Lal-Locate tracker problems (1 Viewer)

[Stretto Boy]

Our new MH came equipped with a Hal-Locate tracker. After delivery, I managed to sync my mobile phone to it quite easily and all was working properly when we went away. I used my phone to disarm the system on Monday afternoon, when we left the site we had been staying on over Easter. Since returning home, I have been unable to establish any contact with the tracker at all.

I have tried sending "Arm", "Disarm" and "Locate" messages but all to no avail. The system should actually be armed, as it is programmed to arm automatically after being stationary for two hours but the lack of response means that I am unable to check this.

I have contacted the company but all the very helpful lady there could suggest was a weak mobile phone signal. I don't think this is the cause because we consistently get a two "blobs" signal at home and this (a) worked when I first set the system up and (b) is sufficient when I send text messages to friends. Also, I have tried it from my office which is 20 miles away and gets a "four blob" signal strength and it still doesn't work. It is on EHU at home and so a flat battery isn't the problem either.

Can anybody help me please?

 

[Kingham]

Sorry I can't help with your specific query, but mine came with a HAL LocateTracker too, with 2 years subs paid by my dealer. I was told I had to go online to activate it, which I did last Thursday, but couldn't get past a screen which wanted payment from me.
I rang their number and got a message saying the office was closed.

Good Friday came and I imagined the office would still be closed, but rang anyway as I needed it activating ASAP and got a message that I was in a queue and a rep was endeavouring to answer my call. I hung up after 30 minutes, which probably cost me £12 (0844 from my mobile) and rang my dealer to sort it out, as I was heading off without guaranteed phone or Internet coverage.
As expected, it was after the Easter weekend before I got a call from the company, apologising, but they were not the tracking centre and had been closed until the Tuesday. When I pointed out the two different recorded phone messages, I got a further apology, as he did not set the correct message for the weekend.

I've had no further contact and nothing to confirm that I'm up and running. They were supposed to be sending info on how to use the system on my mobile etc...... Nothing !!, which between the two of us, is a pretty crap advert for them.

 

[Stretto Boy]

Kingham : I suggest you try emailing Emma Astle at Emma.Astle@wavesight.com. She usually replies promptly and will send you the instructions. My tracker was fitted by the manufacturer but it didn't come with a subscription. I paid online through the website, which was quick and easy. Then had to wait for a day or so to get a dedicated mobile phone number for the tracker. You send it a text message in order to sync it with your phone. So far my dealings with the company have been good but will have to see how they fare in resolving my problem. It's the fact that the tracker seems to have packed in that's the difficulty! Hope you are soon up and running. Your problem may be that the dealer hasn't coughed up the subscription yet, or perhaps that payment has been delayed by the bank holiday. I only got the instructions after taking out the subscription. Good luck.

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[Kingham]

@Stretto Boy Slow internet while I was away and I missed updating this one. Before I got a chance to contact Emma, she sent an email to me containing everything I needed to use their system.

In my haste, I missed the bit about the system self arming after 2 hours and as my last instruction was to disarm, I was surprised that within half a mile of setting off, the monitoring centre rang me with a few security questions.

It works

Did you get yours sorted in the end ?

 

[Stretto Boy]

@Stretto Boy

Did you get yours sorted in the end ?

Glad yours is working. Sadly mine isn't yet but I remain optimistic. I wonder if the fracker has been tucked away somewhere on board where a fairly strong signal is required to reach it. I could try disarming it and heading somewhere with a stronger signal, so that it disarms when the signal is received. Just a bit concerned that I might be being followed by some flashing blue lights by then!

 

[Kingham]

Glad yours is working. Sadly mine isn't yet but I remain optimistic. I wonder if the fracker has been tucked away somewhere on board where a fairly strong signal is required to reach it. I could try disarming it and heading somewhere with a stronger signal, so that it disarms when the signal is received. Just a bit concerned that I might be being followed by some flashing blue lights by then!

Have you asked the monitoring company if they are still in contact with your vehicle and still able to 'see' it. If they are then at least you will be covered should the worst happen.

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[Stretto Boy]

Have you asked the monitoring company if they are still in contact with your vehicle and still able to 'see' it. If they are then at least you will be covered should the worst happen.

I am waiting for an answer to that question, which I posed to the company yesterday. My concern remains as in my previous post : if I can't disarm it, then the monitoring company will presumably constantly be receiving messages that it has been stolen. Thanks for your help, which is much appreciated. Watch this thread for further developments which may help others if they encounter the same problem.

 

[Hal-Loacte]

Hi Guys, thought I would give you a bit of an update on the workings of Hal-Locate and try to answer some of your issues and questions.

You are correct HAL does Auto Arm after two hours, even if you cannot confirm this the tracking and monitoring company, if stolen, will be able to pick it up at some point on its journey, so there is no risk there, it is and was the first Cat 6 Thatcham approved Tracker.
You are also correct that in some places it is difficult to communicate with HAL, this is because it has a single network SIM, in fact an O2 Sim, so in areas where there is not too good a service it will not respond back, even if you have good signal it may not!
We are looking into using Network EU roaming SIMS, but these generally have a foreign country code and have in the past, put people off texting due to cost. But in the advent of harmonised cost of text across networks and Europe, this is now a real possibility and will be trialling this in the next few weeks.

Do you think it will still put people off texting a foreign country code, even though it is cost harmonised? your feedback would be appreciated.

In answer to your latest question; if you cannot disarm it, the tracking company will call you when it transitions through the outer Geo-fence (once the unit is commissioned), at which point they will ask you if the vehicle is with you or can see it, ie. it has not been stolen, they do this on a regular basis with customers who have forgotten to disarm it!

We have a 100% recovery record with Hal-Locate and most vehicles are recovered before they are violated by the thieves, which cannot be said for Non-Proactive trackers, hence the Cat 6 Approval.

Hope this helps, if you have any further questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to ask, we constantly strive to improve our product, as we are the designers and manufacturers of the product we can respond fairly quickly to feedback, evaluate and embed improvements and suggestions.

 

[Stretto Boy]

Hi Guys, thought I would give you a bit of an update on the workings of Hal-Locate and try to answer some of your issues and questions.

You are correct HAL does Auto Arm after two hours, even if you cannot confirm this the tracking and monitoring company, if stolen, will be able to pick it up at some point on its journey, so there is no risk there, it is and was the first Cat 6 Thatcham approved Tracker.
You are also correct that in some places it is difficult to communicate with HAL, this is because it has a single network SIM, in fact an O2 Sim, so in areas where there is not too good a service it will not respond back, even if you have good signal it may not!
We are looking into using Network EU roaming SIMS, but these generally have a foreign country code and have in the past, put people off texting due to cost. But in the advent of harmonised cost of text across networks and Europe, this is now a real possibility and will be trialling this in the next few weeks.

Do you think it will still put people off texting a foreign country code, even though it is cost harmonised? your feedback would be appreciated.

In answer to your latest question; if you cannot disarm it, the tracking company will call you when it transitions through the outer Geo-fence (once the unit is commissioned), at which point they will ask you if the vehicle is with you or can see it, ie. it has not been stolen, they do this on a regular basis with customers who have forgotten to disarm it!

We have a 100% recovery record with Hal-Locate and most vehicles are recovered before they are violated by the thieves, which cannot be said for Non-Proactive trackers, hence the Cat 6 Approval.

Hope this helps, if you have any further questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to ask, we constantly strive to improve our product, as we are the designers and manufacturers of the product we can respond fairly quickly to feedback, evaluate and embed improvements and suggestions.

Thanks for your post, which is helpful to me and doubtless to others. Emma has been very helpful and is a credit to your company. Once she mentioned the 02 SIM card to me I realised that this is likely to be the problem, as the O2 signal in my area is generally poor. I wouldn't be put off by texting an overseas number, as long as I knew that it wasn't going to cost me an arm and a leg. If you decide to go down that route I think your marketing and instructional materials should make this clear, assuming of course that Brexit doesn't cause problems with roaming charges. If you do decide to go with a Network EU SIM card would it be easy to retro-fit?

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[Stretto Boy]

Geronimo! About half an hour ago, out of the blue, I received a text message from my tracker confirming its location and status. Unless Hal-Locate themselves have been trying to interrogate it, this must be a reply to a message I sent on Monday for I haven't tried to communicate with it since then. I sent a further test message and received a prompt reply, so for the moment at least all seems to be well. I must say it comes as a relief in the wake of the horrifying video of the MH that was stolen in London. I have to give a big thumbs up to Hal-Locate who have been giving me excellent after-sales support since this problem first arose so thank you to them, to Kingham and other Funsters who have offered advice.

 

[Kingham]

Geronimo! About half an hour ago, out of the blue, I received a text message from my tracker confirming its location and status. Unless Hal-Locate themselves have been trying to interrogate it, this must be a reply to a message I sent on Monday for I haven't tried to communicate with it since then. I sent a further test message and received a prompt reply, so for the moment at least all seems to be well. I must say it comes as a relief in the wake of the horrifying video of the MH that was stolen in London. I have to give a big thumbs up to Hal-Locate who have been giving me excellent after-sales support since this problem first arose so thank you to them, to Kingham and other Funsters who have offered advice.

Pleased you got sorted in the end

I've made myself a reminder notice for the dashboard as I kept driving off without disarming the system especially like I said in an earlier post, I missed the bit about the system self arming.

It was my emergency contacts that were being alerted, rather than me and it turned out that my phone number had not been sent across from the registration form to the monitoring centre, only my three emergency contacts ?? Fortunately one of my contacts had the sense to pass my number to them, which is how they ended up ringing me.

Minor glitches aside, it's reassuring to know that someone has an eye on our vans should they be stolen

 

[Stretto Boy]

Good idea Kingham : I will add it to my pre-flight checklist. The only problem is that it is now so long that I may struggle to set off on a trip before I am due to return!

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