Could GPS tracker for drone be a useful solution in the case of flyaway?
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Technologies are developing at the speed of light and no way to chase all of them, but photography is rather an old addiction so we could think that not any revolutionary inventions expected except rising pixel numbers for cameras.
I am not a very big fan of photography but as my iPhone 6S Plus has an excellent picture and video footage capability, therefore, enjoy taking pictures and filming videos which bring my loved ones and me a real satisfaction.
Why I mentioned technologies development, just to say that today everyone can be able to make awesome pictures or video footage from a view of bird flight.
How? It is a Drone. Actually, it is UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle or flying robot equipped with a photo-video camera.
I suppose that most of us know about drone life or on TV at least. Military drones are used to spy or even carry weapons. Police and medical drone to help people in case of emergency.
In near future, pizza delivery will be available by the help of the drone. You just have to tell your location and Drone with his GPS navigation system on board determine where it must be delivered. You have not yet laid the table as the pizza will already be arriving.
Happily, today this great invention is available for everyone. A wide range of drones or quadcopters is available on the market today. I am not talking about toys helicopters for kids. However, this is a really cool toy for an adult — price tags from $50 to $3000.
By me the main reason to have drone for personal use is making awesome footages from places never been able to reach before.
I will be honest and say that I never had an opportunity to operate a drone, but it is on my shopping list top rows. I made decent research on the internet and learned much about these flying devices.
You could ask me why I include drones in my GPS navigation site?
Because most quadcopter drones are equipped with a GPS navigation system to fit in a range of smart devices, there are many functions which GPS is carry on. One of the top is ability by pushing the Home button and drone come back to the previously installed Home location. Not any manual manipulations needed.
Not every drone is GPS equipped and even though is they used to fly away. All in all properly calibrated and operated quadcopter should not fly away, but it happens. What to do not to lose your drone or minimize risk at least?
There are necessary steps before take off to be done:
- Calibrate a compass;
- Do not forget to set a Home location;
- Be sure you have the latest firmware installed;
- Use GPS tracker.
I’d like a little more stop at the last precautions.
Even with GPS navigation drones could be lost so independent tracker is a smart decision. Any additional weight could be critical for proper use of drone, so we have to find lighter and most useful GPS tracker.
Actually not so big offers on GPS trackers market today on such terms.
One of best by my mind is SainSpeed TK102 Rechargeable Mini Real-Time Anti-theft GSM/GPS/GPRS Tracker Device with Micro SD Memory Card Capability for Global Sim Card.
It weighs just 12.6 ounces or 357 grams with dimensions 7.3 x 5.1 x 2.3 inches.
You can easily mount it DIY on your DJI Phantom 3 or other Radio controlled flying robot.
Additionally, it is wise to add one more little tool in case your drone could be lost and hidden in bushes or high grass. It is Click on Dig Model F6 Key Finder. It is Bluetooth pinpoint device which guides you to exact position after GPS tracker shows an approximate area.
It could be found various Chinese quality made similar trackers, but I have morose personal experience of AliExpress like shopping places, so would not recommend it.
It is my short review of GPS tracker for a drone. Better not lose your flying photo robots at all, but in a case when this happens to find it undamaged and ready for next incredible flying footages like this one made by my son’s friend’s drone.
I recently came across on HidnSeek GPS tracker. It is an Internet of Things implementation in real life and powered by Sigfors GPS tracker is one of the perfect examples.
April, 2019.
It’s been more than three years since I wrote this post. Today I can brag because I’m the owner of a great drone DJI Mavic 2 Zoom. Read more about my experience and feedback here.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
It really hurts when you lose your very EXPENSIVE and beloved drone. I believe this post proves my investment. I use a Trackimo one though.
Trackimo GPS tracker is one of the best choices for quadcopter or drone. Actually, you can use any GSM based trackers but keep in mind that in a case when you wanna make cool footage on your luxury yacht in high seas the GSM signal could be too weak for proper use.
With the Trackimo, I get a free trial period for an entire year, so it really is inexpensive!
Hi John. It’s really cool. Am I just wondering what includes the trial for one year? You do not need to pay for GSM service or what? I usually purchase a prepaid SIM card, and that is it.
Seems like the Trackimo device works well for you guys. I have been looking for the best gps tracker because I almost lost my drone on my latest flight since I lost control and flew away. I plan on buying this brand.
Hey, Nathan and thanks for stopping by. Actually, you can use any tracker suitable for your drone lifting capacity. The drawback for conventional GPS trackers is GSM network coverage, so keep in mind wen use in the remote area or at high seas.
Yes that is one of the factors we need to consider before buying any tracker. Have you tried the performance of Trackimo on remote areas?
Hi again. Yes, I have some experience, actually, my son have, with Trackimo GPS tracker. He purchased Trackimo drone set and used drone even in Vietnam when was on the motorbike adventure last summer. He said that GSM coverage was all the time and it is the main requirement for tracker usability. On the other hand in normal conditions, you even do not need additional tracker as a most of drones know how to fly back to you. But having one you’ll feel much more secure in case lost it.
That is impressive. I will feel more secure if a have a GPS tracker, I learned my lesson when my drone almost got lost last time. Sharing your review and experience had truly been helpful. Glad to have read your article. Thanks!
Putting this on my drone in case I have a fly away, and due to the device’s excellent tracking ability, I’d definitely find it!
Yes, GPS tracker may make you feel safe about drone safety just keep in mind that in remote areas need to check GSM network coverage. Conventional GPS tracker cannot transmit position without cellular network. Fortunately, such places diminishing except high seas, remote desert regions, and high mountain ridges. Another tip, try to prevent drone from falling into the water. Even in the case that your expensive drone and tracker have some degree of water strength, and even one feet depth will block GPS reception at all.
Using trackimo is the best choice I’ve made. So far I don’t have any concerns in using it. This device is very reliable.
Hi, Alex thanks for stopping by. As I reply to Donna in her comment, Trackimo is the good choice for drone GPS tracker. I have found somewhere that as if it does not work on 3G GSM network? It is strange as my son use it in Vietnam last summer bike adventure, everything was just great. He definitely used 3G or even 4G as talk to him via Facetime.
The trackers locate valuable things, such as the drone, to see exactly where they are in case if a possible flyaway may happen. My personal go-to tracker for drones would be the Trackimo device. Not sure if you’ve heard of it, but it’s known to be the smallest of its kind.
Hey there and thanks for taking time for the comment. Trackimo is a good choice, and regardless of some drawbacks found in online, it is one of the best in the market for GPS tracker for drones.
Totally don’t have regrets purchasing this device. It does gives me what I want from a tracker.
Hi Francine. It is great to see that Trackimo works as GPS tracker for you. Do you have any experience about water ingress?
Losing something valuable to you is such a heartbreak. Lost my drone a year ago and can’t track it anymore. Good thing I found trackimo. This tracker is very useful for my drone. Now I can easily track it whenever it will be out of range or lost.
Thanks, Stace for stopping by. It’s sad to lose your drone as we all learning from our mistakes. How far away was it flown away and why? Thanks.
So happy I was able to discover this kind of device. This device keeps my drone safe when it’s flying. It won’t also affect the performance of my drone when in terms of flying because it is very lightweight.
Hi Christian. It is not clear about what GPS tracker you are talking about, but I guess it is Trackimo. Actually, it is still the best choice for the moment for the reasonable price. Take care of your drone and avoid to land in the water, though some of them are water safe just not all GPS trackers can be ingressed in the water. Even covered with the waterproof case GPS do not receive the signal underwater so it will be useless when your drone drop into the water.
Trackimo is very awesome! I’m really satisfied and amazed by how it works.
Hello Janica. Great to read that it works and you are satisfied with Trackimo GPS tracker. Nothing is perfect, and this device has some percentage of one-star reviews on Amazon. By reading those drawbacks, I couldn’t find any real issue. Someone does not like customers service, but other accuse the price tag and so on.
Been using this for my drone and it functions as expected having bought it at a reasonable price. Mapping and locating with accuracy is what this device does!
Not always GSM network is available, so the other global option can be used. It is Iridium satellite-based DeLorme GPS tracker or Garmin InReach. I am not sure how to attach it to the drone. It weighs just 7.5 ounces so most of the like DJI S900 can easily lift.
Trackimo is a very big help for a first time drone user like me.Now I feel more safe flying my drone.
Thanks to trackimo, I feel more secure flying my drone.
Trackimo prevents drone from being lost or out of range. I like it because it is very easy to set up and you can keep track on your drone real time.
Thanks, Matias for stopping by. It is nice to see that many real drones fans use Trackimo GPS tracker. As you wrote, it is easy to set up, and those hundred extra bucks can save the lost of thousands.
My drone has its own GPS features but I will still get a GPS tracking device as an extra precaution in case the drone features fail so at least I’d have an alternative locating my precious toy.
Hi Chris! Thanks for taking time for the comment. You are right that most of the more or less serious drones have GPS features mostly to set up fences, flying range and home back feature. Finding from factory released quadcopter with installed GPS tracker is hard maybe just some special series. GPS chip alone cannot track there must be some GPS data transmitter. The most popular and affordable for today is GSM transmitter like Trackimo and numbers of other trackers on the market.
The risk of losing your drone due to crashes or fly away is always present so I invested in a good GPS tracker. I’m flying my drone with all the fun now.
What tracking device is it?
I’d like to add my two cents. You can use any tracking device which a drone can lift. Conventional GPS tracker uses GSM network for satellite signal positioning. The Trackimo and TK 102 are the most popular and affordable trackers for drones at the moment.
It helps my friend having a Trackimo 3G GPS tracker for his drone crashed. He can easily track the drone and find it. So very useful highly recommended!
Thanks, Gavin for the info. I also recently purchased DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone, but I do not know if GPS trackers really need this quadcopter. In my opinion, if you activate screen recording on your iPhone every time, you can see the coordinates in which the drone has fallen. This position should be relatively accurate as Mavic 2 receive both GPS and GLONASS satellite signals. Although with the presence of an additional GPS tracker, the probability of finding a drone is greater on the condition that it is not damaged when it falls.
Good and accurate. I use it as a backup tracker on a drone. You want this 3G unit as the cheaper ones on the market are using a band that will go away soon.
One advantage of this unit is when you get close you can switch it to Bluetooth for exact location.
My thoughts about GPS trackers for drone is that it no longer needs much. I even think it can disrupt flying a little. Even THE DJI GO 4 application has the Find My Drone function and is even very precise. It must be said here that high accuracy is for drones equipped with both GPS and GLONASS receivers.
Hi Andrejs! I read every review before purchasing it. I needed to figure out how to use it, and when I convince, I bought it. So I put it in my Drone. I monitored it every time I lost my Drone in the middle of nowhere.
This tracker is awesome!! I can’t believe how on point it is. Time, the gas used, speeds he’s going. I love the over area view, like google earth.
I need to charge it. It’s at 39%. But this was worth every penny! I highly recommend this item!!
Thanks for the comment. What brand are your GPS tracker and which drone you fly? Thank you