Vehicle Tracking?

[royAB]

Hello all

Was wondering if anyone here uses a vehicle tracking device / can recommend a good one for the UK. Just heard that my neighbour has had 2 quads stolen from a double locked garage within a (fenced & locked) paddock right next to the house in broad daylight - tea leaves moved the ride on mower to get at them and left chainsaws, tools etc, so obviously after the quads, but, having spent 3 years restoring the Truck I'd hate it to suffer the same fate.

Thanks in advance

[David Sparkes]

Probably better searching this topic in the International or Defender or Discovery forums. There has been plenty of chat on this topic.

[Ryder]

Hi Roy,

Tracking is a huge subject and although every tracking company will tell you that they are the best option it is really a case of deciding what you want from the system rather than having some company dictate what you can have. I will tell you at this point that I do have a system but I don't want this to turn into a sales spiel so I won't go through its options at this point but I will make a few observations that should help you to find the right provider.

i. Decide how often you want to track your vehicle. Do you want to find it if it is stolen, or would you like the option to locate it as often as you like and replay journies... (useful for disputing traffic tickets but a real bummer if you are having an affair and the wife logs in!)

Do you want to track it on a web site... or if it is only for occasional use would a text to your phone be sufficient (saving you the annual subscription to the web service that most providers use).

ii. Do you want anti theft extras? Many systems can be configured to activate immobilisers... ignition isolators, flashing lights, fuel cutoffs and much more by sending a text or activating from a web site or software. This will start to give you an idea of the associated cost, since installation time comes into it.

iii. Will you be installing the unit yourself or do you want a company with fitters.

iv. Is the unit a high quality one. When checking this out ignore the cheaper chinese units that are starting to flood into the country because they are constructed using low quality components and are not very reliable... no point buying a tracker if it does not work when you need it. Look at the specs for the device - specifically latent boot times... (acquisition times) This gives you an idea of how long it would take the unit to gain a GPS fix from various states... from being rebooted or soft power down. Check whether the number of GPS channels is high. The best around at the moment is about 64 but older systems are still running with as few as 16. The more channels the more accurate and reliable the fix. Best option is DGPS (Differential GPS) which basically compensates for the small errors generated by changes in the atmosphere and corrects the fix accordingly. It provides accuracy of about a metre and os more reliable in positions where the vehicle is under cover, in a garage or chop shop etcetera.

Do you want to set up "no go" or "restricted driving" areas. For example limit the vehicle to being moved 100 metres while it is being serviced... and that would tell you if the apprentice decides to test drive it at your local off road centre!

Finally... find a company that is flexible. The high end units are programmable and programs can be uploaded that are more suitable for 4 x 4s. Team Rusty Rhinos drove two expeditions over to Algeria and Morocco - they were furnished with interactive maps to display temperature info and positions on their own website for their sponsors to follow their progress.

A final foot note (I know this is a long post and I apologise)

If you are going overlanding to somewhere like Algeria... make sure that the trtacking system is well hidden and that you are able to turn the damn thing off when going through customs... GPS is illegal to use over there.

Hope some of this helps... if I can be of any further help let me know!

Cheers

Chris