Help! Gremlin Tracking

[rgc213]

Does anyone out there know of a way to semi accurately track the whereabouts of a gremlin? Like a decent car key finder or something small i can attach to the body of the drone?

I ask this because I lost my gremlin mid flight while using FPV (the feed cut out before it went down and I didnt have time to take off the goggles and get my glasses on) and I didn't see it land. In a large field covered with rough brush. 3 days ago.

Fortunately, I found it this morning, but it was 3 days of heavy, methodical scouring of the landscape.

So, I'm interested in hearing about other ways to track it so that next time (there will no doubt be a next time, unfortunately) it will be easier to find.

Thanks,
reub

 

[PsyBorg]

Two things for any quad copter.. first and foremost a beeper. Second DVR EVERYTHING.

Two other suggestions I follow most when flying my Gremlin. Fly no further then you wish to search step by step. They camouflage themselves easily even in freshly cut grass. Second I find using the RSSI on my Taranis as a direction finder as most times my crashes NEVER land right side up so the signal is always low and VERY directional since it is getting sent into the ground. Simply turning around slowly reveals the general direction and strength determines how close I am getting. Finally if you do not have a beeper or dvr never fly in areas you don not know intimately as the back of your hand.

 

[sprzout]

I can't tell you the number of times last year I went down in a wheat field and found my quad solely by the beeper sound. It is INVALUABLE. The other quad guys said, "Ehh...It adds weight! Why would you want to do that?"

When they'd crash and spend 45 minutes looking for their quad, they started to see the bonus of a beeper.

Also, to add on, I recommend flying with a spotter. If you're under goggles, you can only see out of the front of the quad; it doesn't necessarily give you an idea of where the quad went down. If you have a spotter, they can tell you, "Ten o'clock, about 40 yards out!" or "Straight out about 25 feet, right by that big green bush!" I know some people think spotters are stupid, but let me tell you, they are absolutely invaluable at helping locate where a downed vehicle is, especially if you can narrow down your crash to a small 25 ft. area instead of 3 acres of field where you THINK you might've gone down...

 

[Snarls]

I was the only one flying with a dedicated beeper (vs. dshot beeper) in my school club, and it definitely helped me locate my quad multiple times. When the battery remained plugged in at least... DVR is also a good move, especially when flying a new spot or far away. Best advice though is to know your spot and learn to keep mental track of where you are in space during your flights. So when you go down you know something like 'oh yea I'm near that tall tree.' Then you can get close and beeper from there. A bright LED might also help.

If you find yourself having little idea what it is, you can use your fpv feed to triangulate its general location. If you have a patch antenna, put that on and take off any other antennas. Then you can point it in various directions and see where the signal is strongest. Keep moving closer while testing different directions. That should get you close enough to hear a beeper. Some goggle modules even have dedicated quad finding mode that isolates the patch antenna for you.

 

[rgc213]

Thank you all for the feedback!
Sounds like beeper is the way to go. I usually fly alone, so spotter will be, well, spotty.

I do have a beeper on my gremlin, but I'm afraid i may have made a rookie mistake by turning off my transmitter.
The quad had landed ~200 yards (and 50+ yards from the approx location I thought it was in....) and downwind from where I was standing, so I wasn't able to hear the beeping.

But lesson learned. I will always be using my DVR now, and never turn off my transmitter (until I find it).

reub

 

[LitterBug]

Beeper yes, and definitely DVR the vid. Power failures and tall grass can keep the beeper from being heard, but 99% of the time, it's a real easy find if you have it DVRed. The firmware I run automatically beeps a code if the RX looses signal. Would be nice if others did the same or could be set up to do so.

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[PsyBorg]

There is a timer you can set to have the motors beep in Beta Flight that will SOS when the inactivity timer reaches what ever limit you have it set to.

 

[RotorBearron]

I attached a Tile to the bottom of mine. I think they even have a smaller version. Just search Tile on Amazon.


Daryl