Marco Polo Lemon?

[Desert Sky]

After losing my Air 2 with a failed Find My Drone update, I decided to get a Marco Polo. Having just received it, I took it for a test this evening and I'm not sure my unit is working right. We live in the desert in SW Utah. I went walking out into a forest of Juniper trees... about 15 feet tall with open space between each other. I set the transmitter down... then walked out about 1/2 mile. When I turned on the tracker the signal was quite low.... 8-10% and the unit did not show a direction arrow. I started walking toward the transmitter and the arrow showed up a bit more but often pointed off to the side from where the transmitter was located. The arrow was not on the screen so much that I doubt that I would know where to go if this was my lost drone. Also, the Marco Polo is supposed to work to a distance of 2 miles. Is this the way your Marco Polo operates? Or do I have a lemon?

 

[Thomas B]

I believe it needs LOS

 

[raven swe]

I have one and it doesn't need line of sight, before I stuck mine on the drone the girlfriend took it for a walk, about a mile and a half away and sat by a lake in the forest, I went out with the handset and tracked her down no problem

 

[Photo Beaty]

My friend lost his drone in a juniper/cedar forest in Southeast Utah. We figured it was about a mile away with a Marco Polo tag on it. I took the finder and started in the general direction where we had last seen his drone. The finder picked up a weak signal right away and showed an arrow for which direction to head. The signal got stronger and stronger,
When it got to about 99% I was perplexed because I could not find the drone. However, it finally dawned on me to look up instead of on the ground and there it was about 15 feet up in a tree. Each of 5 experiences with a lost drone and a Marco Polo tag over the last 3 years or so has resulted in finding the drone. However, I must say that it is easier and sometimes necessary to get a signal when you have line of sight in the sense that no terrain such as a canyon are effecting the signal.

 

[Desert Sky]

When you tracked your drone down in the forest, did the arrow work consistently and point you in the right direction. I need a finder that operates well without line of sight.

My friend lost his drone in a juniper/cedar forest in Southeast Utah. We figured it was about a mile away with a Marco Polo tag on it. I took the finder and started in the general direction where we had last seen his drone. The finder picked up a weak signal right away and showed an arrow for which direction to head. The signal got stronger and stronger,
When it got to about 99% I was perplexed because I could not find the drone. However, it finally dawned on me to look up instead of on the ground and there it was about 15 feet up in a tree. Each of 5 experiences with a lost drone and a Marco Polo tag over the last 3 years or so has resulted in finding the drone. However, I must say that it is easier and sometimes necessary to get a signal when you have line of sight in the sense that no terrain such as a canyon are effecting the signal.

Thank you for relating your experiences. I think I'll have to look for higher ground when I don't get a signal. It sounds like you have successfully used the Marco Polo in similar territory as my own and it has worked. Thank you.

 

[Drbobk]

My friend lost his drone in a juniper/cedar forest in Southeast Utah. We figured it was about a mile away with a Marco Polo tag on it. I took the finder and started in the general direction where we had last seen his drone. The finder picked up a weak signal right away and showed an arrow for which direction to head. The signal got stronger and stronger,
When it got to about 99% I was perplexed because I could not find the drone. However, it finally dawned on me to look up instead of on the ground and there it was about 15 feet up in a tree. Each of 5 experiences with a lost drone and a Marco Polo tag over the last 3 years or so has resulted in finding the drone. However, I must say that it is easier and sometimes necessary to get a signal when you have line of sight in the sense that no terrain such as a canyon are effecting the signal.

The Marco Polo can also show you where in the tree it is. Step back from the tree a ways, and turn the tracker on its side. Now the arrow that used to point left or right will point up or down, and you can visually find the drone, or even use some trigonometry to determine how high up it is even if you can’t see it.