This excellent vehicle GPS tracker from Sourcingbay is a real bargain at less than £30 as it can function not only as a GPS vehicle tracker but also as a complete remote controlled vehicle security system. The bulky User Guide and large wiring loom can be a bit off putting for non technical users but if all you need is a real time tracker then installing it can be done quickly and easily.
Inside the attractive and surprisingly small product box were the main unit itself, a GPS antenna, a mobile phone network antenna, a wiring loom, a 40 amp power relay box, a microphone with cable, a rather lengthy User Guide and a product promotion slip. The User Guide looks impressive at first sight and is nicely designed but proves to be poorly translated and hard to read.
The heart of the system is the GPS tracker unit itself, a small box about four inches by two. On one end are the GPS and phone antenna connections, SIM card slot, SD card slot, microphone input and mini-USB port. On the other side are the battery On/Off switch, LED, Cable loom connector, G-Sensor port (G-Sensor not included)
If the complete system is installed not only can you track the location of your vehicle in real time, you can also monitor conversations taking place inside the car, monitor the speed, receive door opening and fuel level alerts, geofencing alerts, remotely sound the horn and turn the ignition off. With a G-Sensor fitted (not included) it can also send alert should the vehicle crash or receive an impact. It comes with a small wired panic button which will send the current location to up to five phones.
This is all done by phoning the tracker (you hear an engaged tone) which will then text you back with a clickable Google Maps link, Latitude/Longitude, and the status of the features it is currently monitoring. You have to configure the device using SMS messages. This can be done using software which for some reason was not included with this kit but may be available online. The unit can be configured to respond to up to five phones with password protected SMS commands.
To fully wire the device up is a time consuming and complex business and frankly is best done by a garage or those accustomed to vehicle wiring jobs. However, if all you are interested in is monitoring the location of your vehicle and are not interested in the vehicle control features - disabling the car, status triggers etc - then wiring it is easy enough.
To wire it just for use a location monitor then connect the GPS and phone antennas and connect the red cable from the wiring loom to the vehicle Positive battery terminal or internal power supply and the black cable to the negative. Just tape up and ignore the other wires. The Panic button will still work and the microphone can still be connected. You will then need to follow carefully follow the instructions in the User Guide to register your phone number to the system via GPS to allow remote monitoring. It takes quite a while to make the initial GPS lock but once working it seems reliable enough. You will need to mount two antennas inside the vehicle as well as the microphone and panic switch (if needed) and find a suitable power supply to connect to. To fully wire the system up is a whole other thing.
It is a pity no software was included to make setting the device up easier and I cannot understand why this was not included. Also, this system runs all the time even when the car ignition is turned off and so may drain the battery if the car is parked up for a long time. The long term current drain is not insignificant can could be an issue on vehicles not used for some time.
That said, the price, build quality and feature set more than make up for the drawbacks and make this a fantastic buy for those prepared to make the effort to install it.
The Good
Great price
Good build quality
Battery back up
Panic switch to 5 phones
Remote disable vehicle
Real time Audio monitoring
Real time location monitoring
Various vehicle status alerts
The Bad
No software included
No G Sensor included
Continuous current drain
Poor User Guide
Configuring system through SMS is non intuitive
Some wires may be wrong size for current needed
Long time to get GPS lock
More info and purchase: [ Ссылка ]
