First fpv recommendations.

[MK1G4V]

Hi pilots!

In short . I'm usually broke but I have a little money to play around with and I have always daydreamed of FPV flying.

I know everybody says start real small, but I'm probably going to be broke again pretty soon and I wont have money to upgrade in the future so with that In mind I kind of need to scoop up all the parts In one foul swoop that's going to keep me happy for well.. The foreseeable future!

I have allways been fascinated by RC planes more so helis.  One of my good friends father has been flying rc planes and helis since the early 80s.  He has seen me waste money on 4ch helis and cheap micro planes over the years and He knows I have a least what It takes to be an amateur rc pilot of sorts..

I have flown just about every simulator available and I do just fine.
After about 3 years of messing around and following him around to the flying field to look in awe, He has on occasion let me fly his helis. raptor 600, trex 600 ect.

I can fly inverted ect although not great, and my real flight time is probably less that 2 hours :0 Never less I want to give this a bash.

Now so with this in mind I can fly although admittedly an absolutely a beginner. I only mention this so I can attempt to focus you guys on the questions at hand and not to spend "too much" time questioning my flying ability and I say that with the greatest respect to you guys.

Now..Here is a list of things I would like for starters and a few questions.

I really want A scale looking heli.  like a trex 450 in a ec 135 shell.
I'm not looking for super long flight times or super long range. this I can manage by myself.

I would like a comfortable 2-3 km range although I really don't have much desire to fly more than 1.5km on a regular basis.

So I will need a whole fpv setup literally everything On a super budget.

I would like a simple OSD with minimal on screen clutter yet having the vital things displayed.

Also I need it all to fit inside a small 450 size heli with a fuselage. so its got to be small of course and very light.

I know I'm not doing myself ANY favours using a heli over a plane and wanting It to be scale looking. and the size of the thing probably isn't going to be ideal for FPV but what can I say other than ... That's what I want

Please help me by recommending a small lightweight kit That will do as I require but more importantly  isn't going to cost me the earth. This isn't a wet thought I really want to give this a go guys.

Please help!

Cheers
Gav


 

[bigMouse]

Also I need it all to fit inside a small 450 size heli with a fuselage. so its got to be small of course and very light

I would like a comfortable 2-3 km range

makes it hard to suggest anything! Not impossible but Conventional Heli's aren't the ideal platform, especially a small one where loading will enevitably be high! Cram gear around the CofG will likely cause all sorts of interference problems too!

That range will require 35megs or UHF R/C, even so I wouldn't want too be low down at that range regardless of what R/c was in use! Wings are good for range, they are generally flown higher, helis for relatively close range fun. Simple osd's are quite cheap.

[MK1G4V]

Cheers for your reply buddy. I guessed It wouldn't be ideal I was just trying to combine two things I like the most.

See For me Its like this... If it doesn't look like a replica of the real thing whether it be plane or heli .. I'm really not interested?? Believe me that bugs me but Its how it is.

I could always be persuaded to go for a bigger heli or even a plane , but again It would have to be scale.

I did consider a nice cessna at one point.

Could you give me any more pointers towards the equipment required for a 2-3 km range on a budget, disregarding the aircraft model.

Cheers matey!

[Martink1974]

When I was starting years ago I used a parkzone Stinson , cheap easy to fly easy to add fpv gear and always used to get comments of how real it looked in the air , if you were thinking of a plane you would have to look at one, the twin star is another popular plane , that has a nice scale look

Question  if you were planning on a 450 size heli were you planing on adding a scale fuselage also because I tryed the 450 heli fpv thing and would have to say its defo not the best place to start for the beginner it can be done but like big mouse  said not conventional

Another thought , where are you planning to fly fpv the plane idea is good but a scale plane will need somewhere to take off and land that's flat , when beginning the idea of landing on a road or path is not best In tie. You gain skills and can do it but learning , and a little cross wind will cost you money

Your best beginning with something that is very cheap to repair or hard to break this might not tick your boxes but mini 250 size quads are cheap and a very good way of entering the hobby, if you crash you likely to only break props and you will gain lots experience with every aspect of this hobby , with fpv you don't get to see scale look till you take the goggles off and it's on the ground


 

[MK1G4V]

Cheers mate!

Yeah well . I don't have any farmland or anything which is another reason the heli appealed to me as I could buzz it in and land in my back garden.

There is a huge park a stones throw from my home fortunately so If I did go with a scale plane that would be my base.. Come to think of it I have seen some guys flying FPV there before though it was a few years ago and I wast entirely sure what they was doing as there aircraft were nowhere to be seen

Yeah I really did hope that a little 450 heli would just about manage but If you guys say its not going to happen then Ill go with that!

Those quad copter things don't interest me in the slightest although I can appreciate Them and see why there widely used for fpv.

I may just buy a Cessna. 1.5m wingspan. Yes I'm sure there are better Planes for fpv but It has to be scale for me.

If I go with that or any other plane . I will for sure want to push it out to the 3km range. Will any UHF set up take me out to that range? and what about video link at 3km? 


Cheers for the pointers guys!
Gav

[Martink1974]

Most systems are capable of 3km at a push immersion 5.8 600mw vtx will get you there with a little helical , and you would not need UHF for a max range of 3km I've heard of frisky doing that range easy with small directional patch and it would save you the expensive outlay on UHF . If you were saying 10km I'd be saying UHF control and 1.2/1.3 gig video  but the downside to this is larger heavier antennas

But in short all ways use a higher video freq than your control eg

35mhz PCM control (never go ppm)/ any video freq
2.4gig control / 5.8gig video
UHF control / 900mhz / 1.2 / 2.4 /5.8

[bigMouse]

I am/was a scale aircraft modeller, despised rotary wing! But times have changed a lot, the hobby is completely different now! Apart from Scale Gliders, would never have believed it but the house is now full of multi rotors to fuel the fpv interest. Fun fpv at short range, nowhere to land/take off, crashable without need for rebuilds, mini quads fill the bill perfectly, Those rtf scale planes made of built up ply fuselages are about the worst choice possible for fpv, far too fragile, they will probably break on the first slightly awkward landing!

To be honest, to start with, keep it cheap, use standard rc gear, its cheap, reliable and readily available, Once you know you are going to stay with fpv, then upgrade the r/c side of things, main drawback of 35megs is the antenna length on the model! as Martin said 2.4g will get you over 1K but beware of flying behind objects especially when low down, same goes for 5.8g video

[xxpitt]

ok, what everyone is saying is right, but no one is really answering your question the way you want it answered, i can't comment on the airframe as i've never flew helis or many planes, but i seen a few pipper cubs around which are foam not ply and look pretty scale, maybe you could look at that, as for fpv if you want it cheap as you can get you best going for either a monitor or some of these very basic goggles

 http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__53706__Quanum_DIY_FPV_Goggle_Set_with_Monitor_KI
T_.html

as for control i would reconmend going with uhf but it comes at a price so maybe stick with 5.8, but get somthing with a module so you can change out in the future if you ever get some spare cash again. this is best bet for a budget.
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__31544__Turnigy_9XR_Transmitter_Mode_2_No_Module_.html

the module
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__14349__FrSky_DJT_2_4Ghz_Combo_Pack_for_JR_w_Telemetry_Module_V8FR_II_RX.html


5.8 vtx
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__17507__ImmersionRC_5_8Ghz_Audio_Video_Transmitter_FatShark_compatible_600mw_.html

5.8 vrx
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__41147__ImmersionRC_UNO5800v2_5_8GHz_A_V_Receiver_w_GS_Link_Dual_Output.html

then you just need a board cam, sercuritycam2000 is prob the best bet
http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/600TVL-SONY-SUPER-HAD-CCD-D%252dWDR-Color-Board-Camera-with-OSD-Menu-DNR.html?setCurrencyId=2 something like that

i hope you reconsider and go with a quadcopter, it really is your best bet for fpv, as martin says you won't be looking at it anyway when flying fpv, and passers by won't give a shit they all just think your a terrorist no matter what it looks like. but above is the basic to get you at the least 1km away adding some better antennas will get you further, switching to uhf and 1.2 will get you way out there. be sure to power everything up with the correct voltages or you've just wasted your money.

[xxpitt]

Actually if you can stretch to it. Its prob best to go straight for the uhf module as the money your spend on the 2.4 would cover sone of the uhf cost and then you can go straight for 1.2 instead of 5.8 for video. Save paying out twice for vtx/vrx

[MK1G4V]

Right this is more like it guys thanks for the suggestions!

Ok so sticking with the scale model . I may consider a 500-550 sized heli.
Its a fair bit bigger than the small 450 I had hoped for and I'm sure It could carry the FPV payload pretty well despite It still not being a Ideal model. Can you guys give me your thoughts on this?

Only thing is There pretty damn expensive at this size at 400 - 500 quid

That said I would consider a nice wing non scale If its going to be much more suited and ultimately save me a couple hundred that I could put toward better FPV gear..

can you guys recommend anything?

Also big thanks to XXpitt for the links, Those parts are certainly within budget, But could I twist you to suggest a Uhf set up that doesn't cost the earth like the Dragonlink stuff and what not.  Like I mentioned, I probably wont be able to upgrade for a good while and If I go with a plane of some sort I really would like to push It out to the 3km mark possibly further.

Thanks for the help guys. Very Much appreciated!

Gav

[bigMouse]

I've used OpenLRS in the past, doesn't look much but never had a problem with it on 433 and it was cheap compared to the big LRS names.

You now want to go out to 3km plus, at low level that is pushing 5.8g at 600mW with clovers.

with a scale heli every mishap is likely to result in an involved (expensive) rebuild.

Sorry to sound so negative!

[MK1G4V]

Cheers bud.  I really think ill go UHF to save my bacon and because I wont be able to upgrade for a while Its looking like a safe bet and a great purchase for the future, Just don't really know what's what to be honest.

I came across this that fits my budget http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/251472448565?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

It is PPM or rather it does say It supports It, though I'm not sure what this means but someone did advise against it here.. The antenna looks kinda terrible but I don't mind Doing a bit of soldering and adding another if that's possible?

I do hear what everyone's saying about the scale heli not being a wise choice and I kinda new this from the beginning.. I just cant help but trying haha

Ok so I may just go for a typical FPV plane that others seem to be using, since I'm not doing myself any favours at all with my desire for a scale heli

To be honest as this post goes on I could warm to any and all recommendations.  But I really don't want to fly a quad If I can help it.

Can I ask that if you are going to recommend anything that You post a link. My very limited knowledge Is having a hard time deciphering all the codes and numbers ect.

Don't worry about sounding negative my friend. I appreciate your trying to help me and ultimately save me the pennies!

Thanks again guys!

[bigMouse]

I came across this that fits my budget http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/251472448565?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

Never heard or seen it before! Unless someone can recommend it then I would stick to better known names, like rangeLink or EzUHF! Don't ask which of these two are best, got supporters here on both sides!
http://www.rangepiloting.com/rangelink-set-p-177.html?zenid=ulcmv8r03fnibud5feufs7j5r3

http://www.immersionrc.com/products.php

If your serious about FPV then one of the above two is a worthwhile buy.

PPM or actually CPPM is a one wire system on the Rx output, reduces wires but not a necessity.

[xxpitt]

the only uhf set up i've had is the ezuhf,  but its not the cheapest, if you get the turnigy 9xr i linked then you can use this jr module
http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/rc-control-systems/rc-control-separates/ez-uhf-jr-module

as you'll be using a wing, you will need the 8ch rx unless you use a flight controller then you can use the cppm [one servo wire to control 12 channels]
http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/rc-control-systems/rc-control-separates/ezuhf-8-channel-lite-receiver

to give you better range you'll want to swap out stock antenna to this
http://www.firstpersonview.co.uk/antennas/433mhz/diamond-srh771-sma-433mhz-antenna

so this set up has probably cost around £160, not to cheap, hobbyking do a fairly cheap one called the orange open LRS
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__43852__OrangeRX_Open_LRS_433MHz_Transmitter_1W_JR_Compatible_.html hell of a lot cheaper but i can't recommend it as i have no experience with it. the ezuhf is tried and tested hobby king also sell the ezuhf stuff cheaper than you can get it in the uk

ezuhf jr module from china
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__52392__EzUHF_433MHz_Direct_Fit_JR_MODULE_for_the_9XR_and_Taranis_UHF_.html

ezuhf rx from china
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__25205__ImmersionRC_EzUHF_8_channel_Receiver_Lite_Edition_.html

save around £40 going down the chinese route but have a longer wait.

now you need 1.2 video instead of 5.8 as this will probably triple your range and cost a little less than the 5.8 stuff. my go to place for 1.2 gear is dronevision.net

lawmate vrx
http://www.dronesvision.net/en/wireless-av/22-lawmate-12ghz-wireless-av-receiver-vrx-for-fpv-wireless-cctv-cameras.html

racewood vtx
http://www.dronesvision.net/en/wireless-av/61-racewood-12ghz-500mw-wireless-av-transmitter-red-label.html

or you could try the 1w lawmate vtx for a bit more range
http://www.dronesvision.net/en/fpv/21-lawmate-12ghz-1000mw-wireless-av-transmitter.html

others have also started using a different brand i can't remember the name but it's an american make i think, mr.ben will give you a link if you ask.

now you just need your airframe

[xxpitt]

if your going down the plane path then maybe a bixler might be a good choice
http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__39677__Hobbyking_Bixler_2_EPO_1500mm_Ready_to_Fly_w_Optional_Flaps_Mode_2_RTF_.html

not as fun as a quadcopter though