ImmersionRC Race Band vs non Race Band

[Derek]

So, I was shopping for a new ImmersionRC 600mw vtx the other day. I went to www.readymaderc.com, as I usually do when looking for FPV gear.

I saw that there is now an ImmersionRC Race Band line up (25mw, 200mw, and 600mw). The vtx that I bought last time was not Race Band.

Here are the two links to each vtx, the first link being the vtx that I bought:

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... cts_id=266
http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=4471

It looks like the Race Band vtx has 15 channels, whereas the non Race Band vtx only has 7. Are there any other advantages to the Race Band vtx besides more channels? Both are the same price and since I won't be racing, I can't imagine that either would be better than the other.

What do you guys think?

[Graham Lawrie]

More channels the better if racing. 200 is more than enough. I bought all mine at 600 when I did not know anything.

[danhampson]

+1 on 200 mw being enough you only really need 600mw if you planning on doing long range stuff.
Race band just gives you more options for channels but if your using fat shark goggles you would have to upgrade you vrx to one that does 32 channels rather than the standard fat shark 7

[Derek]

Im hoping to be able to fly around my entire flying area. Its pretty big. That's why I opted for the 600mw. I have no concept of how far a 200mw would get me but Im confident the 600mw will cover my needs/wants.

My vrx is a 32 channel rx. I got it from www.getfpv.com.

When I ordered my new vtx, I did not get the Race Band tx. For me, I imagine either would do the job.

[pvolcko]

Does it depend on the type of course? 200mW good for open field stuff but 600mW needed for forest type courses?

[cml001]

What I was think'n... 600 will give better penetration... Lol... I said penetration.

[Derek]

What I was think'n... 600 will give better penetration... Lol... I said penetration.

If that's the case, then the 600mw is what I want.

[Derek]

Ok guys...I apologize....I need to revisit this. I have this silly quad still sitting on the shelf and it bothers me. I'm going to try to spend some more time trying to get this sucker flying again. Hopefully I can get it flying well again. If I can get it flying well again, I'm going to need another vtx. I have an ImmersionRC 600mw vtx on my FPV Skyfun. I was talking to a few people in an FPV group on Facebook and they were telling me that I really don't want the same ImmersionRC 600mw vtx on an FPV quad that will be flown with other quad flyers. They were telling me to get a Race Band vtx. That's all fine and dandy but no one could or would tell me "why" I needed to get a Race Band vtx instead of the same ImmersionRC 600mw vtx. Don't ya just hate that? Someone tells you "NO" but no one will give an explanation as to "why".

Now, I do understand that I don't need a 600mw vtx for my fpv quad because I will likely only be flying within 200 yards or so. I have noticed that the ImmersionRC 600mw vtx is $70 new and I saw that www.readymaderc.com has an ImmersionRC 200mw Race Band vtx for $40. I certainly have nothing against saving $30 but can someone explain to me why the ImmersionRC 600mw vtx won't work while flying with others? I don't understand.

[danhampson]

I'd you are flying alone a 600mw vtx will be fine but if you fly with others the nearest 600mw to your vrx will swamp out your signal rendering your video feed useless, for a moment or 2, by which time your quad will have taken a dirt nap.

Race band uses the full spectrum of 5.8g and gives more separation between the used channels in theory this gives each pilot better video quality thus enabling 8 pilots to fly at the same time without tramping all over the next channel or 2.
Another consideration is to either run audio from the vtx or to ground the audio channel on your vtx as if it is not grounded the audio section of your 5.8g spreads swamping the other channels on 5.8 reducing video quality for pilots that are flying with you.

I had a very long discussion about this with the director of fpv racing in the UK at a race meet earlier in the year

Hope this helps Derek.

[Derek]

Yeah...I think that helps. So, I need to order the race band video tx in order to fly with my buddies. That's a bummer.

[danhampson]

If there are only a 2-3 people you would be fine but for racing (pilots can be seperated top middle and bottom of the same band ie boscam or fatshark or what ever) with 5+ pilots then race band is a must. Also check that your Goggles are compatible with race band. I had to upgrade the vrx module in my dominator v2's so that they will run race band and pretty much any 5.8g signal.

[Lee]

I have a 200 mW Immersion RC Race band VTX on the way to me now from Bang good.
Also order two sets of Aomway antennas as they got great reviews from Bruce on RCmodelreviews.

[Derek]

If there are only a 2-3 people you would be fine but for racing (pilots can be seperated top middle and bottom of the same band ie boscam or fatshark or what ever) with 5+ pilots then race band is a must. Also check that your Goggles are compatible with race band. I had to upgrade the vrx module in my dominator v2's so that they will run race band and pretty much any 5.8g signal.

Ok, so it sounds like I'll need the race band vtx....and at $40, it's $30 less than the other 600mw vtx that I already have. As for my Goggles...I have the 32 channel ImmersionRC Duo. I was just trying to find a link to the vrx that I have but it seems that it's no longer available and has been replaced by a "Race Band" version. This makes me wonder if the Race Band vtx will even work with my vrx. It's almost sounding like I'll need to order an all new Race Band setup if I plan on flying with others. Bummer!

[Stambo]

A race band VTX will still transmit on all the other bands too but if you want to take advantage of raceband frequencies you will need a race band compatible receiver.
Having said that, I just got some 200mw Immersion race band VTXs because they were cheaper than the non raceband ones and are still compatible with my non raceband receivers.
They work just fine.
If you wish to fly regularly with other people best thing to do is work out what frequency each will use in advance and maintain at least 40mhz separation. Unless you are flying with more than 3 more people, standard frequencies should still be ok.
Bear in mind, some of these frequencies are not legal in some countries.

VTX freq.png (4.23 KiB) Viewed 4908 times

[pvolcko]

Derek, note that RB has some channels that fall out of the allowed US ISM spectrum range. 5.725-5.875GHz is allowed (if you have a ham license). So RB ch 1, 2, 7, and 8 are illegal to use in the US. Compared to the normal FS/IRC band which only has one channel, ch 8, that falls outside the allowed range. E is entirely outside the legal range. A and B are both fully within it.

RB makes better use of the spectrum (at least concerning near channel interference issues), but it also ends up being more limiting within the US since there are only 4 channels you can actually use legally.

But this is all kind of moot as far as a purchase decision. The RB capable transmitters should all support the other bands and channels too. You may need to get a new Rx to pick up the RB channels, but you will still be able to use the new RB capable Tx before you get the RB capable Rx by just selecting the FS/IRC band or one of the others that is already supported by your existing vrx. So if the RB capable vtx is cheaper and it supports the other bands, go with it.

[Derek]

Sounds real good, guys! Thanks a lot!!!

[Derek]

Here's a scenario......

Paul, Lee, Stambo, Graham, and I are getting together for an FPV meet (how cool would that be!!!! lol). What if Paul, Lee, Stambo, and Graham all have their Race Band systems with RHCP antennas and I had LHCP antennas on my non-Race Band ImmersionRC system. Would that work? Or do I still just need to order a RB System?

[Lee]

If you are running LHCP then you will be fine.
I was looking for a flight ticket in my mail box. Thought I was on my way to the US for a minute LOL

[Derek]

If you are running LHCP then you will be fine.
I was looking for a flight ticket in my mail box. Thought I was on my way to the US for a minute LOL

Cool...Then I'll be getting the VAS Air Blades LHCP.

And as far as the flight ticket to the US....I'm sorry, Lee!

[pvolcko]

Yeah, you can use alternate polarization to help keep the signals from clobbering each other. They actually recommend you do that in a race situation with a number of people. Space out the channels as best you can and alternate LH vs RH polarization.