RCA AV cable to iPhone - possible?

[TheNiceGuy]

Hi all

I just bought a wireless AV system that uses 2 RCA cables. Is there any way to hook these into the iPhone (use the iPhone as a screen)?

Also, what's the easiest way to plug them into our new lenovo g550, which has no svideo hookup?

 

[pm]

You can hook an iPhone up to a TV or AV system to have the iPhone output a video/stereo signal using a cable like this:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB129LL/B

There are cheaper alternatives on Ebay - but watch out to make sure that it will work without jailbreaking and that it will work with your particular iPhone models. Usually you'll need to ante up ~$20 to get a "real" cable. The ones that are cheaper have limitations. There's also component video cables for a higher quality video output.

You can't hook something up as a video input to an iPhone that I'm aware of - there's no way to take an external source and play it on an iPhone without transferring the video file through iTunes or through an app like Slingbox player.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Thank you!

I bought a wireless camera for FPV RC aircraft. What I want to do is link the incoming AV signal (via 2 RCA cables) to my PC or our laptop. SOunds like the iPhone is out. My PC is in my sig. Can the 4850 accept incoming RCA signals? I know the Lenovo can't, but is it possible to get an extension card of some kind for that? I hope to be able to watch the incoming video and record it.

Thank you again!

 

[pm]

I've done that. I fly electric RC airplanes as well. A year or two ago, I bought a pair of E-Vex video glasses from Toys R Us for $45 and then split the RCA and recorded the signal on the input of my Sony TRV30 camcorder. About the only major problem that I had was that I fly with a Spektrum transmitter and the best video cameras for downlinking are 2.4GHz as well.

Still, when I got it working it worked really well. It's a rush doing high speed fly-bys on yourself viewing it from the view from front of the plane.

I crashed the plane that I was using at some point and haven't made a new one - I have a wing that I'm working on to replace it but the CoG is off and I haven't figured out what to do about it. The big problem with flying FPV was that it was too easy to fly from the view from the plane... until you lose the signal because you've gone to far. The first couple of flights went great but as I got used to it it was too easy to forget that I needed to stay close to myself.... and then when I lost the video feed, I needed to take off the glasses quickly and then figure out where the plane actually is... and by then it's too late.

As far as recording from a computer... what you need is a gizmo that is designed to allow people to record their old videotapes to a PC. Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...509484-3438431
...except maybe one with better reviews. Google "videotape to computer".

I added two photos. Neither is my FPV plane... I'm not sure if I have a photo of that or not. I have some videos on the camcorder though. First photo is of a Wingo with a camera (no wireless downlink though) and the second is a shot from the foothills nearby that I took from another plane entirely using an HP camera from about 500ft. up.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Sorry for the delay!
Gorgeous picture. And that other looks like a converted WingDragon?
I got the chance to test the gear and was really disappointed.
Bit more info.

The picture is in black/white. No sound. At best, I can get a very poor quality double image I can barely make out with a couple of large bars across the screen. Can't imagine flying with it! I triple checked all connections. I'm not missing something am I, like some kind of format issue or something? A new 9V battery instantly degrades what little picture there was, and disappears to total static within a couple of minutes. The transmitter gets really hot, almost too hot to hold, within a couple of minutes, and stays that way.
I tested at 2 different places, and disconnected the wireless phone and wifi power. NO other transmitting gear, etc., RC or otherwise, was used. I used TVs with RCA inputs. Cord power, unless noted.

Is this normal for this unit? If so, I've got that sinking feeling I need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars if I want to shoot a nice color video from a plane (using FPV gear).

Is the above correct?

By the way - here's the gear (with shipping about $80):

http://r2hobbies.com/jp/proddetail.php?prod=rcsc00004_code


Thanks for your help

 

[pm]

The picture is in black and white? But the link is for color...?

I used a 2.4GHz Swan wireless camera/transmitter plus receiver that I saw on sale at Home Depot. As I recall it was $60-80 - defintely less than $100. I have it set up to drive the camera/transmitter from my 3S lipoly pack directly by using a LM317 chip ($2 from Radio Shack).

I'm not sure that I can help you much. My Swann 2.4GHz doesn't get hot... the picture is color and is pretty good, not "wow that's amazing!" good but definitely good enough to make decent moves. It's generally crisp and when I lose the signal, it doesn't get fuzzy... it just disappears (fuzzy might have been better than . About the only really bad thing that I have is that the auto white balance is a bit slow and so if you don't hold the plane steady, the white balance lags and then you have the screen go very white and very dark. But if you are slow with your movements (lots of expo given the throws on my planes) then it works well enough.

You do not need to spend lots of money, but generally the more you spend the better things get. I'm content enough with the quality of what I had - the glasses were half-resolution and the range of the system was not as much as I'd liked. But I could boost those with antenna improvements... I guess you have to decide how much you want to do this, and how much quality you want. If you want a really nice signal with great range then you'll need to drop several hundred dollars at a place like Black Widow A/V (http://www.blackwidowav.com/). If you want something that's fun to mess around with at a park, a 2.4GHz Swann setup from Home Depot works ok... although I had to switch back to my 72MHz R/C transmitter to get it to work.

As far as the problems you are having... I have few ideas. You could try talking to the store you bought it from. You could try a lower voltage. As you wrote it, it sounds like it's overheating. Put a heatsink on the transmitter? Try 5V or 7.2V instead of 9V? Still, it if was me, I'd be talking to the guy that I bought it from.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Ah, thanks so much for the links.
I'm working through the problem on another forum, but it looks like my TX is a dud. So I hope I can have a hassle free return to R2 Hobbies who I bought it from. They say returns are OK.