(25-Oct-2023, 04:22 PM)Oscar Wrote: Walksnail also offers patch antenna that replaces the front cover, it looks like a neat setup: https://caddxfpv.com/collections/walksna...-x?aff=101

If Caddx' own Walksnail branded omni antennas are anything to go by, the performance will probably be mediocre at best. I would rather wait for a reputable antenna manufacturer such as TrueRC to release something which can be trusted to be up to spec.

(25-Oct-2023, 11:30 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: If Caddx' own Walksnail branded omni antennas are anything to go by, the performance will probably be mediocre at best. I would rather wait for a reputable antenna manufacturer such as TrueRC to release something which can be trusted to be up to spec.

Oscar's review mentioned that the omnis included with the X were excellent, and outperformed the DJI V1 antennas. Hopefully they learned something from their disastrous first attempt and invested some R&D into antenna design

Lee (Painless360) mentioned in his review video that he reached out to Fat Shark to ask them what involvement they had with the new Walksnail Avatar HD Goggles X. The Fat Shark representative confirmed that they have had zero input, so it looks like Caddx have severed their relationship with Fat Shark and that any involvement Fat Shark had with the Avatar HD system is now well and truly over.

I don't know if it's just me, but the more I look at the new Walksnail HD Goggles X the more apparent it becomes that the casing on them does appear to look quite cheap and tacky compared to the V1's. To me, the V1's look to be premium goggles while by comparison these new X goggles don't. So maybe FatShark did originally bring something useful to the table after all with their years of experience in the design and manufacture of goggles.

(26-Oct-2023, 10:57 AM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: I don't know if it's just me, but the more I look at the new Walksnail HD Goggles X the more apparent it becomes that the casing on them does appear to look quite cheap and tacky compared to the V1's. To me, the V1's look to be premium goggles while by comparison these new X goggles don't. So maybe FatShark did originally bring something useful to the table after all with their years of experience in the design and manufacture of goggles.

and they look like a squished DJIv2s
and they ditched the power switch as if there never was a demand for it
and supposedly the HDMI ports are too deep

at least the SD card is now on the outside and it takes 6s

(26-Oct-2023, 11:39 AM)jasc Wrote: and supposedly the HDMI ports are too deep

Yeah, I saw that in Albert Kim's video (at 22:26 into his video HERE). It's the HDMI Input which is recessed too deep so it won't accept a normal HDMI plug, or the right angle plug supplied with HDZero VRX's.

(26-Oct-2023, 11:51 AM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Yeah, I saw that in Albert Kim's video (at 22:26 into his video HERE). It's the HDMI Input which is recessed too deep so it won't accept a normal HDMI plug, or the right angle plug supplied with HDZero VRX's.

It's as if they never even bothered to test the goggles once fully assembled. It just makes me wonder what else they didn't bother about. I'd like to say everyone should stay away from these until some time has passed but if nobody steps up to the plate as paying beta testers, then the issues won't get revealed.

I'm quite confident there will be a lot of beta testers :-)

Still, no technology exists that allows an analog or HDMI video input to be recorded on the DVR ?  On the old Cobras the HDMI video input could not be recorded on the DVR either. Cobras are what, 2-3 years old now ?

So there’s no way to bridge this gap ??? C’mon ..

Almost had my money.

Attention Goggle Manufacturers:

• Anything/everything shown on the displays should be able to be recorded to the on-board DVR, period.  Please get on it.  
  
• LED bars are a waste of earth's resources and can attract un-wanted attention to the pilot in control.
  

They really dropped the ball with hdmi ports.
They didn’t think to see how the plugs fit???
HDMI cable body near connection must fit flush or the stress gets passed onto the internals.
They need to redesign the bottom half case or offset a cable that fits properly.

… let’s see what the verdict is after a few pilots that use Analog, HDZ get some hours on these..
I would love to go full digital, but untill the vtx become more durable (or cheaper) my bashers will remain analog..

(26-Oct-2023, 03:09 PM)Rob3ddd Wrote: They really dropped the ball with hdmi ports.
 They didn’t think to see how the plugs fit???
HDMI cable body near connection must fit flush or the stress gets passed onto the internals.
 They need to redesign the bottom half case or offset a cable that fits properly.

It reminded me of BetaFPV who made the same mistake with their ExpressLRS module. They made the recess for the USB-C port too short/narrow so you couldn't actually plug a USB cable into it   They did however subsequently redesign the case with a longer/wider recess to rectify the issue. Details of that are in the following post...

https://intofpv.com/t-expresslrs-open-so...#pid159131

I wonder if Caddx will consider doing the same and release a revised version of the goggles with a slightly redesigned casing. That obviously won't help anyone who already pre-ordered a pair, but it might help people who wait for "batch 2" and beyond. Like I always keep banging on about, never jump in and buy the first batch of any new product unless you like to have a beta product with all the initial design flaws.

Those LED panels on the front look complete trash. I have no idea what Caddx were thinking when they put those in. They would be the first thing I would be getting rid of and replacing with a matt finish 3D printed panels, or a patch antenna.

Other than that they seem OK, and the price is hard to beat.

(24-Oct-2023, 08:19 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Ian (Mads Tech) has already hinted on his recent live streams that he has a pair which he's been testing and he said on Sunday that he would be dropping a video for a new Walksnail product later this week. I guess all the other mainstream FPV YouTubers probably also have a pair and will all be publishing their videos tomorrow too. So prepare for an influx of reviews to all drop at the same time once the NDA embargo is lifted.

(26-Oct-2023, 07:44 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: It reminded me of BetaFPV who made the same mistake with their ExpressLRS module. They made the recess for the USB-C port too short/narrow so you couldn't actually plug a USB cable into it   They did however subsequently redesign the case with a longer/wider recess to rectify the issue. Details of that are in the following post...

https://intofpv.com/t-expresslrs-open-so...#pid159131

I wonder if Caddx will consider doing the same and release a revised version of the goggles with a slightly redesigned casing. That obviously won't help anyone who already pre-ordered a pair, but it might help people who wait for "batch 2" and beyond. Like I always keep banging on about, never jump in and buy the first batch of any new product unless you like to have a beta product with all the initial design flaws.

Those LED panels on the front look complete trash. I have no idea what Caddx were thinking when they put those in. They would be the first thing I would be getting rid of and replacing with a matt finish 3D printed panels, or a patch antenna.

Other than that they seem OK, and the price is hard to beat.

 


 It looks like they already have a patch antenna for their goggles.
  

(26-Oct-2023, 08:56 PM)Rob3ddd Wrote:  It looks like they already have a patch antenna for their goggles.

https://i.imgur.com/2MhLgsJl.jpg

Yes, but it's designed by Caddx. Maybe it's good, or maybe it's trash like the original Walksnail antennas that shipped with the Caddx Vistas and the Avatar HD VTX's (see another post HERE). Oscar's review of the Goggles X said that the omni antennas provided with them seemed to be good, but that is perception based on "feel" and not from any scientific testing. There is no saying that the patch antenna will be any good and Caddx aren't experts in the antenna design field. Personally I would rather have something manufactured by TrueRC. I'm sure they will design and release something in due course.

Yeah, the LEDs are goofy. I actually LOLed at the picture with the new Bronco front-end. A small LED for power status would be appreciated though. It looks like, if you turn off the LEDs and keep the proximity sensor enabled, there will be no visual indication that the goggles are powered. They should correctly label the DC power port as well.

I'd been waiting to see what V2 goggles would be like... These are a completely different goggle though. More or less a new V1. I wouldn't be buying for at least another six months or so anyway. I'll keep my eye on them. I wonder how long until the new VTR and possibly a revised shell design show up. I'd like to see the associated hardware and software mature a bit too.