GPS Anti-theft device...

Had a motorbike stolen about eight or nine months ago, only had third party
coverage on it, had just about written it off when I got a phone call from
the police saying they had found it, quite by accident when they were
raiding the guy's property on an unrelated matter - plates had been changed
for an identical model, but there was other info that the police matched it
to me. Officer dealing with the thing said they were very lucky to find it,
the only bikes they generally find very quickly have some sort of tracker,
so decided to look into it

From reading about these devices, and GSM and GPS, I guess the whole gist of
the thing is you send a mobile call to the device and it responds with a
text with the GPS coordinates which enables you to find the location.

Was looking on eBay to see if I could get something I could use, but there
seems to be such a variety of products on offer.

Anyone here got any recommendations for something like this? Ideally
something I can hide that attaches magnetically to the bike and will give me
at least a week between charges, I don't want to have to keep charging it
every couple of days.

The bike was found stored in a garage, so I guess GPS can't get in there,
some facility for sending last recorded position would be better.

On 11/06/2012 13:02, Jake wrote:
> Had a motorbike stolen about eight or nine months ago, only had third party
> coverage on it, had just about written it off when I got a phone call from
> the police saying they had found it, quite by accident when they were
> raiding the guy's property on an unrelated matter - plates had been changed
> for an identical model, but there was other info that the police matched it
> to me. Officer dealing with the thing said they were very lucky to find it,
> the only bikes they generally find very quickly have some sort of tracker,
> so decided to look into it
>
> From reading about these devices, and GSM and GPS, I guess the whole gist of
> the thing is you send a mobile call to the device and it responds with a
> text with the GPS coordinates which enables you to find the location.
>
> Was looking on eBay to see if I could get something I could use, but there
> seems to be such a variety of products on offer.
>
> Anyone here got any recommendations for something like this? Ideally
> something I can hide that attaches magnetically to the bike and will give me
> at least a week between charges, I don't want to have to keep charging it
> every couple of days.
>
> The bike was found stored in a garage, so I guess GPS can't get in there,
> some facility for sending last recorded position would be better.
>
>



There seem to be basically two types of tracking devices. As you
suggest, ones that transmit their position from GPS over a mobile phone
type data system.

The others site passively until activated by a sort of pager signal sent
out when you report it missing. This then shows up on a screen of
suitable equipped police vehicles and indicates the direction for them
to travel.

The tracking ones can have the advantage of showing where the vehicle
has been so even if dumped it might show where it has been stored or
visited.

On 2012-06-11, Jake <Jake@jakesplaice.com> wrote:

[...]

> Anyone here got any recommendations for something like this? Ideally
> something I can hide that attaches magnetically to the bike and will give me
> at least a week between charges, I don't want to have to keep charging it
> every couple of days.

[...]

I don't think you want a removable one! It needs to be well concealed
so that a thief doesn't find it quickly, or at all. Power should come
from the vehicle's own system, or a long-life built-in battery.

A magnetic attachment would make it too easy for the device to be
transfered to some other, innocent, vehicle.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

On 11 Jun 2012 16:28:59 GMT, Whiskers <catwheezel@operamail.com>
wrote:

>On 2012-06-11, Jake <Jake@jakesplaice.com> wrote:
>
>[...]
>
>> Anyone here got any recommendations for something like this? Ideally
>> something I can hide that attaches magnetically to the bike and will give me
>> at least a week between charges, I don't want to have to keep charging it
>> every couple of days.
>
>[...]
>
>I don't think you want a removable one! It needs to be well concealed
>so that a thief doesn't find it quickly, or at all. Power should come
>from the vehicle's own system, or a long-life built-in battery.
>
>A magnetic attachment would make it too easy for the device to be
>transfered to some other, innocent, vehicle.

+1 to all that. I would also think that DIY fitting has the potential
of being initiative and unique in its implementation whereas
commercial installation may well use standard positions and
connections that may well become known to the crooks.

--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

On 11/06/2012 19:54, Graham. wrote:
> On 11 Jun 2012 16:28:59 GMT, Whiskers<catwheezel@operamail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On 2012-06-11, Jake<Jake@jakesplaice.com> wrote:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> Anyone here got any recommendations for something like this? Ideally
>>> something I can hide that attaches magnetically to the bike and will give me
>>> at least a week between charges, I don't want to have to keep charging it
>>> every couple of days.
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> I don't think you want a removable one! It needs to be well concealed
>> so that a thief doesn't find it quickly, or at all. Power should come
>>from the vehicle's own system, or a long-life built-in battery.
>>
>> A magnetic attachment would make it too easy for the device to be
>> transfered to some other, innocent, vehicle.
>
> +1 to all that. I would also think that DIY fitting has the potential
> of being initiative and unique in its implementation whereas
> commercial installation may well use standard positions and
> connections that may well become known to the crooks.
>


Most of the positions used are probably well known to thieves but they
take time to access as things have to be dismantled to reach them. Also
there could be more than one or a dummy so they would have to spend a
long time hunting for them. Probably only worth it for a high value
vehicle.

I think on the various police reality shows they have commented on some
thieves leaving stolen vehicles parked for a few days to see if any
police turn up, having followed a tracking device.