Marco Polo Drone Tracker – An In Depth Review

My Marco Polo Drone Tracker story – When I first bought my drone, I started looking into different drone tracking systems that could accurately pinpoint and track my new drone. This all led me on a journey that has really taught me a lot about drone tracking technology and the devices associated with it. When it comes to drone tracking, the Marco Polo drone tracker is only one of many different types of devices that can be utilized to track your drone.

If you have already made up your mind about the Marco Polo Drone Tracker and are absolutely certain that you want to purchase one, please click the below link to be taken to Amazon for the drone tracker’s product page. You can find additional product information about the Marco Polo drone tracker on Amazon’s page (although not as much info as we provide here on our page).

If you are not ready to buy yet and still have some thinking to do, please continue on reading as there is a ton of good information on this page about the pros and cons of getting the Marco Polo Drone Tracker vs some of the other Cellular, GPS or Bluetooth drone tracking devices.

What Exactly is this Marco Polo Drone Tracker Page About?

This page here will go ahead and break down the different types of tracking devices that can be used to track drones as well as to point out why I picked the Marco Polo drone tracker as the best drone tracking device out there. Now, keep in mind that this is all just my opinion, but it does come after many, many hours, days & weeks spent on research & testing of the different drone tracking technology out there. We have previously touched on this drone tracking subject a bit on a previous page on lost drones called “how to find your lost drone without a tracker“, but here on this “Marco Polo drone tracker” page, we break down the different drone tracking technology and drone tracking devices with much detail and provide a ton of information so that you can go ahead and make your buying decision with informed certainty and ease. Here we go.

What is a Drone Tracking Device and Why do I Need One?

Before diving right into the review, let’s get things started with a bit of information on what a Marco Polo drone tracker device can be used for. Drone tracking devices are commonly used to track lost drones that go missing during flight. This could happen due to a variety of issues with the drone itself or the drone transmitter’s hardware / software. I will go ahead and provide an example of a drone going rogue or getting lost.

Example for a lost drone scenario. Imagine yourself flying your drone one day on a beautiful sunny afternoon, and all of a sudden; your FPV live video feed on your controller cuts off. You are no longer able to see what your drone sees and have no idea as to what just happened. You think to yourself, oh boy, whats going on here? The one good thing that you still have going for you us that you can still physically see your drone with your eyes. So what do you do now? You start using the transmitter’s controls manually to try and bring the drone back home to you. But to your disappointment, after some seconds, you start noticing that the drone is no longer responding to your controller’s commands. Now you start realizing that there is a serious problem. You have no FPV live feed with the drone, and your transmitter is unable to control the rogue drone. Here is where panic sets in and you realize that you have most likely just lost your expensive drone.

Now, if you are serious drone flyer and enthusiast, you will of course have purchased yourself a drone tracking device that makes this nightmare somewhat tolerable. A drone tracking device will allow you to pin-point your drone’s location on a map so that you can easily go to its location and retrieve it. Yes, it might be a little banged up from the fall that the drone eventually experienced after the battery ran out, but you can at least retrieve it, get it repaired and get back to your favorite past time, flying. This is where a drone tracking device like the Marco Polo drone tracker comes in handy and makes life easy.

Do Drones Come With Any Tracking Hardware or Software?

This is a great question. The answer to this question is maybe*. I say maybe because there are drones that come with tracking technology and others that don’t. Some drones have built in GPS tracking that can definitely help with your search in the case of a lost drone issue. Most DJI drones for example utilize GPS tracking technology. Then again, DJI drones are not the cheapest drones out there on the market. Most DJI drones are well over $800 and well into the thousands. As you can see, if you are looking for GPS tracking capabilities within your drone, get ready to dish out some serious cash. One thing to remember also, even the GPS tracking enabled drones do and will get lost.

The built in GPS drone tracking technology might come in handy in certain cases, but even with this; quite a few of these drones are lost to never be found again. The GPS tracking technology in some cases is only as good as the battery on the drone. Yep, you heard that right; if the battery on the drone drains, there is a good chance that the GPS tracking unit on the drone will not work (there is quite a bit more to say on this, I could literally write a whole new article or post to go into all of the details; we’ll save that for a future time). This is why we believe that it is good to have a dedicated drone tracker as a fail safe device on your drone. The Marco Polo drone tracker does exactly that for you. It doesn’t depend on GPS, cellular or Bluetooth technology for drone tracking.

What Are The Different Types Of Drone Tracking Devices On The Market?

When it comes to drone tracking technology, the Marco Polo Drone Tracker is king. With this said, it is important to know that there are a variety of other drone tracking solutions out there. In particular, there are a total of 4 different types of drone tracking devices. There is a GPS drone tracking device, a cellular drone tracking device, a Bluetooth drone tracking device and a dedicated drone tracking device. As mentioned earlier, the Marco Polo drone tracker is a dedicated device. It doesn’t require any GPS or cellular service and covers much greater range than the Bluetooth drone tracking device. I will go ahead and break down the different devices with a detailed description of what they are, along with additional technical and none technical information. Lets start things off with the dedicated tracking system, the Marco Polo drone tracker.

Marco Polo Drone Tracker (Dedicated System) – Is it Really The Best?

As mentioned earlier, this complete drone tracking system uses dedicated tracking technology to locate your missing drone. How it works, is that it requires no cell phone service or GPS service. Instead, it works off of Radio Signals. It runs on the 900MHz ISM Radio Band band and there are no special configuration or requirements for this frequency. I will go ahead and answer a few common questions below before we get into the technical specs and details.

How do I use the Marco Polo Drone Tracker System? This is super easy, just follow the below instructions and you will be up and running in no time.

1. Simply attach the addressable tag to your drone. I recommend securely attaching it to the drone’s frame as this is the most secure area of the drone.
2. If and when your drone goes missing, all you have to do is to turn on the “tracking” mode on your Monitor in order to start the search.
3. The last step is to follow the directional arrow and signal strength on the Monitor to recover your lost drone.
4. The signal strength on the Monitor will get stronger as you get nearer to your lost drone. The arrow on the monitor will point you directly to your drone until you are right on it.
5. That’s it, all there is to it. Super easy and user friendly.

What is the maximum range of the Marco Polo Drone Tracker? The device can track your drone for up to 2 Miles. This is a really good range when it comes to a drone tracking system.

What would happen if the drone went missing past the 2 mile range marker? You simply need to just turn your Marco Polo drone tracker on and walk or drive in the direction where the drone went missing. As soon as you are within the 2 mile range of the drone, your Monitor will beep and reconnect with the missing drone’s tracker. At this point, you can just go ahead and follow the directional arrow and the signal strength meter on the Monitor as mentioned above.

Do I need to purchase any additional subscriptions for this tracking device to work? Absolutely NOT! The Marco Polo drone tracking hardware is all that you need in order to be able to track your drone. No additional subscriptions of any kind are needed. The only thing needed to purchase is the tracking system itself. That’s it. You don’t need to purchase additional cellular data plans or GPS services. The Marco Polo hardware comes with it’s own built in dedicated tracking system that is complete and ready to go out of the box.

What happens if the battery on the Marco Polo drone tracker fails? Not to worry. The Marco Polo tracking system sends you an alert when your tracker battery is low. After this happens, the tracker battery will still last for a full week, giving you plenty of time to recharge it.

Are you able to track more than one drone with my Marco Polo drone tracker? Yes, you can track up to 3 different drones simultaneously. The tracking system comes with 1 tracking tag, but additional ones can be purchased. In fact, you can track more than 3 drones all together, but only 3 at the same time.

Here are the technical specifications as well as some additional information about the Marco Polo Drone Tracker.

Additional Information:

1. The Marco Polo drone tracker is super simple to setup and use. It just takes a single button-push to begin searching for your lost drone with real-time distance and direction feedback.
2. The tracker checks in every few seconds with the monitor for seamless communication and for your drone’s precise location. The GPS trackers on the other hand typically check in every few minutes or so.
3. This drone tracking device works anywhere and everywhere. It is completely and totally self-contained. It requires no GPS or cell service to operate. It has zero monthly service contracts and fees.
4. The battery itself is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It allows you up to 15 days to find your lost model from a full charge.
5. This device is super small and compact. The tag transceiver can easily fit on even the smallest micro drones. It only weighs .42 oz (12g).
6. The Marco Polo drone tracker will not interfere with Radio Control radios. The tracker only transmits a signal when you are ready to look for your lost drone and activate the search mode from the monitor.

Technical Specifications:

1. Drone Tracking Method – Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) 50 Channels
2. Communication Frequency Used – Band: ISM 902.5 Mhz. – 906.5 Mhz.
3. Drone Tracking Range – Up to 2 miles
4. Simultaneous System Capacity – Up to 3 Devices
5. Monitor Alarm Capacity – Internal audible alarm, external siren alarm (optional) & external auto dialer (optional)
6. Monitor Specifications: height: 6 in, width: 3.5 in, weight: 7.8 oz
7. Monitor Battery – Rechargeable Li•ion battery (included)
8. Monitor Charge Capacity – 3 days of continuous tracking, 8 hours while searching, 3 days when monitoring
9. Weatherproof? – Light rain only
10. Tracker Specification – Weight: .42 oz
11. Tracker Battery – Rechargeable lithium polymer battery, included
12. Tracker Charge Capacity – 15 sitting idle, 3 days getting tracked, 45 days being monitored

As you can see, the Marco Polo Drone Tracker really is one of the best in the business. What more can I say about this device? No GPS required, no cellular service required, no annual or monthly contracts required, up to 2 miles in tracking range, no additional fees of any kind after the initial hardware purchase. Can’t go wrong with this drone tracking system. If you agree with us and would like to test it out for yourself, please click on the Amazon link below to purchase, look at reviews on the unit and to get additional information about the Marco Polo Drone Tracker.

For additional information about the Cellular drone trackers, GPS drone trackers and Bluetooth drone trackers, please continue reading below. I will go ahead and break down the different features, pros and cons, provide additional details as well as technical specifications on these devices as well. Lets continue.

Trackimo GPS Drone Tracking – Is It As Good as Dedicated Drone Tracking?

When comparing the two different tracking systems, I believe that the Marco Polo Drone Tracker wins on almost every level vs the GPS drone tracker. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. The Marco Polo tracking device comes equipped and ready to track right out of the box. You are not required to purchase any additional contracts, subscriptions or pay any monthly or annual fees. The GPS drone tracker on the other hand requires a service subscription to turn on the tracking capability. You already end up saving money over the long run when going with the Marco Polo drone tracker.
2. GPS drone tracking systems are typically not as accurate as the dedicated drone trackers. Reason being is that the GPS system is utilizing satellite coordinates to track you device. The drone’s location on the GPS could sometimes be off by a hundred feet or more when attempting to look for it. The Marco Polo drone tracker on the other hand has two different sensors to help you locate your drone. The Marco Polo tracking system used the arrow that points you in the direction of your drone as well as the tracker signal strength (the signal strength increases as you get closer to the drone tracker).
3. The locator on the Marco Polo tracking system is typically more accurate than the GPS drone tracking system as Marco Polo’s tracker checks in with the monitor every few seconds or so. The GPS units on the other hand typically update your drone’s location every few minutes or so. If you think about this for a bit… Say your drone just lost all connectivity with your controller, but you have a GPS drone tracking system on it. You go ahead and take a walk to your drone’s location according to your GPS system, and realize that the drone is not exactly where the GPS drone tracker said it would be. This is due to the fact that the GPS drone tracking unit has not checked in as of yet. You could potentially have to wait for the update to happen. While you wait, something else might happen. Weather. Yep, most drones are not waterproof. So any lost time can result in the complete loss of your drone.
4. Speaking of weather, there is another reason why the GPS drone tracker system might fail. I am of course talking about cloud cover. If there is any cloud cover, GPS drone tracking can potentially come to a complete stop. You now once again have to wait for the GPS update to happen and could again risk losing your drone property to rain.

As you can see, I am definitely a huge fan of the Marco Polo Drone Tracker device. But with that said, you should definitely know that the GPS drone tracker system would be my second choice for my drone’s tracking device.

There are a few reasons why I also like this GPS drone tracking system. Some of these reasons are outline below.

1. The Coverage and Range of the Tracking System – When weather is good, the GPS drone tracker provides really good coverage and range of area for drones. As the system relies strictly on satellites to plot out the coordinates, it can be utilized worldwide There are not many places and areas where the GPS drone tracking system would not work as satellite coverage throughout the planet is great.
2. The other reason why I don’t mind GPS tracking systems is that the GPS trackers are not horribly expensive right off the bat. The Trackimo GPS drone tracker for instance costs about $100. It also includes a 1 year subscription for the GPS service (After the initial year, its about $60/year for the service).
3. The GPS devices typically will come with an App that can work on both an Android or IOS Device. So they are pretty universal and easy to use.

As mentioned on point #2, the GPS device that I like is the Trackimo GPS drone tracker. Take a look below for some details and technical specs on this device.

Additional Information:

1. As mentioned above, the first year on the Trackimo GPS drone tracker is included with the purchase. After the 1st year there is a low monthly service cost of $5. Trackimo drone tracking offers one of the lowest monthly service costs on the market.
2. The Trackimo device provides worldwide coverage with its GPS drone tracking capabilities.
3. This device can track the drone via web or smartphone app anywhere cellular reception is available worldwide
4. Trackimo drone tracker has a Free Android and iPhone APP, called the SOS Button. With a single tap on the SOS button within the app, the location of the drone can be broadcast via the app, via email, or text.
5. Real Time Tracking – the Trackimo’s GPS and GSM services provide instant and highly accurate location for the drone. It also provides a one year of history with the App.

Technical Specifications:

1. Physical Size – 1.8 x 1.6 x 0.7 inches
2. Weight – 1.4 ounces
3. Band – Quad-band GSM
4. Battery Type – 600mah Lithium-ion battery (Standby time 144+ hr)
5. Battery Life – Up to 144 Hours
6. OS and App Support – Android, iOS

If you are still interested and would like to test out the Trackimo GPS Drone Tracker, feel free to check it out on the Amazon link below. The link will take you directly to Amazon’s page that contains a bit more detail and information on the unit. Also included is the 1 year tracking service.

TK-102 Cellular Drone Tracking System – How Good Is It Really?

If you have done any research whatsoever about drone tracking hardware and software, you would have most likely come across this little device, the TK-102. This tracking device utilizes Cellular drone tracking technology to track drones. How it works is that you basically have to input a small activated cellular service sim card into the device. Once you have the sim card in the device, you can then place the TK-102 tracker onto your drone.

This Cellular drone tracking device is one of the cheapest trackers that you can get on the market. But for this reason, it is also one the least dependable drone trackers. The reason why I say so is because you can only utilize this drone tracking service in areas where Cellular service is available. For example, if you live in the mountains; there is a good chance that you wouldn’t even have any cellular service out there. What do you do then? If your drone gets lost in the mountains or in rural areas, you are pretty much out of luck. This is why I really don’t care much for Cellular drone trackers. Although, better than the Bluetooth drone trackers, they Cellular ones are still not all that great.

Here are some things that I do like about them.

1. They are cheap – yep, this could always be a plus when looking at purchasing a tracking system for your drone. But even with the cheap initial price, you need to keep in mind that the TK-102 drone tracker requires a working cell phone service. What this means is that you will need to purchase a Cellular service to use with this drone tracking system. As you can see, even though this is all listed under the “I like this about it” section, it still turned out to be a con. After all of the monthly service fees (let’s say that it is only $10/mo, you still end up spending almost as much as you would have for the Marco Polo Drone Tracker system that is much more accurate and dependable. In the end, you will spend more money on this device for the long-run then you would for the Marco Polo tracking device.
2. Has a built in Microphone – can be used to silently record the surrounding of the tracker. Almost like a 007 gadget 🙂
3. Waterproof Design – can be used to track drones, cars, airplanes etc..
4. Urban Use – The ideal setting for this TK-102 tracking device would be an urban city. Somewhere where there is a good amount of cellular coverage.

Some of the negatives about this device.

1. Rural area usage – unable to use this in rural areas such as mountains etc. Due to the cellular coverage dependency on this drone tracking device, there is a real limitation of where it can be utilized. If you are flying your drone out there in the mountains somewhere, there is a good chance that you won’t have strong cellular coverage and will not be able to track your lost drone with this TK-102 drone tracking system.
2. The price – as mentioned previously, the monthly cost of the cellular data plan will end up costing an arm and a leg with continuous use. You basically need to have an active cellular service via a sim card on this device in order for it to function. This will add up quickly.

Additional Information:

1. The TK-102 Cellular drone tracker has live real-time tracking capabilities with the GPS locator.
2. It works Worldwide – as long as there is Cellular coverage, you should be able to track your drone.
3. GSM/SMS Communication is Possible – sim card not included, service will need to be bought separately
4. This Cellular Tracker is designed for use with any vehicle; including boats, cars, drones, trucks, vans, motor homes etc..

Technical Specifications:

1. Network Type – GSM/GPRS
2. Frequency Used – 850/900/1800/1900Mhz
3. Alleged GPS accuracy – 5m-10m
4. Home Charger Type – 110-220V input 5V output
5. Battery Type – Chargeable Changeable 3.7V 800mAh Li-ion battery (2 batteries included)
6. Battery Life – up to 72 hours stand by time

As we narrow down the list, as you can see; the Marco Polo drone tracker device still firmly stands as the winner. The TK-102 is one of the better Cellular drone tracking systems, and yet it still pails in comparison to the Marco Polo drone tracker (this is still just my opinion of course). One way that I have heard of people using the TK-102 Cellular drone tracker device is to purchase it for the low purchase price. Then, get a pre-paid sim card service that you can turn on/off as needed. This is one way of making sure that you are not spending a ton of money on monthly cellular service costs. If you would like a crack at this drone tracking system, then take a look at the Amazon link below. It has a pretty good amount of additional information on the product.

TrackR Pixel Bluetooth Drone Tracker – Are They Worth the Price?

The TrackR Pixel Bluetooth drone tracking device is pretty cool. It is a super tiny little tracker that allows for you to track your drone up to a range of a whopping 100 feet. Yep, you heard correct. Since the TrackR Pixel drone tracker uses Bluetooth technology for tracking, it is only able to track up to the max range of the Bluetooth technology (somewhere around a 100 feet or so). This range is a serious drawback when it comes to real drone flying and tracking. Anyhow, lets shine some light on the pro’s and some con’s about this little gizmo.

Some things that I do like about the TrackR Pixel

1. Price – coming in at right around $50.00 or so, it’s not too steep of a price. The reason why this price made it onto the pro’s list (compared to the price of the TK-102 tracker – $22), is because this device has no monthly or annual service membership costs. What you pay for is pretty much what you get.
2. Small size, super light – easy to track with your phone via an App
3. Small Range Drones – this TrackR Pixel drone tracker device is best to be used with some of the cheaper drones. You know, drones that can’t really fly far. This way, as long as you have the tracker on you at all times, you can go ahead and track your short range drone.

Some of the cons of the TrackR Pixel

1. Super Short Range – As mentioned above, this drone tracking device only has a tracking range of about 100 feet or so.
2. Not a whole lot else to say, it is a pretty neat little device; just doesn’t have the range (I’ll leave it at that).

Additional Information:

1. This device is super tiny, so small and light that you can attach it to just about anything.
2. The TrackR Pixel utilizes Bluetooth technology to find within the 100 feet range.
3. The device comes with its own TrackR app to communicate with your drone,
4. Free Battery Replacement – App notifies when the battery is running low.
5. The App is available for iOS & Android.

Technical Specifications:

1. Size – 26.2 mm
2. Width – 5.6 mm
3. Device Weight – 4 g
4. Battery Type – User can replace “CR2016”
5. Device Volume – Up to 90 dB
6. Connectivity – BLE 4.0
7. Device Range – Up to 100 feet
8. OS Support – iOS & Android

The TrackR Pixel is not the best drone tracking device out there, but for what it is; it’s not a bad one either. If you would like to get your hands on one of these, please check out the Amazon link below. I hear these devices are also great for finding keys and wallets.

Congratulations, you have officially made it to the very end of this In Depth Review of Marco Polo Drone Tracker page. I really hope that this information was helpful to you in making your decision as to which drone tracking system you want to go with. Please feel free to browse the website’s other pages and learn something new about drone technology. As always, happy flying.. Drone Enthusiast!

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