New bike paranoia: Small data SIM driven GPS tracker?
September 28, 2017 9:31 AM Subscribe
Does anyone make a small GPS tracker with the ability to use one's own data SIM for location reporting?
I just spend a boatload of money on the bike of my dreams. I bought it with every intention of using it as much as possible which means it'll likely be parked in some exposed areas around town.
I have locks and whatnot, but I do know any thief determined enough can cut through anything.
My question: I have Google Fi as a wireless provider. Part of the deal includes a data only SIM card that can piggyback off my existing plan. Is there a small GPS tracker that can utilize the SIM card I have so I don't have to subscribe to a GPS tracking service? My internet searches have not come up with much and the GPS tracking services are more than I'm willing to pay.
I just spend a boatload of money on the bike of my dreams. I bought it with every intention of using it as much as possible which means it'll likely be parked in some exposed areas around town.
I have locks and whatnot, but I do know any thief determined enough can cut through anything.
My question: I have Google Fi as a wireless provider. Part of the deal includes a data only SIM card that can piggyback off my existing plan. Is there a small GPS tracker that can utilize the SIM card I have so I don't have to subscribe to a GPS tracking service? My internet searches have not come up with much and the GPS tracking services are more than I'm willing to pay.
This may not be a helpful answer, but I have the bike of my dreams, hand-built out of parts scavenged over several years and am occasionally wracked by the same fear you are. When I did a bit of research on this about a year and a half ago, nothing seemed to exist that was under $200 and got positive reviews from actually-impartial reviewers. There seem to be a couple (new?) companies listed at the bottom of this page, though.
In the meanwhile, if you're in the Bay Area or somewhere else that has secured bike parking, you can use BikeLink to keep your bike in lockers. Plus Pinhead or Pithead axel skewers are great, and typically I use two small u-locks, plus lock my seat to the rear dropout with a length of old chain. Finally, many renter's insurance policies will cover bike theft; it's not a solution to the problem, but it would soften the blow a bit.
posted by tapir-whorf at 9:47 AM on September 28, 2017
In the meanwhile, if you're in the Bay Area or somewhere else that has secured bike parking, you can use BikeLink to keep your bike in lockers. Plus Pinhead or Pithead axel skewers are great, and typically I use two small u-locks, plus lock my seat to the rear dropout with a length of old chain. Finally, many renter's insurance policies will cover bike theft; it's not a solution to the problem, but it would soften the blow a bit.
posted by tapir-whorf at 9:47 AM on September 28, 2017
I don't know of any, but you should consider a Tile device. They depend on someone with the Tile app on their phone to be near it to call back out, but there are a ton of them out there.
The trick with a gps/cell based solution is probably going to be battery life if one even really exists.
posted by advicepig at 10:57 AM on September 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
The trick with a gps/cell based solution is probably going to be battery life if one even really exists.
posted by advicepig at 10:57 AM on September 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I had heard of Tile but it didn't seem like a contender. I just loaded up the app and saw there were 2,000+ users in my local area so maybe that's a reasonable solution.
posted by sewellcm at 11:52 AM on September 28, 2017
posted by sewellcm at 11:52 AM on September 28, 2017
There are a number of projects that hide GPS and communications, usually in the handlebar.
posted by adamrice at 12:02 PM on September 28, 2017
- Boomerang (mounts to bottle-cage bosses, and is actually shipping)
- Sherlock (slips inside handlebars)
- Helios (seems to be severely delayed).
- Wink (also at the "pre-order" stage)
posted by adamrice at 12:02 PM on September 28, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for the response adamrice. I'm aware there are many products out there specifically designed to do this, however I'm looking for ones that do not require annual / monthly subscriptions as I already have a SIM card I can use with my current cell provider. Also I'm looking for a device with a singular purpose -- just reporting GPS location. These products seem interesting but they don't quite meet my requirements.
posted by sewellcm at 12:08 PM on September 28, 2017
posted by sewellcm at 12:08 PM on September 28, 2017
Yeah, I was a tile skeptic when it came out, but it seems like people are putting them on everything.
posted by advicepig at 7:23 AM on September 29, 2017
posted by advicepig at 7:23 AM on September 29, 2017
The answer to your question is that yes those devices exist. Prepare to enter a slightly-creepy area, though, because they seem to frequently be used by people spying on their significant others' driving habits. (Your Amazon recommendations will probably never be the same.) Just avoid anything that seems to have a brand name or service attached to it.
E.g. there are a bunch of items very similar to this one being sold on Amazon, all of which use a data SIM that you provide. The battery life is only noted in an answer to a user's question, and the response is... odd: "It can last about 26 days on a full charge with 2 to 3 hours' drive time per day". I'm not sure if that implies that it's connected to the car's 12VDC power supply, and with 2-3 hours of driving per day it will almost recharge it, such that it slowly runs down over time? Or if it is completely self-contained and is smart enough not to report position and use the cell network when it doesn't sense motion (this would be the smart thing), thus battery usage is only high when it's in motion. Also 26 days seems suspiciously high even off of a decent LiPo cell; I wonder if they meant 2-6 instead. Hard to say.
Here's a different one that's dirt cheap. Mixed reviews and shorter battery life, although I kinda suspect you could attach it to a bigger LiPo cell if you wanted to. (There are kits sold with LiPo packs and off-brand Otter boxes and magnets for mounting these things to vehicles clandestinely. Again, high creep factor, but might be of use to you.)
I have a strong suspicion that, like dashcams, these things are all based around a small variety of Chinese-made chipsets and the price difference is mostly for the form factor, batteries, packaging, software, etc. If you click around on a few of these things you'll start getting a ton of recommended items that are very similar. I'm also willing to bet that most of the $25/mo devices are basically the same under the hood, only with a SIM already installed. But unlocking one might be a pain if the cellular baseband is SIM-locked.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:30 AM on September 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
E.g. there are a bunch of items very similar to this one being sold on Amazon, all of which use a data SIM that you provide. The battery life is only noted in an answer to a user's question, and the response is... odd: "It can last about 26 days on a full charge with 2 to 3 hours' drive time per day". I'm not sure if that implies that it's connected to the car's 12VDC power supply, and with 2-3 hours of driving per day it will almost recharge it, such that it slowly runs down over time? Or if it is completely self-contained and is smart enough not to report position and use the cell network when it doesn't sense motion (this would be the smart thing), thus battery usage is only high when it's in motion. Also 26 days seems suspiciously high even off of a decent LiPo cell; I wonder if they meant 2-6 instead. Hard to say.
Here's a different one that's dirt cheap. Mixed reviews and shorter battery life, although I kinda suspect you could attach it to a bigger LiPo cell if you wanted to. (There are kits sold with LiPo packs and off-brand Otter boxes and magnets for mounting these things to vehicles clandestinely. Again, high creep factor, but might be of use to you.)
I have a strong suspicion that, like dashcams, these things are all based around a small variety of Chinese-made chipsets and the price difference is mostly for the form factor, batteries, packaging, software, etc. If you click around on a few of these things you'll start getting a ton of recommended items that are very similar. I'm also willing to bet that most of the $25/mo devices are basically the same under the hood, only with a SIM already installed. But unlocking one might be a pain if the cellular baseband is SIM-locked.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:30 AM on September 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Update: I ended up getting a Tile. I cannot recommend this as a solution. The Tile stopped working after a month.
posted by sewellcm at 6:57 AM on October 24, 2017
posted by sewellcm at 6:57 AM on October 24, 2017
Just ran across this. Comes with a SIM, but you can use their own. Currently only incorporated into a taillight, but with a seat post or topcap in the works.
posted by adamrice at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2017
posted by adamrice at 3:47 PM on November 6, 2017
That too bad. Hope you find something that meets your needs.
posted by advicepig at 2:29 PM on November 9, 2017
posted by advicepig at 2:29 PM on November 9, 2017
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posted by sewellcm at 9:33 AM on September 28, 2017