Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Discussion about this major DATV Project. See https://wiki.batc.org.uk/The_Portsdown_Transmitter
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dl5eu
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 9:13 pm

Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by dl5eu » Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:50 am

Dear all,

I have set up a Portsdown 4 with a Pluto. The system works, I can transmit the TestCard and the PiScreen.

At this moment I only have an old PAL camera available that I have connected to the composite input of my EasyCap dongle. The dongle is perhaps not the model that has been sold by the BATC, but when I choose Video Monitor, Pi Cam Monitor or C920 Monitor in menu M2, the camera signal is displayed on the screen. This confirms that the dongle is recognised by the Portsdown and that the camera works.

My problem is that I am unable to transmit this signal. Which option(s) do I have to choose on the Portsdown 4 when I want to transmit the signal that comes from the EasyCap dongle? None of the source options Pi Cam, CompVid, Webcam or HDMI works in this case.

Thank you very much for your help.

Kind regards,

Ralf

g8lce
Posts: 340
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:26 am

Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by g8lce » Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:31 am

This happens a lot with video to USB converters. There are HDMI to USB converters that do a similar thing. You may even find some way to transmit the video by connecting something else to the USB ( or not connecting something ) but you are probably not going to get the system to work as you want as if the video works the audio probably will not. Streaming to the Portsdown from a computer or HDMI to stream converter may be the way to get your camera into the Portsdown. OBS or vMix on a PC will do the job and work with your USB converter probably.

Martin G8LCE

dl5eu
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap

Post by dl5eu » Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:11 am

Hello Martin,

thank you for your answer but my question was not how to get the EasyCap running. I am new to DATV and perhaps I was not clear enough.

I have written in my post that the video signal from the EasyCap dongle is displayed on the Pi screen in monitor mode. To me this confirms that my EasyCap dongle works (even if I have not checked audio yet).

As my EasyCap is recognised by the Portsdown, the video is displayed on the Raspberry Pi in monitor mode and the Portsdown was designed to transmit a signal coming from this kind of source, I would like to know which option I have to choose on the Portsdown 4 to get the EasyCap as video and audio source. Or ist this mode no longer supported by the Portsdown 4? In this case it should be removed from the menu.

I know that I can stream from OBS to the the Portsdown or even directly to the Pluto without a Portsdown in the middle. The point is that a friend of mine and me are looking for an easy to use stand-alone solution for DVB-T, not something where you always need a PC to transmit or receive. It looked to me that the most recent version of the Portsdown 4 would do the job.

Kind regards,

Ralf DL5EU

G8GKQ
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by G8GKQ » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:07 pm

Ralf

The problem is that the H264-encoding software for the Portsdown Transmitter only works with one type of EasyCap, the Fushicai USBTV007. We used to sell these in the BATC Shop (we sold 550 in total), but have been unable to get new stock in quantities of less than 1000.

The Video monitor mode is a lot less fussy and works with nearly all EasyCap types. Unfortunately this is not an indicator that it will work with the transmitter.

I am hoping to solve this problem in the next few months with new software, but it will take a while.

Dave, G8GKQ

dl5eu
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by dl5eu » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:36 pm

Hello Dave,

thank you for this clarification.

I am quite new to DATV and absolutely new to Portsdown. I will try to find out which software is used in the Portsdown project and how it works. Perhaps this will help me to understand better why things that seem simple sometimes are so complicated :-)

Perhaps I will just have to wait a bit longer. I have a look at the BATC shop every day in order not to miss the arrival of the DVB-T NIMs.

I have got two other video capture devices, a Hauppauge! USB Live2 and an old Pinnacle 710-USB. Is there any chance that one of them will work with Portsdown in the future? If not, what would you recommend is the best way to go for a stand-alone solution?

Ralf, DL5EU

dc1op
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by dc1op » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:13 pm

Hi Ralf,

try to get it from Conrad. The Model No. is BR 116 at cost of approx. 12€. It either works or not. Mine works. The investment for the test is low, in my mind.

73, Hubertus, dc1op

dl5eu
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by dl5eu » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:28 pm

Hello Hubertus,

I have already done this.

Even if I have not got it from Conrad, it is labeled "EasyCap" and was offered with the Fushicai chip. It is impossible to see what is inside because the chip has been sanded but the USB ID shows that it is not Fushicai. So, even if it is not a big loss, I have already payed for this try and if there is only a 50:50 chance anyway to get a working item, I will not do it again.

If the only working solution for a standalone TRX is a camera like the C920, I will try to get one. I think they are still sold.

73 Ralf

M0SKM
Posts: 369
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Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by M0SKM » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:45 pm

Ralf,
In my opinion the Logitech C920 is an excellent accessory for the Portsdown, I stopped using the EasyCap as I didn't think the results were what I wanted. You won't be disappointed with the 920 but try to get the earlier version with onboard encoding, see Dave's post here.

viewtopic.php?f=103&t=6402&p=26143&hili ... ing#p26143

Steve
Find me on D Star through GB7BP

dl5eu
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Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 9:13 pm

Re: Portsdown 4 and EasyCap - howto?

Post by dl5eu » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:43 pm

Thank you for the information, Steve.

It's really frustrating. I want to start with DATV today and not 8 years ago when the C920 was presented :) How can I be sure to get a C920 model that is capable of H.264 encoding if I buy a new camera now? The only way to tell one from the other seems to be the USB device ID and if I buy a second hand camera I don't know what I get either and cannot even return it if it's the wrong model.

Ralf

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