TK102 Tracker : Internal fitting mod

Hi,
Thank you for the useful information.
I also got my TK102B but it looks like it automatically turns on when the battery connects or the USB is connected.

Is there a way to connect the USB cable of the TK102B to the main power source of the Phantom? so I won't have to charge the battery of the TK102B any more? :roll:
 
m_g said:
Hi,
Thank you for the useful information.
I also got my TK102B but it looks like it automatically turns on when the battery connects or the USB is connected.

Is there a way to connect the USB cable of the TK102B to the main power source of the Phantom? so I won't have to charge the battery of the TK102B any more? :roll:
I wouldn't, here's why: if you ever lost the Phantom, it crashed, and the battery flies out (quite common) your tracker would be redundant.
 
M_G
what you could do if you are technically inclined.
use a 1n4001 diode to tap off the 5v+ of the mini USB connection.
That way the battery in the tracker won't back feed the 5V to the controller.
And you can charge the tracker battery via the USB connection on the phantom.

Just strip the insulation of the ground and 5V+ and solder on the negative of the tracker
and the 5V+ solder on the diode and solder on the 5V+ from the tracker use some liquid tape
and you are done.
Just make sure to test that you have the diode correctly orientated by checking for 5V when you have
a power source plugged into the mini USB port.
You should see 5V but if you don't the diode is backwards.
 
I've done this mod yesterday and found that (on my model at least) the usb port does NOT charge the battery. However on the main pcb of the tracker there are 2 test pads labeled +5v and gnd. I've connected those to rv (= regulated 5v) and gnd from the canbus. This will operate the device without the battery and set a charging voltage of 4.3v on its battery terminals. So when flying with the battery it will be charging. This is hat you want in case of powerfailure on the phantom (disconnected battery due to crash).

The presence of the tracker and it's connection to the gsm network does cause some interference on FPV. Not sure if it's being picked up by the gopro, iOSD mini or the tx.

UPDATE: Maybe i should mention this is a Phantom 1.5 (FC40 guts in a P2 shell with a PC330CB-H3-2D upgrade). So the FPV system is on 2.4 since control is on 5.8. Now with the tracker running ointerference on the 2.4 fpf, one might expect 'interesting' results on 2.4 controlled models.
 
KG4MXV said:
M_G
what you could do if you are technically inclined.
use a 1n4001 diode to tap off the 5v+ of the mini USB connection.
That way the battery in the tracker won't back feed the 5V to the controller.
And you can charge the tracker battery via the USB connection on the phantom.

Just strip the insulation of the ground and 5V+ and solder on the negative of the tracker
and the 5V+ solder on the diode and solder on the 5V+ from the tracker use some liquid tape
and you are done.
Just make sure to test that you have the diode correctly orientated by checking for 5V when you have
a power source plugged into the mini USB port.
You should see 5V but if you don't the diode is backwards.

no, unforchantly im not so good with the soldering iron.
I think i will have to search youtube for instruction
 
well I got my hands on a TK102
it came with 2 batteries an external battery charger , USB cable , two battery covers one with magnets and one without.

I don't have a sim card for it but I put one of the batteries in the external charger and the other battery in the unit.
without touching any of the buttons I got a blue flashing LED.
I plugged in the USB cable and plugged it into the charger and no change in the LED.
I plugged the cable into my mac and checked the system report and nothing is being detected. Strange unless it is only for charging.

IF there is any kind of data it normally shows something.

So I am worried that it is not charging the battery.
 
Jaybee said:
ussvertigo said:
Hope you have the issue resolved. If I tackle this mod, I may also include a micro switch for the battery lead, possibly accessible when the P2 battery is out so its not too obvious. Will monitor your results to see if needed. thanks

Yes it's sorted, scheduling the tracker when not in use kills all it's radios completely and saves the battery.

It's actually an incredibly robust way to turn it off. When you turn it back on (while it's in schedule mode) it will turn itself back off within 2 mins and is 'unwakeable' without physically switching it on again.

Whenever I fly, I switch it on, then immediately send an sms to disable the schedule (noschedulePASSWORD), then it gets back to it's usual tracking duties. Always good to test it by calling at this point, the resulting sms will also let you know the battery status. I find it's usually always got 100% battery after a period of non-use and I'll charge it when I notice it has around 50%. Will probably power drain cycle this from time to time as it's a LiPo.

This system is working well :)


This was actually a bug with the v.12 firmware. The shock sensor caused the tracker to wake up randomly even after switching it "off". New TK102-NANO's do not have this issue. We would be happy to replace it with a new one if you can contact us on [email protected]. By the way we are also based in Bristol, feel free to pop-in if you would like to discuss or require any information regading your TK102-NANO.
 
@Jay-Bee , could you tell me the type of SIM this TK102B Tracker uses?

I just realized that I have a SIM I'm not really using - in my iPad, and I'm pretty sure it's a mini SIM. I'm hoping it will work.
 
@Jay-Bee , could you tell me the type of SIM this TK102B Tracker uses?

I just realized that I have a SIM I'm not really using - in my iPad, and I'm pretty sure it's a mini SIM. I'm hoping it will work.
Standard 'mini' SIM will work, or you could just use an adapter if you have a micro.
 
Jaybee,
Does it matter for TK 102 whether it is placed vertically like you did, or horizontally?
Is it possible to place TK under Phantom's belly and extend its GPS antenna to the top of the hull?
Thank you.
 
Jaybee,
Does it matter for TK 102 whether it is placed vertically like you did, or horizontally?
Is it possible to place TK under Phantom's belly and extend its GPS antenna to the top of the hull?
Thank you.
Should be fine either way. The only thing I did was stick the mobile antenna wire to the inside of the chassis. The GPS module is right under the Phantom's main board, works fine.
 

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