Where to attach a Marco Polo to P4P, any suggestions?

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Read about the zip ties and duct tape methods but where is the best place to attach so it won't interfere with the sensors? And of course the best method of attaching?
Thanks in advance,
Sparke
 
Sparke, I mounted mine vertically on the aft edge of the port landing skid. (That's the left side, in back, ...;-)) I wrapped one piece of the provided velcro around the skid and backed this up with two small electrical tie wraps.

You can see it attached to wreckage in the photo below (sigh...). For the rest of the story go to:
Shout out to Marco Polo Recovery System

I never would have found her without the Marco Polo unit.

It stayed totally secure for over a year and it was still easy to plug it in for charging occasionally.

IMG_4734.jpg
 
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Thanks, WatsoJW, also sorry about your misfortune. Not the end of the world all it takes is money to get flying again. I was thinking the same thing about mounting to the aft strut but didn't know if the wagging antenna would interfere with the optical sensor? Didn't think about the velcro so good call on that one. Can I assume the antenna on the tag was vertical, that being the tag at the bottom of the strut and antenna toward the top of the AC? With the black chair and the black leg strut, it's a bit hard to make out but I think I'm on the right track? Again, thanks for the info. I really like this forum - great folks, great ideas.
Sparke
 
I have mine mounted behind the left front leg with Velco. The antenna runs down the leg. According to a discussion with the manufacturer, the best antenna reception will be from a vertical orientation, and the worst from a horizontal one if lost. Leading the antenna down the leg will at best wind up vertical (if it lands right-side up or upside down) and at worst at a 45 degree angle if leaning on two of it's prop arms. It could wind up horizontal if hung up in a tree, but I'm playing the better odds by running the antenna down a leg.
P4P Marco Polo.jpg
 
I have mine mounted behind the left front leg with Velco. The antenna runs down the leg. According to a discussion with the manufacturer, the best antenna reception will be from a vertical orientation, and the worst from a horizontal one if lost. Leading the antenna down the leg will at best wind up vertical (if it lands right-side up or upside down) and at worst at a 45 degree angle if leaning on two of it's prop arms. It could wind up horizontal if hung up in a tree, but I'm playing the better odds by running the antenna down a leg.View attachment 104800
MM53, kudos for the reply. Being an engineer I like when folks dig deep to arrive at great answers. This is a great idea. I hope Watsojw also takes a look at this idea. Makes good sense on the orientation of the tag. Thanks for sharing this idea. Great forum, great folks. Most appreciated.
Sparke
 
I won't fly without my Marco Polos. I've bought 3 complete Marco Polo setups in the last 3+ years and one save of my at the time new P4 as follows:
Upon receiving my Marco Polo I never read the manual but charged the transmitter and receiver and sent my P4 out with the transmitter tie-rapped to the left rear leg. My first and only test of my Marco Polo was for real as my P4 encountered a 100'+ very tall Ponderosa Tree Top about 3/4 mile away. I activated the transmitter with the receiver and initially had a weak signal that got stronger that I followed right to my P4. I noticed in the flight log that my P4 had climbed 12' just before it hit the thin pine needles at the Tree Top. The area where I flew was very rough mountainous terrain full of deep gullies and rocks up at 8,000' in the Rocky Mountains all covered with very tall densly packed Ponderosa Pine Trees. Since then I have a Marco Polo installed on my new P4PV2, my Mavic Pro, and my Inspire 1V2. I like how MapMaker53 in his post #4 has his installed.
 
Sparke, I mounted mine vertically on the aft edge of the port landing skid. (That's the left side, in back, ...;-)) I wrapped one piece of the provided velcro around the skid and backed this up with two small electrical tie wraps.

You can see it attached to wreckage in the photo below (sigh...). For the rest of the story go to:
Shout out to Marco Polo Recovery System

I never would have found her without the Marco Polo unit.

It stayed totally secure for over a year and it was still easy to plug it in for charging occasionally.

View attachment 104754

I’ve attached mine in exactly the same place. I haven’t used mine much, however it seems to be the best place for it and hasn’t interfered with anything to date.
 
For those following this thread I found this very interesting. The post from Speedmeister had a link to Aerial-Pixel - Vinyl Graphics, Vinyl Decals, Apparel, 3D Printing This is a neat package to hold the tag. Since mine is a newer style tag I couldn't take advantage but was told the newer tag holder is in the design phase as we speak. Could be ready for sale in the next few weeks. Another cool way to attach the tag. I'm a bit of a neat freak and picky engineer so I like things neat and clean. This is a cool product anxious to get the new design to try out. In the meantime, I'm using the velcro and zip ties. Not efficient but sufficient. Can't fly with confidence without the Marco Polo.
 
MM53, kudos for the reply. Being an engineer I like when folks dig deep to arrive at great answers. This is a great idea. I hope Watsojw also takes a look at this idea. Makes good sense on the orientation of the tag. Thanks for sharing this idea. Great forum, great folks. Most appreciated.
Sparke

I actually did look at all of the information I could find regarding orientation, signal strength, etc.

Bottom line, I simply wasn’t willing to rely solely on Velcro, and the landing skids made using tie wraps simpler.

At the end of the day, I realized that: a) the antenna simply doesn’t maintain a strict horizontal or vertical orientation anyway (it tended to wind up at more or less a 45° angle no matter how I held it), b) there’s not much level terrain around here anyway so I really wasn’t going to compromise mounting integrity for for a small theoretical improvement in range. (The aircraft won’t be sitting level regardless of how the unit is mounted...)

I think the *biggest* issues are to make sure you have it mounted somewhere (!), keep batteries charged on both components, remember to turn it in (& off) on *every* single flight.

Also, when I realized that my drone was lost & that this was a full on “recovery mission” & not just practice, I started wondering if I remembered how to do it! Look on the back of the handheld unit: there are instructions printed there. I was pretty grateful for that!

It is good to see an exchange of ideas on this!
 
Watsojw, Your right, good exchange of ideas. Love the interaction, that's how we all learn. I agree with the tie's but here's my problem. I have one of the newer tags that have a mico on/off button. With my big farmer hands, not that I'm a farmer, I have a tough time trying to turn off and on. That's why I'm waiting for the suggestion Speedmeister had with the link to Aerial-Pixel - Vinyl Graphics, Vinyl Decals, Apparel, 3D Printing
That will make it easier to remove, turn on or off and replace. For extra insurance, I might still tie wrap but don't know until they 3D print the new holder and I get to test. I'll post my results once in hand.
 
Watsojw, Your right, good exchange of ideas. Love the interaction, that's how we all learn. I agree with the tie's but here's my problem. I have one of the newer tags that have a mico on/off button. With my big farmer hands, not that I'm a farmer, I have a tough time trying to turn off and on. That's why I'm waiting for the suggestion Speedmeister had with the link to Aerial-Pixel - Vinyl Graphics, Vinyl Decals, Apparel, 3D Printing
That will make it easier to remove, turn on or off and replace. For extra insurance, I might still tie wrap but don't know until they 3D print the new holder and I get to test. I'll post my results once in hand.
Mine has the micro switch as well. I have to use the edge of my fingernail & watch for the indicator light to flash. The tie wrap doesn’t interfere with this at all.
 

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