Foam Test: Beginner FPV - FPV Helicopter

Have you ever wanted to try fpv but you are reluctant to invest in expensive equipment right off the bat?
Then this build is for you! Ryan from Foam Test shows how to construct your own FPV ship for under $50 and get into fpv for under $100!

Review and Test Video

Build Video

Build Difficulty

This is very easy build for anyone who knows how to use a screwdriver and a soldering iron.

Piliot Experience Needed

Minimal experiance flying a 3-channel helicopter. Basic concept of how fpv works.

All Materials Used

• A Clear workspace
• Soldering iron and solder (any one will do, but a fine tip is recommended)
• Hot glue gun
• Razor blade
• Small amount of foam board 
• Small screwdriver (not sure of the exact size, but definitely smaller than most screw drivers)
• Syma S107G 3-channel helicopter
• https://www.amazon.com/Syma-S107G-Channel-Helicopter-Yellow/dp/B00DPK11ZA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1487347620&sr=8-7
• There are a bunch listed, this one is yellow and is about $23.

• Eachine fpv camera
• http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-EF-02-AIO-5_8G-40CH-25MW-800TVL-VTX-13-Cmos-FPV-Camera-p-1119217.html?rmmds=search
• This one from Banggood is around $25.

• Fpv goggles compatible with the camera
• http://www.banggood.com/Eachine-VR-007-5_8G-40CH-HD-FPV-Goggles-Video-Glasses-4_3-Inch-With-7_4V-800mAh-Battery-p-960761.html
• Ryan uses these Eachine VR-007 fpv goggles in the video. They are about $50 on Banggood.

Build Instructions

Begin by getting all of the materials together. You should also have the both the soldering iron had hot glue gun heated up.

Start by unscrewing the two screws that secure the canopy to the frame. They are located on the canopy near where the shaft for the rotors meets the frame.

You will notice that the wires are all jumbled up around the front of the circuit board. This will make it difficult to solder there.

Carefully pull the battery out of the black plastic holder a set it down away from the frame. This creates a little breathing room.
(Note: The white and yellow LED wires as well as the battery wires can vary in length. Move them around until the circuit board is easily accessible)

Before soldering, it is important to know which wires are which. Both positive and negative are on the corners of the exposed circuit board.

This the positive solder point, it is the red battery wire and the yellow LED wire.

This is the negative solder point, it is the black battery wire and the white LED wire.

Now it's time for the soldering. Solder the positive and negative wires of the fpv camera to the positive and negative spots on the circuit board. Use a small dab of hot glue to secure the connection from breaking during a flight or crash.

WARNING: It is very important that solder does not spill over to any other connections. To help keep this from happening, you can solder to the LED wires themselves.

2nd WARNING: Since the fpv camera is being wired directly to the battery, it will ALWAYS be on and drain the battery. If your fpv camera can not be unplugged, it is recomended that you wire a small connector to the helicopter and your fpv camera. This will allow you to unplug the fpv camera when not in use.

Hot glue to secure connection. (sorry for the poor quality image)

Here are the LED wires that you can choose to wire the fpv camera wires to.

For Stock Battery

The next step is to secure the fpv camera to the frame. 
First, remove the canopy by cutting the LED wires. (If you attached the fpv camera to the wires, make sure to cut them past that point)
Second, put the battery back in its place and glue the camera to it, make sure that there is a "ring" of hotglue around the antenna. This helps it stay on in a crash. 
Third, hot glue the battery to the black plastic battery holder.
Fourth, hot glue the back of the fpv camera body to the front of the black plastic battery holder.
Fifth, after the hot glue has dried, check for strength. Reinforce if necessary.

For Upgraded Battery:

If you upgraded the battery like Ryan did,
First, cut a small piece of foam board to support the fpv camera. It should be big enough to brace it, but small enough to fit.
Second, hot glue the foam board brace to the black plastic battery holder.
Third, hot glue the back of the fpv camera body to the front of the black plastic battery holder
Fourth, hot glue the antenna of the fpv camera to the foam board brace.
Fifth, hot glue the battery to the bottom of the helicopter between the skids.
Sixth, after the hot glue has dried, check for strength. Reinforce if necessary.

Finally, charge and fly!

Final Thoughts

Building and flying this fpv helicopter is a very rewarding experience. It is a cheap, stable and easy way to get into fpv without breaking the bank. It is also very sturdy and rugged. It would be hard to  crash it with enough force to cause serious damage. 

Note: The fpv helicopter will still fly with the stock battery, but performance is greatly improved with a battery upgrade. Ryan used a Venom 400mAh 1 cell drone battery. It is sold for around $10 on Venom's website and you may be able to find it sold cheaper elsewhere.
https://www.venompower.com/collections/venom-drone-batteries/products/venom-30c-1s-400mah-3-7v-lipo-micro-drone-battery-with-micro-losi-plug

Note: A small switch could also be installed in the fpv camera's wires to avoid having to unplug it all the time. 

Be sure to check out Foam Test's Youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1bFa1ucIsOK0Bh0Wlz87PA

and Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/foamtest

Happy Flying!

--Kyle from Foam Test