FPV - Long Range System (LRS) Shootout | Flite Test

[@themainproblem]

ATV repeaters are actually transmit/receivers operated by ham radio operators. It's amateur television transmitted between individuals. They operate in a variety of frequencies and a bands. Popular wavelengths are 70cm and 23 cm and sometimes shorter. The gentleman in the middle sounds like he was in fact a ham radio op, and probably a very skilled one.

[@CaliforniaTravelVideos]

Many thanks for the provocative series of tests. And despite any shortcomings, we should compliment FliteTest and Alex for stepping forward and giving it their best shot within real world time constraints. As a microwave technician, I appreciate all the complexities planning and conducting tests like these with limited resources. The fact that you encourage dialog on KZbin and your website is a testimonial that you encourage open communications. Kudos gentlemen and keep 'em coming!

[@helifanensenada5183]

Finally! A constructive comment... I remembered an old Asian proverb The fool shouts. The intelligence gives his opinion. But the wise man will keep quiet. Yours was a concrete, well meant and wise comment. Congratulations

[@dronemoodbr]

I think people should not get angry because of this kind of comparison. Almost nobody needs the very very best product. In fact, I've been using Dragon Link since V1 until now and NEVER got a failsafe or total video shutdown (5.8GHz 200mW) doing what I do, and this mean fly no more than 5Km (3.1 miles). Everybody wants to say that flew 10Km (6.2 miles) but the truth is that just a few will really fly over 4 ou 5 Km. Great video!!!!

[@ricardopr54]

I just bought the new dragonlink v2 with the micro receiver. My fpv setting still 5.8ghz immersionrc 600mw vtx and fatshark attitude goggles with spironet circular polarized antennas. Irecently bouth their 13dbi path antena too, but haven't tested flying my airplane. I still need to get an OSD. I'm planning to get the EZOSD. Do you think it might work worth the dragonlink receiver? Do you think that this LRS might work ok with my fpv setting without affecting video range.

[@Imjony5]

+Pó de Balsa Yeah but what if you want to fly low behind a tree line so you decide to go with 1.3 video. This video clearly shows that Dragon Link interferes with 1280 Mhz video.

[@dronemoodbr]

+Imjony5 Yes, in this case you have a problem :) Here in Brazil where I fly everybody moved from 1.2 to 5.8, but if you plan to use 1.2/1.3 this information is relevant. Regards!

[@viniciusmorita245]

Dronemodelismo I

[@philstuf]

PLEASE bring iBcrazy back more often. His RF kung-fu is strong (I am saying this as someone pretty savvy with RF for ~ 20 years), and I appreciate the diversity (no pun intended) that he brings to the content. In fewer than 25 minutes, he has answered so many questions I had regarding RC & FPV given the myriad of options on the market.

[@jacqueslebo1807]

I would like to add, while taking your antennae off of your receiver makes a good test, never take the antennae off of a transmitter and try to broadcast. It can potentially cause permanent damage to the transmitter.

[@prestonpeck7715]

No it will cause permanent damage

[@helifanensenada5183]

Flite Test & IBeCrazy... How much cooler can it get?

[@GranVlog]

Heli Fan Ensenada if they open the windows when its winter.

[@QuadReaktor]

@@GranVlog good old times :)

[@gilgsn]

You guys should learn about SWR and how it can fry your transmitter if you use it without an antenna for too long. Also look into RF exposure before putting transmitters on your head...

[@katanamd]

They took the antenna off the receiver.

[@d.hansel854]

Ham Radio operators that use these high frequencies know how dangerous these high frequencies are. This is why cell phones us so little power. You can cook brain cells quickly. Also SWR is important. These frequencies antennas as very short. You won't gain anything by adding things to an antenna. Since you are flying the antenna should be on the bottom. Your radiation pattern will be extended.

[@CaliforniaTravelVideos]

I'm with y'all. Having been a microwave technician including high power amplifiers (Klystrons and Magnetrons) at a satellite earth station with 60dB gain 30 meter dishes, we learned not to joke around with microwave radiation. Even though the test was short, I'm not fond of having 1-2 watts of 1GHz energy being directed to my head/eyes at a free space distance of 1 foot! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation_and_health#Microwaves Heck, even the idea of having a low-power local heterodyne oscillator in face-mounted googles might lead to premature cataracts over prolonged usage (especially if they were not properly engineered or maintained with radiation leakage). With even the slighted doubt, we should at least have an affordable RF power meter...

[@livinabox925]

D. Hansel yep my father was a ham....learned a lot from him

[@NielsHvid]

Amazing to see the enthusiasm Alex shows when he is explaining what he did etc. great episode guys!

[@MrGrazer05]

One of your BEST guests and certainly an excellent topic to cover. Makes me feel good about all my EZ UHF gear. I have always used the diversity Rx but feel confident to try a Lite one next time.

[@koumou57]

Very nicely done. It's nice seeing how enthusiastic Alex is about what he is doing. It would be nice to see a comparison between popular OSD systems. Thank you guys.

[@aaroncunningham9902]

I love the way he is so expressive with his voice and hand jestures. Awesome

[@dizzyjw]

I love how passionate IBcrazy is about the hobby... Gets me pumped!

[@bedheadboy]

You were saying something about "return to home" settings for quad copters. Does that literally mean that it starts flying back where it came from when it loses signal? I am just starting to learn about RC flight and I can not wait to get started. Now just to find the funding.

[@wiillwill7676]

ahaha, yeah it does get expensive. maybe you want to get a simulator first. trust me, you're going to crash...a lot. don't make my mistake.

[@bedheadboy]

Thank you I will definitely look into that first.

[@CaliforniaTravelVideos]

Great point - even though we may be fairly proficient with our copters, having a good simulator like AeroSim-RC is great to practice your skill without fear of an expensive mistake. And the Training and Game modes will really stress your skills.

[@AeroStuffFPV]

*Help me out!* So i'm new to FPV Plane flying for long range and I did lots of research to completely know what I need for a good and safe flight (over 2km) what I need is: 1. Video Camera (connects to VTX) 2. VTX and Antenna (Omni/Leaf) (200mw 2,4Ghz) 3. Video Receiver (Connects to Goggles/Screen) 4. UHF (433mHz) Transmitter (Binds with TX Trainer Port) 5. UHF Receiver. (Servo plugs) 6. OSD Is this correct and do I need anything else for a good and safe flight for over 2km?

[@techenstein]

Great review! Thank you for not dumbing this down and keeping all the technical goodies in the edit.

[@robbyota5598]

could you setup towers in a feld and use them as repeater? for example setting up your base station in one corner then sending three towers out in each corner or the field you would be flying in or covering? or if your license to set it up on a different frequency or some sort of point to point with tracking?

[@808GT]

YOU GUYS JUST ROCK! We need muuuch more videos like this one to clear up the FPV options out there! Thank you!

[@donsscooters]

Great video! I've been watching it for years,,,, In fact, Its been over two years and the OpenLRS shown in the video has not been available for almost that long. Hawkeye systems are not easy to find either making me skeptical of using one. People that have used them said they had to remove the system fairly often to update software and did not like that aspect. I wonder if things have settled down over time? I'm really interested in using OenLRS but quick update would be helpful.

[@ynical]

That was a lot of work! Thanks ibcrazy and FT for the show.

[@squartochi]

This is the best video yet. Let me just say you are the KZbin channel I watch most, besides Davids and RCmodeler reviews. You prove to be the best of KZbin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and should be pumped into MY COMCAST!

[@mike_oe]

Josh, Alex, and David: Thank you for an interesting, useful, and entertaining shootout! Much appreciated.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

We would love to see more videos about fpv systems from Alex, and a long range flight done by the flight test crew!

[@lordofbasement]

the most interresting fpv video i have seen in the last time. Thank you alex, i like your knowledge and your enthusiasm. thx chad, josh, josh, the swedish guy and the others that helps flitetest going!

[@T3andChris]

Really cool having IBCrazy drop in!!! Show us a full LR setup please.

[@jbx907]

love your system, its all about knowledge on how rf are affected with harmonics, de-sensed, and how to propagate the signals.As long as you know placement of transceivers including chosen of bands, you get much of the range out of your system. Well. best systems will have a good front end filter to fight de-sensing - (reduction in sensitivity in the front end through high RF bombardment) and good filters on transmitters for clean Emitted RF. even though you have all these, if you don't handle RF propagation well, you will not maximize the range.

[@emgee44]

Alex is so passionate about what he does he's crazy, nice video guys and very informative

[@ryandavidsheasby4028]

lol at 12:44 it looks like the guest suddenly had david's voice.

[@WiperTF2]

Wow, that Alex guy is super awesome. So enthusiastic and helpful!

[@ehandford]

this is exactly what i dreamt flitetest would make a video about, it has everything, Ibcrazy , dragonlink, uhf stuff and info !!!

[@boogiman007]

love the production value on this. keep it up guys.

[@drcuffe]

Hope there's more footage with Alex, would love to see you guys just flying with him and enjoying yourselves

[@RStephenLegge]

There is more accumulated knowledge and information from this site than any other. Keep it up guys.

[@Rchacker]

Awesome. What firmware were you running on the OpenLRS? I have been mucking about with OpenLRSng. Big difference from the standard firmware. Love it.

[@MilestoneVids]

Awesome guys you killed it with this one! good job! Answered SO MANY of my questions!

[@thatkidd787]

hey guys great videos, always very helpful reviews and tips and tricks; for these long flights on a 250 quad, what battery do you suggest; like how big should i go: battery size? thanks in advance.

[@VPXM2012]

Thanks guys, this video disintegrated a lot of my tension! Keep it flying!

[@hdmovie100]

How can u not trust ppl who doing their job with the passion ! TBS I admire U! Great video!

[@SteveOConnor]

Awesome! Thanks for taking to time to review and inform everyone.

[@bandittaz1]

The most explanatory episode ever thanks guys

[@h8mail1]

Excellent! Plz build on that type of info. The only thing that's keeping me from pulling the trigger is the fear of buying the wrong stuff!

[@oooGreeooo]

Agree with the comment about using a very old Scherrer LRS. also power settings were not discussed. Many transmitters have the ability to boost signal by upping the power. Having said that a great video and IBCrazy is a great personality and contributor to the FOV world.

[@robbo580]

is it possible to view footage from a dslr thru the dragonlink while youre recording or do you need a seperate camera?

[@acicuecalo]

This is a very good episode, iBcrazy and Flite Test together!!!!

[@Blake-id6yd]

the guy was so happy and energetic, and Davids just like wow....that's pretty cool......

[@gabe3366]

Are all of these products shown only for control signal, or do they also have video?

[@ricardopr54]

Control signal only

[@inciteman]

Thanks for the information! One question, can't you damage your transmitter by taking off the antenna while its on?

[@Aviationrcfpv]

great vid guys cool to see ib crazy on here your show has really become a place for all parts of this hobby to share there knowledge thanks guys for the great entertainment

[@FarmerFpv]

Wasn't expecting this video, great job guys, flitetest and ibc = great info!

[@antecboy]

That LRS helmet is so rad with all the RC gear :D

[@DobyxRC]

Great job guy's, and it was nice to see Alex (IBCrazy) on the show.

[@cheythompson740]

I noticed they backed up the brand they are funded with?

[@abes3925]

Chey Thompson Well duh. How else are they supposed to pay for all these projects

[@FPVav8tr]

IBCrazy is like the nicest guy ever! His parents did him right. Nice video. Thanks Alex.

[@K5_BlaZer]

Great show guys. This just affirms how much I need to learn still. [goes to forum to look now]

[@spencerboaz2385]

Thanks for the test . That answered a lot of questions for me . Saving money is good but if you save $100 on radio/video and loose your plane what have you saved ?

[@RichardDosSantosDrones]

Great video, I've been waiting for someone to do a test like this for ages. Thank you!

[@FPV4Fun]

What kind of filter to use on Orange Open LRS 100mW/1W transmitter to avoid interference and cut of the 1.2 GHz video, please?

[@bcdvideo]

Awesome to see the three of you guys in a cool video!

[@cenabitednbfpv587]

Another GREAT VID.. @Alex ty, yet again you have helped me soo much with your videos. (u 2 flight test) You might not know it but UBINSOERATIONAL homie lol. and sometimes make a guy with very little moneys, feel like a king. And Saving some of us from wasting money... (I thought dragon link was the "only" way to go) sooooo thankful for not only the test but what you reiterate about how little power we actually need to fly... compared to what's on the market, most of us thought 600 megawatts was needed to fly ur mini at first... yes noobs like me, but Ive still see a lot of people thinking the same way I was, until educated... I know now that even my 200mw transmitters are MORE than enough for my fpv mini quad purposes as I very rarely go more than a quarter mile away with a mini at least... But im pulling off my 600 vtx from the 450 because it's simply overpowered. Running a pixhawk I can't have any interference. Shared and shared again... Also very appreciated once again! Ty Alex, Joe + flight test crew. Please keep um coming! And please print shirts that say. "everything I need to know, I learned from flight test!" I need a XL! 😆

[@michaelprospective]

I'm not sure if using attenuators would be an accurate measurement of distance because the attenuators are lowering the note the noise floor along with the signal so I'll sensitive receiver would still be able to read a clean signal whereas that same receiver may not be able to read a faint signal through a high noise floor

[@SoothingSound]

Wow that dude is fired up. I have no idea what you're talking about there but it's still entertaining for some weird reason.

[@Hoverbot1TV]

Great review! My Chainlink is what Rangelink evolved from and when I added Alex's turnstile my range doubled or tripled over stock uhf dipole. 5*

[@ilovefpv]

One of your best episodes...

[@terrypercy]

how do you increase the range of your controller? Or will it perform at these distances regardless(quadcopter) I have a gemini, I want to know if I can upgrade these parts, and start some long range FPV/some more penetration. Or if I broadcasted controls on 2.4, and video on 1.3. Would I get 1-2km's? Not looking for much, I just want to know the potential of the system. Know what I mean?

[@WyllSurfAir]

It would be so cool if you and alex did an episode about the specter, I'm sure every one would love it.

[@gregaroller]

I have my ham radio license and was sure that 1250 was an illegal frequency in US? so I Went with 910. any thoughts appreciated Thanks Greg

[@bluegreenwalrus]

this episode was helpful but i was wondering if you guys could do more of a tutorial. keep up the good work!

[@justy256]

Great video - and the fun is contagious!

[@topgunm]

Great episode. Can you guys do a similar one: test the different types of antennas? A video about the different video systems and video antennas would be epic.

[@livinabox925]

Give the man a job...he oozes knowledge. Oh and how old is that Honda?

[@BashMonkeyRC]

So if I have an 800mW 1.3 system and I don't want to overpower an OpenLRS, would an attenuator help? If so what dB is optimal?

[@theRCexperiment]

Great video, quick question.... but if we run video at 5.8ghz then the issues that dragonlink had wouldn't be a problem right?

[@mlilasic]

Is this 1000mW or 100mW version of Flytron Open LRS transmitter?

[@colemanbragg9354]

@FliteTest could you all do a new LRS with the new updated systems or with the latest update in the same systems tested?

[@ImYourGuiltyPleasure]

EXCELLENT comparison! Great idea to bring Alex on for this one! Is it safe to assume that 5.8 video is a non-issue with ALL these LRS systems then, as it seems the focus here was interference with 1.2 video...?

[@hardcorn]

Great episode guys... love Flitetest and IBcrazy

[@Raptor50aus]

I had the Fatshark predator goggles and just started to use my Sony HMZ-T1 3D viewer goggles for FPV. Amazing !!

[@cory36cory]

Confused, new to fpv and I'm finding transmitter reciever combos claiming 800meter range that cost 10% of all these 300+ ones your discussing only getting 50-100 meters. What's the deal?

[@Chazz155511]

You guys are the best! You guys now have more subscribers than rcpowers congrats!

[@kaysb80]

You can take the antenna off the receiver, but -do not remove- the antenna from the transmitter (remember, some receivers might be both a receiver and a transmitter, as with OpenLRS)!

[@OkiemDrona]

I wish that there was a comparison of RMILEC UHF system.

[@XRPgeneration]

...and Rlink..... but hey, this video is almost a year old. It's once again surprising how many people have such negative comments in the US. Do it yourself if you know better, but at least praise these guys for what they do and how they are trying to help the RC community with very little means. If not, well...it's very simple, no ? Don't reply, don't comment ....

[@XRPgeneration]

Phil Flyman oh, I wasn't referring to you Heli Freak, but to some others above ....

[@simpsonjer]

Great show and clip at the end!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

readymaderc has several of them if you are in the u.s.

[@alanpowell328]

Excellent guru strength video. Although I have a Ham licence, Europe has its own issues, which tends to limit legal use of video to 5.8 Ghz and line of sight FPV. That said, do you have any views or data when using UHF LRS with 5.8 video?

[@PowerScissor]

I'm confused with them using a servo for testing. Were they also testing control signals and not just FPV video signal?

[@KendallSmithFPV]

They are using the servo to check the fidelity of the control signals at long distance. If you are losing "packets" of information, then the servo will be jerky instead of moving smoothly. Cheap and simple test!

[@CAGreve1231]

Yes. Only a receiver can be operated without an antenna.

[@Lucidreamo]

Great video and thanks to IP crazy for those tests, this is great work and very easy to understand for someone like me that know very little, this is great work!. The only thing i wish you guys talked about is the penetration aspect of those system. It seam like a lot of people will choose uhf for the penetration it have through other objects (compare to other that don't have much penetration) like trees or wall, am i right?

[@nannerpuss9430]

This video just overflows with geekyness. I love this community.

[@platformthongking6353]

+Nannerpuss Geekness is now the "New Cool"!

[@2Brave4u]

Great job on the segment!!!! However, it would be nice to revisit this episode in real time actual instances. Put these on a plane and lets see what's really the best. I'm sure the results will still be about the same but you may be surprised at some of the differences. Keep it up!!!

[@AdamPotts]

IB Crazy is the BEST on this show. Please get him back. IB crazy and you guys are my two favourites for fpv rc stuff and you ara amazing together!I

[@ehandford]

great info, was hoping flitetest would do an episode in UHF stuff , ty ibcrazy

[@goatboythc]

Can you have a unit flying a certain distance away from you act as a relay for a plane flying really far away from you...acting as a bridge almost? How far could you get?

[@XrayMike]

Definitely a lot of information (having watched original video already, it's a nice summary)

[@SeanDuffyProductions]

I'm not sure what these devices are here, are these systems for controlling your aircraft, for receiving video, or both?

[@remcob2349]

Great video!! Do you also know something about chainlink?

[@coolwaterhubby5208]

Thank you and thank you for answering my reply on fpv However , lots of missing pieces on this subject . First thing is setting up everything , second is what antenna was used and the last thing is the device that ib crazy had in his hand . I really hope that you guys. Do not spot short. Of things on this subject. You guys are really on a point with this. Please. Please do not fall short on sharing things with us. And I would like to Thant you all for the information on fpv.

[@widdershins]

I'm a little disappointed the DL did so poorly (my hard earned $), but seriously... how cool is this having these 3 guys together?! What a great episode!

[@MADelectriCITY]

So if staying close by is most fun would a DX7s work fine for most FPV flying? I guess I have taken some planes out pretty far LOS with it but still not sure of the actual range of it.

[@matt7048]

Do these systems have "channels" or are they spread spectrum and no need for frequency flags if you are flying with other FPVrs?

[@sandnessmj]

What happened to the FT3D speed build kit and all the updates that were supposedly made to it??? Been waiting patiently for this to come out!

[@WX4CB]

I noticed that they don't mention that 420-450 Mhz is an amateur radio band and that to transmit on those frequencies an amateur radio license is required and operating these LRS systems is illegal without a license. also, interfering with a repeater that is on those frequencies is also illegal and can result in a fine of a large amount by the FCC.