GPS Tracking of Vehicle. Can it be done on a low scale?

[Fiona 0]

Mobile phones can be used to track vehicles - if you know the phone number.

 

Question: Is there any way to track a vehicle by placing a GPS emitter on it and picking up the satellite signal via the internet to determine its location?

 

There would be horrendously expensive commercial solutions to this. Wondering if there is a lower cost solution to the problem. Perhaps a commercially produced single emitter with a single code that always shows up on an internet map?

[tomcctv 187]

its not expensive. basic kits with google maps are $130. we even have a little GPS that you attach to a horses. if the horse is away from a home in a remote field. the owner can set the field area on google and if the horse is stolen or gets out of the field it sends alarm with google maps on the location.

 

 

gps use to be expensive

[Fiona 0]

Thanks for your comments Tom. I was aware of a device that attaches to a vehicle which has to be removed from the vehicle to download information.

It would be useful if the device you mention could be left on a vehicle (or a horse) for a few weeks or months to determine movement patterns. I am totally clueless about this area of surveillance.

 

Does anyone know of a name of a device that is user friendly and basically just works?

[tomcctv 187]

hi. there GPS why do you need to remove it ??? it defeats the object if you need to find the stolen car or horse. to then find out were its been.

we use snooper.

 

Car truck tracker

 

 

 

Pet tracker.

 

 

 

 

[Fiona 0]

Thanks so much for that Tom.

I've PM-ed you about why I'd need to remove it.

I'll look into the Snooper product now...

 

Ouch! Snooper battery life only 72 hours. I should have mentioned this is covert. There are quite a few trackers advertised; most of which look like hardwired jobs. A covert tracker would benefit from the longest battery life possible. I had an old Nokia phone that could go about eight days without the battery failing. Almost wish I could strap that to the undercarriage of a car... Nope, that'll never work. Better take another look at the Snooper again.

[Soundy 1]

If you could get away with something just logging the GPS data internally without having to constantly send the position, it would last far longer... or even just something that sends position logs once a day or so - it's the wireless radio that really sucks the power.

 

I had an app on my older Windows Mobile phone that was great for this, and they have a live tracking/monitoring service to go with it: http://gpsed.com/monitoring/about - it could log the GPS track and upload at predetermined intervals - not just the current position, of course, but the track to that point. Alas, I'm on an Android phone now and they don't have an Android app. Really liked this one, was so simple to work with.

[Soundy 1]

Question: Is there any way to track a vehicle by placing a GPS emitter on it and picking up the satellite signal via the internet to determine its location?

 

There would be horrendously expensive commercial solutions to this. Wondering if there is a lower cost solution to the problem. Perhaps a commercially produced single emitter with a single code that always shows up on an internet map?

BTW, it doesn't really work that way - GPS devices don't transmit back to the GPS satellites. GPS works by the geostationary satellites all broadcasting a synchronized clock signal; the receiver simply picks up multiple signals and calculates its position based on the differences in timing. If the satellites are in known fixed positions, and your signal shows you're receiving the signal from satellite A a fraction sooner than satellite B, the receiver can then calculate that you're a known distance closer to A than to B.

 

A tracker or locator requires some other sort of transmitter - most common these days would something that uses a cellular wireless connection (GSM, 3G, HSPA, whatever). Very little data is actually required to be transmitted.

[MaxIcon 0]

The US Supreme Court recently heard a case regarding police use of GPS trackers for surveillance, and determined that it amounted to a search, which required a warrant:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577178811800873358.html

 

This case would complicate someone's position if they were to place a tracking device on a vehicle without the owner's knowledge.

 

Anyway, they tracked this guy for 4 weeks. I can't imagine they had someone changing the battery once or twice a week, but you never know. It would be easy enough to attach to part of the car's electrical system if you did a little homework first. Even just connecting to a brake light wire would allow it to charge whenever the brakes were applied, which could easily keep a low power GPS running indefinitely. The display uses a lot of power on commercial GPS', and these devices wouldn't have displays.

 

You'd also need to look at the broadcast capabilities of the unit. If it constantly broadcast its location to the trackers, that would use a lot more power, but if it were designed to wake up and transmit on a certain signal or send bursts hourly/whatever, you'd save a lot of power.

[Soundy 1]

Anyway, they tracked this guy for 4 weeks. I can't imagine they had someone changing the battery once or twice a week, but you never know. It would be easy enough to attach to part of the car's electrical system if you did a little homework first. Even just connecting to a brake light wire would allow it to charge whenever the brakes were applied, which could easily keep a low power GPS running indefinitely. The display uses a lot of power on commercial GPS', and these devices wouldn't have displays.

Would be easy using Scotchloks:

 

 

Build the device with a magnet connected to it ground, and you can just stick to it any exposed metal and tap in a single wire to power it from any lighting feed, as you suggest.

 

You could also build something with an internal dynamo to keep its battery charged - kind of like those flashlights you shake to power, or watches that stay powered from the movement of your arm through the day.

 

[Fiona 0]

If you could get away with something just logging the GPS data internally without having to constantly send the position, it would last far longer... or even just something that sends position logs once a day or so - it's the wireless radio that really sucks the power.

There seem to be two fundamentally different types of Tracker. I'm in no position to say, but I think a device exists which 'logs internally'. It would have to be removed from the vehicle to download the data, but I guess it wouldn't make that much difference when I think about it. If a tracker cannot be covertly wired to a brakelight cable etc, then it would have to be removed to be recharged every few days anyway. So maybe an internal logger might be the simplest solution.

 

The second type of tracker does not log internally; it, as Soundy points out, sends a signal or message back to a network.

A tracker with a Neodymium magnet + lithium battery + GSM etc could be attached to the underbody steel of a vehicle.

 

The US Supreme Court recently heard a case regarding police use of GPS trackers for surveillance, and determined that it amounted to a search, which required a warrant:l

 

This case would complicate someone's position if they were to place a tracking device on a vehicle without the owner's knowledge.

I thought the Patriot Act circumvented a lot of that.

[tomcctv 187]

You could also build something with an internal dynamo to keep its battery charged

 

 

 

soundy has got it right. we use kinetic changers lots out there and cheap. ....... the only problem with hardwire when doing covert stuff is on cars over the last few years things like stop lights and lights is most cars have Resistance Measurements which tell you if you have a bulb out

[tomcctv 187]

you can track most mobile (cell) phones with this software. just pick your country enter mobile press search and see if it finds you.

 

 

http://www.planetcreation.co.uk/sat-gps/

[Fiona 0]

Tom, dunno if you're trying to be funny or whatever, but this web address leads to a pornographic prank.

 

Pity it hadn't been the other way round with some bloke taking it up the ar$#

[Fiona 0]

The Gotek Sniper Tracker claims 40-50 days battery life. That would probably round down to a fortnight in the field. Retails for $439 US. Gotek is a US company located in MA.

 

They claim each magnet can resist 27 kilos of lift. Must be the Neodymium magnets that I previously mentioned.

 

http://gotek8.com/sniper-unit/

[chaz 0]

we use u-traq from uplink. small unit just plugs into the obd plug under the dash where they plug the computer in to do diagnostics on vehicle.

[danboy53 0]

There are many posts here that do not properly explain the entire spectrum.

 

To record a history a Data Logger will suffice. It requires removal to download the information.

 

To live track requires a transceiver that can both receive GPS transmission signals and report them across a cellular network (GPRS/GSM).

 

To locate in real time requires the unit be on to respond to a location request.

 

For areas that contain unbalanced cellular coverage, a device with memory is necessary so that when it is in a satisfactory cellular area it can recover location information that it was not able to transmit at the time.

 

Regarding battery life, it depends on internal programming of the unit. It can be programmed as "pulsed" which means it is off for a period of time, turns on, reports its position and then turns off again. So, if you would like an update every minute (60 seconds), it remains off for about 58 seconds, turns on, report its position, and then turn off again. This extends battery life significantly.

 

For units that need to report velocity and driver habits, the unit will need to remain on when in motion. This allows for vehicle activity as opposed to simple location reporting.

[Fiona 0]

I didn't anticipate the problem of GPS tracking would turn out to be this vast. On top of all of the points made by danboy53 is the ongoing cost and consumption of credits used to pay for GPS tracking. All of the issues raised by Dan appear to have dramatically different cost structures apart from the Data Logger - and of that, I am not yet certain.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Guest

[tomcctv 187]

To record a history a Data Logger will suffice. It requires removal to download the information.

 

 

or record data via remote.

 

To live track requires a transceiver that can both receive GPS transmission signals and report them across a cellular network (GPRS/GSM).

 

 

we are talking GSM/GPS................ dont just think how a satnav works.

 

To locate in real time requires the unit be on to respond to a location request.

 

again its gsm. so can switch on and of remotely

 

 

For areas that contain unbalanced cellular coverage, a device with memory is necessary so that when it is in a satisfactory cellular area it can recover location information that it was not able to transmit at the time.

 

 

or a unit with SD logger on board.

 

 

 

so yes lots to take into account because there are so many units available.

[cartracker22 0]

If you want to covertly monitor a vehicle’s activity, then it’s important to install a small, indiscrete unit. Ideally, this unit will attach itself to your cars wiring and will blend in with the rest of the vehicle under close inspection. However, if you’re not worried about size, then you may be able to save money by opting for a larger, more durable tracker.

It’s equally as important to consider the type of information you want to receive from your vehicle tracking unit. Do you need immediate, real-time updates of a vehicle’s location? Or are you happy receiving say, 5 or 10 updates per day from your GPS unit? A real-time vehicle tracker usually comes with a subscription plan, while other units do not.

Finally, consider how long you need your vehicle tracking unit to last. If you only need it for one or two days, then you can save money by using a unit with a small rechargeable or replaceable battery pack. Keep in mind that other units that use batteries may hold a charge for as long as one or two months, and it’s important to check the power information before you make your purchase.

If you’d rather install a vehicle tracking unit once and then never have to worry about charging it again, then many trackers will automatically plug into your vehicle’s wiring system and use a small amount of power. This is generally an easy process and, depending on the vehicle tracking unit that you choose, you should be able to integrate it with your vehicle in about twenty to thirty minutes.

[manumah 0]

see the image This is of a vehicle checked after tracking for about 80 miles in the mountains. The device and one year subscription cost around 250$ here