Using The Tile to locate a lost Phantom

fastsmiles · Jan 15, 2015

Today I tried out an idea I had been toying with, using a Tile to locate a lost Phantom. The Tile is a self-contained device that utilizes blue tooth technology to connect to Apple devices and report its location back to the owner.
The first order of business was to lash down the tile to my P2V+ so that it would not come off during flight.
Then I flew the P2V+ to the opposite side of the Park and landed (I had my wife waiting in that area to keep an eye on my Phantom).
I then began walking to that area using the Tile program to try and locate the Phantom.
The Tile program did not connect and register the location of the Phantom until I was within 40 yds of the Phantom and Tile device. It also did not guide me directly to the Phantom. It got me within 20 yds of it, I was hoping for better.

Advantages of The Tile
Low cost-$25
Lightweight-9g
Has its own battery supply good for 1yr
Audible ringer to help in finding it
Can connect to any ipad or iphone that has the Tile App to report its position back to the owner’s iphone or ipad
Does not depend on local cell reception

houstonpilot · Jan 16, 2015

Tiles don't have adequate range to be used for locating a lost Phantom. They're mostly designed for things like keys. Outside of a couple hundred feet, Bluetooth is useless.

CyberCitizen · Jan 16, 2015

Average Bluetooth Range Seems To Be 10m, So Might Not Be The Most Useful Device, Thanks For Testing & Providing A Review Etc.

general01 · Jan 16, 2015

Houstonpilot is correct the tile locator is best used for keys as the Bluetooth signal is pretty weak(the Bluetooth in my truck drops of the handset is a certain distance away outside the truck(which is very short))

I would prefer a cellular style or better a old smartphone(eg iPhone) and just use the find my iPhone feature(it would be super accurate cheap plus with said feature you can also make it sound off to help locating it easier

A cdma version iPhone is best due to better cdma network coverage(unless it's a newer model (eg 4s)

msinger · Jan 16, 2015

In order for this to work, a Tile app user would have to be within 130 ft of your lost Phantom. But, I guess it could work if you live in a very populated place that has a lot of Tile users.