Discussions

I figured I would start a thread for the inexpensive Sony camera core and Video Equipment I picked up from hobbyking 

Ill start at the ground up with the screen I picked up for my control TX 

5.8G Pocket FPV Ground Station with DVR 

Cost is 97.05 USD 

Specs:
Video size: VGA(640x480) QVGA(320x240)
Video Format: MPEG-4, Single audio
Memory: Built-in Memory (About 59MB) Support MicroSD (TF) Card up to 16GB
Wireless Receiving: 8 Channel, 5.8Ghz
LCD: 2.4" 480x234 dot TFT Screen
AV output: Signal Audio Channel, Video output 
AV input: Signal Audio Channel, Video input 
USB Interference: USB 2.0 
Battery: Rechargeable Li-battery 3.7V 
Power adapter input: AC 100V-240V 5-/60Hz Output: DC5V/1A 
Power consumption: 1.2W 
Speaker: Built-in Single audio 
Working Temperature: 0-40 Centigrade 
Storage Temperature: -40 Centigrade -70 Centigrade 
Weight: 95g

I was really surprised with the build quality of the "DVR" the front bezel is thin aluminum and the battery cover is also aluminum.  the chicklet style buttons are almost flush with the bezel so I predict that they will not easily be pushed and the unit vibrates to indicate functions so the operator can use it with out having to look at it.  The display appears clear even for the small size and range wise I was able to go upstairs from my basement work area before the signal degraded into snow.  That is right Snow no black or blue signifying a reduced signal and the 8GB micro SD card I put in it is good for about 4 and a half hours of recording time.  This DVR is not compatible with the Fat Shark TX as it uses the following frequencys 5705,5865,5665,5645,5885,5905,5925,5945MHZ.   The down side is that you cannot unscrew the built in antenna so to add a better antenna I am going to have to open it up and fabricate something.  

1/3-inch SONY CCD Video Camera (NTSC)

Cost $16.99 USD

Next up is the Camera core and Video TX 

The camera is just that a Circuit board and a lens.  Unfortunately I have 2 griped with the camera as shipped from HK.  Gripe #1 the socket for the 3 wire lead was upside down.  This put the positive 12v on the video out pin. and video out on the positive 12v in pin.  After scratching my head for far too long I looked at the board and noticed that the colors of the wire did not correspond to the pins.  unplugging the wire removed the socket from the pins so I flipped the wire over to the correct orientation and applied a dot of CA to secure the socket in the correct orientation.  Thankfully 12v+ did not fry the camera by being hooked up to video out.  Gripe #2 There is no IR cut filter so the colors suck.  everything has a blue tint and it is more of a black and white camera core with blue then color. However i don't fore see much of a problem in flight. I will perhaps add a cut filter if I can find the one I pulled out of a A530 that I converted to a near IR only camera some time back.  It is cheap, light and it shoots video what more could I want. Oh yeah I want an IR cut filter.... on to the TX

5.8G 200mW FPV Transmitter

Cost $44.03USD

5.8Ghz 200mW transmitter. This system is Good for up to 500m flying with the supplied antenna. An optional directional antenna can extend range to 1km+. This unit a Includes built-in microphone. 

Specifications:
Video Format: Pal/NTSC
Output impedance: 50Ohm
Output power: 21~23dBm
Channels: 8 
Transmitter operating voltage: 7~15VDC / 150mA
Video bandwidth: 0~8.0MHz
Audio frequency: 6.5MHz
Video input level: 0.8~1.2Vp-p
Video input impedance: 75Ohm
Audio input level: 0.5~2.0Vp-p
Audio input impedance: 10K/Ohm
Weight: 25g
Antenna connector: SMA 
Dimensions: 55x26x17mm

Channels
5.8G : 5705,5865,5665,5645,5885,5905,5925,5945MHZ

They say 500m I may get that I may not.  Probably not, I predict one of those fancy cloverleaf antennas for the TX and the other RX are in my future.  with 6 minutes of flight time a 1KM box pattern will deplete my flight battery so a cursory primary search the 500m advertised is acceptable for my use currently.  When I build a fixed wing drone I will most likely get a 433mhz telemetry radio and use a 900mhz video TX.  Below is one last shot of the core mounted to the $5 fiberglass pan tilt mount.  I assembled the mount to be a roll tilt and used some of the Cheap $3 9 gram servos to move it around.  it is test fitted to the servos and the fit of the pieces is good.  a couple dots of CA on the joints and I feel that this mount will be stronger then the servo tape I am using to attach it to my quad.  there is one gripe with this mount however.  The mounting holes for the camera core do not line up with the screw holes on the mount.  Instead I used some thick double stick gyro foam to affix the camera to the mount and if it falls off the camera wire will keep it from being lost.  Likewise if the servo tape fails I will wire-tie the servo cables to the quad so that the whole thing is not lost and any resulting shock does not put strain on the APM pins.  Ill give updates after its first flight when I pull my "HD Action Cam" off and install the roll tilt mount.