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Post by JerryScript on Dec 21, 2014 16:36:24 GMT -5
We have had several threads over the past year talking about alarms, chains, locks, and scooters stolen despite them all. I personally have video saved from work of someone coming up to our rear entrance and walking off with an employee's scooter in broad daylight on a very busy street (Buffalo and Summerlin Prkwy for anyone familiar with Vegas, rear entrances faces Buffalo). People have spent money and extra time/effort putting special chains/locks on their scooters, being certain to park in lighted/camera'd areas, and using various alarms (I use all the above). Even so, people are still getting their scooters and motorcycles stolen. Perhaps it is time for us to move up our game. This is the 21st century, but we are relying on 20th - 15th century technology to keep our scooters safe. Up until this year, GPS tracking has been a bit too expensive for most to justify using on a cheap scooter. Not any longer! You can now find cheap GPS tracking devices for around $50, and prepaid SIM cards for as little as $20/year. There is no excuse for us to stay in the dark ages when protecting our rides. With these GPS trackers, you install a prepaid SIM card from a cellular company, install the tracker on your bike in a hidden location wired into the battery (several reviews say it doesn't drain car/truck batteries, testing will determine how our little scooter batteries handle the drain). To find the location of the device on Google Maps, you send a text message or call the device. You can even set the one I link to below to turn on a microphone and listen to the thieves! Here is one such GPS tracker with good reviews, I'm just now beginning to research them, so anyone else with experience or knowledge of a good product at a price that makes sense on a $1k scooter, please chime in! Amazon: Sourcingbay Tracking Drive Vehicle Car Tracker Gps/gsm/gprs SystemNote- For the time being, thieves will not even recognize most GPS tracking devices so long as you obscure any labeling on them. So they probably wouldn't remove one even if they saw it! |
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Post by tvnacman on Dec 21, 2014 21:03:33 GMT -5
I was looking into this , to track where my work truck is . I guess if there were a good demo it may sway me to make the move
John
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Post by scooter on Dec 21, 2014 21:19:33 GMT -5
This is the 21st century, but we are relying on 20th - 15th century technology to keep our scooters safe. Up until this year, GPS tracking has been a bit too expensive for most to justify using on a cheap scooter. Not any longer! You can now find cheap GPS tracking devices for around $50, and prepaid SIM cards for as little as $20/year. That is really super, Jerry! Great find! |
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Post by earlwb on Dec 21, 2014 22:50:51 GMT -5
Those could be really useful, if they are low cost. I remember when they wanted something like $25 a month or more for the service. So getting it down to $20 a year makes it really attractive. Now then, it really depends on if the police will use the technology and track the scooter or not down. Or do you have to do that for them too.
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Post by JerryScript on Dec 21, 2014 23:48:42 GMT -5
Those could be really useful, if they are low cost. I remember when they wanted something like $25 a month or more for the service. So getting it down to $20 a year makes it really attractive. Now then, it really depends on if the police will use the technology and track the scooter or not down. Or do you have to do that for them too. I imagine it depends upon the police in your area. Here in Vegas, I have no confidence in them helping retrieve a stolen scooter, even if you have GPS coords. They publicly announced this past year that they would no longer send cars out to non-injury vehicle accidents (one reason I'm also looking into camera options, he said - she said doesn't fly in my book). Luckily, I have a few friends that would be more than happy to accompany me while retrieving something stolen from me, and let's just say you wouldn't feel to comfy if you where to run across them while exiting the rear of a casino with your winnings.  |
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Post by rockynv on Dec 22, 2014 4:31:43 GMT -5
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Post by JerryScript on Dec 22, 2014 17:48:01 GMT -5
That is one of the models I'm looking at. The link I originally posted is to a combined ad for 8 different models sold by the same company. I know nothing of Sourcingbay, but I have been pleasantly surprised the past few years by the cheap electronic gadgets I've been buying from companies like them. Sub $50 is in my price range to take a chance. I'll order one after the holidays and let everyone know how it works out. |
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Post by JerryScript on Dec 22, 2014 18:44:08 GMT -5
Ok, doing some research on this, here's what I've found so far. Apparently a company called Xexun started marketing the TK102 gps tracker a few years back, and have put out new models ever since, newest is the XT107. Since then, the chinese markets have been flooded with clones, very cheap ones in the past year. These clones appear to be a crapshoot, some work well, others work for a short time, others not at all, and of course they are the cheaper ones you find available. The only way to determine if one of these is a genuine Xexun and not a clone is to enter the product's IMEI number into their website. It appears the genuine product is more in the $70-$100 price range, I will be nervous with any that are sub $50, but still think I'll try the one I linked to due to it have a majority of good reviews (not to mention the reviews themselves are like an open-source manual on this product, helping work out any kinks). Shenzen Xexun Technology's website |
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Post by JerryScript on Dec 23, 2014 14:47:44 GMT -5
I was looking into this , to track where my work truck is . I guess if there were a good demo it may sway me to make the move John I found a couple of pretty good video reviews and demos on YouTube: This one includes details about current drain, if you don't ride your scooter daily, you'll want a separate cutoff switch: |
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Post by tvnacman on Dec 23, 2014 16:13:05 GMT -5
nice
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Post by BadCattitude on Dec 25, 2014 21:00:18 GMT -5
This could be a promising alternative... www.drone-mods.com/Drone-Mods-UAV-Locator-DM005.htmSmall and lightweight, it uses all networks available, not just a single carrier/provider to locate the unit. Subscription is a tad over five bucks a month, or 16.5 cents per day. Now if it could be hard wired to the scooter's electrical system to maintain a charge beyond the battery's 12 day life... |
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Post by JerryScript on Dec 26, 2014 22:13:03 GMT -5
This could be a promising alternative... www.drone-mods.com/Drone-Mods-UAV-Locator-DM005.htmSmall and lightweight, it uses all networks available, not just a single carrier/provider to locate the unit. Subscription is a tad over five bucks a month, or 16.5 cents per day. Now if it could be hard wired to the scooter's electrical system to maintain a charge beyond the battery's 12 day life... Nice find! I'm sure the charger is a low voltage low amp charger, one that works off 12v should be simply to rig up. |
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Post by zhan on Dec 27, 2014 3:37:46 GMT -5
I'm going to rig my scoot with enough plastic explosives to launch a 200 pound man into space. The poor unfortunate soul who even sits on my scooter will trigger an explosion that will send his body so far up into the stratosphere that it will be mistaken for space debris. No locks, alarms, or tracking devices required. Just mutually assured destruction. Cheers!  |
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