 more. If he won't go for THAT, then I would just get the Pentalobe (tx) and helix (Rx) for $100 (40 + 60) instead of the kit for $110.
I know that may seem counter-intuitive like why wouldn't you want the kit and get a Rx pinwheel for $10 but honestly I never use the Rx pinwheel. If you hook up both antennas together (for diversity) my receiver basically never uses the pinwheel anyway, and the pinwheel is way more delicate than the helix (it's easy to bend the pins, which you just can't do on the helix) so I usually just leave the pinwheel at home nowadays. I guess it's a nice backup but like I said if I were starting from scratch, for roughly the same money just get the better pentalobe Tx and the helix.

Thanks for the detailed advice. I really appreciate it.

 

[Ingsoc75]

he's got 2 different part numbers, one has a Tx antenna connector for Boscam transmitters, the other has a transmit antenna connector for ImmersionRC. You can find both parts in the FPV components stickythread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=26413

regardless of your transmit antenna, I would also email the sales address (sales at fpvlr) and confirm which receiver you have so they are sure to send you the right antenna connectors for your receiver. (goggles, display, separate receiver, etc)

I gotta be honest with my distances, I had a crash and broke the transmit pinwheel antenna that comes with the kit so I circled back and got the slight upgrade pentalobe transmit antenna.

When bought individually, on the website the pinwheel and pentalobe are only $10 difference (30 vs 40) so if I were starting from scratch, I'd email the sales address and ask if you can get the kit but upgrade to the pentalobe transmit antenna for $10 more. If he won't go for THAT, then I would just get the Pentalobe (tx) and helix (Rx) for $100 (40 + 60) instead of the kit for $110.
I know that may seem counter-intuitive like why wouldn't you want the kit and get a Rx pinwheel for $10 but honestly I never use the Rx pinwheel. If you hook up both antennas together (for diversity) my receiver basically never uses the pinwheel anyway, and the pinwheel is way more delicate than the helix (it's easy to bend the pins, which you just can't do on the helix) so I usually just leave the pinwheel at home nowadays. I guess it's a nice backup but like I said if I were starting from scratch, for roughly the same money just get the better pentalobe Tx and the helix.

QYV, can you reiterate exactly what your current setup is?

-Which antenna do you have on the transmitter?
-Which antennas do you have on your receiver?

I have a RC600 transmitter and a BP 7ch receiver and I want to upgrade with the same FPVLR antennas you are using.

 

[QYV]

Hey Ingsoc - I can't reply to your PM because you don't have enough posts on the board I think it's like 5 or 10. nbd
on my transmitter I'm currently running their pentalobe
http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=60
*Since I want the lobe to hang down below the legs of the phantom, i also have a 90degree connector that I purchased separately on Amazon (for the proper SMA / RP-SMA male/female) since the cable and connector that come with the pentalobe are straight.

Mostly on my receiver I'm running this helix:
http://fpvlr.com/shop/index.php?route=p ... duct_id=59

For the IRC600 transmitter you'll want a SMA-Male connector on the pentalobe. The IRC600 itself has a SMA-Female
For the BP 7ch I can't say... I don't have one myself and I hear there are some different part numbers floating around with different antenna connectors. You'll need to do some research on your specific BP 7ch display and figure out exactly which type (SMA vs RP-SMA) and gender (male vs female) it has, therefore you need the same type but opposite gender for the helix.
If you want to understand a little more about antenna connectors, check out the reference stickythread in the FPV forum
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=22736