Why do trackers have micro SD cards?

[TobyQuest]

Hi,

Wondering why trackers have micro SD cards? Is it to record a journey onto etc?
I wondered if it just pinged its location every few seconds in order to do that.

 

[TobyQuest]

Also does it matter what size micro sd card you put in them? does it make a difference in any way eg big cards use the batter life faster?

 

[TinaLes]

Its how they send a signal out, so they can be tracked, just like a mobile phone really.
Even Gas & Electric Smart Meters use SIM cards to send out meter readings to the suppliers.
LES

 

[Pausim]

Are you sure it is an SD card not a Sim card.

 

[Minxy]

They use sim cards not SD cards ...

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[phase3begins]

Here you go

The Low Down on GPS Trackers - News

Once exclusive to Spy Movies, compact GPS trackers are becoming a reality. What are engineers making with these smaller systems?

www.allaboutcircuits.com

 

[pappajohn]

Contrary to what others have said some, if not all, do have an SD card.
The sim is only to receive setting messages and to inform you if it's been triggered and where.
The SD card is to record journeys to be viewed on a computer.
The bigger value the SD the more journey data it can record before being over-written by new data.
A large SD card won't use any more power than a small one.

 

[gus-lopez]

Contrary to what others have said some, if not all, do have an SD card.
The sim is only to receive setting messages and to inform you if it's been triggered and where.
The SD card is to record journeys to be viewed on a computer.
The bigger value the SD the more journey data it can record before being over-written by new data.
A large SD card won't use any more power than a small one.

View attachment 413815

But if the tracker is hidden how do you access it?

 

[pappajohn]

But if the tracker is hidden how do you access it?

Unless it's a professional tracker you know where it is, you hid it.
If someone else fitted it, ask where they hid it.
I only ever accessed mine once, it only shows a line on a basic map.... Not worth the effort removing the card, especially when a dash cam has ALL the info you'll ever need.

The SD only records journeys, it doesn't have any further use.

 

[TobyQuest]

Thanks Pappa Johnfor the clarification. Its a shame a lot of people comment giving wrong info. Then future readers will read the posts and be confused.
But your post is the accurate one, cheers

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[Two on Tour]

The sim is only to receive setting messages and to inform you if it's been triggered and where.

Unless of course your tracker is offering live tracking as ours does in which case the sim card provides carrier wave provides a passive connection for the positional information the web server in real time.
The SD card on ours will hold positional data if the cell connection to the sim is lost and will then upload the data during the period of lost connection with the sim upon re-connection.

The bigger value the SD the more journey data it can record before being over-written by new data.

The positional and route data from our trackers is held on a cloud server for a 3 month rolling period and I can retrieve and view this at anytime during that 3 months time frame.

 

[Geo]

Thanks Pappa Johnfor the clarification. Its a shame a lot of people comment giving wrong info. Then future readers will read the posts and be confused.
But your post is the accurate one, cheers

Your going to regret posting that

 

[Two on Tour]

That tracker looks very much like the one that Moses used to lead the Israelite out of Egypt when they were off to find Mount Sinai.

 

[Pausim]

That tracker looks very much like the one that Moses used to lead the Israelite out of Egypt when they were off to find Mount Sinai.


View attachment 413928

Now I understand why they spent 40 years wandering in the desert. He forgot to insert a sim card.

 

[pappajohn]

The positional and route data from our trackers is held on a cloud server for a 3 month rolling period and I can retrieve and view this at anytime during that 3 months time frame.

Yes, but did you pay 35 quid for your tracker.

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[pappajohn]

That tracker looks very much like the one that Moses used to lead the Israelite out of Egypt when they were off to find Mount Sinai.


View attachment 413928

Still a current model.
Doesn't matter what it looks like when it's hidden and it works very well.

 

[Two on Tour]

Yes, but did you pay 35 quid for your tracker.

You got what you paid for then.

Still a current model.
Doesn't matter what it looks like when it's hidden and it works very well.

Christ, we haven't a locker or cupboard big enough to get that one in.

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes, but did you pay 35 quid for your tracker.

No, 28 quid.

 

[pappajohn]

You got what you paid for then.





Christ, we haven't a locker or cupboard big enough to get that one in.

Same size as a 20 pack of fags.
If you couldn't find a location for that you must have the Dinky cars version of a motorhome.
It serves the purpose its made for plus it has engine cut-out mode.

 

[Two on Tour]

Getting back to the serious side, picking where and what to splice into for the engine cut-out on a Peugeot Boxer ?
Newer trackers will not let the engine cut-out kick in if it senses the ignition being on and it's no use it cutting the feed to the lift pump in the fuel tank as this is only aids the fuel delivery in cold weather when the diesel is more viscus and any thief worth his salt will know about the crash switch in the footwell, plus cutting the feed to the starter solenoid can be over ridden with jump leads.
Sending a command to the tracker each time you leave the van to activate the engine cut-out and then again to disarm it ever time you want to drive will soon become a pain in the backside.
I have been told that interfering with the command wire for the high pressure fuel delivery pump will really p*ss off the ECU.
Ideas ?

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[Lenny HB]

any thief worth his salt will know about the crash switch in the footwell,

Can't use it anyway as it turns on the indicators.

plus cutting the feed to the starter solenoid can be over ridden with jump leads.

They would have to realise what had been done and you could fit a metal shroud over the starter motor connections.

 

[phase3begins]

Thanks Pappa Johnfor the clarification. Its a shame a lot of people comment giving wrong info. Then future readers will read the posts and be confused.
But your post is the accurate one, cheers

Your going to regret posting that

Yep, answer posted but ignored. He he

 

[Two on Tour]

Can't use it anyway as it turns on the indicators.

Yup, forgot about that one.

They would have to realise what had been done and you could fit a metal shroud over the starter motor connections.

Fitting a metal shroud over the starter motor connections might just give the game away.

 

[DBK]

Hi,

Wondering why trackers have micro SD cards? Is it to record a journey onto etc?
I wondered if it just pinged its location every few seconds in order to do that.

If you mean a tracker like the Rewire Nano it is not necessary to fit an SD card but if you do it will record location data on it. I doubt capacity is an issue but it may not like one too big. You can get a 16GB card for well under £10 now and that should be more than ample, each record is probably only a few bytes.

But as mentioned, they are not necessary unless you want a record of a journey.

 

[pappajohn]

If you fir an SD card, as DBK says, make sure its the recommended size AND the correct class.. Class 4......6....10 etc.
As the tracker still needs a 2G sim the SD may not have been upgraded from a class 4

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[Two on Tour]

One thing to take into consideration if your going abroad and your putting a sim card in your tracker of your own choosing, is does your sim card network provider have tie in's with multiple mobile network providers for the countries that you will be travelling or your likely to have gaps in your coverage.
I'm using M2M Global in ours.

<Broken link removed>

 

[gus-lopez]

I'm using M2M Global in ours.

I'm using the wife's old spnaish sim that I've used all over europe before so I know it works.

 

[TobyQuest]

If you mean a tracker like the Rewire Nano it is not necessary to fit an SD card but if you do it will record location data on it. I doubt capacity is an issue but it may not like one too big. You can get a 16GB card for well under £10 now and that should be more than ample, each record is probably only a few bytes.

But as mentioned, they are not necessary unless you want a record of a journey.

Interesting. I was going to use a 32gb one until I read your post. What is the issue with using one as big as this?

 

[DBK]

Interesting. I was going to use a 32gb one until I read your post. What is the issue with using one as big as this?

You can only try it and see if it works. The issue is when they wrote the code cards of 32GB may not have been imaginable and the result is the system can't address the whole of the memory. For example a variable might have been defined as 16 bytes but it now needs to be 32 bytes.

 

[TobyQuest]

I wrote tot he supplier and they told me not to use a 32gb, use 8gb.
I asked what type they said a TF card, class number eg class 4 class 10 didnt matter

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