Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Fixedwing Dives in the mountains! (S800 Sky Shadow)


Perfect (almost) FPV morning! Had 4 flights and 4 controlled landings - what more can you expect? :)
Going up that peak was scary - diving it down (the goal for this morning) even more so. But very rewarding. The relaxing proximity flying over the trees was good to "come down" a bit. Hope you like it!

(I know it's shakey - this wing is probbably too small, I used some stabilization in post - but not too much to avoid that weird effect)

Sunday, June 25, 2017

S800 sky shadow - or HOW I FELL FOR WINGS AGAIN...


After my review of this Wing I only did a maidenflight and got back to quadcopters soon. They are easier...
But now I wanted more flighttime, range and some of that FPV adventures I had back when I flew FPV planes.
I changed most electronics in this kit.
So if you're interested: get the foamparts only (50$) at banggood and forget this stabilizer, or the cheap cam/VTX they sell in the full kit. The motor seems ok, the ESC is terrible as well...

After these flights here I even installed my Arkbird Autopilot/OSD for more advanced missions - but that's another story (to be seen here soon). I also did some amazing dives with it - stay tuned!

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Runcam SPLIT: FLIGHT Footage, Jello, Mounts, weight savings!

Tech Specs: (similar to the Runcam3!)
Weight 23g.
1080p60 + Low latency FPV + WDR
$69.99  (+5$ for Wifi option)
no wide voltage, only 5V!




More findings:
Transfer speed over USB: ~ 15mb/sek
so a typical 5min flight will generate little over 1GB means ~ 1.5mins.
Not optimal - ok if you have to place the board inside inaccessible (USB needs to be accessible of course!)

Jello: with that small lens module jello (vibration "waves" in the video) will be picked up easier since the low mass is moved by vibrations easier as if you would have a bigger mass (like a heavy HD cam).
I tried different mounts, only after I swapped that one really bad prop it was ok. I didnt see this vibrations with that faulty prop on my gopro style SJCam 5000x before!

Downlink video is fine to fly - latency low enough for my taste!

My Vortex 250 is now 83gr lighter (from 532 to 449gr) - this is a lot on such a copter and effects it's flight characteristics and efficiency! It's really "floaty" now and should give me longer flighttimes. Combined with endurance motors/props and larger motorarms this could be a really good longrange setup!

Friday, June 16, 2017

Most accurate FPV cam latency test method? and: eliminate interference in your downlink video

2020 UPDATE: "current" Latency XLS Sheet



My most accurate FPV Cam latency test setup:

2 channels (curves on osci):
ch A = video signal (NTSC)
ch B = 12v powersource for my LEDs   (I think I dont measure the actual switch on, but rather the time when it "consumes" the 12v. Would be interesting to know how much time does it take the LED to light up?)

Measure the delay from LED switch and the "effect" from a dark cam image to a RED LED light screen (noticable effect on the video curve).
This way we still have the 17ms steps of time resolution since we only see 60fps on NTSC. So we cant measure cam latency more accurate than in 17, 34, 51ms...
BUT: until now I used a LCD screen to read the VIDEO signal changes (and the screen also runs a certain FPS - so this is not accurate anymore - better to "read" the video signal directly without a LCD).

FPV Cams Latency overview:  (June-2017)     (also available as XLSx File)





Interesting Links:

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

eFlite Rare Bear FPV

It started like this: as the only FPVer on the field I always end up chasing planes with my quads. I wanted to do some more LOS flying (line of sight, normal RC stuff...).
So I re-activated my eFlite "Rare Bear" racer plane (they really like this plane on the field!). After the first flight session I thought to myself: "what if I mount a runcam3 on it, and use TV out to my VTX? The installation was quick and easy, works nice. Just have to get the plane flying smoother in higher winds to enjoy it more... (maybe I have to install a stabilizer?)



Plane:
=====
eFlite RARE BEAR   http://bit.ly/2sDnfUg
Wingspan: 88cm
Prop Size: 8x8 Electric
ESC: 70-Amp
Battery: 3300mAh 4S 14.8V 50C LiPo ~ 5mins flighttime

FPV:
====
just a Runcam3 (yes, I know they're out of stock cause they have this problem with Gopro...)
TVOUT cable to ImmersrionRC VTX
Power source: 3 of the 4cells off my main battery (12v) from the balance plug. Super easy!