Marco Polo v. Flytrex Live

[mede8er]

Well, I'm torn here...

Flytrex Live will give me last known GPS coordinates in event of a flyaway/ crash, helping me to find the lost bird but no help when the area is brushy, tangled, high grass, trees etc...

Marco Polo will pinpoint the bird once within range, but you will have to know the approximate location of the downed bird in advance...

Or am I missing something?????

 

[rbhamilton]

I think you've got it. Flytrex is great for lots of other stuff too. Challenges, verifying distance records, telemetry, etc. The Marco Polo mmm... well you have to have a fairly good idea where to look first. Of course your drone is going to send it's last known location back to your remote before it goes down anyway so you will have a good starting spot. I'm sure some people love it but it doesn't sound like a good solution to me.

If you want something cheap that's going to help you find your drone when it's really lost:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Mini-Smart- ... AQ:US:1123[*]

That little guy is actually a mini cell phone. Very tiny - only 27g. You can send it a text and it replies with a Google Map with the tracker's current location pinpointed. You can also phone it and it rings with a fairly loud tone. Anybody who finds the drone can push a button and it will phone you or you can set it to allow you to phone it and have it auto-answer and listen in. Buy a $10 prepaid SIM from T-Mobile and you are good for a few months. The manual is terrible but it's not that hard to get it up and running.

Of course all the normal limits apply. The thing won't work if it's under water or out of cell range.

 

[flyNfrank]

I really like the marco polo device and have come close to buying it. I haven't read into everything it can do, or does yet. Two problems I have with it is, one is the T-Moble sim card part rbhamilton mentioned. T-Mobile told starting in January there will be no more $10 options. They are to double in price to $20 per month. I already have one T-Mobile sim card for my Flytrex Live. The other 2nd thing would be the battery part. If the Marco Polo has it's own power source no problem. But if it has to rely on the quads battery would be the issue. In most cases when the Phantom quads crash the battery ejects leaving no battery supply.

 

[saao]

I really like the marco polo device and have come close to buying it. I haven't read into everything it can do, or does yet. Two problems I have with it is, one is the T-Moble sim card part rbhamilton mentioned. T-Mobile told starting in January there will be no more $10 options. They are to double in price to $20 per month. I already have one T-Mobile sim card for my Flytrex Live. The other 2nd thing would be the battery part. If the Marco Polo has it's own power source no problem. But if it has to rely on the quads battery would be the issue. In most cases when the Phantom quads crash the battery ejects leaving no battery supply.

That's y I believe even with flytrex one should use a small lipo so that it doesn't stop

 

[rbhamilton]

If T-Mo isn't selling the cards then you can always use someone else. Like H2O Wireless. They use the AT&T network which has even better coverage than T-Mobile in most areas. They sell a $10 card with lots of data that's good for 3 months. I'm sure there are probably lots of others out there.

https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainCont ... =planMin10

 

[burlbark]

I have the marco polo unit and couldnt be happier. I get half mile range with zero line of sight in the densest brush.

 

[mede8er]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!!!!

 

[witold]

Marco Polo actually works. When you crash somewhere, you don't have to think about whether your SIM card was active or expired a few days ago for that month. Monthly fees add up. 20 months later, and Marco Polo pays for itself just in monthly SIM fees.

And Marco Polo is less than half the weight, 12 grams. I know that people like to put all kinds of stuff on their Phantoms, but every gram really does matter when it comes to flight times.

 

[burlbark]

Marco Polo actually works. When you crash somewhere, you don't have to think about whether your SIM card was active or expired a few days ago for that month. Monthly fees add up. 20 months later, and Marco Polo pays for itself just in monthly SIM fees.

And Marco Polo is less than half the weight, 12 grams. I know that people like to put all kinds of stuff on their Phantoms, but every gram really does matter when it comes to flight times.

Like all things, make sure to turn it on before taking off.

 

[flyNfrank]

If T-Mo isn't selling the cards then you can always use someone else. Like H2O Wireless. They use the AT&T network which has even better coverage than T-Mobile in most areas. They sell a $10 card with lots of data that's good for 3 months. I'm sure there are probably lots of others out there.

https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainCont ... =planMin10

rbh, do you use this now with your Flytrex Live?

You say with lots of data, what is lots of data in your opinion? I see "Pay as you go $10 Plans" and then 5 Cents per each text or Minute. And in the Pay as you Devices, the only thing I see that might apply would be the $9.99 H2o Duel Smart SIM.
Si in this case would this be $10 for 90 Day Pay as you go, $9.99 for Duel Smart SIM, and the pay 5 Cents for each Text the device sends out?

 

[Gary E]

The Marco Polo does not rely on any outside power souce (like the Phantom battery) or a cell connection. It has its own power source. All of the other trackers that I have researched needs a cell service connection to work. Maybe that's ok for most operators, but in Oregon a majority of the state does not have cell service. I suspect that is also may be the case with some other states like Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, a lot of Northern California, and others. And no monthly fees either. It's a one time expense.

 

[rrmccabe]

Same here. Flytrex coverage here in Iowa is bad. Unusable for me.

 

[GaryDZ]

I have both and use them simultaneously. Flytrex will get you close to where it is (and I also use it for data logging and with Dashware). Marco Polo will help locate it if its hidden and will keep sending a signal if the power to the Phantom is lost.