Simplest Solution for FPV Glasses/Goggle Flying?

[Pull_Up]

Hello Ken.

Have a look at my post over on the Rotorpixel thread from yesterday. I range tested. With the Rotorpixel attached I actually beat my previous record for WiFi reception range! I have modified the range extender on mine to take a helical antenna from Horizon FPV but I did this before the Rotorpixel came so I'm comparing apples with apples. Executive summary? With my setup I didn't notice any range issues whatsoever. I think Rotorpixel are just being cautious with their concerns as of course they can't legislate for all the different setups out there.

Also the Zenmuse gimbal is not designed to work with the vision, either in terms of camera mount or electronics. It's been designed around the GoPro size and weight so just to get the vision camera mounted would require a redesign, never mind getting the electronics to play ball...

A new plug-and-play gimbal from China has now emerged from Taco Toy - there is a thread on here about it ($250 gimbal) although they want a little more now for the plug and play version. It's all 3d printed, but is available now. Lighter than the others, less robust in a hard landing scenario, Velcro strap camera mount, no published plans for future upgrades, etc.

Just to add another choice to the mix...

 

[cavaleiro01]

Ken, did you check with Fatshark if their new HD goggles work with 2.4GHz frequency, also?

You should, otherwise, you may end up purchasing something that will not work with your DJI Phantom Vision.

After spending all that money, it would be simply not good!

Still, the Zeiss cinemizer goggles are pretty straight forward and serve for other things, like using them on pc's and smartphones.

 

[Pull_Up]

Cavaleiro, you can't use Fatshark's with a radio frequency, because the Vision data link needs an app to decode the digital signal, it's not just a 2.4GHz radio signal like traditional FPV camera/transmitter/receiver setups.

He's talking of using the new Fatsharks goggles because they have HDMI input. If changing aircraft in the future to something that operates on the more traditional 2.4 control frequency then he could run a tradition FPV transmitter on 5.8GHz and carry the Fatsharks over to that - little bit of future-proofing for the money.

 

[cavaleiro01]

Cavaleiro, you can't use Fatshark's with a radio frequency, because the Vision data link needs an app to decode the digital signal, it's not just a 2.4GHz radio signal like traditional FPV camera/transmitter/receiver setups.

He's talking of using the new Fatsharks goggles because they have HDMI input. If changing aircraft in the future to something that operates on the more traditional 2.4 control frequency then he could run a tradition FPV transmitter on 5.8GHz and carry the Fatsharks over to that - little bit of future-proofing for the money.

You're right, Simon, I forgot about that. If the Fatshark goggles have HDMI input, then they can be used just like the Zeiss Cinemizer are.

 

[Amra]

Well since my brother purchased an Oculus Rift I thought I'd check the possibilities with using it as a FPV.

Mirroring my smartphone (Galaxy S3) screen with an MHL adapter HDMI to the Oculus Rift unit works just fine, however the view is obviously in Stereoscopic 3D, so it's a mess to look through, this is corrected on windows with software to give you that amazing 3D effect, but there's no software that I know of that allows you to do that on an android device. There might be something that works on specific apps designed for it, but not something you can force apply to the entire android OS, as far as I know.

On Windows you can use a little program called Deskope which makes the Oculus Rift usuable on the desktop, and it also works for things you render on the screen that aren't specifically designed for the Oculus Rift. This includes android emulators.

So what I tried next was to run an android emulator on my windows laptop called Bluestacks this will run android on windows, and the emulator looked normal through the Oculus Rift. I was able to download the DJI Vision app on the emulator and the app successfully ran. But then I ran into an issue which I've yet to find a solution to, I can't connect to the camera, it's obviously greyed out, the problem is that android emulator can not see wifi networks, it just gets the internet connection from the host PC. Connecting the laptop itself to Phantom SSID doesn't help either, the network in the emulator itself just remains a network called 'Bluestacks.' So if I could solve this last problem, I could get the video feed to my windows PC and ultimately extend that feed to the Oculus Rift.

If there existed a windows DJI program for the camera this would easily be possible, I think.

However even if I'd managed to get this to work it isn't the most elegant solution to FPV, you'd need to bring along your laptop & mobile power, to power the Oculus Rift & the MHL adapter (the adapter could be powered be an USB battery though) However the Oculus Rift power draw isn't high and apparently a mod has already been done that frees it from the wall plug.

 

[Amra]

If I had the Transporter 3D I could really this out, but it's too expensive!

 

[dronoob]

Hi everyone,

i recently posted a similar question on this forum and was directed to this thread. Im new to this site, so hello to all.

Ive also been looking for a good pair of goggles to use with the P2 Vision, have gone back and forth between cinemizer, fatshar, itvgoggles, vizux and sony. the itvgoggles look the most attractive to me both in specs and price. its pretty simple to figure out if you need an adapter and what kind (its basically whatever you have - to - VGA). im using iphone 4 and they added the adapter to my order when i emailed them. they don't have the option of adding the adapter on their website which is kind of inconvenient, you need to email them for it (quick replys though).

I finally took the bite and placed my order last night. Looks like it was shipped already so it should get here soon

Overall they seem pretty good with customer service, lets see how the goggles actually hold up.
here is the model i got:

http://itvgoggles.com/details.asp?productID=64

ill be back with an update

 

[onesNzeros]

Yes, please do come back with an update. I've been eyeing those as well.

 

[KenKopter]

Outstanding dronoob!

Regarding your post just above, I checked out the whole range ("cinemizer, fatshar, itvgoggles, vizux and sony") that you listed. This thread narrowed it down to either iTVgoggles or the new Fatshark DominatorHD (currently in pre-release). Others fell out for various reasons.

I'm glad you ordered the iTVgoggles and pretty sure you made a good choice. Let's make this thread a good resource for those who follow. You leave a review on the iTVgoggles. I'll add one for the DominatorHD.

And I agree, iTVgoggles is quick on replies. Your experience with them was better than mine. They got several little things wrong, which ultimately was a factor in the decision...

- mixed up micro-HDMI (which is what I need for my Kindle) with mini
- gave mixed messages on male or female connection to VGA adapter (plus I wasn't wild about having an adapter, preferred one clean connection)
- but the killer was "PayPal" only (or wiring money). PayPal is the only online transaction processor in the world that doesn't have "Anguilla" on the list of countries. Also

It worried me, "What type of serious company only takes PayPal?" Your Conversion Rate drops if you can't accept credit cards directly. Any company of substance gets their own merchant account.

That, plus the fact that I'll be waiting 6-8 weeks for my gimbal anyway, made me more willing to wait the same amount of time for my Fatshark DominatorHD goggles.

The big points FOR the Fatshark DominatorHD were...

- FVP is what they do, so more likely to nail down what flyers need
- there are future add-on options for more functionality
- 1 cable, no adapter

Price is in the same ballpark for both ($600).

--

For those who are interested in this option, here's EVERYTHING you need to get hooked up...

Fat Shark Dominator HD 800x600 Video Glasses
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=2546

Fatshark Battery for Goggles (I got 2 just to be safe) -- it's a "2s lipo"
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... cts_id=386

Fatshark Battery Charger - US Version (not strictly necessary since
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... cts_id=530

Hopefully, that will cut down on you search time and reduce the frustration of realizing that you're missing a cable!

To anyone new to this thread, you should understand how we want to use this, just for the context...

We're flying as a 2-person setup to film our home country of Anguilla. I suspect that we'll have some depth-of-view and field-of-view issues, once the pilot puts on the glasses. This will come in especially handy when the pilot is sitting at the back of truck "trailing" the drone as we drive.

The co-pilot will call out "there's a palm to your right so don't turn in that direction" or "you're getting too far away, head back before losing connection" - lag in the feed from the drone sometimes results in "lost connection" messages before the app gives an accurate distance).

Co-pilot will also run the tilt function through the app on the tablet.

So I also need one more cable. In my case, we'll hard-wire the micro-HDMI out from the Kindle to mini-HDMI INto the glasses (don't need the wireless feature, to reply to an earlier question).

I've just ordered that, too, from them...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00594 ... PDKIKX0DER

But guess what? Naturally, it, too, is back-ordered. But that won't be the rate-limiting step...

--

I'm #125 in line to get my goggles...

Can't wait to experience this and share it with everyone.

--

Stand by for side-by-side reviews (iTVgoggles vs Fatshark DominatorHD) of what appear to be the two top contenders for this particular need. Mine, unfortunately, is going to be 6-8 weeks.

Thanks a million to Pull_Up for all the help!

All the best,
Ken

P.S. Will answer non-glasses post in a follow-up post. I just wanted to to give the final update (final until the review, anyway).

P.P.S. Nori just released another vid, this one of Meads Bay...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=796988976997615

It was a breezy day, so I sure found myself wishing for that gimbal. She was able to get some image stabilization with software, but I simply can't wait to get a gimbal. I'll post shortly on that next.

 

[KenKopter]

There was a time, fanredwings, that we didn't talk to Detroit fans, especially if they were from Canada! Of course, that was back when the NHL had 6 teams. ;-)

Being from Montreal originally, I had to stop watching hockey to preserve my mental health. So it doesn't matter anymore. We're doomed to never win again.

End of a dynasty, the Montreal Canadians. :-(

Thanks very much for the kind words, BTW. I'm glad you like the vids. I can't wait to get a gimbal, though...

Quite a bit of great footage from yesterday was unusable due to the breezes (for the vid that my daughter put up earlier this morning - see post above). It was just too shaky in the tradewinds. And I didn't notice the landing gear got into some of the best shots, accelerating over the beach (sun was too bright on the phone).

All that goes away with a decent gimbal.

The videos of how to remove the fish eye effect are excellent. Thank you. I forwarded them to Nori. I kind of like the "planetary horizon curve," it's almost an effect that one might do on purpose. But, after seeing the vids. the results do look sharp and natural.

To avoid taking this thread off-track, I have posted separately on the gimbal question...

DroneExpert of Rotorpixel, all things considered? It's at...

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10912

Thanks again, to all and especially Pull_Up!

All the best,
Ken

 

[dronoob]

Hi all,

Ok as i promised im back for an update.

I got the iTvGoggles set a few days ago. shipping was pretty quick.

i have the Phantom 2 Vision, so i use my iphone to get the live feed. The goggles are pretty neat, very very light, even lighter than my sunglasses. connecting them was pretty simple, just used the iphone adapter (iphone-to-vga). didnt have to make any adjustments to any settings or anything, the picture just popped up on the goggles. Quality is pretty good.

Overall i am very happy with them, they have a rubber light shield piece/mask or whatever it is called, doesn't block 100% of the external light, but does a pretty good job. I dont use them much anyways since i like to be able to look down at the control or the iphone from time to time, or just look up and get a visual of the craft in the air.

They also came with a hard shell carrying case which is compact and pretty easy to carry. i have started using the goggles for some other stuff too. it has a VGA input (primary input) so i have tried playing PC games on them which was fun (BF4, though some details are harder to see than a monitor). I have some racing games (Asphalt 8) on my iphone which was also pretty fun playing with the goggles connected.

Anyways, i hope this helps someone out there. i wish they were a bit less expensive, but i am satisfied...

 

[onesNzeros]

Would you say the quality is good enough to do close quarters flying? Can you send them to me and let me try yours before I buy them?

 

[dronoob]

Would you say the quality is good enough to do close quarters flying? Can you send them to me and let me try yours before I buy them?

I haven't done much close quarters flying, im still too paranoid about smashing the $1k+ aircraft into something. I gotta admit the phantom is pretty tough, but i have already managed to snap 2 propellers.

I would think for an "advanced" phantom pilot these goggles would definitely be something to try in close quarters.

If you are around West LA, i dont mind showing them to you at all.

 

[KenKopter]

Excellent, dronoob! Thanks very much for the review....

viewtopic.php?p=98999#p98999

They sound pretty good!

I imagine, at some point, you have to bite the bullet and just trust the glasses? Do you find that you have a much better view of where you are when in bright sun, compared to looking at the phone? Aside from the close-in work, do you find that you can do more advanced moves with greater precision?

I'm interested to hear if it improves you as a pilot compared to using the phone for FPV, and by how much.

As soon as we get the Fatsharks, I'll add my review here.

All the best,
Ken

P.S. For those not using iPhone, be sure to make sure that the iTVgoogles includes the adapter you need. For example, Kindle users need to buy a MICRO-HDMI to VGA adapter -- I've included the Amazon URL for that in an earlier post.

 

[dronoob]

i do prefer the itvgoggles over the iphone screen. it did some taking used to though.

I gotta admit there were moments i became so immersed that i had to sit down.

 

[onesNzeros]

Ok, so I just pulled the trigger on the iTVgoggles. Hopefully they'll be here before the weekend. :geek:

 

[Zacca]

.....and what happened after that? Any user reviews?

 

[DBeard]

And then... Don't you just love cliff hangers?

I'm considering a goggle purchase, myself. Here in Texas, the sun is just too much for monitor/tablet/phone setups. At first I was hyped about the BT-200 Moverios. But then I read the disappointment from helpful folks here that had used them. Alright then, next up Cinemizers. But wait. I hear they don't work well with an iPhone; so I'm thinking I need a iPad Mini, which I loathe the purchase. But I've seen a reviewer using a different connector than provided by Ziess used in concert with the iPhone (I already have and use an old 4S for FPV on the Vision+). That would mean no additional purchase there.

And what about the iTVGoggles. They look to rival the Cinemizers. Then I see a couple setups on the V2 (non-plused) where the head tracking moves the gimbal and I'm thinking, wuuuuuuut? That's what I want. Have I now just realized, that I should not have gone with the V2+, opting rather to assemble my own video solution?

Any of those choices are pretty damned expensive. I'm having a hard time because each choice seems to have major compromises. Somebody convince me to part with my money. It's so dirty I want to be rid of it, but only for perfection.

 

[onesNzeros]

I wasn't impressed with the ITVgoggles and sent them back for a refund. The video quality seemed too degraded. While the specs say that the goggles support HDMI, the connection is a connection to another adapter. When I spoke to the company support and explained to them my intended use and configuration, they even recommended against using the HDMI as the source input. So I changed my configuration to an iphone lightning to VGA connection (they're recommendation for best quality). And like I said, the quality was too degraded for me.

 

[DBeard]

I ordered a pair of Cinemizers, should be here tomorrow.