(15-Apr-2024, 03:14 PM)mstc Wrote: Your Skyzone goggles have 16:9 screens (like the Fatsharks), so you should leave them set to 16:9. However you should be able to change the camera aspect ratio to 4:3, that will simply shrink it to fit in the 16:9 screen and add black bars on the sides. The 4:3 FULL I believe is if you have a native 4:3 screen, basically the VRX will stretch the image horizontally to fill up the 16:9 frame, and when displayed on a 4:3 screen it gets compressed back.

As for the Ratel Pro, I read that it has a very narrow FOV, possibly not suitable for drone flying if you are plan on doing proximity flying. I actually find the WS VTX a lot easier to install, basically just plug it in and load a BF preset. There are certainly more steps in setting up analog video (solder camera to FC, solder VTX, setup VTX tables, setup SA or IRC?, etc).

Yes I have to play around with the format but for now I think I will just leave both camera and goggles at 16:9. I switched my Walksnail system to 4:3 with the Fat Shark because it is easier for me to focus at the middle of the screen.

When I switch to 4:3 format with the VRX the image did more than adding black bars on the side it took the 16:9 field of view and compressed it to the 4:3 box.

I love flying the Ratel Pro and really cannot tell the difference in field of view between that and the rest if my quads. Yes I have read that the FOV on the Ratel Pro is supposed to be 125 degrees versus 160 degrees as "standard" FPV cameras. However I have no problem flying. Then again I don't race. I just scoot between a few trees now and then.

The Walksnail VTX or any VTX for that matter with the camera semi permanently attached with a cable is more difficult to install. Plus the Walksnail VTX is a tad bigger than the analog VTX's I use. I wouldn't want to try and do a 4K Moonlight or DJI 03 setup in smaller quads. My fingers are not that nimble.

Ok I am officially in love. 

Took the 04O Pro out with the Walksnail VRX module hanging in the front. First quad was bound last night and set to 16:9. At least that's what I thought. However both the goggles and the camera were set to 4:3 when I first looked in the goggles.

No big deal I now know the menu system on both pretty good now. So set the goggles to 16:9, then set the camera to 16:9.

Man what a BIG difference. I can see from edge to edge on the Skyzone goggles compare to the Fat Shark Dominator HD. Yes the front of the Skyzone is a bit nose heavy and the lower edge of the face plate is hitting my cheekbones. However it is not any less comfortable than the fit of the Fat Shark. So off I go.

16:9 with the Walksnail is really very good. I did 4 laps around the backyard. At two places in the backyard the Fat Shark actually had issues. The RF signal dropped one bar, the OSD blinked and the two sides of the image smear a bit more. Then with this Walksnail VRX module and the Skyzone goggles there were NO issues at all when I did laps in the backyard. Image quality seems even better. The 16:9 wide screen display is really impressive. 

So I brought out the other quad (A Flywoo Fly Lens 85) and bound the VTX to the VRX. Then I set the camera to 16:9. Same result. Image is steady as a rock with no OSD flicker and no edge smearing. RF signal bar stayed at 4 bars (or was it 5 bars. There are things I took for granted and cannot remember) the whole flight. 

So what if I fly an analog quad now. So I pulled the Walksnail VRX. Put in the SpeedyBee analog VRX. I left the goggles at 16:9. Ok it did stretch the image wide to fill the sides and cropped the top and bottom. So my image is now BIGGER but the image quality suffers because I can see the blurriness a lot more. Just like walking closer to look at the TV screen. Nevertheless it is still very flyable. I may just leave the goggles at 16:9 from now on. 

I can see from edge to edge. I still cannot see the Walksnail signal bar on the bottom right perfectly but I can tell from peripheral vision if I concentrate.

Maybe the Fat Shark is going into semi retirement now. 

I also have a setup the can put a middle strap on top of my head to relieve some of the nose heaviness of the Walksnail VRX module. Maybe I will try that next but then it won't be so easy to take the module off anymore.

When you say you can see from edge to edge on the Skyzones, you mean that they are blurry on your Fatsharks, or just that the FS FOV is too wide and you have to move your eyes around to see the edges? Did you get a chance to try to the VRX on your 04X? Curious how that FOV compares to the Fatsharks.

(15-Apr-2024, 10:33 PM)mstc Wrote: When you say you can see from edge to edge on the Skyzones, you mean that they are blurry on your Fatsharks, or just that the FS FOV is too wide and you have to move your eyes around to see the edges? Did you get a chance to try to the VRX on your 04X? Curious how that FOV compares to the Fatsharks.

I have yet to try and quantify the issues I have with the Fat Shark. I think something is blocking my vision on the sides. I will try to play with that and see what happens. Too bad that means I have to rebind the VTX.   Maybe it is time to invest in another Walksnail setup. I can probably fire up my 1S VTX but I am totally paranoid when I look at the bare mipi cable on the 1S setup.

Yes I need to put the VRX on the 04X to try but the 04O is so nice right now I have a hard time changing for the extra 10 degrees extra FOV.

I did a bit mof bench test. 

1) Using the 04O Pro and the Walksnail VRX as bench mark. It is nice at 16:9. I do get a little bit of black circle on the edges. The "tunnel" of the optics is in the way. I see a bit of curve cut off at the corners. I can move the goggles up and down a little and the corners are cut off either on the top or the bottom but won't go away completely.
2) Moving over to the Fat Shark Dominator HD. Image on the bench is very nice. The optic tunnels are a little better. I do get a bit of blur on the edge of the lens. Plus I also get a bit of curve cut off at the corners. Not as bad as the 04O Pro and definitely not as bad as the 04X Pro. Not sure if it was the camera or the optics in the goggles. The only complaint from me is the face plate fit. It just hit on all the wrong spots and not comfortable.
3) I then put the Walksnail VRX module on the 04X Pro. Image quality is excellent. Unfortunately the optic tunnels are now in the way so much that I actually see curves on the two sides. So the extra 10 degrees FOV is not that helpful.

Thanks for sharing. With the goggle optics, the distance to your eye will make some difference on tunnelling and how well you can see the edges. Typically the closer your eye gets to the lens is where the sweet spot is, but it will depend on your eyesight and if you get too close your eyelashes may brush against the lens. There are several after market foams that you can try for the Fatsharks, they might be more comfortable on the face but will push the lens further away.
For the 04X pro, those curved sides sounds like something hard to get used to. I don't mind some blurry edges as with a large FOV you are mainly starring in the center, but with curved edges I think it would be quite noticable.

(16-Apr-2024, 01:51 PM)mstc Wrote: Thanks for sharing. With the goggle optics, the distance to your eye will make some difference on tunnelling and how well you can see the edges. Typically the closer your eye gets to the lens is where the sweet spot is, but it will depend on your eyesight and if you get too close your eyelashes may brush against the lens. There are several after market foams that you can try for the Fatsharks, they might be more comfortable  on the face but will push the lens further away.
For the 04X pro, those curved sides sounds like something hard to get used to. I don't mind some blurry edges as with a large FOV you are mainly starring in the center, but with curved edges I think it would be quite noticable.

Yes I am ordering all kinds of aftermarket foam for the Fat Shark Dominator HD/Walksnail Avatar goggles. Unfortunately there just aren't that many around. I did get the New Bee Drone something about super comfy etc. It is fat and soft and comfortable. However the foam is so thick it actually made the face plate narrower and pinch on the sides. The nose of the foam does not fit all that great. 

I am going to try and figure out more about how to modify the foam on the Fat Shark again this morning. The image is ok if only I can get the face plate to fit. I also have more foam coming from Pyrodrone. The foam is meant for the Walksnail Avatar GoggleX. I am desperate enough to try anything. Then there is this order I placed with China. They claimed shipping is exorbitant and they will not ship. I asked for a refund but now they claimed they found a way. So days of back and forth and I think they may be shipping. Unfortunately I think those are foams for the OLD Fat Shark Dominator and not the HD. I can still use the foam by cutting them up and using them as inserts. I wish I can get more of those inserts included in the Fat Shark Dominator HD but they only included two pieces.

I think one of the old Fatshark analog models has the same frame layout and you can use those foams without modification. I forget now, think it was the Dominator non-HDs.
Surprised China says they can't ship to you, maybe its a little different to Hawaii. Ordering off Ali to the east cost, I've had stuff arrive in 7 days, but usually more like 10-11 days, and occasionally it takes more than 15 days or some package have even been lost, but in all cases the sellers reshipped.

Maybe you can do something like what DJI did, set a pivot point at the top of the goggles and affix it to a headband around your forehead. Then you can just drape some curtains around the sides and not have anything pressing up against your face.

(16-Apr-2024, 07:10 PM)mstc Wrote: I think one of the old Fatshark analog models has the same frame layout and you can use those foams without modification. I forget now, think it was the Dominator non-HDs.
Surprised China says they can't ship to you, maybe its a little different to Hawaii. Ordering off Ali to the east cost, I've had stuff arrive in 7 days, but usually more like 10-11 days, and occasionally it takes more than 15 days or some package have even been lost, but in all cases the sellers reshipped.

Maybe you can do something like what DJI did, set a pivot point at the top of the goggles and affix it to a headband around your forehead. Then you can just drape some curtains around the sides and not have anything pressing up against your face.

I have a few non HD Dominator foam on hand now. They are shorter top and bottom and the nose area has thinner foam. So not quite a drop fit. The Avatar Goggle X foam is supposed to be "wide". The Goggle X does not come with different plastic face plate so maybe they use different foam to accommodate the fit. Not sure but I should find out tonight. 

The vendor is XT-Xinte from China. They said shipping will cost $28 to ship to me and do I want to cancel. I told them yes and this morning they said they found a way to ship. I did not look back at what I ordered from them. I think they are the same foam package for the old Fat Shark Dominator like I already have on hand. No matter I can always use more foam.

Shipping is not really all that bad from China usually. The slow ones take a while but that is expected. Skyzone is very quick though. They use DHL or Fedex. 

The really bad one is GETFPV in Florida. I don't order from them anymore.

Hmmm....I am not familiar with the DJI setup. I don't want to look like some one with a cold sniffy on a vaporizer.

Remember Björn Borg? He made headbands look cool

(16-Apr-2024, 09:10 PM)mstc Wrote:

Remember Björn Borg? He made headbands look cool

I used to be in construction and collected a whole bunch of head bands for hard hats. I was thinking about fitting the goggles slung below the head band. Pretty much like a real ugly rig of the one in the picture. 

FWIW, I was playing with the different foam paddings I have for the Fat Shark goggles. I found the cheesiest set of foam padding. Lo and behold it was actually one of the most comfortable. So The Fat Shark is back in service. I like the simple setup without that much additional weight. So the 04O Pro is back to being an analog goggle.

I am back to testing the Skyzone VRX and it is still not working right. Even in the house I get a lot of static compare to the SpeedyBee setup.

I swear you're going to make me test that SpeedyBee receiver. Haven't had reason to complain about my own Skyzone VRX units, but maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

(17-Apr-2024, 07:19 AM)Suros Wrote: I swear you're going to make me test that SpeedyBee receiver. Haven't had reason to complain about my own Skyzone VRX units, but maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

Lucky you don't have areas where the Skyzone makes your heart skip a beat. 

I can fly through static/snow but when the image rolled I jumped.  Or may be it was my head that jerked.

Anyway I never expected to like the SpeedyBee and I have no idea how their quality control is from copy to copy. I was just happy that mine turned out very good. I know it may be sacrilegious but I think the SpeedyBee may be giving me a more stable image over the brand new Rapid Fire I just bought.

For some reason the antennas that came with the SpeedyBee package seem to work better than other antennas I tried. I tried the True RC Xair patch and some others.