Sat tracker systems (1 Viewer)

[wp1234]

Is there any point shopping around for the cheapest annual subscription charges?
Just bought my Autotrail and it was already fitted with a SmartTrack tracking system with lifetime subscription by previous owner . Of course Smartack want to maximize their return so will not allow the transfer of the lifetime subscription to me so have sent me a new demand

£185 per annum Or £435 for lifetime - This includes a £50 admin fee

Is this about right or are there cheaper ways to get this

 

[savantuk]

I've posted this here before, but you may find it useful.

I have an old, basic mobile phone, switched on permanently, with the charger fitted, hard wired into the van electrics. It is well hidden, and will not be found by anybody without dismantling the 'garage lining.

This means that my van can be tracked anywhere in the world that uses the cellphone system, by the police or phone service provider, to the cell in which the van is parked or being driven.

This system is completely free (apart from the cost of a cheap second hand phone). It is not as accurate as a GPS based system, which is accurate to 3 meters or so, but still provides a position to within half a mile or so, probably a lot less.

You could also wire the phone to set off the vehicle alarm by ringing the phone when you are close in - this would enable you to 'home in' on the alrm quite easily.

I ring the phone once in a while to check that it is still working.

 

[Wildman]

I've posted this here before, but you may find it useful.

I have an old, basic mobile phone, switched on permanently, with the charger fitted, hard wired into the van electrics. It is well hidden, and will not be found by anybody without dismantling the 'garage lining.

This means that my van can be tracked anywhere in the world that uses the cellphone system, by the police or phone service provider, to the cell in which the van is parked or being driven.

This system is completely free (apart from the cost of a cheap second hand phone). It is not as accurate as a GPS based system, which is accurate to 3 meters or so, but still provides a position to within half a mile or so, probably a lot less.

You could also wire the phone to set off the vehicle alarm by ringing the phone when you are close in - this would enable you to 'home in' on the alrm quite easily.

I ring the phone once in a while to check that it is still working.

doesn't the service provider switch it off if no longer in credit?

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[savantuk]

doesn't the service provider switch it off if no longer in credit?

As far as I'm aware, no. Most phones can receive calls, but not make them.

In my case, the phone is PAYG, and is kept topped up. It is occasionally used when one of our phones batteries goes flat when we are wild camping.

 

[hilldweller]

I've posted this here before, but you may find it useful.
I have an old, basic mobile phone, switched on permanently, with the charger fitted, hard wired into the van electrics.

Brilliant idea. Of course those who are shelling out for trackers will laugh at it, insurance companies won't accept it, yet it is a good sound solution.

Hasn't it been made even better by these child location services ?

I have that phone in a drawer, it was once used for a control project that dialled in to a machine to check it's status. I must dig out the old files, there's fun to be had. It's still got the PAYG SIM which might still work.

 

[pappajohn]

thanks doug.....so now we all know its hidden in the garage oh:

i think you'll find the police wont respond to anything other than a professionally fitted GPS tracker as the trackers control center operators contact the police and give them details then the police use there own mobile receiver equipment.

fine if you want to track it yourself but when you get to the stolen van and 3 or 4 piki....travellers climb out.........then what you going to do????

if its a payg phone any credit is lost after 6 months of inactivity and after 12 months the number is withdrawn....permenently.

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[savantuk]

Hasn't it been made even better by these child location services ?

Hi Brian,

I think that these 'subscription' services can still only track to the cell tower closest to the phone.

I have either read, or been told of a systemthat will be used shortly in the US, whereby if a phone has been stolen, the number can be rung which will set off a small locator beacon in the phone, which can be tracked via GPS. If this comes to Europe, it will make a phone every bit as trackable as a GPS beacon. Tracking beacon functionality at the price of a SIM card!!

I wonder if it will ever make it over here?? I think that various 'vested interests' might have a say in the matter!!:Angry:

 

[savantuk]

i think you'll find the police wont respond to anything other than a professionally fitted GPS tracker as the trackers control center operators contact the police and give them details then the police use there own mobile receiver equipment.

Hi,

The police will respond to any information that will assist in the recovery of a stolen vehicle if pushed. They may not, as a 'matter of policy', but if you confront a police officer, and he refuses to act, asking him for his 'collar number' and name, and the threat of a written complaint will change his attitude immediately!

If any police officer refuses to act on hard information, which may lead to the recovery of stolen property, he is in dereliction of his duty, and can be prosecuted. We must all stand up to such apathy, and make certain that the police represent our interests, not those of 'policy' made by senior officers in an effort to make their lives easier.

 

[hilldweller]

We must all stand up to such apathy, and make certain that the police represent our interests, not those of 'policy' made by senior officers in an effort to make their lives easier.

Well I'll be ready with the L O N G telephoto lens, from a safe distance, to record your efforts with the Spanish Cop, the one with the cuffs on one hip and an automatic on the other

Can you get tracking in the EU ?

Do these very expensive UK trackers work over there ?

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[pappajohn]

Hi Brian,

I think that these 'subscription' services can still only track to the cell tower closest to the phone.

I have either read, or been told of a systemthat will be used shortly in the US, whereby if a phone has been stolen, the number can be rung which will set off a small locator beacon in the phone, which can be tracked via GPS. If this comes to Europe, it will make a phone every bit as trackable as a GPS beacon. Tracking beacon functionality at the price of a SIM card!!

I wonder if it will ever make it over here?? I think that various 'vested interests' might have a say in the matter!!:Angry:

Could already be here.....

american system but i cant see any reason why you cant subscribe.

Blackberry GPS tracker

 

[pappajohn]

Can you get tracking in the EU ?

Do these very expensive UK trackers work over there ?

GPS based Brian, so theoriticaly should work anywhere in the world.
unless the van is in a container on a cargo ship :Sad:

 

[savantuk]

Well I'll be ready with the L O N G telephoto lens, from a safe distance, to record your efforts with the Spanish Cop, the one with the cuffs on one hip and an automatic on the other

Can you get tracking in the EU ?

Do these very expensive UK trackers work over there ?

I'm not expecting any assistance from the Spanish police at all. The are notoriously lazy and inefficient. The German and French police will be more helpful. Frankly, I installed the mobile phone system for use in the UK, where I spend most of my time, and where the vehicle is parked, and not in use

I'm pretty certain that the 'tracker' GPS based system will work in Europe, but I doubt that the police will co-operate in the same way as the UK police, who have specialised equipment to enable them to establish the beacons location - I believe that the 'tracker' companies will pay theUK police for their services.

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[pappajohn]

Hi,

The police will respond to any information that will assist in the recovery of a stolen vehicle if pushed. They may not, as a 'matter of policy', but if you confront a police officer, and he refuses to act, asking him for his 'collar number' and name, and the threat of a written complaint will change his attitude immediately!

If any police officer refuses to act on hard information, which may lead to the recovery of stolen property, he is in dereliction of his duty, and can be prosecuted. We must all stand up to such apathy, and make certain that the police represent our interests, not those of 'policy' made by senior officers in an effort to make their lives easier.

bottom 2 lines in red....hover over the open page and left click to enlarge.

 

[savantuk]

bottom 2 lines in red....hover over the open page and left click to enlarge.

Hi,

The 'Prevention and Detection of crime' is one of the primary roles of a police officer, and has been enshrined in law as a result of the Police Act for many years.

Consequently, any police officer who is in posession of any evidence which may result in the detection of a crime, and fails to act upon such information, is in dereliction of his duty, and is, consequently, breaking the law.

It doesn't matter what the police may say, or what appears in writing as the result of police/commercial interests, in the final analysys, the police are OBLIGED to act upon information which may lead to the detection of a crime.

 

[savantuk]

This may help:


Police Act 1996
Section 204 – A police constable who deliberately fails to carry out his duties by wilfully omitting to take steps to preserve the Queen’s peace or protect a person under attack or arrest his assailant commits the common law offence of misconduct of an officer of justice.
Section 384 – The primary duties of those who hold the office of constable are the protection of life and property, the preservation of the Queen’s peace and the prevention and detection of criminal offences.
Section 68 – Where a complaint about the conduct of a senior officer a) is submitted to the appropriate authority, or b) is sent to the appropriate authority under section 67(3), the appropriate authority shall record and, subject to subsection (2), investigate it.
Section 69 – (1) If a chief officer of police determines that he is the appropriate authority in relation to a member of the police force a) whose conduct is the subject of a complaint, and b) who is not a senior officer, he shall record the complaint. (5) If it appears to the chief officer of police that the complaint is not suitable for informal resolution, he shall appoint a member of his own or some other force to investigate it formally. Police Code of Conduct – The Code sets out the following principles (extract):
(1)Honesty and Integrity – Officers should therefore be open and truthful in their dealings; avoid being improperly beholden to any person or institution; and discharge their duties with integrity.
(2)Fairness and impartiality – Police officers have a particular responsibility to act with fairness and impartiality in all their dealings with the public and their colleagues.

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[pappajohn]

so what you're saying is all reported crimes will be dealt with as a priority ?

i dont think so!!!!!

believe this or not...its true and was writen up in the local paper.

a local woman rang the police to report a burglary in progress in an unoccuried property next door.

no response half an hour later.

she reported it again and said she BELIEVED the burgler was armed....
instant response.

now where did the police, who were too busy to attend the first time, suddenly come from......off their T break ? no, they were all on patrol in the saturday night town center.

in my opinion they figured by the time they travelled the 9 miles the scroat would be long gone.

Priorities count and a stolen vehicle is a long way down the list of priorities.

my wife reported a dangerous dog at the back door....we'll send an officer as soon as possible.
2 days later we got a call from the council dog warden....is the dog still there? oh:

she was inside...the dog was outside....not a priority.

 

[Geo]

Before we get to far off topic
Has anyone checked out the benifits and who benifits from this type of kit.

My research has shown on average it knocks about £10 per annum off your policy, so pay back is about 48 years at lest, 30 if you manage to squeez another fiver discountoh:

And who wants their Motorhome back after the theives have had their fun
I dont

Why are you paying for theft insurance and then spend hundreds more stopping it from being stolenoh:
Geo

 

[pappajohn]

thats what i dis-like about insurance Co's geo,

some insist on all singing and dancing trackers so they know the chances of paying out are practically nil......but they still take your money:Angry:

and yes, the discount is negligable.

why not cut the crap and state, yes we'll insure it but on pain of death dont start it or take it from the locked garage and on no account tell anyone you own one.

if no-one knows its there they aint gonna nick it.

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[andyman]

Before we get to far off topic
Has anyone checked out the benifits and who benifits from this type of kit.

My research has shown on average it knocks about £10 per annum off your policy, so pay back is about 48 years at lest, 30 if you manage to squeez another fiver discountoh:

And who wants their Motorhome back after the theives have had their fun
I dont

Why are you paying for theft insurance and then spend hundreds more stopping it from being stolenoh:

Geo

I have just canceled my Tracker and I am now paying £13 a year more in insurance premium.
I once called tracker to see if they could tell me the system was working. They told me they could would send a signal to see if it was responding but it would'nt tell the location. When i looked to find where my tracker was fitted it took me all of 30 seconds to find it. No doubt the thief would locate it and disconect it rendering it usless. So a total waste of time and money.
I looked at a GPS / sim card tracker at the NEC show. You call the unit and it text's back a set of co ordinates, put them into google earth and you get the location.
£135 for the unit and then £10 credit for the sim card.

Andy
I think with Orange £10 last's up to 6 months.
At least this way you can sit at home and check where your motorhome is.

 

[wp1234]

Is this about right or are there cheaper ways to get this

Blimey I only asked a simple question ..... thanks all

Another interesting debate would be -
If I didn’t subscribe to the sat monitoring system fitted by the previous owner and then subsequently my motor home was stolen. If then I reported this theft to the police and told them that a tracker was fitted but not activated .
Would the police be obliged to use all means available to find the motor home i.e they would have to call the satellite tracking company?
Would then the satellite tracking company be obliged to find my motorhome even though i didn’t subscribe, after all not activating the tracker would be tantamount to aiding and abetting wouldn’t it !