GPS Tracker: "GPS103A" from dealextreme.com (a user review)

[MattyCiii]

I bought a GPS vehicle tracker from dealextreme.com, the "GPS103A" (user manual linked here). It's pretty compact - about the size of a pack of cards - and so far has worked very well.

I have it hidden on my daily commuter bike. You'd have trouble finding it even if you knew the bike had a tracker. It's a little extra insurance, over and above the lock and the fact that the bike is rarely out of my sight (The three most common places for my bike are inside my home, in my office at work, or under my butt).

I'll be posting more details at this thread in the coming weeks - today was the device's first exposure to rain. A light mist, but about 40 minutes outside. We'll see what that does to it. Feel free to ask questions!

[MattyCiii]

The long term test will begin soon. The device is built for a car or motorcycle, so it expects to have a full time connection to 12-14v. That said it also has an internal battery - in case your car thief disconnects the main battery.

As an annoying fail-safe, the device starts transmitting positions at 3 minute intervals when main power is lost. I've been reluctant to hack up the wiring harness supplied with the device, and equally reluctant to just bind that harness up and hide it - so my experience to date has been to run the system without external power, and simply turn it off unless I lock the bike up. Now that I have a replacement connector on the way I can build a short 14v lead from my "lighting" battery pack and test this system as a permanently powered system, the way it was designed to be.

[MattyCiii]

A quick update: I received the connectors I needed and assembled a lead to take power off my lighting battery (4s Lipo). Now the testing begins in ernest:

• With external power, the system is tracking GPS at all times. So far (only two tests) I can get a position in 13 seconds start to finish. One way to do this is to place a phone call to the tracker. After one ring, it goes to voice mail. Hang up... a few seconds later, I get a text message of [position], [speed] and [time]:
  
  • Position is in latitude and longitude. On my iPhone it's a hyperlink - click the link and the position is plotted on the Maps application
  • Speed - good to know, is the theif still moving?
  • Time: This tells me the time of the position - useful in case the tracker has lost GPS tracking. It will tell me the last known position, and the time of that position.
• I'll leave it plugged in and check how much it's draining the battery. I'm not worried, it's 5AH. I suppose I can check the documentation too and see if power draw is specified.

[cal3thousand]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing your findings.

So this work from GSM service, do you need to supply a SIM? What network/plan are you using?

[MattyCiii]

Yes it's GSM and/or GPRS. It requires a standard size SIM. I use AT&T, and since I was already paying the family plan the sim is $9.99 (then add in all the taxes and universal service fees it's $15). I have unlimited text messages in the plan so I can

I wanted to buy one of these like a long time ago but was concerned there'd be complications with getting the right SIM. It's not like it would be easy to return for a refund. But it worked fine - tested it right there in the AT&T store since the device ships with its battery part charged.

[MattyCiii]

Time for an update - I cross-posted this in another thread and it might get some looks/questions.

I took the GPS off my bike. Strange reason why... My apartment was broken into. Lots of stuff stolen, mostly computer equipment. They left the bike behind - good news because the GPS has a hardware on/off switch, and I had it off.

So, as a knee-jerk reaction to having my shi4 stolen right from my home, I decided I'd wire up a 4s/5AH LiPo as a main power source. I can leave the tracker on for like 2 weeks between charges this way. It's still off the bike as I get it set up/wired together and do a few more tests, and hide the whole thing in a not-so-small hammond enclosure. I figure the bike looks strange enough that one more inexplicable black box bolted on will not look unusual, and will stay active till me/the police/some hired guns can catch up with the thieves. We'll see about that, or hopefully we won't!

[tostino]

Sorry to hear about that man! I wish you luck in finding out who did it, and getting a little justice.

Lucky at least the bike wasn't taken, but that whole situation sucks.

Stay safe!

[MattyCiii]

Thanks for the good wishes Tostino!
Nobody got hurt - all I lost was objects. That said, my expensive bike was spared the possible theft because it was at the shop at the time - so I got lucky there. These bikes of ours - it's not just the dollar invested, it's the blood sweat and tears too. I consider myself lucky, all told.

[cal3thousand]

Yes it's GSM and/or GPRS. It requires a standard size SIM. I use AT&T, and since I was already paying the family plan the sim is $9.99 (then add in all the taxes and universal service fees it's $15). I have unlimited text messages in the plan so I can

I wanted to buy one of these like a long time ago but was concerned there'd be complications with getting the right SIM. It's not like it would be easy to return for a refund. But it worked fine - tested it right there in the AT&T store since the device ships with its battery part charged.

That's the monthly charge?

[The fingers]

Now all you have to do is get them to steal the GPS so you can nail 'em.

[MattyCiii]

This project has been dormant awhile

But it's moved up the queue. I removed the GPS tracker from my folding bike because I now go back and forth between two bikes. I want the GPS tracker to be modular enough to easily attach to whichever bike I'm riding that day. What I decided to do is to embed the GPS in an aluminum Hammond enclosure, and mount it to the seat post. The enclosure will not only house the GPS tracker, but it will also serve as a mount point for the next iteration of my "Lefty Lights". See that small black box the hand trowel is mounted to? that's where the GPS will go


In the current setup, I have a custom made (on the MakerBot) mount that attaches the metal enclosure to the rear rack. But my second bike has no rack and won't be getting one. So, I will create a custom mount point, one for each bike, attached to the seat post. The seat post angle on each bike is different. But all I need do is have each terminate in a 90mm vertical square, and I can use quick release VESA mounts as the standard modular interface. Here's a draft of the custom mount for my A-Line:


Once done I'll have a small modular box that provides some safety (blinky lights!) and security (GPS tracking... a function non of us ever want to have to use, right?)