Finding your canopy with GPS (a test with a map link)

[Hellis 0]

Ok, finally got one GPS to test with and it looks very promising.

This was just the first test, I have not yet started building a pocket on a bag yet to see how it looks in it's real environment.

The device is 91mm x 46mm x 5.6mm.
I attached 2 images.
One of the device (sorry for the bad quality, will get a better picture later)
and one map with the GPS coordinates.
I placed my FlySight next to it for reference.
And it's about 5.5 meters between the FlySight point and the Tracker point.
And the actual point is about in the middle. Perhaps a bit closer to FlySight.


The FlySight coordinates are an average of 200 rows of coordinates and it was in contact with 8 satellites at the time.

Below is the reply sms I got from the tracker when I call it.

Quote

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55.72538%2c013.19464
v:A,2014-03-10 22:43:29 Spd:000km/h,bat:5,ID:4102001613,S16G07;plmn:24024, lac:10002, cellid:731

[shift 0]

What was the cost of the unit? Is there a fee for the SMS feature? I assume it requires a cell connection...

[Hellis 0]

shift

What was the cost of the unit? Is there a fee for the SMS feature? I assume it requires a cell connection...

The unit cost is hard to say.
I could order one as a sample but to a high price, if I want to order more I need to place a order of minimum 100 units.
I need to be sure it's a good tracker before that happens
Yes there is a fee.
To start it up you need to send a few sms to the device, I think it was three, and it will reply you with three sms.
After that, the device is ready to be used and you need to call it to get it's position.
When you call it, it will hang up the call and a few seconds later reply with a sms as above.

So the fee you need to pay after it has been set up is one sms per cutaway.
And charging it.

[monkycndo 0]

I assume this device will be installed in the d-bag. If so, is it built to take the abuse of packing, deployment, while canopy is in flight, and finally when the canopy hits the ground on landing? If you make a padded/protected pocket, how much room will that take up in the container?

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[shift 0]

Hellis

The unit cost is hard to say.
I could order one as a sample but to a high price, if I want to order more I need to place a order of minimum 100 units.
I need to be sure it's a good tracker before that happens
Yes there is a fee.
To start it up you need to send a few sms to the device, I think it was three, and it will reply you with three sms.
After that, the device is ready to be used and you need to call it to get it's position.
When you call it, it will hang up the call and a few seconds later reply with a sms as above.

So the fee you need to pay after it has been set up is one sms per cutaway.
And charging it.

So is the cost per unit when you order 100 make it worthwhile you think? But if there is a monthly cost for the service would be annoying to me. Unless they charge you a flat rate of $X per sms when you need it. Dont know how things are in Sweden, but here in the states it isnt uncommon to charge you a lot before you need something because you MIGHT need it someday.

I really like the idea though, hope the rest of your testing goes well! Looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

[grue 1]

What's the battery life on this sort of thing?

cavete terrae.

[7eleven 0]

You can build a switch which only activates when you cutaway the main.

You can thank me later. ;)

[Hellis 0]

monkycndo

I assume this device will be installed in the d-bag. If so, is it built to take the abuse of packing, deployment, while canopy is in flight, and finally when the canopy hits the ground on landing? If you make a padded/protected pocket, how much room will that take up in the container?

Not sure about this, it does feel weak. My initial thought was to place it on the (think of the bag packed inside the rig) top side, meaning you place the flaps ontop of the gps.
But as it feels rather weak, I think moving it to the bottom is better, so that it's between the bag and the jumpers back.
That way when you are packing the canopy will protect the gps.

The GPS comes with some casing that could perhaps protect it, but it also makes it bigger.
Will start building a pocket when I have time and I will upload some pictures.

About 'when the canopy hits the ground', I never thought about that as beeing a "hit". When you land the canopy lands and deflates, and since bag is in the middle of the canopy that should be a gentle landing for the bag?

[Hellis 0]

shift

***
The unit cost is hard to say.
I could order one as a sample but to a high price, if I want to order more I need to place a order of minimum 100 units.
I need to be sure it's a good tracker before that happens
Yes there is a fee.
To start it up you need to send a few sms to the device, I think it was three, and it will reply you with three sms.
After that, the device is ready to be used and you need to call it to get it's position.
When you call it, it will hang up the call and a few seconds later reply with a sms as above.

So the fee you need to pay after it has been set up is one sms per cutaway.
And charging it.

So is the cost per unit when you order 100 make it worthwhile you think? But if there is a monthly cost for the service would be annoying to me. Unless they charge you a flat rate of $X per sms when you need it. Dont know how things are in Sweden, but here in the states it isnt uncommon to charge you a lot before you need something because you MIGHT need it someday.

I really like the idea though, hope the rest of your testing goes well! Looking forward to seeing how it all goes.


Don't know the price when I buy larger quantities, havn't talked about that yet.
But I belive it will be worth it. A lost canopy with dbag and risers costs a few pennies.
I'm not sure I understand how it works in the states, but you make it sound like the bosses from Enron got a new job
They charge you for something you might need later?

I bought a prepaid simcard yesterday and it costed about 7-8 US. Plus what you "charge" the card with. In total for me it was about 20 US dollars.

[Hellis 0]

grue

What's the battery life on this sort of thing?

According to the manufactor, 80 hours in standby mode.
And if you use the sleepmode about 170 hours.

[Hellis 0]

7eleven

You can build a switch which only activates when you cutaway the main.

You can thank me later. ;)

I have built a prototype of a switch like that, but it would cost to much to build it.
And then there is the risk of the switch somehow jams the risers or three rings.

[mjosparky 4]

Hellis

***You can build a switch which only activates when you cutaway the main.

You can thank me later. ;)

I have built a prototype of a switch like that, but it would cost to much to build it.
And then there is the risk of the switch somehow jams the risers or three rings.

Have you looked into this?

http://www.plexustandem.com/products/fido.html

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Hellis 0]

mjosparky

******You can build a switch which only activates when you cutaway the main.

You can thank me later. ;)

I have built a prototype of a switch like that, but it would cost to much to build it.
And then there is the risk of the switch somehow jams the risers or three rings.

Have you looked into this?

http://www.plexustandem.com/products/fido.html

Sparky

Depends on what you mean.
Yes I have seen that webpage before, but no, never seen the device or how it works.

I understand how the magnetic switch works, I have thought of something like it.
But for this GPS or most GPS trackers there is a size issue.

If you build a harness and rig from scratch you can make room for a device, but as a aftermarket product it will be hard to make something fit the risers, even if it's type 8.

The option would be to place the device on/in the bag and have a cable next to or inside the lines down to the riser and have a switch to detect a cutaway.
In my opinion it will be a much to big job to do for most jumpers and I believe riggers will refuse to do the job.

But the magnetic on/off is something I have put a lot of thought to.
It would mean you could start the GPS inside a closed rig with a magnet.


Anyways, back to the original question
What was it you thought of about the fido? Do you have any pictures of the device or where itis positioned?

[crwper 7]

I gave some thought to a similar system last summer, but ultimately I felt that size and battery life would be an issue. After some searching, though, I came across this:

https://www.sticknfind.com/sticknfind.aspx

Range is only about 100 feet, but the size and battery life are great. I haven't experimented with it myself, but here's my thinking... When we're looking for a canopy, it's not usually because we have no idea where it is. Usually, we have some idea but it's hard to find because of tall crops, trees, etc. In that case, putting a full GPS/cellular module on the canopy might be overkill... What we really want is to find something we can't see.

With the StickNFind, your worst case scenario would be to walk up and down rows a little less than 100 feet apart. Eventually, you should get a signal and then you can quickly narrow down the precise location. It would take a little more time than walking straight to a GPS location, but I wonder if the savings in space and battery life would make up for it.

Michael

[shift 0]

Hellis

I'm not sure I understand how it works in the states, but you make it sound like the bosses from Enron got a new job
They charge you for something you might need later?

By that I mean I could see being required to pay a monthly fee because we "might" need it later, vs just paying when we need the service. If you dont pay the monthly fee, you dont get the service when you need it.

Or, if you prepay for a SIM, it would expire in a month or two.

I really like the idea for those in wooded areas, or with tall fields. I live in the desert though, makes finding a canopy much easier :)

[Hellis 0]

crwper

I gave some thought to a similar system last summer, but ultimately I felt that size and battery life would be an issue. After some searching, though, I came across this:

https://www.sticknfind.com/sticknfind.aspx

Range is only about 100 feet, but the size and battery life are great. I haven't experimented with it myself, but here's my thinking... When we're looking for a canopy, it's not usually because we have no idea where it is. Usually, we have some idea but it's hard to find because of tall crops, trees, etc. In that case, putting a full GPS/cellular module on the canopy might be overkill... What we really want is to find something we can't see.

With the StickNFind, your worst case scenario would be to walk up and down rows a little less than 100 feet apart. Eventually, you should get a signal and then you can quickly narrow down the precise location. It would take a little more time than walking straight to a GPS location, but I wonder if the savings in space and battery life would make up for it.

Michael

I don't like the bad range of those devices, and you need a "specfic" phone.
A range of 100 feet in line of sight might be much less if it lands in a field.

Batterytime might be an issue for GPSdevices, but charging it once a week isn't that bad.
I charge the camera every day

shift

***
I'm not sure I understand how it works in the states, but you make it sound like the bosses from Enron got a new job
They charge you for something you might need later?

By that I mean I could see being required to pay a monthly fee because we "might" need it later, vs just paying when we need the service. If you dont pay the monthly fee, you dont get the service when you need it.

Or, if you prepay for a SIM, it would expire in a month or two.

I really like the idea for those in wooded areas, or with tall fields. I live in the desert though, makes finding a canopy much easier :)

I see.
So there is no prepaid card that has a longer expiretime than 2 months?
That really sucks.
Most of the carriers here have 1 year and then you need to charge the card with more money.
One carrier has one year between uses expiretime. Meaning one sms or call a year will keep it alive.

And in my opinion, if no carrier can do better than one or two months then I would look what can be bought abroad.
The roaminfee might cost a little, but how often will it be used?






Anyways a quick and dirty pocket was made today.
The bag is bag that I had laying around, a J1KS (150 sqft).
No I need to wait for the season to start.

[shift 0]

Hellis

I see.
So there is no prepaid card that has a longer expiretime than 2 months?
That really sucks.
Most of the carriers here have 1 year and then you need to charge the card with more money.
One carrier has one year between uses expiretime. Meaning one sms or call a year will keep it alive.

I found one with 3 months, minimum refill was $25.

http://www.freedompop.com/ gives "free" service. But uses Sprint towers (CDMA), so no SIM card. BUT, if you can get a smartphone on their plan (they offer a galaxy S2 for $189) and use it as the GPS, that might work as well. The S2 would be a bit big, but someone might be able to get a smaller phone instead.

I was curious how you were going to mount it. On the dbag itself would mean you need to pull the closing pin at the beginning of each day to turn it on. Easy enough.

[mjosparky 4]

They also have the “Bluetracker”. https://www.sticknfind.com/blutracker.aspx Half mile range and no fees.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[coticj 0]

When I was looking for a canopy tracking system I found this:
http://www.integratedtrackers.com/GPSTrack/Products.jsp


(I was looking at the spy lamp)
It is relatively small and the battery lasts a couple of months. But then in the end I didn't decide for it, because I didn't know where to put it.

http://www.prostipad.si

[CygnusX-1 43]

While I like the idea of having a GPS location of the canopy, PebbleBee is another interesting start-up company.

Pros:
Long battery life (1-6 years depending on configuration)
Small
Motion Sensing
No need to turn it on or off

Cons:
150 foot (46 meter) range

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/192833321/pebblebee-the-most-versatile-ios-android-bluetooth?ref=discovery