Torn Between Marco Polo & Trackimo

[Cyberpower678]

Based on that response I guess we know who works for Comcast.

I don't work for Comcast. I've been a long time customer however.

 

[MrMavic]

I'm pretty sure I'm going with Marco Polo now. It's true you will know the general direction where to look, but in most of the mountains here, it's likely there won't be any roads taking me near the drone. In most cases where I plan on flying, it will be a lot of leg work, but I'm no stranger to hiking long distances in the mountains.

 

[_milo_]

The owner of Marco Polo, is a pretty cool guy too. It used to be only a pet tracker, but started getting popular for RC aircraft, users began to take theirs out of the plastic case, replace the battery with a small lipo, and solder a new antenna.

The owner came onto one of the RC forums, and gave some input on the mods, he then started offering to do it for his customers that didn't have the experience to do the mods themselves, a while later and he came out with the RC version.

Here's mine its an original one that I modd'ed, I have a stiff antenna on mine so it can't get moved around in the wind.

 

[HFMan]

There are other better options. I use this... a true UHF beacon, and extremely small and light. Welcome | tBeacon

 

[SteelFlyer]

There are other better options. I use this... a true UHF beacon, and extremely small and light. Welcome | tBeacon

Looks interesting but I am not sure I understand how you would use that with a Mavic. It looks like it somehow taps into the aircraft's GPS or am I reading that wrong.

 

[Starz]

This one is on my list.Ping - The World’s Smallest Global GPS Locator

 

[HFMan]

On aircraft where I can easily tap into the GPS, that's what I do. On the Mavic, not possible. I use a hand made Yagi and directional finding. The TBeacon has an awesome proximity mode that works like a champ. I've been able to zero in on mine from nine miles away.

 

[MrMavic]

I ordered the Marco Polo today on Amazon. It was $219.95 with free shipping, but I couldn't get it on the Prime 2 day shipping. Thanks for all the input guys. You all definitely helped me tremendously in making up my mind. This forum is a Mavic owner's best friend for sure. I'll re-post on this thread if I have any questions on using it. It does look pretty straight forward though.

 

[MarkoneNZ]

I have the Marco Polo and it works well. I mounted it to the back right arm. I have mounted it with electrical tape and zip ties.Long battery life I charge the receiver and the tracker about once per month and always switch it on when I fly.

 

[brr5]

Plus one for the Marco Polo. I live in Billings Montana

 

[BerndM]

On aircraft where I can easily tap into the GPS, that's what I do. On the Mavic, not possible. I use a hand made Yagi and directional finding. The TBeacon has an awesome proximity mode that works like a champ. I've been able to zero in on mine from nine miles away.

Could you provide some pics or info on the yagi you're using? Thanks.

 

[HFMan]

Here's the link for the handheld Yagi I made.. made exactly per the spec and it tuned perfectly.

Listening to Satellites with a Homemade Yagi Antenna | Make:

 

[BerndM]

Thanks!!

 

[MrMavic]

The antenna looks pretty simple, but where do you get the transmitter to put on the Mavic and the price, and what's it look like? Can you show a pic of your whole system?

 

[HFMan]

I already posted the link to the TBeacon I use earlier in this thread. I'm currently changing how I mount it, and will post pictures when I get it mounted in a more suitable location.

I should note that to use the TBeacon, by the rules you need to be a Ham operator. I've been a Ham for years- getting the Technicians licence is easy these days if you study up a bit. I'm really curious how the heck DJI was able to get FCC certification with the Mavic and still get the kind of range it gets.

 

[BerndM]

This one is on my list.Ping - The World’s Smallest Global GPS Locator

WOW....$20 shipping cost for a 1 oz item here in the US/Canada. That's pure robbery

 

[MrMavic]

I already posted the link to the TBeacon I use earlier in this thread. I'm currently changing how I mount it, and will post pictures when I get it mounted in a more suitable location.

I should note that to use the TBeacon, by the rules you need to be a Ham operator. I've been a Ham for years- getting the Technicians licence is easy these days if you study up a bit. I'm really curious how the heck DJI was able to get FCC certification with the Mavic and still get the kind of range it gets.

Oh, Ok, somehow I missed your post. I read that the range has been reduced greatly with the last firmware upgrade. Not sure, but I don't think there are very many guys here that would be willing to get a Ham license to use it.

 

[BerndM]

I already posted the link to the TBeacon I use earlier in this thread. I'm currently changing how I mount it, and will post pictures when I get it mounted in a more suitable location.

I should note that to use the TBeacon, by the rules you need to be a Ham operator. I've been a Ham for years- getting the Technicians licence is easy these days if you study up a bit. I'm really curious how the heck DJI was able to get FCC certification with the Mavic and still get the kind of range it gets.

I really am interested in the tBeacon but I seriously question if it is FCC Type Approved especially once the receive frequencies are changed to the FRS range

 

[HFMan]

It is not FCC type approved, certainly not for FRS. That's why it's pretty much only legally useful for HAM operators. HAM operators can operate Beacons on approved HAM frequences (the 75cm band in this case) as long as we meet amateur radio rules.

 

[Photo Beaty]

I want to share my recent experiences with the Marco Polo. Since I live where there is usually no cell phone service that was an easy choice. I wanted to test it out and learn how to use it before an emergency. Twice my wife drive away from my location and placed the Mavic with the Marco Polo tag attached. She placed the Mavic in sage brush that is about 2 feet high about a quarter of a mile away. Both times I had no problem finding the Mavic.by walking and holding the receiver like a plate of water (level). Then I tried a little more distance. I left the Mavic behind some sage brush and then drove a mile away. The mile happened to be on a small hill and there was a good signal from the tag to the receiver in my vehicle. However, about 1/2 mile away from the Mavic the road dipped into a low place and signal was lost. When I drove out of the dip, the signal returned and it was easy to follow the signal to the Mavic tag. So I am confident that I can find the Mavic if for some reason it does not make it home.

An interesting point. I was worried about how strongly the tag was attached to the Mavic. In my case the tag is on the extension support of the rear of the Mavic. I tried industrial strength Velcro. That did not seem especially strong. Then I read (on this forum, I believe) about a Scotch brand product that was, "3 times stronger than Velcro". So I tried that. Again, not all that impressed. However, when I pushed the Scotch product into the soft piece of Velcro it resulted in a very strong attachment. So now I have a strip of the soft industrial strength Velcro on my Mavic and a strip of Scotch brand on the Marco Polo tag and when they are pushed together I have no fear that the tag will fall off in any quick maneuver or even in a crash. All of this Velcro experimenting was because I want to use the same tag on my Inspire 2. Thus the Mavic will have a soft Velcro strip attached and so will the Inspire. It is not difficult to move the tag to which ever quad I am flying.

Photo Beaty