1/8 Scale HL Abrams

[Ecam]

I have that same BBQ!

What an amazing job! First time I've witnessed Coax MG smoke, very cool. I don't think it was covered (or I simply missed it) can you view real time with the cameras? Can it be driven while the Abrams is out of line of sight? CROWS is amazing in itself.

Way over my technical abilities, but fascinating to watch. Well done Jib.

[Jib]

I have that same BBQ!

What an amazing job! First time I've witnessed Coax MG smoke, very cool.

Thanks!

I don't think it was covered (or I simply missed it) can you view real time with the cameras? Can it be driven while the Abrams is out of line of sight?

So I did a post after I first joined here on hooking up what I’ll call a drone grade FPV system. What I have done here with this model is essentially the same as what I detailed in that post and have done with some of my other 1/16 scale models.

https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums ... hp?t=36049

But to answer your question, yes, everything seen in the video is in real time, it is not shot with a GoPro like you see in a lot of pretty FPV videos. I use an FPV monitor on a mount attached to my radio. So as I am driving the model I can navigate by camera, instead of by line of sight. It makes it a lot easier to “thread the needle” when driving through tight spaces.

Yes it can be driven out of line of sight, but the signal tends to get wonky when you get things like buildings, trees, and bushes in the way. Not unusable, but glitchy. When you have a drone up in there air, there aren’t a lot of physical objects to interfere with your signal, but on the ground, yeah you’ve got a lot of stuff in the way. If you can be up high, without a lot of obstructions you can get a better signal. Because I use a directional patch antenna instead of an omnidirectional antenna, it also makes a big difference if I am directly facing the tank, even if I can’t see it due to distance or obstructions.

Best I have done with a tank is about 1/4 of a mile. I could no longer see the tank, but the video was decent until I got past around that mark. And this was with a VTX (video transmitter) that is not as strong as the one in this 1/8 scale model.

[Ecam]

Wicked cool! And WAY over my head. The airborne drone makes perfect sense for a clear signal. 1320 feet is impressive for ground based range too. I remember late 70s and early eighties that a 100 foot range was iffy. Congrats on a stellar job Jib!

[Jib]

Wicked cool! And WAY over my head. The airborne drone makes perfect sense for a clear signal. 1320 feet is impressive for ground based range too. I remember late 70s and early eighties that a 100 foot range was iffy. Congrats on a stellar job Jib!

Yeah that’s just the range on the VTX. I’m using a Radiomaster TX16S with ELRS protocol, and that time I went beyond the range of the VTX, I was still able to turn the model around without moving from where I was and drive back into range of the VTX so I could see again. I’ve no idea what the range on the ELRS protocol is, but it’s got to be something crazy.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Heavens to Murgatroid! What a hoot, Jib! 1/4 mile! I would guess that a little tank showing up with no one in attendance could cause quite a stir. I wonder if the technology you are using is the same sort I have seen in Madison, Wisconsin. With gazillions of students and young professionals around, the sidewalks are frequented by little pizza delivery robots, going merrily on their way without any trouble. I do get a kick out of seeing them.

[Jib]

Heavens to Murgatroid! What a hoot, Jib! 1/4 mile! I would guess that a little tank showing up with no one in attendance could cause quite a stir. I wonder if the technology you are using is the same sort I have seen in Madison, Wisconsin. With gazillions of students and young professionals around, the sidewalks are frequented by little pizza delivery robots, going merrily on their way without any trouble. I do get a kick out of seeing them.

My dad lived in Madison for a time when I was a kid, really cool little town. I remember the University’s student run ice cream parlor and sitting outside at Union square.

Doesn’t surprise me at all that they have robots roaming around delivering pizzas. I’d imagine that’s probably like Waymo for pizza rather than having some actually piloting it.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Babcock Dairy Store: https://babcockdairystore.wisc.edu/ It's a good thing I am 50 miles away. I must daily fight my ice cream addiction as it is. If a carton of ice cream gets in my house, I mainline it, topped off with a snort of whipped cream.

[Jib]

That’s the one, good stuff!

On an unrelated note, I just discovered that the audio on the FPV portions of my video sound like hot garbage. It didn’t sound like that before I uploaded the video, something must have gotten compressed and/or distorted during the upload process.

I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it that the audio from the microphone does sound good through the video receiver speaker.