Walksnail video keeps pausing every few minutes … anyone else having this issue?

My live video feed keeps randomly pausing for 1-2 seconds midflight. This happens on both my Moonlight Kit and Mini 1s Lite Kit (V3), both using stock antennas. I use the Walksnail VRX for my receiver with stock antennas as well.

When I power up the drone, VTX, and VRX, after 2 seconds, the video always pauses for 1 second and then comes back. A black bar appears at the top of the screen during the pause. This happens again after around 10 seconds before I arm the drone. Once I take off, the pausing happens at random times during the flight, sometimes after 30 seconds, sometimes 2 minutes.

It happens from 0 to 4 times during each flight, and on average, once every 3 minutes. The VTX DVR doesn’t show any pausing at the times where the video feed pauses, but the VRX DVR shows the pauses.

I’m on the latest firmware (38.43.8), but this was happening before with other firmware versions (37.42.x). Anyone else experienced this? Any fixes for this?

Are you sure all your antennas are properly connected? Have you checked them both on your goggles and on your VTX? Also, which channel are you using? You might want to try channel 7 or another one.

Zeke said:
Are you sure all your antennas are properly connected? Have you checked them both on your goggles and on your VTX? Also, which channel are you using? You might want to try channel 7 or another one.

I’m pretty sure the antennas are all connected properly. I’ve tried stock omnis and dipole antennas on both the Moonlight and Mini 1s Lite kits, and the VRX antennas are tight. The freezing still happens. I’ve tried a few channels, but I mostly fly on channel 7, and the pausing still happens.

@Leith
Have you tried flying in a different location? Maybe you’re in an area with a lot of RF interference. I’ve used several Walksnail kits with the same firmware and haven’t had this problem. I’d like to figure this out so I can avoid it if it ever happens to me.

@Zeke
No, it happens everywhere, from a snow mountain 3000m high to my local park. It really happens everywhere. Right now, I think it’s a VRX issue because it’s unlikely that 1 Moonlight Kit and 2 Mini 1s Lite kits would all be faulty. It might be a firmware issue, but others don’t seem to have this problem.

Try taking off as soon as possible. The WS VTX heats up quickly, and if it doesn’t cool down fast enough, it might fall from the sky. I’d recommend taking off quickly, but make sure you’re in a safe spot in case it still drops. That might help. If it doesn’t, your VTX might just be faulty. I had a similar issue and had to get a fix/warranty work from Caddx.

The stock antennas for Walksnail are pretty bad.

Drew said:
The stock antennas for Walksnail are pretty bad.

Do you think the antennas are the problem? Which ones do you mean, the VRX ones or the VTX ones? I thought they were fine, range and penetration are good, but it’s just the random freezing every 2 or 3 minutes.

@Leith
The VTX stock antennas are terrible.

Drew said:
@Leith
The VTX stock antennas are terrible.

I use stock antennas for the Moonlight, but I’ve also tried dipoles, and for one of my Mini 1s Lite kits, I use a Foxeer micro lollipop. The issue still happens in both cases, so wouldn’t that rule out the antenna being the problem?

@Leith
I really like the Truerc antennas. They improved my range and penetration. I haven’t tried the Moonlight yet, but I plan to put it in one of my 10" quads and use it in a freestyle setup.

@Leith
Nah, stock antennas might not be the best, but they’re not causing the issue you’re having. Something seems off with your hardware or firmware. You said your firmware was different before, but the issue is still there. How are you powering your VRX? Did this problem start from day 1, or is it a recent issue?