GPS Frequently Asked Questions
- Where do people typically hide GPS Trackers?
- Device placement is one of the most common concerns when trying to track a vehicle. There is no one best location to place a device covertly. It can vary wildly based on many factors, including the design of the vehicle, what materials it is made of, and interference caused by vehicle components such as tire pressure sensors. Most devices have weatherproof magnetic cases available as accessories, allowing a device to be placed on the undercarriage of a vehicle. This will impact accuracy; usually the reported location will be within 10-20 yards, as opposed to being within a few feet.
A battery-powered device allows you to move the tracker from car to car, because it is not hardwired to the car's battery. Generally small and easy to conceal, a battery-powered GPS tracker can be placed in multiple locations within a vehicle. A battery-powered device doesn't only track a car. You can place it in someone's pocket or briefcase. Or, if you want to track a package, you can. Most GPS trackers are designed for outdoor use and may not be as effective when whatever you're tracking is indoors. It all comes down to choosing the right device.
- Can I view tracking information remotely on my computer or smartphone?
- Yes, if you have a Real-Time GPS tracker. Depending on the device and platform you choose, however, mobile monitoring may have additional associated costs.
Real-time GPS trackers let you sit at home, in your office, or on vacation and see the location of the vehicle or vehicles that are being tracked. You can access the activity anywhere you can access the Web, including on your smartphone.
- How long does a tracker battery last? Can I get an extended battery?
- Most devices have a default battery life of about a week under what is considered average use, which would be about 2 hours of driving each day. Keeping a spare battery can be beneficial to elongating tracking time; you may have daily access to a vehicle, which would allow you to keep one charged and simply switch batteries daily. If you need the device to report for longer periods between charges, most have extended battery kits available. For example, the Spark Nano 2.0 extended battery gives you up to six months of battery life. These kits will sometimes double the size of the base device, but can allow a device to track over 10 times longer than their standard batteries would.
Some battery-powered GPS trackers, like the best-selling Spark Nano 2.0, have a motion sensor so the tracker is only on when the car is moving. Allotting one hour of usage a day, the Spark Nano 2.0 can last up to 30 days without recharging. Battery life for other battery-powered trackers can range from one to five days.
- Do I need a mechanic to install a hardwired GPS tracker?
- From an installation standpoint, the hardwired tracker is like a car alarm or car stereo. If you're handy you should be able to install the Livewire ATX. Otherwise, your local mechanic or stereo installer should be able to install it while you wait.
- How do I get email or text notifications when the car is outside a designated area?
- Real-time trackers let you set up many different types of alerts:
- What is GPS Tracking?
- As leading provider of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) trackers. Our trackers are different from the GPS on your dashboard or windshield that makes sure you don't get lost.
The GPS trackers you'll find at BrickHouse Security show you exactly where a vehicle, asset, or person is located. Our professional customers range from law enforcement and government officials to Fortune 500 companies. In fact, we've provided GPS tracking services for the US ARMY, the Vancouver Winter Olympics, and television shows such as CSI Miami and The Jersey Shore.
Most of PhoneBugging.com customers are everyday people who have a reason to be suspicious and simply want clarity. Whether you want to track a family member, a partner, or see if your teen is driving above the speed limit, we have a GPS tracker than can help you.
- When does a wired tracker make sense?
- A hardwired tracker is wired directly to your car's electrical system and gets power from the car battery. Obviously, you need to own the car to use a wired tracker, and moving the tracker from vehicle to vehicle can be difficult.
Wired trackers are excellent if you're sending a child off to college with a car or if you have a fleet of cars or trucks you want to track.
All hardwired trackers support remote viewing on your computer, and some from your smartphone, and email or text alerts. They also have a monthly fee.
- How does GPS tracking work?
- GPS trackers read signals transmitted by satellites in Earth's orbit. They use these signals to triangulate their exact location; the more satellites they can detect at any given time, the more accurate the location data will be. Our trackers are typically accurate to within a few meters.
Trackers vary in how they process the location information. Loggers will store the location data to their internal memory to be retrieved by connecting the device to a computer later. Real-time trackers will transmit their location as it is received, usually by sending messages through a cellular data network.Because real-time trackers use cellular communication to transmit data, there is a monthly subscription charge. Your paid subscription gives you access to an online tool that allows you to securely log in : much like you would on an online bank account : and access the up to the minute data.
At the same time, the tracking information is stored on a secure server for later retrieval. How long that data is stored on the service depends on the device. In most cases, you can generate a report and export the information to your computer.
- When is a GPS data logger right for me?
- GPS loggers store location data to an internal memory source. Generally speaking, GPS data loggers are the smallest of GPS trackers, making them easy to hide and virtually undetectable by GPS detectors. They have longer battery life than battery-powered trackers and are less expensive. Plus, there's no monthly fee.
However, loggers don't allow you to remotely track the vehicle on your computer or smartphone and don't let you set up email or text alerts. To get tracking data, you need to take the logger out of the car, connect it through a USB cable to your computer and download the data.
A data logger is great for a delivery company supervisor who want to review daily logs or a parent who wants to check on their child but doesn't need to do it in real time.
- What are the advantages of GPS loggers?
- How often does the tracker report the vehicle's position?
- Reporting intervals vary by tracker and platform. Some, like the Livewire FastTrac track every few seconds while others, like the Spark Nano 3.0, will provide information only every few minutes. While some devices' tracking interval can be adjusted "on the fly" from the server's user interface, others have a fixed tracking interval that cannot be changed.
- Does the tracker monitor speed?
- Yes, loggers and trackers can both provide speed reports. Some of these devices have motion sensors and track speed internally. Others measure the distance travelled between two location reports and extrapolate that data to provide speed.
- Can I track multiple devices simultaneously?
- Different GPS platforms are designed differently, and most have live demos available.
If you are interested in tracking multiple devices at once, it may influence your decision.
- Can I track a device that will sometimes be indoors?
- GPS generally functions only when the device is outside. Some devices can back up to Assisted GPS, or AGPS, using cellular triangulation to provide a device's position. AGPS is not available on all devices, and is not as accurate as true GPS, sometimes being off by 300 feet or more.