Why can't pilots just pick any channels?

Video transmitters that are close in frequency, or whose harmonics interact, cause intermodulation distortion (IMD) — visible static and breakup even when neither pilot is on the exact same channel. Tested channel sets like IMD5 are specifically chosen so the spacings and harmonics do not interfere, allowing several pilots to fly cleanly at once.

What is the IMD5 channel set?

IMD5 is a widely used five-pilot 5.8 GHz set (Raceband 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 — 5658, 5695, 5769, 5880, 5917 MHz) chosen so the frequencies are spaced far enough apart and their intermodulation products fall outside the video bandwidth. It is the de facto standard for five-pilot heats at FPV races.

How far apart should FPV channels be?

A practical rule of thumb is at least 37-40 MHz of separation between adjacent pilots on 5.8 GHz analog, and ideally more. Standard analog video occupies roughly 20-30 MHz of bandwidth, so closer spacing causes one pilot's signal to bleed into another's. This planner reports the minimum spacing in its chosen set so you can verify it.

Does antenna polarisation help?

Yes. Even with good frequency separation, keeping all pilots on the same antenna polarisation (for example all right-hand circular) is standard practice, because mixing polarisations does not reliably isolate channels and can worsen multipath. Frequency planning and matched antennas work together.

Can I fly more than eight pilots at once?

On a single 5.8 GHz analog band, eight is the practical maximum using the full Raceband, and even then spacing is tight. For larger events, organisers split pilots across separate flying areas or use digital systems with managed spectrum. This planner caps at eight, the limit for clean analog Raceband flying.

FPV Video Frequency Channel Planner

The FPV Video Frequency Channel Planner assigns clean, non-overlapping 5.8 GHz video channels to a group of pilots so several drones can fly at once without interfering with each other’s analog video. It uses the same interference-tested channel sets that FPV races rely on, rather than naively spreading channels evenly.

How it works

Analog FPV video occupies roughly 20-30 MHz of bandwidth around its centre frequency. If two transmitters are too close, their signals overlap and both pilots see breakup. Worse, transmitters that are well separated can still interfere through intermodulation distortion (IMD) — sum and difference products of their frequencies that land inside another pilot’s video band.

For that reason the FPV community uses empirically tested channel sets rather than arbitrary spacing:

1 pilot: any clean channel (Raceband 4, 5769 MHz).
2-3 pilots: widely spaced Raceband channels.
4 pilots: a tested four-pilot set.
5 pilots: the classic IMD5 set — Raceband 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 (5658, 5695, 5769, 5880, 5917 MHz).
6-8 pilots: the full Raceband in order, the standard for large heats.

The planner picks the set matching your pilot count and reports the minimum spacing between any two assigned channels so you can confirm separation at a glance. All frequencies are the standard Raceband values used by FPV transmitters worldwide.

Tips and notes

Set every VTX to the same polarisation of antenna (commonly RHCP). Frequency planning and matched polarisation together give the cleanest result.
Keep transmit power as low as practical. Higher power makes IMD worse and is more likely to swamp a neighbouring pilot.
Power on transmitters one at a time during setup so you can confirm each video feed before adding the next.
This planner targets 5.8 GHz analog Raceband, the dominant racing band. Always check the legal channels and power limits for your country before flying — some Raceband frequencies are outside the licence-free allocation in certain regions.