This may not be a traditional topic for the HAMB but getting your hot rod back if stolen I think would be desirable. I've seen posts on here time to time about GPS tracking a stolen hot rod. I had looked into different services out there and while the cost of hardware seemed reasonable the monthly subscriptions fees are what kills it. I was looking at adding a remote start to my wife's daily driver (she's envious that my Chevy truck came factory with one) and ran across a GPS tracking solution with a reasonable annual cost called Drone Mobile. http://www.dronemobile.com/products/ It does to more than just GPS tracking, it can even send SMS alerts if you car has been started or moved. I'm sure some will punch holes in the technology like the ability to disarm it but yea, sure. If I were to install one I probably wouldn't hook up the security or leave it silent and hide the system. I would prefer to have a stand alone security system so that if disarmed it would not interfere with the GPS tracking. According to Best Buy's website the annual fee is $119 (or $100/yr for 3 yr) for the premium plan with GPS tracking using the Verizon system. I didn't think $119 a year was too hard to swallow. Just though I would share.
I've posted this before, but you can get a GPS + cell phone based tracker on Amazon for about $35. Add an H2O wireless card ($10/3 months) and you're good to go. Once installed, hidden, and configured, you can ask it to tell you where it is right now, or have it message you if it moves, or if a door opens, or if the ignition is turned on, or if it's jostled too much. There are options for remote kill as well. Each location message it sends is a text, at $0.10 each, so $10 goes a long way. If you're even remotely worried about your car getting stolen, and aren't using something like this in it, I don't know why not. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
So, is it too personal to ask if you're using such a set-up? If so, what model tracker are you using? If you can do it for that little of a set-up cost and annual cost then that's hard to beat. Almost a no brainier if your're concerned about theft.
Here's one of many of the Tk103 devices: https://www.amazon.com/Coban-Real-time-tracker-TK103A-anti-theft Or hit Amazon and search for tk103. Some have a remote fob, some don't. They're all basically the same device, the Chinese rip each other off. Get the H2O wireless SIM card with it. You'll sign up with H2O and pay them $10. Check their coverage map, maybe it won't work if you live far enough out in the sticks, but I haven't yet found somewhere it didn't have service. If cell phones work where you are, a SIM card from your preferred company should work for you. The box is about the size of a deck of cards. There are lots of places in a car you can hide it. You can get a weatherproof enclosure if you want to hide it under the car, or in the engine compartment. You'll need to get it connected to the battery for power. You'll also need to mount and hide the antennas (GPS and Cell). If you've used your phone in a car, that's what it needs for cell service. The GPS is a bit fussier, needing a view of the sky, but you can hide its antenna too, with some creativity. The other features you can wire up or ignore. The instructions are the expected Asian translation gibberish, but they do basically work. You'll call it to initialize it with your phone's number. Then you send it text messages to configure it. After that, you can arm and disarm it, or check its status with text messages. To have it report its location, you call it. It doesn't answer, but it replies with a text message including its GPS coordinates, and a clickable link to Google maps to show you where it is. Here's my car, parked last summer at a high school. I haven't played with the active tracking yet. There are a couple of free web services you can sign up for that provide a real time map display, I may have to try that out next year. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Bumping this to change my recommendation. The tk103 and its many clones use 2G cel service, which has been turned off by AT&T, and is being turned off by the other carriers. The low cost SIM cards from H2O and similar companies are using AT&T, and are now 4G only. So the tk103 and its clones are now end of life (you can still get 2G in some areas from T Mobile), and will soon be doorstops. 4G trackers are available, but are more expensive. I don't yet have a 4G tracker to recommend. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
