Adding a FPV cam to RC car (not drone)

[Jm2576]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum section for FPV cameras but I didn't see any other sections that matched. I'm looking to add a FPV camera system to my RC car but not sure where to begin because most of what i see is meant for drones and not cars. Are there any good websites or places to look for more info? Thanks.

 

[Brady Matthews]

Have you tried amain hobbies or amazon?

 

[DavidB1126]

Dunno about FPV cameras, what I would do its use a GoPro, insta360 or any.general action camera with a suction mount. But those can only record, can't use like a V/R set with it.

My RadioLink radio (RC8X) offers FPV mapping and V/R. Might be something looking into, but be aware of interference issues. I use mine mainly at the track with other racers, so might not be an issue for you if your running out in the open land outside.

 

[WickedFog]

Been years since I messed with building an FPV drone, and I had help. But back then, you needed a camera, VTX, antennas, and a set of goggles. I am sure there are YT vids on how to install one. The goggles are where it gets expensive.

RunCam Phoenix 2 Micro FPV Camera 1000TVL FOV 155° Super Global WDR Day&Night Freestyle Cam with 2.1mm Lens 4:3/16:9 Switchable for FPV Drone,etc. https://a.co/d/94EDnfr

AKK 5.8GHz PIT/200mW/400mW/800mW/1000mW Switchable VTX FPV Transmitter Long Range Version with Smart Audio and Microphone for FPV Racing Drone RC Cars Quadcopter https://a.co/d/9Hd5BVn

Foxeer 2pcs FPV Antenna Lollipop 5.8G 2.6dBi Super Mini RHCP Antenna SMA Male for RC Drone FPV Quadcopeter Multicopter TX/RX (Black) https://a.co/d/ejj7Kj9

For goggles, there are many offerings from cheap junk to super nice expensive ones. You'll have to do your research there.

Or you can buy a DJI FPV system. Pretty pricey, but easier to use and setup.

 

[Addict Rc]

You can use a drone FPV setup for an RC car. Run it off a separate battery most likely. Of course I can’t find the link to the one that’s made for RC cars specifically. But if I do I’ll drop it in here. Good luck and happy new year

 

[STONER RC]

That's definitely a interesting idea. But it would definitely be some $$. To get a steady shot/veiw at all time out of the system. Unless your useing it in a crawler or something else thats slow...

What type of vehicle you thinking of putting it in??

 

[Jm2576]

Thanks for the replies and the links. They are very helpful. This narrows it down quite a bit. I am planning on putting everything on my crawler. It's 1/24 scale so it's a little on the small side. I'm looking at the Runcam camera and AKK transmitter, but now I think I need to find a bracket to mount them to. If I can find find something 2 or 3 inches long with an antenna mount that would be perfect.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

Putting all that on a 1/24 is going to be challenging. I recently put fpv on my infraction (1/7 scale) and it works great but takes up a substantial amount of room. All of the Vtx's I found were pretty large. About half the size of a 1/24 scale truck bed. Then you have the cam and battery. I used the smallest 3s I could find and it's still pretty large. Adding all that weight to a 1/24 might be too much.

Don't let me deter you, I'm sure there's smaller equipment out there, but everything I found that was fairly universal was pretty large. Easily doable on 1/10, but 1/24...... Ill be impressed if you make that work.

As far as the bracket, you'd be better off just building something custom to your needs. I used some aluminum scrap I had laying around.

 

[Brady Matthews]

Putting all that on a 1/24 is going to be challenging. I recently put fpv on my infraction (1/7 scale) and it works great but takes up a substantial amount of room. All of the Vtx's I found were pretty large. About half the size of a 1/24 scale truck bed. Then you have the cam and battery. I used the smallest 3s I could find and it's still pretty large. Adding all that weight to a 1/24 might be too much.

Don't let me deter you, I'm sure there's smaller equipment out there, but everything I found that was fairly universal was pretty large. Easily doable on 1/10, but 1/24...... Ill be impressed if you make that work.

As far as the bracket, you'd be better off just building something custom to your needs. I used some aluminum scrap I had laying around.

Mrgoodwrench35 has the right idea and I was also thinking that you could also build one custom for your needs like what Mrgoodwrench35 just said.

 

[WickedFog]

Putting all that on a 1/24 is going to be challenging. I recently put fpv on my infraction (1/7 scale) and it works great but takes up a substantial amount of room. All of the Vtx's I found were pretty large. About half the size of a 1/24 scale truck bed. Then you have the cam and battery. I used the smallest 3s I could find and it's still pretty large. Adding all that weight to a 1/24 might be too much.

Don't let me deter you, I'm sure there's smaller equipment out there, but everything I found that was fairly universal was pretty large. Easily doable on 1/10, but 1/24...... Ill be impressed if you make that work.

As far as the bracket, you'd be better off just building something custom to your needs. I used some aluminum scrap I had laying around.

MOST VTx boards are built to fit in a stack on FPV drones and are only 36mm square. They would fit between the rear frame rails.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

And then you have to power it with another battery, wiring, antenna, and mount the cam. Maybe a 6x6 1/24?

I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it's going to be difficult. I'd start out on a bigger platform to make it easier.

When I get home this afternoon, ill post some pics of the fpv setup I did on the Infraction. I used the smallest components I could find and it still took up a lot of room.

I recently saw some 1/24 or 1/28 scale cars that came fpv and pretty cheap. pretty ugly and the cam wasn't concealed at all but relatively small. Maybe buy one of those and rob parts?

 

[WickedFog]

And then you have to power it with another battery, wiring, antenna, and mount the cam. Maybe a 6x6 1/24?

I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it's going to be difficult. I'd start out on a bigger platform to make it easier.

When I get home this afternoon, ill post some pics of the fpv setup I did on the Infraction. I used the smallest components I could find and it still took up a lot of room.

I recently saw some 1/24 or 1/28 scale cars that came fpv and pretty cheap. pretty ugly and the cam wasn't concealed at all but relatively small. Maybe buy one of those and rob parts?

You don't need another battery to power it. The one I linked will run off 7-28v. Just splice into the battery cable to ESC. Just add a small Castle BEC to manage a constant voltage to the VTx if needed. I have a complete FPV system I could easily stick in a 24th scale crawler. It's currently in my 6" racing drone.

 

[Addict Rc]

If you do go with 1 battery. I’d recommend getting a bigger battery than stock. Like either 450MAH or 900MAH. More MAH longer runtime. I personally have the 450MAH Urgenex. I like them. But really any battery made for the SCX24 with minimum of 450MAH should be good. So you get a good ~30 minutes run time

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

I made the bracket big enough to hold the lipo for the cam as well.

 

[Jm2576]

What does the Castle BEC do? I plan on tapping into the battery cable just before the radio transmitter. I figure I would get less interference that way. I also need to get some connectors and an on off switch for the wire going to the camera.
My crawler is the SCX24 Deadbolt. There appears to be plenty of room on top of the roof rack to put everything once i figure out some mounting options.

 

[WickedFog]

A BEC is basically a voltage regulator. If running a 2S battery, the battery starts out at 8.4v fully charged, and drains to 7.2v or so by the time you drain it. So if you want 7v going to your VTx, you can set that output on the BEC to maintain 7v throughout the pack.

 

[Xraycer]

I just came across this YT vid. Sooo cool! I'm going to have to look into this fpv car racing thing.

 

[WickedFog]

I just came across this YT vid. Sooo cool! I'm going to have to look into this fpv car racing thing.

That's pretty darned awesome.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to drive full on FPV. Granted, I've only tried it on a drift car that spends most of its time sideways. Maybe a wide angle cam would help.

 

[WickedFog]

Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to drive full on FPV. Granted, I've only tried it on a drift car that spends most of its time sideways. Maybe a wide angle cam would help.

You need FPV goggles with the head tracking feature. With that, you can mount the camera atop a verically mounted servo. When you turn your head, the camera turns as well. Go one step further, you lay a servo flat atop the other servo, and mount the top servo to the side of your camera. You have now created a gimbal you move with your head movement. DJI only came out with their system after people began using head tracking goggles for custom built FPV drones.

Watch the camera mounted in this cockpit