Today we are reviewing the GTeng T909 FPV watch with 2″ LCD screen! It’s a really cool gadget with a built-in battery and VRX, providing decent run time and range, all in this tiny package. I have been having fun mounting an FPV watch on my Taranis TX for watching other’s flying and also for testing my FPV setup.
You can get the FPV watch from:
GTeng T909 FPV Watch: Banggood | Amazon
Boscam FPV Watch: GetFPV | Amazon
Specification
- Watch Dimension: 56mm x 50mm x 12.5mm
- Screen Dimension: 2″ TFT LCD Display (width 46mm x length 30mm)
- Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels
- Built-in Omni Directional whip Antenna (gain: 3dbi)
- Onboard video receiver: 5.8Ghz, 4 Bands, 32 Channels
- Built-in 300mAh LiPo battery, charged via 5V Micro USB port, charging takes about 50-60 mins
- Power Consumption: 300mA @ 3.7V (1S), the built-in battery would last about an hour
- Weight (including belt): 62g
Unboxing the T909
The GTeng T909 FPV watch comes with a USB cable for charging, and a manual. Note that you can only use this cable for charging your watch, normal micro USB cable doesn’t work!
The length of the watch is about 27cm.
On the left there is a USB connector for charging battery, and the foldable antenna.
On the right, there are the power button and channel button.
To switch on/off the GTENG T909 FPV watch, simply hold down the power button for 3 seconds.
Press the channel button to change channels, hold down the channel button for 3 seconds to change frequency bands.
The wrist band is made of some sort of sticky rubber and seems to be attracted to dusts. It probably would feel terrible if you have sweaty wrists.
Impression of the GTeng FPV watch
Table of Contents
It’s not a watch!
First of all, you really can’t look at the watch on your wrist while controlling the radio transmitter, not to mention the tiny screen. So to me it makes more sense to use it for watching other’s flying or as a tool to test equipment.
And it’s not really a watch as it doesn’t tell the time. But, you can put a camera/VTX in front of a clock, and set the VTX on Ch7 if you’re desperate :) Just kidding.
FPV Watch Screen Resolution
However the resolution seems to be pretty good, even the little OSD text is readable if you look closer.
There is no noticeable delay comparing to the 7″ monitor I am using. However the LCD screen is not very bright, it can be difficult to see under the sun. Also the viewing angle is narrower than a larger display, at about 45 degrees.
GTeng Watch Signal Range
I tested the range using a FX797 video transmitter on a Tiny whoop micro quad.
From this test, the GTeng FPV Watch has about 90% range as my ImmersionRC Uno V2 VRX with a dipole antenna. It reached about 180m before the video became unflyable, while I got 210m on the Uno video receiver.
Very impressive for something this tiny with a simple antenna hidden inside.
Pros and Cons
I like this FPV watch, it’s an affordable gadget for FPV and simple to use. It has good battery life for the small size, and the reception is also excellent which is more than enough for FPV races.
However the screen is a bit too small as a primary FPV display, though it would be a ton of fun as a spectator monitor.
One major disadvantage is the low brightness. Not to mention that brightness and contrast are not adjustable either. On a sunny day you will have to stand under a shady tree in order to see the screen clearly.
It’s such a good companion with the Tiny Whoop :) Even the colours match nicely.
Modifications and Improvements
The first mod I did to the FPV watch was to remove the wrist bands :) I don’t think I would ever wear it anyway.
In the future I might also change out the battery to some bigger ones. Or maybe remove the internal battery, replace it with a JST connector and drill a hole on the watch so I can plug an external battery in.
Quick note, to access the main PCB and battery bay, you only need to simply lift the screen.
One last thing I noticed was the FPV watch is using a RX5808 video receiver module (which you can get easily in case you want to replace it). That means you can actually take it apart, remove the whip antenna and add a SMA connector to the VRX, so that you can install a higher gain antenna to give you more range :)
Here is the manual for future reference.
3D Printed Mount for the Taranis TX
3D printed mount for the Taranis X9D (https://goo.gl/NTkFMR), and QX7 (https://goo.gl/KEhqCX).
Charging your FPV Watch in the Field
The internal battery only lasts about an hour, so it would be helpful to be able to charge it in the field. The easiest solution is to use a LiPo to 5V converter (http://bit.ly/2HvkfUW). Now you can charge your FPV watch with any battery you bring for flying :)
Other Creative Uses
Someone commented on Facebook that he uses this watch as a TV streaming display. He hooks up the AV cable from the TV to a VTX so he can walk around the house with the watch without missing out what’s on the show :)
Edit History
- Oct 2016 – Article created
- Apr 2018 – Updated with 3D printed mount for Taranis
10 comments
Nice review! do you think it would be possible to upgrade the antenna to something like a stubby triumph?
yea sure, there are only two things to solder, signal and ground.
Hi Oscar – What material did you use to print the mount, e.g., TPU, ABS, etc? Thanks!
PLA
Thanks for the great review and all of your help, Oscar! Thanks also for putting up a copy of the manual. So helpful, as I lost mine.
A chap (shawdreamer) on the Multi forum (multi-rotor.co.uk/index.php?topic=20795.msg188330#msg188330) created this thingiverse.com/thing:2108436 which converts the GTeng into a monocule. So in theory you don’t need a spotter as you have 1 eye in direct line of sight of your quad and the other eye is the fpv eye :)
Nice, thanks for the review.
Now i have all knowledge to buy the watch
Do you know if it’s a PAL or NTSC display?
960×240 is “right”. They are counting the RGB pixels separately. So divide by 3 like you did.
that’s good to know :) thanks pixels