"TAGG" GPS pet tracker?

[cvanc]

Hey gang, I stumbled across this: https://www.pettracker.com/

Anyone played with one yet? Very cool that all you have to carry is your cell phone. (Yes, cell coverage is required.)

 

[cerving]

$8 a month is pretty cheap. Their specs say that it weighs about an ounce, it's a little bigger than the cat collar GPS that I found but it's cheaper. It would still fit in a BT60 tube.

Their coverage map shows that it would work in ROC or TCC territory, that's all I would need.

I wonder if you could accomplish the same thing by hacking a cheap GPS-enabled prepaid cell phone... it might be a lot cheaper.

Hey gang, I stumbled across this: https://www.pettracker.com/

Anyone played with one yet? Very cool that all you have to carry is your cell phone. (Yes, cell coverage is required.)

 

[Sully]

Yes you probably could. But the pet tracker linked here does not require an annual contract, so you could theoretically enable it for one month at a time. Even with the $100 initial payment, it's a pretty cheap option. Given that there's less to this device than a cheapo prepaid cell phone, and this one is smaller, I think this would be better than a trac phone.

So if you have reliable cell coverage where you fly, this is a cheaper alternative to the Garmin Astro.

 

[nmartin]

I just purchased two to put on my dogs when I goto South Carolina. When I get back in town one of them will be launch! I'll post the results the first week of December.

 

[sl1ck]

which dog will you launch?

 

[Green Jello]

which dog will you launch?

LMFAO!

 

[cerving]

Resurrecting an old thread, I had the opportunity to fly on a plane today in which it was legal to use a cell phone. (Yes, I confirmed it with the pilot!) From LGB with a ASL of 60 feet, I was able to keep two bars up to 1400' ASL, with the 3G signal dropping out completely at a little over 3000' ASL.

What this means is that if you fly a Tagg (or similar cellular-based GPS device) you can probably not expect to be able to track your flight in progress, but you will be able to pick it up as it's coming in on chute, and certainly on the ground. All this assumes reasonable cellular coverage at your flying field, of course...

 

[cwbullet]

which dog will you launch?

Em, That dog would bite you if you try to put a motor in it.

 

[nmartin]

I finally attached the tracker to the shock cord and launched it in an Estes impulse with twin D12-5's. The tracker worked. I'll bring this to every launch.

 

[cerving]

I don't suppose you had an Atimeter One or something on it too... love to know what altitude you got to. Guessing about 1,200'... it should still pick up towers at that altitude.

I'm guessing that you used it for finding it on the ground. From what I can tell from their web site, it only sends out updates every minute or so, obviously that's not gonna work for tracking in-flight. But for $75 (best price I've seen on eBay) and $7 per month, you'd pretty much come out ahead if you saved one engine case a year.

I finally attached the tracker to the shock cord and launched it in an Estes impulse with twin D12-5's. The tracker worked. I'll bring this to every launch.

 

[AZ_Ron]

On high power/high altitude flights, this would still be a very nice setup, as when the rocket lands, you'd basically be able to know right where it is...
I personally don't care where it's at in the air while under chute... I just want to be able to find it when it lands!

R

 

[cerving]

Your're not gonna be able follow your rocket with a Tagg in-flight. Legal issues aside (and that's another thread... ) it does not send out GPS updates continuously, so it's really only useful for ground tracking. Personally, that's good enough for me; I don't like losing rockets...

On high power/high altitude flights, this would still be a very nice setup, as when the rocket lands, you'd basically be able to know right where it is...
I personally don't care where it's at in the air while under chute... I just want to be able to find it when it lands!

R

 

[jwestr0cket]

Rockets R Us rents it out at our TTRA launch site. It has been put through the trials and it has been brought back after every launch so far. So, I would call it a good buy

Jim

 

[cvanc]

Rockets R Us rents it out at our TTRA launch site. It has been put through the trials and it has been brought back after every launch so far. So, I would call it a good buy

Jim

Interesting; how many flights do you think you have on it?

 

[cwbullet]

Your're not gonna be able follow your rocket with a Tagg in-flight. Legal issues aside (and that's another thread... ) it does not send out GPS updates continuously, so it's really only useful for ground tracking. Personally, that's good enough for me; I don't like losing rockets...

I think the legal issues will clear up. What frequency does it use?

 

[cerving]

It's on Verizon, so it's 800 MHz CDMA. I assume the data is using 3G since 4G coverage is sketchy outside populated areas and uses a different system, LTE, not CDMA. 3G is cheaper to implement too, and it will work wherever there's Verizon voice coverage.

Since it is an intermittent transmitter and it does not transmit continuously, there's pretty much no way that this could be a source of significant interference to anything else. I doubt that the FAA makes owners take the collar off of Fido when he travels with them. I personally think that if there are no legal issues with it (and I don't think there would be) then it will end up being the ground tracker of choice for locations with good cellular coverage. I know that the fields that I've flown at in California all have good cell coverage, that includes TCC's dairy fields and ROC/SCRA Lucerne Valley.

I think the legal issues will clear up. What frequency does it use?

 

[cwbullet]

I am not sure, but remember others posting that it is illegal or at least thought to be illegal to sly a cell phone so this might be sketchy also.

Personally, I think that is slightly bogus if they make it legal on flights.

 

[nmartin]

I will use the TAGG for finding a rocket after the landing.

 

[cwbullet]

I guess I misunderstood the website description. It works once it is outside a certain radius. How are you turning it on and preventing the transmission of data in the air?

 

[Derek]

Resurrecting an old thread, I had the opportunity to fly on a plane today in which it was legal to use a cell phone. (Yes, I confirmed it with the pilot!) From LGB with a ASL of 60 feet, I was able to keep two bars up to 1400' ASL, with the 3G signal dropping out completely at a little over 3000' ASL.

What this means is that if you fly a Tagg (or similar cellular-based GPS device) you can probably not expect to be able to track your flight in progress, but you will be able to pick it up as it's coming in on chute, and certainly on the ground. All this assumes reasonable cellular coverage at your flying field, of course...

was that a commercial flight or a private plane?

the issue I see with using the "they allow cell phones on commercial flights" excuse is that on those flights there is a pico cell base station on board that the phones are talking to. this prevents the phones from trying to talk to ground based cell towers and allows the phones to operate at their minimum power level.

 

[cerving]

It was a time-shared small jet. I love those things... they're really quick.

You CAN NOT use cell phones in-flight on a scheduled commercial flight. Period. You CAN however use them on a non-commercial flight, at the pilot's discretion. This includes GA flights and chartered flights. By extension, a hobby rocket should qualify as a GA "aircraft" and therefore you should be able to fly a cell phone at the "pilot's" discretion... that would be you.

was that a commercial flight or a private plane?

the issue I see with using the "they allow cell phones on commercial flights" excuse is that on those flights there is a pico cell base station on board that the phones are talking to. this prevents the phones from trying to talk to ground based cell towers and allows the phones to operate at their minimum power level.

 

[Derek]

You CAN NOT use cell phones in-flight on a scheduled commercial flight. Period.

that is not true. there are a few airlines that allow it. however as of right now, there are no us based ones that do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_on_aircraft#Current_status

 

[cerving]

They're banned in the US. FAA/FCC regulations do not apply outside the US, so other countries are free to regulate them (or not) as they see fit.

that is not true. there are a few airlines that allow it. however as of right now, there are no us based ones that do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_on_aircraft#Current_status

 

[Serpico]

I used this on my Android1 Project several times. Works perfectly for locating AFTER landing:

View attachment 111849

 

[sugardaddy]

Hi Guys,
I have used this tracker in about 30 flights. I have located the rocket every time. it will fit in as small as a 38mm tube. It fell off of a rocket once in the middle of a cow pasture from 8000 ft and using my phone, i put the tagg right between my feet. I am sold! I dont fly without it now. Also, the battery last for about 3 weeks on one charge and Their customer service is impeccable too. A real live person that actually helps. Oh yeah, and there are water resistant to so a light splash or a quick dunk wont hurt it. Not sold yet? At the last TTRA launch, it was 2 feet under water and still transmitting its location. What more can you ask for in such an inexpensive unit? If it finds just one would be lost rocket, its paid for its self.

Danny

 

[luke strawwalker]

which dog will you launch?

Laika, Stelka and Belka, or one of the others...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_space_dogs

later! OL JR