RAC Trackstar V Tracker Horizon

Well I have read up all the posts here on the subject, most folk like the Tracker Horizon because the police have radio receivers in their cars + chopper

Now if the device omits a radio signal as well as gps signals.
Is that a problem as the location of the device can be comprimised?

doctor CLIFFORD: Thanks for your reply

I did not think my question was odd but.....

I did not want to be overly specific.

The question is, if it omits a radio signal any tee leaf worth his salt will find it.

Find the answer to that on yer link, because i could not.

The radio frequency that the TRACKER products operate on are not published anywhere.

Even if a thief had a device to identify that a radio signal was being produced by the car, the thief would then have to try and locate the transmitter within the car (not an easy task - there are literally thousands of different locations and this is normally only known by TRACKER themselves).

The thief would have a 'time to find device' vs 'leave the transmitting car well alone' decision to make.

No piece of technology is 100% foolproof - look at the increasing incidents of key theft and aggrevated hijackings - there is now so much security in vehicles these days that it is now easier to steal the keys than 'break into' the car

Silverback: Thanks for the reply
Point taken, just to say if you can scan for a bug in a room, the location might not be to difficult to find on a car.

It just seemed that the TrackStar being GPS only might be harder to scan for because of the satalite signal only.

I can't think of any other reason now to buy the Trackstar over the Tracker Horizon.

Traker Horizon is best, me thinks.

Any comments?

Ajax

I'll vouch for that! Had my car stolen on new year's eve (see post in General). They got in the house whilst we were sleeping and found the keys downstairs and simply drove off in my car. 2 1/2 hrs later Tracker phoned me back to tell me the car had been recovered.
I'm very lucky as the car only needs minor work doing.
Go for it.

Nick

The GPS aspect to both devices is passive - they both receive signals from GPS satelites & triangulate their terrestial position from them. Tracking devices do not need to emit GPS signals. The other aspect of the tracking device is a radio signal - either GSM or Tracker's frequency or other. That signal is detectable as it is a transmission from the device.

The best thing with any tracking device is to have one that tells you the car is been stolen as it happens. In that way, it can be tracked, located & recovered before the scrote has time to get it into a lock-up to search for any tracking devices.

If you are worried about the system being found the GPS system is easyer to find because the GPS reciever is far bigger than the Radio ariel !!!
I fit the things and i have a Tracker Monitor on my own motor 4.6 HSE Range Rover.

skoobidude, Puff The Magic Wagon!:thanks for the replys
doctor CLIFFORD: I know you are the man when it comes to trackers and thanks for the bottom line on trackers.

It all seems very strage that Subaru put the Trakstar on the STI as standard.
when everybody here thinks its not the best system, not one person has had a good word to say about it.

Ajax car dealers fit what ever they can make the most money from not what is best!!
I,m not here to put anyones product down but do,nt think because they fit it , its the best!
I fit a lot of SIGMA which is standard fittment on all subaru but i have nt got one on my car.

I didn't say that. In fact, I rate GSM/GPS systems over Tracker any day. Why? Main reason is that you have to have a Tracker equipped plod car for the system to start to work. Contrary to popular belief, not ALL police cars have this fitted & don't imagine they're going to run a heli up every time they get a tracker call.

The idea of trackers is that they quickly & effectively locate a vehicle, allowing the police to move in and recover it. If there is a hole, such as having a suitably equipped vehicle around, then there is a chance that you will not have your vehicle returned.

Take a scenario. Vehicle stolen, auto-activation. GPS/GSM aquires immediately & Police are informed where to go. Tracker - no suitably equipped vehicle around...

In my mind there is absolutely no argument as to which system to use. After that, its upto whether you consider RAC Trackstar or Navtrack Proactive systems the one for you...

Almost every police traffic car and every motorway car is tracker equiped!!

If your TRACKER equiped car is stolen the system will first inform you then you inform the plod then the will send a tracker locator equiped vehicle to the last know place of car the system has a 14 mile range (approx) hopefully your car has,nt got that far away then they can start searching, but if any other Tracker equiped plod car is in the area (14 miles) they are not going to ignore the signal.

[Edited by doctor CLIFFORD - 1/5/2003 11:25:14 PM]

[Edited by doctor CLIFFORD - 1/5/2003 11:26:40 PM]

Notice the word "hopefully" :rolleyes:

Doc

Its still a case of "go find" (by the Police) as opposed to "go here" - which in your mind is the better choice?

As i said before i am not into slagging off products but have you ever used a GPS based product on a very cloudy day??? or inside a lock up??

Isnt it all down to communication
The police have got a long winded control room solution with trackstar, but if tracker horizon is fitted they can do it themselves.
Can’t believe Tackstar owners aren’t supporting their system.

it must have something good or it will go under.

GPS need about three Sat's to pick them up
Stick it in a concrete garage and it will be Knackered or even under trees.
Trakstar is gone loose this one, sorry.

Awake again...

Ajax - your money & your choice...

TBH I've done a lot of work with GPS/GSM & indeed GPS/GPRS tracking.

GPS satelites emit a signal. If the receiver (in the car) can "hear" the signal, then it can triangulate. Anybody got a SatNav? Ever have problems on a cloudy day? :rolleyes: Same principal.

I agree that in an underground carpark it is unlikely to work, however the system should still send it's last known position. Don't forget that mobiles/SMS work in most car-parks. Every position is recorded in memory, so it is a simple matter for it to send its last known position. Don't forget, with the active detectors as soon as the car gets stolen, it is activated & transmitting position, so the vehicle can be tracked until it goes underground. Just knock on the door after that ;)

However with Tracker, stick it in an HGV container & its fubared. No signal out & no idea where it was before the signal was lost...

Trackstar for me.....

Only one police car in Leicester has a tracker so not worth bothering with tracker in my area!

Trackstar does not rely on the police having the right technology so IMHO Trackstar wins every time!

Mak.

At the end of the day, TRACKER Horizon combines the benefits of both technologies.

GPS only systems are easier to disable due to their requirement to see the sky (GPS receivers can see through glass and some plastics - bumpers, but not through metal).

At the end of the day, you pays your money and take your choice. I know which one I'm having on my new MY03 WRX (mind you I do work for them and get it for free!)

Oh dear, urban myths ! "GPS doesn't work very well on a cloudy day" Come on DOC, get real, we're not all stupid here so stop telling porkies! GPS is NOT compromised on a cloudy day.

We also hear about vehicles being in "lock-ups". This weekend I installed an asset tracking system on a car transporter at transporter engineering in Yeovil. The vehicle was in their factory which has a completely steel roof which stretched for at least 30' to the side & front of the vehicle. We were able to locate the vehicle precisely by the unit receiving through opaque panels on the side of the building.

Our consideration has always been to research all the products on the market carefully and make an informed decision. With this in mind we chose to go down the road with Trackstar. Whilst it may be slightly more expensive in some cases, the benefits justify the extra outlay.

GPS wins every time !

Sorry if i am wrong (there is a difference between lying and being mistaken!!!) but i only go off what i have been told and what i have seen ,and my sat nav system do,nt work too well on a cloudy day in the city of brum!
Your GPS system will not work through the side walls of a factory unit, It has to see the sats and it will not see round corners or in a hevily built up area!

Doc,
neither will radio signals that bounce off the office blocks in towns giving a weak and echoing signal....
GSP is better than ground based radio, as believe it or not, ground based radio is a more flawed system.
I have known a few trackstar units that have done their job well (one on a P1 and the other on an MY01 WRX) and both were recovered in under an hour.
If you take into consideration that most police forces dont acutally have more than 2 helecopters (1 in most cases) and a few cars fitted (traffic cars) with a tracker system, then i wouldnt want to really rely upon them to find my car..... all you need is a crash on the Motorway (quite a common occurance) and you have removed the traffic car(s) out of the equasion, along with bad weather and there goes your helecopter :(
I'll stick with all the security i have on my car now ;) i know its good otherwise i wouldnt have put it on ;):D

Tony:D

have a look on WWW.thankstotracker.co.uk

This will answer all your odd questions!

[Edited by doctor CLIFFORD - 1/5/2003 5:54:58 PM]