GPS/GSM Tracker

[Poly]

Originally Posted by peterc

If people continue to buy non compliant products in this way it just compounds the issue and will have a combined cumulative effect. The products will get disposed of at some point.

ah - now you are trying to convince me it is better for the ethical / moral arguments - thats OK. But I will not drop dead from buying one.

Even buying a one off makes you an importer - even if it is for personal use.

technically - but proportionality is involved. the consequences of "importing" one unit are inevitable much smaller than buying them to resell.

Non CE approved batteries (and chargers have been known to explode big time). Not very nice if its on your boat at the time.

you have actual evidence of this in these devices? similar problems have been encountered by major (reputable) PC manufacturers selling CE marked goods.

ebay are in the process of taking action on anyone who advertises products that do not meet the requirements of the country they are being advertised in.

I wouldn't rely on this if I were you... not many people here have good things to say about ebay's policy on policing its content.

You will be please to hear I shall no longer be posting to this forum

I am sure there are plenty of people here who would happily give you constructive feedback on how your gps pet-tracker could be adapted for the boating community.

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I am sure there are plenty of people here who would happily give you constructive feedback on how your gps pet-tracker could be adapted for the boating community.

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by bedajim

So if your not the bloke that contacted me via ebay there must be a couple of units with trouble out there I've pointed him here

Copy of his email (As my last post disapeared)

Q: Please can you help me, ive bought a GPS tracker like you and it turns on ok but when i ring for Geo-info, it responds but without any Long & Lat values. Im based in Cheshire, England, and im wondering if the problem is because im using a Virgin Pay-As-You-Go SIM. What SIM are you using and have you had any problems with yours? Thanks ant

He came back to me this morning

Dear bedajim,

Hey Jim

My Tracker works today with the Virgin SIM, the seller was right, it was a satalite update issue.

Thanks anyway
ant...

[Ash.Smith]

What's the battery life on these units? They look extremely good and I may be buying a few of these for 5 cars and 2 boats! So before I spend that much money I just need to know how long the batteries will last.

Also, I know it texts you when the battery is low, but how much notice does it give you and how reliable is that?

From what you've all been saying, I think it sounds ideal for me! So all I really need is this answering then I'm good to go!

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Ash.Smith

What's the battery life on these units?

Mine lasts four days...don't have it set up to warn of low battery. I just change it regularly. The device comes with two rechargeable batteries...one in use, one ready to use.

Or, you could hard wire it to the boat battery. There's an optional charging cable

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Leapy

Mine lasts four days...don't have it set up to warn of low battery. I just change it regularly. The device comes with two rechargeable batteries...one in use, one ready to use.

Or, you could hard wire it to the boat battery. There's an optional charging cable

How do you set up low battery warning then?

Mine lasts about 36 hours depending on how often you txt or call it.

Also Leapy I have found that when I plug my unit into the 12V power supply on the boat that I have to remove the battery otherwise it seems to run on battery power then when the battery runs flat the unit turns off. Do you have this problem?

[Ash.Smith]

Originally Posted by Leapy

Mine lasts four days...don't have it set up to warn of low battery. I just change it regularly. The device comes with two rechargeable batteries...one in use, one ready to use.

Or, you could hard wire it to the boat battery. There's an optional charging cable

Ah, that's not amazingly long... And I don't really want to have to hard wire the charger to the battery. Hmmm, I'm undecided now! Someone pursuade me! lol!

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Chris

How do you set up low battery warning then?

Mine lasts about 36 hours depending on how often you txt or call it.

Also Leapy I have found that when I plug my unit into the 12V power supply on the boat that I have to remove the battery otherwise it seems to run on battery power then when the battery runs flat the unit turns off. Do you have this problem?

I've never set the battery alarm as I thought it a bit of a redundant feature (for me). I just used to change the battery every four days. Doing this, it never ran out.

These days I only call it about twice a week now that I understand its abilities. As the boat's in the garage attached to the house I don't really have to ask the Tracker where it is. In a couple of weeks, however, we're going away. It'll be invaluable then.

When the Tracker is hard wired to the boat battery I take the internal battery out having figured out that it defaults to the internal battery even when hard wired. I've had no problems since doing this. Don't think it's necessarily a problem once you know about it

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Ash.Smith

Ah, that's not amazingly long... And I don't really want to have to hard wire the charger to the battery. Hmmm, I'm undecided now! Someone pursuade me! lol!

The internal battery is a small Li-Ion mobile phone battery. Bear in mind that the device never sleeps...it's awake all the time with an active GSM and an active GPS. On that basis, I think four days is pretty good. It certainly works fine for me. Obviously though, it you are calling it frequently to get a response that time will diminish.

Why don't you want to hard wire it?

[Ash.Smith]

Because my battery doesn't have a trickle charge from the engine, which means it'd be powering the fishfinder and the tracker without a charge from the engine when it's running. I am looking into seeing how to get a trickle charge from my engine but because it's a manual start and trim there isn't anything setup at the moment.

I just don't know, having only owned the boat for a week, how long the battery will last powering the fishfinder alone.

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Ash.Smith

Because my battery doesn't have a trickle charge from the engine, which means it'd be powering the fishfinder and the tracker without a charge from the engine when it's running. I am looking into seeing how to get a trickle charge from my engine but because it's a manual start and trim there isn't anything setup at the moment.

I just don't know, having only owned the boat for a week, how long the battery will last powering the fishfinder alone.

The Tracker will take milli-amps...the fish finder I don't know. Others on here may be able to advise if you post what type it is. If you have the manual it should also tell you there what the current draw is.

It also depends on how big your boat battery is - in terms of amphrs - what state of charge it's at and what condition it's in.

As the battery isn't part of a system to get you home, you could always suck it and see?

Presumably, the battery goes home with you for a re-charge?

[Ash.Smith]

Well I've got a Humminbird PiranhaMAX 215, if anyone knows about that. I'm not with the boat or the manual so I can't have a look unfortunately!

The battery's only a small battery IIRC and I'm not sure about the condition, but I'm pretty confident about it as it's only 8 months old! I'm definately coming round to hard wiring it! It'll just be a case of charging the battery regularly, that's all!

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Ash.Smith

It'll just be a case of charging the battery regularly, that's all!

With or without Tracker you'll have to charge the battery regularly anyway if you're powering other devices

[Ash.Smith]

Well thats exactly why I'm coming round to the idea! lol!

[Jeff]

.... the tracker club >> ordered from HK last friday and arrived yesterday. One Vodafone payg sim and it works perfectly
Got it from flea bay here ;
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/incutex
with hard wired charger
Now for a IP67 box, wire it in and hide it away.



FC, CE and ROHS compliant ( well maybe thats just the box but he ho !!)

[Solent Ribman]

Originally Posted by Leapy

HERE is where I got mine...you could email them and ask?

Failing that, it's merely a 12v to 5v device, max current 1000mA

It looks like you have to keep it continually wired to the boat battery. What's the drain of battery like, or do you have your boat battery on permanent charge? My thoughts are going to a solar panel, for when I get my stolen boat replacement. Any comments from anyone?

[Poly]

Its a shame that you can't use them with the main battery and the internal battery connected at the same time. Then it has all the capacity of the internal battery but if the thieving b*s*rds disconnect the battery (it can only be a matter of time before they start doing this to disable trackers) then you still have 3-4 days of tracking info. The tracker itself could be well hidden and inaccessible to stop them finding it/smashing it.

[Chris]

Has anyone tried to use the GeoFence option yet?

I tried today but it sets off as soon as I text it the 2 sets of co-ordinates so I can only assume the format I am sending the Coordinates in is not right.

I am sending this message (I have altered the numbers slightly for obvious reasons)

stockade****** 61.57,-02.53;61.55,-02.23

I am using Google Earth to set the area with the first coordinates being top left and then second bottom right as per the manual.

Yet every time I send the message I immediately trigger the Stockade! alert.

I think the issue is in the coordinates format?

Any ideas?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Its a shame that you can't use them with the main battery and the internal battery connected at the same time. Then it has all the capacity of the internal battery but if the thieving b*s*rds disconnect the battery (it can only be a matter of time before they start doing this to disable trackers) then you still have 3-4 days of tracking info. The tracker itself could be well hidden and inaccessible to stop them finding it/smashing it.

Can't quite work this out but I left my battery in and have it connected to a permanemt live feed. After about a week I got a text warning of low battery, next day I went to check the unit and it was still showing powered up - and on my next 'call' it reported full battery ( and signal). I don't know whether this suggests it works off the internal battery until its low, then recharges from the lead ?? unlikely I guess but who knows the chinese. The test will be to see if I get another low bat warning in a week or so.
Has anyone found that the position accuracy is quite poor/variable - when sending multiple position requests I have found it to be up to 30m out at times.
The move alert also seems to have a delay and triggers 5-10 mins after it is moved............. however, still pleased as it will tell me when it has moved !
Jeff

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Its a shame that you can't use them with the main battery and the internal battery connected at the same time. Then it has all the capacity of the internal battery but if the thieving b*s*rds disconnect the battery (it can only be a matter of time before they start doing this to disable trackers) then you still have 3-4 days of tracking info. The tracker itself could be well hidden and inaccessible to stop them finding it/smashing it.

Mine seems to be able to do this - its running off the main boats battery(s) , with its little internal battery fitted. I've tried pulling the main boat power of it & it still stays on 7 texts position on its own battery. I also tested it in the garden for a week prior to puttingon the boat - running off the 'old/spare' boat battery.