gps trackers

[Brosama]

Sorry to hear about the missing moto. I might also recommend an alarm system. I've put one into each of my bikes in China for about 280 RMB. The one I use comes with a remote starter and a two-way controller. If the alarm goes off and you're asleep in bed, the controller will buzz and beep. It's gone off a few times (always in the middle of the night) and I've managed to scare off the thief by yelling out the window. My buddy had his go off a couple of weeks ago and found that the ignition lock on his bike had been destroyed despite the fact that there were disc brake locks on the front and the rear (what were they going to do? Sit on the bike and idle the motor?).

that sounds like a useful device can you tell me where you purchased it and whats is its name? also if its from taobao a link of the one you bought would be nice

TY

[bikerdoc]

Any updates or developments on those that installed GPS trackers... LJH, Barry etc. How the devices holding up?
Any issues?

[Lao Jia Hou]

Any updates or developments on those that installed GPS trackers... LJH, Barry etc. How the devices holding up?
Any issues?

I have several of these, different shapes/sizes/features. There are many companies selling many different models, these days, on taobao. I wouldn't particularly recommend any specific brand/model, but these are the features I like:

- battery back-up; and,
- the unit will SMS you if the bike is moved

One thing I do not like is they all seem to drain a motorcycle battery in about a week, or two, if it is not ridden. Some units will send a warning SMS if your battery is getting low (nice feature).

[bikerdoc]

Great thanks LJH. As you write, there are plenty of different units/model GPS trackers listed on TB. Likely similar innards with differing external shells and graphics etc. Looking at a few different options at the moment, but wondering if any might present a problem if bought here then used abroad? Any advice in this regard?

[Lao Jia Hou]

wondering if any might present a problem if bought here then used abroad? Any advice in this regard?

I have also wondered that, but have no evidence to say, one way or the other. My guess is ... they probably will not work overseas. The Chinese trackers (and companies) seem to have an agreement with China Mobile, triangulating off their towers, and somehow feeding data back to their own Chinese-tracking-companies' websites. The trackers I have all use China Mobile SIM cards.

[ThePope]

Any updates or developments on those that installed GPS trackers... LJH, Barry etc. How the devices holding up?
Any issues?

I had nothing but trouble out of the one that Serpentza originally wrote about. It worked ok for a day. If there were a job in a pit crew for removing the associated parts I had to remove to get to the thing I would be the guy to hire, having to do it about forty times. So I sent it back and they sent me another one. This one worked but they had associated it with the wrong ID so I was unable to track it online. It took me a while to figure that out. They finally fixed that problem over a dozen phone calls and more wasted time (not mine, luckily). About a week later I went on a two day trip and lo and behold the thing stopped working somewhere in the middle.

NOTE: This is my cheapo CQR I bought off taobao so I purchased this thing to play with and the tracking function more than an anti-theft measure.

NOW GET THIS. I took the seat off where I had secured it underneath and discovered the plastic encasement missing and the circuit board exposed. Meaning - someone actually tried to rip the thing out, apparently. I had the unit taped down with double sided 3M tape though and it looks like when they pulled on it they ripped the encasement off and then replaced the seat and side panels? I still haven't been able to wrap my head around this bizarre incident and why anyone would do such a thing.

When I drive the bike into Guangzhou, I park it in the same place as SuperSignet's old Shineray Long March. On a side note, that's what got me onto this site and thinking about buying a motorcycle about a year or two ago. I saw his bike parked there while visiting a friend. Later discovered his blog here on MCM (still didn't know it was him and his bike - even though I'd met him and we'd even done some silly corporate music gig on New Year's Eve one year) COMPLETELY RANDOM WEIRD INFO I'M SHARING HERE. But it's what got me started and it's such a small, strange, connected world we live in. Anyway, I still don't know why anyone would have done this.

I'm going to go ahead and order another replacement for it just because I have the SIM card, but it does drain battery, which is annoying and I don't know what to do about that. One morning I had to run through the apartment complex and pop-clutch jumpstart the bike (bike is not exactly light, and I'm 6'5" and was dressed in full gear - gave the kids heading out on their way to school an amusing and rare way to start their day!)

So, this battery draining problem is really an issue. Sometimes I leave the bike for weeks when I'm downtown and am nowhere near it. It's really a hassle to try to disconnect the battery everytime as most of the time when I leave it I don't know exactly how long I'll be gone. I did find one for a car on taobao that someone else posted on MCM that has a claimed backup life of 30-45 days, but it's too large to fit on my bike. Any other ideas barring disconnecting the battery everytime?

[bikerdoc]

^If you park your bike near an electrical outlet, why not buy yourself a small battery tender/trickle charger and leave it connected to the battery when you plan on not using the bike for a period. If the battery is difficult or cumbersome to access, you could connect a couple of cables/wires to each terminal so that you have wire 'pigtails' routed to a location far more accessible etc., making the task of connecting the battery trickle charger that much easier.

I have 5 bikes here in my garage in PRC, and two of them are ridden way more than the others, so I guess I could say they're my go-to bikes or daily rides. The bikes not ridden as frequently, I tend to leave connected to battery tenders/trickle chargers... the ones that cost all of cny13-15.

[braillce]

Regarding why some1 would open then close ur seat, either ur thief saw ur GPS and abandoned when he exposed the circuitry and SIM wondering if some1 was gonna come blazing, or if there was more GPS devices hidden.. Either he was interrupted.

Regarding the battery, there's what bikerdoc said, and 2 more options.

1: Maybe u can add a toggle switch, or link ur GPS to the engine-stop switch somewhere away from the ignition key switch wiring so whether he wires it or force break ur ignition, he will not see the GPS extra wires, and will turn the GPS on when pushing the engine-stop switch. Now if he pushes ur bike in a truck well...

2: and those 2 links..

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/13...cker_with.html

http://www.integratedtrackers.com/GPSTrack/Company.jsp

[Barry]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/13...cker_with.html

= http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...u=i1mbv2ame57b

[Barry]

This is the one I have http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=18243930370 , but still haven't installed .

I'm quite sure it will be pretty hard to hide it on my X2, should be ok for my JH600. The "Anywhere GPS" mentioned by braillce seems more suitable for a smaller bike.


GPS Tracker TK104 VS Anywhere GPS:

Size: 94mm x 60mm x 38 VS 68mm x 50mm x 20mm
Standby time: 1500h VS 250h
Battery: 6000 mAh VS 1100 mAh
Weight: 300g VS 85g

Another option I have been thinking of is, what if you would wire your GPS tracker to a powerbank?? There are also waterproof powerbanks nowadays!
So for example 1. battery -> on/off switch -> powerbank -> GPS tracker OR 2. ignition key on/off -> powerbank -> GPS tracker. That should help against battery drainage and short standby time of GPS tracker.