Shout out to Marco Polo Recovery System

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So the bad news is that my P4P Obsidian had an unfortunate encounter with a significantly taller than average tree while running a Litchi waypoint mission. After losing contact during the flight and then waiting for the anticipated flight time in hopes that it would show up, it became painfully obvious that it was not coming home...

I live in rugged mountain country, and we have lots of areas where there is very spotty or no cellular coverage, so a lot of the more economical tracking medallions just can't be counted on to work.

But, the good news is, last year I did my homework and got the Marco Polo system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F4DOB5C/ref=dp_prsubs_2) which uses radio frequency vs cellular or gps. Long story short, it worked like a champ. I was able to immediately pick up a faint signal and general direction. I drove down a couple of area roads and started picking up some consistent direction indications that were triangulating toward the same general area.

Finally, I bailed out of the truck and headed down a very steep slope into heavy brush. The signal kept getting stronger & suddenly, there it was! It literally walked me right on top of it!

Lower hull, one landing skid and gimbal are toast, but should be repairable. If I hadn't had this particular equipment system, I seriously doubt I ever would have found her. Several lessons learned!

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+1 on the Marco Polo. Never fly without it. During location testing I walked right up to the bird each time. Great to have when cell service/GPS is not available, and the bird wanders off on its own.
 
I do have to consciously make it part of my preflight routine to turn it on, then turn it off after each session, and, occasionally, to recharge both parts!

One session, as I was getting ready to fly, the unit on the bird wouldn’t turn on. I realized then that I’d forgotten to turn it off the last time it flew & had run the battery down.

Would have really sucked if it was dead that one time you finally did need it!
 
I have a camera for sale. I had a P4 Advanced crash into water . The camera was toast, but I thought the drone could be fixed the shop got it going but after spending a lot of money the gps was bad etc and I gave up. I had bought a new camera on ebay and I just did one test flight. The camera works fine. Its the 20 mp 4x one. No box, but I will guarantee it for a fellow p4 pilot. I paid $700. See whats out there and make me an offer. You can pay with paypal for extra security. check me out on springsphoto.com . I am legit.

Thanks... We think the camera itself is okay, and my local repair tech has had luck replacing damaged pieces from the gimbal assembly. Will keep this in mind if things are worse than expected...
 
Marco Polo is great, never had to use mine for real (luckily) but done some testing for when the day comes. IMO vastly preferable to cellular trackers which work OK if you happen to be in an area with good cellular coverage, but if not... useless.
 
That’s so awesome. I bought Marco Polo earlier this year and I’m impressed by how small and light the transmitter is. I haven’t used it in anger yet as I have flown enough since, however seeing it work so well for you is such a great encouragement. I really should go out and test it somewhere first so I know how it works and what it’s limitations may be. It was an expensive little item to buy, however I’d kick myself if I anything happened to my P4P+ and I hadn’t bought it. What’s even more is that you’ve reminded me that, as well as the drone’s batteries I need to charge up the transmitter too. I had forgotten that this was the case and would probably have been tempted to fly without it if I hadn’t just been reminded. I should probably dig out the instructions again too as I’ve completely forgotten how to use it.

Can I ask all those that have Marco Polo what limitations they may have found with it? I know what the advertising literature says, however real life is never the same.
 
Can I ask all those that have Marco Polo what limitations they may have found with it? I know what the advertising literature says, however real life is never the same.

Rather than a limitation I want to point out that the Marco Polo has remarkable battery life. I charge mine every week or two, depending on how often it is used. I also have the pet unit (pet tracking was the MP's original purpose) and have found it very helpful to practice locating my wandering dog should I ever have to search for one of my drones.
 
So the bad news is that my P4P Obsidian had an unfortunate encounter with a significantly taller than average tree while running a Litchi waypoint mission. After losing contact during the flight and then waiting for the anticipated flight time in hopes that it would show up, it became painfully obvious that it was not coming home...

I live in rugged mountain country, and we have lots of areas where there is very spotty or no cellular coverage, so a lot of the more economical tracking medallions just can't be counted on to work.

But, the good news is, last year I did my homework and got the Marco Polo system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F4DOB5C/ref=dp_prsubs_2) which uses radio frequency vs cellular or gps. Long story short, it worked like a champ. I was able to immediately pick up a faint signal and general direction. I drove down a couple of area roads and started picking up some consistent direction indications that were triangulating toward the same general area.

Finally, I bailed out of the truck and headed down a very steep slope into heavy brush. The signal kept getting stronger & suddenly, there it was! It literally walked me right on top of it!

Lower hull, one landing skid and gimbal are toast, but should be repairable. If I hadn't had this particular equipment system, I seriously doubt I ever would have found her. Several lessons learned!

View attachment 104714View attachment 104710View attachment 104713
Ihave two Marco Polo's for my P4P and Mavic' s good to know they work so well thank you
 
So the bad news is that my P4P Obsidian had an unfortunate encounter with a significantly taller than average tree while running a Litchi waypoint mission. After losing contact during the flight and then waiting for the anticipated flight time in hopes that it would show up, it became painfully obvious that it was not coming home...

I live in rugged mountain country, and we have lots of areas where there is very spotty or no cellular coverage, so a lot of the more economical tracking medallions just can't be counted on to work.

But, the good news is, last year I did my homework and got the Marco Polo system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F4DOB5C/ref=dp_prsubs_2) which uses radio frequency vs cellular or gps. Long story short, it worked like a champ. I was able to immediately pick up a faint signal and general direction. I drove down a couple of area roads and started picking up some consistent direction indications that were triangulating toward the same general area.

Finally, I bailed out of the truck and headed down a very steep slope into heavy brush. The signal kept getting stronger & suddenly, there it was! It literally walked me right on top of it!

Lower hull, one landing skid and gimbal are toast, but should be repairable. If I hadn't had this particular equipment system, I seriously doubt I ever would have found her. Several lessons learned!

View attachment 104714View attachment 104710View attachment 104713
I have the MP and hope never to have to use it! Remembering to keep the transmitter topped up is the biggest problem.
 
So the bad news is that my P4P Obsidian had an unfortunate encounter with a significantly taller than average tree while running a Litchi waypoint mission. After losing contact during the flight and then waiting for the anticipated flight time in hopes that it would show up, it became painfully obvious that it was not coming home...

I live in rugged mountain country, and we have lots of areas where there is very spotty or no cellular coverage, so a lot of the more economical tracking medallions just can't be counted on to work.

But, the good news is, last year I did my homework and got the Marco Polo system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F4DOB5C/ref=dp_prsubs_2) which uses radio frequency vs cellular or gps. Long story short, it worked like a champ. I was able to immediately pick up a faint signal and general direction. I drove down a couple of area roads and started picking up some consistent direction indications that were triangulating toward the same general area.

Finally, I bailed out of the truck and headed down a very steep slope into heavy brush. The signal kept getting stronger & suddenly, there it was! It literally walked me right on top of it!

Lower hull, one landing skid and gimbal are toast, but should be repairable. If I hadn't had this particular equipment system, I seriously doubt I ever would have found her. Several lessons learned!

View attachment 104714View attachment 104710View attachment 104713
I am curious if the obstacle avoidance (dynamic) would have or could have prevented this disaster.
 
Nice, thanks for sharing! Sounds like a good insurance policy.
 
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