Comments on: GPS versus Radio-Tracking: pros and cons for finding cats

By: Best GPS Tracker Collars & ID Tags for Cats | Ratings & Reviews in 2020

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 15:40:34 +0000

[…] Location transmits to cellphone or computer […]

By: Cat tracker

Cat tracker — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:57:32 +0000

Thanks for sharing the pros and cons of these tracking devices. I had a cat GPS tracker that always help me to track my cat.

By: penelope

penelope — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 19:38:02 +0000

cat loc8ator didn’t work for me though maybe it has been updated,
the black device was impossible to tell if it was on or off so the battery was always running down,
also it just didn’t work unless the cat was within ten yards

What I wand is a camera collar as my cat is ‘dining out’ at a neighbours and being enticed to move in.
I need proof where he is going.

By: B. Blitorn

B. Blitorn — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 19:46:10 +0000

Yes,
Came in quick! Ordered on a Friday and came in on a Sunday!! Looks cute on my cat but it seems to be a bit small, though he is a long haired 11lb cat. I got a Large. But I’d say it works if I can get my cat to get used to it haha.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:48:58 +0000

I can second the Loc8tor system. I have tried several different types of pet trackers on my cats but keep coming back to the simplicity of the Loc8tor. I tried Tagg. The tracker was fairly large and it worked OK but the lack of swappable batteries and short (1-3 days real world use) battery life was a dealbreaker. Plus its a subscription based service which I don’t care for.

Guardian. Its OK but gimicky compared to Loc8tor plus its not as easy to upgrade to more trackers. I did not find hte real world range to be any better than Loc8tor.

TrackR. I love the swappable battery and the combination of bluetooth and crowd sourcing but it takes a very long time to make a connection, so long its practically useless in a real wold search and rescue.

So Loc8tor is my favorite. That said I have a few points ot make

The parent company has released a number of products for different markets under different names:

Brickhouse tracker
Loc8tor
Tabcat
Ski Retriever

Of these only Tabcat is currently (1/2018) still being sold but all can be found used on Amazon, Ebay and online vendors.

IMO the original silver bodied Loc8tor plus/Brickhouse child locator handset is the best. It allows up to 32 tags to be registered vs the black handsets 4 and has a nice backlit display with a text interface. You can name the tag instead of assigning it a button as on the black handsets. On the technical front the silver handset uses a YAGI directional antenna with the driver and reflector in the body of the handset and two passive elements on the underside of the sliding cover. (pretty sure the black handsets do too but I haven’t pulled one apart to confirm) This means its critical to open the cover of the silver handsets to its stop and to not break off the cover for it to work properly. The rated range with this unit is 600 ft line of sight with the original silver oval tags. Some enthusiasts have hacked these systems to improve the range and directionality using add on antennas. If you are skilled in RF antenna design this may be worth a try as adding passive elements can increase range and directionality. That is one thing I like about the silver handsets, they are easy to experiment on without wrecking anything. The tag internals are also easily accessible for anyone brave and knowledgeable enough to attempt an improvement there.

There is an even easier way to increase the range. Ditch the original oval tags in favor of the newer larger round tags. Loc8tor claims these are fully compatible with older handsets. These use a CR2032 battery and despite being larger still fit comfortably on a 10 lb cat. In my real world field testing the black and silver oval tags performed (not surprisingly) identically but the larger round tags yielded TWICE the range of the smaller tags. With steel reinforced buildings in the way the signal dropped on both but I was able to get pings with the rounds tags unobtainable with the oval.

While it is a hassle to buy a silver handset and round tags this combination will offer the best performance.

By: Elle

Elle — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 22:24:33 +0000

Thank you for a fantastic informative article!
And great comments from everyone, especially the tip with keeping the volume down from Camryn.
Would love you to update with some other cat trackers such as the PetFinder LF (https://pettracking.co.nz/products/petfinder-lr-multi-all-new-2017-model) which uses radio frequency and has a range of 500 metres direct line of sight or 300 metres in built up areas.
Also the Ping GPS which is a new product that they expect to ship out in Nov 2017. It iss incredibly small (40mm x 40mm) so great for cats and boosts a rechargeable battery life of 3 weeks. Sounds too good to be true!

By: Steven Samonsky

Steven Samonsky — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 13:27:44 +0000

there needs to be a collar which emits a sound as well as a GPS signal. Many cars today have it.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 15:45:15 +0000

In reply to Jonas. Thanks for sharing. The Miaufinder looks like a good option. I just checked their website and it says it is approved and used throughout Europe. I wish it were available in the US as well.

By: Jonas

Jonas — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 14:08:15 +0000

Good article! I also had this problem when searching for a cat tracker, I borrowed a few from friends for testing. The problem I had was the GPS trackers weigh quite a bit and that must be uncomfortable for the cats, also when my cats were in garages/sheds/cellars the GPS signal had problems determining where they were. Eventually I bought a Miaufinder system, it’s much lighter and uses RF – it had no problems finding my cats in small confined places. Also, no subscription fee!
Have a look if you’re looking for another option.

By: Jenna

Jenna — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 02:00:15 +0000

I have the LoCATor for my Cheddar and it works amazing!! I live on 17 wooded acres and can always find him!!! I can even find just the collar if it happens to come off!! I highly recommend this radio tracking system for cats!!