yes, i'm looking for something that can provide live Xmission from 15,000 feet ASL, that can be helmet mounted/body packed

Spot,

I'll make an inquiry and get back to you.

John

You might be able to find what you are looking for by Googling "unmanned aerial vehicle"

Spot considering your luck with the TSA at various airports, I'd have someone else Google that for you.

UAVs are actually finding their way into TONS of commercial applications. I just recently had lunch with a guy looking for investment money to expand a business he started two years ago. He uses a pretty big UAV (although not quite as big as a Predator) outfitted with some really fancy IR cameras. He then flys these over grape fields and runs them back and forth like a crop duster. At the end of the run, he has a complete imaging map of the entire field, which can show, down to the individual plant, whether they are being attacked by pests; have mold or other problem; whether they are getting too much or too little water, etc. Just prior to harvest, he can assess sugar content for each plant, and this information can be used to direct the people or machines picking the grapes to put certain bunches into the correct bins.

I mentioned the aerial wireless repeater use, which is used in disaster areas to help quickly reestablish communication when all the cell towers and police/fire repeater towers have been blown down or damaged.

So, pretty amazing stuff, with lots of very interesting commercial utility.

UAVs is a growing field without a doubt, but mobile communications gear with "range" outside the military is expense. Spot's helmet "package" probably will be a power monster vs a phone.
I don't off handed remember if 3W/5W ant. power is still permitted in aero mobile packages. With limited location reception, a 3D moving mobile transmission source may require additional phased lock technology given the short "flight" time. The uplink signal controls could be routed thru the aircraft for better "downward" coverage.

My email request for more info has been forwarded to half a dozen experts in the field. I hope to have some answers in 24-48 hours.

I believe at NAB IDX (the battery people) had a new wireless video link device. SIgnificantly smaller and cheaper and HD compared to the previous generation of gear. It *might* be small enough to head mount.

That said I've run out of space trying to check the max range of cheap LIPD RF video gear. My 5mW transmitter mounts on a hot shoe and is powered by AAA batteries. Uses a 6dB gain omni dipole. The receiver has a 12dB gain 'golden rod' yagi that's moderately directional. Tested over 100M and through several brick walls. Having clear line of sight makes a huge difference. I've seen video on Youtube from amateur rockets going up 1,000s of feet using this kind of kit.

Thing is you could increase the transmitter power to 500mW and still have a very small battery powered unit. You can increase receiver gain with a parabolic dish, you just need to keep it pointed at the transmitter, not that hard with something high up in the sky, just mount a scope on the side of the dish. Govideo from Taiwan sell a lot of this kit into the USA where the higher powered transmitters seem quasi legal.

I think the military UAVs use satellite links. Complications in getting access to that are obvious.

Link to IDX's Cam-Wave:

http://www.idxtek.com/press_room/news/?id=5

Bob.

I think the military UAVs use satellite links. Complications in getting access to that are obvious.

Actually, a surprising amount of military technology is described in detail out in the open. For this particular technology, check out this site:

Airforce Technology.com


[Edit] I just poked around some more and found this DIY UAV video:

DIY UAVs

In the video, they talk about how they put video on small RC-sized airplanes (basically, model airplanes). Their solution was to simply use a cell phone camera, which was set to transmit continuously. Crude, but a very simple solution with pretty much any range you want to have.

Now, if a cell phone can work at 15,000 feet, could you bond to it from the digital output of a better camera than what is built into the cell phone, and use that to get the signal to the ground? I can certainly surf the web on my laptop in a car traveling down the road by bonding to the cell phone through Bluetooth.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for some expert advice via email, but that's my contribution to this for the moment.