*** Stolen ***

[bezender]

also... how hard is it to get ur fones whereabouts tracked?

[Richie33]

It's pretty clever hey.. does anyone know where we can get non-expiring pre-paid sim cards?? you know the ones where call credits don't run out and your card doesn't get disconnected after period of non-use.

I believe Vodafone has a 12 month expiry, so you could get away with $20 a year

[Howie]

also... how hard is it to get ur fones whereabouts tracked?

It's extremely easy with the right equipment. Have a read here :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4738219.stm

Even if you change sim cards on a phone they can still track you by the IMEI code transmitted by your mobile phone.

I believe Vodafone has a 12 month expiry, so you could get away with $20 a year

Yep sold on that.. i'll pick one up and give it a shot. Thx mate.

[bezender]

It's extremely easy with the right equipment. Have a read here :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4738219.stm

Even if you change sim cards on a phone they can still track you by the IMEI code transmitted by your mobile phone.

Im familiar with how they are triangulated, my question was moreso directed at how practical it really is. will the police actually use it to find the car?... Just trying to toss up between this easy to set up and cheap option, or using a GPS ready fone like the other link that was posted

[Howie]

ah i see, wasn't clear from your post... well the australian police have the technology, they recently published a paper on it. whether or not they use it in stolen cars is another matter, i'm sure they'd want to see these guys behind bars as much as we do.

in any case, i've posted that question in the motoring forum on overclockers australia.. perhaps someone in the mobile industry there would be able to give us an answer.

[bezender]

ah i see, wasn't clear from your post... well the australian police have the technology, they recently published a paper on it. whether or not they use it in stolen cars is another matter, i'm sure they'd want to see these guys behind bars as much as we do.

in any case, i've posted that question in the motoring forum on overclockers australia.. perhaps someone in the mobile industry there would be able to give us an answer.

yeah was a bit ambiguous, nice work with the OCAU as well... ask the uber-geeks, surely will be an answer up soon

[Howie]

Still waiting for someone to answer the question on OCAU... but if you've got a gps enabled smartphone this might be a good option.

http://vitotechnology.com/en/products/findme.html

Can tell you your location just by sending your device an sms.. that sounds pretty good too.. except secondhand smartphones are still up there in price.

[benny_blanco]

Does anyone know;

about how much is a cheap smart phone with gps?

and how much is a decent tracking system with gps?

[SLED]

I'm gonna hit the local jaycar and get a box to mount it in so it looks like another computer in the car... could mount it anywhere

Great idea but don't give away too much info.....remember the walls have ears and you don't know who's reading this thread.

[bezender]

Does anyone know;

about how much is a cheap smart phone with gps?

and how much is a decent tracking system with gps?

simple answer to this.. ebay !! (for the smart fone at least) tracking systems are gonna cost about the same amount as a mid-range mobile fone (including a plan for the commercial ones that i have looked into)

Great idea but don't give away too much info.....remember the walls have ears and you don't know who's reading this thread.

yeah, too true unfortunately. (I have found some great hiding places in the car )

[Howie]

Great idea but don't give away too much info.....remember the walls have ears and you don't know who's reading this thread.

I'd like to see them find out before the cops arrive where i stash it

[Madaz]

ok with the recent spate of stolen cars for those of us that have to park our cars in a drive way i thought i would remind people of tips on how to park

you could even go as far as turning the steering 1 full lock before taking your keys out so they cant just push it further from the house and brake the steering in the street cause @ 3am in the morning they wont hesitate to work on your car in the middle of the road as opposed to in your driveway

[Vija]

I made a gps tracking system for my car and it's awesome, PM for further details.

Problem with mobile tracking afaik is it isn't very accurate. Had an iphone previously and when you asked it to get your position via mobile towers it would only give you a circle in google maps where you are. Big circle, like talking 500m diameter. The gps coordinate can pinpoint it to which part of a building it's in.

Does anyone know;

about how much is a cheap smart phone with gps?

and how much is a decent tracking system with gps?

[scandyflick]

even with the inaccuracy of the phone tower based positioning, a 500 metre diameter area is better then not having a damn clue when someones out there with your pride and joy.

[Vija]

Yeah true. Just not sure how easy it would be to convince them to track it that's all. For around $120 and a little bit of work you can have a gps system.

even with the inaccuracy of the phone tower based positioning, a 500 metre diameter area is better then not having a damn clue when someones out there with your pride and joy.

[Madaz]

$120 for GPS tracking that is awesome I'm assuming then you have to maintain a prepaid account to which you not using calls so its a one off fee every 6-12 months

[RubyRS4]

I'm installing a GPS unit into my RS4 soon, with the intention to use it to track the Stag if (on the rare chance) it gets stolen (or I'm too drunk to remember where I parked LOL).

An IT friend of mine is going to set things up for me. I can log onto my PC or PDA and find my car!

It won't come cheap (not expensive either), but it'll track the car to within 10m.

Edited March 29, 2008 by RubyRS4

[Vija]

Yeah 6 month expiry although I think Savvytel has 12 month now.

$120 for GPS tracking that is awesome I'm assuming then you have to maintain a prepaid account to which you not using calls so its a one off fee every 6-12 months

[Madaz]

thought i would bump this thread as it must be getting close to that time of year again

Protect your Cars people

[Damo_R34]

Just had my alarm done guys, Ric at auto perfection is the man you're after.