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dobryan Mon Sep 02, 2013 9:58 am

Based on some recent Vanagon thefts and a thread that mentions how useful a GPS transmitter system is for recovery ( http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568408 ) I'm starting this thread for folks to post their ideas and products they have used or researched.

I'd like better protection for my Westy (despite a kill switch) and I also have an older pretty special (to me) Porsche 911 that I want to have more ability for recovery. Assuming that you cannot totally stop a determined thief the next best thing is to be able to tell the police where to go to find them. :-)

My desires are:
- NO on-going monthly contract, I don't mind paying text message charges for each time I access the GPS data.
- max $200 price
- Accessible data from my cell phone (this seems universal)
- Ability to hard wire the power source, am willing to modify the battery pack.

Here are some examples that I found:

(But I am not sure on some of them.....)

http://www.electroflip.com/itrack-2-0-real-time-long-term-gps-tracker.html

http://www.ankaka.com/gps-trackerlocator-for-various-vehicles-odb-interface_p48763.html

http://www.ecrater.com/p/8055154/gsm-gprs-gps-tracker-for-car?gps=1&id=47116773859

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S...1GK0GU5823

I have more research to do but I thought I'd get folks comments.

Thanks! :D



*****************
Edit 4/10/15, update from page 7:

This is the unit I finally used, in conjunction with an ATT Go Phone sim card at $100 per year.

While in Key West I installed this tracker. Awesome!

malibu wrote: The wife got me this one for my birthday. I will post back once I get a sim and start testing it before install.



http://www.amazon.com/Tracking-Drive-Vehicle-Track...ps+tracker

This is the map link sent via text message from the tracker.



Very accurate! 😀

**************

Edit: Update April 2, 2017

After looking around some more I finally bought this GPS tracker. Since I am on AT&T which no longer offers 2G I had to find a new unit that was 3G.

3G-WCDMA-GPS-Vehicle-Tracker-CCTR-805

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3G-WCDMA-GPS-Vehicle-Track...2047488292

I really like these type of units since I do not have to rely on a third party website to track the vehicle (although this one does offer that). I call the unit and it texts me back the location via a google maps link. Very Happy

It is very similar to my older TK103 but this also uses 3G (and 2G too). Verified today that it works on AT&T via my GoPhone SIM. It does take a micro-SIM so I had to trade in my older standard size SIM that was in my TK103, no extra charge.

bowtiebug Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:10 am

you might check availability in your area


http://www.lojack.com/Cars-Trucks-And-Classics/Pro...r-Classics

Jon_slider Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:06 pm

dobryan wrote: I'm starting this thread for folks to post their ideas and products they have used or researched.


Great post! Thanks for providing links.

I like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S...1GK0GU5823

here is some info on other options
http://gps-tracker-review.toptenreviews.com

I hope you will share your test results.

kamzcab86 Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:24 pm

Jon_slider wrote: I like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S...1GK0GU5823

Didn't look at them all, but this line is certainly a plus in the description of ^that one: "No monthly service charges to be paid to the call center".

Carterzest posted this one in the stolen van thread: http://www.dewaltmobilelock.com/main.asp .

Jon_slider Mon Sep 02, 2013 12:55 pm

kamzcab86 wrote: Carterzest posted this one in the stolen van thread: http://www.dewaltmobilelock.com/main.asp .

Lots of price and product variation.. That one costs $270 and has a monthly service fee of $19.95

> http://www.lojack.com/Cars-Trucks-And-Classics/Pro...r-Classics

costs $695, no monthly fees

> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S...1GK0GU5823

Cost $52, no monthly fees

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:28 pm

i just ordered a couple of these.

http://www.thetileapp.com/

insyncro Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:33 pm

minsk wrote: i just ordered a couple of these.

http://www.thetileapp.com/

This is the exact product I made reference to in the stolen van thread.

Worked like a charm.

syncrodoka Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:49 pm

minsk wrote: i just ordered a couple of these.

http://www.thetileapp.com/
Very interesting item but only works with i-products not androids or PCs. The 50-150 ft range is a drawback as well.

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:11 pm

actually with the app it will find your item anywhere.
it is also being ported to android

syncrodoka Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:18 pm

Not according to the FAQ on their site. :?
50-150 ft from you phone unless there are other users that they can bounce the signal off to extend the range. What about if it is out of the city 200 ft off a main road where another possible user may be driving?
I really like it but it seems more suited to something that will stay in a city like a laptop.

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:24 pm

syncro is right. oops..sorry for the disinformation.
its only good locally within a few feet...good for lost keys....but if you car is stolen you can enter it into a network.
why did i order these again :).
a gps tracking devise would be way better..
hmm

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:30 pm

this sounds like a kick starter project.
im thinking a gps tracker that is powered by the car battery somehow..or solar? just thinking out loud.

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:35 pm

the new egg one john posted...deff looks like the ticket.
i think im going to snag one. and review it.
:)

syncrodoka Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:06 pm

minsk wrote: i think im going to snag one. and review it.
:)
Looking forward to the review.
Have a friend "steal" it and see how difficult it is to find.

tarandusVDub Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:10 pm

Would be nice to be able to hard wire in a stealthy manner so that it could be installed, and forgotten about for years until needed! Wonder if they have firmware updates etc. that would need attention over time...

srmpf Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:15 pm

you could hard wire a cheap cell phone to the battery and use a service like http://www.locationof.com/. I used to have a pay as you go cell phone from boost mobile in the van with a tracker app from the a now defunct tracker service (Instamapper). I only had to top off $5 every three months or so to keep the phone active. They don't charge for *outgoing* traffic, only *incoming* so you can send your GPS position on a regular basis without paying for data.
Upside: Cheap and works if cellphone reception is available. Downside: a cellphone drains your battery within a week.

Worked like a charm. When we moved from CA to TX I had the Vanagon shipped on a trailer. Left window is the live GPS tracking, right window a live feed from a traffic cam in Tucson, AZ - can you spot the Van?



I really like the tileapp idea but I guess it's only working reliably in the Bay Area with all the nerds having the app installed on their iPhones :)

dobryan Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:19 pm

tarandusVDub wrote: Would be nice to be able to hard wire in a stealthy manner so that it could be installed, and forgotten about for years until needed!

My thought on hard wiring is that it should be possible to emulate any battery/power supply with the 12v Vanagon battery and appropriate doohickeys (technical term for I know it can be done but am not conversant enough in electrons to know what to do).

minsk Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:22 pm

srmpf the gps tracker form new egg is essentially yhe same thing as a celly...
:) its a reader and gps tranmitter for a sim card. just muuuuch smaller...you could totally hide is somewhere under the dash wire it into the ignition wire perhaps

dobryan Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:31 pm

insyncro wrote: minsk wrote: i just ordered a couple of these.

http://www.thetileapp.com/

This is the exact product I made reference to in the stolen van thread.

Worked like a charm.

Dylan,

I can see using this for things that were of not huge value since it is not at all much $. But would you risk a $20,000 Westy or Syncro on it since it seems to have a limited range of signal (or am I missing something)?

Thanks for the reply. :D

tristessa Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:36 pm

Jon_slider wrote: Cost $52, no monthly fees
I was looking at that one on Ebay earlier, and it apparently requires a SIM card .. which means at least a few bucks every month or two to keep it active.

minsk wrote: srmpf the gps tracker form new egg is essentially yhe same thing as a celly...
:) its a reader and gps tranmitter for a sim card. just muuuuch smaller...you could totally hide is somewhere under the dash wire it into the ignition wire perhaps
Just make sure it's someplace where the antenna(s) get GPS and cellular signal.

I saw a weather-resistant motorcycle tracker on Fleabay earlier, and the first thought I had was to hide it in one of the hollow areas under the luggage rack and run power to it from the dome light...



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