Gps Tracker For A Car?

[BngkkB]

Everyone here has always been so helpful in the past, Thank You. Once again I need your help.

My sister in law has always owned her own retail business's. Now she is thinking of buying a Taxi and letting it out to drivers. She would like to be able to track the car by GPS on her home computer and possible her Smart Phone. She doesn't want to put a regular GPS direction/mapping unit in the car in fears of it being stolen. But she would like to be able to track the car. I know my HTC Android phone has an app that lets me show my friends my location if I want. I was wondering if there is something similiar to that can be wired into an automobile? Preferably hidden in the automobile so the drivers doesn't know that it is there, otherwise they can just disconnect it if they decide to steal the car or just don't want to be tracked. I don't mean a Lo-Jack that can be activated only if the car is stolen but to also to track the car during the day to check up on the drivers locations and possibly monitor their speed.

I will be flying back to the USA in a couple of weeks and can pick it up there if they are not available in Bangkok? Or if they are cheaper there?

Thank you in advance for any idea's, leads or suggestions.

[phuket Mike]

Just Google "Car tracker" there are loads of solutions in the US, the problem you may have is how accurate they in Thailand and Thai Maps etc.

[BngkkB]

Thanks Phuket Mike, I did Google it and found many but like you said, I am not sure how they will work in Thailand? Also there are so many different ones out there I was hoping someone had first hand knowledge of them in Thailand? I guess if I don't hear anything before my trip, I will pick up one of the cheaper ones and bring back and just try it. If it works somewhat well I can always have a better one sent out later. Still waiting to hear if anyone has first hand knowledge????

[monty]

They work exactly the same over here as they would anywhere else in the world.

You have pretty much perfect reception (satellite) everywhere, save from some difficult area's in Bangkok, under the skytrain etc. This would be the same as in every big city.

The quality of the maps will depend with which map the tracking software integrates, ut most of the online ones integrate with google maps, which is very detailed for Thailand.

A free service is buddytracker (google), which uses google maps and which is compatible with most of those devices, including the TK102 wich you can snap up for less then 100$.

The only thing which is specific for Thailand will be the internet package on the simcard you'll put in the device. Luckily for you, you can now get data volume based packages with most if not all providers. I reckon 100 Mb/month is plenty for a gps tracker updating every 60 seconds, and this should cost only a few hundred per month (if that much), andif using a free service such as buddy tracker, this will be your only monthly cost!

So the above DIY solution will cost you less then 100$ to acquire, and less then 10$/month for the simcard.

You can also go for the commercial solutions here, but they can be expensive (1000 Baht/month sunbsription), but with added services such as being able to stop the engine remotely etc...

[supashot]

They work exactly the same over here as they would anywhere else in the world.

You have pretty much perfect reception (satellite) everywhere, save from some difficult area's in Bangkok, under the skytrain etc. This would be the same as in every big city.

The quality of the maps will depend with which map the tracking software integrates, ut most of the online ones integrate with google maps, which is very detailed for Thailand.

A free service is buddytracker (google), which uses google maps and which is compatible with most of those devices, including the TK102 wich you can snap up for less then 100$.

The only thing which is specific for Thailand will be the internet package on the simcard you'll put in the device. Luckily for you, you can now get data volume based packages with most if not all providers. I reckon 100 Mb/month is plenty for a gps tracker updating every 60 seconds, and this should cost only a few hundred per month (if that much), andif using a free service such as buddy tracker, this will be your only monthly cost!

So the above DIY solution will cost you less then 100$ to acquire, and less then 10$/month for the simcard.

You can also go for the commercial solutions here, but they can be expensive (1000 Baht/month sunbsription), but with added services such as being able to stop the engine remotely etc...

The problem with the cheap solutions is that they have no support what so ever, and in general they use unlicensed google map or software mapping. The device die you cry loosing your 5000b, the mapping server is doing same. Considering safety priceless;-)

[Khun Jean]

The ones i sell (in Europe) are hidden, rugged and use very little data, about 2Mb per month.

One of the problems in big cities are tall buildings. They obstructs the view to the satellites and the accuracy goes down, sometimes so far that a position can not be calculated. In one of our solutions we also connected the taximeter and ignition to be able to see if a driver is driving around empty. All this data can be studied to optimize for profit. Most solutions you can find are using the Google maps without a license and have the risk of being blocked by google. Googles price is competitive with others but for a few gps trackers (<1000) it is not really worth it to get a license.

Other 'free' maps have similar license agreements. Most of them are not free when used with gps tracking devices.