Replacing FPV goggles with a small monitor

@LEM504 - Nonsense. I'm sure I'm not the only one following this judging from the counter. I may not have a dog in the fight, but learning from others is what forums are all about. Taking a discussion like this private defeats the purpose of a public forum.
If anyone feels bored with any discussion they can change the channel.

Check out this long thread on RCGroups. It eventually evolves to the montor we are playing with.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2184050

In that thread, you'll run into this product from HobyKing. It's available from the US Warehouse for $30. It's using our monitor! They are saying this us a custom version with No Blue Screen! Lots of discussion in the thread about this thing.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=62874

...Tiger

GPS - I was starting think the same way as Larry about what we're doing here. Thanks for your input. Some people will find it interesting and some won't, but then that's actually how it is with everything on the forum.

Larry - I think those two larger lines in your picture are the backlight power so I guess it's toast like you thought. I opened my second monitor last night and the two are different. I took some pics and also did some testing with the inputs in paralleled. I'll try to post about that later tonight. Lastly, I agree we should get together some time and chat. I'd enjoy that.

...Tiger

I don't think anyone should feel they need to please everyone on a forum. People are free to engage in a discussion or not.
This particular discussion has been mostly between two guys who have similar gear that are discussing how to make their gear work, and even work better. Even though others may not have this gear there is good value in listening and learning.

To tell you the truth, I can't think of any RC hobby related topic that is better taken privately where others in the community may not follow if they are interested.

John,
Thanks for the input --
Tiger,
Looks like I don’t understand Blue Screen. My only test so far, was just
Unplugging the camera. My old bigger screen just goes to garbage
With no blue screen. Will hook it up to radio and see what it does.

I am heavy into gliders, and of course have a bad habit of flying out too
Far. Most have almost no profile. Now you see it, now you don’t.
The big ones are just as bad as the small ones. After a few crashes,
I learned to grit my teeth and hang on when the plane evaporates.
Just put it into a slow turn and hang on until it un-evaporates.

The Hobby King kit is not the same monitor - lower resolution.
Will get one anyway and fit the newer monitor in. No big deal if it hit’s the garbage. It may help work around my lack of creativity.
Larry

Tiger,
Here is something that might work.
IBCrazy had a ground station set up to free the flyer from wires.
Main receiver and goodies were on a tripod. He was using
1.3 or 910 onto the tripod, and then re-transmitting with 5.8
To the goggles from the tripod.
My guess, with that setup, if the transmission dropped out between
The aircraft and tripod, The second transmission would still keep
The screen live, even though it was garbage.
A cheap 200 ma 5.8 set would be more than enough between tripod
And head set.
If you wanted to do it all with 5.8, just use different frequencies
On the two sets. ( channels? ) Be aware that different brands
Skip frequencies different. The 32 channel covers all.
Found my stuff, but it all needs to be re-wired. I hate soldering wires,
So may not get to it for a while.
Larry

Received the Hobby King Kit today. No specs on the screen, Frame is about the same size as the 800's
but the actual screen is smaller. Resolution is very good! ( Must be better quality from the camera. )
No blue screen, and the screen stays live. Turn the camera off, the screen goes to many lines, and it displays
"No Signal" in the center. Haven't tried either screen outside, or with radio signal, I would be happy with either screen.
By the way - The Hobby King Screen is put together with screws --
The issue with the RCA Jacks, is still there. Must be my gender changers, or the RCA Jacks on the camera harness.
The foam case is too narrow for my glasses. Maybe cut the sides out, and glue foam board, or something over the holes..
Tight but should work. Haven't checked the lenses --

Larry

I was watching a bunch of this guys videos today and ran across this project of his. After you watch this, you might like to look at some of his other videos. He's got some of the best FPV videos I've ever seen.

...Tiger

Wow! With a play ground like that, how could you loose?
Unless of course, you had to recover your lost toy.
I don't think he would even bother --

Back to the FPV Monitor. It got shelved and somewhat mixed with other projects.
It turned into an education about short cuts, failure to keep notes, and a few other things. Not to worry - I will repeat most down the road.
I like to complicate things, gadget happy, and an impulsive buyer.
Sorting through the pile, turned up assorted cameras, three different monitors, and a rather large pile of wires. All similar, but different.
First discovery was the cameras. Three 808 16 cameras, and a Mobious.
Of course the 808's were different versions. The wonderful cords for all, look the same, so I had made no effort to keep them separated. Brain failure! Eventually by trial and error, that was sorted out, and the wires converted to servo plugs.
Then came the monitors. One from the Hobby King Kit, one from California, and one from China. I was sure they all worked - wrong!
The one from Hobby King, indicated power. One would show blue screen for a few seconds and go blank. The third did nothing. I was using gender changers on the RCA Jacks, and assumed they were bad. ( Cameras connected directly to the monitors. ) Re-wired the plugs to servo plugs.
Then I discovered the wonderful world of Blue Screen. Both of the screens that had power problems, simply shut down with no video signal. With mixed cables, cameras, and monitors not a fun project. They all work. Will use the Blue Screens on the van, to hook the trailer.
The black box included in the Hobby King Kit, looked wonderful, but would need hacking to accommodate my glasses. I scratch built one with foam core poster board. Problem solved. Now the plastic magnifying sheets for inside.
There were three in the kit, looked like they had possibilities, but wasn't crazy about any.
Tried my Opti-visor. Big improvement, but it didn't like the box. Lens board was marked #5, so I tore it apart. Perfect!
Now I needed to fix the Opti-visor.
Checked Amazon for a replacement lens, and found an Opti-visor with four lens boards - under $30. Problem solved.
Bottom line, The Hobby King kit and monitor look like the best idea, and the
Opti visor lens.

Here I go - only about 4 generations behind ---- It was too wet the fly anyway.

I always like to read about your adventures Larry. Can you post some photos? I'd like to see your headset.

Larry - Have you seen the "Headplay"?

http://www.getfpv.com/featured/headplay-hd-fpv-headset-w-32ch-5-8ghz-receiver.html

Check out the reviews on YouTube. Reports are that it's pretty amazing. A bunch of us over here in GP have these on PreOrder. Should be getting them around the end of the month. It's the chickens way out I know. I'm still interested in building one. I got that chip that I blew up in my monitor and have that working again, but still face the blue screen issue. I've looked at that a lot and there is no hardware fix for it. Is a firmware issue we can't get to. Keep trying to order the HK monitor like you have, but they are never in stock. They have been saying "In Transit" for months. I don't know what's up with that. It's worth the price to get the monitor, but they are not making it easy. I suppose I should have just ordered one from China a couple months ago. They almost always show them in stock at the main warehouse. Just thought the west coast warehouse would be cheaper and easier. Oh well.

Anyway... Glad to see your post and see you back at it. Good weather is right around the corner so it's time to get ready.

...Tiger