Drone Tracking – Track Your Drone’s Flight Path

Fear of losing your precious quadcopter in one of those dreaded fly away situations is something most drone enthusiasts experience. Good maintenance, battery care and performing all the necessary safety drills will keep your bird in control in most cases. So while RTFM (Read The F..in Manual) can keep you flying safely for a long time, there are situations when your quad might land out of sight due to piloting errors or certain circumstances (magnetic disturbances due to interference with other electronic devices or god forbid a solar flare) that you can not control.

So let’s say your $1300 toy is out there somewhere in a corn field. If your device has GPS based telemetry transmitted down to your smartphone or tablet like the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+, you could try to use the “Find My Phantom” function in the corresponding app. The problem is that most fly away incidents happen when the copter loses GPS lock which means less than 6 satellites linked in case of the Phantom. Though in theory, 3 satellites would be enough for tracking, the Phantom is set up in a way that it stops logging its position in this case. It could be due to the fact that positioning accuracy decreases as the number of locked satellites go down, resulting in inaccurate positioning which could be misleading.

Trackimo GPS Tracker

The Trackimo GPS tracker is a great product. If you’re worried about losing your costly investment then this is the product for you.

This drone tracker only costs $139.99 a special discounted price.  This gps tracker for drones does include free software to help you find your drone and an incredible connection so you will almost never lose it!

It only weighs about 40 grams, and can be easily attached to any quadcopter (well I suppose not mini quads).

The benefits of this quadcopter drone tracker are:

1. First year free – low monthly service cost 5$ per month after 1st year.
2. Real Time GPS Tracking
3. Worldwide Coverage via Web or Smartphone APP
4. Weighs only 42 grams
5. Cost Approximately $140 Slightly Less Than the Flytrex 3G
6. App useable for Android and Iphone

Trackimo GPS Drone Tracker: click the image for reviews and more details.

Continuous Drone Tracking Via GPS

So if you would like to make sure that you can keep track of your multirotor at all times during flight, you need something like the new Flyterx Live 3G. Unlike other trackers that rely on challenge-response operation, Flytrex Live uses advanced live tracking technology that guarantees you’ll always know where your multirotor was last seen. It has a micro SIM card (not included in the package you buy) that is inserted into the black box which transmits location and telemetry data through that data connection. The previous 2G version of Flytrex live was great also, but 2G coverage (specially in the US) is scarce, so many users found it hard to use. With the introduction of the 3G version, this problem should be eliminated, so I suspect that Flytrex will gain a lot of popularity with this update.

Flyterx Live 3G black box

Beyond Tracking

But Flytrex is a lot more than just a tracker. Flytrex Live 3G is the world’s first black box designed especially for multirotors that provides live flight telemetry connection whenever you take off and for the duration of your flight. The new 3G offers live telemetry, last seen and automatic flight logger and more

Flytrex Live 3G is the world’s first black box designed especially for multirotors that creates live flight telemetry connection whenever you take off and for the duration of your flight.

Used together with the Flytrex.com the new Live 3G brings the following 3 main features:

• Flight Tracker – Advanced Last Seen tool not only lets you find lost aircraft, but helps you analyze flight characteristics and identify possible problems.
• Real Time Flight Telemetry – See flight data with Google Maps display in real time with your personal Flight Channel, share real-time flight with other pilots and more.
• Logbook and Social – Flights are automatically logged to your personal Flytrex profile. Analyze flights, personal records, complete challenges, compete with pilots worldwide and more. You can share your flight in real time with your personal Live Flight Channel and broadcast your flight telemetry, stats, and Google Maps flight path as you fly. You can allow Flytrex to automatically post to your Facebook timeline whenever you take off which is a great way to brag about your flying skills. 🙂 A Personal Records book helps you analyze your personal improvement over time and best results and share your best flight achievements with friends.

I personally think that besides being able to find your quad,  this social function is what separates Flytrex from the rest and there are more and more users out there so you can also mix and mingle with like minded pilots.

Flytrex Live is the smallest black box solution for multirotors out there right now. It does need a power supply from your quad and weighs a little bit more (just over an ounce or 34 grams) than a simple proximity tracker, but I think the enhanced experience provided is well worth it. Our own Flytrex Live 3G is on its way as the first batch has just been sent out to buyers, so we will be bringing you our hands on experiences soon.

Fyltrex is compatible with many popular multirotor platforms so it will work with your DJI or Blade for sure, and many more.

Flytrex normally costs $189.99 but you still have a chance to get a Live 3G with a 20% discount, at $151.99.

Technical Specifications

• Dimensions: 4.5 x 4.8 x 1.1 cm
• Weight: 31 gram
• Connectivity: 3G GSM (Requires micro SIM with data plan)
• Internal Memory: 16 MB
• Supported flight controllers: DJI Naza/Phantom (all versions), Blade 350 QX, APM 2.6 (dedicated cable required depending on your flight controller of choice)

Summary

Article Name

Drone Tracking and Logging - Get A Black Box For Your Multirotor!

Description

Drone tracking and logging with close proximity and 3G network based solutions.

Author

Zsolt Vaszary

Kennedy Martinez

kennedy@dronethusiast.com

Kennedy Martinez is a resident writer who joined Dronethusiast at the beginning of 2019. She has years of experience reviewing drones and other tech products. When it comes to flying drones, Kennedy loves the ability to create artistic videos from a unique point of view. Kennedy enjoys researching new drones and other exciting products that are available to consumers which is why she is committed to creating the best buyer's guides for our readers.