Hi guys
(Sory if this is in the wrong section. I almost put this in the autopilots section but, given it's purely a GPS tracker and doesn't wire in to any other part of the plane, I thought this section was best?)
I have read a lot of reviews about the above unit and it seems very popular with plane owners. I like the idea of it being a completely independent system and, in the event of loosing a plane, it will reply to your text message with one of it's exact co ordinates.
I'm considering using this as a stepping stone to one of the better OSDs. It seems like a useful backup option and I like the way it's fully independent of the rest of the system.
Does anyone have any experiences of this?
I have also read that they may interfere with the ezuhf system, or with the video Tx. What are peoples experience here?
Many thanks
I have used this tracker on a friends motorcycle, it works great, providing it has a network to use and gps reception. In plane crashes both are not guaranteed
They are good, however, you have to ensure that you get the right one. Some on ebay don't work on the uk networks. On ebay, the £15 ones tend to be rubbish but the ones that normally go for around £30 tend to be good, original and even come with s sim card.
FPVlab have a thread on these but the info tends to be US based http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?1781-Details-of-GPS-GSM-Tracker (http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?1781-Details-of-GPS-GSM-Tracker)
I considered buying one, but got put off, by people saying that you were adding another 'transmitter' onto a platform which was already very sensitive to RF.
The suggestion was that you could use a spare channel on the RX and a 'relay' to switch it on when needed.. But I gave up with the idea.. however, since I lost my WOT4 last week, I have regretted not and am considering buying one and sticking it on each plane as/when I fly.
So I think its a really good idea, but would still like to understand whether a device broadcasting GSM, might interfere with the Video and Control systems onboard.
I was looking at the ones like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GPS-GPRS-GSM-Car-Vehicle-Real-time-Tracker-System-Device-Personal-Locator-/351098702738?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Safety_Security&hash=item51bf1d0b92 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GPS-GPRS-GSM-Car-Vehicle-Real-time-Tracker-System-Device-Personal-Locator-/351098702738?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Safety_Security&hash=item51bf1d0b92)
Jon
I had one on my first skywalker. mounted it up front in the nose, as far away from any other tx or rx equipment in the aircraft. flight didn't go very well. previously the video was fine but once I put the gps tracker in I was getting lines and noise at regular intervals... kind of like the sound you get when someone is calling your mobile phone when it's sitting next to a speaker. dit dah dit, dit dah dit... and so on. completely ruined the flying experience.
dont think it was interfering with the VTX, but more so the actual signal leaving the camera, as that's the component it was closest to.
left it out the next time I flew and it was fine.
sold the tracker soon after and started using Storm OSD for it's RTH functionality instead. I have a DVR on the ground too so I would use that to locate a lost plane... but I've never lost a plane that I've installed Storm OSD into.
Quote from: BlueFlyer on August 18, 2014, 06:45:46 PM
I had one on my first skywalker. mounted it up front in the nose, as far away from any other tx or rx equipment in the aircraft. flight didn't go very well. previously the video was fine but once I put the gps tracker in I was getting lines and noise at regular intervals... kind of like the sound you get when someone is calling your mobile phone when it's sitting next to a speaker. dit dah dit, dit dah dit... and so on. completely ruined the flying experience.
dont think it was interfering with the VTX, but more so the actual signal leaving the camera, as that's the component it was closest to.
left it out the next time I flew and it was fine.
sold the tracker soon after and started using Storm OSD for it's RTH functionality instead. I have a DVR on the ground too so I would use that to locate a lost plane... but I've never lost a plane that I've installed Storm OSD into.
That is exactly my fear.. We all know what happens when you put a Mobile near a TV or hifi.. And I hate to think what the interference from a GSM phone could do on a quad/plane.
Your suggesting of using a Storm is good.. But it didn't work for me.. 6 flights into my new plane, it went down 1km away and RTH didn't help me.. Cause is still unknown, but its possible (if not probable) that I ran out of power! This would make it user error.. But the Storm, nor a DVR would help me in this instance which is why a GPS tracker is so appealing!
Some fella in Israel (can't remember his name now, Ian knows) has a UHF tracker for about $30 or so, you just need to buy a UHF receiver of eBay for a tenner and track the beeps with it till you get close enough to see the plane
Think it has about a weeks worth of battery and is about the size of a very large thumb nail
Edit: found it
http://fmtv.us/rf_beacon.html (http://fmtv.us/rf_beacon.html)
Quote from: jweaver on August 19, 2014, 10:43:18 AM
Quote from: BlueFlyer on August 18, 2014, 06:45:46 PM
I had one on my first skywalker. mounted it up front in the nose, as far away from any other tx or rx equipment in the aircraft. flight didn't go very well. previously the video was fine but once I put the gps tracker in I was getting lines and noise at regular intervals... kind of like the sound you get when someone is calling your mobile phone when it's sitting next to a speaker. dit dah dit, dit dah dit... and so on. completely ruined the flying experience.
dont think it was interfering with the VTX, but more so the actual signal leaving the camera, as that's the component it was closest to.
left it out the next time I flew and it was fine.
sold the tracker soon after and started using Storm OSD for it's RTH functionality instead. I have a DVR on the ground too so I would use that to locate a lost plane... but I've never lost a plane that I've installed Storm OSD into.
That is exactly my fear.. We all know what happens when you put a Mobile near a TV or hifi.. And I hate to think what the interference from a GSM phone could do on a quad/plane.
Your suggesting of using a Storm is good.. But it didn't work for me.. 6 flights into my new plane, it went down 1km away and RTH didn't help me.. Cause is still unknown, but its possible (if not probable) that I ran out of power! This would make it user error.. But the Storm, nor a DVR would help me in this instance which is why a GPS tracker is so appealing!
if the storm is powered by it's own LiPo (as discussed in a different thread) it wouldn't be affected by the flight pack voltage dropping so low that it is unable to support the Storm OSD voltage requirements.
I've flown a bixler when the flight pack was too low to power the OSD but was still able to give enough beans to the motor for a controlled turn around and descent.
of course, having a dedicated FPV lipo would be useless if the flight pack is run so low that it is unable to give the motor enough power to get the plane home in RTH mode.
Storm OSD has now introduced a low voltage RTH feature. so now you don't even need to keep an eye on your voltage as when it gets too low (you decide in the settings at what voltage) it enters RTH mode for you.
Quote from: bignose13 on August 19, 2014, 06:41:27 PM
Some fella in Israel (can't remember his name now, Ian knows) has a UHF tracker for about $30 or so, you just need to buy a UHF receiver of eBay for a tenner and track the beeps with it till you get close enough to see the plane
Think it has about a weeks worth of battery and is about the size of a very large thumb nail
Edit: found it
http://fmtv.us/rf_beacon.html (http://fmtv.us/rf_beacon.html)
Username : FMkit on RCGroups is the easiest way to get hold of him.
GSM phones transmit for many reasons but are probably transmitting a Location Area Update (LAU) - the dit dit dah you sometimes hear but the phone doesn't ring. An LAU is sent because they (a) just turned on and are registering with the network or (b) it crossed what's called a Location Area. Location areas are a collection of > 1 GSM cells or (c) a timer expired (Periodic LAU), the period is chosen by the network operator
GSM cells out 'in the country' can be 30KM in diameter so it's perfectly possible to fly a very long way and not transmit. That said, when they do transmit it can be upto 2W which can cause problems.
If you can arrange to only turn on the GSM modem when you need it (and have coverage) then this is a good idea otherwise you are flying with an RF bomb that could go off anytime - the periodic LAU means short range does not guarantee it won't happen
Quote from: PotNoodle on August 19, 2014, 11:39:21 PM
GSM phones transmit for many reasons but are probably transmitting a Location Area Update (LAU) - the dit dit dah you sometimes hear but the phone doesn't ring. An LAU is sent because they (a) just turned on and are registering with the network or (b) it crossed what's called a Location Area. Location areas are a collection of > 1 GSM cells or (c) a timer expired (Periodic LAU), the period is chosen by the network operator
GSM cells out 'in the country' can be 30KM in diameter so it's perfectly possible to fly a very long way and not transmit. That said, when they do transmit it can be upto 2W which can cause problems.
If you can arrange to only turn on the GSM modem when you need it (and have coverage) then this is a good idea otherwise you are flying with an RF bomb that could go off anytime - the periodic LAU means short range does not guarantee it won't happen
i vote for this to be sticky'd as a warning to FPVers who are thinking about using a GPS GSM "text message" tracker in their rigs
Quote from: BlueFlyer on August 19, 2014, 07:10:23 PM
Storm OSD has now introduced a low voltage RTH feature. so now you don't even need to keep an eye on your voltage as when it gets too low (you decide in the settings at what voltage) it enters RTH mode for you.
This is one thing I don't really understand about my "incident" and the Storm in general.. On my Quad (Naza v2 Based), when its in RTH, you can't control the quad until you put it back into Attitude/GPS mode.
But on the Storm, if you put it in RTH, you can still control it.. And I guess this makes sense, as unlike the Quad (Which will land itself) the Storm only brings it back to the area, so you need to land it manually.
But if RTH kicks in due to range, or voltage issues.. And you dont' realise, what stops you from "fighting it".. If it starts to turn (because RTH kicked in due to Low voltage) and you didn't realise, so forced it back.. The RTH would not add anything..
In my case, the best explanation is that my voltage got too low, but when did RTH not kick in? Perhaps it did and I didn't notice.. Perhaps my voltage settings were too low?? I will never know.. But what I would like to know is how the Storm handles RTH situations like this.. Does it force it back? Or does it allow you to over-ride it? And if you give a single stick input, does it turn RTH off?
Jon
Wow- great advice guys. Thank you.
I'm very tempted to get one. However, it does sound like it may be more hassle than it's worth- and will perform brilliantly until one day, for no apparent reason, it could cause the plane to have a big crash if it updates it's location and blitzes all my other kit.
I will be inventive in active safety instead- a RTH feature as a backup though, I liked the way this device would be completely independent- and could be buried deep within the bowels of the plane well protected.