GPS Tracker - What to buy? What works? Who Where & When! [SERIOUS]

How-Tos & Esk8 mechanics
#1

After seeing a number of boards stolen all around the world, and having FINALLY finished my build (build thread soon :stuck_out_tongue:) and wanting to feel more at ease carrying a 3k piece of equipment around, This is a subject that needs to be debunked!

Why

I think it’s a no-brainer that, if you have an attractive piece of equipment that’s :money_mouth_face: :moneybag:, might as well buy a $100 tracker.
After all, 100 bucks are nothing for most of you peeps who have 2k+ boards.

How & What

What’s a GPS tracker? Great question!
I did a lot of research and it turns out it’s not that simple, at least not for our needs so to speak.
Let me explain.

A GPS tracker (Global Positioning System) consists of

  • A GPS receiver. Like on your Garmin or Phone, it’s used to pinpoint your location. It only function is to receive, not emit.

  • A GSM (Global System for Mobile (Communications)) telephone chip, which allows to send the GPS information via SMS or the Internet. For this, you need a SIM card.

  • You also have GPS trackers that work with a specific network such as LoRa or Sigfox.
    They use a radio module to connect to a network that does not require a SIM card.
    The cons of this are:
    They often have a paying subscription and
    network coverage is mediocre depending where you live. Here in the French Alpes, it’s very bad, on the other hand, in Paris, it works miracles.
    You can check LoRa coverage by search ‘‘LoRa coverage [insert country name]’’
    Also helps if you search for pictures rather than the web search.
    Here is Europe for example

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There exists 2 ways to transmit data

  • SMS
    The tracker will send its position via SMS; It presents itself as a link to Google Maps showing its position. Therefore your phone needs to have an internet connection for Google Maps to work.
    This type of tracker works anywhere in the world as long as the SIM card used is '‘activated’ for foreign countries.

  • Internet
    These trackers have a special sort of SIM card integrated.
    This allows to it to connect to the internet to send information (it get’s uploaded to a server with an IP address).
    This also requires an internet connection on your phone.

Types

Now we covered the GPS side of things, we’ll look into the types of available tracker most suited for us amazing Esk8 peeps!

  • Externally powered
    These trackers require an external power source.
    CAREFUL: A lot of these are for cars and motorcycles which means they are usually for 12v-24v, therefore not plug and play for our 12-18s batteries, unless of course you have space for a buck but i don’t recommend having a buck installed on an open circuit. Please fuse the buck if you go this route, and choose a reliable buch from mouser or digikey as it will stay on permanently 24/7.

  • Internally Powered
    These Trackers have a built-in battery like your esk8 remote. The key is working out what battery is used, and the battery duration. These get recharged via USB or by replacing the battery.
    A lot of them have ‘‘non-replaceable’’ batteries because either the tracker is weather-sealed, or simply complicated to take apart.
    Remember if going for a tracker that uses AA or AAA to get quality cells that’s last. Same if you see it uses an 18650, swap it out for a Samsung 50E to increase the juice. Be creative!
    NOTE; most likely opening up the insides will void the warranty, so make sure it works before you wangjangle the guts.

Special Features

  • It’s good to note that some Trackers have dedicated apps for easy navigation and ease of use. This also included features like sending notifications to your phone when it senses a change of location to warn you of possible theft.

This isn’t really a ‘‘How-To’’ but more a guide and a starting point for all.
I’m not a pro, i don’t own a GPS tracker yet, but looking through the web i see it’s hard to find something easily, with info scattered around.
If anything is wrong, don’t hesitate to correct me. I’ll update this post the more i learn!
I have reserved some posts below for ‘‘top esk8 gps tackers’’ and other interesting topics.

Please, Use this thread to share what you own and how it works. Ask questions related to this topic. Let’s keep this thread clean and useful! :grin: :love_you_gesture:

19 Likes
#2

Reserved

#3

Reserved 2

#4

+1 Vote for @BuildKitBoards Tracker, worked great when I had it and functioned off a cheap cellular plan. Plus it was tiny and accepted a wide range of voltages. Required a phone number to be entered for the admin profile and had two messages that could be sent to its phone number to perform the two major functions - Tracking and Device Status updates.

You should try to restock them Jared :wink:

8 Likes
#5

Hmm I have to wonder if it is easier to get a tracker or to just buy the robogotchi and add a gps antenna

6 Likes
#6

Probably comes down to price point, the robogotchi is fancy for sure ( I dont know all of its use-cases), but for someone who already has a Metr and doesn’t want another “expensive” VESC data logging device, the BKB is (was) fairly appealing

3 Likes
#7

You also need SIM card / internet connection. GPS module just logs the data to internal memory, you need a channel to transfer this data to track the board when it’s stolen.

12 Likes
#8

e: woops I read it wrong :+1: noice

#9

I think this is an exccellent time for @DerelictRobot to explain some things.
i might just be downright t h i c k but from what i understand, the GPS Module>Robogotch runs off the ESC, so if the ESC isn’t on, the GPS module doesn’t work.

6 Likes
#10

Exactly! :smiley: like i stated here

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#11

Oh I guess I just misunderstood that part of it. Would have been cool though haha

1 Like
#12

@BuildKitBoards restock gps tracker pls

3 Likes
#13

@BuildKitBoards I’m totally aware that you removed your because there was confusion amongst users pf how your’s worked.

If you want to use this thread to clarify certain subjects and direct your clients so they understand what they are buying, please feel free to do so!

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#14

+1 for the BKB tracker. It has been rock solid for me and was extremely easy to set up. I would totally buy a few if they go back in stock.

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#15

Anyone tried the BKB tracker in Europe?

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#16

Doesn’t work in Europe afaik which is a bummer :pensive:

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#17

We have 20 left, but cannot provide support for them (slightly complicated to set up and it varies by location). We have an installation guide and quite a few people from the forum have set them up successfully if you need assistance.

Because of the no support aspect, the price was reduced and these will NOT be restocked.

9 Likes
#18

Fucking legend

#19

The specific sim included doesn’t work, or putting in an european sim doesn’t work? If it’s carrier locked it can indeed burn in the fires of hell. Otherwise changing the sim can’t be that hard

3 Likes
#20

This may sound dumb but I have an old android phone I don’t use anymore. Still on my family phone plan, so would be able to track it. Could I just put it in my enclosure and glue the charge cable to the outside so I can plug it in while I charge the board? then I could use Life360 to track it!

3 Likes