Gps tracker

[smdts]

I am looking at entry level gps trackers and wondering if anyone has any feedback on the ones I am looking at.
Looking at either the sinotrack, which is 26 quid on aliexpress coupled with a 3 24gb preloaded sim at £30 which will last 2 years. The sinotrack has no app subscription. I don't know how reliable these are in the real world being chinese, but sometimes you find a gem on aliexpress.
Other option is TruTrak FMB920 GPS Vehicle Tracking Device With 4G FMC920 Option - Van Motorbike Coach Car Tracker - Pay as You Go - Self-Install https://amzn.eu/d/fiSuip8
Bit dearer subscription, but that might go towards a better cloud platform and support.
Maybe a Gpsbob system?
Any other suggestions?
It will be backed up by a hidden chipolo one point tag, similar to an airtag but for androids find my device network.
Is 4g worth the extra money over 2g? Probably more choice for coverage I would imagine.[/list]

[Easy-X]

I tried out some of the cheap trackers. I got the cost down to less than £30 for 10 years. However, the main downside is the standby current - a constant 100~200mA drain on the battery. If you daily a bike you might get away with it.

With regards to networks - 2/3/4/5g - not much data is actually sent so the speed is irrelevant but the trend is for the older networks to get switched off and the frequencies reused. I wouldn't touch anything less than 4g these days.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

I dabbled with a BuFan Mini GPS Tracker back in 2019, from Amazon, made in China (of course!). It was about £30 IIRC, internal battery-powered and a bit bigger than a matchbox. I got it mainly out of curiosity. The battery lasted 7-10 days but messaged (Sim-card) when it needed recharging. Initially I was quite impressed with it but the location radius could jump a couple of hundred yards from my garage. Parked at work it always showed a location off-site so yes, you’ll need an AirTag, Tile or similar as the final locator, for example if the bike had been taken to a row of garages. I can’t remember if the device was 2 or 4G but it stopped working within a few months…

[Robby]

As said, the battery drain is the problem. Easier to work around nowadays with big power banks being cheap, but that also adds to cost, weight, size and complexity. You will need to wire it into a switched live circuit, if you go off the bike battery you will end up with it being flat at the worst time.

[bugeye_bob]

If set up right they go to sleep so battery drain isnt a major issue if you set them up ok,
I have a few, all the cheap aliexpress type,
The relay type are awesome for classic car owners, as they are asleep when people scan for trackers, you can wake them up easy enough when required to track and the relay can have a genuine use, fuel cut or car horn lol

[Polarbear]

i had a cheap Chinese one on my boat just incase it got stolen (there was a spate of it happening a few years ago). This one had an internal battery because I heard (anecdotal stories of course) that one of the first things thieves did was disconnect the battery incase it powered a tracker. (many old diesel engines in boats do not need electric to run). A PAYG sim for a fiver a month powered it.

It worked ok and had an alert which went off if the boat was moved. Battery lasted a few weeks between charging once I got out of the habit of checking it every hour or so so from that point of view was fine until I forgot where I had hidden it and the battery went flat. It's still there now, wherever 'there' is. Obviously that wouldn't be a problem on a bike.

If I wasn't in a marina or if I had a really expensive bike I wanted to track I'd probably go for a subscription tracker because, so I gather, the police will get involved with them but will take bugger all notice if you say you know where it is because of your own cheap as chips tracker. Anecdotal story again as I have no idea if that is true or false.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[wilbur]

I've got one of these.

https://www.rewiresecurity.co.uk/db2-self-install-diy-gps-tracker

You do need to keep an eye on your battery over the winter and the fees are about £5 a month.

[Ste]

Increase your budget slightly and get biketrac?

https://biketrac.co.uk/

[t121anf]

Saw this advertised on the tv, it’s for dogs but no subscription to pay and ring fencing alerts are planned.

https://www.pitpat.com/gps-tracker/

Might work in a bike.

[Howling Terror]

If you have a mApple device would an airtag work? (asking the collective here).
Battery life is a year. CR2032

Samsung do their version too. Smart tag 2.
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[Easy-X]

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Fullers1845]

I like the idea of these but do the old bill bother following up GPS leads or still just give you a bog standard crime number and punt you on to the insurance process?

I know if you're a bit 'handy' they come in useful - my daughter's best friend's Dad has one in his beemer - his house got broken into and they took the keys to the beemer plus his wallet, he went round and got the whole lot back the next day.
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Honda CB125F, Kawasaki ZX6R J1, 1922 Sheffield-Henderson Blackburne grasstrack/sprint

[MCN]

I put a Samsung Tag on my hoose keys in my bag.

I'm in the office here and my keys and bag are in the room 50 feet from me.

I can see my Smart Tag.

That's as good a test as I've done so far.

(Plus, I knew my keys were there.)
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Freddyfruitba...]

[Easy-X]

The high-end subscription based trackers will have a relationship with the police. Information is submitted to the plod with the correct paperwork and it becomes the easy box ticking exercise the police live for. How quickly they might respond is another matter, YMMV etc.

The best bet if it's your own tracker is to go round the lock-up of the miscreants in a dress and politely ask for your stuff back. When they inevitably refuse you can report it as a hate crime and the police will be there in 5 mins.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter