Well I have a rapidfire as I’m sure many watching this do, and idk about everyone else but the sigh of relief I felt when I saw rapidfire beat the fusion in rf performance was tangiable, thank the lord I’m safe from another bank account hit! Like if you felt the same haha
@@flo-ridafpv5713 Even beyond my problems with the closed nature of that tech, being in a city, I can only hope to fly small 3", so my weight budget won't allow me to consider it... maybe gen2 ! :)
@@middleagedbaldguy6774 And you know this because you are Joshuas spokes person? You see nobody but Trappy and Joshua really knows whats this is about and this is just hear saying and spreading rumours and planting ideas in someones head that doesn´t know and making up their mind about it.
@@Chris_Love I've watched the guy bash people's spouses. He makes great products but he isn't someone I would ever interact with. Oh, and btw, piss off fan boy. Nobody asked you.
I don’t know what beef you have with Trappy, but I do know that I trust your reviews. You are the man my man! And I never doubt you! That saying I bought the TBS fusion before I saw your review. So far I’m really liking it and the range it gives me. I’m really looking forward to the future integration into other things as well. Thanks for what you do Joshua!👍🏼
Why is TBS customer service such a fawking joke? Srsly, “oh, we test every unit before it goes out our shop” “so, even though you got a shat nano rx, we will not replace it and ask you to buy another at only a %40 discount because we’re Uber douche bags here at TBS and have no concept that good customer service translates into success as a company ...... -Real life experience
🙂👍 Thankyou for a great video...i upgraded from the 1st Furious so are super happy with my Fusions performance...also I too have cracked the screen on cover install but would not of known that is what's happened if it wasn't for you saying...I did notice something strange but honestly it doesn't bother me that much as the module still does its thing and displays OSD inside goggles and that is most important for me...sent Mike a pm earlier and he said that TBS sell replacements but they will need soldering in
I'll wait for v2 I'm still happy with my laforge set up... I hope there's a implication of a separate module like the laforge so I can keep my goggles balanced and pepperbox on it's own side, I appreciate you keeping it real with the review its grate of you to keep up the higher road and not hold a grudge on a brand over its CEOs or handlers. 🥃cheers🍻
_maybe_ worth a note as didn't see it mentioned, is that the fusion was actually made modular. The fusion board and receiver board are detachable, if a more sensitive rx was to come out later you could swap it without dropping the full price again. I heard a 2.4ghz receiver was also in the works that you can swap the 5.8 with and you have a new 'module' there and then. If you're in for longevity that is, it could pay off.
When those things are available, I'll test them, but I'm not willing to let my review hinge on promised future upgrades. (Okay, I mentioned Crossfire integration, which I feel very confident they will deliver on.)
I know this video is 4 years old josh but im a believer in making things last. I have a LaForge module like that but much older (v1.4) that i broke in the same way, it looks like it uses the same exact screen i replaced mine with. It will be a SSD1306 I2C IIC or similar. Its a really common component in consumer hardware like this available from china.
I got a first run. I got mine before most of the market did. I say this test was very good! Non biased, and totally fair!! I disagree with you about the rf improving, the hardware in it is good. The meshing of the two signals is fully digital in the firmware. Overall I say it may not be better than RF* but it definitely comes close to it... I went from a 5808 to Fusion and that was a noticeable difference!!
I honestly feel sorry for many of the producers of fpv goodies like IRC, FS, TBS etc now that DJI has joined the party. Their googles and HD transmission are just years ahead of this. Analog video has had thousands of micro steps since I started more than 7 years ago. But in all honesty the difference between Rapidfire/Fusion, and the first Fatshark google module years ago is not that very big even today. I hope Fatshark Byte Frost will be a player. But since I got the DJI googles my slowly fading interest in FPV instantly stopped. Finally something NEW and EXITING..we really needed that. My hobby room is full of fixed wings, quads, googles, receivers antennas etc. I do not think I will fly much analog anymore except maybe for my long range planes on 1.3ghz and indoor microquads. This is at least how I see it.
Yeah, DJI's system is a total game changer! I'm saving my money for it and not spending much on anything new that's analog. I'm waiting for other manufacturers to join in the digital fun and for DJI's 2nd gen system. 😎🤘
Let me know how your whoops and toothpicks are working with that DJI system... and of course how that superb HDMI feed from the goggles is helping race organizers...
@@tonycake As I said in my above post I hope all the best for you guys who developed all the analog stuff. And I could be wrong, I am just a hobbyist. My point is that this DJI system is so much better in the most important feature: immersiveness. We get a huge and sharp picture. Far better than any analog. The DJI system will also develop so the option to feed will come. And then the spectators on the event or tv will see this in HD.. Sure for whoops and micro stuff, analog will be the standard for a while to come. I just don't see how anyone would want to go back to analog after flying HD. It is amazing.
I don't own either, but it's easy to see that the RapidFire module blows it out of the water in regards to RF performance, especially at the lower 25mw setting. Not even a comparison IMHO.
One point not touched on is that RF performance will get better via a RF board upgrade due to the module being, well, modular. I believe it will be a $10 upgrade and when the upgrade comes out (you will have to physically change the RF board yourself), the newer revision of the Fusion will have a price increase to match. So rev2 will be $130.
My goal is usually to review the product that we have in hand, not the product that manufacturers promise to make in the future. TBS says the upgraded module will be better. When it is released, I will test it and we'll see how it performs. Until then, making promises of future improvements just feeds the hype machine.
@@JoshuaBardwell I understand, but it's in the same scope of another feature that is yet unreleased and you had an opinion on that future integration. The module's modularity is as fundamental is the crossfire feature. Just would have be something worth mentioning in the video. 🤷♂️
When GC9N says he's on the verge of adding crossfire integration, that's easy to accept as true. Claims about RF performance are often over-stated and require more evidence.
Thanks for a great review. I have the Rapid Fire and I absolutely love it. But, If something better comes out I'll be thrilled! When the HD low latency module with matching camera and transmitter comes out, I'll be in line waiting for it. Until then, Rapid Fire is the best I've tried.
thanks for an honest review, its obvious the Fusion was release way too early, and customers have been suffering with many little stupid rookie quality issues. I feel sorry for the customers who couldn't wait until all the issues were worked out. Hopefully TBS will learn from this fiasco and improve the future products with more field testing with real FPV pilots. It has some potential to be a killer unit too bad the hype was over exaggerated.
If you can break it like that, then it's not a finished product. Nice review, but I'll surely be passing on this one. As a freestyle pilot, my $'s going towards the DJI stuff when I can afford it. Looking for new inspiration, and analog anything isn't doing it for me. Thanks for the honest review, Joshua.
Once released, the new OSD integration with crsf telemetry so you’ll have a clear OSD (gps home arrow) during full video breakup will be great for longrange.
@@smooth_ops2942 I've heard about the TBS osd, vtx follow, and the ability to know about other vtxs. For example, you arrive at a field, turn on your fusion and it'll change to a open frequency and your vtx will follow that
I agree 1000%.... As I am about to order the goggles and the faceplate he recommended plus whatever setup works best. The TBS is what I really am considering but if its not better ill just go with the rapidfire.
for me pure RF performance is usually subjective and ultimately not the be all end all. again... for me. I have the RapidFire. I bought it to "upgrade" my true-d. The RF performance MAY have been better but to my old eyes there wasn't much difference. Hardly night and day as some claim. End of story is i gave the rapidfire to my son and kept the true-d as i perfer its menu and features. The fusion after implementing the crsf functionality will be my next purchase for that fuctionality alone. plus it has a lot of the same features
Holy crap the quadfinder is loud! A few of the spots I fly at are the kind where if you crash and don't have a quadfinder, you are not getting the quad back without a brushcutter and nothing planned for the next two days. I like the interface. Looks crisp!
Thanks for the video and as I review the side by side comparison I see the RapidFire is a much better FPV RX module at this point. The Rapidfire is my daily driver so I'm so happy to see it performs very well in this test.
I believe the side by side test was as fair as it gets and I don't recall you saying anything about which one performed better. Left that up to us...of course it was fairly obvious. 🤘😁👍
Greets! Let me preface everything by letting all know that I am returning to the hobby after several years away. PWm was just coming out with the last quad I built. So TBS crossfire is the control trans and receiver, and rapidfire and fusion are the video trans and receivers?, both known for rather good range? The tbs fusion integrates to the crossfire? I am contemplating a cruiser.... based off of the robocat 270 (I think its a super cool design) 3 or 4s, no gopro, just me and whatever the dvr catches. Build tips are appreciated!
I just got the tbs fusion, and printed the faceplate for my dji fpv googles, after I did finish the module and the cover fit super perfect and did the external mod, so far so good, chossed tbs because Trappi was very nice in the pass with my issues with tbs crossfire and today all my fleet and expensive aircraft are running cxsfire,.. Need to test this module for long range, will see how perform, my laforge is strong so let see how tbs does.
Awesome testing and comparison, Joshua! 😊 You know... I've been thinking and I may even go for Crossfire (in case I really couldn't find any R9 receiver to buy that is compatible with my module)... But between those two I would go to the RapidFire. No doubt about it. 😊
Umm, any mechanical engineer will tell you that sloppy tolerances are unacceptable, even in a first generation product. Where is the testing and evaluation before it is sold on the market? Basic tolerances are the backbone of any engineered product, be it power related or basic layout and containment of the product. Questionable quality control, questionable design tolerances on the most basic of features. Honestly, it does make the consumer question long term reliability. Just my opinion of course. Thanks for the info and your hard work!
I've heard this module delivers a sharper image? I recently found out that my rapidfire image is waaay unsharper than a TrueD, on the same googles with the same copter...
i ordered my rapidfires the day before the TBS module was released, and was kind of kicking myself, but after seeing the head-to-head footage, i'm 100% fine with the rapidfires.
During your second test I noticed that your osd that shows the amount of mah you used and the current amp draw wasn't working I'm currently having the same problem and need help
So TBS makes a claim of “best in the world” and then they fail to even match the top receiver in the market where it matters most: RF performance. 😕 Anyway, let’s look at the bright side of this - competition is always good for us customers and its nice to have a company like TBS to keep ImmersionRC on their toes.
@@mikeoleksa alrighty, I'll try it however the wildfire is 30 dollars cheaper than the fusion again, so i will be waiting for the tests to be released, if it's bad ill do what you said
not for nothin' but at the end of that flight when it crashed, it would have been a good time to try out the Fusion's "find my quad" feature. but thanks for the very good review. Russ from Ocala, Florida, USA
I don’t have either rapid fire nor fusion still on the wall about one of them but on the tbs lounge and with the first fusions were whatever price it was n the module is detachable from the two receivers and what was said is that there’s gonna be better rf receivers very soon if not already and the new fusion with the better receivers is gonna be $10 more then the regular price but people that bought the first batch of fusions can pay $10 and buy the better two receivers board separately and just swop it themselves so people that bought the first batch aren’t left out , so I’m waiting for that to come out before I purchase either one , also tbs did also mention that same problem that u had Joshua with the screen and they showed how’d to take the cover on n off with like a set of tweezers or maybe a small precision flat head area driver or something like that , which made it very easy to take on n off , jus saying lol cause I know how josh loves watching the tbs lounge with his buddy trappy jkjk so excited to see the performance of those rf receivers , later guys
Joshua Bardwell We know how great of a reviewer and diplomat you are and how badly TBS has behaved with you... So sure, but it didn’t and that puts a smile in the corner of your mouth, don’t it? Don’t answer [;
Question... are we basically at the limits of this tech and just going in circles? ie if the Army or someone dropped $10mil to R&D the best possible analog module for our power limits would it be significantly better than what we have now Or is it time to just change the fundamentals to go forward
It's certainly possible that you could a few more dB of sensitivity with big injections of cash. The challenge is being able to mass-produce high quality hardware at a price that our market will bear. Realistically though, I think the future is digital and the question is just how far off that horizon is.
I know that this video is about 9 months or so old but in reference to the screen cracking at the beginning, at 2:42 look to the bottom right of the unit where the little input device protrudes through the hole. The plastic around it looks awful, like it was cut out with a dull exacto knife in some guys basement.
@@JoshuaBardwell LOL yes, you also said you filed it. My point was that issue coupled with the cracking of the screen makes me question the quality control of the product. These issues should have been sorted out before you received it. Peace and love JB.
Nice video :). @Joshua Bardwell it would have been nice to mention that Fusion is modular, i.e, the 5.8GHz receiver boards are on the back PCB and can be upgraded / changed in the future :) by the user. I don't think there is another goggle module on the market that has this feature
There's been several videos showing that rf still beats fusion in raw RF performance. So I hope JB doesn't get blasted for this. Also I'm waiting on the upgrade rf module for the fusion to see what the performance will be like
My philosophy when upgrading equipment like my VRX module & radio gear is to go for the best (money allowing), because going up a notch or two will give you a better experience, sure, but you'll still be looking at the top products, which is why I recently bought a RapidFire, Crossfire & T16. RapidFire = great, Crossfire = supposedly great (I had a failsafe at less than 40 meters), T16 = still getting used to its bulkiness.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, TX antenna secure & not moving, UFL connector on nano RX held in place with heatshrink, Immortal T antenna mounted to back arm of quad at right angle to arm. The output power set to 250mW but dynamic power is on, I was told that doesn't matter? The 14 second flight ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XXZKuibKUa0.html - yes the RSSI is all over the place because I had it set to RSSI as that's all I've ever heard people say "99% RSSI all the time!", nobody told me until after the failsafe I should've had the receiver output LQ instead.
@@JoshuaBardwell Is it bad to have dynamic power on? I have been using it that way for a year with some long range flights, and have never had a problem. What are the problems?
I thought your review was great. Tbs has the potential to make there product to die for. I love the quad finder audio but the rapid fire out performed. Im a fan of your 25mw testing to show rf performance. Keep up the great work. Also can you design a 6x5x2 prop? Maybe purple and gold???
The quads are 6' away from the module. Signal strength is plenty high enough. It's even possible that putting antennas on would make the false-read worse since the signal would be higher and it would be harder to discern the exact frequency of the peak. Bottom line: this is a demonstration not a live test. If antennas were on, it would be in the way of the screen. I have done the same thing with antennas on and the result is always the same. Auto-scan doesn't work well on any module.
I would like to ask again about video dropout. Same thing happened to me. Is there anything you can do to "land" quad "safely" if you lose video ? What is best thing to do, assuming you have few seconds to react ? Turn on stabilization and drop throttle ?
I believe the safest thing to do is disarm as soon as you lose video. I never want a quad powered up and not in some kind of control. If you had a quad with proper return-to-home or GPS-based loiter, then that would be okay too.
No, the exact same behavior happens when antennas are attached. And in fact, the stronger the signal, the worse it is, because the signal swamps the receiver and it can't tell where the actual peak of the channel is.
You forgot to mention that the TBS TRIUMPH STUBBY ANTENNA cant even screw down all the way on the module because the hole in the case isn't wide enough. I am guessing no stubby antenna does. I think if you tightened it down too hard it could cause damage or the other side to lift up a little?
Hey Joshua I finally just got my fusion after months of waiting and it has the new hardware. I do have a question do I need to do the power mod if I have fatshark hd3 goggles ?
I use the pro58 with Pirx the pilot firmware, and found I could see the same distance as a friend with rapidfire, any chance you could do a comparison I know they are in a different price point for a comparison, but maybe make a good alternative to the big boys?
I also use the Eachine Pro58, albeit on standard firmware and am astounded how good it is for so little cash. I have never had the chance to compare it to anything else and would love to see how it does vs the big boys.
Helpful! Fair! I'm thinking early 2020 I'll upgrade my HD3/LaForgeV4 to something better. RapidFire is solid choice, Fusion might be interesting if this "CrossfireCloud-ecosystem" stuff works well, easy, useful, etc .....The elephant in the room DJI - most likely this is where I'll end up... Thx JB
I think it could win the comparison if they update the firmware. The general reception actually seems to be better with the Fusion, while the Rapidfires Firmware is clearly doing its job better. Does that make sense?
USING A SECURITY BASE SYSTEM I MADE A RACE MONITOR TO PUT ON A BIG SCREEN TV FOR OUR TINY WHOOP RACES . THERE ARE 8 CHANNELS . I USED THE ( Eachine PRO58 RX Diversity 40CH 5.8G OLED SCAN ) MODULE BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEAP . 6 OUT OF THE 8 HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE SCREEN ( EVERY OTHER LINE MISSING ) AS YOUR MODULE , AND I WAS CAREFUL AFTER THE FIRST ONE DID IT ALSO . I SUSPECT IT MIGHT BE THE SAME OLED SCREEN . EYE TROUBLE I USE CAPS .
Love all the improvements to the menu options, and the crossfire features may be great, but how long until HD becomes the new standard? DJI's product is pretty impressive. Think I'll wait and see.
So the tbs fusion it's better than the wildfire?....everyone compare all the modules with the rapidfire but I haven't see wildfire vs fusion...in your comparison video you didn't showed the fusion. .you said performance was pretty bad......that means wildfire its better?
Hey Joshua, I just picked your newest video to ask you a question. I'm in the middle of doing the taranis antenna mod on my qx7 and the short story is im getting continuity between the two pads on the RF board, ive used solder wick and cleaned all the solder off the 2 pads and still im getting continuity....any ideas?
@@JoshuaBardwell Thank you so much JB! I was terrified to power it on but you were right, you and your videos have helped me so many times i can only imagine the impact you've had throughout the community. You deserve a fricken FPV know it all medal!
