Thread: Vehicle Tracking

Originally Posted by Gilbes

I have been searching for a GPS vehicle tracking system for a while now. I don't want to buy the $400 kits out there, and I have found no information on rolling your own.

Anyone know of any inexpensive product or ideas for creating a vehicle tracker. I would preffer it not to be PC based so you can get the location of the vehicle with the PC off at any time.

Thanks.

Well, I don't really know what you mean by cheap. Are you looking for something less than $400? Heck, just a generic GPS receiver for a computer is usually around $100 new. A standalone GPS receiver is over a couple hundred dollars or more. I honestly don't see a cheap way to do this.

This site has one of the best solutions...
http://www.covert-gps-vehicle-tracking-systems.com/
Which is a bargain under $3k.

What sort of system are you looking for - if you want to be able to track the vehicle live, you need some wireless form of communication. Wireless Inet, GSM, cell phone style, etc.... You also need a source of power. Antennas etc...

I believe there's a reason you haven't found any DIY setups. It would be even more expensive to DIY. It wouldn't be too expensive to build a GPS vehicle tracker that just logged data. But then again, you would have to check the logs when the car is back in your possession.

What exactly are you looking to do?

GPS Secure is a great PC based Vehicle tracking system. It's developed by one of our own mp3car users. It does what you want, except it's on a PC.

3k!

thats a rip off.

cool! Covert... I wish I had 3k lying around...

Dont think you'll find anything like this for less than 3k!

Somewhere in these threads is a web based tracker that uses a gps/computer/cellphone to transmit the data to a server.



The expense will be the minutes you use the cellphone.

Originally Posted by DodgeCummins

Somewhere in these threads is a web based tracker that uses a gps/computer/cellphone to transmit the data to a server.


The expense will be the minutes you use the cellphone.

Somewhere? LoL....that's a little vague. He was looking for something that didn't need a computer as well.

Originally Posted by pate60

3k!

thats a rip off.

I don't think 3k is that bad. Considering it's 100x better than a lojack. Lojacks used to cost 2 grand. You would be able to find your car within minutes if it were stolen. It uses the ground to help bounce the signal outwards. As it says, you can hard wire it into the car if desired.....or you can use battery power - 1 month straight. All that I can say is, I wish my cell phone held a charge for a month.

for $3k, you can't beat the portability too......you can strap it under any car you want to track for a month.....

How many poeple are really interested in a standalone tracking device?

Originally Posted by Chris31

How many poeple are really interested in a standalone tracking device?

When I get a nice car again I will be. LOL....I already had a car stolen when I was in college in Milwaukee.....that was years ago, haven't heard anything since about the car.

A standalone tracker would have put my car back in my possession same day.

Originally Posted by SnyperBob

When I get a nice car again I will be. LOL....I already had a car stolen when I was in college in Milwaukee.....that was years ago, haven't heard anything since about the car.

A standalone tracker would have put my car back in my possession same day.

LOL, same here my car got stolen, reason why I wanted to build one. I do have a working prototype made for under $20. Must supply a gps and a phone though.

Originally Posted by Chris31

LOL, same here my car got stolen, reason why I wanted to build one. I do have a working prototype made for under $20. Must supply a gps and a phone though.

Now that is very interesting....