View source for FPV Base Station

<i>June 2012</i><br>

== FPV Base Station - entry point! ==

When you jump into FPV it becomes obvious it is a never ending spend hobby! Base stations are one place where this is always the case.<br><br>

=== Part One - The Basics ===

The first base station I put together was simple, cheap and reliable. I could fly with it OK but it didn't provide that immersive feeling I was hoping to get.<br><br>

I started with a very inexpensive used 9" Auto Headrest color monitor (got lucky on this!). Be careful here as many monitors don't work well when there is a loss of signal.<br><br>

I then added the ReadyMadeRC 1.3ghz receiver and skew planar antenna. It all runs on a three cell lipo and generally a 2200mah will last about 30 minutes running the basic stuff. You should add a balance plug battery alarm here for safety.<br><br>

Here then is the basic component list:<br>

{| border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"
|-
| width="350" | '''Item&nbsp; (as of June 22, 2012)''' 
| width="60" | '''Price''' 
| '''Quant''' 
| width="60" | '''Sub-Tot'''
|-
| [http://www.ebay.com/ 9" Headrest Monitor - used] 
| $32.00 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $32.00
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_34_44&products_id=1015 1.3ghz Receiver] 
| $49.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $49.99
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_100&products_id=503 1.3Ghz Skew-Planar Antenna] 
| $32.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $32.99
|-
| [http://www.hobbyking.com/ Zippy 2200mAh 3S 30C Lipo Pack] 
| $12.25 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $12.25
|-
| 
| 
| style="text-align: right" | '''Total-''' 
| '''$127.23'''
|}
<br>

{| border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="900" align="center"
|-
| align="center" | [[File:BS_002.jpg|675px]]
|-
| align="center" | 9" Monitor (without hood)
|}

<br><br>

=== Part Two - The Next Level ===

Because the single receiver with the Skew Planar antenna has a limited range of about a 1,000 to 1,500 feet I decided I needed more. To do this well I added a 8db Patch Antenna from ReadyMadeRC. Of course then you need a way to combine the two receivers so I added an Eagle Systems, Eagle Eyes Diversity set-up which takes two video inputs and delivers the clearest signal to the outputs.<br><br>

Then I needed goggles for that more immersive experience and for this I bought the Fat Shark base set-up. Now, because I am a data nerd, I wanted to record what I saw, including the EzOsd info so I would get a record or flight summary and details on what the motors and batteries were seeing in flight. For this I added the VuPoint DVR.<br><br>

Here is the Part Two components list for my base station:<br>

{| border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"
|-
| width="350" | '''Item&nbsp; (as of June 22, 2012)''' 
| width="60" | '''Price''' 
| '''Quant''' 
| width="60" | '''Sub-Tot'''
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_45_52_99&products_id=417 8dBi Patch Antenna] 
| $46.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $46.99
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11_34_44&products_id=1015 1.3ghz Receiver] 
| $49.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $49.99
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=121 Eagle Systems - Eagle Eyes Diversity] 
| $99.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $99.99
|-
| [http://www.readymaderc.com/ FatShark Base Goggles] 
| $249.99 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $249.99
|-
| [http://www.amazon.com/VuPoint-DVC-ST100B-VP-BX4-Digital-Video-Converter/dp/B004D2PP8S VuPoint DVR] 
| $27.95 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $27.95
|-
| [http://www.hobbyking.com/ Nanotech 3300mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack] 
| $21.25 
| style="text-align: center" | x1 
| $21.25
|-
| 
| 
| style="text-align: right" | '''Total-''' 
| '''$496.16'''
|}
<br>

{| border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" width="900" align="center"
|-
| align="center" | [[File:BS_001.jpg|675px]]
|-
| align="center" | Complete Base Station
|}

<br>

=== The Bottom Line ===

So here is the bottom line:<br>

:*HT-FPV  Quad - $1,205.58
:*Base Station - $  623.39
<br>
:*Total Set-up - '''$1,828.97'''
<br><br>
'''Who knew fun was this expensive?...'''
<br><br>

=== But wait, there's more... ===

Of course there is always pressure to improve (range, video quality, etc., etc., etc.)! For the time being however, I will hold here, collect a bunch of video and get through the winter months with what I have so far.
<br><br>

Keep flying!
<br><br>

[[Category:Marks]]