New FPV Gear, Pictures

I recently posted about updates to the Sabre, and to my FPV ground station. Well, the equipment has arrived:

Here's what I have now:

1. tBeacon Amber
2. Handheld HAM radio (Baofeng UV-5R V2+)
3. Micro FPV Camera (Caddx SDR1) (Covered here.)
4. Camera Switcher (from GetFPV) (Covered here.)
5. Diversity
1. Eagle Eyes ground station module
2. Second video receiver (ReadyMadeRC 900 - 1.3 GHz)
6. External FPV Monitor (Lumenier 7" with DVR, 5.8 GHz receivers and diversity)

As always, more updates will follow. For now, here are some pictures.

tBeacon Amber

tBeacon Amber, Wire Harness, Stickers

HAM Radio, Baofeng UV-5R V2+

Eagle Eyes Module

Lumenier 7" Monitor

Sabre with Camera Switcher

I have the Caddx Micro SDR1 installed on the Sabre's vertical stabilizer now, and I was able to get it setup to switch correctly by moving a switch on the radio. The view is very interesting, and exactly shows the whole main wing.

My one concern is that prop wash and aero-loads on the vertical stabilizer may cause some undesired vibrations in the view. Only flight tests will tell.

The new camera mounted on the tail.

Another view.

Here is the test setup, before I soldered and neatened the wiring up.

Here is the final wiring harness, custom made for this setup.
The camera switcher itself is the circuit board

New Radio: FrSky Taranis X9D Plus SE

I've had some issues with my DX20 along the way. The most recent being an issue where the power cycled itself off several times on its own while I was preparing for a flight with my Vortex 230. That was scary.

Ever since I got into the more advanced FPV, I've had friends and people on RCGroups telling me to just get a Taranis radio. These are made by FrSky, and offer many advantages, such as tremendous programmability, customizability, and value. These radios run Open-Tx software, which is an open-source, community supported software. It's fairly complicated to learn, and very different than Spektrum.

I finally decided to give it a try and bought the Taranis X9D Plus, Special Edition, in the carbon fiber color.

I also bought an XSR receiver to use with my Vortex 230, as a way to get my feet wet with it.

I haven't had the chance to do any messing around with it yet, but I am looking forward to giving it a try.

The Taranis came in this nice, compact case.

Here's what the radio actually looks like.

Sabre Upcoming Updates, Schematic

Updated 2/21/18: Updated schematic to reflect actual physical wiring for camera switcher and second camera.

In addition to the updates to the ground station, I will also be updating equipment on the Sabre.

I have more equipment on the way. Two main things:

1. A GPS module called a tBeacon.
This records the latest GPS location from the Vector flight controller, so that if the plane goes down, you can call the tBeacon using a handheld HAM radio. Then the tBeacon verbally communicates the last know GPS coordinates, allowing you to find your plane. It's an item for peace of mind.

2. A camera switcher.
I have a micro FPV camera and camera switcher on the way. I plan to put the new camera looking forward on the vertical stabilizer of the Sabre, allowing a different perspective to enjoy the FPV experience. The camera switcher operates on a channel and will swap between the main camera and the tail camera.

Below is an updated schematic, which reflects the new changes.

New Video Ground Station Schematic

I have some more FPV related equipment on the way. Some of which will “complete” my ground station once it is integrated into the existing version. I have a monitor to add to the setup for a backup display and backup DVR, but the main change is the addition of "diversity."

This is done by adding a second video receiver and the Eagle Eyes diversity module to the setup. The Eagle Eyes module takes whichever of the two video signals is stronger and uses that as the output. This is really handy for using both an omni-direction antenna (such as the Airblade) and a direction antenna (such as the Crosshair) at the same time.

An example is if I was flying out to 5 miles to say, my right side. In this case, I would have the Crosshair aimed in the general direction of the flight, since it's a directional antenna. On the return trip however, I may want to fly behind myself by a couple miles, or even pass myself and go to the left by a mile or two. In this situation, the omni-directional Airblade would have the stronger signal, all while the Crosshair is still aimed to the right. The Eagle Eyes switches between the two automatically, so I should never have to re-aim my ground station from the direction of the long range portion of the flight.

A new schematic follows:

Updated Video Ground Station Schematic