Advanced FPV Ground Station / The Challenges of Flying for 4+ Hours

Today, we show you our advanced FPV ground station, how it works, and talk about the challenges we faced when performing the 4+ hr flight recently. you can get more info about our equipment at our website:
www.bearospaceindustries.com/a...
This is a follow-up video on our 4+ hr duration test flight performed with the Gemini V-2 aircraft, on pure electric power.
The battery we are using for the aircraft is a "Tesla" style battery, made from NCR18650B cells. check our channel for the build video of the battery used to fly for 4 hrs. On a separate flight with the same battery, we reached an altitude of over 13 000 ft altitude, with a flight duration during the same flight, of over 2 hrs. We made an effort to descend at an increased rate. Use of this battery technology has enabled the aircraft to carry an additional 2 lbs of payload, while increasing battery capacity substantially. This video is about the challenges we faced when preparing for this flight, and how we dealt with them. An added benefit to running everything from one battery is that you don't have to replace small rechargeable batteries, and charge them every time. When we go flying, the only battery that we charge is the single flight pack!

[@sfh294]

This is exactly the reason I love FPV on fixed wings. The flight times are unmatched and the experience 🤌🤌 watching something you built fly through the clouds while you're kicked back in a comfortable chair , snacking and enjoying the moment. 😇💯

[@santiagolapiz3161]

It’s a good thing to have a hobby like you have. Tks for sharing it.

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

Wow, Incredible system you and your dad have built/engineered together. Very, very nice. I had been considering the MFD tracker and now ill look at it again, Thank you so much :)

[@gilbertsedo]

Spike I want to thank you for taking your time to make this educational videos on the subject of FPV. l have learn so much from you just by watching your videos. Please don't stop making them, and thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us.

[@YoSneeze]

Glad people asked for this video. Really cool ground station!

[@Mytyweav]

We really appreciate you sharing all your Experience and hard learned lessons with us. You tend to make a lot of sense and it's nice to have a good solid place to start. Love the Honda 1000 AND the Mercedes Power Supply! Thank you very much and good luck in the future challenges..

[@robertgoldbornatyout]

💯💯💯👍👍👍Great video! Your personality makes it really easy to watch these videos; very calm, informative, etc. Thanks for all the information!

[@search4truth616]

Thanks I've been looking for a setup like that. Well thought out. It's nice that you that with your Dad. You're a good son.

[@MichaelKGizzonimo]

Yeah Spike I needed to see this video! Thanks a bunch.

[@etab83]

Very important tips. Loved all the information .

[@blueskyaerial4074]

Great video! Your personality makes it really easy to watch these videos; very calm, informative, etc. Thanks for all the information!

[@sailtails2775]

+BlueSky Aerial thanks for the complement! we try hard to make it a bit funny, and share what we took so long to learn, and hard lessons passed on. glad you can benefit! we have some exciting things in the works that i can't talk bout yet, but eventually... now, back to work..

[@JR-kk6ce]

Yup, your personality is key. Makes it very easy to watch and understand.

[@Thesighnpainter]

Thank you so much for this video! I'm working on something for work and this answered a lot of questions.

[@LeonVuksic]

WOW! This is how you do it like a PRO! This looks so awesome man! Excellent design, and also the way you talk and explain everything is super easy to understand! A+ for the video, you should make a new one again and tell us what you changed if you changed it in 3 yrs :D

[@AltechMYOB]

Great job Spike (& dad!) - I don't think many people realize just how much work it is to pull a production video like this together... and that's on top of all the other tech you've done that is the topic of the production! Kudos!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+AltechMYOB thanks, making the video is easy after all of the other stuff. cheers!

[@FPVav8tr]

Wow...fantastic. Great vid. I was tired just after my PB of 40 mins. I could not imagine 4 hours.

[@kahp23]

Great work ! Thanks for Vid

[@Wilhuff_T]

I watched this video like six times now . Amazing stuff.

[@FabricioReis]

Congratulations, excellent video!

[@jairolenze11]

When you were talking about sunburn 17:40 and you reach the case for some thing, i swear i thought you would pull out a big umbrella out that case! Great station mate!

[@LLCD]

Great Video! Very helpful! Thanks

[@LosBabyBoomers]

You've got me interested in fpv. Love the choice of your plane.

[@GruffaloDrone]

Amazing!

[@SVELFARO]

Well we are a long way from VHS tapes now!! what a great looking ground station.

[@k4x4map46]

pretty slick setup!

[@skycopters]

Awesome..! Now I need one

[@warmiceUT]

Great video and great advise for a all rounded ground station setup. About the sun burn, possible to buy a simple tent sheet, with just 2 pole to hand-up the tent as a simple and yet easy setup for a much cooler setup ;-)

[@admahecha]

That's an amazing job

[@NickCal304]

muy bien spike Extraordinario !!

[@icyburger]

Awesome video... I just subbed, btw!

[@theflamecoreguy7929]

Great videos very informative and interesting love from india

[@MrJavipli]

¡¡¡Congratulations for your Chanel and your incredible Job!!!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

thanks, I love your channel name, but was looking for some content. maybe soon?

[@MrJavipli]

FPVREVIEWS I have some videos locked but others are public. Thanks

[@EddiCurrent]

Like your video and your ground station, I don't care what car you drive your genius is obvious.

[@blackmennewstyle]

It's just an awesome ground station. Your KZbin channel should be broadcasting in the entire solar system lol Thanks for sharing and have a great new week

[@archerzahir7545]

i know Im asking randomly but does any of you know of a method to get back into an instagram account?? I was dumb lost my login password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.

[@aviiker1351]

@Archer Zahir Instablaster ;)

[@archerzahir7545]

@Avi Iker i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@JRAllen_RCFlyer]

Very impressive........

[@MrAaa9271]

very nice

[@factdesignbr]

I miss my futaba 8uap Great vid by the way brother.

[@RcPilotAcro]

Mr Spike Exceptional video !! plan is printed and i am on it. PS I'll remember the toilet paper part !! :)

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Rc Pilot seems to be everybody's favorite part. LOL thanks!

[@SEARCHHiTech]

Well done, thanks so much for your info, you do a great job! I am curious, is there any requirement to address transponder related issues?--yet? Has anyone had to address aviation incursion issues yet? Thanks!

[@solarpall]

You are very talented with this hobby and I learn a lot from all your videos. Thank you for what you do! I plan on building the Gemini one day. I am building a foam fpv plane and using dragon link. I see you used the old school FutabaT8, which I have one and would like to use it with my dragon link. Do you have any pointers to use dragon link with this transmitter? My first step is, to find a plug to connect the two.

[@paps69shed]

I love this, this guy is a legend... The RC gear is worth 10x the cost of his car LOL.. My kind of priorities.. Very well done :)

[@3000gtwelder]

Nice setup. You could use a solar panel and couple more batteries too.

[@duckyduck1944]

I need to mount my RC tx antenna higher because I fly from my balcony Any tips and tricks are welcome

[@slug182]

I like how you have all this expensive equipment to fly and your car is old and dirty haha really tells something about your priorities, great stuff man! Keep them coming :)

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Felipe Forlin wehre i live, you can't have a nice car, so i keep the beater car just for local driving. since this video, the car has been totaled in a head on accident by a bus driving on the wrong side of the road. I think the driver was on drugs, and the insurance company does not take responsibility. neither does the driver, or the bus company. and the cops showed up, but did nothing. everyone drove away, and left me in the street with a totaled car. i've patched the car up, and it's driving again. thats what this car is for. I have newer model that i keep in good condition, but only drive it to the US. living in a foreign country practically means you have no rights, as i'm sure you know. I plan on moving back to my country of origin someday. cheers!

[@PatriotPaulUSA]

Wow, geez sorry to hear that. Looked like a nice old mercedes.

[@T-Sav]

What country was this in?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

yep

[@FPVREVIEWS]

If you are self sufficient and have an income, also want to save some money, it could be good, but recommend living for a few months renting here as a trial first. If you need to do business, receive mail reliably, etc, better not.

[@cantifpv669]

You should be able to use a 100 to 200 watt solar panel to keep your batteries topped off during the day time. The solar panels can double as a awning.

[@richhandler2621]

Fantastic video! I always look forward to your videos- just wish there were more of them. I was looking at that MFD antenna tracker and found a similar DIY antenna tracker (works on the same principle) called the "Ghetto Station." I'm not terribly fond of the name, but I was wondering if you or any of your viewers have dealt with this open source alternative. I always enjoy open source projects. I appreciate all the videos- you guys are really helping out the FPV (commercial and hobbyist) community here!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Chris Ollenberger the name is very funny, but sounds like a great solution. as i don't have computer background, my weak area would be things like open source computer based solutions. i've never heard of the ghetto station before. anyone else heard of it?

[@petfrogg]

Wild thinking... My taranis can do up to 32 channels and map around stuff. Could two headtrackers be used for two observers using the trainerport on the radio?

[@WillyFPV]

Great set-up.. Like long range ground vehicles?

[@richardlastra9202]

Saludos amigo excelente video, una consulta sepodria implementar 5 drones mavic 2 enterprise dual es para un poyecto

[@shibumi5210]

Two suggestions? 1. Two deep cycle marine batteries in case(s) mounted in your trunk, kept topped off by car charging system when driving- eliminate the generator entirely. 2. Quadcopters already have GPS-based flight controllers- you could REALLY use an autopilot for flights of the duration you are doing!!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Lucas Finley very true, i just happen to have the gen already, but a larger battery could be a solution. i have large batteries i could borrow form my house off grid power system, and they could certainly power things for hours, but they are also very heavy, like you say, 2 of them would get the weight down per battery considerably. the only thing i could say against the idea would be that at the end of the flight, the batteries would not be fully charged, like my current setup. it does bother me a bit that i have to burn fuel, but i'm working on that. i plan on getting an electric car someday, maybe building one. then i will just run the ground station off of the car main pack. at the end of the day, getting rid of the generator is a good thing. others have suggested a solar panel, but i don't want to have to cut one of these endurance flights short, due to low power output. for instance, the day i did the 4 hr flight, it was very cloudy, and i'm sure the power of a panel would not have been anywhere near optimal. i consider the generator an interim solution. and, yes, i really could use a flight controller.. any recommendations? thanks for your comment, and thoughts.

[@KalterKrieger]

I wonder how you can reach such transmission distancies. Tried to find your page where you described your equipment but I havent found it. Unfotunately we dont have enough human free regions here in germany to fly such distancies.

[@mendeferowelde5533]

nice work how far can it go I mean distance miles thanks.

[@nahidabadlla920]

.How can I get to your plane scheme Gemini V2. Hi ... FPVREVIE .... Thank you for this wonderful supplied by us are and thanks for the wonderful work

[@RCCrawlerDroneSC]

Hello friend I am from Brazil, I would like to know what you think of the ezuhf system, do you think it is a reliable system in 2020? the use of it will be long distances with a 1900 Skywalker.

[@plnmech]

Very good video, Spike. Did you have to make any modifications to the rc transmitters?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+John McKenna just the addition of External RF modules, and voltage regulators for the power supply. that's all.

[@ErnestoEduardoDobarganes]

Spike: Instead of using a dedicated generator, why not just keep the car engine running ? !! :) I really look forward to be able to learn how to built my own V-2, as a pro-videographer I would love to make an epic video series of the process..

[@williamsobral9056]

I really like you!

[@markhinchcliffe5803]

Well we are all happy about that

[@ethanarquette3924]

Awesome video Sir! Thank you very much for sharing your station with us. I am currently researching to build a long range (5mi) fpv multi-rotor aircraft with exceptional FPV VIDEO QUALITY if possible. Any recommendations for *affordable* video tx/rx and camera? What about video tx/rx frequencies. Thanks for any reply!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

At least for a reasonable amount of money, it's always quality of downlink vs range. most fpv systems and fpv cameras only go up to 640x480 and that's find for navigating the aircraft. if you want hi ddef, or 4k footage, i suggest piggyback mobius camera, or go pro as a separate camera for later playback. if you must have high def on the ground while you fly, and extraordinary rang,e go with something like an enerlinks system, a digital long range system, but you will pay a ton for it, and it may not be available in all countries. there also may be solutions involving high speed internet via cell comm, or maybe someone has found a way to extend the range of systems like light bridge. Not sure, but worth checking it out.

[@ZuNunchaku]

when your ground station is more expensive than your car 😆

[@RCshowmen]

Why not bypass the rectifiers is the screen and DVRs?

[@j7...]

Why don't put a parallel xt60 plug on the power supply? Change batteries easily without interruption of power supply. Wouldn't that work?

[@shukurkhaidr9854]

Thankyou for such a good video which you have made it in detail But i still have a ' ? ' to ask if you have time to answer please do the needful it will be a great help can you make another video in detail of your planes your controls Transmitters Ground station and what goes with plains example for plane list of detail parts Motor, ESC. Servos. Receiver. TX. RX. Flight Control. Cameras. Batteries. OSD. Radios and Mainly UHF do you use Both at a time for pilot and how long will can it travel. Sorry it may be to much i am asking for But it will be a really great help as i am crazy about model airplanes all the time i keep watching some channels on you tube i like your channel because it neat and peace up in clouds

[@FPVREVIEWS]

you can check out all of that info on our website's page called "give me more data" link to the website in the description.

[@gamingforlive2150]

im using an caravan battery i man that huuuuge ones because we actually schanched ou`re battery type so we can achive i think it was less charching power due to the fact that ou`re new car dont outputs as much power trought the plug so im using that battery and im not going to get a gen beacuse alone that battery is probaly overkill for even 2x the time

[@sergiogiaccone6291]

very instructive video, just, i don´t like the dl tx antenna place, but the rest, awesome, thanks for share it.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

is it because of proximity to something? the receiver is over 30 ft away, on the tracker.

[@sergiogiaccone6291]

maybe tha car can make any shadow if you flight in this direction, the rest of the equipment, amazing.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

oh, yes, it could, but we usually fly any long range stuff out over the ocean, with a clear view. we're integrating a pixhawk for automated flight anyway, so will not be depending so much on the range of the radio gear.

[@sergiogiaccone6291]

you are close the sea?, you are a lucky man :)

[@FPVREVIEWS]

lucky, yes. this was a flight over the water on our other channel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKO4qHmLppypp6M

[@ememeable]

looking for a co pilot Great video

[@svsoftair]

Great video, do you use both immersion and dragon link at the same time? If so, for what reason? thanks for such a nice info

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+svsoftair yes, but just because its the equipment i have. i believe that either would work together with their own counterpart. The dragon link V-2 emits a bit more noise than the immersion eZUHF, so requires some distance from any sensitive equipment such as the plane's receiver, or the video receiver on the tracker. the tracker should not be next to anything anyway, and it's not a problem in normal use. the eZUHF has better range, however, it's in an ideal location on the plane, and i upgraded it's antenna. The dragon link now offers more features than before, and has all new firmware, which improves performance, so i hear. i have not upgraded, as it works plenty good enough for me. Mike at dragon link is great with customer support. so both are very competitive. i've had trouble with either system, for one reason or another, getting them to work when i first got them. the EZUHF, i could not contact customer support easily, and ended up fixing it myself, but the dragon link, which had a bad component, was different in that mike, sent me a new transmitter module, even before i sent him the old one back. it then worked fine, without any further messing around. the dragon link also does not offer diversity antennas on the receiver, and the immersion RC does.

[@svsoftair]

+FPVREVIEWS super, thanks

[@mountaindewdude76]

That's a very impressive ground station. This video was shared in 2015. Has the ground station evolved much since then?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

It's still the same, but it's less critical to have it at all with fully autonomous flight mode.

[@mountaindewdude76]

FPVREVIEWS I appreciate all your replies. I hope my excitement hasn't become a nuisance.

[@plnmech]

Spike, this is not related to this video but I want to know if the Gemini V-2 has individual throttle control? If so how do you accomplish it with only one throttle lever on your transmitter?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+John McKenna they are linked with a Y connector on board the aircraft. so no it does not. and i have not seen a need for it, so just one channel.

[@tarabrown7475]

Does anyone know the model of the Pelican case and/or larger monitor?

[@thefortressishere]

BrownBrothersReviews it's not a pelican case. Just a random one he found

[@reubenbuss5551]

Very interesting video but why only in 360p? upload problem? keep up the great work tho!

[@seafax]

+Reuben Buss You watched it before youtube had finished processing it. It was in 1080p by the time I got to it.

[@AndyRCchannel]

not seen anyone else using those TX before. they are about 18 years old :) I have one also

[@RcPilotAcro]

+AndyRC So do I, remember when i bought it, it was the envy of the field, till someone came up with a 14MZ along lol

[@AndyRCchannel]

+Rc Pilot yes same here. it was so expensive as well. I just had to upgrade it because I couldn't reprogramme the switches to different channels. end of an era :-(

[@lsu7028]

Question: You are able to fly for 4 hrs, but at what distances can your equipment continue to work? What about flight controls and how about the video stream? Thanks

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+LSU 70 at least 12 km, have great control on low power setting, and great video, have not wanted to go further, because i don't have return to home feature at the moment.

[@fatherlandchild2780]

Have you installed solar cells on your UAV yet? Would It Be worth it on that heavy plane?

[@fatherlandchild2780]

I think long range fpv might Be illegal in Europe, Need to have eye contact :(

[@chinookmech]

Are you using a flight controller and if so which one do you use?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Kiowa Mech no flight controller. I plan on adding one at some point, if anyone has any suggestions? i want safe, reliable, waypoints, RTH,and auto circle. If it can do VTOL for the future, that would be great!

[@LiveLNXgaming]

Your name is Spike by now? What was it before? Are you sure the paperwork to make it Spike has gone through? Why haven't you checked?! Loved the rig by the way.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+LNX Gaming Thanks, i have a twin brother named Zeke, we have the exact same fingerprints, and DNA. LOL

[@quadgalaxymedia9490]

man i really REALLY like your ground station, any possible way to get help building one ?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Quad Galaxy Media feel free to send me an email. just a matter of fitting the components to the box. i tried everything and tested it before committing to the build.

[@quadgalaxymedia9490]

very nice i have an inspire 1 with a 5 mile antenna mod, but I will need a good ground station for my drones. I'll shoot you and email. lol yes the face .. i thought it was cool kabuki face

[@garryhill3312]

FPVREVIEWS r

[@stephengloor8451]

Hi - have watched a couple of your videos and I really like the Gemini. One thing bugs me however with your obvious technical expertise I am wondering why you do not have an autopilot in your planes. For instance a 3DR Pixhawk, the one I use, would be child's play for someone like you to setup and would ease the burden of flight for 4 hours. You would also have a full telemetry log of your flights.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Stephen Gloor You are absolutely right. An autopilot like pixhawk would be a great addition. My weakness is with computers, so the interface is a bit daunting to me. I also feel that a lot of research and development is being done with flight controllers, and with software, and not enough with the hardware,a nd aerodynamics, as they apply to adding capability/value to unmanned vehicles, at least in the hobby/small commercial market. I actually gain considerable insight into the flight dynamics by going through the excersise of flying manually for this much time. part of the design criteria of gemini is that it can be flow this way with minimal pilot inputs. this is partly to do with it's stability aerodynamically, and also in dynamic ways. the interaction between axis dynamics is part of the base concept of gemini, and i don't think i could get that experience any other way, besides manual flight. of course,i could just turn the flight controller off.. also, when you can achieve stability in all axis, and also spiral mode trajectory, at the same time, without sacrificing aerodynamic efficiency, it improves the overall efficiency of the aircraft, because you don't need such active flight control surfaces, and power consumption, and induced drag are slightly reduced. all of this adds to the overall efficiency,a nd performance of the aircraft. a telemetry log would be great. i have been plotting some logs on paper during flight, and it gives me something to do during the 4 hrs, but you are right, i need an autopilot at some point. my next large project will require it. i have been working on the concept for about 2 years now, and conceptually, it's very refined. i may have to collaborate with someone for the flight controls and software, as it will require unconventional/custom software to reach it's full potential.

[@stephengloor8451]

+FPVREVIEWS They have made the computer requirement a lot less now. Mission Planner takes most of the headache away and the PixHawk is almost getting plug and play. The biggest thing you are missing is RTL (Return to Launch) in emergencies. If you lose orientation or the video link you need to be able to push the RTL button and have the plane fly home. The other useful mode is FBW-A which means the plane flies straight and level with you commanding where it flies. All my planes first fly in manual anyway. I time them up to fly in manual mode before ever starting on the road to tune the autopilot. The Pixhawk has autotune now and when if flies well in manual you can autotune the autopilot pretty well. An RFD-900 pair would do your telemetry and again they are plug and play for the most part. I had just this week a heart-stopping wait for a plane to fly home after we lost comms. There was nothing better than the sight of the little plane coming home in RTL....

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Stephen Gloor thanks for the great advice. by the way, can the pixhawk support VTOL yet? and then a transition to fixed wing flight? if not, how might one interface 2 pixhawks, and transition from one to the other?

[@stephengloor8451]

+FPVREVIEWS OK here is the thing. We have this contest called the 2016 UAV outback rescue over here and the lead developer of Pixhawk firmware, Andrew Tridgell, is on one of the teams competing. Now one of the requirements to complete the challenge is possibly a long range VTOL aircraft. As CanberraUAV are committed to the APM/Pixhawk you can bet your bottom dollar that this functionality will emerge in the Pixhawk code sooner or later. A lot of teams are waiting just for this. I think also some people have done Pixhawk code to do what you want however it is custom code and not on the mainstream. My advice is get expertise on both modes in isolation before you attempt to combine them. Get both a fixed wing and multicopter flying well on auto then you will have the knowledge to combine them in some way or use tridge's new vtol Pixhawk code when/if it comes out.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Stephen Gloor yes, i plan on flying it first as a multi rotor and then as a fixed wing aircraft first before doing the transition. the design concept allows for a balanced, robust transition, with more than adequate thrust, and control during the transition, at least conceptually. and no wing tllting, so it should not be affected much by wind. i have watched the outback competition for some years, and it sounds like a great environment to mature the technology. there has also been a lot of interest in the gemini project from australia, and quite a few flying gemini's there. Great country, and lots of fwd thinking people there for sure. i would love to visit someday. have always loved wide open spaces. something about them is very inspiring. at least as long as you have a highly efficient, fast, reliable, vehicle from which to enjoy the view! LOL will look fwd to seeing how team canberra does in 2016, and maybe by the time i get a 2nd prototype going of the next gen aircraft, there will be a suitable fight controller. thanks for the advice. i look fwd to using auto tune, as i went through manual tuning of settings on a KK2 board once, and did get the cart flying desent, but it was never good, and seemed like a useless skill to learn in the modern world.

[@TheJttv]

I know this is is not really your thing but do you mind explain how you can send power to something that can spin 360* I have a idea of how it might work but I'm not sure

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Jttv GWS1T sail winch servo, plugged into the RC receiver.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+FPVREVIEWS oh, sorry, you meant the tracker? it comes ready to use, you don't need to do anything. it has a continuous rotation servo pre installed, and the controller board is pre configured. it's a ready to use product.

[@sailtails2775]

+Jttv Electrical power can be sent to/from rotating units by way of a "slip ring". Google "slip ring " for info.

[@sandygregoire2732]

Hi there are you a military drone operator with your ground station

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Nope

[@trevmansp]

toilet paper..hahaha...good one!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

We have learned from experience...

[@lourensvandermerwe1702]

What wattage signal booster do you use for your radio.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

We're using EZUHF RF module. low power is 200mw. high power is 600. almost never use high power. even the high altitude flight, used low power only.

[@lourensvandermerwe1702]

Ok but how far did you fly out with the 200w signal booster.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

about 10or 12 km if i remember right.

[@lourensvandermerwe1702]

In your personal opinion how far will you be able to fly out with a 10w signal booster on the radio

[@FPVREVIEWS]

it all depends on the antennas that you use, their gain, and the RF environment. using directional antennas can help immensely. also depends on the frequency. the lower, the better for range. you could go to the moon with 100mw, given the right antennas, on almost any frequency. there is no fixed answer to that. it also depends on how sensitive the receiver is, and how well filtered the antennas are, if they even need filters. the only real way to find out is a spectrum analyzer. simply boosting the signal power will not necessarily get very much more range (although it will help), due to signal propagation. it's like throwing a rock into a pond. the wave it makes is huge nearby, but gets much weaker after traveling just a little ways, as it's energy is spread in a circle. in the case of omni antennas, it's spread into a donut shape in 3D, so even weaker. also using a strong booster will probably spew so much stray RF that it will drown out the video signal coming back, that is faint,a nd you have to listen for with another antenna. so you are usually shooting yourself in the foot (so to speak) when you boost the control system signal. make sense?

[@antonioquirarter.172]

like

[@bluemountpictures4785]

When the Police stop u and see this Box with cables comming out they think u carrying a Bomb :D

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+BlueMountPicture s really, dude? what country is that?

[@bluemountpictures4785]

i think America or Germany :D

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+BlueMountPicture s good thing i don't live int he US then? i assume my america you meant the US, not the whole continent, because then we're screwed.

[@bluemountpictures4785]

ok i tought u an US Amerikan.

[@airplaynfpv8901]

Spike, I'm interested in information about running 2 R/C systems on one airplane. I'm working on a rather exotic design that will be low power, high speed, and long range. I re-purposed a pair of sailplane wings into a twin boom, V tail, pod fuselage, powered by a '480' class motor. The issue I'm facing is not enough channels available for aircraft/FPV control with a single R/C controller. On the Skyhunter, I was able to use channel 4 for nosegear steering, and cam pan. and channel 8 for cam tilt ( I have a JR 9303 Tx). On the new design, given it will have a full flying V tail, I will need the rudder control, and don't care to connect cam pan in the rudder channel. With EZUHF, you must sacrifice a channel in order to get RSSI. On the SH, I use channel 5 (Gear) for RSSI. The only solution I can see is to use 2 R/C systems on board and use the second system for camera pan/tilt, and a video switch which enables me to run up to 3 cameras on board. Will I need to buy a brand other than Immersion in order to get 2 R/C systems to operate side by side? Some particulars: EZUHF R/C control, JR 9303 controller, ET Vector flight controller, EFlite 480, 40 amp ESC, 5100 mAh battery, in a 100 inch package that's kinda P-38'ish minus the horiz stab, and the verticals canted out into a V tail. Thank you.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+Airplay'n FPV sounds like you have the same problem i had. well there are several ways to approach the problem, that i know of. there may be more. you could switch to a different radio system, such as taranis, that allows mixing without using another channel for each mix, sometimes, such as in the case of a nose wheel, it can save you a channel, that can used elsewhere. that can only get you so much, if it works, and i assume that you want to go long range, because, who doesn't? so adding another LRS is an option. Dragonlink V-2 has 12 channels, so if you have a radio to power it which has more than 8 channels ppm out, you could have enough channels right there. it would make no use of your current system, probably, and don't assume that because a transmitter has 12 channels, all of thm have ppm out. many times they will have, 10 or 12 channels, and only 8 ppm out. it could be a solution, or you could get the second system with the 12 channel option to supplement, and maybe you can transfer all controls to the drangonlink later? you could also get antoerh system just like you have, just use immersionrc tools to shift the spectrum on one of them away from the other, although they should work in theory on the same spectrum, or band. switching one is better, and will give both a more robust signal. it's also pretty easy to do. even i can do it. a slightly more complex option is to use channel wizard with Ezuhf. depending on how you feel about setting up electronics. i was going to go this route, but realized that i wanted to have another transmitter for the observer to hold anyway, so i went with another transmitter with another LRS option. the fact i used two different brand systems, is just because it's what i had purchased for review, not because two of the same system won't work together, because they should work together just fine. i hope this gets you pointed in the right direction. always to the proper range tests, and spectrum analysis before flying. sounds like a great project. reminds me of the Albatross fpv /uav. i used to fly a smaller aircraft of that configuration for a few years. i called it the uav4. it's on my bearospace channel. i think i flew it from 2007 to like 2012. i still have it, ready to fly. spike

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+FPVREVIEWS here is a link to the channel wizard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXWuqmWMrp5jqbc

[@airplaynfpv8901]

+FPVREVIEWS Right Spike, I looked at your Bearospace channel.... can't believe I didn't sub it right after I subbed here lol. Our designs look very similar, with mine subtracting the horizontal stab, and canting out the verts into a V tail, with the single '480' at the rear of the fuselage pod. The idea is to keep the airframe as light as possible, with no interaction of the prop wash and flight control surfaces. I'll probably go with a second LRS, as I've ran into the problem you describe with ppm outs. I will just "re-purpose" a DX 8 I have since I don't use it anymore due to the very limited range I get with the Spektrum gear. Too bad the people at Horizon didn't plan on their radios being used for much more than park flyer applications. If I didn't say so before, I appreciate your time, and effort in this arena. You've helped me quite a bit. Have a great day!

[@bearospaceinsider5250]

+Airplay'n FPV I tried adding a futaba 2.4 ghz system to my skywalker back in the day, and found that, although it worked fine, it's range was limited to only about 4000 ft altitude. Spektrum is probably similar. if you are running a 2.4ghz video system, the 2.4 control system will interfere, but if not, you should be good to go. always range check, and perform spectrum analysis as a matter of precaution. as far as aircraft configuration, having the prop wash/turbulent air clear the flight control surfaces is a good thing in my opinion. i find that the plane flies truer, and it get's rid of some bad habits. one problem i came across with the pusher configuration was with vibration. not only is the motor close to the sensors, but the prop arc is right in the middle of the high/low psi differential left by the wing. this can create vibrations, especially at higher wing loadings, and in turns where the G loading is higher. i was using my aircraft for photos, and i found that no matter how much i balanced my prop, the aerodynamically induced vibration would ruin my pictures. they would look ok initially, but when i zoomed in on the image later, in post, i could see that the image quality was poor. my solution was just to shut down the motor. i also used the ESC's brake feature to reduce rpm further, and keep the prop from windmilling.I found it also helped to use the ailerons as flaps(flaperons) when taking the picture, as it stabilized the aircraft, and made the controls better for controlling the camera, attached to the nose. i was even able to take pictures in a vertical dive, with good results. another slightly annoying tendency with any single engine aircraft is the tourqe, and P effect, in the case of the pusher, it's only torque, and there is some blade angle differential at high angles of attack. i would always have to re-trim the aircraft for climb, and glide, as it would diverge from the flight path slightly. It's those things that i was trying to overcome with gemini. for a single configuration, it is very useful. the benefit in efficiency is large by having the prop wash clear the fuselage, etc. I did a review episode a while back on the anaconda fpv plane, sounds similar. still have it hanging there, waiting to do something with it. will be great to see your project.

[@airplaynfpv8901]

+Bearospace Insider I will either try and send you some pics of my project, or will upload a vid as soon as I can. The project is just getting under way. My solution to the vibration issue is to have the motor located roughly 4 inches behind the trailing edge of the wing (a pair of re-purposed wings from a crashed CMP Ventus 2bx). I am planning on adding brakes that will swing out from the sides of the rear fuselage behind the wings just as a means of drastically increasing the sink rate for landings in smaller spaces. I almost popped for an Anaconda, but was more in my budget to go with the Skyhunter, which is my first big time FPV project after my smaller pico FPV park flyer rigs. I prefer the 1.2 ghz systems for their penetration through obstacles, and wide variety of tx's and antenna options out there. I'm hoping that the Vector flight controller will handle most of the changing stability issues so I can focus more of my attention on getting good camera footage. Using a RMRC Pro 700 for flight cam, and the Mobius wide angle for HD. I live near Stevens Pass in Washington State, and plan to get great video from a beatiful mountain pass..... getting ahead of myself here lol.

[@diymyway6372]

That would have been so funny if you had pulled out a aeroplane the size of a 50p piece

[@sipplix]

Why use a generator... Use a couple of 100watt solar modules to charge car battery whilst you fly.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+simon ward The solar panels would be greener, but i don't have panels. I do have the generator. that's a major factor. also, if the sun does not shine, the gen still works. I don't want to have to monitor the battery it's charging. I have enough to monitor during flight on the aircraft. i suppose if had a simple alarm for low voltage at a safe level, i could start the car engine to make the power, but the gen is so quiet. your idea would work prob 98 percent of the time. anyway, thanks for the comment. i have solar on my house, and the power i pump into the grid is used to charge the plane's battery later. cheers

[@FourItchyFeet4IF]

FPVREVIEWS if you could lose the inverter your current draw would be a lot lower

[@humankind4343]

woaw!! Cool.:-). Sorry but do you take a dump while piloting??? :-) I read ... usually.:-)))

[@trevmansp]

Mike! What kinda FC are you flying today?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Pixhawk with arduplane. used auto tune to calibrate PID's, and lots of testing to acquire enough data to be able to enter all of the other settings.

[@trevmansp]

Right! Have you ever tested Parrot Disco before? I am trying to use pix4dcapture or any other GCS to do grid flight plan with it but no success so far. Any suggestion, recommendation?

[@FPVREVIEWS]

I know drone deploy works, but only with DJI products. What specific problem are you having? I'm also interested in doing 3D mapping, and also need to interface with Pixhawk somehow. Sorry I can't be of more immediate help..

[@trevmansp]

We are currently using Dronedeploy for aerial mapping with no "surprises" so far but eBee is the only fixed wing compatible with, as far as we know! Our goal is to use Parrot Disco Standard (which is very cheap) with Pix4dcapture as we know this GCS works with a very expensive Parrot Disco AG Pro only, a top version of Parrot Disco "standard"! By the way, in your case, you better go for the Dronedeploy, according to our "years" of experience as users. In other words: rotary wings + dronedeploy = happiness!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

I understand it works well, and have seen it used, but how can it interface with Arduplane?pixhawk? Also needs to interface with the sensor, Correct?

[@azezrtyuuiopqsdfghjk]

hello Super Luigi Bros. Where is Mario?

[@bluemountpictures4785]

Just use a External Car Batterie than u didn't have to worrie to kill the Car Batterie inside the Car ok the Generator is also a good idea :)

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+BlueMountPicture s that would not work when the external battery goes dead, and i lose control, and video. whatever battery i use must be kept charged. it might as well be the car battery. it's also bad for batteries to be deep discharged. even deep cycle batteries. the only type that would be ok would be a gel. even then , go back to problem 1

[@bluemountpictures4785]

year but a Generator on the Car Batterie would also work good

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+BlueMountPicture s that's what i'm doing, as show in the video.

[@bluemountpictures4785]

i wanted to say that u also can use a extern Batterie with a generator so u don't have to worry to kill the car Batterie

[@FPVREVIEWS]

+BlueMountPicture s well, yes, you could, however, the gen keeps the battery fully charged, so it has not been a problem at all. if the gen fails, i can also start the car engine to charge the system, as a backup. with an external battery, it would not be possible.