GPS tracking in case of theft

[SVLiv]

I have spent some time now looking for the ideel anti theft device for the boat.
Obviously, common sence will get me far, but still I want to be able to leave the vessel for some time with a "peace-of-mind-feeling".

Insurance is good, but costly!

The relatively cheap GPS tarcking devices seems like a good idea. These are mainly designed for use in cars, and as I read it from (all??) the manuals, they do rely on GSM signal (mobile phone network coverage), which I believe is not going to be present in many of the areas, where I may want to leave the boat for some serious hiking or other activity away from the boat.
They seem to work in the way that you can create a "virtuel fence" around your vessel, and in case the vessel moves outside this, you get a SMS on your mobile - clever!!
You can even on some configure a binary input, which you could connect to a bilge alram and also get such alarm on your mobile (satellite operated...) - clever times two!!

However (and I have searched through this forum), my questions are:
- Does anyone know a system that works from satelite communication, thus being independent of network coverage on the GSM net?
- Does anyone know how to avoid "jamming" (I'm thinking of installing the device in the top of the mast, thereby not making it possible for any criminal to detect radio activity from the vessel before stealing)
-Does anyone have anything like this installed.

[Microship]

APRS is the trick if you are a ham radio operator... free, and independent of paid services (cellular, satellite, etc). You can watch the real-time location of your boat purely via a laptop connected to a radio, or via the net at the Findu server.

Cheers,
Steve
N4RVE

[Pblais]

Insurance is good, but costly!

But it pays! Odds are the boat would have the most expensive items removed in a short period of time leaving a damaged boat behind for you to claim yet be unable to operate. Should it become wrecked the insurance will pay for the clean up. You however will be left with the mess as well as the loss.

The amount of time required to do significant damage is so small that it won't matter if you know it's moving because by the time you can get there it will be too late. You'll find the boat but the bad guys will already be gone.

[Sunspot Baby]

I think the APRS system above requires that the ham radio be on and tuned to correct freq. Take a look at Skymate. They have an automated position reporting option and up two twice a day is included in whatever plan you sign up for. However, even at the low end, by years end you will have offset much of what insurance would cost.

George

[Ex-Calif]

My brother is working on stuff like this. Basically trackers that can be put in all kinds of things like suitcases, laptops etc.

The electronics are cheapening but are still not free. And a service to do the reporting is going to be a service fee. GPRS is the likeliest candidate at this point.

As for an On-star for boats I think we are aways off. As we all know there are lots of places where communicating is a challenge.

[jscott]

There are many low cost commercial GPS tracking programs.

These programs are usually sold by people like Memory Map navigator, or I think some of the garmine Systems. A simple hand held GPS can be left on in the boat (or any where) and these systems can communicate and do what you want.

I saw a very elegant set-up at the Seattle Boat show last year, this was integrated into the main ship GPS/nav system, it transmitted all of the functions over a cell line to a computer terminal. (Sat Phone what ever).

This gave you throttle position, rudder postion heading SOG everything.

It was marketed as comfort for charterers, or lending the boat to sonny.

Can't remember but I think it was on a raymarine system as an add on application.

[jscott]

Just remembered I was on a raymarine equipped boat with GPS it had a anchor alarm, so if you dragged at night an alarm would fire, you could set this from oh 5m out to like 500 meters.

I would be a simple matter to take that alarm and connect it to a PC with a dial-up on it as well.

Seems like there should be lots of ways of making this happen.

If your are not computer literate (I am not), you wil probably have to make friends with a supplier type.

[ssullivan]

I'm looking for a similar product for a land-based business I'm doing to get the cruising kitty up.

Does anyone know of a GPS tracker that works on the GSM or CDMA (cell) network that has a battery life of a year or more?

That seems to be the problem - they only last a month before the battery dies.

[jscott]

Don't think you'll find a battery with a life of a year, more some disposable alkaline batteries.

It does not take a very big solar panel to provide the trickle charge for a battery pack.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by jscott

It does not take a very big solar panel to provide the trickle charge for a battery pack.

That's true, but it would make a pretty obvious tracking device with a solar panel connected. ha ha

I'm looking for a unit you can hide that has a good battery life. Mabye a 12V unit?

[Microship]

Originally Posted by Sunspot Baby

I think the APRS system above requires that the ham radio be on and tuned to correct freq. Take a look at Skymate. They have an automated position reporting option and up two twice a day is included in whatever plan you sign up for. However, even at the low end, by years end you will have offset much of what insurance would cost.

Yes, something has to be left powered on, but it's free. Trackers can be extremely tiny and low power, like the OpenTracker and a dedicated 2-meter ham radio handheld. APRS packets are "digipeated" by other hams, and eventually find their way to an igate that pipes them to the findu.com server. Obviously this doesn't work in the boonies or the middle of the ocean, so it is not for everybody, but there is a LOT of coverage in the US.

Again, you must have a ham license to use it; the community is self-policing and violators, by the very nature of the technology, are rather easy to find. But it's an excellent way to publish position reports (I use it while kayaking and sailing), and it can be set to only transmit updates when the unit is moving... so as not to abuse the bandwidth of the channel.

Cheers,
Steve

[GordMay]

”The Nuclear Solution for Boat Theft” ~ By Tom Neale
BoatUS.com - Tom Neale's Cruising For You

See also:
“B.C. TO USE BAIT BOATS TO SINK BOAT THEFT”
News Release from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
B.C. TO USE BAIT BOATS TO SINK BOAT THEFT

Avoid Being a Boat Fraud Victim
"Stolen boats are frequently sold to unsuspecting consumers. You can avoid being victimized in a stolen vessel scam by recognizing common fraud indicators..."
Goto National Insurance Crime Bureau:
https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xbcr/ni...tTheft_Eng.pdf

This forum allows members of the International Association of Marine Investigators to discuss topics related to IAMI Fraudfighter (including boat theft) activities.
Goto Fraudfighters: International Association of Marine Investigators, Inc. - Fraudfighters

[libellula]

A beautiful system that a friend of mine has installed on his Broadblue can be found at www.marinetracker.com

[hellosailor]

The problem with commercial tracking systems is mainly that vendors seem to come and go. And yes, most rely on cell phone systems, mainly GSM.

APRS relies on volunteers and as such can be considered unreliable, there are many places with zero APRS coverage, unless you are planning to run your own monitoring equipment.

Don't worry about jamming and mastheads, unless your boat is built of gold, no one is going to be checking it out for trackers before they steal it. Worry more about the monthly service fees, the signal coverage area, and what you are orphaned with if the vendor goes out of the business--as so many have.

[Microship]

The nifty thing about APRS is that, even though it is indeed unreliable as noted above, upon the loss of your boat you can go chasing around with an APRS rig in the form of a laptop/TNC/radio and look for packets. Also, there is an HF frequency in use as well (10.151 MHz) which is theoretically global when propagation is right. So a "stealth" installation triggered by a silent security sensor is a good way to keep putting out a non-obvious location beacon...

Steve