Removal of camera

Right I want to fly fpv. Tho with the sv using wifi it’s impossible. Major lag and loss of feed after about 3feet. So I have a plan of moding the frame to fit a eachine tx02 . Tho to do this I need to remove the camera. But I see it’s all wired into a sealed board. Is there a way I can just disconect or can I just cut it out without affecting any other systems?

I’m certainly not an expert, but I believe you’ll have to remove the Sonix board completely to remove the camera. The problem there being you’re going to lose the APWeb, Wifi and more, because all of that is part of the Sonix board. I’ve thought similar thoughts. I looked into trying to replace the camera with the RunCam Split mini…or RunCam Split 2 which may be better because that already has a wifi module. You’ll still lose APWeb, but that’s ok, you can still change parameters and do calibrations and such with Mission Planner. I haven’t looked really hard into it, but the power requirements for the split 2 might be equivalent to the Sonix…but probably a little higher, so you’ll lose some flight time.

Edit: I didn’t know much about the board you posted, but it looks pretty cool, and clearly already has a wireless cape, for FPV goggles. So i guess if you already have compatible goggles, that makes the most sense. I’m having a hard time picturing the dimensions of that board though, and whether it’ll fit in the nose of the SV. Either way, you’ll still need to remove the Sonix board. I’d very much like to see a full article build on this, as once I finally kill my SV through crazy flying, I’ll finally be willing to start doing some modding. :slight_smile:

I was hoping to leave the sonix board in place, an just cut out the camera. Tho was not sure if could open the sonix board and remove camera or just cut the camera out (straight cut across connecting ribbon). would this cause issues?

The new camera is a all in one system.

Dimensions are 11mm L x10mm H x 8mm D (not including ariel) . I have checked and will need to adapt the nose a little and slotting the shell for the Ariel . Tho not by a lot. I have some capatible goggles on route to me eachine ev100 with the external dvr.

I still think you may want to reconsider keeping the Sonix. The only advantage you’re getting by keeping it is the APWeb. And, by leaving it, you’re still having to power it with the 1S battery already on board. This new camera also requires 1S power. I don’t know the power consumption of the Sonix board, but likely they are pretty close. So you won’t sacrifice flight time.

Is there a reason you want to keep the Sonix?
I have no idea, but I would think there is a chance the Sonix firmware may not work quite right with a snipped camera ribbon cable. :slight_smile:

Looks like a fun project, let me know how it goes.

Main reason I want to keep the sonix board is to keep flight logs. Also it’s handy to keep the wifi ability to use the app for battery and GPS information during line of sight flights.

Tho if I removed the sonix board I would in fact save a few grams in weight which would extend my flight time.

I have already checked flight times (just hovering) with the camera wired up and cable tied to the shell. An I got around 9mins of flight.

How i wired it

What is that battery you have? Does that fit in the cradle?

It’s a cheapo 3.7v 1200mah battery off eBay. Yes it fits in the cradle, tho be honest it’s junk. Only last about 2mins if that. Tho it’s good for testing circuits and setting up over apwepp . Saves using the original battery during set up so I get max flight time out of it.

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I’m interested in your antenna mod for more range.
Can you amplify?
I also noticed when moving my LEDs that one of the antenna leads was magnetically attached to one motor case. Wonder what effect this could have had?

As far as batteries go I’ve read (take it with a grain of salt) that for 1S batteries sold by Tattu are highly rated. Bought a pack of them for my TW conversion of an M550 and very impressed with the 6 to 7 min flight time. I think the largest capacity 1S they have is 850mah but have not ordered any for the GPS.

For a better antenna for the transmitter I’ve looked into building a small Yagi. Obviously not Omni-directional but it would be interesting to see if it would work distance wise. Another idea to play with.

@JEFFGORDON my antenna mod is just relocating the original. I’ve not done anything else. I do feel it’s made a difference. As I am sure the being so close to a motor does affect it to a degree.

Thanks . . . it’s on my list.