Hi All,

Had an issue 2 days ago where my phantom lost GPS and started flying away. Managed to land it without any further incidents, but it was a little scary since if it flew past the range of the remote without GPS, it would have been gone.

Just wondering if anyone has tried doing something like attaching one of those pet GPS trackers to their drone to use that as a backup way to track the location of a lost drone? Only downside I can think of is having the monthly fee, but $5-$9 a month doesn't seem like that bad if it helps prevent a lost $1000 (or more) drone.

I'm surprised none of the dji drones have something like this built in. Then it wouldnt even need to be on all the time, just when the drone is powered on AND it has no gps or remote connection.

'I'm surprised none of the dji drones have something like this built in. Then it wouldnt even need to be on all the time, just when the drone is powered on AND it has no gps or remote connection.'

Think about it, that would be as useful as a chocolate coffee pot. Any tracking devicve needs to on at any time the aircraft is flying and be independantly powered by its own battery, otherwise it is useless as a tracker. There are a number of solutions to this, do a search. But ignore the Bluetooth 'tile' ones, they are a waste of time.

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-16 17:35
'I'm surprised none of the dji drones have something like this built in. Then it wouldnt even need to be on all the time, just when the drone is powered on AND it has no gps or remote connection.'

Think about it, that would be as useful as a chocolate coffee pot. Any tracking devicve needs to on at any time the aircraft is flying and be independantly powered by its own battery, otherwise it is useless as a tracker. There are a number of solutions to this, do a search. But ignore the Bluetooth 'tile' ones, they are a waste of time.

I should have been a little more clear. It would turn on when the drone was on, and only turn off if the drone was normally powered off e.g. if the drone shut down due to the battery running out...or falling out.

And yeah, I wouldn't use the Bluetooth ones. I would want one that uses the cellular network.

I do not think its totally unrealistic to have one built in but it would need to use an independent GPS system, it would also benefit DJI to do this as well, i have see a few lost drones replaced due to manufacturer  error, having an independently built in tracker using the 3g/4g network would be a major step up, a game changer. Why not integrate something similar to the Marco Polo but using the lightbridge 2 tech, wouldnt need gps and it could use the DJI handset, lights and buzzer, the actual tracker itself could be charged using the usb and top up during flight, Yes we can buy them separate, but many dont think about it till its too late.....

Bashy Posted at 2018-3-16 20:34
I do not think its totally unrealistic to have one built in but it would need to use an independent GPS system, it would also benefit DJI to do this as well, i have see a few lost drones replaced due to manufacturer  error, having an independently built in tracker using the 3g/4g network would be a major step up, a game changer. Why not integrate something similar to the Marco Polo but using the lightbridge 2 tech, wouldnt need gps and it could use the DJI handset, lights and buzzer, the actual tracker itself could be charged using the usb and top up during flight, Yes we can buy them separate, but many dont think about it till its too late.....

It is just extra technology that has to be built into the aircraft at the cost of the purchaser, and a complete waste of money for those of us who do not let their aircraft out of sight. I actually have one, but I don't use it any longer.

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-16 20:50
It is just extra technology that has to be built into the aircraft at the cost of the purchaser, and a complete waste of money for those of us who do not let their aircraft out of sight. I actually have one, but I don't use it any longer.

And so are some of the flight modes that you most likely do not use but still bought the a/c, and like that fact that your drone can go 3.1 miles but you do not use that distance, and like the fact that your drone can go 500m high but you do not go to that height, you bought that drone knowing it can do these but never use the ability, so whats the difference, a tracker does not have to benefit everyone.

Bashy Posted at 2018-3-16 21:02
And so are some of the flight modes that you most likely do not use but still bought the a/c, and like that fact that your drone can go 3.1 miles but you do not use that distance, and like the fact that your drone can go 500m high but you do not go to that height, you bought that drone knowing it can do these but never use the ability, so whats the difference, a tracker does not have to benefit everyone.

Still does not alter my point, it is extra rquipment built into the aircraft that will cost me money. Perhaps as a delete option....

you are already paying for some of its abilities that you do not use so, thats a bit hypocritical, and why would it cost you money, you do not have to buy it, just  because you do not like the idea this should be deleted, whats that all about? its not just about you, theres a vast community that i feel would benefit from having this technology built in to the aircraft, i for one would prefer something built in opposed to having to buy it separately (like you did) and having to jerry rig something up and make it look unsightly, it makes complete sense to me. and to think the tech is probably pretty much in there already, just needs to add an additional battery so that its live when the craft battery is dead, already got the receiver, so in that respect the extra cost would be minimal......

I ordered this. I’ve read it works well for tracking lost pets. A couple drone sites link to it too. I haven’t decided how I’ll mount the tracker yet. Have to see when it gets here.  Marco Polo

Jeff

Jeff Millard Posted at 2018-3-17 02:21
I ordered this. I’ve read it works well for tracking lost pets. A couple drone sites link to it too. I haven’t decided how I’ll mount the tracker yet. Have to see when it gets here.  Marco Polo

Jeff

I saw that one too. Just worried about the range since if the drone flies off on a full battery, it can go past 2 miles. Although I guess you'd know what direction it went and would have a decent chance of getting within 2 miles of it.

I was leaning towards getting the trackimo, since I live in an area with lots of cell coverage.

Bashy Posted at 2018-3-17 01:36
you are already paying for some of its abilities that you do not use so, thats a bit hypocritical, and why would it cost you money, you do not have to buy it, just  because you do not like the idea this should be deleted, whats that all about? its not just about you, theres a vast community that i feel would benefit from having this technology built in to the aircraft, i for one would prefer something built in opposed to having to buy it separately (like you did) and having to jerry rig something up and make it look unsightly, it makes complete sense to me. and to think the tech is probably pretty much in there already, just needs to add an additional battery so that its live when the craft battery is dead, already got the receiver, so in that respect the extra cost would be minimal......

If the device was built in as you say, using existing components, it would need much more than an extra battery. The existing GPS receiver consumes a fair amount of battery power, as it is designed for performance, not battery economy. It also needs to broadcast its location, so a cell chip would be needed to access the cellular network (those tile things are only good for very short distances as they use Bluetooth).

'you are already paying for some of its abilities that you do not use so, thats a bit hypocritical,'


You have no idea what I use or don't use, so we can simply ignore this statement straight off.


'its not just about you, theres a vast community that i feel would benefit from having this technology built in to the aircraft'


Yes it is about me. I am the one buying the aircraft, and I don't want to pay for things I don't need. The 'vast community' is a pointless exageration, you will not have any figures to back that up.


The whole point of a seperate device is that it shares nothing with the aircraft, so if the aircraft is damaged it should still work.

I recommend trackimo

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-3-17 13:52
I recommend trackimo

I would like to hear from someone outside the US that has a Trackimo and how well it works. Their cell plan can only work inside the US, although the device may wwell work elsewhere.

Geebax Posted at 2018-3-17 13:52
If the device was built in as you say, using existing components, it would need much more than an extra battery. The existing GPS receiver consumes a fair amount of battery power, as it is designed for performance, not battery economy. It also needs to broadcast its location, so a cell chip would be needed to access the cellular network (those tile things are only good for very short distances as they use Bluetooth).

'you are already paying for some of its abilities that you do not use so, thats a bit hypocritical,'

Well, go to the foot of my stairs, you are having a laugh right?  you said, you do not fly out of LOS, therefore, just that alone says thats you do not use your ac's full abilities, you said it, not me, so statement back in play ;) and a complete waste of money for those of us who do not let their aircraft out of sight

Not going to dignify your next paragraph with an answer, lets just leave it there shall we.

Just because its in the device does not mean its the end if theres a crash,  "aircraft black box" will leave that thought with you.

ps, the tech inside your drone came from good ideas.....

Bashy Posted at 2018-3-17 21:11
Well, go to the foot of my stairs, you are having a laugh right?  you said, you do not fly out of LOS, therefore, just that alone says thats you do not use your ac's full abilities, you said it, not me, so statement back in play ;) and a complete waste of money for those of us who do not let their aircraft out of sight

Not going to dignify your next paragraph with an answer, lets just leave it there shall we.

OK, I have no wish to argue. But DJI won't do it anyway, so it does not matter.

Phantomrain.org 1 Posted at 2018-3-17 09:20
We just posted this in another post that one of our clients is using the new Tile app when he does an emergency remote landing to help him pinpoint the drone when he lands.  

The tile is now good for 200 ft which is not to bad considering it use to be 75 ft .

yeah i thought about tile, but i just think the range is too limited for it to be practical. If the drone does fly , it can fly past 200 feet in less then 10 seconds. Paying a monthly fee vs paying for insurance is a good point. But at least with trackimo the first year is included. And if i really want to avoid the monthly fee, i would go with something like marco polo since that at least has up to a 2 mile range. Considering in 30 days i would typically make more then the cost of either trackimo or marco polo,  it's cheaper in the long run to pay for one of those systems, assuming the drone is in working condition when i find it ;)

Look at the TK102 GPS Tracker, you have to get a sim card from a a cellular provider (shop around) some you can pay as used instead of monthly.

Agreed, bluetooth is only good for around 10m (30ft) just this morning i have seen 2 flyaways where the bt tracker would be of no use what so ever due to lost signal and the bird having enough battery to be miles away

Even if DJI made a lightbridge 2 tracker as an optional extra but the receiver was the handset, surely that would save some cost, but i still think having it all incorporated but on its own system using the light bridge 2 would be a selling point for sure, the only reason dji wouldnt do this is because a lost drone means more money, but seen as they are part the way there anyway with the last know location on the map, then they may as well finish it with a fanfare, their lightbridge2 will out do marco polo any day of the week, tech is there, use it...

Phantomrain.org 1 Posted at 2018-3-18 13:43
We had a fly away last year , compass error yaw error kind of thing and the drone took off , the video stopped recording but the  Pro Plus controller was able to continue to follow the drone a few miles.    The map on the controller show a grid map with addresses on it.  

With that we were able to go to the address where it was last reported. and so we knocked on the door of the ladies address and we walked to her back yard. ,  we searched for about a 15 minutes , very awkward when we herd a beeping sound that was coming from the drone , it was loud and the drone was wrecked and the battery was half out of the drone.      If it was not for the beeping sound that the phantom was making we would have left as it was just to awkward to walk around someone else property.   

That would only work if the remote maintains signal long enough for it to update the location on the map. Although if the remote maintains signal that long, I would be able to land the drone anyway and wouldn't have a fly away.  I would want something that would work if I lost connection with the remote and the drone just took off where ever. Beeping would be good if it lands in some brush and i cant see it - but i need to be able to get to the rough location first.

I'll just blather on some more about the Trackimo.  I have the 3G Trackimo.  It works completely independent of the AC.  The device with battery and without magnet weighs 1.1 oz.   Gimbal-Guard.com sells a custom bracket you can screw onto your Phantom which holds the device nicely allowing for a secure mount while also allowing installation or removal of the device in less than a second.  The bracket weights .5 oz.  I haven't noticed any difference in flight due to the extra weight.  I believe the non-VPS equipped Phantoms such as the P3S and P2 series Phantoms have room underneath so you could also install it under there with commercial grade velcro, but you should also tether the device to a leg if you do it that way (velcro and tether is included).  Since the device is independent of the AC, it can be hot-swapped with any other AC if you happen to have more than one.  It requires only 4 GPS satellites to give a GPS location (rather than the 6 a GPS phantom needs) and it's accurate within 30' or so, but is usually more like within 15 feet.  If there is no GPS for whatever reason, it looks for any Wifi signal, identifies it, and then gives you the curb location of that particular wifi transmitter.  Obviously, with no GPS and wifi only, it's not very accurate because it's not locating the device, it's locating the wifi transmitter location.  With no GPS and no wifi, it will triangulate with the closest cell towers to give you a location but it's extremely inaccurate and may be off by as much as a mile.  I've never had it lose GPS while in the air.  It has occassionally not given me a GPS location when on the ground (it gives me a wifi location instead or sometimes a cell triangulation), but the following minute, it has always given me a GPS location.   It can be tracked almost live with the trackimo app, meaning you can watch your AC move on the satellite map in the Trackimo app while you're flying, but there is a bit of a delay, I'd say up to a 20-30 sec delay when automated, and up to a 60 sec delay when you are manually demanding an updated location, which is disappointing.  The main thing that bugs me about it is it only gives you an updated location once a minute at best unless you manually demand an update.  That means if you are flying 30 mph, in theory it could travel a half mile without an update.  Or if you go straight out and immediately come back, you likely won't have an update at your furthest point.  OTOH if you crash and your AC battery gets knocked out, the Trackimo will potentially continue to send its location from the ground after the crash and will continue doing so once a minute until the battery goes dead, so that's a good thing.  I haven't crashed with it yet.  It does get GPS and cell service in the woods (at least in the winter with bare trees) because I tested it, so that's another good thing and that's probably due to it only needing four GPS satellites.  If you manually demand a location via the app, it will give you a location more often than once a minute, but no more than 4x in a minute (i.e. once every 15 secs or so).  You can download a log of the flight with the dates, times, and GPS locations of the device.  The fully charged battery will last about 48 hours.  It's a simple matter to recharge the battery via the micro usb port.  The cell service for the Trackimo is free the first year, and then $5 a month afterwards.  You might find other uses for it too, such as in your checked luggage, in your teenage daughter's car, on your pet's collar, etc.  A few more unique things about this device... the fact that you can communicate from your app to the device is something Flytrex could not do.  For example, you can request changes in how often it reports its position (once every 120 minutes instead of once a minute) which would presumably save battery.  You can demand current location as often as 4x a minute if you do it manually.  You can also send a demand for it to emit a tone - unfortunately, the tone is very low volume and likely won't be heard unless you're inside.  But it could help you locate the device inside or for example, you could potentially train your cat to come home for supper when it hears the tone.  Finally, it does have bluetooth.  So provided your mobile device also has bluetooth, it may help you locate the device.  By tapping on the bluetooth icon on the app, you'll get a pop up and the pop up will tell you if it senses a bluetooth signal from your Trackimo, and if so, then approximate the distance from mobile device to Trackimo in meters.  Unfortunately, the range is poor and it doesn't sense the bluetooth signal unless the device is within about 10 meters of your mobile device.  Obviously, this wouldn't be useful unless the Trackimo popped out of the Phantom and you were looking for the Trackimo by itself while it was laying on the ground in the tall grass or leaves.  Still, it's nice to have.  Finally, you can download a log for your record.  The long includes date/time, latitude, longitude, speed, and google maps url.  All in all, it's a nice product and I'm happy to have it.  
In summary, it can be located five ways depending on what you need:

1)  GPS location
2)  WiFi curb address
3)  Cell tower triangulation
4)  Bluetooth range finder
5)  Sonic tone

Wish list:

1)  Update position more often than once a minute

2)  Louder sonic tone emitted on demand

3)  Longer range bluetooth

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-3-22 03:34
I'll just blather on some more about the Trackimo.  I have the 3G Trackimo.  It works completely independent of the AC.  The device with battery weighs 1.1 oz.   Gimbal-Guard.com sells a custom bracket you can screw onto your Phantom which holds the device nicely allowing for a secure mount while also allowing installation or removal of the device in less than a second.  The bracket weights .5 oz.  I haven't noticed any difference in flight due to the extra weight.  I believe the P3S has room underneath so you could also install it under there with commercial grade velcro, but you should also tether the device to a leg if you do it that way.  Since the device is independent of the AC, it can be hot-swapped with any AC if you happen to have more than one.  It requires only 4 GPS satellites to give a GPS location (rather than the 6 a P3S needs) and it's accurate within 50' or so, but is usually more like within 20 feet.  If there is no GPS for whatever reason, it looks for a Wifi signal, identifies it, and then gives you the location of that wifi transmitter.  It might even triangulate, I'm not sure.  With no GPS and wifi only, it's not very accurate, it might be off by several hundred yards.  With no GPS and no wifi, it will triangulate with the cell towers to give you a location but it's extremely inaccurate and may be off by as much as a mile.  I've never had it lose GPS while in the air or while it's outside on the ground.  It can be tracked almost live with the trackimo app, meaning you can watch your AC move on the satellite map in the app while you're flying, but there is a bit of a delay, I'd say 20-30 secs delay, which is disappointing.  The main thing that bugs me about it is it only gives you a location once a min at best unless you manually demand an update.  That means if you are flying 30 mph, in theory it could travel a half mile without an update.  Or if you go straight out and immediately come back, you likely won't have an update at your furthest point.  OTOH if you crash and your AC battery gets knocked out, the Trackimo will potentially continue to send its location from the ground after the crash and will continue doing so once a minute until the battery goes dead, so that's a good thing.  I haven't crashed with it yet.  It does get GPS and cell service in the woods (at least in the winter) because I tested it, so that's another good thing and that's probably due to it only needing four GPS satellites.  If you manually demand a location via the app, it will give you a location more often than once a minute, but no more than 4x in a minute (i.e. once every 15 secs or so).  The fully charged battery will last about 48 hours.  It's a simple matter to recharge the battery via the micro usb plug.  The cell service is free the first year, and then $5 a month afterwards.  You might find other uses for it too, such as in your checked luggage or on your pet collar.  All in all, it's a nice product and I'm happy to have it.

That all sounded great until you said $5 a month, does that include sim rental/charges?

Mark The Droner Posted at 2018-3-22 03:34
I'll just blather on some more about the Trackimo.  I have the 3G Trackimo.  It works completely independent of the AC.  The device with battery weighs 1.1 oz.   Gimbal-Guard.com sells a custom bracket you can screw onto your Phantom which holds the device nicely allowing for a secure mount while also allowing installation or removal of the device in less than a second.  The bracket weights .5 oz.  I haven't noticed any difference in flight due to the extra weight.  I believe the P3S has room underneath so you could also install it under there with commercial grade velcro, but you should also tether the device to a leg if you do it that way.  Since the device is independent of the AC, it can be hot-swapped with any AC if you happen to have more than one.  It requires only 4 GPS satellites to give a GPS location (rather than the 6 a P3S needs) and it's accurate within 50' or so, but is usually more like within 20 feet.  If there is no GPS for whatever reason, it looks for a Wifi signal, identifies it, and then gives you the location of that wifi transmitter.  It might even triangulate, I'm not sure.  With no GPS and wifi only, it's not very accurate, it might be off by several hundred yards.  With no GPS and no wifi, it will triangulate with the cell towers to give you a location but it's extremely inaccurate and may be off by as much as a mile.  I've never had it lose GPS while in the air or while it's outside on the ground.  It can be tracked almost live with the trackimo app, meaning you can watch your AC move on the satellite map in the app while you're flying, but there is a bit of a delay, I'd say 20-30 secs delay, which is disappointing.  The main thing that bugs me about it is it only gives you a location once a min at best unless you manually demand an update.  That means if you are flying 30 mph, in theory it could travel a half mile without an update.  Or if you go straight out and immediately come back, you likely won't have an update at your furthest point.  OTOH if you crash and your AC battery gets knocked out, the Trackimo will potentially continue to send its location from the ground after the crash and will continue doing so once a minute until the battery goes dead, so that's a good thing.  I haven't crashed with it yet.  It does get GPS and cell service in the woods (at least in the winter) because I tested it, so that's another good thing and that's probably due to it only needing four GPS satellites.  If you manually demand a location via the app, it will give you a location more often than once a minute, but no more than 4x in a minute (i.e. once every 15 secs or so).  The fully charged battery will last about 48 hours.  It's a simple matter to recharge the battery via the micro usb plug.  The cell service is free the first year, and then $5 a month afterwards.  You might find other uses for it too, such as in your checked luggage or on your pet collar.  All in all, it's a nice product and I'm happy to have it.

That all sounded great until you said $5 a month, does that include sim rental/charges?

I didn't know it was possible to rent a sim card.  But there is no other charge other than the $5.  Obviously we know cell service is not free.  There's a fee for which Trackimo seems to be the middle man and charges $5/month after the first year.  For comparison, for my Flytrex, I paid $10 every three months which I paid directly to the cell service provider (the Sim card cost me a penny with free shipping) via my own AT&T account.   So yeah, $5/mo might be a bit high - Trackimo might make a little bit.  Maybe it's more because it includes AGPS?  I don't know.