Hello!
I realized that many people is using GPS tracking devices mounted in their crafts in order to track the craft in case of fly aways or crashes. The idea seams to be wise, but I wonder if the comunication between the craft and the remote controler or internal equipment such as compass or GPS in the drone can suffer from interferences from GPS tracking devices such as these.
Can a device such as this one: RF-V16 The Smart GPS Tracker, cause interferences and affect the drone (Phantom III Pro) if mounted in the drone?
this device uses:

• GSM quad band network 850/900/1800/1900Mhz
• GPRS standard: Class 12, TCP/IP
• works with a micro-SIM.
  

Here is more information about the device. just click the link bellow
RF-V16 Smart GPS Tracker

These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be facing the sky to connect to satellites. If your aircraft crashes and lands with this thing facing anything but up, it wont be able to send the location, unless it also has a cellular connection, which can be off by several blocks depending on where the nearest towers are. These are made more for locating vehicles or motorcycles. If you want a tracker, get a radio signal tracker that sends out a beacon. They are good for several miles and can be located with a UHF radio.

Any electronic equipment can affect your compass if it close.
If you use one of these, mount this as far from the compass as possible and recalibrate your compass after the device is fitted.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-6-2 06:43
Any electronic equipment can affect your compass if it close.
If you use one of these, mount this as ...

Thank you for the nice advise!
How can I know where is the compass in a phantom 3 professional?
will a mount such as the one in this picture be ok? In wich side of the phantom (assuming the front side is the side where the camera is pointing) will be advisible to install this mount?
Thank you!

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-2 11:56
These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be  ...

I have been using the Trackimo. It is attached to a gimbal guard below the fuselage. It still gets a GPS lock. I have played with it and it seems pretty good. I have also watched some video posts of people who crashed their drone with one of these and seemed to be able to locate it.

I looked at reviews and posts for a while and it seemed to have the best reviews.

I have normal compass readings both on the map and in the sensor reading in the GO App.

diogo_pessoa_an Posted at 2016-6-6 03:48
Thank you for the nice advise!
How can I know where is the compass in a phantom 3 professional?
wil ...

The compass is at the bottom of one of the legs.
You will see the small cover plate over it.
As long as you recalibrate the compass to account for the new electromagnetic environment your compass has to deal with, that mount should be fine.

I use the same tracker all the time. Never had any issues with it messing up the compass on the P4.  I put it on the DJI logo on top, I use heavy duty velcro,  it's strong velcro I can actually lift the weight of my P4 by the tracker.

It's not guaranteed to track my drone in case of loss or crash, it's got a cell sim card inside, so if it crashes and someone finds it and presses the button it call your cell phone, it's better than nothing and pretty cheap with no monthly cost.

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-6-6 03:26
I have been using the Trackimo. It is attached to a gimbal guard below the fuselage. It still gets ...

Where is your gimbal guard located, just make sure it doesn't block the VPS sensors.
Also whenever attacking anything metal to the aircraft, calibrate the compass after install.

Your fine with a GPS tracker like a Trackimo, just make sure to calibrate the compass after installation.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2016-6-6 08:03
Your fine with a GPS tracker like a Trackimo, just make sure to calibrate the compass after installa ...

I checked and it does not appear to line up with the VPS sensors. Also, I have the VPS turned off. I don't fly indoors and rarely less than a meter from the ground.  It seems quite stable in GPS mode and it also has a barometer. Is there any reason why I should have the VPS turned on? I have read more posts about it causing problems than not.

skipilot1 Posted at 2016-6-6 08:19
I checked and it does not appear to line up with the VPS sensors. Also, I have the VPS turned off. ...

If you can hover in one spot and it holds position and altitude just fine then don't worry about the VPS.

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-2 13:56
These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be  ...

'These are made more for locating vehicles or motorcycles. '

Actually, rthe RF-V16 unit in the photos, which I have, is actually primarily intended for tracking small children.

'First of all, the GPS module inside has to be facing the sky to connect to satellites. '

Also not true, the device can be facing any way up and still receives GPS signals reliably.

'If your aircraft crashes and lands with this thing facing anything but up, it wont be able to send the location, unless it also has a cellular connection, which can be off by several blocks depending on where the nearest towers are.'

Yes, it does have a cellular connection, which is not active unless polled, in other words it does not send anything until requrested to. You get an application which allows you to contact the device, request its location and also activate a beeper to help locate it if you are close.

Perhaps it would help if you actually read up on the device first instead of offering innacuate advice.

labroides@yahoo Posted at 2016-6-1 23:43
Any electronic equipment can affect your compass if it close.
If you use one of these, mount this as ...

Where is the compass, on say p3A? I know on my 350 it was in the left skid, I think... I assumed a similar location on DJi, but am not sure.

"Yes, it does have a cellular connection, which is not active unless polled, in other words it does not send anything until requrested to. You get an application which allows you to contact the device, request its location and also activate a beeper to help locate it if you are close. "

How is that possible?
If it is not cell connected, how do you poll it? Unless it's on some sort of schedule where it pings the service every so often, to see if a polling request was received?

Phantomski Posted at 2016-6-6 13:06
Where is the compass, on say p3A? I know on my 350 it was in the left skid, I think... I assumed a ...

See post #6 above

Here is a good review where he explains the features of this device which can turn quite useful

this will be probably the setup I will use in mine.
No need to understand the language in order to understand how is it mounted in the drone.

the advantage of this device over some other tracking devices, besides being small and light is that it uses either GPS or LMS and GPRS.
GPS is the most accurate, although it can fail in some cases such as indoors or the GPS sensor is covered by something that blocks the signal.

http://science.opposingviews.com ... -gsm-gps-18430.html

Nice to understand differences between GPS, GMS and GPRS

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-2 04:56
These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be  ...

well this is something to consider. but somehow is strange to see their advertisement where they use a kids using the equipment facing different directions




and the reason they use kids is also to advertise that this equipment works with Ultra-low radiation original GPS+GSM chip.
This sounds good but of course, we can't ignore that this is advertisment.... and we know how it works when it comes to corporations trying to sell something...

Geebax Posted at 2016-6-5 20:29
'These are made more for locating vehicles or motorcycles. '

Actually, rthe RF-V16 unit in the pho ...

Do you have one and tested it? The cellular accuracy is about two city blocks. If you are in a more rural area, it is larger. Good luck.

Phantomski Posted at 2016-6-6 15:09
"Yes, it does have a cellular connection, which is not active unless polled, in other words it does  ...

'How is that possible?
If it is not cell connected, how do you poll it? Unless it's on some sort of schedule where it pings the service every so often, to see if a polling request was received?'

It is cell connected, but it does not initiate a call under normal circumstances, thus saving power. It has a cell phone number like any other phone and tyou can call it and ask where it is.

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-7 13:05
Do you have one and tested it? The cellular accuracy is about two city blocks. If you are in a mor ...

Yes I do have one, and its accuracy is far greater than 'two city blocks', in fact about 5 Metres radius. So once you get to where it says it is, you can use your phone to switch on a beeper to help you find it.

You would have to go out of your way to create a GPS receiver with such piss poor accuracy as 'two city blocks', so why would they bother? Your previous comment about the device showed quite clearly you have no idea how they work, why continue publishing mis-information?

malvern Posted at 2016-6-6 07:58
I use the same tracker all the time. Never had any issues with it messing up the compass on the P4.  ...

About the cellphone part, why not just put a sticker on the plane with your name and phone number?

huntcool001@gma Posted at 2016-6-7 09:27
About the cellphone part, why not just put a sticker on the plane with your name and phone number?

ys, I also have that. But is nice to have a feature that allows a person who finds it to press a button and your receive a phone call and text message with the coordinates. Than you can call back to the device and speak directly to whom as found your equipment. Although one should consider in having this feature enable (auto answering, which will ring once and automatically take the call ) or use the answering only when a button in the device is pressed. I do think the second one is better once  if you are neat the drone and you want to ear the ring, one ring only may be few to locate the device.

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-2 04:56
These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be  ...

You were right regarding this possible issue.
I just contacted Reachfar and asked about it and the response was the following:

"Yes, the position where the RF-V16 is facing influences the tracking results because the GPS antenna is installed on the front.
When the tracker is under the open sky or in better network signal the tracking position can be more accurate."

But if I mount the device as in this picture,

I think it will be rare to have the GPS completely facing down in case of a crash due to the craft arms.
An this is better than nothing. any way I will test it in different positions and see how it behaves.  

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-7 04:05
Do you have one and tested it? The cellular accuracy is about two city blocks. If you are in a mor ...

I did test it yesterday at my balcony. The accuracy was about 1 block away or more (90 meters straight line)... but i was at my balcony and I live in a flat (5th floor) so I have a few flats above me (3 more) . So it wasn't completely open sky, although my balcony is quite open. Then I moved the tracker to the other side of my flat and put it on the window and the accuracy was about 10 to 15m. Once again, not completely open sky above as it was on the window. I will test it in open sky situation and see how it performs.

Geebax Posted at 2016-6-6 21:40
'How is that possible?
If it is not cell connected, how do you poll it? Unless it's on some sort o ...

Ha! interesting! did not realize that! That is sort of cool!

I tested the tracking device in open sky and it worked just fine. Accuracy with an error less than 5 meters. I tested first upside down (buttons facing the ground) and then with buttons facing up. The results were the same. No visible difference.
Although my position in relation to the GPS tracker was not correct (probably because my phone uses GMS instead of GPS). I was about 10m away from the device and the application was telling me that I was 200m away. But the most important is that the tracker device location was correct (error less than 5m).  
I still have to try it with a mobile phone that has GPS and check if the Reachfar application makes use of it and provides a more precise location for me in relation to the GPS tracker.

04red6 Posted at 2016-6-1 20:56
These things do not really work as you would expect.
First of all, the GPS module inside has to be  ...

That's not true. My V16 works in any orientation and even sends back GPS while inside the center storage compartment of my prius. In doors it tends to only send back LBS.

Geebax Posted at 2016-6-5 17:29
'These are made more for locating vehicles or motorcycles. '

Actually, rthe RF-V16 unit in the pho ...

That's not quite true either. You can set the update frequency from 10 seconds or more when it has a GSM connection and it will send it's location to the trackanywhere.org. You can turn the update frequency off and request one time locations through the website which goes over data through GSM. You can also text dw# to get the current location via a text sent and text reply. This is useful if it's in a location where it isn't getting data but is still on the cellular network. i.e way up in the mountains like it is now with my daughter.

Phantomski Posted at 2016-6-5 22:09
"Yes, it does have a cellular connection, which is not active unless polled, in other words it does  ...

The RF-V16 is a GSM cellphone. It can make and receive phone calls, recieve and send text messages, and send and receive data over the GSM network. You put a GSM sim card like from AT&T or H20 and it functions just like a GSM cellphone.

sorka95032 Posted at 2016-6-10 15:38
That's not quite true either. You can set the update frequency from 10 seconds or more when it has ...

Best to cut and paste the bit you are referring to. I have no idea what section of my post you are referring to.

may i use RF-V16 with a sim that hasn't an internet connection?
Can RF-V16 record its position through gps and send me through sms (latitude and longitude) when requested ignoring internet?

jacopo.marcoval Posted at 2016-6-17 09:27
may i use RF-V16 with a sim that hasn't an internet connection?
Can RF-V16 record its position throu ...

Hello! I think you can but is best to confirm with the manufacturer.
I believe that this  device uses GPS, GSM and LBS. As far as I know, you just need data plan for LBS, which is not as accurate as GPS but is always a plus to have it in case GPS signal fails. An it can happen if you have big buildings or other kind of obstructions around the tracker device. LMS although is not as accurate as you would like in order to track a lost craft.  The precision error may be too big...
Any way, try this email and ask them directly
sales3@rf-gsm.com

cheers

jacopo.marcoval Posted at 2016-6-17 09:27
may i use RF-V16 with a sim that hasn't an internet connection?
Can RF-V16 record its position throu ...

This may be a useful read

http://www.gpstrackerchina.com/n1254-Differences-between-GPS-tracking-and-LBS-tracking/


http://techin.oureverydaylife.com/difference-between-gsm-gps-18430.html

http://blog.sam-thompson.info/rf-v16-gps-tracker-guide/

Diogo Andrade Posted at 2016-6-23 15:15
This may be a useful read

http://www.gpstrackerchina.com/n1254-Differences-between-GPS-tracking-an ...

Thank you

I tried my Spot Tracer on my P3P and it drove it crazy every time it uploaded a position update.
(I had it set to every two minutes). Not sure that the effects were really apparent from a control perspective
but the logs indicated a continuous lost data link and gps error for several seconds every two minutes.
Not too comfortable with this, so I went with a Flytrex Live and it's fantastic. Real time tracking down to the second
with no interference.

I use a Trackimo and it works great, it will not affect the operation of the aircraft as long as you preform a good compass calibration after adding or removing any kind of metal device to the aircraft.
Also, if you have a gimbal guard just make sure it does not block the VPS sensor at all.

jim.chisholm Posted at 2016-6-23 19:19
I tried my Spot Tracer on my P3P and it drove it crazy every time it uploaded a position update.
(I  ...

That's something to have into consideration. This may be an issue!
although my idea is not to track the device while flying but in case it gets lost.
In my case, I am using the RF-V16 tracker device.  And I do prefer not to activate the "active position update". This option will consume more battery and will result in less time for the tracker device to be working. I do prefer the solution to send a text message to the device and have the GPS coordinates as a response. Besides, you can activate the "active position update" feature remotely any time you wish from your mobile phone.