Congrats. Can wait to hear a honest unbiased review?

This one's for you Snow ...

The Build

Started off by conformal coating the bottomside of the Byte Frost unit since it is awfully exposed ...



So much for the whole CG concept with the Acrobrat lol.  The Succex F7 Dual Gyro stack is going on the back leaving just about enough room up front ...



This is 3D printed mount I designed specifically for this application.  I was concerned this (non-conductive) carbon fiber infused PLA would not be able to withstand a crash.  Boy how ironic [insert sinister foreshadowing music here lol] ...



[edit]  You can download the STL file for the mount here:  https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3910991

There be some dual gyro goodness them thar FC lol ...



Little RX nubbin to hold the R9 Mini.  Normally I would cut those rear screws to length but I was anxious to get the build done.  I would so if you plan to do this build as it does nudge up against the side plates.



And the man of the hour, Mr. Frost lol ...



And you thought it wouldn't work, Snow.  Shame on you LOL ...  



Red cos it adds 30 horsepower to the wheels ...




Same with the props lol ...



All in all a VERY straightforward install ... if you have the space. 

I have had the chance to fly it now and have some footage to share in a couple hours.  I would warn that it's not much footage.  Partly because I got to my park late finishing off this build.  And partly because ...

Beautiful build.

Beautiful build! Did you crash it already?

(10-Oct-2019, 09:19 PM)Andreas-sa Wrote: Beautiful build! Did you crash it already?

That's like asking if I've had breakfast.

Nice work Please make sure you put your 3D designs up on Thingiverse...then when I get Frost Byte I can steal them for my own Acrobrat 

Why did you remove the shielding (last picture)?

It wasn't removed LOL.  

Ok boys, here is the video.  I want to reserve my comments for later until after you've had a chance to watch it.  I do want to add that I felt very strongly that the image I saw in the goggles were sharper and the colors more vibrant than what I am seeing in this DVR footage.  Otherwise I think it is an accurate representation.

(10-Oct-2019, 09:55 PM)the.ronin Wrote: It wasn't removed LOL.  

Ok boys, here is the video.  I want to reserve my comments for later until after you've had a chance to watch it.  I do want to add that I felt very strongly that the image I saw in the goggles were sharper and the colors more vibrant than what I am seeing in this DVR footage.  Otherwise I think it is an accurate representation.

LOL. I told you with it sticking out the sides it would be prone to damage but would you listen to me?    

The Frost Byte is noticeably better than analog but there is more blurriness than I would have expected, and it doesn't seem on par with that other guy's footage IMO. Is the camera properly in focus? Also, we all know how crap the FatShark DVR is so it's probably a bit of an unfair DVR comparison test. Is there any way to connect the AV Out of the FatSharks to the Frost Byte unit and make use of the DVR in that for a fairer direct comparison?

And what was that at the end? Is that complete signal loss? If so, why did you suddenly completely lose signal? I guess that's why you crashed.

LOL but I don't think it was because the sides were sticking out. The cover literally popped right off. I spent like 20 minutes looking for it I was so pissed LOL. Then the thing had trouble powering up so I had to call it a day. Yes, that is what happens on signal loss.

I'll tell you what though, I could have been out there all day with this thing I really did enjoy it that much. You won't notice these things but I notice some flight maneuvers I was doing that I would not do on analog. One that you might notice is at one point I swing out around the trees kinda close to the street over the sidewalk. I'd never do that on analog because I'm too scared I can't see something. This is just some anecdotal feedback. Gotta do responsible-real-life stuff real quick and I'll share my thoughts. Some not so nice. LIKE USE STRONG $%*^$%^* GLUE ON THE COVER!!

I just got back from flying the rest of the packs.  Turns out nothing broke lol.  It was really nice flying around with the sun coming down.  This very fact that I bothered to go out and fly again shows I do like this system.

This review is preliminary.  I’ve only been able to fly this over the course of several packs during two separate outings in a very small area.  (There was a family hanging out in the larger area I normally fly in.)  Tomorrow, I will definitely get more flying in for sure at greater distances.  Now on with it …


Review

A World Without DJI …

Focusing purely on the image quality alone, I can’t emphasize enough that the DVR footage does not do the HD feed to the goggles justice.  The feed image is more sharper and the colors more vibrant.  The improvement in image quality over top tier analog equipment is well worth it.  Frankly, I found it a joy to fly with the added clarity.  This visual enhancement does give you that bit more confidence to make that tighter turn or push it when you normally would not.  To me, the reason for this holding back is simply because I cannot see well in the analog video.

… This World Is Not

Can it stand up to DJI’s HD purely based on image quality?  No.  Period.  I don’t even own the thing, and I can already tell you from the videos (which invariably are worse than actual), that this is not as good as DJI.  But this is also not $700+.  This is not a closed garden where your goggles are now useless to your tiny whoops and toothpicks.  What this is is a very good upgrade from analog in and of itself.

Lest we forget … made by a company that has stood by FPV since the beginning.  No b.s. here, sometimes all they do is stand there that’s for sure (Proper SD card slot anyone?  On/off switch anyone?  NEW FRIGGIN DESIGN ANYONE??>?!!) but I digress.  Suffice to say, if allegiance holds any value to you, you will find that value here.


Feedback

I will apologize in advance if my tone gets too harsh … it’s misunderstood passion lol …

OSD?  This Aint No Stinkin’ OSD

Ok.  So one of the things I was really excited about was the OSD integration with Betaflight.  What I thought this meant was that we would be able to use the same overlay like with traditional analog.  Nope dot com.  I see now all it’s doing is grabbing voltage and amps lol.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s great and all.  But what about if we want to see other things like GPS data, etc?  And that annoying “DISARMED” indication ... in the words of Indigo Montoya, "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."  LOLL




Get Better Glue

On my second crash, the cover to the VTX popped right off.  What’s more embarrassing is that my 3D printed PLA mount didn’t even break at all.  Cmon now. 



Luckily, I have access to industry leading adhesives which allowed me to repair the travesty.



While we are on the topic of build quality, I am also noticing some play in the MMCX connector.  Look, I get it, I don’t do cine style slow flying and I am a third-rate pilot that crashes more than he actually flies.  But if your thing can stand up to me, man it’ll stand up to a lot lol.

The HDMI Cable

Cmon guys.  This thing is like a boa constrictor for cryin out loud.  And speaking of out of the way, if the HDMI plug is on the left side of the goggles, oh I dunno, maybe make it so the HDMI plug is on the same side on the groundstation???  I swear man I’m like playing cats cradle blind trying to get that thing out of the way.  Lastly, does it need to be so darn … girthy?  Lol there must be a thinner, braided cable that can be used.  This is how stupid I look.



Admittedly not as stupid as this lol!!!!



(Sorry had to sneak a DJI jab in there somewhere.)


VTX Form Factor

30x40.  Bruh.  Really?  Not all of us fly 5 inchers man.  We don’t have a size complex (OUCH!  Just kidding).  Seriously though, this thing has to get to a standard 30x30 or better yet 20x20.  Go dual stack like the Tarsier or something if you have to.  Just this elongated phallic looking thing aint jiving for us pocket rocket types.

Why Fat Shark??

Last but certainly not least, why did Fat Shark make this??  Why didn’t ImmersionRC or TBS come out with this?  Fat Shark is a goggle company.  Last time I checked, they didn’t make video receivers and transmitters.  I see that Runcam joined the effort but what the heck are these other companies doing?  I get that DJI’s system is a direct threat to Fat Shark but given the Apple of FPV’s propensity to creep up and down the supply chain, VTXs, RXs, cameras, DVRs, they are all in trouble.  

Audio

Sorry almost forgot.  We really need audio.  I know not many people fly with audio, but I really like it.  Kai thanx bai.

What a nice review! Thumbs up.

For your next flight, please make sure MMCX on VTX is securely connected with antenna. It is very easy to get loose, and leads to "snow" even VTX and GS are only in 5 meters distance. (There is known bug that it will have snow if VTX and GS are less than 1 meter apart.)

Thank you ntant.

Alright.  No more messin' around ...



Tomorrow, we go to the big park.    

Even with the Fatshark DVR, the image looks good. Can't wait for a module. Thanks for the video.

Great work, keep the updates coming!

Oh wow. Ok. So I think I know why all the BF videos out there look so flat and out of focus. When I first got my unit, one of the first things I did once everything was put together was to adjust the video settings so it didn't look so sharp and over-saturated in my goggles. So for kicks, I reset all the settings before this morning's flight. DVR footage is now MUCH more crisp although now a bit oversaturated. BUT ... I *hated* flying with these camera settings. It was so saturated that it looked like noise and felt as uncomfortable as analog. I almost went back to go change the settings. But I sucked it up for the team!! lol

Gotta do some real-life-responsibiltiy stuff but will have this video up soon.