Tracker ordered for Solo

[Chuck]

After a very unsettling flight, and losing my Solo overnight, I looked into ordering a tracker for some peace of mind. I decided on the Marco Polo from Eureka Products. I liked the videos I seen of people who use it, and the extended battery life as well. Tim at Eureka Products was very helpful, and answered all my questions. He is very customer service oriented, and returned my calls promptly. I didn't want to depend on GPS or cell service, so I went with the IR system. I at least want a shot at finding my Solo if another incident occurs again, so I invested in a little extra insurance. Besides, if rrmccabe uses it, it is good enough for a novice like me..... Thanks for your earlier input on this subject, Rich.

 

[al bernardino]

I have one for each of my drones/planes.

 

[Chuck]

Have you ever tried it out, either just testing it, or in a real need situation? I hope not the latter!

 

[al bernardino]

I have tested it works great. Hope to never use it.

 

[Maddog]

How do you attach it to your drone?

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for your input. I hope I never need it as well. Maddog, just put it in the search, and rrmcabe shows a picture of his install. It is a perfect location, easy to put on, and will not interfere with any other functions on the Solo.

 

[al bernardino]

I am using 3m dual lock. It is like velcro but stronger.

 

[Chuck]

I had problems keeping my video tx on my P2 when I had it. I tried 3M automotive tape, and industrial strength velcro. Nothing worked. On the advice of a friend, I tried 2 sided servo tape used on rc race cars. Man, that was the ticket. Now, I always carry it with me when I fly.

 

[al bernardino]

The 3M dual lock does not come loose. Velcro way too weak. Servo tape is good, but not re-usable once placed.

 

[Chuck]

I just looked up exactly what you posted. I will be getting some, because you are right about the servo tape. Thanks for the info.

 

[al bernardino]

I use it also on my Secraft transmitter tray to hold fpv monitor

 

[Chuck]

If it holds that, then it really is good stuff. Maybe I should use it on my money to keep it in my wallet...

 

[Rusty Jones]

After a very unsettling flight, and losing my Solo overnight, I looked into ordering a tracker for some peace of mind. I decided on the Marco Polo from Eureka Products. I liked the videos I seen of people who use it, and the extended battery life as well. Tim at Eureka Products was very helpful, and answered all my questions. He is very customer service oriented, and returned my calls promptly. I didn't want to depend on GPS or cell service, so I went with the IR system. I at least want a shot at finding my Solo if another incident occurs again, so I invested in a little extra insurance. Besides, if rrmccabe uses it, it is good enough for a novice like me..... Thanks for your earlier input on this subject, Rich.

Chuck,

What happened, did you finally get it back?

 

[Chuck]

What happened was pilot stupidity. I wanted to drain my batteries down to storage level of about 50%, so I went out in my front yard to basically launch and hover. It was overcast and a bit windy, but nothing I haven't flown in before. I got 8 sats on the ground, but it would not get to the press fly to start motors option. I shut everything down and reset, with the same problem happening again. Since I have taken off in manual before and flown, I switched to manual mode and right away got the press fly to start option. I took it up about 8ft and the wind blew it back over my head towards the house. I compensated, and added altitude to about 30ft. I brought it back towards me, then lost signal between the controller and Solo. The signal never came back, and then I lost sight of Solo behind the house and trees. Talk about panic. I drove back behind my house to the big church parking lot and searched with no luck. I just knew it was in some tree somewhere, or worse, crashed somewhere. I searched for about an hour before I realized that in a city setting, I was out of luck. I came home sick and just on a lark I placed a lost ad on Craigslist offering a reward. The next morning a lady called from the church and said a guy who belongs to the church found it in their quad area. I went over, and found their quad area was all grass, and Solo had landed upright, with not a scratch on it. The guy who found it went as far to take the sd card from the camera to see if it might hold a clue as to who owned it. He passed the reward on to the church, and I returned home one very happy camper. I sent the logs to 3DR, and like I knew they would, it was bad judgement on my part flying where I did, and with everything all around, the signal did not have much of a chance when the wind took it over the house. I have flown since, and had no problems at all. Now, I took a picture of all my contact info with "Reward Offered" in red and that will remain on my sd card. So that is my story on why I am adding the Marco Polo to my bird. Learn from my mistakes, fellow Solo pilots. I hope none of you have to feel like I did that day....

 

[Rusty Jones]

What happened was pilot stupidity. I wanted to drain my batteries down to storage level of about 50%, so I went out in my front yard to basically launch and hover. It was overcast and a bit windy, but nothing I haven't flown in before. I got 8 sats on the ground, but it would not get to the press fly to start motors option. I shut everything down and reset, with the same problem happening again. Since I have taken off in manual before and flown, I switched to manual mode and right away got the press fly to start option. I took it up about 8ft and the wind blew it back over my head towards the house. I compensated, and added altitude to about 30ft. I brought it back towards me, then lost signal between the controller and Solo. The signal never came back, and then I lost sight of Solo behind the house and trees. Talk about panic. I drove back behind my house to the big church parking lot and searched with no luck. I just knew it was in some tree somewhere, or worse, crashed somewhere. I searched for about an hour before I realized that in a city setting, I was out of luck. I came home sick and just on a lark I placed a lost ad on Craigslist offering a reward. The next morning a lady called from the church and said a guy who belongs to the church found it in their quad area. I went over, and found their quad area was all grass, and Solo had landed upright, with not a scratch on it. The guy who found it went as far to take the sd card from the camera to see if it might hold a clue as to who owned it. He passed the reward on to the church, and I returned home one very happy camper. I sent the logs to 3DR, and like I knew they would, it was bad judgement on my part flying where I did, and with everything all around, the signal did not have much of a chance when the wind took it over the house. I have flown since, and had no problems at all. Now, I took a picture of all my contact info with "Reward Offered" in red and that will remain on my sd card. So that is my story on why I am adding the Marco Polo to my bird. Learn from my mistakes, fellow Solo pilots. I hope none of you have to feel like I did that day....

WOW, a happy ending to a stressing time.

I was thinking about adding a 'Loc8tor' tag to mine, I just wanted to research if it would interfere with the Sololink.

 

[Chuck]

I am not sure about the Loc8tor. I know the Marco Polo is on the 900 Mhz band. To my knowledge, no problems from Solo pilots as far as interference is concerned.

 

[Chip Luck]

Looks like that is on my list to buy, thanks for the information.

I had a low level fly-away, the 8th time, on Sunday. Was RTH and hit Pause about 10 ft AGL to pan around, then held down Fly for 'land now'. Solo turned into a weed whacker, scooting fast northbound about 1 ft off the ground, mowing down palm fronds and crashing into the bushes. At least the software update included CRASH detection and immediately shut off the motors along with warning shake and voice on the Controller. I have yet to have a higher altitude fly away like some as all mine have been around the Home position at 20ft or less. Glad yours is safe and recovered. I'm only out 11 props. And, the LZ/Home position, I have flown from there dozens of times with no issues using auto-land/RTH. The Solo is a sturdy beast for sure!

BTW: take a close look at my avatar picture, that's Solo sitting in a bush after a low level fly-away : check out the prop marks on the bush and that is the way Solo wound up - just hanging there about 6ft off the ground. Dang it man...

Cheers

 

[Gary Burch]

I use the whistle app. I have a whistle pet tracker for my dog. I take it off my dogs collar and attach it by rubber bands to solo. You can use gps on app to locate drone.

 

[Chuck]

I think anything to help locate a lost Solo (or dog) is a good thing. I just didn't want to depend on gps to find it. I chose the Marco Pole because of the longer range, and longer battery life.

 

[RVgeeks]

I bought and tested the Marco Polo. Can locate it to within inches every time. Great customer service from Tim and info about mounting it from RMcCabe. No more pucker factor when flying, even in remote areas with poor cell service. Haven't had a real-world incident, but after reading stories like this, the peace of mind is palpable. Would never fly without it. I also have the 3DR backpack, and the Marco Polo fits perfectly into the bag, basically permanently attached to the belly with industrial-strength velcro and a zip-tie. Once installed, I've never removed it again.