I do a lot of my flying over the Gulf of Mexcio or the Woods or even the Mountains. When I do fly my Mavic Pro, I use a little tiny GPS Called Trackimo which attached to your drone in case the aircaraft get out of your VLOS or if you dont have a spotter and you lose your aircarft, well now, you can add a tiny little GPD tracker to either the Mavic Pro, Mavic Pro 2, and there Phatom series of drones.

Are you concerned about dreaded fly-aways? No matter if you are a pro flyer or a novice user, there’s always the risk of your precious little birds getting out of control and crash landing out of your sight.

While the cause of drone fly-aways is a matter of serious debate, there is no doubt that a drone tracker can come handy to find and recover your valuable asset.

A GPS-based tracker can provide you with accurate positioning details of your lost drone. Information on the longitude and latitude of the location would help you to zero in upon the precise search area – thus improving the likelihood of recovering your unmanned aerial vehicle in the event of a flyaway.

here are a number of GPS-based drone trackers out there in the market. With so many options at your disposal, sometimes things can get a little confusing. To cut short all such confusions, we bring you a handpicked list of the most reliable and popular GPS trackers for locating your lost drone.

1. TRACKIMO

Cost – $139 (Buy here at Trackimo.com)

Trackimo GPS Tracker is a light-weight device with a powerful set of features for keeping tabs on your flying machine. It relies on cellular network to coordinate with satellites for finding the precise location of your drone in real-time. It comes with a free app which can be installed on your android/iOS smartphone to track your drone’s activity and flight data. Web-based tracking using a browser program is also possible. Another great feature of Trackimo lies in its ability to send instant alerts on demand. You can manually ping it to find the real-time coordinates of your multi-rotor.

It comes with a waterproof case. Even if your drone accidentally lands on a water body, it can still transmit the location details to your mobile. Trackimo is a universal GPS tracker which is compatible with all types of drones and multicopters.

2. FLYTREX LIVE 3G

Cost – $189

Flytrex Live 3G tracks your drone in real-time using GPS technology and transmits its positional data to you via a cellular network. It is like a mini blackbox for your personal drone that has the ability to provide live flight telemetry. It has a micro SIM card slot which is 3G compatible. In the event of a crash or flyaway, it would let you know exactly where your drone has landed. It comes integrated with Google Maps to provide you the direction to arrive at the crash site.

With 3G network coverage, this drone tracker is able to maintain a solid signal strength even during high altitude flights. Apart from drone tracking, this awesome device can also provide you details like altitude, ascent, speed, distance and duration of your flight.

Flytrex Live 3G drone tracker supports a wide variety of multi-rotors including DJI Phantom 1, 2 & 3, Naza-M 1 & 2, WooKong-M, 3D Robotics Iris+, 3DR APM, Blade 350 QX2 & QX3, and Yuneec Q500.

3. TK102

Cost – $29

What makes TK102 GPS Tracker stand apart from the others is its great price. You can get this tiny little drone tracker for as low as just $29. It operates with a GSM SIM card and uses the cellular network to transmit the tracking data. To track your drone, all you need to do is to give it a call. You will instantly receive a text message with time-stamped latitude/longitude coordinates and a link to Google map showing you the precise location of your device.

TK102 is a standalone device that can be attached to all types of drones and quadcopters.

FINAL WORDS

Lots of seasoned drone users have experienced flyaways time and again. Irrespective of whether you are using drones for aerial photography or just want to have some fun, the risk of flyaway will always be there. So it does make sense to invest a few additional bucks for the peace of mind that a drone tracker brings. Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry? The choice is yours.

This is a guest post from Jack Danielson, a drone enthusiast, geek and writer. He is particularly interested in the proliferation of drones around the world. He holds the position of consultant writer at Bakehouse Aerial, a safe, responsible, and professional drone company for all kinds of videography and photography needs.

I have the tk102 that I bought on amazon for 20 euros and it’s working flawlessly!!!
No issues at all, no interference, nothing!

Fly safely and enjoy all
Alex

Hello there. Thanks for sharing this information with us. If you have further question, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're happy to help. Thank you.

Nicely done - thanks again for sharing.

Very informative, thanks for sharing

I have tried a few GPS tracking devices and I think the Trackimo is the best for me since I usually travel to a different country.

I am a little cynical abut the authors motives as the links are redirecting via https://uavcoach.com/go/trackimo which is then redirecting to https://store.trackimo.com/?aff= ... &utm_source=gps which appears to have a referrer code which may resul tin commission payments.

My view...

Attaching an external device to the drone would increase the weight, reduce flight time and probably invalidate the warranty if it crashed. So that is a significant trade-off for any benefit.


RE: "there is no doubt that a drone tracker can come handy to find and recover your valuable asset"

If you crash out of sight then the DJI app has a feature to show the last position on a map, even if it then disconnected. So in this scenario the drone already has GPS tracking built in.
If you lose radio contact then depending on the settings the drone should either return to home (RTH), hover and eventually land or simply land. In RTH mode the best approach is to wait and hopefully it should reconnect. If not walk towards the last known location and hopefully you will reconnect along the way and be able to locate as above. In hover or land modes simply walk to the last known location.
So the only scenario where the drone doesn't help is if you get GPS interference. And in this scenario a GPS tracker is going to have the same issue. The Trackimo can also do triangulation from the cell towers. But realistically this is not very accurate and unlikely to get you close enough to help.
I should add that there is another scenario where the pilot didn't wait to ensure that GPS was locked before taking off. But this is best fixed with information / training not selling unneeded solutions.

So my assessment is that this costs additional money, adds weight and risk to flying and appears to give little benefit.
Better to inform people how things can go wrong and what to do about it.

Great info - thanks for sharing   

And of course they only work if there is cell coverage at the landing/crash site.

bjashton Posted at 2018-10-29 05:46
I am a little cynical abut the authors motives as the links are redirecting via https://uavcoach.com/go/trackimo which is then redirecting to https://store.trackimo.com/?aff=138&utm_medium=aff&utm_campaign=138&utm_source=gps which appears to have a referrer code which may resul tin commission payments.

My view...

Still, there is a lot of reports about lost drone and flyaway despite the built-in features to recover the drone. Whether its the drone's fault or pilot error, having an extra device to help find your drone is still better.

Aardvark Posted at 2018-10-29 09:59
And of course they only work if there is cell coverage at the landing/crash site.

Exactly - they are of no use without a phone signal so useless for use in the Australian outback

If anyone is still interested - https://www.gearbest.com/gps-acc ... N8n0#anchorGoodsFAQ