The longest battery life on the pet’s collar tag is provided in the monitor mode. In this mode the tag’s battery will run up to 6 weeks and the locator will warn you to charge it after 4-5 weeks. If you are continuously tracking your pet (usually only done when they are lost) the tag and locator will run for up to 3 days on a charge. If the locator is not tracking or monitoring the pet’s tag, or if the pet is out of range of the system, then the collar tag can run for up to 15 days on a charge. This explanation may seem counterintuitive, but it is indeed the way the system works.
For example, if you are monitoring your pet(s) to make certain they stay within the specified safety zone and it has been 3 weeks since you last charged the battery, then the battery is half discharged. If the pet then escapes, the collar tag will run for an additional week on the remaining charge.
In track mode, the handheld locator communicates with the tag every 5 seconds and updates the displayed signal strength and direction on the locator’s display, allowing you to home-in on the exact location of your pet.
In monitor mode, the locator is kept in a convenient location, such as your kitchen counter, plugged into its charger, and it “pings” the tag on each of your pets once every 40 seconds. In this mode the locator will warn you if any pet it outside of its programed “safe zone” so you can enter track mode and recover the pet. In monitor mode, the locator will also warn you if the battery is low on any of the pets so you don’t need to worry about them. In fact, if the alarm is not going off on the locator you know for certain that all of your pets are accounted for, all the batteries are charged and everything is working as it should. (Compare this to other systems where everything has to go right for you to know something is wrong!)
The Marco Polo tag only weights 0.8 oz., so it is light enough for most any pet to carry. It does require a minimum collar length of about 7 inches, if you have a very small cat or dog then measuring the length of their collar is your best guide. The cloth holder that we supply attaches to the collar or harness that you pet already wears, from 3/8” wide up to 2 ½” wide – there is no upper size limit to the animals that can wear Marco Polo! If you have a cat that currently doesn’t wear a collar then it is best to get them used to a collar first and then add the tracking tag.
The Marco Polo tag slips into a ballistic-nylon cloth holder that attaches to your pet’s collar or harness with 4 Velcro straps. The Velcro used is a military grade material that holds with 100 lbs. strength per strap, yet has a soft nylon backing that is comfortable for your pet. When mounted in the collar holder, the tag electronics are well protected and look new, even after years of rough use. When needed, the cloth holder can be economically replaced (see the Accessories page) and can also be machine washed.
The product is named after the swimming pool game where the player that is “it” closes their eyes and yells “Marco”, all of the other players are obligated to yell “Polo” in response. The player that is “it” follows the sound to tag another player who then becomes “it”.
Imagine that you could call your dog’s name really loud, so loud in fact that your pet could hear you calling up to 2-miles away and would then respond with an equally loud “woof-woof”. You could then follow the direction of the sound and know when you are getting close as the return bark got louder and louder. This is exactly what Marco Polo does, only using radio signals instead of sound.
When in Track mode, the handheld Marco Polo locator sends a signal to the tag on your pet’s collar once every 5 seconds. Each time the tag on the pet “hears” the signal from the locator, it responds with a return signal. The locator then measures the strength of the signal coming back from the pet and finds the direction it came from. Both pieces of information are then displayed on the locator’s screen. Then, you simply follow the arrow pointing to your pet and note the signal strength getting higher as you get closer. If you are not careful -you will step on your pet!
Good news, it is! The Marco Polo Advanced Pet tracking tag meets the IP67 enclosure specification. This means it can be continuously submerged under 3 ft. of water up to 30 minutes. If your pet is swimming, the tag will generally be only a few inches of water and can withstand all day use at the beach or lake.
More good news, you have a choice!
- If your application does not require a waterproof Tag Transceiver, then the Ultralight Model is for you. We remove the polycarbonate shell to save weight, however you lose the waterproof feature. If saving weight is mandatory, but you also need it to be waterproof, you can seal the tag inside a small zip-lock bag with the antenna protruding through a sealed hole in the bag
- If you require a waterproof Transceiver Tag for your application, then the Advanced Model meets the IP67 specification and this is the model for you.
Regardless of requirements, Marco Polo offers you a solution to meet your needs.
The Marco Polo tag’s integrated LiPo battery will last approximately 15 days in standby mode waiting for a signal from the locator to activate it, or up to 3-days in continuous tracking mode.
The possibility of Marco Polo interfering with drone system communications is very small. The tag transceiver in your drone never transmits unless activated by the hand held locator when the “tracking mode” is enabled by you. So, during flight there is no possibility of the transceiver interfering with or desensitizing your on-board radios. Once tracking mode is activated by the locator, the Marco Polo system operates by using frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) on 50 frequencies between 902.5 and 906.5 Mhz. Additionally, Marco Polo only dwells on any single frequency for approximately 50 milliseconds once every 4 minutes.