Video and FPV for Phantom 2

[rmklaw]

I own a Vision and just ordered a Phantom 2. What do I need to get the same features I have in the Vision, in a Phantom 2, but with the better quality of the new gimbal and the Gopro camera? Would like to monitor in the iPad Mini or Nexus 7 and later on connect to goggles.

I see at least 3 items needed on the Phantom 2 side but not sure if they are all needed:
1. DJI video transmitter;
2. BTU
3. iOSD MK2 or Mini
Anything else or less?

On the iPad side what would I need to display video and data from iOSD?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Ravecreative]

I'm having the exact same dilemma..

I was going to get the avl58 as it's dji, and I was thinking that maybe the connectivity would be cleverly executed, but I'm really not sure.
The btu I believe, is to be used in conjunction with a 2.4 ghz datalink so you can make on site parameter changes via iOS device. But I could be wrong. I don't think it lets you view fpv video. The iosd is to lay over a fpv video feed.
So I'm gonna need
2.4 datalink
Btu
Avl58 tx
Iosd
Probably a Cam link
That seems like an aweful lot if kit to squeeze into a small plastic copter!!!!
What I want is a simple "apple-like" system that just slots into the phantom and does everything. But I don't think I'm going to be that lucky.

I'm kinda thinking that maybe just a fat shark tx and goggles would be far simpler as it's only 2 items (and only 1 on the phantom), then wait to see what this built in functionality turns out to be
I'm sure the moment I invest some money in kit, the solution I really wanted will be launched LOL

 

[rmklaw]

I will probably end up with the DJI tx, the iOSD Mini for the Phantom, and the Fatshark or similar receiver and either goggles or a small LCD. I don't understand why we would not be able to fit the iOSD and transmitter inside the Phantom, just like in the Vision.

 

[shartlza]

If you want to view video on you iPad there is the Teradek Clip. It is supposed to be HD quality. It is still in beginning phases and to get long range you have to add in routers. Later down the road after they get more things worked out could be a cool product. The only thing the price is $599 i think, so much more than a 5.8 setup.

 

[Ravecreative]

Update

Just received my mini iosd, avl58 and installed them

I tried installing the iosd inside the body, but then you can't get to it to plug things like the btu into,
And you also can't get to the USB to upgrade the firmware on it.

It was fairly simple. I can send you a link to the wiring if you want.

 

[Bugatti]

@Ravecreative: Please send link to install as I am looking to get same setup. What are you using for a monitor?

 

[rmklaw]

Same here. Thanks.

 

[FlyingHigh]

Yes please post link, I'm setting up the same things

 

[Marcus314]

I'm curious to see the install as well. Here's one way of installing things, though I'd prefer for a cleaner (inner-shell) installation if we can figure out how to make it happen!

http://i.imgur.com/Ut65HZz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Smex7G3.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Yot0Rw2.jpg

 

[Ravecreative]

No probs

I bought an avl58 kit from buzzflyer.co.uk
here - http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/FPV/DJI-5.8G ... -152-2425/

i only wanted the tx and the cloverleaf antennas, but thought it was helpful to have the rx part too, just in case

then after days of looking around on pretty much EVERY website and all over ebay, i finally found a monitor that suited.
it has a built in 8 channel receiver, which is exactly the same channels as on the avl58
AND …. bonus, it has a built in litho battery too. I hated the thought of having batteries, receiver and a whole load of zip tied wires stuffed onto the back of the monitor, so this looked ideal - plus is really cheap - and with the cloverleaf antenna on it, it should be good for a few km
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201006432833

so after a bit of head scratching and research and testing, i took the lead that ships with the avl58 and cut off all the wires except the 4 required, then soldered them all up as per the diagram shown - it only took 5 mins, and works fine.

i stuck the units onto the copter with VHB tape (ipa wiped it first, and a bit of scotch to rough the surface)
then mounted the units, making sure i could still get to both the CAM port and the usb on the mini isod.

Hope this helps
pictures of the installation

http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo1.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo2.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo3.jpg

installation sketch
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo4.jpg

if you want any other info, please feel free to contact me

NOTE- TO DJI!!!!
Seeing as this is using all dji parts, surely it would be really simple to supply a plug-n-play lead that connects all these items together. There's definitely a need/requirement for it, and it'd be cheap enough to produce.

 

[Marcus314]

No probs

I bought an avl58 kit from buzzflyer.co.uk
here - http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/FPV/DJI-5.8G ... -152-2425/

i only wanted the tx and the cloverleaf antennas, but thought it was helpful to have the rx part too, just in case

then after days of looking around on pretty much EVERY website and all over ebay, i finally found a monitor that suited.
it has a built in 8 channel receiver, which is exactly the same channels as on the avl58
AND …. bonus, it has a built in litho battery too. I hated the thought of having batteries, receiver and a whole load of zip tied wires stuffed onto the back of the monitor, so this looked ideal - plus is really cheap - and with the cloverleaf antenna on it, it should be good for a few km
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201006432833

so after a bit of head scratching and research and testing, i took the lead that ships with the avl58 and cut off all the wires except the 4 required, then soldered them all up as per the diagram shown - it only took 5 mins, and works fine.

i stuck the units onto the copter with VHB tape (ipa wiped it first, and a bit of scotch to rough the surface)
then mounted the units, making sure i could still get to both the CAM port and the usb on the mini isod.

Hope this helps
pictures of the installation

http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo1.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo2.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo3.jpg

installation sketch
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo4.jpg

if you want any other info, please feel free to contact me

NOTE- TO DJI!!!!
Seeing as this is using all dji parts, surely it would be really simple to supply a plug-n-play lead that connects all these items together. There's definitely a need/requirement for it, and it'd be cheap enough to produce.

Thanks for pics of the install. I actually have a 5.8 kit on its way, so I’ll be attempting the setup in a few weeks.

Like you, I also would like to have as clean of a setup as possible, so I ordered a monitor with built-in battery as well. Please let us know how it works for you. Do you think the battery is eventually replaceable?

Speaking of clean setup, I like how the DJI 5.8 transmitter isn’t as ‘exposed’ as many other kits. But, it’s larger. While it’s bigger, I take it that the weight is no more than other kits, right?

I like how you routed the mini OSD through the Phantom’s cable channel. Though, is the primary reason you couldn’t mount it inside the shell due to the mini OSD’s cable being unable to fit through the cable opening on the side of the gimbal?

I think that given the limitations of the Phantom’s setup, your setup may be as clean as we could get. I just wish that the colored cables could be managed more cleanly. Maybe I’ll invest in a cable sleeve of some sort.

Thanks for the help!

 

[krb]

Thanks for the detailed pics. I'm just looking at FPV options now. I don't want to really go long distance, I just want to be able to frame the image from the GoPro.

I was hoping going with the DJI transmitter would get me plug-n-play connectors, but it looks like I'll be manually wiring up a transmitter no matter what (I'll be using the iOSD mini). Hmph. Looking forward to a review of the all-in-one monitor

 

[Ravecreative]

I did email dji and asked for a cable to be made - LOL, like that's gonna happen
So if they don't change anything after this big "press release" in January, I might get some manufactured and see if anyone wants to buy one.

Also, marcus314, the larger size of the avl58 is actually clever.
It's partly plastic, and the rest is black aluminium with a built in cooling fan. It looks like it's been very well designed, to dissipate heat, as well as being pretty rugged. I'm glad I bought this over the immersionrc etc. i was advised by quadcopters.co.uk as they recon it's a far better tx unit, it just costs a bit more. They also said 100% to use the cloverleaf antennas on the tx and the rx, as the range is massively improved.

 

[Marcus314]

I did email dji and asked for a cable to be made - LOL, like that's gonna happen
So if they don't change anything after this big "press release" in January, I might get some manufactured and see if anyone wants to buy one.

Also, marcus314, the larger size of the avl58 is actually clever.
It's partly plastic, and the rest is black aluminium with a built in cooling fan. It looks like it's been very well designed, to dissipate heat, as well as being pretty rugged. I'm glad I bought this over the immersionrc etc. i was advised by quadcopters.co.uk as they recon it's a far better tx unit, it just costs a bit more. They also said 100% to use the cloverleaf antennas on the tx and the rx, as the range is massively improved.

Thanks for the insight into the avl58--I'm sold. I think I'll go ahead and upgrade my tx once my kit arrives.

As for the cable, I'm definitely game for one!

 

[lgorlin]

then after days of looking around on pretty much EVERY website and all over ebay, i finally found a monitor that suited.
it has a built in 8 channel receiver, which is exactly the same channels as on the avl58
AND …. bonus, it has a built in litho battery too. I hated the thought of having batteries, receiver and a whole load of zip tied wires stuffed onto the back of the monitor, so this looked ideal - plus is really cheap - and with the cloverleaf antenna on it, it should be good for a few km
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201006432833

How nicely does the monitor attach to the Phantom controller?

 

[krb]

How nicely does the monitor attach to the Phantom controller?

Heh, I just came back to this thread now to to ask this exact question. For my initial foray into FPV, I want an all-in-one lcd, with a built-in battery. I was looking hoping for something smaller (is this too small? http://www.helipal.com/airy-2-5-all-in-one-monitor-w-recorder.html) but 7" seems to be the standard size for all-in-one LCDs so I'm trying to figure out mounting on the transmitter.

How did you mount the ebay monitor?

 

[Driffill]

A few things to remember when building an FPV system. The screen needs to be able to be seen in bright daylight! Buying the cheaper option in this regard will come back to bite you on the *** later on! 7" is ok, going smaller than that is going to really effect how well you can see what's in the frame of the video . . . There is some 8" screen around too! Using a screen with less than 500 cd/m2 is a waist of money

All in one screens seem great, until one thing goes wrong with them! Be it a faulty battery/receiver/LCD the whole thing becomes worthless! In my kit I have spare vTx and vRx as well as most "looms" I need for on my controller (LCD power, Receiver Power, DVR power, video cables). This enables me to swap out a component if I think it's faulty! I even have multiple gopro video out cables in case I damage one!

As for the DJI VTx, I don't own one, but I also have no interest in buying one, it's too bulky and a fan? For what? Unless your pushing 1w on a PCB that small you shouldn't need a fan! 600mw work fine with only a heatsink and antenna attached, the fan is only going to create noise along the power running the Tx, and if you incorporate a noise filter (inside the dji Tx) to limit the noise, with all the extras building up. . . It's become a big waist of space and weight . . . Two critical things on a helicopter!

And then to Finnish it off, they pack it in a large plastic/metal casing that can fit neatly anywhere? The bear or open style vTx's are usually covered in clear heat shrink to prevent shorting etc but also to keep down weight! They can be mounted inside the phantom with some creativity or easily mounted externally on the phantom with one of the thousands of CF mounting plates

Sorry for the crap pic (ipad2) but here is the latest mounting plate I'm using for my Vtx, take note at how the "hole" is designed exactly to fit the heatsink! Also take note at how close my 5.8 transmitting antenna is to my 2.4ghz receiver antenna?? I'm not sure if thats bad or not!

I'll admit, to get my set up to where it is, I've made plenty of mistakes usually in the name of trying to save money now I have a spare screen, antennas, Vtx VRx and god knows how many CF mounting plates (to suit tarot, Vtx, iso mount, servo gimbal) I might make a thread and list all my spares for someone else to make use of?? But now I've got it close to how I want it, the next thing I'll be looking at is reducing the weight (somehow!)

 

[Marcus314]

A few things to remember when building an FPV system. The screen needs to be able to be seen in bright daylight! Buying the cheaper option in this regard will come back to bite you on the *** later on! 7" is ok, going smaller than that is going to really effect how well you can see what's in the frame of the video . . . There is some 8" screen around too! Using a screen with less than 500 cd/m2 is a waist of money

All in one screens seem great, until one thing goes wrong with them! Be it a faulty battery/receiver/LCD the whole thing becomes worthless! In my kit I have spare vTx and vRx as well as most "looms" I need for on my controller (LCD power, Receiver Power, DVR power, video cables). This enables me to swap out a component if I think it's faulty! I even have multiple gopro video out cables in case I damage one!

As for the DJI VTx, I don't own one, but I also have no interest in buying one, it's too bulky and a fan? For what? Unless your pushing 1w on a PCB that small you shouldn't need a fan! 600mw work fine with only a heatsink and antenna attached, the fan is only going to create noise along the power running the Tx, and if you incorporate a noise filter (inside the dji Tx) to limit the noise, with all the extras building up. . . It's become a big waist of space and weight . . . Two critical things on a helicopter!

And then to Finnish it off, they pack it in a large plastic/metal casing that can fit neatly anywhere? The bear or open style vTx's are usually covered in clear heat shrink to prevent shorting etc but also to keep down weight! They can be mounted inside the phantom with some creativity or easily mounted externally on the phantom with one of the thousands of CF mounting plates

Sorry for the crap pic (ipad2) but here is the latest mounting plate I'm using for my Vtx, take note at how the "hole" is designed exactly to fit the heatsink! Also take note at how close my 5.8 transmitting antenna is to my 2.4ghz receiver antenna?? I'm not sure if thats bad or not!

I'll admit, to get my set up to where it is, I've made plenty of mistakes usually in the name of trying to save money now I have a spare screen, antennas, Vtx VRx and god knows how many CF mounting plates (to suit tarot, Vtx, iso mount, servo gimbal) I might make a thread and list all my spares for someone else to make use of?? But now I've got it close to how I want it, the next thing I'll be looking at is reducing the weight (somehow!)

Thanks for the info! Could you take any photos of the underside of your Phantom? Also, could you list all facets of your setup?

How nicely does the monitor attach to the Phantom controller?

Heh, I just came back to this thread now to to ask this exact question. For my initial foray into FPV, I want an all-in-one lcd, with a built-in battery. I was looking hoping for something smaller (is this too small? http://www.helipal.com/airy-2-5-all-in-one-monitor-w-recorder.html) but 7" seems to be the standard size for all-in-one LCDs so I'm trying to figure out mounting on the transmitter.

How did you mount the ebay monitor?

http://s28.postimg.org/siuhlrvot/Screen ... _30_PM.png

 

[Driffill]

I've been meaning to get around to doing a write up of the re-build I just put my phantom thru, I'll try getting that done today! But mine is also a v1.0 not v2

 

[droneranger]

No probs

I bought an avl58 kit from buzzflyer.co.uk
here - http://www.buzzflyer.co.uk/FPV/DJI-5.8G ... -152-2425/

i only wanted the tx and the cloverleaf antennas, but thought it was helpful to have the rx part too, just in case

then after days of looking around on pretty much EVERY website and all over ebay, i finally found a monitor that suited.
it has a built in 8 channel receiver, which is exactly the same channels as on the avl58
AND …. bonus, it has a built in litho battery too. I hated the thought of having batteries, receiver and a whole load of zip tied wires stuffed onto the back of the monitor, so this looked ideal - plus is really cheap - and with the cloverleaf antenna on it, it should be good for a few km
http://www.ebay.com/itm/201006432833

so after a bit of head scratching and research and testing, i took the lead that ships with the avl58 and cut off all the wires except the 4 required, then soldered them all up as per the diagram shown - it only took 5 mins, and works fine.

i stuck the units onto the copter with VHB tape (ipa wiped it first, and a bit of scotch to rough the surface)
then mounted the units, making sure i could still get to both the CAM port and the usb on the mini isod.

Hope this helps
pictures of the installation

http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo1.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo2.jpg
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo3.jpg

installation sketch
http://www.ravecreative.co.uk/phantom2/photo4.jpg

if you want any other info, please feel free to contact me

NOTE- TO DJI!!!!
Seeing as this is using all dji parts, surely it would be really simple to supply a plug-n-play lead that connects all these items together. There's definitely a need/requirement for it, and it'd be cheap enough to produce.

Really clean job ravecreative! I'm assuming that IPA is isopropyl alcohol and VHB is Very High Bond tape, yes? At the risk or repeating what others have said, how do you like the receiver/monitor? Does the mushroom antenna simply screw on th the existing terminal? Is it bright enough in the sunlight? Did you mount it to the controller, and if so, how?

Thanks for any info you can give!