GPS Car Tracking Device ?

[Bumpy]

With the recent loss due to theft of one of our own Zeds,
and the link to an Amazon advert for a GPS Tracking device,
I was motivated to search my local Ebay for similar.
Most are sourced in China with free shipping, and are very reasonable cost'.
Appears to be a simple install.
Some even include a vehicle disable function

So my questions to the Z4 Intelligentsia:

Anyone here use this ?
Any advice ?

Bumpy

 

[ric19]

yea me..

Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[ric19]

mines a back2you unit though but it will be similar

Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[ric19]

I get an SMS like this..

Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[obewan]

Hmmm - prompted me to have look as well, most of the cheap ones seem to do a reasonable job.
Some people were saying that the sim cards are blocked if you don't top them up after so long (3-6 months) - Anyone have any experience?
Am I right in thinking that you are only charged if you ring the device and it sends a text back - i.e the credit could last for years

I guess they are better hard wired as well rather than running on battery - could they be wired from behind the aux power point (cig lighter) so they are out of sight

 

[pvr]

I put one in my dad's car, he has to send an SMS every 6 months to keep it active. I hard wired it.

 

[obewan]

Cheers pvr - where did you hide it - guess can't be too deep or it won't get a signal

 

[pvr]

Velcro on the inside of the lining. My dad has an X3 though.

It works absolutely fine, did it about 2 years ago. Never failed and it is quite fun to keep tabs on them cruising through Europe :lol:

 

[obewan]

Sold! thanks for the info - apparently the sim to get is O2 or giffgaff for longest no use periods
Sorry to hijack your thread Bumpy

 

[ric19]

yea mines Giff Gaff..you get external antennae for the GPS and Moby signal and I have velcro'ed mine in the back of the little cubby on the left in the boot..also with Giff Gaff u ou can set it up to top up automatically when it hits £3

Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[ric19]

only issue I have is that when you interrogate it it sends you an SMS virtually straight away and that tends to be the last place you interrogated it, some time later (depending on the GPS ) signal it will send another accurate location so it costs 20p instead of 10p

Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[ric19]

if you want to give it a whirl try the Back2you test unit...

Give it a try now!

We have a live unit set up in our office call this number from your mobile phone 07955 536822 or (+44 7955 536822 if calling from outside UK) make sure you do not withhold your number as the unit will not know where to send the message to.

The unit will ring a couple of times then it will go to voicemail when this happens hang up. Within a few seconds it will send you a text message giving you the exact location.

- See more at: http://www.back2you.com/self-contained-gps-vehicle-tracker.html#sthash.whuVgDqI.dpuf



Sent via Tapatalk from my Galaxy S3

 

[obewan]

That was impressive - thanks

 

[Stuart Truman]

The only issue with GPS only units is that once they are out of line of sight of satellites they are blind. Units that use a combination of beacon and GPS seem to be the best all rounders.

 

[Gogo]

+1

I have one - it works very well. For under £30 it's not a difficult decision to make!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Veh...e=UTF8&qid=1396600426&sr=8-1&keywords=tracker

 

[Half Colin]

+1

I have one - it works very well. For under £30 it's not a difficult decision to make!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Veh...e=UTF8&qid=1396600426&sr=8-1&keywords=tracker

That looks about the best deal and has convinced me to get one - also throws in a giffgaff PAYG SIM with £5 of credit for 1p.

 

[Stuart Truman]

I'm tempted to get one just to reinforce the existing Tracker Monitor.

 

[Half Colin]

Just fitted mine and it's brilliant. Plus they're now down to £22 so got one for the wife's Fiat 500.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Vehicle-Theft-Protection-System/dp/B003XDN58K/ref=zg_bs_303609031_1

 

[Geezah]

I got one fitted to satisfy my insurer, works great, absolute no brainer at this price.

 

[GreyZed]

Just fitted mine and it's brilliant. Plus they're now down to £22 so got one for the wife's Fiat 500.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracker-Vehicle-Theft-Protection-System/dp/B003XDN58K/ref=zg_bs_303609031_1

Tempting but will it flatten my battery? My car is used infrequently and can often sit in the garage for a couple of weeks without moving if (sorry when) the weather is cack. So far my battery has been perfect without the need for any plug in charger bollocks but one of the Amazon reviews for this item states...

"First off is the power consumption - measured at 100mA. This is not far off that used by your interior light, and you would not leave that on all day and night either. That consumption is enough to take a toll on your battery after a week without charging"

I suppose I could wire it into the ignition circuit so it's not permanently drawing current or hide a simple inline rocker switch somewhere so I can isolate it when tucking the car away safely in my locked alarmed CCTV monitored garage.

See how good this forum is? I got the answer to my question before I even posted it! :lol: