Flytrex Live Telemetry - Phantom 2

britchris1 · Jul 9, 2014

This was just announced - perhaps a viable alternative to other GPS trackers? has some neat features and is compatible with the P2

http://www.flytrex.com/blog/meet-flytre ... to-logger/
http://www.flytrex.com/support/flytrex-live/manual/

OI Photography · Jul 9, 2014

I've been anxiously awaiting this new release they've been teasing, and while it doesn't contain all the features I was personally hoping for it's still a pretty clever way of doing this without adding a lot of complexity.

ianwood · Jul 9, 2014

Looks very cool but I don't get the choice of GPRS radio. It's as slow as mud, has massive latency to set up/break down connections, and eats up power. In the U.S. specifically, GPRS is horrible. AT&T barely maintains their 2G network (try getting a single packet through in a slightly built-up area) and T-Mobile is converting half of their GPRS/EDGE network to LTE by mid 2015.

Flytrex is going to need to put a UMTS/HSPA radio in there to make it work for the US market. I would also have some concern for the multiple radio bands in operation and the potential for interference with both the RC receiver and the vTX.

Pull_Up · Jul 10, 2014

I can't comment on the US market of course, but it works well in the UK. There is lag, of course, but it's measured in a handful of seconds, not minutes - and the point isn't really to use it in lieu of an on screen display. However, for those with non-OSD equipped aircraft you could certainly use the live voltage readout as a useful extra, as well as the live map display to help with orientation if you get into trouble. I think the emphasis would have to be "get you out of trouble" and not fly with it as your sole reference.

Data usage seems to run at less than 1MB per minute, so even pay-as-you-go SIMS look like being competitive compared to the subscription-based trackers.

A major benefit is the 35g all-up flying weight (including cable).

nickjhowe · Jul 12, 2014

Simon - just watched your video. great stuff as always.

US readers - any suggestions for the best SIM? Been trawling through a bunch of threads but couldn't find any really good recommendations.

nihkel · Jul 12, 2014

nickjhowe said:
Simon - just watched your video. great stuff as always..

+1

I also wonder why is this getting everyone so excited?

I know there are many Flytrex user out there, but, is this 'Live' new one really so worth it? Or is it just because it lets you just mount one device (instead of 2: Flytrex + GPS Tracker) saving some weight?. Could someone explain if I'm missing some of its benefits?

macheung · Jul 12, 2014

What carrier or service package is this compatible with in Canada? Will a ipad data plan work?
I wished DJI ground station was gsm based instead.

Pull_Up · Jul 13, 2014

nihkel said:
nickjhowe said:

Simon - just watched your video. great stuff as always..

Click to expand...

+1

I also wonder why is this getting everyone so excited?

I know there are many Flytrex user out there, but, is this 'Live' new one really so worth it? Or is it just because it lets you just mount one device (instead of 2: Flytrex + GPS Tracker) saving some weight?. Could someone explain if I'm missing some of its benefits?

That's the main benefit - it's effectively an emergency GPS tracking device with always-on real-time data logging all at less than 35g in weight.

If you have an OSD or have a Vision/Vision Plus then the live streaming of your height, speed, battery voltage and position is nothing to add to the party... if you are currently not running an OSD then having this open on your phone/tablet while you fly could be rather useful as well.

nihkel · Jul 14, 2014

That's what I thought

Thanks again Simon

ianwood · Jul 14, 2014

Pull_Up said:
always-on real-time data logging all at less than 35g in weight.

Well, it's "always on" as long as you're in a compatible GPRS coverage area. Curious to know what it does when the connection drops, does it resume at the point of reconnection or does it attempt to resend the unsent data until it goes through.

In the US market, I would have concerns about using this as a tracker. US GPRS coverage is not the best and is going to get worse as is decommissioned in favor of 4/4.5G technologies.

I built a GPRS/EDGE based real-time telemetry system for some amateur car racing that I do and the connection was spotty. At some tracks it was fine and many it was not. It was a "fire and forget" system with no local storage to save on complexity but it meant a lot of gaps in the data as GPRS signal came and went. I switched to a UMTS subsystem with a GPRS/EDGE fallback and reliability jumped significantly.