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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.

20 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Easy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    a "Made in the USA" sticker.

    1. 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.

  2. 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. Re:It's called "Insurance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      If I'm the thief, the one with the club. Just to prove a point, and to mess with the statistics.

    3. Re:It's called "Insurance" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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?

      The one with the club. It's easier to steal a car with a club than without, as it means the thief does not need to carry around a long pry bar to break the steering wheel lock, as the club will provide the necessary leverage once it has been cut apart with a small hacksaw blade.

      From: http://www.freakonomics.com/2010/06/08/what-car-thieves-think-of-the-club/

    4. Re:It's called "Insurance" by MagicM · · Score: 5, Funny

      If you're going to do that, just leave the car and steal the club.

  3. choose pink by GreatDrok · · Score: 5, Funny

    Noone is going to steal a pink electric scooter. Maybe put some flower stickers on it.

    --
    "I have the attention span of a strobe lit goldfish, please get to the point quickly!"
  4. 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.
  5. Buy a dog. by apparently · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is a known fact that burglars skip over houses that have dogs in them in favor of houses without dogs. The same should hold for your scooter. As an added benefit, if you pick the right breed, the coolness of the dog will balance-out the total uncoolness of the scooter and you might still have a chance at getting laid.

    1. Re:Buy a dog. by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Funny

      Claim it's a seeing eye dog and therefore you should be allowed to park in handicapped spaces!

      --

      I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  6. lojack by hedwards · · Score: 5, Informative

    Chances are that the insurance company will pick up a significant portion of the tab to have the vehicle lojaced. I was looking into it when I was going to buy a motorcycle and the cost after insurance company rebate and discount makes it quite inexpensive. Plus they have a good record for recovery and ever car that's lojaced increases the likelihood that a vehicle thief is going to be caught red handed and sent to prison.

    1. Re:lojack by JoeMerchant · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have used LoJack on my car for about 15 years now. One benefit of LoJack is that there is no recurring fee (other than battery check / replacement), and it is supported by most law enforcement agencies.

      The disadvantage of LoJack for something like $400 vs a DIY thing for $200ish (all told after you pay for EVERYTHING related to it) is that you can't play with it and do your own location of your scooter when it isn't really stolen.

      If you value the play factor, you might consider getting one of the GPS kid tracking cell phones, but monthly fees will get you up to over $400 before you finish 4 years of school, even for the cheapest of cell phones.

      If you want to go full nerd on it, you can get a HAM foxhunt type solution with or without GPS. If you're honest about what you spend on such a setup, you'll be far above the cost of a LoJack which is essentially the fox transmitter, with the local Police picking up the tab on the hound locator/receiver for you.

  7. you could build something for $130 by craftycoder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Building one for $130 would be easy enough. You would have to pay a monthly for cell service though.
    An Arduino, a voltage regulator, a GPS module, and a GSM module would be the essential parts. Stick them in a weatherproof enclosure and conceal it on the scoot. You would be good to go. You would need to write a little code to get it to squawk its location to a webserver somewhere so in case it was stolen you'd know where it was hiding. I'm not sure how much the retail version are but I'd bet they are similarly priced. Economies of scale are a bitch.

    1. 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.

  8. GPS Tracker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Instamapper provides a tutorial for a pretty cheap tracking option. It is basically free, except for the hardware cost ($35 or so) and the data cost (10/month so so). You may need to worry about weather-proofing but that could probably be taken care of with a zip lock bag. Check it out, this may be exactly what you are looking for.

    http://www.instamapper.com/diy.html

  9. Garmin GTU-10 by pem · · Score: 5, Informative
    I have two, on things I don't want to get lost.

    Garmin has two plans. The simple one lets you draw virtual fences around where it's OK for the thing to be, and alerts you when it leaves the area, and also lets you poll for location at any time.

    The more full-featured plan (basically $10/month) also will automagically poll and keep history, so you at least know where the thing was when the thieves realized that it had a GPS tracker on it and ripped the thing off.

    I built a little 12v -> 5v converter for the one of these I have on a device that has a battery, and hooked it in permanently, so every time the main device is switched on, the GPS's battery gets recharged.

  10. Let the feds do it by mrbester · · Score: 5, Funny

    Become a person of interest to the FBI and they'll track you with their superior equipment free of charge.

    --
    "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
  11. FBI by codegen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Get yourself on the terrorist watch list. The FBI will install one free of charge.

    --
    Atlas stands on the earth and carries the celestial sphere on his shoulders.
  12. The geekiness of electric scooters & getting l by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A few years ago I bought, and started using, an electric motorcycle. A geekier vehicle has rarely been seen.

    Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be an utter chick magnet. Better than a puppy. Even better than a baby. Once two women lifted their shirts and pressed their chests to either side the windshield. I kid you not! I was constantly approached by curious women (and some men) wanting to know about the vehicle, and then giving me their contact info. I wish I'd known about this effect when | was single!

    Your mileage may vary.