Tracking for Cars

[Chris]

I've done some research the last 2 days in conection with tracking.I came accross a company in Gauteng that can supply us with tracking devices for our cars.

The product is small,about the size of a cellphone,and works via gprs.It's installed in the vehicle by yourself and comes with instructions.

The system works like this: It is in sleep mode and will update the last position every couple of minutes.This period is determined by you.

If the vehicle is stolen,you sms the car and it will tell you where it is.

Another feature is a sms cut-out option where you send a code to the unit and it cut's the electrics like the power to the coil or distibutor or a fuel solenoid.

It will constantly send sms' about it's location.

[Shella]

How is the location communicated, does it say Cnr of X & Y in Z Suburb or does it say in the area of nearest base station.

[Chris]

The device is accurate within 2 metres.They have found that if the car is in a building i.e parking garage or basement,it will show it's in the street,but if you don't see the car there,the next logical place to look is inside the building.In this case it's accurate within 50m.

In most cases you will miss your car within half an hour of it being stolen.If you then have it cut out,you will find it where it's standing and the sms will tell you in which street it is with the closest corner.

[Chris]

Just remember,for any other tracking system you will pay R3000 or more.You pay it off over 3 years and then your monthly fee is still added to that.

This product is an outright buy,no monthly fees unless you want logging facilities and real time tracking support which will cost R15 a month.

It's yours,and you do what you like with it.

[Shella]

SOUNDS GOOD!!!

[Rudi02]

Will it work in a 6 Volt car?

How much for the unit?

Thanks Chris

[Chris]

It will work on a 6v,12v and 24v vehicle.

The price is R1600-R1700.Depending on what you specify.

This is existing technology and is used by cellphone providers already,but you'll pay double the price from them.

[Rudi02]

Thanks for the info Chris, sounds like a viable option.

[Chris]

My pleasure.

What I like about this system too is that you have complete control over it and you know where your car is at all times.

[beetlefanatic]

I'm also interested.

[karmakoma]

Please send us the company details on this, sounds interesting.

[Pine]

Thanks for the info Chris, I just have a few things to add - not being biast to the company I work for, but I work with this technology myself on a daily base, albeit on the software and not the hardware side.

'Normal' vehicle tracking companies (Netstar, C-Track, Tracker etc.) does their stolen vehicle recoveries by means of an RF beacon unit, fitted to your car. In other words, if your vehicle gets stolen an RF transmitter is activated inside your car, and recovery is done by means of several air and land teams with so-called 'track packs' - basically an RF receiver that homes in on the directional signals transmitted by the unit in your vehicle. This, together with a complex network of high sites and RF receivers throughout the RSA and neighbouring countries, ensures that a relatively high successful recovery rate is maintained. There is, however, numerous doctrine and protocol that needs to be strictly adhered to throughout, with extensive legal implications in order to provide this service to the public.

GSM (cell phone network) positioning is a bit of an urban myth, at least certain parts of it. Only the SAPS, National Intelligence Agency and certain Military Departments can use GSM triangulation, in collaboration with the major cellphone networks, for specific tasks. GSM positioning by the general public (read: us), and the company that claims you can get your car back yourself, is based on the signal strength of the closest GSM tower. In other words, the SMS you are going to receive will be a general indication of the closest cell phone tower to your stolen vehicle. Fairly accurate (within several hundreds of metres) in an urban area, but out with several kms in rural areas (like locations, and informal settlements).

By law, no-one (not even the SAPS), can disable a vehicle by 'cutting the power' without having a visual of it. The simple reason is that an accident can be caused, and innocent people killed. Even static anti-hijack and anti-theft units will give an early warning (like loss of power, or shuddering) before it cuts out the vehicle's power.

In the Fleet Management environment (my domain), we use GPS positioning in conjunction with GPRS communication, which gives pin-point accuracy by means of a 12-digit grid reference in terms of latitude and longitude. Due to the fact that GPS signals are received vertically (from up in the sky), physical obstructions like bridges, underground parking areas and containers restrict it. GSM positioning is then only used as a back-up to give a general indication (read: educated guess) of the vehicle's position.

GPS positioning is, however, generally too expensive to be used for normal stolen vehicle recovery, and is mostly used for fleet management combined with a software package, map viewer, and database to store vehicle movement history.

After all is said and done, my opinion is that the company you are referring to might be an option, but there will be A LOT of 'ifs' and 'buts' before you sign the contract. I will gladly answer any further questions in this regard.

[Chris]

Yes Pine,that might all be true.

These guys have been doing it for a long time and even Vodacom is using this technology as we speak.

It is gauranteed to be accurate within a few metres and has proven itself already.

I don't want to make some company rich by paying a fortune for the same product I can get for much less.The idea of this is to be affordable to anyone that needs tracking.And in most cases these cars are in a city enviroment anyway.

These guys have a good track record and has been doing research for years.This type of tracking is available in certain shops already,but the only problem is that is double the price.

They also give garantees,so you know that the product you buy is good quality.

[Pine]

OK, so you can give us their name now, right?

[Chris]

Zerksus Engineering.

They are most likely responsible for most products on the market anyway.