Attaching a tracker

[wat17]

Have a tracker on the way. It's the TK104B http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Tracker ... B0087C1YM6

How have others been attaching a tracker to their vision? Any unique ideas?

 

[iDrone]

A popular topic, have a look here:

Track that drone...
http://phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4955

iDrone

 

[Pull_Up]

For my Flytrex board I mount it using 3M Command picture hanging strips, variou sizes available:

http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M ... 196&rt=rud

They are like ultra velcro - they grip really tight but are easily removed (both in terms of removing your tracker/flytrex and removing from the aircraft completely if no longer required. Probably overkill for the Flytrex which is about 10 grammes but they are rated as holding 1.3kg, so you could hang your Vision up with 'em!

 

[garygid]

Tom,
Apparently the same product and vendor here, but bad reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Tracker ... im_sbs_e_1

 

[BenDronePilot]

Have a tracker on the way. It's the TK104B http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Tracker ... B0087C1YM6

How have others been attaching a tracker to their vision? Any unique ideas?

That particular tracked got pretty bad reviews so avoid it. Also it has a strong magnet in it, I'd suggest getting something without a strong magnet or removable magnet to avoid any potential interference issues with the compass of other system just to be on the safe side.

 

[jadebox]

Have a tracker on the way. It's the TK104B http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Tracker ... B0087C1YM6

How have others been attaching a tracker to their vision? Any unique ideas?

That particular tracked got pretty bad reviews so avoid it. Also it has a strong magnet in it, I'd suggest getting something without a strong magnet or removable magnet to avoid any potential interference issues with the compass of other system just to be on the safe side.

The bad reviews appear to be from people who couldn't figure out how to use it. It looks like the same one that I bought on Amazon.com and, though I haven't done a lot of testing yet, seems to work well.

The tracker includes a second battery cover that doesn't have the magnets, so it's easy to avoid them.

-- Roger

 

[jadebox]

For my Flytrex board I mount it using 3M Command picture hanging strips.

That's what I plan to use to attach mine. I was going to use Velcro, but the Command strips have the advantage of being completely removable without leaving behind any gummy residue. The disadvantage is, of course, that I'll have to use a new set of strips if I remove and replace the tracker (which I might do if I want to use it in one of my rockets).

The strips are rated to hold about 1 pound each. I'll use two strips. The tracker weighs less than ounces. So, the strips should secure the tracker against up to more than 16Gs. Of course, they are designed to hold things vertically on walls, not hanging horizontally, so they might fail at a lower acceleration. But, if my P2V experiences anywhere near that many Gs, it'll probably end up on the ground beside the tracker.

-- Roger

 

[gpauk]

Have a tracker on the way. It's the TK104B http://www.amazon.com/Real-Time-Tracker ... B0087C1YM6

How have others been attaching a tracker to their vision? Any unique ideas?

That particular tracked got pretty bad reviews so avoid it. Also it has a strong magnet in it, I'd suggest getting something without a strong magnet or removable magnet to avoid any potential interference issues with the compass of other system just to be on the safe side.

The bad reviews appear to be from people who couldn't figure out how to use it. It looks like the same one that I bought on Amazon.com and, though I haven't done a lot of testing yet, seems to work well.

The tracker includes a second battery cover that doesn't have the magnets, so it's easy to avoid them.

-- Roger

I use a TK102B -- works really well, good battery life....
It came with 2 battery covers - a magnetic one and a plain one so no problem there, same as the one you are looking at.

I tested it first by using the magnetic cover and fixing to my wife's car......

 

[Pull_Up]

For my Flytrex board I mount it using 3M Command picture hanging strips.

That's what I plan to use to attach mine. I was going to use Velcro, but the Command strips have the advantage of being completely removable without leaving behind any gummy residue. The disadvantage is, of course, that I'll have to use a new set of strips if I remove and replace the tracker (which I might do if I want to use it in one of my rockets).

The strips are rated to hold about 1 pound each. I'll use two strips. The tracker weighs less than ounces. So, the strips should secure the tracker against up to more than 16Gs. Of course, they are designed to hold things vertically on walls, not hanging horizontally, so they might fail at a lower acceleration. But, if my P2V experiences anywhere near that many Gs, it'll probably end up on the ground beside the tracker.

-- Roger

The good thing about those strips is there's no female/male side. Every strip will stick to every other one. So keep one on the Vision, one (or two!) on the rocket, and one (or two!) on the tracker. It'll move between the two without problem and if you use two on your tracker they can overlap with the one on the Vision. I really like this product for lots of temporary/removable fixing jobs.

 

[iDrone]

I've spent the last few nights testing & hacking a version of the TK102 and working with the vendor; there are many variations out there all running different firmware & command instructions, and there's at least two versions of the satellite chipsets & antennas and another with no GPS chipset at all. The one I'm testing (TK102B) is accurate to within 6-feet. Still testing/hacking other features like shock/vibration alarm, audio monitoring, and battery life. Very interesting little gizmo.

iDrone :geek:

 

[wat17]

Cheers. Sounds like the command hing strips are the go.

The TK102B seems a good option. Most poor review seem to be from people who don't know how to use it.

There was a cheaper tracker that I found which was and A8 Mini, which had a picture of Andriod logo. This was not actually a HPS tracker. It just used cell tower location.

 

[LeoS]

The good thing about those strips is there's no female/male side. Every strip will stick to every other one. So keep one on the Vision, one (or two!) on the rocket, and one (or two!) on the tracker. It'll move between the two without problem and if you use two on your tracker they can overlap with the one on the Vision. I really like this product for lots of temporary/removable fixing jobs.

Are you saying you're reusing them on multiple surface/devices?

 

[BManCan]

The good thing about those strips is there's no female/male side. Every strip will stick to every other one. So keep one on the Vision, one (or two!) on the rocket, and one (or two!) on the tracker. It'll move between the two without problem and if you use two on your tracker they can overlap with the one on the Vision. I really like this product for lots of temporary/removable fixing jobs.

Are you saying you're reusing them on multiple surface/devices?

For re-usable fasteners, this user must be referring to something like the 3M DualLock products, instead of the Command Strip products.

 

[garygid]

It seems like there are fakes and variations of this Tracker.
Is this the 100% genuine, properly functioning Tracker?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CXMRGN2/

Apparently it uses a full size SIM card.

The link to the T-Mobile $10 for 90 days "pay as you go" card seems to be:
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go-plans
which would be roughly $40 per year, the lowest cost that I have found.

Is there anything better?

Remember the helpful instructions here:
http://www.visionflyer.com/adding-a-gps ... -2-vision/

 

[Pull_Up]

Are you saying you're reusing them on multiple surface/devices?

Not quite. I meant that unlike velcro there is no male/female side to them. So if you leave one of the strips on your aircraft and one on your rocket (in thats guy's case) you can swap a device between them which has its own strip on it and you never have to worry about the usual fraying and degredation of the furry side of velcro, coupled with the tricky nature of getting velcro removed from the aircraft if required as the high strength stuff has very sticky adhesive.

In effect three strips will let you swap out a device between two surfaces. If you ever need to remove one of those strips hten, being a Command product, it will come off cleanly.

 

[LeoS]

Are you saying you're reusing them on multiple surface/devices?

Not quite. I meant that unlike velcro there is no male/female side to them. So if you leave one of the strips on your aircraft and one on your rocket (in thats guy's case) you can swap a device between them which has its own strip on it and you never have to worry about the usual fraying and degredation of the furry side of velcro, coupled with the tricky nature of getting velcro removed from the aircraft if required as the high strength stuff has very sticky adhesive.

In effect three strips will let you swap out a device between two surfaces. If you ever need to remove one of those strips hten, being a Command product, it will come off cleanly.

Hmmm okay..

I don't quite get it, but that's ok...
I just put the fuzzy velcro on the underside of my PV and the brush-like patch on the GPS tracker. Right now I just switch between fixing it there and leaving it in the top pocket of my backpack when I travel...

If I buy another craft, I'll just install another fuzzy patch on that one, so I can use the same gps tracker on it.

 

[Pull_Up]

That works great too! I only moved away from velcro because the sticky backing can be difficult to get off if I want to re/move it for some reason, and after a time the fluffy sides get a bit frayed and the hook sides seem to collect all kinds of interesting muck in them! These particular command products work in exactly the same way except there's no fluffy/hook side (both sides are the same) and removal is the usual Command grab the tail and pull. As an added bonus they are in Phantom White already.

 

[LeoS]

That works great too! I only moved away from velcro because the sticky backing can be difficult to get off if I want to re/move it for some reason, and after a time the fluffy sides get a bit frayed and the hook sides seem to collect all kinds of interesting muck in them! These particular command products work in exactly the same way except there's no fluffy/hook side (both sides are the same) and removal is the usual Command grab the tail and pull. As an added bonus they are in Phantom White already.

Haha nice point on the aesthetics!
My gps tracker is already an ugly black block at the tail end... so I guess mine can't be helped anymore in that department