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Anyone using a GPS tracker for tracking thefts?

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Anyone using a GPS tracker for tracking thefts?

Old 11-03-15, 02:11 PM
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Anyone using a GPS tracker for tracking thefts?

Hidden GPS modules to track bike in case of theft? Are you using? What brand and has it been useful?
case in point
GPS on stolen bike leads to secret bookcase in SE Portland home - KPTV - FOX 12
V
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Old 11-03-15, 10:47 PM
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Why don't you make a local telephone call to Reed College spokesperson Kevin Myers, then share the information?
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Old 11-04-15, 10:46 AM
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Not really practical on a personal level.
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Old 11-04-15, 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Not really practical on a personal level.
1) You have a disposable bike?
2) You live in a city where bike theft is not prevalent (Seattle?)
3) You don't ride if you need to lock it up and keep it in view?
4) Cost prohibitive?

Here is what is going on now where I am coming from. Using things like Garmin and Strava people are able to see your routes and if you don't put on the block of "3 Blocks" from Home/work some riders have been getting their bikes stolen right out of their homes. With Technology comes security problems.
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Old 11-04-15, 12:59 PM
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That's what renters' and home owners' insurance is for. (Things being stolen from your home.)

What you're asking about requires some technology: GPS, obviously, and a way to communicate the data it gets from GPS back to its rightful owner. Which means cellular. Which means a per-month charge. Those two technologies require a battery, GPS is hard on batteries. Only works if the battery is charged when the thief takes your bike, so either you better charge this thing you never used religiously, or the battery has to last a long time. GPS is imperfect and requires a moderately clear view of the sky, but you need to hide this from a potential thief. There are really a lot of road blocks here which make the idea impractical for personal use, that's why people don't typically do what you're talking about. Most people lock their doors and carry insurance.
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Old 11-04-15, 01:11 PM
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I look at it like "I want my bike back". I don't want to mess with home owners and have it go up. The article above shows that your bike can be recovered right down to finding a hidden room. Lo jack has been able to recover laptops by the thousands (their website says). I have to charge my lights for commuting because I ride in the dark so I personally would be up to the laborious challenge of charging the device. I really value my rides and they are very expensive so I guess it would work for me.
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Old 11-04-15, 01:48 PM
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It's one thing to charge your lights so they'll be ready when you need them; you probably have some idea when you're going to ride. If you also know when somebody is going to break into your home and steal your bike, I guess you can make sure your batteries are charged for that, too.

A lot of people over-sell what technology is capable of; the idea of discovering a hidden room inside a house using GPS is a good example.
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Old 11-04-15, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
What you're asking about requires some technology: GPS, obviously, and a way to communicate the data it gets from GPS back to its rightful owner. Which means cellular. Which means a per-month charge. Those two technologies require a battery, GPS is hard on batteries. Only works if the battery is charged when the thief takes your bike, so either you better charge this thing you never used religiously, or the battery has to last a long time. GPS is imperfect and requires a moderately clear view of the sky, but you need to hide this from a potential thief. There are really a lot of road blocks here which make the idea impractical for personal use, that's why people don't typically do what you're talking about. Most people lock their doors and carry insurance.
Yeah, unfortunately.
- Monthly cell network charges
- Battery on unit has to be recharged daily
- Battery runs down when not biking
- Unit has to be located on bike in a hidden way, but also has to be easily charged, and inside a metal frame is often bad for gps and cell reception, and system has to be designed to it's not a "obviously this is where the gps is let's rip it off" situation

It always sounds like a fun idea to me, until I looked at all the hassle and cost. I think dedicated bait bikes sound pretty awesome.

If they could get cell network cost to something reasonable and a decently designed system it sounds interesting (the amount of data it would use to send gps coordinates is tiny)...

But when I heard about gps systems, it's usually on devices that the thief has to power to use (cars, laptops), where it can be designed as hard to find or impossible to remove (built into the circuit board on a laptop, hidden in one of a million places on a car).
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Old 11-04-15, 04:50 PM
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@velocity, this is new technology and hasn't been proven yet, as far as I know. Please get one of these things and report back to us. I think many of us would be interested in knowing your results and might want to buy them. I might.
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Old 11-05-15, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by PaulRivers
Yeah, unfortunately.
- Monthly cell network charges
- Battery on unit has to be recharged daily
- Battery runs down when not biking
- Unit has to be located on bike in a hidden way, but also has to be easily charged, and inside a metal frame is often bad for gps and cell reception, and system has to be designed to it's not a "obviously this is where the gps is let's rip it off" situation

It always sounds like a fun idea to me, until I looked at all the hassle and cost. I think dedicated bait bikes sound pretty awesome.

If they could get cell network cost to something reasonable and a decently designed system it sounds interesting (the amount of data it would use to send gps coordinates is tiny)...

But when I heard about gps systems, it's usually on devices that the thief has to power to use (cars, laptops), where it can be designed as hard to find or impossible to remove (built into the circuit board on a laptop, hidden in one of a million places on a car).
Cost is the thing that prohibits the wide use. I bet it can come down. Also its not so much getting it ripped off at home, I have security there too, but its on the street where if I leave it the chance is the biggest that it will be taken.
My Garmin has a battery life of over 12 hours (510) and I think that is better than my 700 lm gets.
One in need should work around difficulties to get to a reasonable workable situation. I bet it wont be long till bikes have the tech. Thanks for the replies
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Old 11-05-15, 11:00 AM
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Originally Posted by velocity
...... Using things like Garmin and Strava people ...... have been getting their bikes stolen right out of their homes.
Yeah... I read that article myself. What was it....... there MAY have been one or two bicycles removed from sheds in a village in Ireland with the help of route tracking? Like it would have been so difficult to pound the owners heads in with a 2X4 and taken the bikes the old-fashion way?

I'd set aside the worries about the technology. I don't care how "off the grid" you go.... or even if you're armed to the teeth. If someone wants your stuff... they can get it. Less than 3 years ago a local was shot and killed for his pricey bike.

Technology and creative ideas can help make thief less profitable for the crook. Insurance makes the loss easier for the victim.
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Old 11-05-15, 11:02 AM
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Your Garmin may only have a 20 hour battery life, but you only use the battery when you're riding.

If you want to protect your bike (an important and probably expensive personal asset) today, the best tools available to you are common sense, locks, attentiveness, and renters' or home owners' insurance. Hopefully it'll be better in the future.
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Old 11-05-15, 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker333
Why don't you make a local telephone call to Reed College spokesperson Kevin Myers, then share the information?
Originally Posted by noglider
@velocity, this is new technology and hasn't been proven yet, as far as I know. Please get one of these things and report back to us. I think many of us would be interested in knowing your results and might want to buy them. I might.
call Reed College spokesperson Kevin Myers
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Old 11-05-15, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by velocity
Cost is the thing that prohibits the wide use. I bet it can come down
Yeah, the biggest deterrent is that last time I checked the cell companies wanted something like $30/month for a connection. That makes it price prohibitive - in 2 years I could buy an entire new bike for that. $720 for 2 years of tracking.

A device like that sends data regularly, but very very tiny amounts of data. If it was $1/month the equation would be entirely different.
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Old 11-05-15, 06:43 PM
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RFID Chip the Thieves.
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Old 11-07-15, 10:13 PM
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Spot makes the GPS Trace, which apparently you turn on when you park the bike. It sends a signal to your cell phone if the bike is moved. You can also track it on computer.

SPOT Trace Product

I've looked into it for bike touring, but I'm not sure it's the answer, as it should have a clear view to the sky. I think if it were somewhere with a clear view to the sky it would also have a clear view to the thief.

I was hoping someone on this thread would have had some experience with it. My next tour will be in April... hopefully someone somewhere will have tried it on a bike and reported on its usefulness.

I love the idea of keeping your doors locked to keep your bike safe, but when I'm touring I don't have any doors.

As for dealing with homeowners insurance, I don't want to be stuck in Ecuador or Peru waiting for the check to arrive so I can replace the bike and all the camping gear.
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Old 11-07-15, 11:06 PM
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Originally Posted by pataspen
I've looked into it for bike touring, but I'm not sure it's the answer, as it should have a clear view to the sky. I think if it were somewhere with a clear view to the sky it would also have a clear view to the thief.
The SpyBike tracking products try to get around this problem by disguising the tracker as a regular bike component which the thief will hopefully not recognize and destroy/remove. Probably a good assumption until these devices become more common.

Spybike
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Old 11-07-15, 11:38 PM
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Originally Posted by prathmann
The SpyBike tracking products try to get around this problem by disguising the tracker as a regular bike component which the thief will hopefully not recognize and destroy/remove. Probably a good assumption until these devices become more common.

Spybike
That looks like the perfect idea. I'm going to look into it more closely. I guess my big question would be if it works where there is no cell signal. My next trip will take me through the Andes and I'm bound to be in places with no network.

I'll contact the company within the week and see what they think.
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Old 11-08-15, 10:00 PM
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I'm waiting on a number of devices that have not yet come out. E.g.: BikeTrak
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Old 11-10-15, 08:24 AM
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You can use Celebrus app on your phone and put it inside your saddle.
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Old 11-10-15, 09:07 AM
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I was planning to use the BikeSpike after contributing to their Kickstarter a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, they stopped all updates, stopped replying to questions and comments, and never produced a product (or a refund). I still like the idea of it, but the best I can do right now is register my bikes, take good photos of them, and be sure to lock them up securely.
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Old 11-10-15, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by velocity
The article above shows that your bike can be recovered right down to finding a hidden room.
No. The signal was tracked to the home. Then, the home was searched and the bike was found in a hidden room.

Myers said community safety officers tracked the signal to the home, where they met with Portland Police officers. Because the home had previously been given to the city, officers were able to enter without a warrant. Inside they found no trace of the stolen bike – until they discovered a hidden bookcase revealing a secret room. The “bait bike” and two other stolen bikes were recovered inside.

Read more: GPS on stolen bike leads to secret bookcase in SE Portland home - KPTV - FOX 12
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Old 11-10-15, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by pataspen
That looks like the perfect idea. I'm going to look into it more closely. I guess my big question would be if it works where there is no cell signal. My next trip will take me through the Andes and I'm bound to be in places with no network.
You'd need a cellphone or an internet connection to be able to know about the location.

The original Spot trackers work like this (I suspect this thing works the same way):

1) GPS to determine location
2) transmit/report that location to other satellites
3) satelite data is received/downloaded to Spot servers (where you can use a webpage to view it).
4) Spot servers send out SMS texts to cellphones.

Network / Satellite
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Old 11-10-15, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by pataspen
As for dealing with homeowners insurance, I don't want to be stuck in Ecuador or Peru waiting for the check to arrive so I can replace the bike and all the camping gear.
For sure, that would suck. But if everything gets stolen, it would suck even more if you can't replace your bike and camping gear because no one is going to send you a check. Anyway it's not like you can't do both: protect yourself, and also use common sense to avoid trouble in the first place.
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