rapidFIRE Compatibility 

MAX7456/AT7456 OSD Chips 

The Problem 
rapidFIRE (and possibly other similar products) has a problem locking on the video
signal from certain OSDs embedded on Betaflight Flight Controllers.

If it does lock, during flight it will occasionally unlock, and show a gray rolling image

Affected Products 
Sunrise Model, 30A, F4, siskin X4, BL-Heli 32
Also branded as Lumenier ALPHA AIO (SKU 7681)

ImmersionRC Diagnosis 
This all-in-one flight controller uses undervalued components on the video output of
the OSD, resulting in a heavily distorted composite video output.

A normal level of distortion can be corrected by the rapidFIRE technology, but the
output of this flight controller exceeds manageable limits.

   
Technical Details 
The output of the MAX7456 (or Chinese equivalent, the AT7456) feeds the
composite video signal from two capacitors. The datasheet for the chip mentions
values of this capacitor from 10uF, through 470uF (Table 2 of the datasheet,
SAG-Correction Capacitor Values).

Using the (lower cost) 10uF capacitors causes a distortion which creates not only a
‘sag’ on each line, but a much larger problem during the vertical blanking interval,
shown in the oscilloscope capture below.

Without rapidfire the problem is mainly masked by the ability for the goggles to sync
on these distorted PAL/NTSC images, but certain DVRs are affected by this issue.

Why do manufacturers use these parts?... cost… a 10uF ceramic capacitor is

relatively cheap, and works well enough to ship a product.

   
The Fix 
Most OSD designs using these parts use a much more appropriate 47uF (or larger)
capacitor, which results in a much cleaner video signal, shown below:

Note that the sync tips (the bottom of the waveform) are at the same DC level,
without the vertical ‘sag’ shown in the previous image.

The fix is relatively simple, and can be made by anyone with a steady hand and a
soldering iron.

Step 1:​ Locate the two capacitors on the PCB. They are side-by side, and always the
same size:
Step 2:​ Solder a small thru-hole electrolytic capacitor across each of the installed
surface mount capacitors.
A suitable part is the Digikey P802-ND, Panasonic ECE-A0JKA470, a small 4mm
diameter can that is fairly easy to solder without getting in the way of other boards in
the stack.

The stripe on the capacitor known as the negative terminal should be soldered
towards the top of the capacitor (as oriented in the image below)

Alternatively, for the experts behind the soldering iron, just remove the two capacitors
and replace with a 47uF ceramic equivalent.