The Speedybee TX800 video transmitter is a small VTX with 20x20mm mounting. It takes 5V input and offers up to 800mW output power. It’s a budget VTX with decent performance.
Learn more about VTX in this buyer’s guide.
Table of Contents
Where To Buy?
- GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-adnt
- RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-i5ip
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DnNuO5d
Includes the following accessories:
- 1x MMCX Antenna
- 1x MMCX to SMA Cable
- 1x 1.0mm 4pin JST Cable
Specifications
- Supported Frequency & Channel: 5.8GHz 48CH (6 Bands)
- Output Power: PIT/25mW/200mW/400mW/800mW
- Working Current: 5V@250~750mA
- Voltage input: 3.7-5.5V
- Voltage output: 5V@max 250mA
- MMCX Antenna Connector
- Weight:
- 3.2g (w/o heatsink/antenna)
- 5.6g (with heatsink, w/o antenna)
- 6.9g (with heatsink/antenna)
- PCB Size: 28x28mm
- Mounting: 20x20mm M3 holes
Closer Look at the TX800 VTX
The Speedybee TX800 comes with a removable heatsink. It’s pretty light weight only 2.6 grams.
The 20x20mm form factor is perfect for modern freestyle frames that normally have 20x20mm mounting at the back, such as the Source One V5. The screw holes are pretty wide, big enough for M3 screws, for M2 fasteners you probably need some sort of washers.
The antenna connector is MMCX, it’s a much more robust connector than the tiny U.FL. You can either connect an antenna to it directly, or use the provided MMCX to SMA cable to mount it in your frame.
Although it comes with an antenna, I recommend getting an aftermarket antenna for better RF performance. The one included is a basic dipole antenna, it’s light weight and works fine in close range, but it won’t give you the best penetration and range.
Warning: DO NOT power the VTX without antenna attached, it can overheat and get damaged.
There are 3 LED’s (blue, red, orange) on the TX800 to indicate what channel, band and power level it’s on. There’s a push button for changing VTX settings. You can also change settings via Betaflight VTX Control (in the OSD menu or via the LUA Script), but beware that it doesn’t use SmartAudio, it uses IRC Tramp protocol.
You can connect the flight controller to the VTX using the JST connector cable provided, or solder the wires directly to the pads on the bottom of the VTX.
It has a 5V output but only has enough current for powering things like your FPV camera.
It supports the following 5.8GHz channels:
| A | 5865 | 5845 | 5825 | 5805 | 5785 | 5765 | 5745 | 5725 |
| B | 5733 | 5752 | 5771 | 5790 | 5809 | 5828 | 5847 | 5866 |
| E | 5705 | 5685 | 5665 | 5645 | 5885 | 5905 | 5925 | 5945 |
| F | 5740 | 5760 | 5780 | 5800 | 5820 | 5840 | 5860 | 5880 |
| R | 5658 | 5695 | 5732 | 5769 | 5806 | 5843 | 5880 | 5917 |
| Low Race | 5362 | 5399 | 5436 | 5473 | 5510 | 5547 | 5584 | 5621 |
The TX800 video transmitter came “locked”, which means the channels in orange are not available out of the box, and it’s limited to only 25mW. You can access all the channels and up to 800mW by unlocking the VTX. When the TX800 is locked, the RED and ORANGE LED will keep blinking.
To unlock the TX800, long press the button for 10 seconds.
You can lock the TX800 again by holding down the button for 10 seconds.
How to Change Channels/Power?
There are two ways to change VTX settings such as channels and power level on the TX800:
- Using the push button on the VTX
- Betaflight OSD menu (or LUA script)
Button operation:
- Short press the button to switch CH1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8
- Long press the button for 2 seconds to switch band1/2/3/4/5/6
- Long press the button for 5 seconds to switch to 25/200/400/800mW
LED indicators meaning:
To be able to change VTX settings via Betaflight OSD menu, you have to setup VTX control as explained below.
VTX Control Setup (VTX Table)
Connect the IRC wire/pad from the VTX to the TX pad of a spare UART on the flight controller.
In the Ports Tab in the Configurator, select “IRC Tramp” under “Peripherals” for the UART you are using for the VTX.
For VTX control to work properly in Betaflight, you need to download and load this JSON file in the Video Transmitter tab in the Configurator (link provided by Speedybee): https://speedybee.s3.amazonaws.com/vtxtable/betaflight/TX800/SpeedyBee-TX800(USA).json
Or just copy this snippet in the CLI:
# vtxtable
vtxtable bands 5
vtxtable channels 8
vtxtable band 1 BOSCAM_A A CUSTOM 5865 5845 5825 5805 5785 5765 5745 5725
vtxtable band 2 BOSCAM_B B CUSTOM 5733 5752 5771 5790 5809 5828 5847 5866
vtxtable band 3 BOSCAM_E E CUSTOM 5705 5685 5665 0 5885 5905 0 0
vtxtable band 4 FATSHARK F CUSTOM 5740 5760 5780 5800 5820 5840 5860 5880
vtxtable band 5 RACEBAND R CUSTOM 5658 5695 5732 5769 5806 5843 5880 5917
vtxtable powerlevels 5
vtxtable powervalues 25 200 400 600 600
vtxtable powerlabels 25 200 400 800 800
VTX Pit Mode
The TX800 supports Pit Mode activation via a switch, it basically reduces the output power of your VTX to an extremely low level (only enough for a few meters of range) so it won’t interrupt other pilots while they are still in the air, it also keeps your VTX cooler. It’s useful for troubleshooting when you are in a race/meetup or when your quad is down.
In the Modes tab in the Configurator, assign an Aux channel to VTX Pit Mode.
Official Manual
Link provided by Speedybee: https://store-fhxxhuiq8q.mybigcommerce.com/product_images/TX800/TX800-Manual-EN.pdf
Output Power Testing
Powers were tested using the ImmersionRC Power Meter V2, so take it as a grain of salt as it’s not the most accurate tool in the world. But the numbers look pretty decent IMO. Wondering which channel is best for FPV? Check out this post.
| Channel | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 |
| Freq | 5658 | 5695 | 5732 | 5769 | 5806 | 5843 | 5880 | 5917 |
| 25mW | 29 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 29 |
| 200mW | 215 | / | 213 | / | 240 | / | / | 235 |
| 400mW | 410 | / | / | / | / | / | / | 460 |
| 800mW | 650 | / | / | / | / | / | / | 750 |
24 comments
Hi, somehow the transmitter burned down, near the connector there is a 5-leg chip, please take a photo of the circuit, I will be very grateful, thank you.
Hi Oscar, great tutorial.
Short story on my new VTX: build it in, startet Quad, switched to 800mw and took a flight at high speed. Wondering that Video was lost at about 200m, read your tutorial and UNLOCKED VTX for the next flight…
Thank you for your work!
Hi ! I have a problem with vtx table loading. I copy and paste on cli but nothing append. I try with so many vtx table but still have a range of 5 meter with the max power..
Hello. Same at me. Just enter “unlocked mode” by pressing Button 10 Seconds. After that, if you change settings on RC, the Indicator LEDs show the Effect.
Hi. I live in the UK.
Should I download the JSON file for USA or EU?
We are no longer in the EU but closer to than the US?!
Thanks for all your great articles.
I am 75 years young and need all the help I can get!
Hi, on the wiring diagram, you connect it to T2, but if you use T2 for RX (as shown on the port table), then it should say T4, am I right ?
Yes, you are totally right.
Hello Oscar ! First of all, thank you for all your reviews and advises, you do help a lot of peapole !
Concerning this TX800 VTX, I reveived it locked and pushed the button for 10 secs which seemed to unlock it. Unfortunately, besides setting the Band + Channel + Power in betaflight it deoesn’t seem to save my settings. Same things trying to set different settings via my goggles and stick commands.. Any idea of what I am doing wrong ? The FC I am using is a Mamba F405 MK2 mini on BF 4.4.0 and the VTX is wired on uart 3.. Should I try another uart ? Thank you for your help !
does it save it when you press the button? If so it’s likely to be an issue with VTX table in betaflight.
I did not try yet setting it up only via the button as it says it is not effective when wired to the FC on an uart (irc tramp), I will have to desolder and try..
For the vtx table set up in BF it is the one you mention above.
A mi me pasaba lo mismo pero desactive unas cosas que están en betafligh las que dicen( low power disarm) y me funciono están en la tabla del vtx
Hi, i am using this Speedy Vtx with the speedybee f405 v3 stack. How do i know on wich UART Port its sitting? Just starting with drones :)
It depends on which UART you connected it to on the flight controller.
The UART pads on the FC are labelled as TX1, RX1, or TX2, RX2 etc… the number indicate which UART it is.
ooh, simple as that. Thank You!
Youre tutorials are great for a beginner as me! Keep up the good work!
Hi Oscar! Do you know if there is any way to solder a microphone to it? I ordered it without thinking about a microphone, and I really like the design but I can’t fly without audio…
I don’t think this VTX is designed to connect a Microphone.
Check out the Eachine TX805 – it has a built-in mic
Or the Rushtank Solo, which has an solder pad for external mic.
https://oscarliang.com/top-5-best-vtx-mini-quad/
Thank you, that’s what I thought. Have a great day!
Hi, is this record really good (last two levels)?
vtxtable powervalues 25 200 400 600 600
vtxtable powerlabels 25 200 400 800 800
It is correct. IRC Tramp only supports 600 powervalue. To get around this, the tx800 knows to output 800mw when it receives the 600mw signal.
Nice review. I am curious as to why the vtxtable power value peaks at 600 while it is labelled as 800. I may be thinking too much, but is there a chance that this is a 600 mW VTX passing off as a 800 mW VTX under the hood of power labelling ? It would be good to investigate, a great content for your next post.
The ImmersionRC powermeter I used to measure the output isn’t the most accurate, but we hobbyist use it because it’s affordable. the professional ones cost a few thousand dollars. It’s also common for VTX output power to drop after powering up for a while as it gets hot without proper airflow and cooling on the bench. The output power at 800mW is around 650-750mW, which I would say is pretty good for a tiny VTX this small and light weight.
Great vtx option for the price. Would you recommend using the vtx 5v power out to power the fpv cam or use the FC to power the cam instead?
Just power the camera from the FC, makes the wiring more tidy and simple as well!
Powering the camera from the VTX only make sense if you are not using the FC, and connect the camera signal directly to the VTX.
Thank you, will do (I have this particular vtx and it looks great with the heatsink). I’m using the vtx in a quadcopter build so will power the camera from the fc as suggested along with the camera signal being connected to the FC too in order to get the bf osd goodness!).