Who's had their FD stolen?
#26
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Originally Posted by DomFD3S
Question about the GeoTracer.
Assuming that you activated the unit, and a Google Earth map pulls up...what results does it give you? Does it give you a reasonably close address? Does it give you the street corners?
Or does it give you map coordinates which you then have to bust out a map, a compass, and w/ the help of the north star...you end up somewhere much like how Columbus discovered America?
Another question,...do you have a pay a monthly fee or what?
Assuming that you activated the unit, and a Google Earth map pulls up...what results does it give you? Does it give you a reasonably close address? Does it give you the street corners?
Or does it give you map coordinates which you then have to bust out a map, a compass, and w/ the help of the north star...you end up somewhere much like how Columbus discovered America?
Another question,...do you have a pay a monthly fee or what?
The units i installed had two separate pieces. There was the control module and the gps antenna. the antenna needs a good line of sight. so we would put them in the intrument cluster. the second part we would put under the dash. If i were going to use it for a theft deterrant I would put it somwhere else. The system would use gps and roaming cell phone service to give the location.
My company had an account set up so i diddnt have to pay for the service. However when i would register the units to the cars there was a charge screen and i would just pick one. I think there are a few different options as far a paying. I think you could either have like 5 tracks for $50.00 or unlimited tracks for $100.00. I dont remember if this is a yearly or lifetime price.
#27
I don't feel like retyping all the info again, so please see this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/if-its-easy-who-else-can-get-my-car-571679/#post6019637, especially my posts about GPS and kill switches. They're not all they're cut out to be...
Ironically, if I wanted your car Rich, it would only take me about 45 SECONDS to tow it away. Then I can do w/ it what I want at my leisure, in the privacy of my garage...and even end up selling the Viper ignition kill switch and PFC + Commander on the forum lol. Don't even get too confident; that's when you get sloppy, park it outside in the wrong area, and she disappears
~Ramy
Originally Posted by GoodfellaFD3S
purchase a viper ignition kill, and/or use your pfc to set your rev limiter for 500 rpms. The only way that FD is going anywhere is on a flatbed
~Ramy
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Originally Posted by FDNewbie
I don't feel like retyping all the info again, so please see this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?p=6019637, especially my posts about GPS and kill switches. They're not all they're cut out to be...
#30
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Originally Posted by FDNewbie
I don't feel like retyping all the info again, so please see this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?p=6019637, especially my posts about GPS and kill switches. They're not all they're cut out to be...
Ironically, if I wanted your car Rich, it would only take me about 45 SECONDS to tow it away. Then I can do w/ it what I want at my leisure, in the privacy of my garage...and even end up selling the Viper ignition kill switch and PFC + Commander on the forum lol. Don't even get too confident; that's when you get sloppy, park it outside in the wrong area, and she disappears
~Ramy
Ironically, if I wanted your car Rich, it would only take me about 45 SECONDS to tow it away. Then I can do w/ it what I want at my leisure, in the privacy of my garage...and even end up selling the Viper ignition kill switch and PFC + Commander on the forum lol. Don't even get too confident; that's when you get sloppy, park it outside in the wrong area, and she disappears
~Ramy
#31
Originally Posted by BackyardSog
I'm not sponsored or anything. But I installed these units inside wood covered cinder block building and it retrieved a signal. take it for what its worth. Unless the theives have a concrete fortress chop shop i say the odds are in your favor to at least get an iidea of where your car is. Assuming you hide the unit good enough and have a small backup battery (in case they are smart enough to pull the battery completly out before you track your car).
Originally Posted by GoodfellaFD3S
Ah, but Rambo, I have the best defense that is even above and beyond all that other stuff. I drive my FD maybe 2k miles a year, so 99% of the year it's stored in a hidden cave where no one can find it
#33
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Originally Posted by FDNewbie
Everyone has their own experience. I'm telling you I've seen first-hand a complete lack of signal from parking underneath a tree (no direct line of sight) or being in a concrete structure. Rule of thumb is, if there's no cellphone signal, there prob isn't a GPS signal either
#34
Originally Posted by BackyardSog
On what kind of system? It really must have been a shitty GPS.
So just because you had one bad experience with one car with one particular system you pass the rest off.
Originally Posted by Kento
Agreed. I tested a prototype GPS unit once that was being readied for motorcycle use, and it was basically useless. Unless you had at least a 70% view of the sky, it had major problems getting anywhere near enough satellites for a triangulation. And you can be sure that when the car is being chopped up, it's not in an area that has even a 0.001% view of the sky...
Not to mention i dont know the last time i diddnt have a cell phone signal (even though the two really have nothing to do with each others signal).
"GPS systems require line-of-sight access to the orbiting GPS satellite system in order to track a missing vehicle. GPS systems can't penetrate forest cover, parking garages, or other obstructions. By contrast, LoJack uses a special FCC-allocated radio frequency that can penetrate many obstructions. GPS systems also require an external antenna that can be seen and easily broken off by potential thieves."
If these systems are good enough for finance companys to pay the exra money in order to track down their cars for repos, then they are good enough for me.
That's my $0.02 from what I KNOW. Take it or leave it. I mean hey, it's your car
~Ramy
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Originally Posted by FDNewbie
Not exactly. It was a $3,000+ Clifford unit. The most advanced unit available at the time. And this happend TWICE (to two different friends of mine).
Originally Posted by FDNewbie
*Ahem* It has a LOT to do w/ it. Satellite-based signals are easily subject to countless types of interference, be it weather, barriers, etc. That's why systems like Lo-Jack use radio frequencies, which can penetrate through virtually anything. In fact, to quote Lo-Jack:
"GPS systems require line-of-sight access to the orbiting GPS satellite system in order to track a missing vehicle. GPS systems can't penetrate forest cover, parking garages, or other obstructions. By contrast, LoJack uses a special FCC-allocated radio frequency that can penetrate many obstructions. GPS systems also require an external antenna that can be seen and easily broken off by potential thieves."
"GPS systems require line-of-sight access to the orbiting GPS satellite system in order to track a missing vehicle. GPS systems can't penetrate forest cover, parking garages, or other obstructions. By contrast, LoJack uses a special FCC-allocated radio frequency that can penetrate many obstructions. GPS systems also require an external antenna that can be seen and easily broken off by potential thieves."
This leads me to say what lo-jack has to say about needing an external antenna is bullshit. The antennas i mounted were inside an instrument cluster behind the gauges. It had a thick piece of plastic between it and any line of sight and were completly non-visable. The only line of sight that was needed was the antenna needed to be faced up in the proper manner. I think you must have had a crappy gps system included in your alarm system. Im sure the armed forces wouldnt rely on gps if they couldnt get a signal through minor tree cover.
Originally Posted by FDNewbie
OR, there's a significant financial gain for companies to sign contracts w/ various GPS systems
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