GPS Trackers - any recommendations?

Hmm... I wonder if I could get a FreedomPop SIM to work in one of these babys. I use a CDMA MVNO for my regular cell service, so adding it to that isn't an option, but I might be able to work the FreedomPop system for very low cost service for it. EDIT: Looks like FreedomPop is also CDMA, so no dice there.

@ruouttaurmind Wow, I wish I had seen that before I bought mine. Total weight of my GPS tracker is 52.2gram. The main unit w/o battery is just 35.0 gram. For $12, I may buy it to just test it out as well. If it's just as good, I'll use it. Is that 30g with or w/o battery?

@garyhgaryh Best guess? It's probably an internal battery. All the product vendors I checked that include a packing list make no mention of a battery in the parts list. So it's likely integrated. Also have a look at this vid of the thing in action: The guy says they're not legit.

@ruouttaurmind I assume the guy is just testing, otherwise I have no idea what his thought process is like. The comments are foreign :(. I'll look into this before I order, but I should try out the one I have before I order this.

@garyhgaryh Absolutely agree, give yours a shot & see how it does. I'm going to research the other one a bit & see if I can find anyone who loves it.

@ruouttaurmind Great! Thanks!

@garyhgaryh I went ahead and ordered the $12 tracker today. It's coming from China so I have a few weeks to figure out how I'm going to get GMS service for it. I'll let you know what I learn once it arrives. Seems the biggest complaint is position accuracy having an unacceptable tolerance.

@ruouttaurmind Please let me know how it goes :). Maybe I'll set mine up this week or next.

@DJMajickMan eBay link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281513973063

@DJMajickMan That looks interesting. I have yet to activate mine. I need to enter my IMEI # for my device but I'm not sure if it matters if I enter the one that goes with the GPS or the phone I'll use to setup the card.

@garyhgaryh Did you ever get this configured?

@DJMajickMan Not yet. I'm looking for an android phone I ordered last year to set the sim card up. I should do it soon because it's been almost a month since I got it and I need to verify it works.

@garyhgaryh I'll be trying it when I get home. Left the SIM card at home and the device arrived in the mail today.

@DJMajickMan please let me know how it goes. I'll try to set mine up this week. I want to do some testing on my new multistar batteries.. This is the longest I've gone w/o flying my quad - over a week.

@garyhgaryh Yeah GPS TXT message does not respond only the DW command and that's way off as stated below :( Still getting the same 4000 level Longitude. Maybe China has a different way of translating Lat/Long but the image it sends is still a solid blue screen with BERAN JIŘÍ s.r.o. near the center of the screen. I'm not in the Czech Republic :( That's not even remotely close to the DC Metro area

@DJMajickMan which gps tracker did you get? And what service are you using? h20? put the gps outside and let it obtain lock (put it out for 10-15 mins should do) and try getting the coords to see if it's right.

@DJMajickMan Ok i think you got the $12 one with h20 wireless, right? When you registered your sim and it asked for IMEI#, what did you use? The IMEI# from the gps or the device you used to set up the tracker?

@garyhgaryh the IMEI is your H2O imei. I'm not sure this Mini A8 has actual GPS. It was on me for my car ride into the office so it was outside more than long enough to have gotten GPS lock. the Latitude number looks to be about accurate but from what I've been seeing lately this may only be getting location from Cell towers. Which is useless for tracking down your quad if you lose it. I've e-mailed the seller about how to use GPS if it does exist on this thing but...not holding my breath on this. Had to activate the H2O first as well so now I've got a pay as you go SIM that may be useless if I can't find another unit that actually works and needs it.

@DJMajickMan all phones have an IMEI #. It's like a MAC address for network devices . I'm sitting on mine. Sorry I should work on it soon (my gps tracker).

@garyhgaryh Well get on it I need to know what works ;) Don't need to be buying another POS and getting ripped off on the return. Maybe I should just break down and buy the loc8tor.

@DJMajickMan will do bud. This week!

@DJMajickMan Wow, what a liar I am. Well, two months after I wrote my last replied, I finally tested my GPS tracker tonight. I have another phone with an H20 card that let someone borrow. I got that phone back just last week so I decided to use it instead of starting a new service since I have over $70 left on my H20 account and that balance expires in Dec. I popped the sim and the battery in (I charged it over 2 months ago) and sent the command to initalize and it responded "OK". I called the # and a few secs later it sent me my location and a link to google maps. I clicked on the link and it brought up a browser and a pin drop where I am. It even pointed to the correct area of the house I was in. I pushed the SOS button on the unit and it sent me a location updated every 3 minutes. I cancelled it by typing "help me!" and it responded with an "Ok". This GPS tracker is awesome. I can set up perimeters, speed alerts, and active tracking where it will send me a location every x-secs. I can even authorize (up to ten) which numbers can call into the gps tracker and get the position info. For $25 or so I paid for this unit, i'd say it's inexpensive but packed with features. And most of all, it works (it tracks where I am). The only thing I don't know how to use is the monitor function. It has a mic on the tracker which allows you to listen in. I also don't know how to use the address mode. Giving it the address command will return an address of your location, if available, but you have to register with their website (no address given).

Overall, this device is awesome and worth the $25. It works for me with no issues.

@garyhgaryh Now you need to try it out where you fly your quad and in an area that doesn't have good cell service and verify that it works out there.

@DJMajickMan Yeah, w/o cell service you're on your own :). But if you lose gps signal, it will send you it's last known coordinates and it will use cell tower triangulation. All trackers have it's limitations. I bought it knowing it's limitations. I thought about bluetooth trackers but the range is limited.

@DJMajickMan BTW, did you try any other trackers after the Mini A8?

@garyhgaryh not yet. kinda bummed about it and having spent money on the H2O services while testing. Money burned for 0 heat.

@DJMajickMan I'm using H2O on the tracker and my main phone. Just buy the $25 tracker and put your sim in. I bet there's a high probability that i'll just work. The only issue with this product is that the on/off switch does not work. I thought it was just me, but I read the reviews. No working on/off button. Just pull the battery out - simple solution, but a hassle.

@DJMajickMan That coord is near Arahapo, CO

@ruouttaurmind where did you find that? and that's still no where close to me

@DJMajickMan I put the coords in Google Earth. If they have the lat and long reversed it's in Craig, AK

@ruouttaurmind still off i'm in VA

@DJMajickMan LOL! Well, closer than China I guess...

Refused the initial offer and they doubled it so now I'm getting $8 back. Guess for being able to keep the device I'll not file a claim. I can use it at least for tracking it down by sound maybe since it's got mic's.

@garyhgaryh Not bad! If you haven't recovered it within four days then you don't really want it back. :-)

@ruouttaurmind Also, if I can contact it and it doesn't give me the current location (it sometimes get stuck with last known SENT location vs current location), this thing is almost as good as useless.

@garyhgaryh That's what I was afraid of. :(

@DJMajickMan I gotta play with it a bit more, but that seems to be the major issue with this GPS locator (for me at least). Most of the time it will work, but if I keep asking for location, it will just keep sending me the last sent location. It's obvious when it doesn't know where it's at since it sends the text in a different format.

@DJMajickMan Interesting. I'll be tuned in for your test results. I might get one for my dog.

Okay so received the device today and it requires a service plan in the app. :( $9.95 a month to as low as $6.95 a month for a two year plan. FRACKING hate these hidden fees. state up front you've got to cover something :( but i guess it's not that bad a price for possible cellular service for this unit so I'm going to test it out.

So after activating...took seconds really...the location so far looks to be dead on. I'll test more tomorrow as I take it to work, which will also take it out of the, what looks to be 1/2 mile, home base location. which should cause a text message alerting me of this.

@DJMajickMan I've seen this tracker and was going to buy it until I saw the monthly service fees. However, $7/month isn't too bad since the h20 service is a little over $8/month.

@garyhgaryh That's the way I felt about it. Oh yeah and I forgot to bring the device with me to work to test it :(

@DJMajickMan I noticed on the website, they offer an "additional tracker" for $40. I wonder if it requires a separate service plan. Or perhaps they discount the monthly fee for multiple devices.

@ruouttaurmind don't know but I only need one. It's not like I'm going to be flying two drones at once and need to track them both down for crashing out of sight.

@DJMajickMan LOL! Prolly not, but I have two pups and a bunch of drones. ;-)

@DJMajickMan Thanks for the update. Gonna use it on your multi-rotor?

@garyhgaryh I think so. It seems close enough. Far better than the previous device.