Stop thief! Cheap DIY Car Tracking Option

[yfin]

After reading about the number of Hondas stolen recently - you guys may be interested in this.

If you have a Telstra network phone you can track where your car is for 55 cents per location check.

It is called "Whereis everyone". To set up it sends an SMS to the other phone. If they agree to the tracking you can continue to see where the other phone is on a sensis map for 55 cents. It is surprisingly accurate! Try it yourself.

I have found it finds others to within a street away - and it shows a pin point on the map where it calculates the phone to be.

I think it is more designed for teenie boppers to find each other when they go nightclubbing but it is also a very cheap car tracking option!

How? Put an old mobile phone in your car with a cheap $5 plan etc - (leave it on all the time) and if the car is stolen you can find your car! (well its approximate location - but like I said it narrows it down to within a street or two on a map). Sometimes better - it finds my house to about 50 metres.

Not as good as sat nav tracking devices but it is better than nothing and ghetto cheap!

The phone you are using to view the maps obviously needs to be good enough to access mobile internet but the phone you are tracking can be old school 10 years old - it doesn't matter at the tracked end.

Just be warned - if you do see your car outside some crook's house - go to the police - don't confront the thief yourself..:)

http://whereismobile.com.au/

http://whereismobile.com/features.php


http://whereismobile.com/images/bg-phonefeatures.gif

[|N|]

sounds pretty good....

too bad i aint with telstra tho

[yurka]

Just a couple questions with this. Does the phone you are trying to find have to send an sms back to accept the tracking request? Or can you set it up so it accepts automatically every time. Plus it would get rather difficult to keep the phone charged all the time, but I guess you could only use it for when you are leaving your car out somewhere.

[kazam]

i would reppoint if i could, coz thats a mad idea man

[D4rk4n63l]

does the tracker need to be on telstra network too? I'm not with telstra, but wont mind having a cheap prepaid just for the purpose...

[yfin]

Just a couple questions with this. Does the phone you are trying to find have to send an sms back to accept the tracking request? Or can you set it up so it accepts automatically every time. Plus it would get rather difficult to keep the phone charged all the time, but I guess you could only use it for when you are leaving your car out somewhere.

The phone being tracked receives an SMS and they confirm they want to be tracked in the future. I will test it later on my girlfriends phone as I am sure it is a one off thing and if you want to change your privacy settings (ie "visibility") the person tracked needs to go to the link at the SMS.

And yep you need to keep the phone running and charged. But standby doesn't use much power- I have an old Nokia from years ago that still lasts 5-7 days on standby and it is really old. The newer phones with more features don't last as long.


does the tracker need to be on telstra network too? I'm not with telstra, but wont mind having a cheap prepaid just for the purpose...

hmm I am pretty sure both phones need to be on Telstra network

[yfin]

check out this if you want to see a video of it working

http://www.locatrix.com/pages/posts/whereis-everyone-by-locatrix-featured-on-network-ten-in-australia11.php

[bennjamin]

isnt really DIY at all ~ ok idea but.

[dc2-forshizzle]

holy shit this is an aweseom idea....
i could see it now,
1) car gets stolen
2) Car confirmed found via tracking
3) ????
4) Winnar!!!!

damm telstra only option...when will optus open their eyes!!!

[xntrik]

Sounds like a nice way to keep track, just make sure you hide the phone somewhere from visibility but easy to get it to recharge.

[dc2-forshizzle]

i've still got my nokia 5110...those were great phones back in their time...with fully charge, playing snake all day it could last a couple of weeks

[Dy_]

thats hektic!! do ma! tell optus to start this ! lol

[dc2-forshizzle]

yes optus...
WAKE THE F*CK UP

.....to the world of ghetto DIY mods

[yfin]

Yeah it needs to be Telstra - in the faq it says:

If you are a Telstra customer, you can access Whereis® Everyone. This allows you to connect and share your approximate location with your friends, alerts you when your friends are nearby and find places to meet. Click on 'Find your Friends' and register now to get started.

I tried the locator tonight and you don't need to send the SMS each time - once set up you can see your friends. I set mine up last week.

If anyone tries this let me know what you think.

[xntrik]

They'd probably get slapped with a gigantic lawsuit notice.

[aaronng]

Nope, becaused they asked for permission first.

[D4rk4n63l]

hmm I am pretty sure both phones need to be on Telstra network

hmmm, so you can use any telstra phone that has internet connection to track it? if so, I got a couple of mates with telstra business phone.. they can track it if I need it right?

[yfin]

hmmm, so you can use any telstra phone that has internet connection to track it? if so, I got a couple of mates with telstra business phone.. they can track it if I need it right?

should work as long as you set it up first - give it a try

[adnoh]

good idea :)

[yfin]

Anyone tried this yet? No glitches for me so far - been testing it to see where my girlfriend is :thumbsup: lol she can't hide!

[Dy_]

such a good system! makes me want to join telstra lol

[yfin]

I received a random SMS on my phone today from Telstra saying words to the effect that I am subscribed to Whereis everyone and my friends can see my location. If I want to opt out send a reply to 13XX number with the word STOP. Looks like Telstra sends these out every few weeks.

So this is definately an opt out system. You can leave the phone in the car all the time - the only issue is keeping the phone charged.

I also discovered that the 55 cent fee has a cap of $1.10 per 24 hours. After you have had 2 lookups you have the remaining day to do as many friend lookups as you like.

[EL_DC5]

can i use the net to access this service. or is it a network wap inttranet service

[yfin]

can i use the net to access this service. or is it a network wap inttranet service

nope phone only access

[preludacris]

crapp

u do NOT want this if u have a jealous gf/bf

pretty cool idea tho.

[Couper_Trooper]

the only issue is keeping the phone charged.



shouldnt be hard... just find a spot 2 hide d fone, then with some extra wire extend ur car charger to ur fone.. turn d car on n ur fone will charge automatically.. if u use d car daily then u shouldnt hab a prob with battery life..

makes sense? sounds alright 2 me in theory.. hehehe

[Spoon-Accord]

this is pretty cool too..

girlfriend is cheating on you
find out where she is too :)

[Lex_EG93]

so let me clarify this. . . i need a phone that has wap so i can see the map n all on MY. the other phone i put in my car can be any phone as long as its telstra. and wen i accept the message from the phone thats in my car, from there i can look up where my car is whenever i want or like do i have to keep accepting the msg's to look up where my car is? . . . .

sum1 explain plzzzz

[yfin]

so let me clarify this. . . i need a phone that has wap so i can see the map n all on MY. the other phone i put in my car can be any phone as long as its telstra. and wen i accept the message from the phone thats in my car, from there i can look up where my car is whenever i want or like do i have to keep accepting the msg's to look up where my car is? . . . .

sum1 explain plzzzz

I already explained this....you only set it up once

[jeffske]

this is pretty cool too..

girlfriend is cheating on you
find out where she is too :)

then kick her arse to the curb

[hoey888]

hey this sounds good. but is has anybody actually tried this in reality. sounds good but dunno how it works.

been to the telstra site, however doesn't really go into depth on how it works

[yfin]

hey this sounds good. but is has anybody actually tried this in reality. sounds good but dunno how it works.

been to the telstra site, however doesn't really go into depth on how it works

Can't explain this any better! Go to the site from your phone, not the internet and test it.

[connections]

yeah I have a testra Sim but I gave away my old phones..

[Bayani]

Phone in car: Any phone with a Telstra Simcard. / Think about hardwiring a car mobile charger to your phone. (Minimal Draw)

Tracking Mobile: WAP Capable mobile device with a Telstra Simcard.


Mind you; you could think about simply having two Telstra SimCards; and only inserting your sim card into your Phone when you want to locate your car.

That way you can do it as cheaply as possible. :)

The Telstra Site won't go in to detail; the technology / software that is used to locate people is Third Party owned.

[Yasakani]

Does Telstra have prepaid sim cards?
Would it work with prepaid ones??

[whyte]

^ yeah telstra has prepaid simcards dude.
go your local telstra store!

[r1.]

Hi everyone.
Just like to let everyone know that Optus also provides this service.It's called 'Friend FindA'.They have had this service for at least 6 months now.

[CIV-18C]

Great Idea!!!

Anyone know if Vodafone offers the same?

[Sexc86]

really good idea, but would the plan with telstra mean you have to spend so much money with them every month to keep it active.

A good idea would be to store the phone under the carpet somewhere with a hard active from the battery to a 12V charger, keep it constantly charged!

[aznalex]

does the phone in the car have to be on a plan?
or can it be on pre-paid (telstra)?

[im.Kusuma]

get a fising line hooked up to ur car everytime u go home or before u sleep ;)

[hectic_filo]

bro i work for telstra and i dnt even know bout this.. thanks for the info m8!!!

[aznalex]

get a fising line hooked up to ur car everytime u go home or before u sleep ;)

200kms of fishing line with alot of slack sound about right?

what about the old bucket of paint + tiny hole trick from the simpsons

[im.Kusuma]

200kms of fishing line with alot of slack sound about right?

what about the old bucket of paint + tiny hole trick from the simpsons
good idea! :L why not just have paint in your boot and make a hole!? LOLS

well.. my uncle in ind did this to his car..
he kinda made a switch for the ignition.. Switch kinda hooked up with the dizzy or something (not sure).. well
the switch is like an on & off switch and everytime you turn off your car, u switch the switch to on, kinda like a cheap immobiliser.. but he has it mount inside his glovebox so thieves wont look anywhere near the steering wheel. When the switch is activated, the car will not start at all.. which i reckon is pretty cool.. lols :p

He also has a sensor on his front wheel "valve cap?" that thing where u can re gass ur tyre? lols well he used those "speed sensor" for bikes and he hook it up to inside the wheel arch and the valve cap.. So while the engines off, everything is activated.. The alarm will go on if the wheels rotate..

Pretty ghetto but does the job.. I got no idea how he did it.. I'd love to ask but its a hassle doing it here .. especially when he has to explain it over the fone lols

did i make sense?

[hitoriko]

Sounds like a nice way to keep track, just make sure you hide the phone somewhere from visibility but easy to get it to recharge.

simple get an 8210 (because there small and lightweight hide it behind your glovebox and run a chager cord to the back 12v where your lighter is (it would be ablit of mucking around etc.. but hell for the cheapest tracking sytem why the hell not! :D

[quangsuke]

what to do is make a switch for your fuel pump in your car. and hide it in the car so when u leave you switch it off so no power runs to fuel pump when they wire up your car. =D

[TheSaint]

we need a seperate thread for DIY killswitches lol

[Fluffmeister]

tried setting this up tonight, website was slow ... i got a confirmation that requests have been accepted but they are stuck on pending so cant track at this point.. meh will check again tomoz