Photo: GPS tracker for cars Author: Konstantin Shirokun
A small and inexpensive gadget can change your idea of using a car. Journalists from the editorial board of RBC-Ukraine Auto figured out how a GPS tracker can help the owner of a family car and a corporate fleet.
Read about the benefits of a GPS tracker for the average car owner in the RBC-Ukraine article.
The device we call a GPS tracker appeared quite a long time ago, but relatively recently it became available to any driver: for 250 – 300 UAH you can buy a device that is not very durable, but quite functional. What can it do?
The GPS tracker, using one of the satellite constellations in the Earth's orbit, determines the position of the car on the ground. In order to store this data in its own memory and transmit it unnoticed to the server or another device – for example, to the owner's smartphone or the dispatcher's computer.
What is a GPS tracker
In terms of design, a typical tracker is a compact box with GPS positioning and GSM communication modules. One determines the coordinates of the car, the other transmits information in a specified way. The antennas of both modules are hidden in the case, because often they try to hide the tracker itself somewhere in an inconspicuous corner.
The device can be programmed, for example, the frequency of sending location data is set, and missing a communication session can be regarded as an alarm signal. The tracker has its own battery for power, although it is possible to connect it to the on-board network.
More or less perfect tracker models are adapted to cases when GPS connection (GPS, Galileo, BaiDou, GLONASS networks) and mobile GSM coverage disappear. For example, the tracker will accumulate information in its own memory, and then send it after the connection is restored. You can also configure the device so that it will consciously accumulate information in itself, and the user will drain all the files after the car returns to the base.
How to use GPS tracker
The first motorists to start using GPS trackers en masse were owners of transport companies and corporate fleets. In this way, managers track unauthorized use of trucks by drivers, fuel drains on the route and traffic violations. Remote monitoring systems built on the basis of GPS trackers can control the amount of fuel in the tanks, the speed of movement and engine parameters.
On the other hand, car owners, thanks to the GPS tracker, monitor the location of their family transport: whether the car is left in the parking lot at night, whether the wife will drop in at some secret place on the way from the gym, whether the school-age son took the car for a ride with his classmates, etc.
Tracker-based security
For quite a long time, control systems have been created on the basis of such trackers, which partially replace security systems for cars. For example, there are kits that not only send the location of the owner's car to the smartphone, but also raise an alarm when the connection to the mobile network or GPS coverage disappears. Since connection problems can be caused by intruders (they disconnected the car from the power supply, jammed the signal, drove the car into an underground garage), the dispatch server immediately calls the owner, or the police or security service – if the owner has paid for the corresponding transaction.
The cheapest, although quite effective option for motorists is a simple GPS beacon hidden in the car, which in case of theft will show the owner on the map where the car is heading or where the thieves have hidden it. iOS devices use the proprietary smart keychain AirTag, which also shows on the map where the object to which the keychain is attached is located. But instead of GPS satellites, this tag uses Bluetooth and all Apple gadgets indiscriminately that are nearby.
In brief
Some tech-savvy car owners use a GPS tracker (versions with extended functionality) instead of a security system. But here it is important to understand that the tracker does not have functions that are useful for some cars. For example, for a budget car, it is more likely that it will not be stolen for resale, but “opened” on the spot to take a forgotten bag from the interior or, for example, a video recorder. Therefore, the alarm function is more important for it – informing the driver about unauthorized opening of the door or breaking of the window. But this does not mean that the ability to track the position of the car will be superfluous.
In preparing this article, materials from “Sound and Tuning” and L`Automobile were used .
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported on the types of all-wheel drive available on pickups and SUVs.