To be honest, the original Fatshark Dominator goggles (white) or the Walksnail Avatar HD goggles (black), and the VRX module, have been the most reliable, least frustrating, and least drama inducing components of the WalkSnail system, IMO, so far.

When I got in the game things were at V29.33.16. I got into trouble (i.e. pissed off) when I started chasing new firmware updates. When they added V2 hardware, gyroflow support, the new cameras, sharing mode, high bit rate (?) mode, etc. things got weird. At one point I tried V33.39.10, but then instantly noticed a reduction in range. I think I settled in at V32.37.10 even though the pro night camera was happier at V33. I'd like to try V34.40.15 (for race mode) but to be honest I'm not looking forward to being dicked around with whatever else is waiting in that version - like did they fix in V34 whatever they hosed in V33 that caused poor range (?) Who knows.

If they would come clean and list "other known issues" they fixed or didn't fix then one could make better decisions I suppose.

I don't have the time or desire to experiment just to find out (getting too old I guess). It's been almost 4 years since I got heavy into quads so the honeymoon is over, lol. The shit has to work now. This hobby has to help me chill or I'll end it and go back to helis, planes and Spektrum damn it

I think one would be very happy with the original goggles and keeping everything around V29-V32, if possible.

Staying on a specific firmware version is all very well, but the problem you still have is when you need a new VTX. The question then will be if the "stable" version of firmware you decided to settle on is supported by the new VTX? If not you are screwed because you are then forced to update everything and end up having to beta test all your quads again. Maybe the new firmware works great with the newer VTXs but not so great anymore with the older ones.

The constant stream of new firmware releases from Caddx for the Walksnail system has turned into a complete clown show. I just checked, and to date there have been 27 firmware releases in less than 2 years. It's like 2 years on the Walksnail firmware developers still have no real clue how to tune the Artosyn chipset for optimum performance and efficiency, so they just appear to be making random setting changes with each firmware release and then chucking it out into the public domain to see what complaints they get.

With all the different variations of current and past hardware they're releasing, doing sufficient and proper in-house testing on them all is probably a huge challenge, and I would put money on the fact that they likely just skim over some of the testing. This is why they need to stop with any further hardware development and stick with what is already out there, then concentrate all of their efforts on getting the firmware working to a stable and reliable state for all the hardware that currently exists. But we already know the Caddx are working on a new VRX and VTX hardware (this the reason for the "swappable" VRX board in the top of the Goggles X) which utilises a new Artosyn chipset, so things are probably only going to get even worse as time progresses with the technical debt just continuing to build up.

While the Goggles X clearly have some specific hardware related issues, it's not clear if the FatShark Dominator HD / Walksnail Avatar HD V1 goggles are also being crippled in the same way with the poor quality of the firmware. When people report issues with the system they unfortunately don't always say what goggles they are using so it's sometimes difficult to pin down specific issues to firmware rather than hardware, or vice versa.

[quote="SnowLeopardFPV" pid='216322' dateline='1712051132']

While the Goggles X clearly have some specific hardware related issues, it's not clear if the FatShark Dominator HD / Walksnail Avatar HD V1 goggles are also being crippled in the same way with the poor quality of the firmware. When people report issues with the system they unfortunately don't always say what goggles they are using so it's sometimes difficult to pin down specific issues to firmware rather than hardware, or vice versa.

End Quote.

Thank You for that! I know you see more than me.

I did get a quick reply from CaddX Support after describing the problem (as I did above) and asking how and where to send the goggles for warranty service. I told them that after losing video and crashing 3 different quads (two the last flying session and one before the new heatsink came out) I wanted them inspected. Here is their response:

"You need remove the heat sink and reinstall it
Remove excess silicone grease and ensure the antenna is in place
Squeezing the PCB will deform it, causing the goggles to malfunction
Use fans to cool the vtx when testing on the ground


Best Regards
Sivis Joe"

A picture was attached showing the blue paste on under the heatsink, it's damn hard to tell how much to put on from a picture like that.

Note that he did not offer to repair them.
I reinstalled the heatsink and I'll play with my whoops or in confined spaces and see what happens.

LOL Good 'ol Sivis Joe ...

(03-Apr-2024, 01:36 AM)husafreak Wrote: I did get a quick reply from CaddX Support after describing the problem (as I did above) and asking how and where to send the goggles for warranty service. I told them that after losing video and crashing 3 different quads (two the last flying session and one before the new heatsink came out) I wanted them inspected. Here is their response:

"You need remove the heat sink and reinstall it
Remove excess silicone grease and ensure the antenna is in place
Squeezing the PCB will deform it, causing the goggles to malfunction
Use fans to cool the vtx when testing on the ground


Best Regards
Sivis Joe"

A picture was attached showing the blue paste on under the heatsink, it's damn hard to tell how much to put on from a picture like that.

Note that he did not offer to repair them.

And these are the goggles that Caddx released with a "user removable" VRX board so it could be upgraded with a better one in the future. If the amount of thermal paste used is so critical, no-one is going to want to touch that part of the goggles if they have a perfectly functioning pair. If pressure on the PCB can cause it to deform and malfunction then it means there are some serious design flaws with both the PCB and the goggle casing. If flexing of the PCB is so critical then it should be sufficiently supported at multiple points so it won't bend when the heatsink is fitted, but I guess if they added more supports under the PCB it would block airflow and the VRX board would overheat more than it already does. The whole Goggles X product just seems to have been badly designed and it again proves that paying customers are being exploited as beta testers.

Anyway, people should quit complaining and stop causing extra work for the Caddx support staff. You've got some tacky Knight Rider LED bars on the front which work perfectly fine, so why would you need the goggles themselves to actually work reliably? 

Maybe they’re supposed to be liquid cooled …

I wonder if filling them with water, so you don’t touch the circuit board, will improve their performance ?

Just saw this post, maybe it will help.

@mstc thank you for posting that. CaddX did send me a tube of Laird putty 607 and some thin sheet thermal paste with the replacement heat sink. The thin sheet is used up now but maybe the reason they used that is to keep the PCB clean and control the amount of thermal past in that area. Anyway, using too much thermal paste squeezes the excess out onto the PCB and it is very difficult to remove, I will have to use the toothbrush and IPA method referenced above to clean up the areas of the PCB adjacent to the chips. I'll report back.

Sooo, after remounting my heatsink with less putty I have the problems listed in the post above, new problems since I never had start up issues before, this is the email I just sent to CaddX:

Sir, after mounting the heatsink again with less thermal putty following your instructions I have a new problem. When I plug in the goggles I always see the logo "AVATAR" but then either of three things happen:
1: normal operation, picture of Avatar GogglesX, buttons work, quad connects
2: black screen, nothing works
3: white screen, nothing works
The Proximity sensor is OFF the battery voltage is 16.2V.
Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 attempts before I get the GogglesX to boot up properly. This is not acceptable. Also this is not the problem I had when I contacted you for help. This is a start up issue, before the goggles always started up properly but then OSD information or video feed froze in flight.
Please advise,

@SnowLeopardFPV you'll be happy to know I don't run the Knight Rider LED's those are for kids or whoop racers, not us regular folk, LOL.

I'm done for the day but tomorrow I'll write up my latest "findings". Suffice to say they have booted up successfully about 10 times in a row now, I got a couple of flights in, and I can tell you what worked for me...

I disassembled the goggles and cleaned the board completely of thermal putty with a stiff paintbrush. I tried various amounts of thermal putty starting with too little until I got just enough to make contact with the heatsink, the amount varies from chip to chip and it is not much. I found out that the goggles would always boot up with the heatsink off, or with the heatsink on but the plastic cover off. I found out that the signal strength reported in the goggles always goes down after the heatsink is in place. Interestingly, as soon as I snapped the cover into place to finish the job I started having lots of boot up fails. The only thing that can be adjusted between the cover and the heatsink is the cable that goes to the cover, it is a bit long to allow the cover to be removed and I had been letting the excess bunch up to the right side where it falls naturally. So I tried routing it with an "S" bend into the more open space in the middle of the goggles. I had to hold it there with a stick as I carefully lowered the cover into place. The goggles have booted up multiple times in a row now without failure. I don't know whether I got lucky or the cable to the cover was pressing on a component and causing issues. Note that boot up fails did not cause me to crash several quads. Those were caused by the OSD or video feed freezing in flight. Attempting to fix those problems led me to these boot up problems. Even if I have solved the boot up problems I do not know if I have solved the video freezing problems.

I made some indoor whoop flights and noted that the inflight signal strength indicator would stay at 4 bars (full strength) until I got to the furthest corner of my house away from me, then it would drop to three bars intermittently until I moved back toward myself. This is normal behavior, unlike the signal strength readings you can look at before connecting to a quad which are low and change randomly after installing the new cast metal heatsink.

I received authorization from CaddX to return the goggles under warranty for repair. I should do that but I can't help being very pessimistic, because as of right now they appear to be working. Also, when I first opened my goggles to replace the heatsink I found excess thermal paste squeezed out from under the chips onto the PCB and wiring pinched between the heatsink and large silver chip, things that I as a consumer was told not to do. Maybe the service department has their act together, I don't know.

P.S. I also need to send my Fatshark analog goggles in for a replacement LCD screen. To Australia. I told the Fatshark service man that my GogglesX are unreliable and asked about Dominator HD performance. He said their goggles are still working fine with the Walksnail system, and that maybe caddx are finding out making goggles isn't as easy as they thought, LOL.

@mstc posted this in another thread: https://walksnail.wiki/en/gogglex
For anyone getting ready to tackle a heat sink swap. That said I would recommend not doing it yourself (maybe ask the shop you bought them from to do it?) or at all if your goggles are working for you.

Update: I was told by CaddX not to use UPS to ship the GogglesX back. I tried DHL but they required customs documentation from CaddX and said it would cost $100-200. I took my little box to the post office, so USPS, filled out a customs form, and they charged me $35. Sent April 5th CaddX received them April 28. Now I'm waiting to hear from CaddX.
Meanwhile I am having a ball flying with my Dominators.
FWIW I asked Rotor Riot what their service policy was for the GogglesX, after a week they asked me what was wrong with them, I told them I just wanted to know where I would send them for service if they needed it, I'm waiting to hear back...

Hello. Would like to share my story with GoggleX. Obtained it in April, tried with Moonlight VTX. I found that range was disappointing 500-600m (700 mW) with included omni antennas, looks like lower than other users reported. Also, never seen green channel bars in goggles. Only orange ones. So checked what is inside. Inside was wide black heatsink, covering almost all area of PCB. Caddx sent me narrower one and not covering antenna cables (bottom of picture). 


Replacement to the narrow heatsink helped to increase range by ~100-200 m and penetration got better. Also I am now having several channels with green bars. 

I did some tests with heatsinks trying to figure out magic effect of narrow heat sink. It is not pinching cables as I rerouted wifi antenna across PCB so it does not cross any other cables. To do so I put wifi antenna to the front and it produced crazy image interference, so I just wrapped it with foil and it worked. Another solution would be 50 Ohm wifi cable termination, but foil is simpler.
PCB design is very interesting, as soon as wide heatsink covers cables, signal is degraded, I even did not use any screws, just gently placed both heatsinks in place multiple times to verify. Also tried isolate wider heatsink (so it was not grounded), but effect was the same. I am really curious why shielding PCB by heatsink reduces signal quality. 



 

Anyway, even with more stable signal Range is still not satisfactory so I will try antenna replacement on VTX and VRX. Just wanted to share my experience, it is aligned with what another guy posted on youtube about cutting wider heatsink to improve reception

Yup. I agree. But the video did not help me to improve things.