Trackers

[elgecko]

Since I’m seeing if my cat, Buddy, can be an adventure cat, I’d like some kind of tracker on him if we somehow got separated on our adventures.

I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a tracker because as I see it, the cat will always be on a harness and leash. The tracker will be attached to the harness. So most likely if he does get away, it’s because the harness is lying on the ground, without Buddy…… So it would make it difficult to track a cat without his tracker attached to him.
I could have the tracker on a collar, and use a harness also. I would have to get a different type of harness thou.

I didn’t want to use GPS locators that require cell service.
One; I don’t want to pay monthly fees, two; many times I’ve been out on backpacking trips with no cell service. So these types of trackers don’t make sense for my backpacking trips.

Trackers with dedicated hand held units vary in price and tracking range. Long range trackers can be 5 miles but cost over $250.00.
One with the dedicated hand held unit I was considering, Girafus Pro-track, can track around .33 miles (1600’) and costs around $65…. But when backpacking, do I really want to carry another device adding more weight… I can be a weight weenie at times.

Bluetooth trackers are inexpensive, but many can have unusable short tracking range, 33’. I should be able to see my cat at 33’.
The best range I could find on Bluetooth tracking was 300’, the length of a football field.

So I started a list to compare trackers. I attached it here if anyone else would like to see some of the research I did so far.

I did decide to purchase the Bluetooth 300’ range tracker, XY4+. I will be running some tests with it for my own record, but can share this info if anyone else is interested. I have a 30 day money back guarantee if I’m not happy with the product.

I would still like to hear if anyone else uses trackers on the cats and what their experience has been with them.

 

[margd]

This is really very helpful information. I'm sure many members will find it quite useful - I know that I would make use of it I were to take my cats out on adventures. Fear of losing them is actually one of the reasons that I don't.

I hope you don't mind but I saved your data in a pdf file so anyone without Excel would be able to access it. Unfortunately, formatting wasn't saved but hopefully, people can still figure it out.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us!

 

[Kieka]

I have the TabCat tracker on guys. It's like playing hot and cold with them and the receiver is the size of a credit card. I live in an urban area so there are plenty of buildings that get in the way. I can usually get signal from two houses in either direction, although without all the building s it might be further. Link recently lost his collar and we haven't been able to find it so he is switching to a GPS Pod3 tracker. But for the other two we've always been able to find the tracker when they've lost the collar or tracking unit.

I didn't do app based tracking for the same reason you mentioned. It will be interesting to see how the Bluetooth works. I know in my research I read about problems with Bluetooth dropping the pairing. But that was two years ago and mine is for 24/7 tracking. I usually check the batteries once a month since they are suppose to last 6 months with the TabCat system. You'd probably want to check it at the start of each hike them randomly on.

For the TabCat it does beep and flash on the cat and I have found that my guys do start heading back when that happens. It's almost a resigned "you found me" look.

 

[elgecko]

This is really very helpful information. I'm sure many members will find it quite useful - I know that I would make use of it I were to take my cats out on adventures. Fear of losing them is actually one of the reasons that I don't.

I hope you don't mind but I saved your data in a pdf file so anyone without Excel would be able to access it. Unfortunately, formatting wasn't saved but hopefully, people can still figure it out.

Thank you very much for sharing this with us!

Glad you found it useful.
Not problem in saving it in PDF format. I did save it in PDF and as you noticed the tables got screwed up and I think the links didn't work so I left it in Excel. Wasn't really thinking that everyone doesn't have Excel.

I have the TabCat tracker on guys. It's like playing hot and cold with them and the receiver is the size of a credit card. I live in an urban area so there are plenty of buildings that get in the way. I can usually get signal from two houses in either direction, although without all the building s it might be further. Link recently lost his collar and we haven't been able to find it so he is switching to a GPS Pod3 tracker. But for the other two we've always been able to find the tracker when they've lost the collar or tracking unit.

I didn't do app based tracking for the same reason you mentioned. It will be interesting to see how the Bluetooth works. I know in my research I read about problems with Bluetooth dropping the pairing. But that was two years ago and mine is for 24/7 tracking. I usually check the batteries once a month since they are suppose to last 6 months with the TabCat system. You'd probably want to check it at the start of each hike them randomly on.

For the TabCat it does beep and flash on the cat and I have found that my guys do start heading back when that happens. It's almost a resigned "you found me" look.

I almost purchased the TabCat.

I'm looking into other harnesses that I could use a collar as well so I could attach the tracker to it instead of the harness.

Looks like the XY4+ tracker should arrive tomorrow. Once I get all my tests done I'll post my findings.

 

[elgecko]

I did my testing on XY4+ Bluetooth tracker.

The tracker weighs .48oz
You load the app to your phone from Google Play Store, or Apple App Store.
I have a Samsung Galaxy phone. It took a little bit to connect to the tracker.
You can use the app to make the tracker beep to help locate it when you’re in closer range to hear it. Problem with this was it was really sporadic in functioning. Most of the time, not.
The tracker boasts a 300’ range. I had high hopes for this tracker.

My plan was to test in an open field, clear of any obstructions to run my first tests. I would then move to woods and finally woods with elevation differences.
The way the tracker worked on the open field test, I did not have to go any further.

When I started testing, I was hopeful this device was going to work. When it was paired with the phone and started to walk away, the tracker stayed paired on average of 375’ to 450’ away.



The problem was pairing up again. This is where it fell terribly short. The best pairing after disconnecting was around 175’.



Most of the time it was much, much shorter. The worst was getting to 20’ away waiting to pair to the phone which it finally did.



This proved I did not need to do any more testing as this device would not be anywhere close to reliable in tracking the cat if it were to get away from me.

I was fortunate that the same day I was doing my testing, and realizing it was not going to work, I was PMed by a forum member, Kieka, telling me that one of the GPS trackers was offering lifetime subscription with purchase of the tracker.

The tracker is the Pod3, which was one I researched a little till I decided I did not want to pay monthly subscription fees.

I was talking with the wife about the cell coverage issue I brought up in the original post. Realizing that probably less than 5% of the time I would not have cell coverage, and are these places I would take the cat hiking / backpacking with me. So once I made myself see the light that 95% of the time I’d take the cat out on walks or hikes, I’m going to have cell coverage it became a no brainier and ordered a Pod3.

I was given a link that I can share with others that would get anyone using the link that purchased a Pod3 an additional 10% off the price. So I thought I’d share with others.

Redirecting to store...

 

[Kieka]

I am so glad it worked out for you.

I look forward to seeing how it works out for you in real world tracking. I know I have been using mine to check out where my cat is throughout the day (which is mostly asleep at home).

 

[elgecko]

A little update.

I've been using the Pod3 on my outings with Buddy. It works great where I have cell service. The problem is I find some of the places I like to take Buddy are remote and the Pod3, & my phone does not have cell service.

So I was thinking again of the Girafus Pro-track, Tabcat, & the Findster Duo+ which all use radio frequency.
Findster Duo+ is the most interesting to me since it has the best range of 3 miles. There pre-orders are to be shipping next month.
In my search I did run across something new boasting a 5-10 mile range. The Guardian Orb. Now these are not scheduled to ship till July of this year.
I went ahead and have an Explorer on order. Wish I would have found out about it a little sooner so I could have grabbed an early bird special price....

 

[elgecko]

oops didn't realize I had the link on the comments section when I copied the link.
Can click on the story on the web page or use this one:

Guardian Orb

 

[Dacatchair]

Great information! I am considering eventually getting the Findster Duo, as if it works as advertised I may someday be able to train my cat to stay in my large wild yard, and at least know how far he goes and find him if that is not possible. He is indoor / catio / harness and leash only for the foreseeable future. But as nothing too serious normally happens to cats within a mile or two it comes down to needing some way to monitor how far he wants to wander and a way to know to call him back if he goes more than 300 feet. The cell phone service here is intermittent and as long as it is unreliable I won’t have one, so that kind of narrows the options...

The Guardian Orb looks really interesting too! Would love to hear if it works as advertised!

 

[elgecko]

Great information! I am considering eventually getting the Findster Duo, as if it works as advertised I may someday be able to train my cat to stay in my large wild yard, and at least know how far he goes and find him if that is not possible. He is indoor / catio / harness and leash only for the foreseeable future. But as nothing too serious normally happens to cats within a mile or two it comes down to needing some way to monitor how far he wants to wander and a way to know to call him back if he goes more than 300 feet. The cell phone service here is intermittent and as long as it is unreliable I won’t have one, so that kind of narrows the options...

The Guardian Orb looks really interesting too! Would love to hear if it works as advertised!

Glad you found the info useful.

I like the size of the Findster Duo+ module better then the Guardian Go base station.
For day hikes the Findster Duo+ would work fine, but for overnight trips it would not work for me.
I almost purchased the Findster Duo+ until I found the thing I believe is the huge flaw with the Findster Duo+.
The disappointing thing is you must have the live GPS turned on before you and your pet get separated.
Why is this a problem, with the live GPS turned on for the Findster Duo+ the battery life is 12 hours.
If you could turn on the live GPS after separation, the Findster Duo+ would be decent, and probably would have purchased it.
The Guardian Go is to start shipping in July according to it's Indiegogo page. I have one on order so I will give an update once I get to play with it a bit.

 

[elgecko]

Just went to the POD3 site, and they are offering free lifetime cell service for the POD3 till April 3rd.
So if you would be using the POD3 in an area with good cell coverage, this would be the time to get this tracker if you are interested in one.