Analog FPV system is still widely used due to their low latency and affordability, but they can be plagued by various video issues—like rolling images, noise lines, or interference. In this guide, I’ll share how to troubleshoot and fix these analog FPV video problems based on best practices and real-world experience.
Powering VTX and Camera
If your video feed becomes noisier when you throttle up, it’s likely due to electrical noise from the battery reaching your camera or VTX. This is often caused by voltage fluctuations or poor filtering. Best Practice is to power your FPV camera and VTX from a BEC (regulated output) on the flight controller, not directly from the LiPo. FPV devices prefer stable voltage to transmit clean signals.
Add Capacitors to the ESC Power Pads
Even with onboard filtering, extra capacitors can help suppress voltage spikes and ripples, and clean up power to the flight controller and video system.
Recommendation: Solder a low-ESR capacitor to your ESC power pads (XT60/XT30 input side). This is especially effective for filtering motor-induced noise. More info: Why You Should Add a Capacitor – https://oscarliang.com/capacitors-mini-quad/
If noise persists, consider adding small capacitors (e.g. 470μF) to the 5V or 12V rails, though this is rarely needed.
Twist Signal and Ground Wires
Twisting your video signal and ground wires together helps reject electromagnetic interference. This works by creating a natural shield against noise from ESCs or BECs. Also, keep video signal and power wires away from inductors or power supply components on the board.
Shield the ESC from the Flight Controller
MOSFETs on ESCs can generate interference affecting your FC’s BEC. Some ESCs include a metal shield for this reason. If yours doesn’t, you might consider adding EMI shielding material or replacing it with a shielded ESC.
Proper Grounding is Crucial
Your circuit is incomplete without a solid ground connection. If you power your camera and VTX separately but don’t connect signal ground, the signal becomes more vulnerable to power noise.
Tips: Connect camera and VTX grounds to the same ground pad (or at least pads close together).
This is especially important if powering the video system directly from the LiPo.
Diagnosing White Lines in Video
White horizontal lines often indicate excessive electrical noise, especially in the camera or VTX power. Fixes include:
- Adding a low-ESR capacitor to the XT60 pads
- Powering the camera from the VTX, which often offers better regulated power
- Using a filtered BEC output
Diagnosing Black Lines in Video
Black flickering lines typically mean your VTX isn’t receiving enough power. This is common at higher output power levels.
Solutions:
- Power the VTX directly from the battery
- Ensure your BEC’s current rating is high enough
- If issues persist, try another VTX or camera
Bonus Tip: Check that motor screws aren’t too long—they could be shorting against motor windings. Here’s how to check: https://oscarliang.com/check-motor-screws-touching-winding/
Check Your Antennas
Not all video issues are power-related—bad or mismatched antennas are a common cause of poor image quality.
- Ensure both VTX and goggles have matching connectors (SMA / RP-SMA)
- Match circular polarization (RHCP / LHCP)
- Try changing video channels if there’s potential for interference
Flying With Others?
If you’re flying with a group and experiencing interference, make sure you’re on non-overlapping channels. Here’s a guide to picking the best analog channels: https://oscarliang.com/fpv-channels/
Jello in FPV Video
If your quad is tuned well and you’re still seeing jello, it’s likely a mechanical issue. Modern FPV cameras use CMOS sensors, which are more prone to vibration artifacts than CCD sensors.
Check for:
- Loose camera mount screws
- Loose or cracked camera lens lock nuts
- Loose camera sensor inside the housing
If all else fails, try using TPU camera mounts to dampen vibrations.
Fixing Vertical Video Rolling
Analog FPV video is made up of frames, and each frame consists of many scan lines. To display each frame properly, the system uses a sync pulse at the end of every frame to tell the receiver when the next frame is coming.
If the receiver loses the sync pulse, it no longer knows where the top of the screen is—resulting in your image rolling vertically. Even if the image data is mostly fine, a missing or inconsistent sync pulse can throw off the entire display.
To fix this issue, some advanced video receivers use sync pulse reconstruction. Modules like the ImmersionRC Rapidfire and TBS Fusion, have sync pulse reconstruction function when sync pulse is lost. This keeps your image from rolling, even with a weak or noisy signal.
Need help to decide which module to buy? Here’s my Fusion vs Rapidfire Comparison: https://oscarliang.com/rapidfire-fusion/
Fixing Video Scrolling Sideways
Some advanced video receiver modules have sync pulse reconstruction funcitons as discussed above, this addresses the video rolling issues when you have weak or noisy signal where sync pulse is lost.
However, this feature assumes the camera is sending sync pulses that conform to standard NTSC or PAL timing. Unfortunately, some low quality FPV cameras don’t follow those standards closely, and they might generate sync pulses that are inconsistent or outside the expected timing range. This confuses the receiver module’s sync reconstruction algorithm. Instead of helping, it ends up injecting fake sync pulses at the wrong time—leading to the sideways scrolling issue.
To check if this is the issue you are having, try swapping to another analog camera (different brand or model). If the issue goes away, it’s likely your original camera is producing unstable sync pulses.
If you have Rapidfire or TBS Fusion, try disabling sync pulse reconstruction feature, or switching to a different mode. These are usually listed under different diversity or video modes:
- Rapidfire: Mode 1 / 2 / Legacy
- Skyzone: Diversity Mix 1, 2, or 3
Disabling sync reconstruction may fix the scrolling issue—but it removes a major feature that improves analog video in weak signal conditions. You may now experience flickering or tearing when signal quality drops. To really address the issue it might be worth getting a better camera instead.
Final Thoughts
Analog FPV systems are still popular, but they require proper setup and maintenance for the best performance. Start with clean power, proper grounding, and compatible antennas, then move on to camera quality and receiver settings.
With some simple diagnostics and fixes, you can vastly improve your analog video experience—and eliminate most of the frustrating image artifacts that analog pilots encounter.
Edit History
- Mar 2018 – Article created
- Apr 2019 – Updated
- Jul 2019 – added “where to add cap” and “twisting signal/ground wires”
- Sep 2019 – added info about “ESC shielding” and matching antennas
- Dec 2019 – Revised
- May 2025 – Revised
