Anyone using a Tracker? Recommendations?

[30secs]

Not sure what you mean but I think the answer is no.

I mean in the p1.p2 days it made more sense than with the p3 which has a better system and app that makes losing the phantom where a tracker is the only salvation pretty rare.

You get up to the second GPS coordinates on your app logs. Not to mention video cache

 

[FredSheldon]

I mean in the p1.p2 days it made more sense than with the p3 which has a better system and app that makes losing the phantom where a tracker is the only salvation pretty rare.

You get up to the second GPS coordinates on your app logs. Not to mention video cache

While picking up my P3P in a field where I fly I knocked the transmitter off and didn't notice it until I got home. I went back to the field and used the tracker to point me to the exact spot the transmitter was hiding in the tall grass. The tracker will guide you right to the lost drone within a foot with a range of up to 2 miles away like in your neighbor's back yard tree .

 

[rrmccabe]

I mean in the p1.p2 days it made more sense than with the p3 which has a better system and app that makes losing the phantom where a tracker is the only salvation pretty rare.

You get up to the second GPS coordinates on your app logs. Not to mention video cache

As soon as you lose connectivity with the Phantom there are no GPS coordinates or video cache available.

Anyone that every flies missions on a 3rd party app will appreciate this as well as you can fly beyond range of controller.

 

[Sammynels]

Hi Fred, which tracker do you use?

 

[rrmccabe]

Hi Fred, which tracker do you use?

If he tracked it within a foot he is using a Marco Polo !

 

[Sammynels]

That's what I thought from everything you've written. I'm sold. Now to choose from the 3 transmitters. Is the reception really that much better using the Wire antenna rather than the short stubby one?

 

[rrmccabe]

Its a decent amount of range. But the RC version also is smaller and mounts easier. You might not like the antenna? Its really not that long.

 

[Sammynels]

How are you able to choose transmitters? On Amazon it looks like there's just one choice? Do you buy it directly from the manufacturer?

 

[rrmccabe]

Well on Amazon I think you can buy a dog or RC version. But if you want the hybrid you need to get it direct from Eureka Products (manufacturer).

Just drop Tim Crabtree an email [email protected] and tell him when they ship yours to make it the hybrid.

 

[FredSheldon]

Hi Fred, which tracker do you use?

Yes, the Marco Polo RC version.

 

[morgus]

My dumb dog escapes too often so we had a Tagg tracker already, I got another collar clip, put it on the gimble guard, and it works great. So if you have a dog that you want to protect with GPS too, you get two issues dealt with. It has a good iphone app, and is pretty reliable.

 

[JKDSensei]

I wanted something that was self-contained, and would not rely on external systems, specifically GPS and Mobile. I opted for a UHF RF Beacon that uses an off the shelf FRS Radio for a receiver. I set the beacon for FRS Channel 3, and 3 second transmit interval. The whole package, including LiPo, tucks up nicely into the top of the P2V+ landing strut. With a 380mah battery, I get > 24 hour transmit times. I added a piezo chirper to help with the "last mile", so to speak (High Grass, etc.).

The Baofeng UV-5R radio has a removable antenna, so I built a directional Yagi antenna to help at longer range. The first part of the video is just the piezo chirping, then I switch on the Baofeng, and you can hear the High-Medium-Low power tones transmitted by the beacon.

Beacon V2: $18.50 http://distance-rc.com/store/beaconv2
Baofeng UV-5R: $27.10 http://tinyurl.com/pjseppp (Buy 2: Careful, requires Ham license to Xmit)

I'd like to know more about this CapnBob

 

[CapnBob]

What would you like to know?

I'd like to know more about this CapnBob

I'd like to know more about this CapnBob

 

[witold]

I have the Loc8tor Plus. (not the regular version.)

This thread reminds me that I need to actually put it on my P3! I've had my Loc8tor Plus for a while and I use it on my 250s/etc, but I haven't put it on my P3 yet... It works great on my 250s when I crash.

I thought about GPS trackers but they seem like a false sense of security and you have to maintain them. For them to work, you need 3 things to right: (1) your SIM card has to be valid at that moment, (2) you need cell phone signal, and (3) you need to pick up GPS signal.

I live on the East Coast, right by a giant metro area. If my Phantom 3 crashed in my yard, do you know how much a GPS tracker would help? Zilch. Nada. My cul-de-sac is a cell phone tower deadspot. When I go trail running, it takes a while to pick up GPS signal on my smartphone and on my running watch. What if my quad falls into brush and trees? What are the chances that the tiny tracker will not pick up GPS signal?

Of course reliability comes at a price of range. My Loc8tor Plus is good for about 300 feet. Not much. If I lose my P3, I should know the direction it went in and it might require some walking. But I know the signal is there to be found.

 

[CapnBob]

See my post above. UHF "Fox Hunt" style locator beacon. Self contained, no cell service or GPS needed.

 

[Jesse_M]

Just to confirm the Marco Polo does not require cell signal?

That's exactly what I need as I live (and fly mostly) on the backside of Pikes Peak...

 

[rrmccabe]

Just to confirm the Marco Polo does not require cell signal?

That's exactly what I need as I live (and fly mostly) on the backside of Pikes Peak...

No cell. Its RF signal. Just traditional robust radio.

 

[blade strike]

Trackimo works good

 

[ATPUFS]

I wanted something that was self-contained, and would not rely on external systems, specifically GPS and Mobile. I opted for a UHF RF Beacon that uses an off the shelf FRS Radio for a receiver. I set the beacon for FRS Channel 3, and 3 second transmit interval. The whole package, including LiPo, tucks up nicely into the top of the P2V+ landing strut. With a 380mah battery, I get > 24 hour transmit times. I added a piezo chirper to help with the "last mile", so to speak (High Grass, etc.).

The Baofeng UV-5R radio has a removable antenna, so I built a directional Yagi antenna to help at longer range. The first part of the video is just the piezo chirping, then I switch on the Baofeng, and you can hear the High-Medium-Low power tones transmitted by the beacon.

Beacon V2: $18.50 http://distance-rc.com/store/beaconv2
Baofeng UV-5R: $27.10 http://tinyurl.com/pjseppp (Buy 2: Careful, requires Ham license to Xmit)

CapnBob,

I really like this idea. I just ordered the transmitter, but I'm looking for help with building the antenna. I have two of the Baofeng UV-5R+ radios lying around not being used so I thought this would be fun and could save me a lot of money should my P3A go down.

Do you have any links to a good instructable for building the directional antenna? I've found some but not sure if frequency ranges are correct for this application.
I had the transmitter pre programmed for channel 5, 462.6625, with a 20 minute delay. I figured that's all the flight time I get from each battery.

Also, what battery are you powering the transmitter with?

Thanks for the input.

Sam

 

[CapnBob]

You can start here, it's a tape measure 3 element yagi for 433 MHz. It would probably work fine at your freq, or you could scale the dimensions for 462 MHz. It was designed in Yagi-Cad, a free design tool http://www.yagicad.com/YagiCAD/YagiCAD.htm. You want to design it with maximum F-B ratio for locating purposes.

I use a 380mah iS LiPo to power the beacon; I do not have a delay programmed. I get >24 hrs of transmit time with that battery, and I don't want to have to wait 20 minutes to go after the bird if it flies off and crashes at startup. I also added a 4K Piezo buzzer that you can hear in the video for audio location when close. Radio Shack P/N 273-0074 Solder it to the beacon's LED dropping resistor.