Gps/Gsm Tracking Device

[JohnLeech]

Has anyone had any experience with car tracking devices in Thailand?

The only one I know of is the Tramigo, which costs about 15,000 baht with no aditional fees and only a local SIM card needed to keep it working and instant tracking of your car on your mobile. Their website makes it all sound very simple and well worth less than a year's insurance for the peace of mind - any ideas or comments?

(and no, I am not selling it - it may be crap, I don't know!)

[MoonRiverOasis]

15,000 Baht for a basic cell phone with a bit of software on it seems steep to me..

A second-hand 1st gen iPhone can be had for ~8K Baht - and surely there's an app for that

[JohnLeech]

15,000 Baht for a basic cell phone with a bit of software on it seems steep to me..

A second-hand 1st gen iPhone can be had for ~8K Baht - and surely there's an app for that

Well, if you can tell me how I can rig one up so that when I call it it sends me an SMS telling me where it is, I can follow it on Google Earth, it'll call me if I have set the motion detector and immobilze my car if required (I am not really worried about listening in to what is being said in the car and some of the minor functions!) then you'll have saved me some money!!

[MoonRiverOasis]

15,000 Baht for a basic cell phone with a bit of software on it seems steep to me..

A second-hand 1st gen iPhone can be had for ~8K Baht - and surely there's an app for that

Well, if you can tell me how I can rig one up so that when I call it it sends me an SMS telling me where it is, I can follow it on Google Earth, it'll call me if I have set the motion detector and immobilze my car if required (I am not really worried about listening in to what is being said in the car and some of the minor functions!) then you'll have saved me some money!!

There's literally 100's of GPS tracking apps for the iPhone which will integrate with Google Earth/Bing maps/iGo/etc - way too many for me to summarize here As for immobilizers - I don't see any reference to that functionality at the website for the device you linked, and in any case every decent/recent car comes with it factory anyway, so chances are it's already been defeated and/or rendered useless (e.g. your car has been towed) if your car has gone missing..

[katabeachbum]

15,000 Baht for a basic cell phone with a bit of software on it seems steep to me..

A second-hand 1st gen iPhone can be had for ~8K Baht - and surely there's an app for that

Well, if you can tell me how I can rig one up so that when I call it it sends me an SMS telling me where it is, I can follow it on Google Earth, it'll call me if I have set the motion detector and immobilze my car if required (I am not really worried about listening in to what is being said in the car and some of the minor functions!) then you'll have saved me some money!!

There's literally 100's of GPS tracking apps for the iPhone which will integrate with Google Earth/Bing maps/iGo/etc - way too many for me to summarize here As for immobilizers - I don't see any reference to that functionality at the website for the device you linked, and in any case every decent/recent car comes with it factory anyway, so chances are it's already been defeated and/or rendered useless (e.g. your car has been towed) if your car has gone missing..

immobilizer

the car factory fitted, works on lack of signal from chips in key with no need of powersupply from key. Safe, since it is not able to go wrong while driving.

tracking immobilizers usually is activated from a GSM signal, and can go wrong/switch on at any time due to fake signal or someone just calling your GSM unit by mistake (wrong number). Very dangerous while overtaking or being tailgated or in most traffic situations.

[JohnLeech]

Thanks for both those - unfortunately I have been left so far behind by technology (before retiring here I had never used, let alone needed, either a fax or mobile phone!) that I have only the vaguest idea of what "apps" and so on are, and no idea how to use them. Sorry.

As I understand it tracking devices are still used and widely sold in the UK, States, etc, so is there really no advantage to them over just setting up your "app" and leaving your charged phone in the car (with the ring tone turned off!)? If so, why are trackers still sold so widely?

I can see that a phone activated immobilization function is not a good idea, which I had not thought of before - particularly given the number of wrong numbers, as mobile numbers are re-cycled and re-sold here, so I certanly won't be using that option now. The movement sensor and SMSs on request and on movement seem a good idea to me, however, as they are SIMPLE - eg I can understand them!

On the subject of car theft, if the only threat was the car being towed rather than broken into and hot-wired, then I shouldn't really be worried about theft as the chances of that happening anywhere I park are pretty well nil. Are the factory immobiisers and alarms really that good (no need to explain how to get around them!)?

Thanks again for the advice.

[MoonRiverOasis]

"Apps" is the common name for software applications on the iPhone. There's 100,000's of them with prices from free to $30 each - most are $1 to $5 though. It's only now that the iPhone 4 is out that prices on the previous generations are really plummeting - and that's the game changer.. At > $1000 US there's not many people that would think about stashing an iPhone in their car permanantly, but at ~$200 for a used & unlocked 3G model, that's now a much more reasonable proposition..

Without turning this into a book, the iPhone has a accelerometers, GPS & GSM positioning, GSM,Edge and 3G connectivity and the ability to be custom programmed to do just about anything, so easily capable of doing everything a regular old GPS tracker can do and then some.

[katabeachbum]

Are the factory immobiisers and alarms really that good (no need to explain how to get around them!)?

For a random thief, yes they are. For those who make a living of stealing Fortuner and Vigo 4x4 to export them to neighboring countries, only chance to stop them is tracking. But since they are armed, not sure I would try to

[HDRIDER]

http://www.hunterpro.com/

http://hubpages.com/hub/GPS-Tracking-For-Cars-Tips

http://www.trackingtheworld.com/

[MoonRiverOasis]

"Apps" is the common name for software applications on the iPhone. There's 100,000's of them with prices from free to $30 each - most are $1 to $5 though. It's only now that the iPhone 4 is out that prices on the previous generations are really plummeting - and that's the game changer.. At > $1000 US there's not many people that would think about stashing an iPhone in their car permanantly, but at ~$200 for a used & unlocked 3G model, that's now a much more reasonable proposition..

Without turning this into a book, the iPhone has a accelerometers, GPS & GSM positioning, GSM,Edge and 3G connectivity and the ability to be custom programmed to do just about anything, so easily capable of doing everything a regular old GPS tracker can do and then some.

Here's a page with a quick run-down on a few of the available iPhone apps for GPS tracking:

http://www.pure-mac.com/iphone/gps.html

Most are free too..

[JohnLeech]

Are the factory immobiisers and alarms really that good (no need to explain how to get around them!)?

For a random thief, yes they are. For those who make a living of stealing Fortuner and Vigo 4x4 to export them to neighboring countries, only chance to stop them is tracking. But since they are armed, not sure I would try to

So do you mean that (at least in general, and as long as its locked) thieves would have to either tow the car or hijack it? If so then its surprisingly re-assuring (and no, I am not being facetious, just surprised - technology, as I said, is not my forté).

[MoonRiverOasis]

Are the factory immobiisers and alarms really that good (no need to explain how to get around them!)?

For a random thief, yes they are. For those who make a living of stealing Fortuner and Vigo 4x4 to export them to neighboring countries, only chance to stop them is tracking. But since they are armed, not sure I would try to

So do you mean that (at least in general, and as long as its locked) thieves would have to either tow the car or hijack it? If so then its surprisingly re-assuring (and no, I am not being facetious, just surprised - technology, as I said, is not my forté).

Sure - it's not like the movies where every car stolen has a carburettor, a foot of loose ignition wiring under the dash and the only thing you need to do to start it is energize the ignition coil and kick the starter over

Immobilzation done via an electronically coded key and controlled by the vehicle's ECU is going to take a sophisticated criminal - one with their own replacement EEPROM (or whole ECU) specifically programmed for your Make/Model/Engine, which will take 5-30 mins to install, and that's after they've physically gotten into the car. You'd only be worried about this if you had an exotic worth Millions. If someone's going to steal your car here in Thailand it's infinitely more plausible that they'd just steal the keys directly from you, or from your home.

[MoonRiverOasis]

Edit: change this "You'd only be worried about this if you had an exotic worth Millions." to "You'd only be worried about this if you had an exotic worth Millions or a 4x4 VIGO"

The 4x4 VIGO is the most 'exported' car in TH, both officially and unofficially - especially to Myanmar I've been told..

[katabeachbum]

Are the factory immobiisers and alarms really that good (no need to explain how to get around them!)?

For a random thief, yes they are. For those who make a living of stealing Fortuner and Vigo 4x4 to export them to neighboring countries, only chance to stop them is tracking. But since they are armed, not sure I would try to

So do you mean that (at least in general, and as long as its locked) thieves would have to either tow the car or hijack it? If so then its surprisingly re-assuring (and no, I am not being facetious, just surprised - technology, as I said, is not my forté).

Sure - it's not like the movies where every car stolen has a carburettor, a foot of loose ignition wiring under the dash and the only thing you need to do to start it is energize the ignition coil and kick the starter over

Immobilzation done via an electronically coded key and controlled by the vehicle's ECU is going to take a sophisticated criminal - one with their own replacement EEPROM (or whole ECU) specifically programmed for your Make/Model/Engine, which will take 5-30 mins to install, and that's after they've physically gotten into the car. You'd only be worried about this if you had an exotic worth Millions. If someone's going to steal your car here in Thailand it's infinitely more plausible that they'd just steal the keys directly from you, or from your home.

A common way for the pros to do it is to have car manufactorers programming computer and spare remotes to be programmed

, or to simply copy/record the signal from your remote when you use it.

I assume they also have a tracking device detector, or noise generator

Any car can be stolen, but factory alarm and immobilizer is rather safe, and makes most thiefes choose another vehicle

Unfortunately Vigo 4x4 are very popular in all neighboring countries without any documents following vehicle

[JohnLeech]

KBB, MRO, thanks for those as always. I doubt they'll be after the keys from my house as my dogs bite me occasionally (and I am licenced to carry a firearm at home) but you never know. Lucky I only bought a PreRunner, not a "genuine" 4x4 then!

[MoonRiverOasis]

Just a quick update on this...

I stumbled across this today - it's a device that sounds pretty much identical to what's mentioned in the OP, i.e. a GPS tracker that takes a SIM card and works over the GSM network:

http://www.the-richy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13:gps-track&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=65

Unfortunately there's not a lot of info provided, so that's all I can tell you.

The kicker is it's 3,500 Baht

[JohnLeech]

Looks pretty well identical - except for the price!

If I fit one I'll let you know - many thanks (as always).