New build, FPV problems

Hi again Hugh. So, I purchased the IBCrazy 1.3 GHz 10dBic Crosshair Antenna and added it to my ground station; also added an Oracle Diversity Controller
with 2 lawmate vid rx's - one each with the crosshair and the IBCrazy blue ultra cloverleaf cp antennas. The cloverleaf works fine....cant seem to get the crosshair to provide a very good pict. whether it's through the oracle or just by itself.
Any thoughts/ideas?
 
Wow! You don't mess around man! That rig should get you out to several MILES! How far are you flying? And the last I heard you had 5.8GHz tx on your quad. What do you have now, and how much power is it pushing?

The crosshair is more directional than the cloverleaf. They're usually used on fix-wing craft that are flying a vectored path out and back, or used with antenna tracking.
Have you tried switch the receivers, to have the cross-hair connected to the other one? It could be a bad tuner, or just the wrong channel? Check that you don't have a piece of RP (reverse-polarized) gear in there, with no center pin. That will burn a transmitter, but receivers don't care -- they just don't work. Basically you check everything and swap everything.

If you can't get a good signal off it, I'd ask the vendor.
 
I did have the 5.8 on but, as said earlier, with all the forests/trees plus buildings and hills/valleys 5.8 was a POOR decision. Your info on using 1.2/1.3 ghz was most helpful. I do have great signal from the one receiver with the blue ultra cp clover leaf antenna - with the lawmate 500/1000mw Video Tx and matching Rx (2 of the same) for the ground station. I was able to get a pict. with the crosshair ant. although it was not very good - will check polarity, etc as well as getting out in the open to see what happens - between weather and other plans I have NOT had the chance to get the quad out and FLY!!! FRUSTRATING!!! Will fill you in on outcomes WHEN I get the chance to fly.
 
I looked further up the thread and saw where you ordered, but wasn't sure what transmitter(s) you got. I'm not sure what the reception angle of the crosshair antenna would be, but if you're on target, I'm surprised it isn't excellent.
 
Well, I followed your advice and did a "process of elimination; 1. Knew my first receiver was good, with the blue ultra cp cl antenna; 2. checked polarity on the other antenna and it was/is fine; 3. Took the blue antenna and exchanged it with the cross hair onto the other new Rx (the 2 Rx's are the same ones). There is no signal. So it's a bad Rx. Tested the cross hair antenna on the other Rx and it works fine.
Not sure why my "luck" has been the way it is but it seems every other thing I purchase for my quad is defective. Go figure???!!!
 
At least you know what the problem is, and you have a pathway to improved short and long range video quality.
It could be something wrong with that receiver you can diagnose and fix, and if not, any problem you can fix with a few bucks isn't really much of a problem.
 
Hello again Hugh. Been a few weeks so I thought I'd send you an update. The quad has been flying well. Took it to the beach (as they say in NJ..."Down the shore") a few weeks ago for the weekend. Flew longer distances and higher than ever before without any issues. The FPV video issues I've talked with you about I think I have resolved with the fixing of the VRx problem. I'm also not using the diversity controller yet - not confident I've got it set up quite right yet, but using the IBCrazy ultra blue CP cloverleaf antennas seem to do fine - even got blown into low lying branches and broke the V Tx antenna, taped it back together and video signal is ok. Have also gotten fpv video through my GoPro camera - tested it out a yesterday and it seems fine as long as I set the GoPro to use a more narrow field of view.
Finally, my GoPro had been showing a very "jerky" movement in the video recordings I've made the past 2 weeks. Did numerous tests today using different video settings ( like 1080p@30fps - W or M or N field of view) and realized using the 60fps (or higher) setting results in poor flow of video replay - at least on my video players (I have a few). So I'm finding the more time I take to explore, research and review things myself the better I'll get at this :)
A Real Estate Broker was out for a walk with dog and wife Sunday morning when I was getting set up to fly; asked if I took videos. "Yes, I do" I told him. Gave me his card and will be calling him tomorrow to see what he's interested in doing. It's, in part, why I spent so much time working out the proper GoPro settings today. Do you have any ideas about what other "pilots" are charging for RE videos (the editing ;-) )??
I hope all is well....we are heading into a week of lots of rain - an annual event here this time of year - but it will be beautiful weather then for a few more weeks before the cold really begins to set in.
 
Video recording requires not only a micro-SD marked as class 10 but actual working as class 10. A lot of them are right on the edge, or only a few test up to speed. What memory card do you have in the GoPro now?

As for compensation for your services, I think that should always be what you're comfortable with - what motivates you. If your price is "too high", lower it unless you would rather not be bothered. If it's too low, you'll wind up doing more of it that you want. It's your life man! Just don't set the price so low you resent doing it and do a crappy job because of it.

Looking forward to seeing lots of video of seasons. We don't get seasons here. It just get dark earlier. Take care.
 
I had not been aware, initially, that the rating of the micro SD card impacted the quality of the video - then, with more research, saw that the GoPro required use of the class 10 or better card. I bought a 64gb Sandisc Ultra class 10 card.......however there still was the "jerking" going on ........thus my experimenting with the settings. I have seen in lots of posts that using the 1080p 2 60fps is best for slow motion. Not sure why that would cause the jerking in viewing the video outside of the video players ability to keep up with that fps?
As a contractor I always go through the gauntlet of pricing my work......then see where a base painter is getting more for a days work than I did - and I have much invested in tools of the trade (table saws, drills, sanders, planers...on and on and on....) and the painters "tools" are a drop cloth and rollers/paint brushes. So one must take into consideration the "cost" of the video equipment specialized to take aerial footage, time to do it, time to edit it and presenting a "finished" product. So, I think probably about $6,000.00 ........lol.....just kidding. Although, depending on how much footage and how large a property, and the value of the property.....difficulty of filming on the property (trees, hillsides, etc) that $# might not be unrealistic.

This is a video I took as a prep to possibly producing a more refined video for a CSA nearby. Used up 4 5200mAh lipos in the process - about 50 mins. of video edited down to this. Still, it's kind of rough and I'm working on refining scene selection and how to set up taking it.
Will gladly send along some "seasons" - keep eyes and ears open :)
 
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