I can speak to this with some authority.
I purchased a different model of beacon, the "BeaconV2" from "DistanceRC (http://distance-rc.com/store/beaconv2). It is $18, and they will also sell you a 138mah 1S LiPo battery with the correct connector for $3. I have Tested the battery life and am sure of at least 12 hours of continuous operation on a charge, (I went to bed and forgot to shut it off ;-)).
It is:
It can be programmed to transmit any frequency in the 400-470 MHz accompanied by high,medium and low audio tones corresponding to the transmitted RF levels. With this configuration, the high tone would be the first you hear when at a distance, and as you get closer, you will progressively hear the middle tone,then the low. You can program the unit to transmit only after a user-set delay to conserve battery power.
I am in the US, and have set it to broadcast on FRS channel 3, or 462.6125 MHz. I also have it set to start transmitting 20minutes after power-on, as this is a typical flight duration.
I'm using a Baofeng UV-5R radio for locating the beacon. I attach a home-brew "Fox hunt"-style 3 element yagi, with 8dBi of forward gain and a F/B ratio of over 50 dB. Because of the sharp and deep rear null, the antenna is used "backwards"; that is, pointing the rear of the antenna toward the suspected location. The null is much sharper than the beam peak, and using this, you can point the unit until you get minimum or no signal, and this more accurately determines the beacon's azimuth heading from you. I am able to detect the beacon at 1-2 miles on fairly level ground through "average" vegetation.
When closer, the antenna can be disconnected altogether, and the "Body Shield (Body Fade)" method used to home in on the drone. I have suggested to the designers that they incorporate an audio chirp to aid in "Last Mile" location, by using our natural DFing capabilities (the ears ;-) ).
There is very good info on Fox Hunting/DFing on this page :http://www.homingin.com/equipment.html
I am a bit of a pessimist, and am loathe to rely on something that may or may not be available when I need to find my drone. Cell Phone signals and GPS coordinates certainly fall into that category.
This is a discrete, complete df system that relies on nothing else to function.
I believe this gives the highest percentage chance of recovery.
The antenna in the image is a second prototype, and will measures ~12" wide X <8" long X <1/2" thick when tuned finished , so it will fit in my Phanton case (on top after everything else is in). The antenna elements are pivotable, so it can be made smaller in width for storage.
The Baofeng UV-5R is smaller than a deck of playing cards.
The entire system is quite compact, as you can see.
I purchased a different model of beacon, the "BeaconV2" from "DistanceRC (http://distance-rc.com/store/beaconv2). It is $18, and they will also sell you a 138mah 1S LiPo battery with the correct connector for $3. I have Tested the battery life and am sure of at least 12 hours of continuous operation on a charge, (I went to bed and forgot to shut it off ;-)).
It is:
- Very light weight (3.5 grams)
- Small size (26x18x4mm)
It can be programmed to transmit any frequency in the 400-470 MHz accompanied by high,medium and low audio tones corresponding to the transmitted RF levels. With this configuration, the high tone would be the first you hear when at a distance, and as you get closer, you will progressively hear the middle tone,then the low. You can program the unit to transmit only after a user-set delay to conserve battery power.
I am in the US, and have set it to broadcast on FRS channel 3, or 462.6125 MHz. I also have it set to start transmitting 20minutes after power-on, as this is a typical flight duration.
I'm using a Baofeng UV-5R radio for locating the beacon. I attach a home-brew "Fox hunt"-style 3 element yagi, with 8dBi of forward gain and a F/B ratio of over 50 dB. Because of the sharp and deep rear null, the antenna is used "backwards"; that is, pointing the rear of the antenna toward the suspected location. The null is much sharper than the beam peak, and using this, you can point the unit until you get minimum or no signal, and this more accurately determines the beacon's azimuth heading from you. I am able to detect the beacon at 1-2 miles on fairly level ground through "average" vegetation.
When closer, the antenna can be disconnected altogether, and the "Body Shield (Body Fade)" method used to home in on the drone. I have suggested to the designers that they incorporate an audio chirp to aid in "Last Mile" location, by using our natural DFing capabilities (the ears ;-) ).
There is very good info on Fox Hunting/DFing on this page :http://www.homingin.com/equipment.html
I am a bit of a pessimist, and am loathe to rely on something that may or may not be available when I need to find my drone. Cell Phone signals and GPS coordinates certainly fall into that category.
This is a discrete, complete df system that relies on nothing else to function.
I believe this gives the highest percentage chance of recovery.
The antenna in the image is a second prototype, and will measures ~12" wide X <8" long X <1/2" thick when tuned finished , so it will fit in my Phanton case (on top after everything else is in). The antenna elements are pivotable, so it can be made smaller in width for storage.
The Baofeng UV-5R is smaller than a deck of playing cards.
The entire system is quite compact, as you can see.
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