Smartaudio is a combination out of a audio signal and a digital control signal.
Both signals are merged together to one simple audio signal.
SmartAudio has been invented by TBS in 2015.
Audio Signal is provided from a microphone.
The digital signal can be used to remote control the VTX, Camera etc. and is a simple serial signal
There are several platforms supporting SmartAudio already and more coming.
Below you can find the links how to connect and use SmartAudio over different setups:
TBS CORE PRO and SmartAudio VTX
TBS CORE PRO Manual (page 17)
TBS CORE PRO, SmartAudio VTX, TBS Crossfire and OpenTX remote
kamikatze-fpv tutorial in english
kamikatze-fpv Anleitung in Deutsch
Betaflight FC and SmartAudio VTX
RaceFlight, SmartAudio VTX and Spektrum remote showcase:
BrainDrain Showcase
Raceflight tutorial
General concept of wiring
When you use TBS devices you don`t need any additional material, simply connect microphone signal (from ZeroZero2 for example) to smartaudio port as well as the digital control signal.
Using the TBS FPVision, connect a Camera (like ZZ2) to Cam Port 1 and you are good to go.
Using the TBS Core PNP PRO, simply set the audio jumpers to audio and telemetry at the same time. Connect a Camera (like ZZ2) and you are good to go.
For other, non TBS system, we recomment to connect both directly first and see if it works.
In case Audio is working but not Smartaudio we recommend adding a AC coupling 100nF ceramic capacitor (no polarization):
If audio is not loud enough you might try this configuration:
The proper way like we use it in our systems is this (note that usually the microphones already include the ac coupling 100nF capacitor):
Notes for the last diagram:
- If the serial data comes from a microcontroller with 3.3V, best solution is to use a voltage divider to ~0.9V for a proper audio level (4k7 and 1k8 resistor values in our case).
- The analog signal needs to be ac coupled using a series capacitor from audio source to the smart audio signal. Ideal capacitance is around 100nF using a ceramic cap.
Cam interface
TBS ZeroZero2 comes with Smartaudio built in and can be controlled with FPVision layer. So you can control your Camera OSD through your OSD using your remote sticks.
The days of messing around with a nest of cables or bulky programming cables have come to an end.
Clicking sound:
You should hear this only once after powering your system or when you set a new video channel/ power for less than a second.
There were systems out there who sent the smartaudio command again and again which resulted in unnecessary annoying clicking noise in the audio stream. This might be OK if you don`t need audio at all but that`s not the idea of "Smart" "Audio* :)
In such a case please contact the supplier of your smartaudio control device and kindly ask them to update they`re firmware :)
Do you want to join the SmartAudio family?
SmartAudio specifications and protocol for development is available upon request through TBS customer support.
Smartaudio certified VTX:
pending: FXT FX877T
pending: DYS VTX03