[Mk2] [Generic] DIY Tracker

[sloopeh]

i have fitted one of the mini grps trackers you can get on ebay -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Real-Time-Spy-Min ... 1c1a1a2ce0

loads of different types of them but just search mini tracker and you will get the idea.


mine was £40 and came with a 12v connection.

tesco PAYG credit does not expire so get one of those sims, put £20 on it and you're done. then you just need to wire it up and hide it. might be worth hiding it somewhere reasonably accessible just in case your sim dies.


i have hidden it so it will never be found and wired it to the battery so that if my car gets nicked, they will also charge the battery for me at the same time when they drive away.

i just phone it up, it tells me where it is. i have tested a few locations and it normally gets it right to within a few metres.


interestingly, the gprs signal is reporting full strength, even tho it's deep in the bowels of my car.


for more advanced versions you can send remote commands i.e kill fuel pump etc.

mine also comes with live tracking, listen in microphone, ring fencing and all sorts of other stuff which i have not used yet.

i dont know if it will be reliable in the long run but tbh a full on tracker for £60 and no subscription is pretty good if you ask me. at least you dont have to wait for the police to drive in the vicinity of your car, like the real trackers

[Racer7]

Looks interesting.

It mentions software but also google maps. Do you have to log in to a program to then check location.

I wouldn't be too keen on going through a program that reports into a 3rd party where my car is!

Good move with the Tesco PAYG - that was my first concern.

As long as the GPS isnt as bad as my Galaxy S i'm sure it'll be great!

[sloopeh]

when i phone my car it replies with the gps coordinates which you can put into google maps or a sat nav etc

when non authorised numbers phone it nothing happens

if you want to you can set it up for live tracking with a special application but nobody else would be able to access this or know where your car is.

i have noticed a problem with the way i have set it up however, after the battery runs out after a few days, it doesnt come back on when charged unless you turn it on manually so it really needs constant charge power but not sure how the battery would handle this.

[jarijari]

Looks very interesting! Have been thinking something like this for awhile.


Keep up the good work sloopeh and keep us posted!

[sloopeh]

i have decided to overcome the charging issue by using a solar 12v charger - will sort this out over the next week and let you know if this fixes the problem.

[SFLee]

i also spotted a more hard wire in version on ebay, my worry was does it work in area where phone signal is weak,

[sloopeh]

i guess it wont work where signal is too weak..? trial and error will tell.

Update on the solar charging...bought an el cheapo phone charger from maplins for £7 and wired it in. whilst this method is super easy to wire in and hide, it doesnt provide enough charge to keep the device on 24/7

I will have to rethink the power source problem. as and when i do i will update this thread.

[jarijari]

i guess it wont work where signal is too weak..? trial and error will tell.

Update on the solar charging...bought an el cheapo phone charger from maplins for £7 and wired it in. whilst this method is super easy to wire in and hide, it doesnt provide enough charge to keep the device on 24/7

I will have to rethink the power source problem. as and when i do i will update this thread.

Hope you will figure out a solution

[raptor95GTS]

looks like a std phone type battery - get a longer life one or someone here will tell you how long it will take to drain a battery... I used to be able to work this stuff out but my brain hasn't used that type of info in er a long time

[sloopeh]

for the record the solar charger didnt work either. similar annoying design in that when the solar charger runs out of juice, it needs to be turned back on again...!!!

[jack-p]

was a solution for this ever discovered?

[nitric4k]

i imagine if the charger was wired direct to the battery it would take a week or more to even stop the car from starting. so in real terms nothing i would say would cause problems especially if its a daily driven car.
and if ever it got stolen im sure you would be tracking it within 24 hours anyway to collect ya car back

[sloopeh]

my final solution was charge the battery manually indoors and every week swap out the battery

a bit of a manual process but at least no wiring required.