BEST budget GPS tracker?

tevek · Mar 3, 2017

Noodle said:
I bought the Trackimo over a year ago so it is the older 2G network model. I don't see the point of investing in a 2G tracker in Australia anymore. Now I am waiting for a cheap 3G tracker to come on the market.

I'm thinking of trying one of these from drones2 over here in WA. You need a SIM card and the obvious coverage but for $65 it might be ok.

Neon Euc · Mar 3, 2017

msinger said:
Here's a list of the trackers most commonly used with the Phantom today:

Marco Polo (radio signal)

RF-V16 (2G/3G)

Trackimo (2G)

Trackimo (3G)

I pre-ordered the Ping tracker, but there's no telling how good it'll be since nobody has one yet. If it does everything they claim, I think it's going to be one of the go-to trackers in the future.

Why the ping tracker? It's bluetooth with a range of 35 feet?

riccardoerre · Mar 4, 2017

Ping uses Bluetooth, Cellular, and GPS to locate next door or anywhere in the world, according to the official website

Neon Euc · Mar 4, 2017

Ah sweet. In that case sign me up. I'm in [emoji4]

msinger · Mar 4, 2017

Neon Euc said:
Why the ping tracker? It's bluetooth with a range of 35 feet?

Check out my link above. You can read more about it.

ckonemd · Mar 4, 2017

The RF-16 does interfere with my P4 and P4+ compass depending on what side I place it so be careful when trying for first time

jakeaheli · Mar 5, 2017

ckonemd said:
The RF-16 does interfere with my P4 and P4+ compass depending on what side I place it so be careful when trying for first time

Any idea what side the compass is on a P3S? I've watched a few vids on youtube and there are quite a few folk that use the RF-V16 with no issues mounted on the upper left i believe.
I'm waiting on my RF-V16 to arrive & would like to try it out asap.

DanMan32 · Mar 5, 2017

On the bottom of one of the landing skids, you'll see extra plastic with screws. That's the compass.

jakeaheli · Mar 5, 2017

DanMan32 said:
On the bottom of one of the landing skids, you'll see extra plastic with screws. That's the compass.

Got it! With the P3S camera facing me its on the left side bottom.

Guess i'll have to mount the RF-V16 on the RHS, camera facing me.

Thanks DanMan

The Springs · Mar 5, 2017

Have a look at the RF-V42 on eBay it's the 3G version

royster · Mar 5, 2017

Maybe an enterprising UAV producer will, one day, come out with a drone that includes a built in tracker.

jakeaheli · Mar 5, 2017

A DJI Phantom with a built in tracker linked to the official app would be an amazing add on.

A lot of folks that have the RF-V16 have reported that they also work on the 3G network (depending on the network provider) due to a frequency overlap. Got mine in the mail today. Will pop in my 3G sim card today or tomorrow and give her a ring to see if it works.

jakobe75 · Mar 7, 2017

Att killed 2g in january. Google the 2g sunset for a coverage map of many providers. I ordered a USmobile sim yesterday. the service is a few bucks a month. It is backed by T-mobile and based on what the tk102 forums say,.which is a clone unit of the rfv16, it works on this network. But is slated to end service in september 2017.

Best Cell Phone Plans - Prepaid Phones | US Mobile

My rf-v16 tracker came on monday, very tiny thing. Just waiting on a sim card.

jakobe75 · Mar 7, 2017

jakeaheli said:
A DJI Phantom with a built in tracker linked to the official app would be an amazing add on.

A lot of folks that have the RF-V16 have reported that they also work on the 3G network (depending on the network provider) due to a frequency overlap. Got mine in the mail today. Will pop in my 3G sim card today or tomorrow and give her a ring to see if it works.

I tried a sprint and an att card yesterday and they wouldnt work. Tmobile is the last carrier that uses a 2g network with a sim/gsm card. Verizon has 2g but its cdma.

jakeaheli · Mar 8, 2017

jakobe75 said:
I tried a sprint and an att card yesterday and they wouldnt work. Tmobile is the last carrier that uses a 2g network with a sim/gsm card. Verizon has 2g but its cdma.

I just received my RF-V16 today. BTW im down under in Australia. I popped in my TPG sim card, turned the unit on and used my wifes phone to dial it and it rang. I even answered it by pressing the "S" button.

My question now is i'm not sure whether it was running off the 2G or 3G frequency??

Jake

jakobe75 · Mar 8, 2017

jakeaheli said:
I just received my RF-V16 today. BTW im down under in Australia. I popped in my TPG sim card, turned the unit on and used my wifes phone to dial it and it rang. I even answered it by pressing the "S" button.

My question now is i'm not sure whether it was running off the 2G or 3G frequency??

Jake

Its only capable of 2g

jakeaheli · Mar 8, 2017

jakobe75 said:
Its only capable of 2g

But it worked on my 3G SIM which i use everyday on my galaxy S2.

jakobe75 · Mar 8, 2017

jakeaheli said:
But it worked on my 3G SIM which i use everyday on my galaxy S2.

3g cards are typically reverse compatible with 2g, they are capable of both. Just as a 4g card does 3g and 2g. But a 2g card cant do 3g and a 3g card cant do 4g.

The rf-v16 only communicates on the 2g band using it's 2g radio. It doesnt physically have the hardware to communicate on 3g.

Once 2g is shut down completely these will be of no use similar to what happpened to the Garmin trackers. Sprint and Verizon still have limited 2g but is a different type. I believe the Trackimo uses this 2g cdma system that sprint and verizon use, but as far as I know they arent selling sims for it on those networks.

Has anyone cut open a trackimo to see if its got a serviceable sim card?

Tmobile allegedly has 2g still active but they are not bragging about it. They are just picking up the stragglers from ATT and trying to phase them out by September '17. But by then the Ping device should be released and hopefully be a success and thus will drive the price of 3g Trackimo's down in the $50-75 range.

jakeaheli · Mar 9, 2017

Just to be sure i purchased a $2 Vodafone 4G SIM card here --> activated it & topped it up with $10 --> popped it in the RF-V16 & I'm away. I tested it with a call it worked. Placed it outside and tracked me about 20-30m from where i was located.

I'm quite happy with this setup for atleast another 6 months or so till Vodafone switch their 2G off. Who knows there might even be an extension.

For now im set

jakobe75 · Mar 9, 2017

so far no go on this rfv16 in the USA on usmobile network in Atlanta GA USA.
unit is powered on, sim activated but wont recv. signal. The lights still flash slowly.