Monday, May 07, 2012

FPV #4: CEN MINI MADNESS ground FPV

Once again out of curiosity and itchy to test new experience into ground FPV exploration i bought myself 1/16 mini monster truck: "CEN MINI MADNESS" from my friend who let go at bargained price.  Then got myself bunch of micro scale FPV hardwares which could fit into this small scale models but mostly basic setup, simple OSD module, miniature wide angle CMOS cam at 520TVL with 120 degree POV lense, pan-tlit head tracking system, 5.8ghz vtx, standard antenna and powered with 1 cell lipo.  Took just a day to built and simple test it on the ground without hassle. 
After some test run at our local field and beating around dirt, gravel bushes and etc where this little moster truck can go it seem ground FPV was not exciting as what i could have expected.  Even after setup my cam view high above the truck platform my 270 degree point of view over the landscape seem to be limited and unable to identify further horizon over at leat 60m distance.  It was a boring and dull FPV experience because i expect to be able to see more stuff from the ground.  Probably the truck isn't high enough to view over the obstacles as what i see people did same ground FPV on Youtube website.  However it still a fun way to drive via cockpit view and able to see lots of activity surrounding near by object and people wirelessly.  For people that walk passby this little machine they seems to be amused by what they think was a small robotic UAV truck watching over them. 
For conclusion if want you to go ground FPV get a bigger and taller off-road truck to be able to view higher above the terrains or bushes.  My CEN MINI MADNESS truck ended back into the cupboard after running over one week.  I prefer flying than driving, more fun, more things to see, efficient, cheaper and more adventurous.
















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