UAV Locator (GPS Tracker) Placement on P3

[Evel_Knievel]

I've had two occations to really need my locator. In other words I've had two crashes.

The first crash was pretty close range and I did check both the find my phantom feature and the GPS locator. Both read EXACTLY the same location. In this instance I would have found it without much help from the app or the locator.

The second crash was pretty far away and it was probably on it's return home (old battery I suspect as I was well over 40% remaining power). This time the app gave me the general vicinity but I would never have found it had I only relied on the app. It had auto landed in the top of a 60' tree, probably 300 feet from where the app had told me it was.

The GPS locator works independently of anything on the bird so it's a lot more reliable. They seem to be built pretty well so it's far more likely to survive a crash than the bird is. I don't see how the app could really protect you against fly aways. There's no way to know where the bird is if it decided to take off on you (especially if it looses it's battery upon crash which is very likely).

It's debatable whether or not you need one. The price is coming down on these things so I could go either way. I like the idea of having it.

 

[Claydoc911]

Coolz Thanks again.... yes cheap here too, $150.... but u need a SIM card too and that costs $$ too

 

[flyNfrank]

I have the Flytrex Live 3G and I plan to install it in one of two places shown in the images. The key point is to not mount it in a way that it will cause additional resistance drag.

The landing gear on the P3 appears to be larger in every way then the vPlus so would be a benefit to either location.

Btw, I have not heard yet if Flytrex is developing a new cable for the P3 or not.

 

[edonovanl]

I like the leg location, towards the rear, for my Drone-Mods UAV Locator. Two tie wraps should do it, along with some hot glue and super glue and some Gorilla Glue...should be fine

 

[Apparition]

I like the leg location, towards the rear, for my Drone-Mods UAV Locator. Two tie wraps should do it, along with some hot glue and super glue and some Gorilla Glue...should be fine

White duct tape would work for a stealthy look.

 

[edonovanl]

+1
I like the white duct tape idea!

 

[manofword]

I use Trackimo and mount it on the battery w/velcro. Works great.

 

[dysan911]

An excellent review of a few options below but I personally use the RV-16 and it has a few features I really like such as being able to call the device and it emits a very loud RING so I can pinpoint better. Also it will txt you Googlemap location and you can have a 2 way conversation or listen only mode if someone finds it.

 

[Apparition]

I've been doing a little research on these and have noticed that Radio Shack has a sale on the Trackimo TRKM-002. My understanding is that the TRKM-002 is the same as the TRK-12M but doesn't come with the year (12 months hence the 12M) service included which is $5/month. It's currently priced at $29.99 you'll have to include shipping and tax if applicable for me it was $37.xx total.
http://www.radioshack.com/trackimo-trkm-002-gps-tracker/2000681.html#.VTebMyFVhBc

 

[edonovanl]

Nice - wish I had seen that before I got my Drone-Mods at $129 plus $60/year!

 

[Cooter3690]

Cool...But the DJI app will tell you its last know location. Does it not?

If you happen to have a flyaway or the phantom crashes out of range of the remote the "find my phantom" feature is useless. With a desperate locator that uses cell service you can get unlimited range.

I had a flyway with my P2 and if I had one of these trackers then I'd still have it.

 

[edonovanl]

The Drone-Mods UAV Locator uses both GPS satellites and cell towers - not sure about the Trackimo, but I am sure that I test mine every time before I leave the ground!

 

[Apparition]

Update on my trackimo order from Radio shack. They cancelled my order last night and I immediately checked their site which said no inventory. Check it this morning and it said in stock so I've ordered it again to see what happens. If it gets cancelled then I'll have to look at paying full price but also my other options.

I now see the price went back up to $49.99 and says they are out of stock.

 

[edonovanl]

That's still $80 cheaper than my UAV-Locator....wonder if it works as well?

 

[Apparition]

That's still $80 cheaper than my UAV-Locator....wonder if it works as well?

They cancelled my order again last night, now they show in stock at $49.99. I think they didn't like the sale price they were running.

 

[Efecan Sonmez]

There are pretty cheap bluetooth trackers on Amazon and they are just tiny stickers. It tracks the bluetooth signal strength of the tracker you placed on your "P3 in this case" and gives you a direction to follow. If we combine the DJI app's last known location and the bluetooth tracker (because the range wont be too long) we can at least lower the probability of losing our drone for $10.

 

[Marc Scala]

On my PH2, I had the locater on the side between the legs from front to back.
While small, the wind would catch the flat and knock me around.
I ended up placing it on the side of the shell with Velcro and found better dynamics and flight time.

 

[edonovanl]

I had mine velcroed (sp) where the P3 positioning sensors are, so gonna be on the legs, I think.

 

[dysan911]

Is it generally safe to attach a GPS tracker to the legs, etc or is there some sort of Compass / Antenna in the legs that having an electronic device nearby would cause any type of interference? I'm wondering if maybe I should velcro mine to the rear of the battery but I am not a fan of that. I'm using the RV-16

 

[mad in nc]

Update on my trackimo order from Radio shack. They cancelled my order last night and I immediately checked their site which said no inventory. Check it this morning and it said in stock so I've ordered it again to see what happens. If it gets cancelled then I'll have to look at paying full price but also my other options.

I now see the price went back up to $49.99 and says they are out of stock.

FYI - Forget the Radio Shack. I looked/ tried the Radio Shack route first but found out that there was no SIM card or a service plan. If you get one, you will spend 1/2 day at an AT&T, T-Mob or Verizon store arguing with dumb *** oxygen thief of a clerk about a data only sim card and plan... Was a better and safer deal for me to order direct from Trackimo with the 1 yr service....