GPS Tracker Help

[Dirty Bird]

A simple & effective water recovery system that adds only 1/2 ounce of weight. Good for recovery in up to 100' of water.

(Pointed out to me by another Phantom pilot)

The GetterBack Recovery Solution: http://www.getterback.com/

 

[Mori55]

I'm not saying I wouldn't want to recover. But with a fly away if it goes in the water , a tracker isn't going to work underwater. Even if it's sealed.

 

[Jebus]

A simple & effective water recovery system that adds only 1/2 ounce of weight. Good for recovery in up to 100' of water.

Dirty Bird... just a suggestion... when flying your Phantom, I would turn the getterback so that it's on the side of the landing leg. The way it's sitting in the picture, if it were to hit the water and the buoy were to release, I'm not sure if there's enough room for the buoy to 'eject' from the rest of the unit without hitting the vertical part of the landing gear.

I've got mine setup the exact same way, but always spin mine to make sure there's enough clearance for the buoy to eject. When I put the Phantom back in the case, I spin it back like how you have it in the pic. I'm not sure how much room is needed for the buoy to completely eject from the rest of the unit, but I thought I would mention it - just in case.

 

[MikesTooLz]

I'm not saying I wouldn't want to recover. But with a fly away if it goes in the water , a tracker isn't going to work underwater. Even if it's sealed.

if its floating its not under water...

 

[ocphantom]

I'm not saying I wouldn't want to recover. But with a fly away if it goes in the water , a tracker isn't going to work underwater. Even if it's sealed.

Tracker going underwater isn't the only possible scenario where waterproofing it makes sense. Let your imagine run wild.

Why not waterproof it or have one that is at least water resistant?

 

[gardenroute]

Marco Polo Tracker

Has anyone tried the Marco Polo Tracker ? Higher price but NO monthly fees:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008MG5GR ... t-supplies

Yes, I already have it installed for a while on my moded Phantom 1.
Do I have to try it, fortunately the loss of the aircraft, but we tested it in open terrain (large meadow), flawlessly over a distance of 1.000m, longer distance we did not try, but in the open field should be functional up to 1.5-2 miles.

I have it, of course, moded (from the manufacturer) special lightweight version, aircarft tag without case - only in heat shrink, and with special wire antenna.

A few pictures of my installation :

 

[JPSLV]

I am not sure. I just got my TK102B and went up to walmart last night and bought a GOPhone from AT&T. Activiated the sim card and removed it and discarded the phone. Paid for the 10 cents a min plan (I am never going to use it for calling) and pay $5 a month for 200 text messages. Not a bad deal. Cant wait to put it to the test this weekend!

How is it?

 

[Gorlo]

Hi folks, newbie DJI flyer here, still waiting for delivery of Phantom Vision +.
In the mean time, I've been doing much prep reading and a lot of posts about flyaways got me very nervous.
I'm considering a GPS Tracker, but before committing, I'm wondering if this is necessary at all with the PV+

Has DJI corrected the problems prompting a flyaway with the introduction of the PV+?

My reading led me to believe the cause of flyaways (apart from pilot error) was a badly set "home" position and the unit flying home to this spot when it realises it's technically out of range of the "home" position. If this is indeed the case, is there a visual indicator showing the home position and can I override this to specify home is where I am?

My thinking is that is this can be achieved and confirmed through the interface, then a GPS tracker would be useless.

Am I totally out in left field here? If so, please help me find my way home ;-)

 

[JPSLV]

Hi folks, newbie DJI flyer here, still waiting for delivery of Phantom Vision +.
In the mean time, I've been doing much prep reading and a lot of posts about flyaways got me very nervous.
I'm considering a GPS Tracker, but before committing, I'm wondering if this is necessary at all with the PV+

50 grams, $20-50 to find a $2-3K bird?
I have the TK102-2. There's also the http://www.retrievor.com or a few others.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Dirty Bird... just a suggestion... when flying your Phantom, I would turn the getterback so that it's on the side of the landing leg. The way it's sitting in the picture, if it were to hit the water and the buoy were to release, I'm not sure if there's enough room for the buoy to 'eject' from the rest of the unit without hitting the vertical part of the landing gear.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do that.

 

[beckham388]

Dirty,
When you make the change, can you post a picture of the new location for us newbies?

Dirty Bird... just a suggestion... when flying your Phantom, I would turn the getterback so that it's on the side of the landing leg. The way it's sitting in the picture, if it were to hit the water and the buoy were to release, I'm not sure if there's enough room for the buoy to 'eject' from the rest of the unit without hitting the vertical part of the landing gear.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do that.

 

[Jebus]

*edit* Sorry... double post for some reason.

 

[Jebus]

Here's a pic of my bird (sorry for the quality). I've turned the getterback so that it should be able to hopefully release the buoy without it getting hung up on anything. When I put the Phantom in its case, I can spin the getterback so that it's not sticking out the side.

 

[JPSLV]

10 minutes and the thing is gonna pop up and you can pull the line.... That's
great to recover the bird for a proper burial. Isn't there something more useful
where the thing opens up right away and the bird won't sink?

 

[Jebus]

When you find it, let us know.

 

[andrewket2]

I bought one of the $32 GSM/GPRS/GPS tracker from Amazon and set it up today.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FYQO3W

It was really easy to set up and works well for its purpose. The only thing I can't figure out is how to turn it OFF without pulling the battery! The on/off button doesn't seem to work. Push once, push twice, push and hold 3,5,10 seconds... nada. Anyone have this unit and know how to turn it off? The manual isn't very good. It would be convenient to not have to pull the battery as I wire-tied it onto the phantom which blocks the battery cover and also increases the odds the battery stays connected in the event of a crash.

A

 

[N017RW]

I think I read the switch is disabled.

 

[xgeek]

I have one and also can't turn it off unless i remove the battery. I believe the genuine one does turn off ok.

 

[jimdenburg]

I see a lot of great information here on different models/specs/mounting etc. What I haven't seen is an account of the range and accuracy of these things. Are there any fly-away stories with happy endings because the Phantom was equipped with a tracker and they were able to find it X-miles away, pinpointed to X-meters?

It's kind of like the whole gimbal thing--everyone who comes out with one posts a video of the Phantom in-hand and the camera happily dangling from their gimbal, but I want to see the footage! Same same with a Tracker--I'd like to see if they really work in the situation for which they were intended to be employed. Can anyone point me in that direction?

 

[JPSLV]

Mine doesn't turn off either....
Manual? http://www.nikingstore.com/blog/tk-102- ... -tutorial/

copy/clone or genuine, difficult to say. I followed the tips below but still mine doesn't turn on/off, doesn't send me a warning about the battery getting empty, and its SOS does do nothing...
https://gpslocator.googlecode.com/files ... s_copy.pdf

There's an app on iPhone but it's not very useful and their map didn't work

I wish the retrievor was not $200 but for 18 grams and no battery....