In an attempt to confirm that the VCOs produced the desired frequency, he ordered a similar 2.4 GHz VCOs and built a short range (20 cm) WiFi jammer. This failed to produce any identifiable image on his video receiver goggles. He bought a couple of 5.8 GHz VCOs from Aliexpress, and created and used a simple opamp circuit to boost the FPV camera video signal to the required input level for the VCO. It is essentially analog video signal, frequency modulated onto a 5.8 GHz carrier signal transmitted through an appropriately sized antenna.Īfter a brief failed experiment with a simple circuit built from discrete components, turned his attention to voltage-controlled oscillators (VCO). The technology is very similar to the old analog TV broadcasts, but mainly uses the 5.8 GHz license-free bands. The video quality isn’t great, but it has the advantage of very low latency. While digital technology has caught up to the FPV world, a lot of systems still use analog video, especially for drone racing. After flying and crashing a cheap FPV drone for a bit, decided to try his hand at building his own video transmitter, which turned out to be a lot harder than expected. The proliferation of FPV drones has brought a flood of cheap wireless video tech.
