Chris Wilson Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I have had an enquiry from a car owner who wants his new toy fitted with a none contract GPS real time tracker. I believe what he is after is the ability to see where his car is by dialling from his mobile, or from home on his PC, without entering into a fixed term contract. I know his sons drive like nutters, maybe he wants to see where they are, and what they are doing to it. I have NO experience of these things. Ebay is full of stuff, from a few quid to £400 plus. Has anyone personal experience of one that is still available, and works OK? Any gotchas? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Hi Chris Either way your customer will require a contract, either for the SIM that goes in the device or for the company that offers the tracking service... It's just a case of if you pay Vodafone, orange, O2 etc or the company who is offering tracking. Cheers Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wile e coyote Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I would like to know this also Sorry for the hijack Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Paine Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 If you don't want the performance data just get an old iPhone with find my iPhone and get a giff gaff data only contract at £7.50 a month and then tap in to find my iPhone whenever. Would need a bit of plumbing to keep charged, but a cheap enough option! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideexitsupra Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) Mod Edit Edited February 26, 2013 by Tyson Need to be a trader to sell business products (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Massey Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 I will speak to one of my mates. He got one off eBay, cheap pay as you go SIM card in there, tops it up when needed. Little device needs 5 volts but not constant and you text it. It replies with a link to a map Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 By contract I mean he doesn't need some all singing and dancing commercial set up, with a monthly hire fee, but he does (I hope...) appreciate the SIM card won't give free calls I am thinking he just wants to be able to "call" the thing and view where the car is and what speed it's doing Thanks. Al : That sounds more like it, I guess his budget will run to a hundred quid or so, but it's not in case of theft, just to be able to keep an eye on where it is and what they might be doing in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Gaz Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 If you don't want the performance data just get an old iPhone with find my iPhone and get a giff gaff data only contract at £7.50 a month and then tap in to find my iPhone whenever. Would need a bit of plumbing to keep charged, but a cheap enough option! This. I tracked down a stolen car using this, a chap had his old iphone wired up using power from the cigarette lighter, stuck it under the dash in a plastic case to keep it safe and no buttons hit. Using the find my phone ap we traced his Merc CLS to a garage and got it back, caught the thieving pikeys too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobUK Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Have a loom at this then Chris. Sounds like what you are after... http://www.eyetek.co.uk/car-tracker-sms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Hmm, this may be of interest to me, myself. How much is a ratty i phone, and do you need any special sort? Will one stay powered up 24 hours on a vehicle battery, assuming the car is used each day? What is the most basic type of phone needed to call the vehicle mounted phone? Cheers (Yes, I know zilch about modern phones, but was talking to a guy in Tasmania last week on a bit of wire in the front garden ) Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Paine Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Need an iPhone 4 at least around £100 on the bay of flees. Then cheap sim. Doesn't give exact location, but will be within 50 metres. Must be able to use find my iPhone. Not sure of the operating system it requires though! Might beos 6 or above, but you will need o check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Paine Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Bit like my grammar and spelling. ios6 I think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Massey Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Find my iPhone requires decent enough signal to give a close enough location. And chris, the device my mate has cost less than £40, I've just never got round to getting one myself yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Paine Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Mr Massey, Al (if that is ok) I would be interested to know what item your mate has. They are all basically gps transmitters and depend on where they are placed within the vehicle. I think in the trade it is known as a deep fit. Will all depend on a decent signal, but with time and practice the location of where it receives and transmits the best signal can be worked out. I am all for the best/cheapest option! Would be very interested as looking for an efficient fit for my twin axle caravan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Gaz Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Hmm, this may be of interest to me, myself. How much is a ratty i phone, and do you need any special sort? Will one stay powered up 24 hours on a vehicle battery, assuming the car is used each day? What is the most basic type of phone needed to call the vehicle mounted phone? Cheers (Yes, I know zilch about modern phones, but was talking to a guy in Tasmania last week on a bit of wire in the front garden ) Cheers. I think the cost of the phone depends on your luck when bidding, but if you don't care what it looks like a tatty one should come in nice and cheap, about £70 I have seen them go for. A cheap pay as you go sim is all you need, it doesn't need a contract. I am under the impression that if the phone is wired into a constant power source (cigarette lighter for instance) then it will run only charge when necessary, it wouldn't be an issue if it didn't charge unless the car was turned on, the batteries in iPhones last quite well. I found the GPS very accurate, to around 5 metres in some circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Massey Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 Mr Massey, Al (if that is ok) I would be interested to know what item your mate has. They are all basically gps transmitters and depend on where they are placed within the vehicle. I think in the trade it is known as a deep fit. Will all depend on a decent signal, but with time and practice the location of where it receives and transmits the best signal can be worked out. I am all for the best/cheapest option! Would be very interested as looking for an efficient fit for my twin axle caravan! Al is fine. I will find out as soon as I see him. It is a cheap device he got and it works perfectly we tested it a few times, even has an android/iPhone app too. Really small too, and only 2 wires I think and has an internal battery. So cheap and simple but it worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesard Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 All well and nice, but car thieves can buy a simple GPS jammer for 40 quid, and it will jam any potential gps signal when they steal the car, hence some tracking companies offering both gps tracking and i think radio signal tracking off cell phone towers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 All well and nice, but car thieves can buy a simple GPS jammer for 40 quid, and it will jam any potential gps signal when they steal the car, hence some tracking companies offering both gps tracking and i think radio signal tracking off cell phone towers. As long as the hanset has a network connection it can triangulate its approximate position from the cell towers, even if GPS is blocked...better than nothing I guess. Of course if the thieves bring a full spectrum jammer then you're still stuffed. HOWEVER, if you use an android handset with Google latitude it will periodically report its location anyway...the theives will have to switch off their jammer eventually... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 You could simply pull a fuse for say the fuel pump or similar and they would never find why it wouldn't start. Cheaper than a tracker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 You could simply pull a fuse for say the fuel pump or similar and they would never find why it wouldn't start. Cheaper than a tracker. Problem is a lot of thieves nowadays don't bother breaking into the car and hot wire it, they just tow it away. Or if it is a BMW, they just use any old key! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kill1308 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Need an iPhone 4 at least around £100 on the bay of flees. Then cheap sim. Doesn't give exact location, but will be within 50 metres. Must be able to use find my iPhone. Not sure of the operating system it requires though! Might beos 6 or above, but you will need o check. Runs on iOS6 which I believe you can run on an iPhone 3GS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Problem is a lot of thieves nowadays don't bother breaking into the car and hot wire it, they just tow it away. Or if it is a BMW, they just use any old key! If I live in an area like that I wouldn't leave my car outside, it would be pad locked in the garage with me sleeping on the floor next to it with a spade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Might be worth a look App for Android http://www.mycartracks.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideexitsupra Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Mod Edit Just seen this mod edit. I was not meaning to tout our wares, but offer a professional alternative to some of the cheaper options given and would have done it at cost price. It was intended in the spirit of the club but can understand why it has been moderated. Please accept my apologies for this lapse in concentration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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