Trackers... "DIY"

[triple5]

Gallen said:

do people still use these?

A portable Jammer is only £60 offline...

I use them as machine trackers. The type of people who have so far had a go at stealing them aren't sophisticated enough to use jammers, or even know what one is.

If they do actually get one away, I stand a very good chance of locating it.

[Gallen]

NiceCupOfTea said:

...I thought a common method was to dump a stolen car for a few days to see if it had a tracker? Would find your car for you. Or the casual joyrider / get home from the pub merchant...

Thing is, for £30 quid it's an extra layer of defence. Why not?

Think it used to be the case, but with ANPR, anything worth stealing (other than for a lift home) will have a set of cloned plates stuck on it (thanks to a quick Autotrader check) and a jammer rammed in to the 12v socket or a stand alone power supply...

If you're nicking modern cars there has to be a certain level of savvy to get around the modern systems in place.

But why not for £30 I guess!

G.

[Squadrone Rosso]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Might as well just leave it unlocked with the keys in the ignition then!

Or... decent alarm/immobiliser + disklok + cheap tracker = much better chance of seeing your car again.

I thought a common method was to dump a stolen car for a few days to see if it had a tracker? Would find your car for you. Or the casual joyrider / get home from the pub merchant...

Thing is, for £30 quid it's an extra layer of defence. Why not?

Good thread this. Good points above too. Multi Layer Defence is the way to go.

I'm thinking of sticking one on my Classic Alfa. This has a Toad Imobiliser & disklock etc but I'm keen to fit the tracker. Would be good to follow our roadtrips too

[Sportidge]

Squadrone Rosso said:

Would be good to follow our roadtrips too

That's what I mainly use mine for.

When I end up on some "interesting" roads where I have no idea where I've been, it's good to be able to actually find out where they were, so I can do them again sometime

[NiceCupOfTea]

Also useful for when cars go in for service, etc...

[NiceCupOfTea]

Just setting up a new one tonight - it reminded me that there is an option to alert you when GPS coverage is lost, so if a jammer is used you at least get a headsup.

[Actual]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Just setting up a new one tonight - it reminded me that there is an option to alert you when GPS coverage is lost, so if a jammer is used you at least get a headsup.

The jammers may jam GPS but more significantly they jam GSM/GPRS which is the mobile signal.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Fair point. Have mine sent to sms on shock, very sensitive, so just getting in the car is enough to set it off, maybe before the jammer starts to work?

Anyway, I have a question! (timely!)

Can anybody get the monitor function to work? When I first got one it worked fine and you could hear what was going on through a little mike.

Set up a second and it just went to voicemail (despite the same "monitor123456 on" command), whilst the first one worked. Just set up a third with the same problem (different network). Tried disabling the answerphone as I thought maybe it was kicking in and not getting through to the the tracker - no joy though, just a 3-note tone. Checked the first one just now and that goes to voicemail too!!!

Really annoying - does it work for anybody?

[triple5]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Fair point. Have mine sent to sms on shock, very sensitive, so just getting in the car is enough to set it off, maybe before the jammer starts to work?

Anyway, I have a question! (timely!)

Can anybody get the monitor function to work? When I first got one it worked fine and you could hear what was going on through a little mike.

Set up a second and it just went to voicemail (despite the same "monitor123456 on" command), whilst the first one worked. Just set up a third with the same problem (different network). Tried disabling the answerphone as I thought maybe it was kicking in and not getting through to the the tracker - no joy though, just a 3-note tone. Checked the first one just now and that goes to voicemail too!!!

Really annoying - does it work for anybody?

Just tried one of mine and it works fine, command was monitor+password (without the + sign). Then dial in.

[NiceCupOfTea]

What network are you on? Neither my 2 lycamobile or my 1 giffgaff are allowing it

I disabled the voicemail on the GG one and it's still not playing ball.

Is yours one of the ReWire branded ones from ebay? I wonder if something else I am doing is stopping it working.

I've got it set to gprs mode, uploading tracking data to a website, shock and move alert.

Might try a factory reset and see if it works then...

Anybody get the timezone stuff working? Mine reports an hour ahead, but the time zone command doesn't seem to change anything...

[triple5]

NiceCupOfTea said:

What network are you on? Neither my 2 lycamobile or my 1 giffgaff are allowing it

I disabled the voicemail on the GG one and it's still not playing ball.

Is yours one of the ReWire branded ones from ebay? I wonder if something else I am doing is stopping it working.

I've got it set to gprs mode, uploading tracking data to a website, shock and move alert.

Might try a factory reset and see if it works then...

Anybody get the timezone stuff working? Mine reports an hour ahead, but the time zone command doesn't seem to change anything...

Mine is a TK102 Nano purchased direct from Rewire, running a giffgaff card. IIRC I didn't have to disable voicemail.

I don't have move enabled, but I do use the stockade feature, I also have the GPRS set to "less gprs+password". Not sure on the time zone issue.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Thaanks. Sounds pretty similar to what I've done. Odd!

[Mike1088]

I have recently bought one of these and am going to hard wire it in, but I was wondering what effect this has on the car battery as it will obviously be on 24/7. Has anyone had any issues with it causing a drain on the car battery?

Edited by Mike1088 on Wednesday 9th March 12:56

[triple5]

Mike1088 said:

I have recently bought one of these and am going to hard wire it in, but I was wondering what effect this has on the car battery as it will obviously be on 24/7. Has anyone had any issues with it causing a drain on the car battery?

Edited by Mike1088 on Wednesday 9th March 12:56

I use mine on machines that don't get regular use, so I’ve no experience on what the drain would be like on a car battery. I can’t see it being a problem if you didn’t use it for a week or so.

Mine are hardwired to the machine battery, which is then connected to a trickle charger. If anything gets stolen then the machine battery will keep providing power for some time. You could always do the same with a car that doesn't get regular use.

You may be able to use one of those power manager devices that come with dash cams, they will shut the power off when the car battery drops to a certain voltage, you should then always have enough juice left to start the car.

[Mike1088]

Apologies for the delayed response Triple 5, and that you for your reply. My main concern is that I will be leaving the car in an airport car park for about three weeks soon, and I am concerned about the car battery running flat during that period. I don't think normal day to day use will be a problem. I hadn't thought of using a power management device even though I have one for my dashcam. Thanks for the idea.

[bigbird76]

Hello all
I have read through all of the posts and am interested in a TK102 but have also been interested in the TK104

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TK104-Covert-Magnetic-GP...

My car is in storage for long periods of time so was wondering which would best suit my needs as the TK104 says it has a 60 day battery life, Has anyone run a TK102 for months off the car battery and had any problems?

Also the TK102 is anyone certain that it has a alert if the car is moved in any way?

Leigh

[triple5]

bigbird76 said:

Hello all
I have read through all of the posts and am interested in a TK102 but have also been interested in the TK104

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TK104-Covert-Magnetic-GP...

My car is in storage for long periods of time so was wondering which would best suit my needs as the TK104 says it has a 60 day battery life, Has anyone run a TK102 for months off the car battery and had any problems?

Also the TK102 is anyone certain that it has a alert if the car is moved in any way?

Leigh

Hi Leigh,

I have my TK102 set to alert if there is a shock detected, it works well and the sensitivity is adjustable. For example I can very lightly tap the machine it's fitted to and it will send an alert. I do have a problem with one of mine where the shock sensor is over sensitive, and I've had to disable it. This unit does live and work in a harsh environment though.

I also have them set to alert using the stockade feature. You set boundaries using the GPS coordinates available from Google maps, right click on the map where you want the alert and it will give you the latitude/longitude. You will then get an alert when the vehicle goes outside of those coordinates. Again...works very well.

I have no experience of the TK104 on the link, I guess by cutting off the oil pump they mean the fuel pump

[bigbird76]

Cheers Triple 5 that suits my needs, Hopefully someone might comment on the battery situation.

Also a few questions if you dont mind.

Did you buy the more expensive model that is listed by the Rewire security on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-GPS-Tracker-Magn...

or did you go for the one which I think looks the same but is half the price?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-GPS-car-tracker-Mag...

Also going to need one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GPS-Tracker-Car-Charger-...

Both probably the same product though



Then I'm guessing I just buy a giffgaff sim and off i go or do I need to be connected to the rewire security site with subscription?





Leigh

Edited by bigbird76 on Tuesday 15th March 18:59

Edited by bigbird76 on Tuesday 15th March 19:02

[triple5]

bigbird76 said:

Cheers Triple 5 that suits my needs, Hopefully someone might comment on the battery situation.

Also a few questions if you dont mind.

Did you buy the more expensive model that is listed by the Rewire security on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-GPS-Tracker-Magn...

or did you go for the one which I think looks the same but is half the price?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-GPS-car-tracker-Mag...

Also going to need one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GPS-Tracker-Car-Charger-...

Both probably the same product though

Then I'm guessing I just buy a giffgaff sim and off i go or do I need to be connected to the rewire security site with subscription?


Leigh

]

Yes mine is from Rewire and runs fine with a Giffgaff sim.

You can either use the dedicated power supply or (because I already had the parts), I hardwired a new 12v power outlet in and fitted a USB adaptor, the TK102 will then plug straight in with the supplied lead. It's all hidden out of sight anyway.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Ditto what everybody else said. Vibration sensor works well as long as you have credit for it to text you. Giffgaff sim works well.

I have had mine wired to the battery in a rarely used car and the parasitic drain is negligible; you will want to have a rarely used car on a trickle charger anyway so no worries.