I lost sight of [my drone]. If only I had attached a GPS tracking device to it so I would know where it is now.

— ryanolivas, UAV Coach Forum Member

It may seem unlikely to happen to you, but according to GPS tracking company Trackimo, 30% of drone owners have lost their drone, never to be found. You can easily lose your drone due to loss of connection, piloting error, or while your drone is fighting the wind.

Thankfully, Trackimo has a smart solution—a tiny 3G GPS tracking device that ensures the recovery of your drone in the unfortunate event of a flyaway. The unique features of this tracking device make it a perfect fit for drone operators. It takes about three minutes to install, is lightweight, and is also universal, meaning that it’ll work on any of your sUAS models and can easily be swapped from system to system.

I would recommend Trackimo GPS tracker. I have attached it to my DJI P3, and it works perfect for me due to its good tracking accuracy.

— A4Tech, UAV Coach Forum Member

How Trackimo Works

Trackimo uses GPS and GSM to provide real-time tracking of your drone via Web, iOS, or Android app. Simply attach your Trackimo to your drone and see its location information online or in the app. Voilà—now you can retrieve your drone’s location anywhere, secured, and in real time.

The Trackimo device is truly unique, because it’s built with patented technology and provides 3G coverage. Ceramic antennas, robust hardware, and advanced software enable the device to track with increased accuracy while using half the battery compared to other tracking devices.

It also has servers which utilize sophisticated algorithms, data communications and cellular network signaling to manage the device and dispatch information to systems and apps using minimal data bandwidth.

Plus, the 3G coverage enables you to keep track of your drone worldwide at unlimited distances. This is a steep advantage over other drone tracking systems with 2G or Bluetooth coverage that only work at limited distances and in select locations.

Trackimo Features Ensure Your Drone is Protected

Let’s dive a bit deeper into the specifications of Trackimo drone tracking and what additional alerts you can set up. Here are all the features of Trackimo:

• Lightweight at only 1.4 ounces
• Long battery life up to 96 hours
• Battery life up to 1 month in battery save mode
• Worldwide coverage with 3G GPS tracking
• Real-time tracking
• Universal drone attachment kit
• Magnetic attachment
• Archive of device path history up to 5 years
• Share device location or live path with embed link
• Silicon cover for water resistance
• Speed alert – get alerts once device exceeds preset speed
• Fence alert – get alerts once device leaving geo-fence you set
• Move alert – get alerts once device starts moving
• SOS alert once SOS button pressed + 2 more preset alerts buttons
• App, email and/or SMS alerts on drone activity

Of course [I chose] the Trackimo since it has way better features.

— ryanolivas, UAV Coach Forum Member

It Happened To Me: UAV Coach Readers Share Lost Drone Stories

Combing through our community forum posts over the last couple of years, it was interesting to see that a number of folks have experienced the dreaded flyaway/lost drone experience. We already shared a few of those comments above but want to highlight a few more in this section.

“Sad story. Too much wind and way too high. Drone flew away! Has this happened to you? What should one install to track drone?”
—UAVB2BSERV, UAV Coach Forum Member

“I’ve read a lot of stories about hobbyists, particularly, who write about their drone adventures, and often end with, “…and then it flew away.” Never to be found again. Some of these are very expensive drones with pilots who like to push the limits beyond the radio range of their controllers. My neighbor just recently got a drone as a gift from his wife. His wife told me that on his first flight he was pushing the limits and went beyond them “…and then it flew away.”
— Nick Stan, UAV Coach Forum Member

“I like the Trackimo. With velcro I can switch it from bird to bird. I crashed my P3P once and my phone led me right to it.”
— Uaviator53, UAV Coach Forum Member

Flyaway Drones Occur More Often Than You Think

Not sure what might cause a drone to just…fly away? Here are the most common reasons according to Trackimo:

1) Fighting the Wind

2) Radio Interference
3) Faulty Firmware Upgrade
4) Loss of Connections
5) Piloting Error
6) Software Glitches
7) Loss of Line of Sight
8) Bad GPS Data

We encourage pilots to go over a pre-flight checklist to help prevent some of these factors from interfering with your flight, but that still won’t completely eliminate the chance of a flyaway drone. Lost connections can happen unexpectedly, and so can other types of flight interference.

Installing a small GPS tracker, like this one from Trackimo, will give you peace-of-mind and make sure you can always find your drone.

With Trackimo, Peace of Mind Is Affordable

Trackimo is currently promoting $90 in savings, offering Trackimo to drone operators for just $199 (a $290 value). Common commercial drone models retail for hundreds and thousands of dollars, so an additional $199 can be money well spent for peace of mind. The offer gets even better with free shipping and a money-back guarantee.

What comes in the box:

• 1 Trackimo GPS drone 3G tracking device
• 1 Worldwide SIM Card loaded with $60
• 1 Micro USB charging cable
• 2 Battery doors, one of with a belt clip
• 1 Rechargeable Battery
• Silicone water resistant case
• Magnetic attachment
• Lanyard
• Trackimo universal drone attachment kit

Trackimo also offers the lowest monthly service cost of any tracking device worldwide. Your initial order includes GSM Cellular internet service for the first year, which then continues for only $5 per month after the first 12 months.

Trackimo understands the value of a drone and wants to help you keep track of the things you care for most. Don’t let your investment fly away—protect your drone (and your money) with a 3G GPS tracking system from Trackimo. With Trackimo, you can have peace of mind and fully enjoy flying your drone without fear of a flyaway.