New build, FPV problems

R

Robert Lynch

Active Member
I built a DJI F450 - Naza M V2 w/ GPS, E600 propulsion sys, use a Zippy 30C 4S 8000mAh Lipo; added a landing skid with arms/brackets for fpv and video camera mount. Up till a week ago my flying was without problems.
Had just begun adding FPV equipment - DJI Mini iOSD, Boscam 5.8gz 200mh video TX (using a 3S 30C 800mAh lipo) and a 7" LCD monitor with 5.8 RX built in and dual antenna posts (replaced the standard antennas with a Helical Antenna and cloverleaf for extended coverage) using a
PZ0420 600TVL D-WDR Color Board Camera with OSD Menu DNR for fpv and finally added the GoPro Hero 3+ silver camera for video recording.
Immediately began having loss of control issues, crashing 3 times, usually on descent after reaching an altitude of about 50'.
Have spoken with DJI in CA (tech service) and they want me to send my quad to them. Thought I'd check here first to see if anyone has had similar experiences and what they did about it!
 
The most likely cause is the FPV transmitter stepping on the controller or receiver. Have you tried leaving the camera and OSD powered and just cutting power to the transmitter? Or is that the Boscam with the integrated transmitter? If so, try flying the payload unpowered to see if it's COG issue or interference.
And your post reads that the loss of control occurs at altitude. Most crashes happen on descent so not sure if that is a cause or a consequence.
You seem to be hauling a lot of lipo around. Did you consider using a UBEC to power that stuff off the main lipo? I have an 800mah lipo that runs my ground gear, but you don't need anywhere near that discharge rate to run a camera & transmitter, and discharge drives density which drives weight. It isn't very heavy, but it could be causing balance and control issues in hover and descent that aren't apparent when lifting.

But one thing at a time... if there is a way to fly it with the equipment powered down, do that, then power just one piece, adding them on to see when the issue crops up. Depending on where you mounted the transmitter, you may be able to put some copper foil between it and other components to stop interference, but if antennas are too close, you'll have to move one.
 
Hugh, first thank you for taking the time to respond. Couple of points to clarify - loss of control and crashes occur on descent. I have not used (nor heard of) a UBEC.
Guessing this is connected inline with the main lipo (I have been using a zippy 30C 4S 8000mAh lipo) and feeds the fpv equipment?
The 5.8 ghz video tx was mounted on the front of the quad landing skid underneath with a cloverleaf antenna on the TX; the remote control RX is mounted on the rear of the quad (use the dji DT 7 tx & DR16 rx - is 2.4ghz). The smaller 3s lipo was set directly under the Naza M fl. controller.
Someone else also wondered if I had my gains set too high (were set, as recommended by another you tube "how to" video) - set to 165 and 150. Explained that loss of control is more likely to happen unpon descent and "when you can turn the gains down, this should provide a more stable flight (if gains are set to high, the flightcontroller overcompensates, and thus inducing a wobble)."
I hate the idea of shipping my quad to CA to the DJI techs there for a month. I wont learn anything. And, while this can be frustrating, I'd rather learn through it with some
guidance than have someone do it for me.
I'm from north central NJ and would appreciate speaking with you if youre willing.
 
It sounds like you should have enough separation on equipment. So if this isn't RF/field related, and it didn't happen before FPV, it must be related to weight distribution contributing to loss of control. Quad descent always involves dropping through unstable air -- prop wash, and carrying more weight may exacerbate that to the point of crashing. You didn't mention if you tried flying with the FPV gear powered off.

You might find that different props enhance control in descent in addition to reduced gain. Do you see this loss of control in a forward flying descent? You could try that and only reach stable hover a few feet above the ground, assuming you're not trying to land on a balcony or something.

A UBEC is a "universal battery eliminator circuit" -- basically a voltage converter. They generally come adjustable, or pre-configured for 12v or 5v. They're also much lighter and smaller than a battery. And a lot of gear gets cranky if you connect to a 4S directly.

BTW, here's a link to a better light-gathering lens in case you want to fly later into the evening: http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Low-Illumination-CCTV-Security-Camera-Lens-F1.2-4mm.html
I ordered one today along with the Super HAD II and a case. Since I put my Astak on a gimbal, I needed a separate FPV cam and figured having one that flew at night might be cool.
 
I did turn off all the new fpv gear - although I did have the Hero 3+ Silver edition camera mounted and filming (
this is a link to
the video I was taking when quad got wobbly on descent). Dont think the camera filming had anything to do with the loss of control although the CofG may have been more of an issue than I thought it was.
The props are supposed to be specifically tuned to the motors and esc s; check the DJI E600 propulsion system for more info. As for forward flying descent, no....the times that there has been loss of control has been vertical descent. One time (during this period of control issues) I was beginning to take off and the quad immediately flipped over. Not sure why? Again all this AFTER I began adding fpv equipment.
I will order the UBEC. I think the 5.8 ghz video transmitter is 12v - comes with power cables AND a 5 cable pin/wires to connect to camera.
thanks for the heads up about the lens - I've purchased a few different lenses with plans to see which one I feel more comfortable with when flying fpv. Havent been able to get any of it working yet while dealing with this control thing. have you used your Astak for fpv? I just received the h3 - 3d gimbal today and have wondered about using my hero 3+ for fpv.
 
Yeah, at 5:42 is started to oscillate. Then it seemed to correct itself. Try reducing the gain as people have suggested. Apart from that descent issue, flight looks smooth. That 8000mah battery has to weigh in at 650g! If your issues persist you might try something around 5000mah. It's always nice to have a second battery for excursions. HobbyKing did a thing not too long ago claiming our quads don't need a fraction of the current discharge rate we're all hot and bothered about, and their new MultiStar lipos are less dense and much lighter for the same mah value. If you have a way to measure 3/4 throttle current on one of your ESCs, it might be interesting to consider an even lighter battery.

Your transmitter (Boscam 200mw 5.8GHz) accepts 7-15 volts according to the specs on HobbyKing's site, but a fully-charged 4S tops out at over 16, so it's probably a good idea to tone that down. Maybe just go ahead and fly the 3S until the BEC is installed. Depending on what your GoPro will accept you might even power that in real time. You can probably run it with the battery out (my Astak can), but you can certainly run it while charging, so you never have to worry about running out of video battery.

I used my Astak (7500) for both video and FPV and it works fine for that except that the realtime video out won't flip, so it has to be mounted upright. I hung the "center guts" of a cheap fiberglass land gear/camera mount under my quad, with a servo pivot, but that sucked. Now that the camera is on a 2 axis gimbal, it's too hard to see pitch and roll in FPV because the gimbal corrects it. If your GoPro is stationary, you would save 40g or more using it for FPV, but I don't know how you'd add lenses to do any evening flying. And now that you have a gimbal, you'll want to use it. Hopefully it has some isolation in the top mounting assembly.

If you keep the board camera for FPV, most people like to fly with a 120 degree lens. It's the closest thing to human FOV and objects you're likely to run into aren't too tiny.
BTW, "HAD" in Super HAD means "hole aperture diode". Each pixel has a little lens over it!
 
Hugh, sometime in the not too distant future I hope to know half as much as you do about this new found passion of mine. I will do a couple of things right off: get a smaller 6s 5200mAh battery to lighten the load a bit; get the UBEC installed and lower the gains a bit to see how that impacts things. Will also compare the forward flying descent to direct descent also (after lowering gains some) and see what impact it has. I've already repositioned my lipo mount to bring it closer to COG on the landing skid/quad.
Here is some info on the E600 -
"DJI has two different Propulsion System available - the E600 system, for medium size drones like 650-700 class. The E600 has bigger 3508 motor, 12" prop and 20A 22.2V (6S) ESC, this is much more powerful setup than the E300. The E600 system is recommend to take 600g of load per axis, so for the 4 Rotor version, it's good for 2.5kg drones and for the 6 Rotor version, it's good for 3.5~4kg drones.

The E series tuned propulsion system is the first power solution of its kind for the multirotor industry. It brings greater aerodynamic efficiency and higher thrust-weight ratio, while increasing reliability, stability and agility."
Now is this all just hype? I really have had fun flying it though with no issues up until the last week plus. Will keep you posted about my "experiments" - look for a "report" tomorrow afternoon/evening.
And again, thank you....is appreciated!!
 
Normally, the max thrust of each motor is added up to give you your gross lift, but you're intended to hover at half throttle, so HALF the combined thrust of your motors/props is what your all-up weight should not exceed. If you have to go past half throttle to hover, your flight times and motor life will be reduce at a steeper rate. I don't know if they meant 600g of load was the half-throttle value, or max throttle value, but arm thrust values of greater than 1kg are not uncommon with a 35mm "pancake" motor and 12" prop.

If you're enjoying aerial video, you don't really need agility per se. The quad may be more relaxing to fly if it's more of a slug, especially if you move to FPV. That takes a bit of getting used to. Especially the sensation that you see motion but don't feel it, and you have no depth perception. If you decide to do it, get goggles! If you rely on an LCD screen, you'll constantly be looking up and down.

But unless you already fly a quad, you need to get to the point where head-in flying is not intimidating (with everything reversed), and you can do three-axis turns with ease. That means you push forward, pull right or left and use rudder to pull the tail around while pulling up a bit to cut through the turn without losing altitude. You can fly forever without learning all that, but it's easier to avoid collisions if you do, and a lot more fun.

It wasn't clear which propulsion system you have now, but I would advise you to just get what you have working with a lighter battery and camera setup, and then fly the hell out of it. After you've done more tweeking and minor repairs while reading and viewing this stuff, you may want to try your hand at building one with more tailored specifications in mind. You may decide you'd like a larger center frame for greater payload options like elaborate light displays. If you want more agility then, build for agility -- maybe a 250 or 300 class. You may even want to branch into light fixed-wing planes or gliders, for increased stealth and flight times or just fly with and video migrating birds. I assume you got a spectrum radio, so you can just get additional receivers to expand. You might even decide to try a boat!
 
Since you're in New Jersey, and it gets cold there, you may want to think about a small quad that is suitable for indoors. Many can be flown using a Spectrum radio, so you practice with your radio too. If that sounds interesting, YouTube the channel for Flyin' Ryan. He does extensive reviews of everything 250 and smaller, and he can guide you to something surprisingly easy to fly for the size, and help select something that your Spectrum will fly. If you have a cat, there is nothing more fun on a cold day than terrorizing a cat with yarn dangling from a quad copter!
 
Morning Hugh. You mean I cant fly my $2k investment in the wind and snow this winter?? Lol.....I did begin this venture with a Helimax is1, got another for spare parts; moved up to the Helimax 230 si - these peaked my interest not only in flying but in the expanding video horizon. Obviously what Im using now is much more sophisticated and better quality of video. I will be getting goggles! First, need to get the basics I have, set up and working. One of the challenges I face, I'm a meticulous "need to know" person so all the different aspects of what Im dealing with in the quad and fpv can be overwhelming - someday I will make a "How to Build" video that goes step by meticulous step and will probably bore people to tears......but!!
I have begun to look at the 250 but for the more acrobatic flying and for speed - have also seen people doing all sorts of nasty things to them and they seem pretty solid machines.
You also stated you werent sure which propulsion sys. I have now - again it's the DJI E600 sys. Looking at some of the specs now - says max thrust is 1600g/axis; recommended load 600g/axis. Now, my battery is 845 g; a 6s 5200 is 643 g's so weight would be less an issue going to the 6s. I know the 6s 8000 lipo weighs 1220g and at the time I tested using it, I was not that knowledgeable about cog. The learning curve can be pricey!!
My main reason for getting the larger 8000 lipo was to extend flight time - any thoughts on best ways to accomplish longer flight times and greater distances? I have learned a good deal about helical and clover leaf antennas to extend distance. Am sure there is more to do.
Again......following through on your suggestions today and will file a report this evening :-)
As always, thank you!
 
I know what you mean about "need to know". I get frustrated at people saying, "just do this". Uh, WHY?
As you haul more weight in a larger battery, the flight time increase dwindles. It's like gaining range in a car by adding a 200 gallon gas tank, but your fuel economy goes to hell carrying the weight of the fuel, except it's worse when time works against you while you're fighting gravity.
Ok, so you have the "big" propulsion system. Yeah, that 600g is the hover load, so you're good there.
Again, if you can measure current at the ESCs at high throttle, you may be able to verify that HobbyKing's new MultiStar lower-C battery would work fine, and the reduced weight would actually get you the longer flight duration you're after. Also if you want to do video and not acrobatics, you might not even need high throttle.
I really like the circular polarized antennas, but my quads have a lot of deck space. My FPV is on 1.2GHz, so they're good sized antennas. I see a lot of people hanging the small 5.8GHz circ.pol. antennas over the side, pointed down for FPV. Those generally come with plastic housings around them.
For really long range, you'll need to move to Dragonlink or something purpose-built, but that's later.

Let's see how this stability problem works out.
 
Well..........while I was able to re-assemble my quad, the rest of my day kept me too tied up to accomplish what I set out to do with it. One of those days.
I was able to get everything put in place so the set up including battery leaves me with a pretty good cog. Now, I did not include the h3-3d gimbal and gopro camera.
I'm still working on deciphering "directions" that are specific to my F450 w/mini iOSD, and not a Phantom......fact is, I cant find anything that is specific to my setup. And, I do not want to send close to $700 up before Im comfortable with it's working properly on a system that is also working properly.
I also reduced the gains (all 6 #'s) by 10 (ie: 165 to 155...etc.) Tomorrow I should have more time to get out to my field with some air space and test things. Again, will fill you in afterwards.
And by the way I purchased the MultiStar 6S 5200mAh lipo as well as a UBEC for 12v 2S - 6S to feed my fpv set up.
 
As promised -
- a video of flight just taken an hour or so ago. Main purpose was to test COG and effect of reduced Gains had on the "wobblies". While I obviously did not go hell bent for leather, I did test the changes and impact on descent - seems to have done the trick, although I'm never one to think "One and Done" so will continue to tread softly :)
Might I be presumptuous and ask more questions??
Can I use my GoPro Hero3+ camera as an FPV camera? If so, how? Again, I have the naza m v2, mini iosd, the zenmuse h3-3d gimbal. I do have one of the small sony 600tvl board cameras (although have had trouble setting it up). Have 2 more on order with different lenses and different board configuration (see which one I like). The wiring and powering is the challenge - connecting which to what and why???
Again, thank you - cant tell you how much it's appreciated!
P.S. the jerkiness in the panning was my neuorpathy ladden thumbs! I think
 
I'm glad the wobble is at least tamed.
This guy has explained FPV with Hero3 pretty well:

Basically, you need to use or acquire the mini-USB-to-composite cable, because the USB connection on the GoPro Hero3 (and other models) integrates power in, data out, and composite video out. If your GoPro didn't come with one, they are readily available online. It's easiest to just lop off the RCA connectors and solder the leads to those attached to your transmitter. If you want audio, you'll need to attach to THREE wires leading into the transmitter. Video signal, Audio signal, and Ground, and that ground will also be the ground from the power-in lead for the transmitter.
Your transmitter probably has a four-conductor cable-connector with power, ground, video signal & audio signal (although the specs say it includes a built in microphone). The video and audio signal leads can be connected directly through to the camera's leads. The ground needs to service power and signal ground on both leads so that's a little trickier to solder. All these wires are quite small so even a small pen-style soldering tool will work. You'd also need some shrink tubing to cover the solder joints. There may be pre-made adapter cables to connect a Hero 3 to a Boscam transmitter, but then you'd be hauling around those RCA connectors and a lot of extra cable you have to zip-tie.

Now if you're still considering using a board-cam for FPV, it's not a bad idea since your GoPro is gimbal mounted. Reason being, when your quad tilts or rolls, you won't see it happen in your goggles because the motion is compensated by the gimbal, until it is too extreme to compensate for, in which case, it may be too extreme to recover from as well. So if you want to monitor what your "good" recording cam is seeing, AND fly using a stationary FPV cam, you can pursue video SWITCHING! I use the little switch from Turnigy (bought from HobbyKing), http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...er_USA_Warehouse_.html?strSearch=video switch
All this no doubt seems intimidating, but once you draw it out on a piece of paper, it's really pretty straightforward. Using the video switch, you run the video (and signal ground) through the switch to the transmitter, controlling the switch with any available two or three position switch on your radio. Ordinarily the switch runs off a three-position radio switch, but since you're unlikely to ever have a third camera on that quad, it should work on a two position switch, although I haven't actually tried that.

If you wanted to go further, you could power the GoPro Hero 3 in real time, so your camera battery was no longer an issue, and leave your composite-out cable intact by acquiring another mini-USB cable:
url
(here's one diagram of it) http://elektronikajogja.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=194
But this gets quite involved! You have to include a resistor, I believe to fool the camera into thinking it is plugged into a computer. You'd also have to find some clean 5v power somewhere! We've discussed using a BEC to provide stable 12v for the transmitter from your 4-6S lipo, but the GoPro might really hate 12volts.

If you want to go simple, just omit the audio path entirely. All you're going to hear is motor whine anyway! You could also go the switching route with no audio anywhere. The GoPro will still record audio on the files it saves.
 
Good morning Hugh. Every day is a new learning experience - always has been. I got home late last night from working a long day. Another of the 3 board cameras for fpv was in the mailbox so I plugged it in to the existing wiring and 3s battery (no UBEC yet) and had relatively good picture immediately. So, not only was my original 7" monitor faulty apparently my original board camera was/is too (plugged the original board camera in to same set up and no picture) Go figure! Quality control for many of these companies could stand a shake up. So......I think I will be quite happy for a time getting my feet wet with this set up. Will add the UBEC when it comes but overall, with gopro and gimbal working, fpv set up working (distances - antenna, TX, etc - need to be tested) and copter seemingly stable again.......life is good :-)
Now, Goggles will be next on the list. Fat Sharks seem to be the preferred set......thoughts on options?
What is the benefit of running the GoPro camera off the main lipo instead of using its own battery? (I have 3 for the camera with a charger I can use AC/DC) The charge for the camera seems to last much longer than my main lipos ever would.
As far as audio signal/wires I've removed them from the video TX wiring - simple enough.
I've started playing around with the GoPro Studio software. Found where I could remove the fisheye lens issue on the video taken with the GoPro. Now....hope to figure out how to add any desired music to video to create a more professional finished product. I know the FAA (i think) does not allow any commercial use of drones.......but......I envision in my old age (isnt too far away) having some income "mad money" from making interesting videos for people.
I want to thank you again. It is appreciated.
 
I'm glad to hear the stability solution persists. Yes, a lot of the inexpensive foreign parts are not built to high tolerances or tested very thoroughly. Quite often it's something simple though, like a bad connection to power internally. That was the problem with my Boscam HD19. I had to disassemble it and solder leads to the board where the FD13 connector was not adequately attached to the pads.

I opted for the FatShark SD goggles. They have no internal receiver, but come with a long umbilical cable that feeds power and video in, and power back out to service an external receiver. They cost less relative to other FatShark models, and are lighter. I opted to use 1.2GHz for my FPV, so this puts the receiver with a rather large circ. pol. antenna away at a distance along with the battery (1300mah 3S) and an inline DVR. I did a lot of research on FPV frequencies and read a lot of anecdotal stories about poor penetration and saw a lot of 5.8GHz FPV videos break up or go to snow behind dense trees or buildings. My 1000mw transmitter is a BEAST! It burns through buildings like butter, and my half-watt transmitter does nearly as well.
If I switch frequencies or use several, I can still use the goggles with different external receivers and I have my choice of receivers. I have the receiver, battery etc. on a plate mounted on a cheap music stand at the moment, but I'm thinking of buying a photo lighting stand -- they're around $20 and can get the antenna(s) up to around 9 feet. SMA extension cables are pretty inexpensive, so the gear can be on a plate box or shelf at three feet and just the cable and antenna can be lofted for a bit more range. Or I can put the receiver up high -- I'll have to see how much loss I find in that extension cable. If you have the antenna stable and separate, you can put it out in the open in a good spot, but sit back under an awning, in the shade or even in your car! I've also considered mounting all the gear in and on a light plastic construction helmet, but wearing a helmet with a big antenna on it may exceed the level of geekiness and audience derision I'm willing to accept. Plus, the antenna would not be stable.

If you buy goggles with internal receiver(s) or modular internal bays, you're often locked into one brand, or "compatibles", and you're carrying all that stuff on your face when you're unlikely to be moving around when using them anyway. FPV is pretty disorienting and you're likely to find you prefer to sit, so what's all the portability for?

The only advantage of powering the GoPro from the main flight battery is that you don't have to worry about charging the GoPro. If you don't find charging the battery in or out of the camera inconvenient, leave it alone. I use my Astak for nothing else, and the battery lacks the run time of your GoPro, so I power it.
A common loophole in drone video is that you do not charge people for taking the video; you charge them for EDITING it.
 
Yes, my quad seems to be flying with stability ......admit to still feeling some "nerves" although nothing occurring yet to really cause them - vivid memory of a shakey, wobbling copter falling towards my garage rooftop and nothing I did altered it's path. But.....over time the once found confidence in its capabilities will return.
I had to laugh with your picture painted......geekiness hmm. Just dont wrap your head with aluminum foil and wear old WWII aviator goggles ;-).
I just had her (quad) out around my yard using the fpv........it really requires a level of trust in the camera and the copters stability to get anywhere near comfortable flying this way. I look forward to the day I can sit back and just fly away.
I received my 3rd fpv board camera today - all 5.8 ghz. The clarity and color is not very good on my second camera - will try the third one and if it's the same quality, I will re-do my wiring/connections just to check their function. May need to get a smaller lower watt soldering iron as the wires are small gauge. Your insights on the goggles and antennas/receivers is appreciated. Not sure when I will get to that level of comfort with fpv on screen.......or if I should just get the goggles and find the comfort with using them to begin with. Your TX is 1000mw?? Most of the "reports" Ive watched/read say the mw of the TX isnt as important as the type of antenna?? Curious about the differing thoughts & approaches??
As for $$ income using the video capabilities - I would charge for both! All that is invested in creating the capability to take such videos AND then all the time editing, splicing/linking scenes and adding music/text to polish it all off. I dont live far from NYC - there is LOTS of money in this corridor of NJ where the upper financial people have homes.....no........Mansions.....BIG mansions.
Real Estate folk lately are quite competitive and would pay nicely for such videos when such homes go on the market. Have already begun putting together some ideas for flyers. Cant complain if I get to play and make some money while doing it :)
 
You're using that same 200mw 5.8GHz Boscam transmitter on all your board cameras? Have you looked at the video directly off the cameras using the supplied cables? CCD elements tend not to have amped up color like CMOS or others. I've found there is no substitute for good soldering gear in this hobby. I use a Weller digital temperature controlled station that I've had for years.

A guy on a YouTube video, after two years of FPV flights recommends just going to goggles. He explained that if you use an LCD screen, you'll constantly be looking back and forth at the screen and the craft, and screens don't give you the immersive experience. With goggles, you are IN the cockpit. But that does require you recon an area from a couple of angles to know what tree is closer than what other tree. You have to build a 3D map in your head so you know you can turn in a space without flying into something that's out of view until the last second. It's also a good idea to have a "spotter" with you to tell you how closely you actually fly to obstacles. Or you can hang a couple of pool noodles in the yard and practice flying between them until you're comfortable with the visual extremities of your quad using the goggles. Actual 3D goggles will be great when they happen, but even then, your brain measures distance using image delta AND the intersecting angle of your eyes on the target, and since you'll still just be looking at two screens that are always the same distance apart, it won't be perfect or look "quite right".

Yes, I use the circ. pol. antenna WITH the 1 watt transmitter! I added an aluminum heat sync I took out of a computer power supply. The heat-conductive pads where the transistors were mounted fit perfectly against the radiating pads on the transmitter and in flight it gets plenty of air flow. The range from that far exceeds my radio or telemetry, but I really just wanted solid video, and not the extra range.

I only mentioned the selling issue as it is the currently-employed loophole to keep the FAA off your back. The dollar amount can be the same, but you don't itemize the video-taking process. A friend of mine is a top realtor for Sotheby's and she told me that the headquarters banned the use of "drone" videos to sell homes. She wasn't told why.
 
Yes, the one and only 5.8ghz Boscam tx. The cables I have for the camera dont fit the video AV In port, and dont connect to any of the other typical AV cables. It's not just the limited color but the clarity is not the best too. What antennas do you use - brand. I know you prefer the circ. pol. I believe my cloverleaf are circ. polarized also. Will do some testing tomorrow of the newest camera; and if needed re-solder some of the connections to see if that helps. Like you I want solid video first, although would like some distance too - not some of the reported 80km stories though.
Understood re: the FAA. Will obviously need to do some research with some of the local RE offices.
 
There aren't a lot of brands in 1.2GHz cir. pol. antennas. I just get what HobbyKing sells and try to find a spot with good reception where they won't get destroyed in a crash or flip.
If you have an "old" TV -- one with a video in, try viewing the camera output on that, and don't hesitate to loosen the lens and refocus it. And try some of the menu options to see if the saturation can be increased. That will verify your clarity issues aren't at the receiver/display end. I think all the board cams come with cables terminated with at least one RCA connector for video. One I got recently has BNC, but I used an adapter to test. I understand none of them plugs into the transmitter. None plugs into either of my LawMate transmitters either. This hobby is pretty young and the parts aren't too refined. It really comes down to soldering stuff.
 
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