2.4 GHZ wireless camera and DX7

[DDragon]

I'm in the process of putting together all the pieces for a AP setup, and something just occured to me... I have a 2.4 GHZ wireless camera I was going to use, but would this cause glitches on the DX7? Most wireless cameras I've found are 2.4.

Has anyone using this setup experienced any problems?

[BarracudaHockey]

We did so they are banned at one of the fields I fly at

I'd fire up the camera first, then the radio and do a range check.

[DDragon]

We did so they are banned at one of the fields I fly at

I'd fire up the camera first, then the radio and do a range check.

Thanks. I'm thinking that a 1.2gHZ camera would be better.

[Efliernz]

1.2G is a much better idea. We fly inner-city often and there is no way I would risk a 2.4G downlink with my DX7...
I've been using a 1.2 cheepee but am about to order a 1.3G from rangevideo. They also have 900MHz but that freq range is busy here.

[j_kookboy]

Thanks. I'm thinking that a 1.2gHZ camera would be better.

Where are you in Canada ?

I would recommend a 900 from rangevideo.com

[aramsdell]

Why have 2.4 downlinks been banned??? I don't believe there would be any problems except when the downlink Tx is located on the same aircraft as the R/C set.
Our 2.4 radios avoid busy frequencies so the only problem should be if the R/C Rx gets swamped by another Tx in very close Proximity. No???
100 mw downlink 10 inches from my XPS Rx reduced the range to 300' on the Rx. And down to 12 inches with no antenna on XPS Rx!
I use 200mw 900 Mhz downlink now.
The 2.4 ghz is on my Trex 450 bird and it has 72 mhz and Berg 7 Rx.

[MarkWebber]

I only experienced range issues when the downlink tx was in close proximity of my heli rx. Range dropped to 50' on my XPS. I've got a 900mhz system on the way. If it works as it should, I'll part with the 2.4 downlink and I'm going to go 2.4 on all my helis.

[DDragon]

Where are you in Canada ?

I would recommend a 900 from rangevideo.com


Markham, near Toronto.

[crewchief]

Doing some proof-of-concept demos for the government, we got into a situation where we HAD to fly a 2.4 GHz transmitter with the AR7000 Rx. We were lifting a Remington Eyeball camera (see pic), with pan and zoom operated from an observer station on the ground. The uplink control to the camera was 900 MHz and the downlink video was 2.4 GHz (would that it could have been the other way around!).

We tested the setup very extensively before attempting this, and found that the range of the DX7 was decreased from 50 paces to about 25 paces (attenuated range test) when the Remington was active. We also rotated the camera to find the most problematic output lobe for worst-case scenario testing.

Then with walkie-talkies we range tested unattenuated to over 1/4 mile with full Tx authority. There was no glitching or drop-outs, and both Rx lights stayed on solid throughout the whole range test. At that point I could barely see the T-Rex from a distant hill-top. We flew the demo quite successfully and got some very interesting video from the air.

However, I'd never do this unless there was a significant justification for it. For something like the AskmanAP mount, you could mount a 2.4 GHz video Tx below the camera, and install a properly grounded semi-circular Faraday shield using metal window screen, under the landing gear legs, to block the video signal from getting up to the Rx antennas. You would want to avoid flying directly overhead because the Faraday shield could block the Tx/Rx connection, but otherwise it should at least mitigate the attenuation problem. Also remember your Tx signal strength at the receivers is diminishing with distance, while the interfering signal from your built-in "jammer" (based on proximity distortion) remains constant. Not a good thing.

You can test the effectiveness of the Faraday shield like this: power up a 2.4 GHz video camera, transmitter, receiver and monitor. Then turn on the DX7 and observe how it interferes with the video link. Now take a piece of metal window screen and hold it up between the DX7 and the video Rx. Voila - the signal clears up, showing that (like flame) the radio signal cannot penetrate the screen.

Having said all that - use a 900 MHz downlink!

[aramsdell]

Definately go 900 mhz. I've had ZERO issues with the 900mhz downlink and my XPS 2.4 system.