Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Ground Control Station (GCS) in a Pelican Case

This is my custom built mobile ground control station (GCS) for my unmanned aerial system (UAS). This is contained in a Pelican 1605 case and is battery powered for complete mobile operation.
Components
-Pelican 1605 case (amzn.to/2TECr0C)
-Finwing Traveler UAV
-Turnigy TGY-i10 transmitter
-Microsoft Surface Pro 2
-3 cell, 20,000 mAH LiPo battery for primary power
-3 cell, 5,000 mAH LiPo battery for charging the laptop
-5.8 GHz FPV video receiver (ImmersionRC 5800 Duo v4.1)
-HobbyKing HK-010 power analyzer
-Lumineer FPV monitor
-DVR for FPV video
- 13 inch Field monitor with VGA, HDMI, RCA, BNC inputs
-Bestek 300W inverter (amzn.to/2SddYyb)
-USB hub
-Mouse and keyboard
-915 MHz telemetry radio
-Assorted accessories and cables
Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-...

[@ChristopherLum]

In case it is helpful, here are all my drones and UAS videos in a single playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLxdnSsBqCrrEwyl4G70HHDaUINmJR83wS. You can support this channel by clicking on the 'Thanks' button underneath the video or via Patreon at www.patreon.com/christopherwlum. Please let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for watching!

[@MacsWraps]

Wow, that's the hot set up! I appreciate your ingenuity on the plywood panel. Thanks for posting.

[@tylerjewell1040]

Hey there! Looks like you have a nice setup, and it looks a lot more convenient than dragging each individual system around and setting up. Something you could try is running your 12v 20Ah battery to a power distro board and power your equipment off of that. I bet it would raise your efficiency a great deal vs converting DC to AC back to DC unnecessarily. That said, having a power inverter in your setup is still a very useful tool. I carry one in mine as well. Thank you for sharing your setup with us sir.

[@ChristopherLum]

Thanks for the great tip, I'll have to think about this if I revise or make another one.

[@tylerjewell1040]

@@ChristopherLum Also, the 3s battery you're using is a great choice for the project. But if you ever found yourself wanting to push the limits of your supply on your GCS or even your plane for that matter, you could make a switch to Lithium Ion cells. liIon is much more energy dense compared to LiPo and allows for a lot more usable capacity compared to LiPo. I've recently put together a couple of packs: A 4s4p, 14Ah 18650 pack for duration flying weighing in at 800g (compared to a 4s 5.2Ah LiPo at 520g), and a 3s6p 30Ah pack for my ground station. The trade-off is a higher unit of capacity for unit of mass, but a lower maximum current draw. It gives you a lot of flexibility designing a power supply for a specific purpose though, and a makeshift spot welder is very easy to make. If you're interested, I could put together a video detailing how to put mine together.

[@PowderMill]

👍🏻 EXCELLENT!!! Thank you. I currently provide use of my drone gear to my local volunteer fire department/rescue squad as they are still going through the process of establishing a “drone unit” internal to the department. I’m using a DJI Mavic-3 for this application… mainly due to the extra long battery life / extended OccuSync 3 telemetry & video streaming/ telephoto + zoom camera system. I’m using an RC-Pro “smart controller” which has an HDMI mini output for live video monitoring with external monitor(s). I have used a hardwired F279 7” bright 2200nit display with integrated NP-F750 style battery system. With a fiber-optic extended HDMI cable, I’m able to send the signal up to 25-30’ or so.. It ends up being a very messy solution to providing a display for an incident commander or operations chief. So…. After watching your video and a few others showing other options, I came up with a “video kit”.. I took a Pelican Elite (wheeled case approximately the size of the model 1510) and use it for all video needs, including 2 sets of Orqa FPV One goggles, a high brightness 4K 15.6” portable display and the FeelWorld F279 7” display. For power, I am using a pair of Baseus 30,000 mah battery banks (w/ USB-C 65watt outputs and USB-A 3.0a output) and a single Renogy massive battery bank for use when operating away from AC power (or vehicle generator AC power) for extended time. At the drone operator side, I’m using a Radionics 1500 HDMI transmission system transmitter. It operates on 2.4 / 5.8 GHz and auto switches between bands and channels to find the optimal settings. The transmitter has an HDMI input and an HDMI looped output. It has 2x SMA connectors with small “rubber duck” type antennas and I carry a pair of magnetic mount 9db gain antennas with 20’ RG-400 cable assemblies for use when extra range is critical. The power input is a “barrel” type DC connector and requires 12vdc @1a. Power is provided by the Baseus battery bank with a step up converter (5v to 12v). I am feeding the HDMI input on this device with a 20’ cable from the RC-Pro controller. The HDMI looped output on the transmitter feeds a small HDMI 1x4 splitter unit. (requires a high end externally powered splitter to function properly) 2 pairs of goggles and a small 7” HDMI field display are fed from the splitter and used on the transmitter side of operations. On the receiver side, there is a matching Radionics HDMI receiver. (The System can Support FOUR RECEIVERS simultaneously!) It is mounted in the Pelican case, inside the lid. The receiver HDMI output is connected to a second splitter device. The splitter then feeds a 15.6” field display mounted in the Pelican case. There is a second display. A second FeelWorld F279. This is attached to a mini clamp-on tripod device which clips on to the lid or sides of the case for additional views of the drone feed. The range of the HDMI transmission system is approximately 570’. It works up to 1,000’ in optimal conditions, but I use a simple rule of 1/3 of the rated distance is the “always works” in the real world distance. These are a real bargain!! $300 for a transmitter/receiver set. Each additional receiver is $190. I bought a spare (second) receiver and paired / bound everything up to the single transmitter initially.. Then I packed the second receiver up with a few assorted HDMI cables and adapters and an additional Baseus 30,000mah battery bank. Along with a pair of attached antennas and a pair of magnetic base type 9db gain antennas. This is all packed away in a small nylon gear bag and carried “just in case”. (a large, multiple agency or similar disaster or other event.. providing a total of 3 points of attachment for monitors to view the drone operations. ** something to keep in mind : When using 2 or more receivers, the range is cut by approx. 25% ! The Baseus battery banks are excellent for this application. They are 30,000mah capacity and provide QC 3.1 / 65watt output via USB-C (ideal for the large 15.6” display) and have 4 extra USB-A ports to power accessories like the HDMI transmitter units and splitters. (approximately $65 @ at Amazon) Thanks again for the great concepts and ideas !!

[@ChristopherLum]

Thanks for the detailed comment and for sharing your setup. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@tlent55]

Super cool!! That thing I beautiful! I would fit right in in a spy movie??

[@ripoldgp1306]

This is so awesome! Can this be used as reference for artwork?

[@horiap77]

Subscribed :)

[@ChristopherLum]

Horia, thanks for watching. I've got a playlist of my Mathematica tutorials at kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4mpdXSwaLhsi80. Please feel free to check them out and let me know what you think.

[@horiap77]

Thanks Chris I will

[@AutodidactEngineer]

Can it be used as a boom boom devicr holder

[@jeveloz47]

Hey could you help me build something like this but it's more for work then flying drones. Need one monitor my tablet run off of solar panels. Also able to run 4 solar cameras or regular cameras. Also able to take control of out company military drones when deployed if need be.

[@crossbowmotors8368]

Fantastic setup mate. One question; Why did you recompile the software? Does it now have more functionality than the original? What is the range of your aircraft in this configuration?

[@ChristopherLum]

As you point out, I recompiled the software to add extra functionality. We needed it to do some GPS-denied demonstrations. You can see the video at kzbin.info/www/bejne/npiQiZmkbpd-hKc. Let me know what you think and thanks for watching!

[@crossbowmotors8368]

@@ChristopherLum Wow. That isjust mindblowing. I have been in te aviation industry for decades but never knew they were small transponders for UAVs. Interesting development. Do you get the transponders at some online shop? I would really like to follow this developments

[@darkphoenixhd7121]

How you get this?

[@jay_dot6604]

Shit looks like a bombing plane control station