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Ask Slashdot: Inexpensive Anti-Theft Vehicle Tracking System?

Posted by timothy on from the pulley-to-the-roof-each-night dept.

New submitter Chuckles08 writes "I'm about to complete the purchase of an electric scooter that is worth over $5,000. Since I'll be parking it on a college campus, it will be vulnerable to theft. I'd like to install some kind of tracking device on it but the solutions I've seen so far seem quite expensive. Are there any reasonably priced and effective solutions out there? Ideally, I'd like to be informed by text message if my scooter moves without my knowing. I'd like to then track the scooter's movements." And anything small enough to work for a scooter might be very useful for car owners, too.

5 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. It's called "Insurance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You won't find a cheaper way to cover the loss and there is no way to prevent it from being stolen for a reasonable amount of money. As it can be lifted into a truck, taken out and dismantled and any anti=theft system defeated before you can finish reading this response...

    1. Re:It's called "Insurance" by ironjaw33 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I tend to agree with this. I always laugh at people wasting time installing 'the club' on their steering wheel. It jsut screams "Im desperate and have no means to recover from losses."

      It's not that it's impossible to dismantle such anti-theft systems but that the anti-theft systems provide enough incentive for the thieves to move on and steal the low hanging fruit. Given two identical cars parked next to each other, where one has a club and the other doesn't, which one will the thief steal?

  2. No good for car by oldhack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If your car was stolen, you don't want it back. Trust me.

    --
    Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
  3. Re:you could build something for $130 by Stevecrox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wouldn't it be simpler to get an old Symbian phone and write an app?

    A Nokia N95 has GPS and it very low power compared to modern phones (week between charges), you get a cigarette charger hooked up to the battery to keep it charged and then write an application that listens for text messages. Upon recent of the text message he phone would text/email it's number. Then all you would need is a water proof case and a pay as you go sim card.

    A quick check on ebay shows them going for £40. I'm getting a Honda CBR 600 RR next week I might do this.

  4. Re:Easy! by jhoegl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because it used to be that people complained about the quality of products made in the USA.

    The irony is, we cant do that anymore.