Ground Station Concept

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OK, it's not a concept. I built it, it's nearly ready to go.

However, until it works, I will call it a concept.

Fieldview 777 screen, Boscam 5.8GHz VRx with ImmersionRC circular polarised antenna. 

3S 1000mAh battery not shown, but will hang underneath. 

It's a bit heavy, but I'm sure I can hold it, especially if I sit on the ground or on a chair. Switches might be a bit hard to get to, but to switch modes shouldn't be a problem. 

I used a modded plywood FPV holder because it didn't fit the dx6i anyway. So chopped a bunch of wood off and screwed it to the back of the case.

The Tx antenna only fits sideways which shouldn't be a problem, but I intend to replace the antenna with a coax for installation of a 2.4gHz WLAN amplifier which would then be mounted on a pole (a stick, not a Polish person).

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Comments

  • ahhhh it's powered of course

  • I like it!

    Does the phone irritate you by turning itself off or running out of batteries right at an inopportune moment ?

  • Nice setup Aran!

     Your post inspired me to do a bit of ground station work on my radio. I like to keep the video RX a little farther away from the radio (I have had the same experience as others mentioned above) hopefully I won't have a similar issue with the Telemetry. It's just my cell running Andropilot and a dash mount phone holder that I cannibalized.  

      Thanks for the inspiration3692808703?profile=original

  • Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

    I'm not so worried about the battery story, yet. Good ideas though. 

    Haven't tested yet and still waiting on more connectors and my VTx LiPos. I'll add some comments when I get it running.

  • DX6i is powered by NiMh batteries (x4) in compartment on the back. The charge port for the radio side.

    Of course if the TX is part of a larger accumulation of components, it might be a good idea to single-source all the pieces. If lucky, they would all use the same V+...not likely but, I can dream. ;)

    -=Doug

  • I am not sure how DX6 is powered. I am using Futaba T8FG and it got powered by a 2S Lipo (8.2 - 6.8v) and my whole ground station is basically powered by that same battery. That LCD and VRx is a pretty versatile and tolerant when it comes to power.. you should try powering them from your Tx battery. At least that way you don't need to plug extra battery ;-)

  • This looks amazingly similar to what I have coming from HK, although I went with Boscam 7 inch screen with built in 5.8Ghz diversity receiver (http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=35055).  That way my antenna mounts are on top of the screen rather than behind the screen, and I don't have additional hardware (the video receiver) to worry about mounting on my radio transmitter.  Also, my radio transmitter uses a 2500mah 3s lipo powered through the balance ports, so I plan on cutting a hole in my battery door to put my XT60 connector out to power the screen and receiver.  That way, no additional battery.

  • I've mocked up a TX tray to hold the DX6i, based on a forum thread but re-CAD'd to meet the size and space.

    The motivation/inspiration was THIS blog post.

    The full sized parts are cut but I am delayed on materials for building a composite layer to enhance the tray.

    Build on!

    -=Doug

  • Well, since I have been using it for around a year now and still using it, I am very happy with this setup.
    Only downside is the reduced range. But I only went out that far to test the limits of my system, usually I don't go out that far (I am flying a plane so distance is more easily covered than a copter)
    your system looks really good, you will love it when you get it to work.

  • Hi Pieter, sounds like moderately positive feedback. I assume the issue with the range is a simple Fresnel issue. Hence the best result is gotten with a tall pole. RCModelReview has a video at some point where he discusses antennas and range and he has his FPV gear up on a 3m pole.

    I've never flown FPV so I'm happy with a few 100m for now. My copter won't fly for much longer than that anyway. It's all about testing the tech at the moment, not necessarily flying much.

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