gps trackers

[Lao Jia Hou]

@Everyone with a gps tracker, how are you finding them years on? Are they all still working great? Helped recover any stolen bikes? I now have dreams of hunting down thieves with a crew of friends and busting open an shed, video cameras recording and catching/embarrassing the bastards in a chopshop. =D

I am using several of them, and find they work great BUT they do trickle-drain batteries. The basic model is fine, for my purposes, although I have upgraded one to a model that will SMS me if the bike is touched (like a motion alarm). It also has an 8-hour battery in it, in case a thief cuts the main terminals.

Although they provide me with a little sense of added protection, the route tracking feature is what I really like.

They are inexpensive.

[MotoKai]

I am using several of them, and find they work great BUT they do trickle-drain batteries. The basic model is fine, for my purposes, although I have upgraded one to a model that will SMS me if the bike is touched (like a motion alarm). It also has an 8-hour battery in it, in case a thief cuts the main terminals.
Although they provide me with a little sense of added protection, the route tracking feature is what I really like.
They are inexpensive.

Seems I have the same (or similar) tracker/service as yours. It even sends you SMS when there's a small earthquake - which Milton and I experienced when in Xinjiang. At least that's my theory on why it woke me at 2am. haha {I did look out the window and there wasn't anyone near the bike or cats running about}.

My only problem with the website is that there isn't a way download your tracks.
Anyone have a service or solution for this?

[Lao Jia Hou]

My only problem with the website is that there isn't a way download your tracks.
Anyone have a service or solution for this?

If you use the http://www.bcxgps.com/ website (and I would assume you are), you can download the track (and several other data files) in an Excel (.xls) spreadsheet format. I've never installed tracks into a GPS unit (e.g., a ZUMO), so I don't know what is involved, but it is probably in some other format. I'm not even sure I'd need something like that (I just use waypoints). Anyways, all the Lat/Long are in a text Excel file, so there must be a way to convert it into a Garmin-readable format.

If you just want a map, I use a screen shot & pic editor.

If you need instructions on how to download the files into an Excel spreadsheet, send me a PM. But if you use that website, it seems pretty simple.

I like this service because it permits me to easily track each & every bike's activity - it will even give me a report of any bike that exceeds the speed limit (where, when and by how much)!

[ChinaV]

Send me the Excel file or whatever file options they let you download it as and I can probably KML or GPX it and then post instructions on the conversion.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[ChinaV]

LJH sent me the excel file from http://www.bcxgps.com/ it's quite easy to convert the data to KMZ or GPX.

#1 Download the Excel file
#2 Open the Excel file
#3 Select all the data in the Longitude and Latitude cells
#4 Copy the data to the clipboard
#5 Open a text document (Text Edit on Mac or Notepad on Winblows)
#6 Paste the data into the text document
#7 Save it to your desktop
#8 Go to http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/
#9 Click the Choose File button
#10 Select the file you saved on your desktop
#11 Choose an output format (Google Earth instead of Google Maps if you want a KMZ)
#12 Click the Go button
#13 Click on the KMZ file to download it to your computer.
#14 Open in Google Earth

Please understand that it appears there is little you can do about the paranoid Chinese offset. Get over it, you live in retarded country, drink more beer and make noise if it really bothers you.

Cheers!
ChinaV

[Lao Jia Hou]

Thanks a bunch ChinaV!

Now, next time you are in Beijing (or maybe at the CQ show next month), perhaps your kind heart will teach me how to put a track into a GPS unit ... and, perhaps more importantly, why I would want to do that.