captainmilehigh
Premium Pilot
Great. Clif needs to fire up the 3D printer and get busy. [emoji106]
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What's Latest Thoughts on Marco Polo
- Thread starter jim81
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Great. Clif needs to fire up the 3D printer and get busy. [emoji106]
Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
Not very likely, but it does happen. Your call on whether you want to be able to locate your lost bird more easily if a flyaway ever happens. If you have Care Refresh then you will need to recover the drone, otherwise you are SOL.
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What I said was "if anyone wants details, I'm happy to post pics". Still waiting to hear from "someone who wants details", "Dude"!
Hey, guys, call it quits. I doubt you will convince each other at this point. At the risk of walking into an argument, please let me try one last explanation. I have an MS degree in engineering, a BS in physics, I own a Marco Polo, and I have experience with sailboat (EPIRB) and hiker (PLB) emergency locator beacons.
See generally:
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emerbcns.html
First a little physics. There are several ways that a locator beacon might work:
1) Direct detection of a beacon signal being emitted from a transmitter, the beacon transmitting over some public frequency. (good up to 2 miles in open flat terrain, less in hilly or forested area)
2) The transmitter uses a cell signal to transmit its coordinates to a server via what is essentially a cell call. The coordinates are obtained from GPS satellite signals. The owner calls the server to obtain the coordinates.
3. The transmitter uses a connection to special satellites on the 406 MHz distress frequency. If you have one of these you have to register. See Emergency Position Indicating Radiobeacon (EPIRB) They are sometimes combined with GPS or 121.5MHz systems. Ones that that hikers or pilots buy might need to be activated at the transmitter, e.g., by the lost hiker or pilot. For maritime use they have water activation. Some are activated when they are tilted (such as in a crash or capsize).
From what I can tell from my own inspection and reading of spec sheets, the Marco Polo is a type 1 system, operating in the 900 MHz band. As such it should have no impact on communication with the RC which uses either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. The limitation to this system is distances, and terrain. The advantage is that it should work when there is absolutely no cell service or satellite service, anywhere in the world.
The "service" based systems (where you pay a monthly fee) must depend on some level of cell signal to get the coordinates to the server.
The EPIRB systems which use the 406MHz distress frequency don't need cell service, but I don't see anything like these being offered for UAV recovery. Also, the 406MHz systems will only get the search time "in the area" and then a 121.5MHz (or 900MHz) signal helps zero in. In any case, if you are getting a 406MHz system you will know, and you will have to register.
Whatever you get, you will need to practice with it, and understand its limitations and benefits. I have no doubt that there will be terrain where one of the systems will work, while the others wouldn't (or be too heavy, etc.) I don't think any of the current UAV systems are perfect for all conditions.
That said, I do like my Marco Polo. The transmitter is very small, and adds negligible weight so it does not affect flight characteristics. As a note, it obviously began life as a dog tracker, and you can have 3 tags registered on one locator, say one for your UAV, one for your dog, and one for your kid.
Hope this helps.
Robert
See generally:
http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emerbcns.html
First a little physics. There are several ways that a locator beacon might work:
1) Direct detection of a beacon signal being emitted from a transmitter, the beacon transmitting over some public frequency. (good up to 2 miles in open flat terrain, less in hilly or forested area)
2) The transmitter uses a cell signal to transmit its coordinates to a server via what is essentially a cell call. The coordinates are obtained from GPS satellite signals. The owner calls the server to obtain the coordinates.
3. The transmitter uses a connection to special satellites on the 406 MHz distress frequency. If you have one of these you have to register. See Emergency Position Indicating Radiobeacon (EPIRB) They are sometimes combined with GPS or 121.5MHz systems. Ones that that hikers or pilots buy might need to be activated at the transmitter, e.g., by the lost hiker or pilot. For maritime use they have water activation. Some are activated when they are tilted (such as in a crash or capsize).
From what I can tell from my own inspection and reading of spec sheets, the Marco Polo is a type 1 system, operating in the 900 MHz band. As such it should have no impact on communication with the RC which uses either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. The limitation to this system is distances, and terrain. The advantage is that it should work when there is absolutely no cell service or satellite service, anywhere in the world.
The "service" based systems (where you pay a monthly fee) must depend on some level of cell signal to get the coordinates to the server.
The EPIRB systems which use the 406MHz distress frequency don't need cell service, but I don't see anything like these being offered for UAV recovery. Also, the 406MHz systems will only get the search time "in the area" and then a 121.5MHz (or 900MHz) signal helps zero in. In any case, if you are getting a 406MHz system you will know, and you will have to register.
Whatever you get, you will need to practice with it, and understand its limitations and benefits. I have no doubt that there will be terrain where one of the systems will work, while the others wouldn't (or be too heavy, etc.) I don't think any of the current UAV systems are perfect for all conditions.
That said, I do like my Marco Polo. The transmitter is very small, and adds negligible weight so it does not affect flight characteristics. As a note, it obviously began life as a dog tracker, and you can have 3 tags registered on one locator, say one for your UAV, one for your dog, and one for your kid.
Hope this helps.
Robert
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As promised, here are the photos illustrating the method I use to secure the Marco Polo tracker tag to my machine. It won't win any awards for looks but it's strong, secure and it works.
This is the component I modified to carry the Marco Polo Tracker tag.
In Australia it called an electrical conduit tee junction and costs around $2 from any electrical wholesaler.
The female conduit lugs have been removed leaving holes that are flush with the body of the junction. (A hacksaw or angle grinder with a fine cutting blade make short work of this.) Then file off any rough edges.
A small modification is also required to the inside so as the tag can be inserted. The photo shows where I’ve filed the plastic away, (none too neatly), to achieve this. The black strip is the cable tie used to hold the tag “housing” to the machine.
The tee junction cover needs a hole drilled in it as shown, to allow the antenna wire to protrude.
This photo shows the tag in place with the “housing” held in position with a heavy duty cable tie.
With the tag in position, the housing “lid” can now be screwed down.
With the tag in place, the cover screwed down and the cable tie inserted thru the housing and fastened, the assembly in complete. (Don’t forget to activate the tag of course!)
The first of the final two photos shows the completed housing with tag in place and in case you’re wondering, your bird will still fit into it’s case (see last photo), with slight pressure against the cable tie by pushing against the tag housing to clear the styrofoam.
I’ve done dozens of flights using this configuration with no mishaps to either machine or tag. Good luck!
This is the component I modified to carry the Marco Polo Tracker tag.
In Australia it called an electrical conduit tee junction and costs around $2 from any electrical wholesaler.
The female conduit lugs have been removed leaving holes that are flush with the body of the junction. (A hacksaw or angle grinder with a fine cutting blade make short work of this.) Then file off any rough edges.
A small modification is also required to the inside so as the tag can be inserted. The photo shows where I’ve filed the plastic away, (none too neatly), to achieve this. The black strip is the cable tie used to hold the tag “housing” to the machine.
The tee junction cover needs a hole drilled in it as shown, to allow the antenna wire to protrude.
This photo shows the tag in place with the “housing” held in position with a heavy duty cable tie.
With the tag in position, the housing “lid” can now be screwed down.
With the tag in place, the cover screwed down and the cable tie inserted thru the housing and fastened, the assembly in complete. (Don’t forget to activate the tag of course!)
The first of the final two photos shows the completed housing with tag in place and in case you’re wondering, your bird will still fit into it’s case (see last photo), with slight pressure against the cable tie by pushing against the tag housing to clear the styrofoam.
I’ve done dozens of flights using this configuration with no mishaps to either machine or tag. Good luck!
Thanks for the pics. Kind of neat to see that you can still fit that in the OEM case.
Very innovative. The brain gears are already turning on similar but different
Thanks for the photo and for your excellent previous post regarding various tracking methods/frequencies.
I've attached a photo showing the position of my Marco Polo tag on the P4 pro. I realize the non issue of frequency, but wonder if the--albeit small--mass of the tag as positioned might attenuate the P4's send and receive capability. Your thoughts appreciated
Cheers
DD
Are the internal antennas in the P4P aircraft in the legs? Otherwise I can't see how your mounting location would have any effect. The radio in the Marco Polo tag itself will have no effect because it is pretty much inert until triggered.
Excellent, useful information. Especially the concept of turning it on and leaving it on. Thanks John!
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