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FPV Ground Station info
 
 
          
            Eagle Tree Systems EagleEyes Antenna Tracker. Has built in diversity and 4 video outputs.

   
 The EzAntenna Tracker system is the first commercially available antenna tracker designed for FPV/UAV flight. Photo NGHobbies
 
 
 The FPV ground station is an important part of the pilots gear. It can be as simple as a monitor connected to the wireless RX or can be more complicated with things like Diversity RX, multiple monitors/goggles, video splitters, camcorders, antenna tracking, etc...
 Most FPV pilots have a case to house all the gear that they can set-up within a few minutes. It's important to keep your Ground Station ready to go and needs the same attention that is given to the FPV aircraft. Nothing worse then getting to the field to fly only to spend your time plugging things in, swapping cords, etc..so it's important to have as many devices tested, hooked up and ready to go before you leave to fly. I personally have all my gear attached to a tripod ahead of time and with a control panel that powers everything with the flip of a switch. Keeping a ground stations set-up simple no matter how much gear is involved. This will make your FPV piloting experience more enjoyable.  A basic Ground Station is nothing more then the wireless video receiver with antenna connected to a TV Monitor allowing you to view your aircraft from the pilot seat. For a basic set up I use a matching wireless video receiver, 7" LCD monitor, Pyle Video Splitter, Camcorder and a 3S 3cell 4000mAH lipo battery for the power. It's easy to out grow the basic Ground Station after getting into FPV piloting and many pilots expand to more complicated set ups that include Diversity systems, Antenna Tracking, Live Telemetry recording, Live Google Earth via laptop with wireless internet, etc....

  Common items found with a ground station are:

LCD monitors and /or video goggles used for viewing in FPV. It's a good idea to use a resolution of 640x480 or higher.


  Wireless video receiver(s) used for receiving the wireless signal from the aircraft.

 Video Splitters are used to send the video signal to more then one device from the supplying source like the wireless video RX. These are needed to keep the quality of the video signal. Using "Y" connectors instead of a Video Splitter will degrade the quality of the signal causing a darker and poorer picture ("Y" connectors are ok for splitting the audio).

Camcorders, laptop or other recording devices are a big part of the ground station and recording a flight is helpful if you should have a mishap like a crash you can review the recording  allowing you to see what went wrong or where your aircraft went down. If you have an OSD/GPS on board then you can see the last location recorded and go right to the downed aircraft. Just for this reason it's a good idea to record all your flights even if you don't intend to watch it or make a video movie. As of now the DV Camcorder with audio/video inputs is the favorite among FPV pilots due to the high quality of Digital Video and none of the newer type recording devices like SD card recorders, V-mate, Hard Drive, Aiptek, Archos, laptop USB capture, etc have the quality of DV camcorders (a list of use-able Camcorders with A/V inputs).

Diversity Receivers are common and help keep a good wireless link to your aircraft avoiding unwanted video static. They switch between incoming signals from 2 wireless recievers tuned to the same band. This allows 2 antennas of the same or different type to be used and the diversity device will automatically chose the best signal and send it out to the monitor/goggles. If the other video reciever starts to get a better signal it will automatically switch to it. It is also possible to Daisy Chain diversity receivers by adding more then one. By adding another video RX each time you add another diversity unit. By doing this you can use multiple types of antennas pointed and different directions.

Antenna Tracking is new to FPV pilots and uses an interface like EzAntenna Tracker or EagleEyes that receives the GPS location of the aircraft and points the video RX antenna towards the aircraft using servos for Panning and Tilting the antenna. Mainly designed for directional antennas and longer range flights and not short range since an Omni antenna will do as good or better close by. The Antenna Tracker interface does not include servo controlled pan and tilt mounts or antennas. AT's are best used with directional antennas like Patch or Yagi. How they operate is by sending a telemetry stream down one of the audio or video channels of the wireless A/V link, via the On Screen Display modules (OSD). This telemetry stream contains information about the plane's GPS location and other information that's available to the pilot through the OSD.  Another nice feature is the Telemetry Data can either be used for live tracking on Google Earth, or be recorded and decoded later with Google Earth. Most antenna trackers only work with the same manufactures OSD for example the EzAntenna tracker operates with the EzOSD, Eagle Tree's OSD Pro works with EagleEyes, etc... Some FPV pilot's ground stations have become Antenna Tracking/Ground Stations since most of the GS gear is attached to the tracker. Things to keep in mind are that antenna trackers do not act fast when flying close by like within a couple hundred feet so doing circles around the ground station area is not recommended unless using it with an Omni antenna (whip) and diversity. Most trackers only need 360 or more rotation but keep in mind that when most antenna trackers reach the servos end point they'll have to suddenly pan in a complete 360 (rewind) to regain your aircraft's video link if you fly behind yourself doing circles. This could cause a momentary drop out in the video. This is where having a Omni (whip) connected with a diversity will come in handy. Trackers are better used for long range flights out in front of you and to the sides for best results which also will help keep the audio/video cables from getting tangled. At this time they do not support continuous rotating servos but word has it they will soon. For best results use them with 90, 180, 360 degree or winching type servos that have end points. Antenna trackers are not that difficult to set up and only add a couple of minutes of more time to calibrate the direction your facing.



Battery for powering the ground station. Make sure it has enough mAh to keep the ground station powered for more then a couple of hours. The more devices you have the higher mAh you will need. The last thing you want is to be flying and have your ground station suddenly shut down...now you can't see your aircraft nor are you recording it so test your system and know how long you can keep your ground station gear powered.





AT Pro-1000 Antenna Tracking Station
 
 
 
   
                                                                              Liam's Ground Station
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
               A Diversity system like the Oracle will switch between 2 video RX picking the one with the better signal. This allows one video RX to have a whip antenna (Omni)  which is better at closer range and the other RX to have a Patch (Directional) for better long range performance.
 



                                 Antenna Tracker Pan & Tilt Mounts are becoming a new type of FPV Ground Station.