Apple AirTag, Tile and SmartTag

[Lee]

Has anyone used these inexpensive smart phone tracking devices on their rockets?

 

[neil_w]

https://www.rocketryforum.com/search/293233/?q=airtag&o=relevance

 

[rocketgeek101]

I've used Tile Pro bluetooth trackers before. They work ok for this. You don't really get the full advertised range in my experience, but they work a lot better then screamers for finding rockets in tall grass full of crickets and such.

 

[cerving]

I just bought an AirTag to play around with it, I'll probably fly it in something small to see how well it works. My first impression is that it probably is not going to be ideal for locating things outdoors... the sound it makes is very faint compared to most altimeter buzzers, and certainly a locating "sounder". It beeps for a few seconds then shuts off, ideally you should be able to make it beep continuously until you turn it off, getting louder and louder until it hits maximum volume. But I get that Apple is trying to maximize battery life...

 

[AllDigital]

I've done some testing with AirTags. They use bluetooth to the iPhone, so range is severely limited. Inside a house I only get about 20 feet and outdoors 50 feet at max (especially on the ground). So they won't work like a GPS or as far as a fox trot transmitter, but they will work for finding a rocket in tall grass, cornfields, etc. when you are nearby. Supposedly, they use Bluetooth 5.0, so range should be hundreds of feet, but I have not seen that in my testing.

For those with an iPhone 11,12, or 13 you have a U1 chip in your phone that allows for precision tracking. The location and direction shows up on your phone within a few inches, so you don't need to hear it. The phone UI is amazing (with pointer) when in range.

All that said, the one cool feature of AirTags is that Apple uses EVERY iPhone as a receiver, so if you lose your rocket and you put the tag into lost mode, anyone else with an iPhone that comes within 50 feet of it could act as a pass-through locator for you (without even knowing it). In my testing it seems like another phone needs to linger near it for 1-5 minutes to catch the signal, check in with Apple, and then update the location in the cloud. A drive by in a car won't be enough. The batteries can last up to a year, so in theory if you lost it you would have a long time for someone to wander near it and let you know. There are people that have tracked cars, like a GPS tracker, with the AirTag, knowing there are always people around with iPhones to "forward the location" in the mesh-like network. I've often thought about using AirTags as a backup tracker for big launches in the desert. If you don't find the rocket you've got a year for someone else with an iPhone to wander near it and alert you to the location.

 

[cwbullet]

It could be a good backup. You get close and turn on the buzzer.

 

[neil_w]

I just bought an AirTag to play around with it, I'll probably fly it in something small to see how well it works. My first impression is that it probably is not going to be ideal for locating things outdoors... the sound it makes is very faint compared to most altimeter buzzers, and certainly a locating "sounder". It beeps for a few seconds then shuts off, ideally you should be able to make it beep continuously until you turn it off, getting louder and louder until it hits maximum volume. But I get that Apple is trying to maximize battery life...

I would say the use case for AirTags as rocket-finders is basically this:
1) Mostly for LPR or larger flights where you can maintain good visuals for the entire flight, and know at least approximately where to go.
2) Walk towards where you think the rocket is, and then if you can get within 50', the precision finding will take you to it. As @AllDigital says, this could be great when you know roughly where it is, but it's hidden by the vegetation.
3) If you can't get close enough to the rocket to get a reading on the AirTag, then you're just going to have to hope that someone with an iPhone walks by it at some time in the future so you get pinged.

I doubt the audio beep will be much help, but who knows, maybe.

Overall it seems like a pretty cheap thing to try out on small rockets.

 

[cwbullet]

I tested a tile today which has very similar. My rocket was in a bunch of high vegetation. I got within 1—15 feet and it connect to the app. I was abLe to activate the noise maker and walk to the rocket. It is not ideal but ti does work.

 

[Lee]

So, based on feedback so far, it seems AigTag (Apple) has a little better range plus the feature that it uses every iPhone within 50 feet as a receiver.
For $25, seems like a winner to me. Plus, there's non rocketry uses....