Tech Talk with Dr Al: Personal Vehicle Trackers – Not a Luxury, a Need!
- Replies 3
Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G, ‘The Tech Guy’.
My first car was a 1933 Austin 7 that I called ‘Tinkerbell’ – certainly not worth stealing for a joy ride! However, when I was a student living in ‘digs’ in Battersea, it did get ‘moved’ at one point, and I still can’t understand why. My point is that thieves don’t discriminate most of the time, and my little old banger was probably ‘easy pickings’. Now, for a minimal cost, we can protect our car with a ‘tracker’ that lets us know exactly where it is at any time or in fact, has been!
Having decided that a vehicle tracker is a good idea, I had to choose the one that does the job for a minimal cost. Of course, price should not be a major consideration when compared with the cost of replacing a car. However, it seems to be in my DNA to try to save money.
A word about OBD (On-Board Diagnostics):
You may not have noticed the socket underneath your dashboard. It is called ‘OBD2’ (earlier versions used a variety of sockets), and it is a requirement that all vehicles manufactured in Australia and New Zealand be OBD2 compliant after January 1, 2006. It is a computerised system that provides access to data from the engine control unit (ECU) and offers a valuable source of information when troubleshooting problems inside a vehicle. It ensures that the system is operating as designed or delivering what it is designed to do. If something is outside the prescribed operating conditions, an alert can be sent out, or other actions can be taken to bring the system back into balance.
It is important in the context of car trackers because the OBD socket receives power even when the ignition is turned off, so it can be used to fit a tracker. (I have read reports that the power is not always permanently connected to the OBD socket on some cars, so you may need to check this point for your own vehicle. It certainly is on my Honda Civic). During the servicing of the vehicle, the mechanic can temporarily remove the tracker. (But make sure it’s been fitted on again after the service!)
Types of trackers:
There are several types that are used for commercial and non-commercial purposes:
Mobile GPS (Global Positioning System) – Devices use a combination of software and the GPS located in their mobile device to track drivers.
Plug-in Play GPS – Connect using the onboard diagnostics connector (OBD) and provide more accurate readings of driver data (such as idle time, harsh braking, etc.).
Wired GPS – Secured to the vehicles and are usually connected to the engine. Wired GPS devices are usually designed to give the most accurate information on location, vehicle health, and driver behaviour.
Electronic Logging Device (ELD) – A small device that connects to the vehicle engine and records data in 60-minute intervals. It then takes this data and uploads it to a tablet or smartphone application. It will then be backed up on servers within the ELD software or in fleet management software. While not all ELD providers have fleet management software, most do or most fleet management companies sell ELDs.
What is the cost?
The units themselves vary in price from less than $20 to over $100, depending mainly upon the features, but as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, a high price does not always mean more features, but more on the greed of the manufacturer.
Incidentally, you may think that your luggage tracker could be used for the car. An Air-Tag, for instance, is a great solution for other everyday items that get stolen or lost, but not for using it as a car tracker. The best car trackers have many more features, including a monitored control centre for 24-hour assistance. Apart from the hardware cost, most trackers can only be used via a subscription for the tracking software, and this costs about $9 a month minimum.
Also, a SIM card is necessary. I use a 360-day Lebara sim card, which costs me $10 per year, but this is cumulative, not that you can easily use it for anything else – I think this minimal cost is quite justifiable.
Common features worth considering:
Real-time tracking data: Using a series of satellites orbiting Earth, real-time GPS works by triangulating the position of the object being tracked and transmitting it back to the user's device in real-time, as opposed to recorded data when there would be a delay in receiving the information.
Geofence: A way to define a geographical zone to track if your vehicles are leaving or entering that zone. With geofencing, the system uses the GPS signals from the tracking device to pinpoint location and mark the limits of an area.
15-second trip auto-refresh: Real-time location updates every 15 seconds.
Mobile app: Some trackers include a mobile app so that you can easily track the position of your vehicle using your mobile phone or iPad.
Connects to OBD port: As already mentioned, many cars have a constantly powered OBD port. This is a real advantage – GPS trackers generally have a small rechargeable battery that may discharge quite quickly if it is not a large one.
Recommendations:
I have included pictures of my OBD tracker, which was bought in 2017 after my original 2G tracker, along with my TomTom satnav, became unusable due to the 2G service being closed down.
As you can see, it is a 3G tracker, meaning I will probably have to upgrade to a 4G (or even 5G) tracker in the near future. I paid around $90 for it on AliExpress at the time, and nobody was even close to the price. A 4G model now costs around $78, but they are still selling the 3G models for less. My tracker included free lifetime access to a website (non-monitored) for me to obtain current and historical information about my car’s location, and this is the case with other OBD GPS trackers sold from China in this way. To find the position of my car, I simply dial the sim card number, and I get a message that the service is temporarily unavailable. Then, I receive a text including a Google map reference.
I believe there is no point in buying a tracker if it has difficulty staying active for periods of up to three weeks – while it is parked during a cruise or an overseas holiday. For this, the tracker needs either a fairly good li-ion rechargeable battery or a constant supply from the car.
There are a lot of ‘best trackers’ found by Google searches, but many of these are from American sites, while others are tied up with Amazon. I could suggest looking at a GPS with a 3000mAh battery that has a ‘15-day standby time’ and can operate continuously for 72 hours, with its built-in battery (that particular device is from ‘Aussie Stockist’ and costs around $120 with no subscription) but it would really be up to you to consider how long you would like the car to be protected once the engine is switched off.
In choosing a GPS tracker, balance the cost of your car with that of the tracker and the peace of mind you will get from knowing your car is a lot safer.
About the author: Having spent three years living in Australia in his youth, Alan returned to Australia in 1969 with his wife and young child. Holding a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Doctor of Science Education degree, Alan has experience in flight simulations, Einsteinian physics, and inventing an ‘eye blink’ device that allows cerebral palsy patients to communicate. He even took a turn at acting, starring in a TV advert and landing supporting and lead roles in his local dramatic society plays. His short stories have been published in WA’s The Gingin Buzz for ten years, and his novel The Magic Hourglass is a work in progress. He and his wife have a lovely life in Brisbane and regularly visit their two children in Sydney’s West. You can read Alan’s full-length bio here.
From the Editor:
I’ve never had a car tracker before, but I can definitely see its merits, especially for anyone who travels frequently or parks on the street.
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $5.99 per month.
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G, ‘The Tech Guy’.
My first car was a 1933 Austin 7 that I called ‘Tinkerbell’ – certainly not worth stealing for a joy ride! However, when I was a student living in ‘digs’ in Battersea, it did get ‘moved’ at one point, and I still can’t understand why. My point is that thieves don’t discriminate most of the time, and my little old banger was probably ‘easy pickings’. Now, for a minimal cost, we can protect our car with a ‘tracker’ that lets us know exactly where it is at any time or in fact, has been!
Having decided that a vehicle tracker is a good idea, I had to choose the one that does the job for a minimal cost. Of course, price should not be a major consideration when compared with the cost of replacing a car. However, it seems to be in my DNA to try to save money.
A word about OBD (On-Board Diagnostics):
You may not have noticed the socket underneath your dashboard. It is called ‘OBD2’ (earlier versions used a variety of sockets), and it is a requirement that all vehicles manufactured in Australia and New Zealand be OBD2 compliant after January 1, 2006. It is a computerised system that provides access to data from the engine control unit (ECU) and offers a valuable source of information when troubleshooting problems inside a vehicle. It ensures that the system is operating as designed or delivering what it is designed to do. If something is outside the prescribed operating conditions, an alert can be sent out, or other actions can be taken to bring the system back into balance.
The input for member Alan G’s car tracker. Image Credit: SDC/Member Alan G.
It is important in the context of car trackers because the OBD socket receives power even when the ignition is turned off, so it can be used to fit a tracker. (I have read reports that the power is not always permanently connected to the OBD socket on some cars, so you may need to check this point for your own vehicle. It certainly is on my Honda Civic). During the servicing of the vehicle, the mechanic can temporarily remove the tracker. (But make sure it’s been fitted on again after the service!)
Types of trackers:
There are several types that are used for commercial and non-commercial purposes:
Mobile GPS (Global Positioning System) – Devices use a combination of software and the GPS located in their mobile device to track drivers.
Plug-in Play GPS – Connect using the onboard diagnostics connector (OBD) and provide more accurate readings of driver data (such as idle time, harsh braking, etc.).
Wired GPS – Secured to the vehicles and are usually connected to the engine. Wired GPS devices are usually designed to give the most accurate information on location, vehicle health, and driver behaviour.
Electronic Logging Device (ELD) – A small device that connects to the vehicle engine and records data in 60-minute intervals. It then takes this data and uploads it to a tablet or smartphone application. It will then be backed up on servers within the ELD software or in fleet management software. While not all ELD providers have fleet management software, most do or most fleet management companies sell ELDs.
You can track your car location with any device. Image Credit: Shutterstock
What is the cost?
The units themselves vary in price from less than $20 to over $100, depending mainly upon the features, but as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, a high price does not always mean more features, but more on the greed of the manufacturer.
Incidentally, you may think that your luggage tracker could be used for the car. An Air-Tag, for instance, is a great solution for other everyday items that get stolen or lost, but not for using it as a car tracker. The best car trackers have many more features, including a monitored control centre for 24-hour assistance. Apart from the hardware cost, most trackers can only be used via a subscription for the tracking software, and this costs about $9 a month minimum.
Also, a SIM card is necessary. I use a 360-day Lebara sim card, which costs me $10 per year, but this is cumulative, not that you can easily use it for anything else – I think this minimal cost is quite justifiable.
Common features worth considering:
Real-time tracking data: Using a series of satellites orbiting Earth, real-time GPS works by triangulating the position of the object being tracked and transmitting it back to the user's device in real-time, as opposed to recorded data when there would be a delay in receiving the information.
Geofence: A way to define a geographical zone to track if your vehicles are leaving or entering that zone. With geofencing, the system uses the GPS signals from the tracking device to pinpoint location and mark the limits of an area.
15-second trip auto-refresh: Real-time location updates every 15 seconds.
Mobile app: Some trackers include a mobile app so that you can easily track the position of your vehicle using your mobile phone or iPad.
Connects to OBD port: As already mentioned, many cars have a constantly powered OBD port. This is a real advantage – GPS trackers generally have a small rechargeable battery that may discharge quite quickly if it is not a large one.
Recommendations:
I have included pictures of my OBD tracker, which was bought in 2017 after my original 2G tracker, along with my TomTom satnav, became unusable due to the 2G service being closed down.
Member Alan G’s car tracker. Image Credit: SDC/Member Alan G.
As you can see, it is a 3G tracker, meaning I will probably have to upgrade to a 4G (or even 5G) tracker in the near future. I paid around $90 for it on AliExpress at the time, and nobody was even close to the price. A 4G model now costs around $78, but they are still selling the 3G models for less. My tracker included free lifetime access to a website (non-monitored) for me to obtain current and historical information about my car’s location, and this is the case with other OBD GPS trackers sold from China in this way. To find the position of my car, I simply dial the sim card number, and I get a message that the service is temporarily unavailable. Then, I receive a text including a Google map reference.
I believe there is no point in buying a tracker if it has difficulty staying active for periods of up to three weeks – while it is parked during a cruise or an overseas holiday. For this, the tracker needs either a fairly good li-ion rechargeable battery or a constant supply from the car.
There are a lot of ‘best trackers’ found by Google searches, but many of these are from American sites, while others are tied up with Amazon. I could suggest looking at a GPS with a 3000mAh battery that has a ‘15-day standby time’ and can operate continuously for 72 hours, with its built-in battery (that particular device is from ‘Aussie Stockist’ and costs around $120 with no subscription) but it would really be up to you to consider how long you would like the car to be protected once the engine is switched off.
In choosing a GPS tracker, balance the cost of your car with that of the tracker and the peace of mind you will get from knowing your car is a lot safer.
About the author: Having spent three years living in Australia in his youth, Alan returned to Australia in 1969 with his wife and young child. Holding a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Doctor of Science Education degree, Alan has experience in flight simulations, Einsteinian physics, and inventing an ‘eye blink’ device that allows cerebral palsy patients to communicate. He even took a turn at acting, starring in a TV advert and landing supporting and lead roles in his local dramatic society plays. His short stories have been published in WA’s The Gingin Buzz for ten years, and his novel The Magic Hourglass is a work in progress. He and his wife have a lovely life in Brisbane and regularly visit their two children in Sydney’s West. You can read Alan’s full-length bio here.
From the Editor:
I’ve never had a car tracker before, but I can definitely see its merits, especially for anyone who travels frequently or parks on the street.
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $5.99 per month.
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