On demand tracker

[powel1g]

Has anyone got experience of on demand trackers such as those available from "onlinespyshop.CO.UK" ?

 

 

Regards

 

Gavin

[DaveN]

No experience of any of these trackers but seeing one of our members has just had his 6 stolen in Oxford I have finally decided to invest in a Rewire Security 303 tracker.

Simple device can be monitored online and send a text message to you if the vehicle moves.

Whether or not it is ideal I thought it worth a punt for £55 on eBay. Take care though if anyone else is tempted there are a lot of cheap copies available on the Bay!

 

Dave

[Lebro]

I have had one of these in for 2 + years now, it has always worked when I check it, not monthly fees, just buy a pay as you go SIM (I use an O2 one)

ring the device up, It will send you back a text message with Lat & long, also a link to google maps to show graphicaly where the car is.

 

http://www.tr-registershop.co.uk/chipntrac-2009-p.asp

 

Bob.

[barkerwilliams]

Does anyone know of a Pay as you go Sim for a tracker that does not need monthly top-ups that expire each month?

 

I'm sure there used to be sims available that retained unused credit for future months.

 

Alan

[DaveN]

There's prepaid M2M sims for £70 per year with 10 second updates, or for £50 5 minute updates.

The Lyca sim lasts 2-3 months on £5 apparently.....that prolly depends on how often you call it

 

Dave

Edited May 16, 2016 by daven

[Bill Bourne]

Hi Gavin

 

Here's what I bought from the USA - they took a while to arrive, but work very well - no fees and easily hidden

 

https://www.thetrackr.com/

 

Best Bill

Edited May 16, 2016 by Bill Bourne

[swood1]

Hi Bill,

 

The TrackR looks a good option, I assume it just works like a SATNAV? No monthly fees?

 

Steve

Edited May 16, 2016 by swood1

[Bill Bourne]

Hi Steve

 

Yes - and the only thing you have to do, is change the battery about once a year. That depends on how many times you ping it, for it's location. It was pretty simple to set up as well. Download the app, then just pair it with blue tooth to your phone or ipad or both, and bingo - well it worked for me..Plus they are small, (about the size of a £2 coin) so you could hide more than 1 and put them in at a different times. Then you would always have an overlap when renewing the batteries. That's if you forget or take a while to renew the batteries of course. It ought to have a battery life warning pinged back to your phone, but alas.....

 

best Bill

Edited May 16, 2016 by Bill Bourne

[TR5tar]

Hi Gavin

 

Here's what I bought from the USA - they took a while to arrive, but work very well - no fees and easily hidden

 

https://www.thetrackr.com/

 

Best Bill

 

Looks like a great device Bill. I've had SIM based trackers, but I always forget to phone the device regularly so that it's not cancelled, and then I end up having to buy another SIM. Been looking for an alternative option for ages, and this looks like it. Just ordered.

 

Cheers, Darren

[stuart]

Hi Steve

 

Yes - and the only thing you have to do, is change the battery about once a year. That depends on how many times you ping it, for it's location. It was pretty simple to set up as well. Download the app, then just pair it with blue tooth to your phone or ipad or both, and bingo - well it worked for me..Plus they are small, (about the size of a £2 coin) so you could hide more than 1 and put them in at a different times. Then you would always have an overlap when renewing the batteries. That's if you forget or take a while to renew the batteries of course. It ought to have a battery life warning pinged back to your phone, but alas.....

 

best Bill

Interesting you think its good Bill as they havent had too good a press from what Ive seen, with limited range.

Stuart.

[foster461]

Interesting you think its good Bill as they havent had too good a press from what Ive seen, with limited range.

Stuart.

 

Bit of a long shot hoping that someone with a device running the tracker app wanders within 100ft of your car. It might be good at telling you that your car just left your garage/driveway.

[TR5tar]

A review that I read says that there are currently 10k+ users in the UK and that an alert will be sent if another user comes within a mile of the device. Granted, that might not be much good out in the sticks, but with a car I'd say there's a reasonable chance it'll get picked up. Hope so, anyway. What is reassuring is that EE are now offering these devices, so I imagine there will soon be a lot more UK users.

 

Will let you know how I get on with mine when it arrives.

 

Darren

[foster461]

A review that I read says that there are currently 10k+ users in the UK and that an alert will be sent if another user comes within a mile of the device. Granted, that might not be much good out in the sticks, but with a car I'd say there's a reasonable chance it'll get picked up. Hope so, anyway. What is reassuring is that EE are now offering these devices, so I imagine there will soon be a lot more UK users.

 

Will let you know how I get on with mine when it arrives.

 

Darren

 

Trackr web set says 100ft, about the limit for the current versions of Bluetooth. Structures and metal containers will further reduce that.

 

Stan

[Lebro]

Does anyone know of a Pay as you go Sim for a tracker that does not need monthly top-ups that expire each month?

 

I'm sure there used to be sims available that retained unused credit for future months.

 

Alan

O2 PAYG sims only require topping up when you run out, however, you must make a "chargable call" within each 6 month period or they will switch off the SIM.

You can get it switched back on again, but just make it send a text message every 4 months or so, & all will be well.

I have had my tracker installed for over 2 years now using an O2 PAYG sim, every so often I check to see if the tracker is still working (it always has ) & that satisfies O2 to keep it alive. Have not topped up at all, just put £10 in when I started.

 

Bob.

[TR5tar]

Trackr web set says 100ft, about the limit for the current versions of Bluetooth. Structures and metal containers will further reduce that.

 

Stan

 

Here's the review I read Stan, where it says "within a mile" - http://ee.co.uk/our-company/newsroom/2015/11/16/ee-to-offer-the-trackr-bravo

 

Although, I suppose we should believe the manufacturer's site. Anyhow, once I have it, I'll test it out. Perhaps I'll stick it in the wife's car to see what she's up to :ph34r:

[foster461]

 

Here's the review I read Stan, where it says "within a mile" - http://ee.co.uk/our-company/newsroom/2015/11/16/ee-to-offer-the-trackr-bravo

 

Although, I suppose we should believe the manufacturer's site. Anyhow, once I have it, I'll test it out. Perhaps I'll stick it in the wife's car to see what she's up to :ph34r:

 

I would say that 1 mile thing is fiction Darren. Here is what the vendor says:

 

When your TrackR device is left behind, it will automatically begin to emit a unique ID, which effectively mobilizes the entire TrackR community to be on the lookout for your lost item. When another user with the TrackR app is within 100 feet of your missing device, their app will send the location of your item to us, and we’ll send it to you. The “finder” will never even know they walked past your item, so it’s secure and anonymous; you’ll be the only one who knows where it is. Crowd Source Tracking can help you find your lost wallet or keys, so you don’t have to panic.

 

That all makes sense to me given the size of the widget and the likely power of the radio.

 

Stan

[powel1g]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have started the ball rolling with a diamond cutter and 5 inch hole in the garage floor for a telescopic security post. Hopefully that will keep the car in my hands rather than someone else whilst I figure out which tracker package is cost effective for me. I intend to check out what we have fitted in our generator fleet at work to see if this gives another viewpoint.

 

Regards

 

Gav

 

PS

 

Just taken my original 1969 horseshoe seats out and replaced with mk2 mx5 seats. Do I

keep the originals or sell them on?

[Paul Down]

I have been testing a few on demand trackers for a while now, the first described here:

 

http://www.bertram-hill.com/classic-car-security.html

 

More recently a self contained version ( using the same chip set) looks identical to Bobs tracker he shows above. The difference being they are now available for around £35. This is not much bigger than a matchbox but will ring your mobile if it is moved (shock sensor) So could be ideal for Classic car security. If you ring the device it returns co-ordinates of its position Longitude and Latitude and will even show its position on a smart phone running Google maps. You can also set up a Geo fence so that if it moves outside a pre-defined area it will ring you.

 

A word of caution regarding Pay as you Go SIM cards. Although most companies offered these in the past with unlimited top up times, unless you already have one operating in your phone they are now virtually unobtainable. I could only find one firm Lycamobile that offered them not on a monthly top up and that needs to be topped up every 90 days. The SIMS also need to operate on the 2G network, which many apparently do not.

 

After waiting for over 3 weeks for Lycamobile to send some 90 day SIMS I gave up and bought some from " Rewire Security" at £2 each but already configured to work in the tracker.

 

Rewire Security have technical expertise and unlike many other sellers on eBay are not just box shifters, they may charge a few pounds extra but can save you an awful lot of hassle. They also provide an English version on the Trackers "Chinglish" manual which itself is worth a few £s

 

No connection with the company just a very satisfied customer.

[Nigel A]

The family has a share plan from ee and I have to pay an extra few pounds a month for an extra sim for the tracker

 

The extra cost knowing it is not going to run out when needed is worth it for me.

 

Cheers

 

Nigel