Review: AKK video diversity receiver for Fat Shark Goggles

Several weeks ago I noticed something that looks like a new FatShark receiver pop up on the AKK Tech web site which sparked my curiosity.  AKK is a chinese company that is known for manufacturing video transmitters (VTX). I had a lot of success using their FX-series receivers in my builds. The receiver that AKK listed on their page looked exactly like a clone of one of the Furious FPV True-D series receivers. Usually the chinese FatShark receivers such as RX5808 have an awkward wheel/button hybrid that allows navigation through menus, and it is a huge pain to use. The setup on Furious FPV True-d unit is 3 separate buttons, which make menu navigation a lot easier. The AKK receiver was also listed for $30, which is half of the price of comparable True-D unit.

Some days after listing the receiver on their chinese shop, AKK started selling it though their Amazon shop with prime, at a price of $33. At this point, I ordered one to check it out. The receiver arrived in a standard cardboard AKK box with foam padding on the inside. The first unit I received worked, however it had what appears to be an assembly problem, with 3 of the boards misaligned and the board with the top display not mounted straight. I ordered an exchange right away, and the second unit that arrived was assembled correctly. Other than alignment issue with the first unit, the receivers look well built, with good solder joints, and nothing blatantly sketchy.

Upon closer examination it looks like AKK cloned the True-D. The hardware and the software look identical. I do not own a True-D receiver, so my comparison is based on google images and videos on youtube. When plugged into the goggles, an AKK logo pops up on the receiver boot-up, however after that the firmware appears to be a clone of True-D receiver as well. The main difference is that AKK did not include a USB plug that is present on the Furious FPV receiver, even though there is a spot for it on the board. Make me wonder if this was done on purpose, so that original Furious FPV firmware cannot be flashed into the receiver. I will order a surface mount micro usb plug and solder it on to see whether this can be flashed with any other firmware.

Other than comparison to True-D, AKK’s receiver seems to work just fine. The menus are a lot easier to navigate than on Eachine Pro58 or RX5808, diversity functions and the goggles do not run any hotter than with other FatShark receivers that I own. I will post a DVR video done with this receiver comparing it to Pro58 once the weather gets better (it is snowing now).

Overall, it looks like a well-executed clone of Furious FPV receiver, however because it is a clone, it may be slightly sketchy. But for the price it is great. It is nice to be able to buy a decent diversity receiver from Amazon for such a low price. For reference, Eachine Pro58 is sold by banggood with usual banggood shipping times, and RX5808 is about $20 more. I would not hesitate to recommend this receiver for somebody who just bought their new goggles is is sick of one-button interface on RX5808 or Eachine Pro58. The receiver does not come with a cover to make it fit into the goggles. The 3D print file is available here from thingsverse, and it fits perfectly.