Tracker

Molly 3 said:
Mine is the tkstar 915 with 120 day battery life , worth noting not all sim cards work, has to support 2G .
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After seeing your tracker at the meet, I was given one just like it as a Christmas pressie... absolutely chuffed to bits with it! There are heaps of identical looking models on Amazon and Ebay, with different names on them... most of them costing less than the type in the OP. Paul hooked mine up to my leisure batteries in the hab area, so I don't have worry about keeping it powered. I've not had a problem with signal so far, neither GPS nor phone, and the app works really well. Hadn't realised about the 2G!

in h said:
As long as you avoid ones on Three, any UK one will be fine. However, I've found Asdamobile to be by far the best for a tracker.
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You're right about Three. I tried a Three SIM and it just wouldn't work... didn't understand why until I saw Molly3's post above. I switched to one from GiffGaff (O2 network), which works a treat. I stuck a tenner on it and as long as I trigger a call or text every 180 days, that £10 won't expire and should last for years.
 
linkshouse said:
The only problem with that system is the rise of dog theft! You could come easily back to find your vehicle untouched and your dog gone. I'd rather lose the vehicle.
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You’ve obviously never come across an Alsatian with an obsessive love of MGB’s. Nothing would get him out of there till he gets home....
 
in h said:
As for relying on a single network sim, that's piffle.
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How so? When you have a motorhome travelling all around Europe, surely having more than one network to latch on to would be of benefit from a recovery point of view?

in h said:
Yes, the jammers that work are very conspicuous, which is why thieves tend not to use them.
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We are fortunate to have access to some of the equipment that is flying around that is open to purchase which are not conspicuous at all and can go in your coat pocket and are not as big and bulky as you seem to think. In particular an 8 signal damming device that covers 8 varied signals, including all bands of GSM and GPS, we also bought in the Eastern Euro by-pass that kills Sevel based vans to see if the claims were true. By investing in these products, we can do our upmost to get equipment in place to combat the threat, but equally as important pass the info on to you guys so you are armed with as much information to make the decision for yourself with the knowledge of this equipment being available. As for the "I know you are keen to sell your own products, but.." comment, at no point have I posted any links to the products we sell and all I have done here is raise awareness about the equipment that's on the open market being used by the thieves. Having my name on display also gives clarity, as I know of some traders that go under bogus alias names etc.

Jenrai said:
Thats because Thatcham is run by an ex-insurance company boss.
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I'll say it before and I'll no doubt say it again, the Thatcham research Centre is owned and run by the Association of British Insurers. Now if they choose to run a research centre in the efforts of having approved equipment that minimise the risk in having to pay out large insurance claims, then surely it's in the interest of both parties to have such equipment fitted to their vehicles????
Also Thatcham don't just assess security, they are also responsible for vehicle design and safety, so I really do not know where you are going with such a comment, other than to speculate the lack of Thatcham approval to the Lock Down system, as OTT's alarm isn't theirs nor was designed by them, it's a generic Cat 1 alarm and the Lock Down system itself isn't Thatcham evaluated. TUV approval means nothing when it comes to Insurance evaluation.
 
going back to the OP a tracker for such a low price is better than no tracker. When it is parked up and theives are in bed with their jammers your cheap tracker might just get your beloved MH back. ASDAMOBILE pretty reliable. Also as a person who lost MH that had minimal protection (FORD) I have added numerous physical deterents to my cheap tracker. Anything you add is just a deterent and will not stop the determined thief. Oh and I also cut off OBD port to prevent re-programming keys.
 
nickvanbitz said:
How so? When you have a motorhome travelling all around Europe, surely having more than one network to latch on to would be of benefit from a recovery point of view?
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For someone who is in the business, you seem remarkably ignorant of the situation.
When roaming in Europe, you can use any of the networks that are roaming partners. In the case of Asdamobile/EE that isn't ALL the networks (not SFR, I recall), but it is several in each country.
And yes, I have taken a tracker with an EE sim in it alongside an identical tracker with an "any network" M2M sim in it.
As it turned out, the EE sim performed better than the "any network" sim, consistently finding signal on the next network significantly faster each time. I was surprised: I had expected it to be slightly less good, rather than quite a bit better
 
Thatcham approval is partly quality of kit, partly quality of installation, and partly how automatic it is. Security that doesn't need to be explicitly armed is graded better.
I don't know how much it costs to be Thatcham approved, but I suspect it is far from cheap. The customers have to pay for that.
 
in h said:
For someone who is in the business, you seem remarkably ignorant of the situation.
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Absolutely not, careful selection was made in the European supplier of the sim fitted to our equipment bearing in mind that the manufacturer of the equipment is the largest automotive telematics company in Europe, responsible for OEM and Aftermarket customers worldwide.

in h said:
Security that doesn't need to be explicitly armed is graded better.
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Really??? So the extensive R&D put into a product is judged by not being Thatcham approved??? I somehow find that very hard to believe, being that we have been in this industry for 30 years and seen enough aftermarket product offered to us to last a lifetime!
We have worked with many manufacturers over the years, from concept designers with bespoke product right to the main big 4 alarm/tracking manufacturers, all of which are varied but I certainly wouldn't have put a label on all approved products being somehow inferior!
 
nickvanbitz said:
Absolutely not, careful selection was made in the European supplier of the sim fitted to our equipment bearing in mind that the manufacturer of the equipment is the largest automotive telematics company in Europe, responsible for OEM and Aftermarket customers worldwide.
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So this "careful selection" was done whilst believing that
When you have a motorhome travelling all around Europe, surely having more than one network to latch on to would be of benefit from a recovery point of view?
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was true? If you know what you are talking about, you know that when roaming you do have more than one network to "latch on to", so why the misleading comment?

nickvanbitz said:
Really??? So the extensive R&D put into a product is judged by not being Thatcham approved??? I somehow find that very hard to believe, being that we have been in this industry for 30 years and seen enough aftermarket product offered to us to last a lifetime!
We have worked with many manufacturers over the years, from concept designers with bespoke product right to the main big 4 alarm/tracking manufacturers, all of which are varied but I certainly wouldn't have put a label on all approved products being somehow inferior!
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I didn't say anything of the sort. You are denying things I never suggested.
I used to recommend your products, but your misleading statements, distortion of the truth and general attitude in this thread have caused me to revise my opinion.
 
Ok so...……......
in h said:
Security that doesn't need to be explicitly armed is graded better.
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What do you mean by this exactly?????? The way I was reading is was that you were suggesting that Non-Approved products are better somehow? Apologies if I read that wrong, but that's the way I looked at that statement.

How am I misleading/distorting the truth when stating that the selection of Sim use wasn't carefully considered? The systems that we offer are using a specialist Telematics SIM that is stable and reliable using the app that comes with both devices (including European and Continental use), with the VTS/Insurance approved tracking units having call centre having access to the same network.

Again I'll come back to the awareness of products that ARE used by thieves. Having any form of security is better than none, but at any point have I said anything on the lines of "complete waste of time, total waste of money"???? All I have done here is raise awareness of what is in the thieves tool kits, nothing more. Without the risk of putting up links on a public forum of where to buy such un-vetted GPS/GSM/Network blockers and by-pass equipment (and I won't because that would be really irresponsible), I do not see how any of what I have said has been misleading, truth distorting, or having a bad attitude to this thread.
 
Minisorella said:
I switched to one from GiffGaff (O2 network), which works a treat. I stuck a tenner on it and as long as I trigger a call or text every 180 days, that £10 won't expire and should last for years.
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Be aware with gifgaf they have a fair usage roaming policy when my sim was used more abroad than at home they switched it off no warning just stopped working
 
witzend said:
Be aware with gifgaf they have a fair usage roaming policy when my sim was used more abroad than at home they switched it off no warning just stopped working
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My plan is just to use the sim via text responses from the tracker. I'm probably missing something but I'm wondering how you managed to exceed fair usage when you were away in the van? Doesn't that just apply to roaming data? Genuine questions because I'm new to trackers and a bit confused. I can only think your tracker might function in a different way to mine?
 
I would have thought that when thieves lay up vehicles for a day or two to see whether its tracked, it suggest they aren’t 100 % comfortable they have located every device even less confident they have jammed it . It also provides a window of opportunity to recover the vehicle.

Human nature suggests we take the least line of resistance , so any tracker or visible security acts as some form of deterrent and a weaker protected vehicle selected.

To catch a thief you need to think like one..so the only thing I would suggest is by all means advertise a vehicle is tracked or alarmed but not what the alarm tracker actually is ....if you advertise a moss 705 alarm for example ( no one uses them these days) a potential theif can make an educated guess as to how it is wired and the location the same applies advertising who fitted it...we are creatures of habit and tend to replicate behaviour that makes it easier to overcome.
 
Well I'm now awaiting delivery of the tracker Mobilvetta posted about as well as a Giffgaff sim. It will be used alongside the tracker and alarm already fitted by a company who post on here ;). There are other mechanical devices fitted as I believe the more I can get in the way of a thief's progress the more likely they are to give up. Having said that you ought to have seen what they went through to get my last van.
 
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witzend said:
Be aware with gifgaf they have a fair usage roaming policy when my sim was used more abroad than at home they switched it off no warning just stopped working
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Yes Giff Gaff as with most have a 2 month limit...Which they "advertise" fairly
A bit like the 90 day rule but better..Once you use it in UK even for 1 day you get another 2 months away .(not that it is much use !)

I keep a spare Three simcard (Prepaid) for such emergencies..
A PAIN but read the small print...Not likely to get any better
As Fraser (Dad's Army) would say "We are all doomed".
But then Corporal Jones "Don't panic!"

PS I got a monthly Three contract in 2016 for Norway etc.
We were abroad for over 3 months and no problem/ cut off
I then cancelled the contract with no problem !
Three do seem better than most !
 
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I have a spare tracker that i put in the van that is is not too well hidden hopefully the will find it and stop looking .
 
Minisorella said:
My plan is just to use the sim via text responses from the tracker. I'm probably missing something but I'm wondering how you managed to exceed fair usage when you were away in the van? Doesn't that just apply to roaming data? Genuine questions because I'm new to trackers and a bit confused. I can only think your tracker might function in a different way to mine?
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I think they just cut you off if you have been overseas for two months, regardless of how much you use it.
 
in h said:
The reality is that nothing you can do will make a motorhome unstealable, even if you pay Vanbitz shedloads of money for lots of stuff.
A tracker can be found, especially if it not well hidden. It's not a bad idea to have a hidden one, and also another well-hidden one that only connects once an hour.
A tracker can be blocked, but not as easily as suggested. It is very easy to block the (very weak) GPS signal, but trackers will still work using GSM positioning. And yes, there are signal blockers that will block GSM signal as well, but they're expensive and they draw the attention of the authorities.
It is well worth getting a tracker, though paying over £40 for one is daft.
It is also well worth getting a server subscription, but again paying over £100 a year is crazy.
You can get a good tracker for less than £30. A tracker server subscription will cost less than £20 per year, and if the tracker uses an Asdamobile PAYG sim, reporting its position every 30 seconds 24/7, a £5 topup will last about eight months (set it to auto-topup on low balance).
It won't stop your van being stolen, but it might increase the chance of getting it back. It provides a great historical record of your travels, helps you find the van when parking in unfamiliar places, and it won't make your motorhome less reliable.
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Hi Can you or anyone else recommend a £20 tracker subscription?
Cheers alun
 
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