chiark

I use <A HREF=http://www.navtrack.com>Navtrak</A> and I wish I could say that I was terribly impressed, but I can't. I've had two faulty units which were replaced quickly, but given that you only find they're faulty when your car has been nicked, I think they have a problem.

Also, since January, I have been promised an active tracking service. It's now due "by the end of this year".

It's cheap, and can be transferred to different cars, but if I did it all again I'd grimace and pay for the RAC unit.

brooks

Watch out with Tracker - I have been told that only 2 police cars have Tracker in the whole of Hampshire!

ptholt

I would not worry about police coverage with tracker, from talking with friends in the force most of the traffic cars/copters are equipped with tracker units and it never gets turned off as some people on the bbs suggested once.

One thing you did say Adam, was that you had to fir 'an approved' tracking device.
Have you asked what the list of approved tracking devices are so you are able to make your choice ?

I think you MAY find that that the only approved one as such is tracker. That was certainly the case when i was looking and from memory there was an option to pay a one off fee for tracker wuthout the need for monthly subs.

grale gav

Adam,
Tracker has been around the longest, and uses the most reliable technology - just don't go for their cheapest option, which relies on you alerting them!
All of these new satellite tracking companies are great - until your stolen car is in a tunnel (like the channel tunnel?) or a lockup, or a multistorey car park..........etc.
Tracker can get closer when it matters - i.e. before it is dismantled!!
No connection with them - just too much time on my hands to look in to the options.....

grale gav

Forgot,
you can have it fitted by them in Uxbridge, I think?

Adam M

Following on from a recent new car purchase, I am required to to instal and approved tracking system. What I want to know is which and why?

What are the advantages iof the different system, is there a clear winner?

I also dont want to pay any subscription, as I intend to keep the car for ever, I am looking for a one off payment top cover the car for life. Does this limit my otions?

and finally, does anyone knwo a good place that I can trust with my pride and joy near london?

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Do a search on the BBS for Tracker & a lot of info will appear.

Personally I think

RichB

When I looked into this the only people doing the one off payment was Tracker. The others relied on GPS and SMS or telephone contact.
Have at read through:

brooks

Adam,

there is a good review in

Stuart H

I would go with Tracker personally, for the simple reason that there are receivers in most Police traffic cars/bikes, as well as in the helicopter and in quite a lot of local patrol vehicles. It is also supported by all 52 UK Police Forces (and the RUC).

If you want independant expert advice you could try contacting the National Vehicle Security Helpline on <B>0990 502 006.</B>

Another thing you could think about is AlphaDot (

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh god here we go again!!!
Well i have to agree with puff the magic wagon, i know some say tracker is best but it aint, its old hat technology, suffers more from hiding in multistory carparks than gps systems, same with lockups, its radio based and that degrades with range and area... yes the police are fitted with tracker tracking units but hey whats the use when they cant get a direct lock on the car from scratch???
gps systems give the road/location, direction of travel and speed immediately, you dont have to try to find the car to start with!!
If you want the best then its GPS!!!!

Regards all!!

jac

I have just gone through the same process of selecting a tracker. It was at the insurance companies request and would save me £300 over the next best quote. I was looking for cost and ability to get the car back undamaged if stolen by professional thieves. I was worried about not necessarily wanting the car back if taken and thrashed by joyriders but figured it would probably be found dumped regardless in this case therefore not an issue. My decision was to go for Tracker Retrieve - the basic one!! Device is £200, fitting is £70, subscription is one off £300, for the lifetime of the car, transferable between owners. More and more insurance companies are requesting trackers so I thought I may have to get one anyway, but even if this is not the case, the insurance savings will pay for the system in 2 years. Some systems are more than this full amount just for the equipment minus fitting and subscriptions. Although the system relies on the car's owner to notify them of the theft, I am getting a device fitted to the alarm at negligable cost (actually free in this instance) that will page me if the alarm goes off. This is preferable as I don't always carry a mobile phone but I wouldn't mind carrying a pager. I am not bothered about satellite/GPS systems from the navigational point of view as a map has always done the job previously. The Tracker recovery rate is virtually 100%(even if the technology is not considered state of the art!) and the system allows the police themselves to track the car with out relying on a third party giving directions.

Everyone will have different opinions but these are my thoughts.

Cheers

John

[This message has been edited by jac (edited 01 September 2000).]

Paul Wilson

My take on the GPS/non GPS systems is this:-

A non GPS system relies on the Police always having the system installed in thier cars, A GPS system only relies on the Police having a Radio installed.
I bet there are more police cars with radios than tracker fitted.

p.s. GPS based systems don't supply you with a navigational display, thats a whole different ball game.

jac

Paul

As I said these are just my opinions but I disagree. Who is more likely to be able to follow a stolen car? - a policeman following his own tracking device or a policeman on his radio with some telephonist who can't see the road ahead screaming down his ear.

PS There are certain companies which supply the expensive GPS systems who advertise the ring up for directions if you are lost feature as part of the system. NavTrak is one such example.

The one advantage that has not been raised with GPS systems is the ability to show emergency services exactly where you are should the worst happen.

Jonathan

Its interesting that Tracker is not good enough for some insurance companies. I'd always think that a GPS based system is best.

A recent case on here when someones P1 was written off. The owner had a call when the car started moving on the low loader.

Is tracker in every panda car out there ?. Maybe in a lot of patrol cars. GPS is pretty accurate nowadays, dont see the need for tracker.

Jonathan

jac

Jonathan, that is a comment that does worry me. I would be interested to know who these insurance companies are? and if known why they don't approve the tracker? My insurance company, Privelidge recommended the Tracker as having the best recovery rate as well as being the most cost effective.

funluvincriminal

there is a slight time delay with the gps system. once the signal is picked up the gps controller speaks to the police radio operator who inturn directs the police patrol car. alot of the time the police air
waves are busy so exact locations are delayed as information passes from comunicator to police coms to patrol car.
plus crims do have access to scanners, any location, positions, stinger deployment areas
passed over the radio will be heard and acted on. tracker is comunication free. the
unit is on the police car dash and the cop
can do his own locating with little conversation on his radio. plus the helecopters have tracker setups,
involuntary movement tracker. £400 ish
plus £109 a year. spirit level sensor in the tracker unit itself. if the crims lift it on to a flatbed lorry, the sensor activates
and tracker call u immediately, earlywarning.
not getting up in the morning and discovering ur cars gone and the crims have a few hour before the tracker is activated
by ur phone call, by this time ur car is stripped and ur tracker unit is stuck on a eddie stobbart hgv travelling into deepest scotland.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I just love this subject!!
Myths and facts!!!
Gps, yep, time delay yes but its soooooo small, and we're talking mico seconds here, thats why its used in the telecomms industry to keep syncronisation, you cant do that as efficiently with base stations (radio)
Radio signals from ground based systems also degrade more, just check your mobile phones for that!!!
Yes GPS is the more expensive way to go but its also the best, you dont suffer from "dead zones" due to magnetic forces in the ground, it also covers ALL the U.K. tracker doesnt and if the base station is down where your car has been "borrowed" from then your stuffed!! lots of satalites up there, plenty to take over if one goes wrong!! (25 in total)
as for things like tilt sensors etc, yes my system has these standard, pretty much all tracking systems do.
At the end of the day, what would you buy, something that hasnt been updated for over 10 years or something that has been proven to work throughout the world?? (gps)
Oh and one last point, if your in scotland, dont buy tracker, the coverage isnt that good!!!!


[This message has been edited by TonyBurns (edited 03 September 2000).]

kurtw

I thought the GPS systems use American Military Sattelites? Surely if they can find a load of Iraqi's in the middle of the desert and bomb them with pinpoint accuracy, then can locate a car travelling at speed.

I know a number of people who have broken down, got picked up by a transporter, moved off and have then received a phone call on their mobile to tell them their car is on the move without the key being in the ignition. This is the RAC trackstar system as fitted to all P1's.

Sounds about as good as it can get to me.

Also, a one off payment can be made.

[This message has been edited by kurtw (edited 03 September 2000).]

Jonathan

How close does the police car need to be to a car that has had its tracker unit activated ?

Whats the chances of having a car in the vicinity at 2.00am ?

Surely its chances of getting close are slim with a limited range and a couple of cars on duty in the large area early in the morning.

Jonathan

Stuart H

I'm not sure what the detection range of the receivers in the cars is, however if a vehicle is detected by one of the relay stations then they call the police, allowing them to get a TRACKER fitted car to the area.

blp

Err Guys...all the comments regarding "Not all police cars have a tracker receiver in them" are on the whole irrelevent. Why? Because ALL police helicopters do...and they have a pick up range of 25+ miles radius.

Jonathan

And how many Police helicopters are there in the entire country. Plus with budget constraints how many are in the air ?. Just seems very slim the chances of the police scrambling a helicopter at 2am in lets say Thames Valley (which is a large area, Bucks, Oxon & Berks) to search for my car.

Jonathan

blp

This has also been covered on

chiark

blp- if we're being pedantic, you really mean GSM . NavTrack, RAC Trackstar, eGuard and some others work with a GPS/GSM combo. GPS is stunningly accurate, and there was some noise that the US Govt were removing the "scrambling" that limits accuracy...

NavTrack is Thatcham Q listed. Perhaps I've just had bad luck.

RichB

I was told that the 'error' was removed from the GPS but even with it in it was pretty damn accurate. However having used GPS reguarly locate race marks in yachts it has proved to also not be very efficient. I am by no means an expert but it seems to rely upon getting at least 3 satellites forming a triangle, many times this year we have only managed to acquire 2 or 3 and hence not got a position.
I guess as long as you don't drive your car in the sea you'll be OK!

Stuart H

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Jonathan:
<B>Just seems very slim the chances of the police scrambling a helicopter at 2am in lets say Thames Valley (which is a large area, Bucks, Oxon & Berks) to search for my car.[/quote]

Trust me when I say, that unless its broken or the cloud base is too low for the thing to fly it will turn out. Quite a few police choppers are also Air Ambulances so therefore are very rarely grounded. (A good example of how often they go out is on Channel 5 tonight @ 8pm!)

grale gav

blp - got to agree with you here!
The cops just love a chase, and a Tracker report gives them an excuse!!
ALL police forces use Tracker and I'd rather have the cops trying to find my car themselves, rather than relying on some phoned-in directions from one of several sat-tracking companies........
Also, Tracker have been around a good few years - what happens when/if some of these newer/smaller companies go bust? Obviously Trackstar is an exception here(as long as they don't fall out with the RAC!)
Also I've read that Tracker is the only one that CAN pinpoint in a multistorey or a row of lockups - how does GPS know which one of ten floors in the car park your scooby is being dismantled on???
Pay your money & take your choice, but don't get taken in by "the latest tecnology".
Better still, next time you see a 'jam sandwich' parked up, go & talk to them!!!

grale gav

Just remembered, aren't there some traffic cops on here?
Most of them drive scoobies now, anyway!
(too much time on my hands at work!)

[This message has been edited by grale gav (edited 04 September 2000).]

Stuart H

Yes, most of us do drive scoobies now.

Makes going to work <I>such</I> a bugger!!

[This message has been edited by Stuart H (edited 04 September 2000).]