FPV Base Station
June 2012
Contents
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.
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.
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.
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.
Here then is the basic component list:
| Item (as of June 22, 2012) | Price | Quant | Sub-Tot |
| 9" Headrest Monitor - used | $32.00 | x1 | $32.00 |
| 1.3ghz Receiver | $49.99 | x1 | $49.99 |
| 1.3Ghz Skew-Planar Antenna | $32.99 | x1 | $32.99 |
| Zippy 2200mAh 3S 30C Lipo Pack | $12.25 | x1 | $12.25 |
| Total- | $127.23 |
|
| 9" Monitor (without hood) |
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.
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.
Here is the Part Two components list for my base station:
| Item (as of June 22, 2012) | Price | Quant | Sub-Tot |
| 8dBi Patch Antenna | $46.99 | x1 | $46.99 |
| 1.3ghz Receiver | $49.99 | x1 | $49.99 |
| Eagle Systems - Eagle Eyes Diversity | $99.99 | x1 | $99.99 |
| FatShark Base Goggles | $249.99 | x1 | $249.99 |
| VuPoint DVR | $27.95 | x1 | $27.95 |
| Nanotech 3300mAh 3S 35C Lipo Pack | $21.25 | x1 | $21.25 |
| Total- | $496.16 |
|
| Complete Base Station |
The Bottom Line
So here is the bottom line:
- HT-FPV Quad - $1,205.58
- Base Station - $ 623.39
- Total Set-up - $1,828.97
Who knew fun was this expensive?...
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.
Keep flying!
