Review of the Fat Shark Predator FPV Goggles
Recently I decided to purchase a set of Fat Shark Predator FPV Goggles, available from hobbyking. The package, including an extra 700mAh battery, arrived promptly and in good condition.
Within the box, each item, along with the instruction manual, is packaged in plastic bags in a cardboard tray.
This set includes the video transmitter, CCD Killer video camera, TX power harness, two dipole antennas, an RCA cable for composite video input, a Turnigy 9X compatible head tracker cable, 700mAh LiPo battery and the Fatshark Predator video goggles in a nice protective hard case.
The video transmitter, although rather large at approximately 60mm x 35mm x 14mm excluding 8mm SMA connector, weighs only 17 grams. The kit includes a balance plug adapter for a 2S or 3S LiPo. The CCD Killer video camera is quite small, at about 20mm square, and weighs only 12 grams. The camera has two microphones for stereo sound and a 3.6mm IR coated 87 degree FOV lens with lens cap. The supplied cable has rather thin wires on either end that are exposed from the cable covering and terminate to a 5 pin molex connector.
The rubber eye cups fit quite well and keep out all light from the screens. Optional lenses can be purchased separately and inserted by removing the rubber eye cups. These lenses are designed for nearsighted users that have trouble viewing distant objects.
The bottom side of the goggles include a port for the head tracker output, a switch to turn on or off the receiver module and a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio out.
The right side of the goggles have a battery port and an input port for use with the supplied RCA composite cable. Atop the goggles are four buttons used for volume and channel control as well as a four position switch used for contrast and brightness adjustment. The center button can also be used to manually reset the center position of the head tracker. Along the right side of the head strap there is a convenient pocket for holding the battery in place.
The monitors of the Fatshark Predator Goggles have a 25 degree field of view, slightly smaller than the field of view offered by other products. This is my first set of FPV goggles, that being said, I had not problem with the narrower field of view. Although difficult to get a clear picture, here I attempted to show what kind of view to expect from the goggles. I can’t say it is as enveloping as I had expected, but I probably had high expectations for a type of video goggle that I had never used. It feels more like looking at a computer or television screen in a blacked out room than a theater.
The build quality exceeded my expectations and the battery life on a 700mAh battery was much better than expected, at nearly an hour per charge. I was concerned about the inability to adjust the IPD of the goggles, however, I ran into no problems there. The monitors and lenses within the goggles are designed such that they are suitable for a range of IPDs. Being a nearsighted user with a very light prescription, I had very little difficulty reading the goggles although the displays are not the most sharp with my eyesight. The goggles are convenient and easy to use as an all in one package. I have no complaints about the video quality or frame rate. I never tried to push the range of the goggles, but the supplied 100mW transmitter module and supplied dipole antennas seem to be suitable for park flying within a couple hundred feet. The functions of the head tracker work well and were easy to setup on my Turnigy 9x with ER9X firmware. Ultimately, I really like the goggles and I would recommend them.
