psrob
06-12-2002, 01:45
I was looking to upgrade the security system on my Leon Cupra R when I get it so I have done quite a lot of research on tracking devices.
What I have discovered has put me off, especially when you consider the costs as they are both not as secure as they seem. I'll tell you why:-
The Tracker is the oldest system and uses a radio transmitter which is supposed to be 'homed' in and located by the police. Getting your car back relies entirely on the police locating it.
Firstly only a few police cars have the locating equipment ( ie. only 2 or 3 per force and maybe a helicopter). A family member who is in the police has told me the equipment is very hard to use, you have to be trained and hardly anyone knows how to use it. Also your car being stolen might be the most important thing to you, but don't be fooled, to the police it is'nt. Depending on how busy they are, whether the car with tracking equipment is availiable or being used for other normal traffic patrols, or whether they have the manpower are all factors which determine whether they will make the effort. Tracker makes you think they will just drop everything and start frantically hunting your car. The reality is they rarely will, especially at a weekend.
Also , the first thing a thief will do as soon as he can is disconnect the battery. This means a countdown of just 48 hours has begun till your battery backup runs out and your tracker is useless. By the time the police start a concerted effort to look for your car it might be too late.
Next, RAC Trackstar.(and all GPS and GSM Tracking systems)
This is the one for me I thought. Until I saw a major flaw which totally changed my mind. Reading the Scoobyworld forums I read a couple of threads by people who had RAC Trackstar but their car still disappeared because it 'failed to activate'. Not good. So I researched exactly how they work and how this could happen.
Being a telecom engineer it was easy to understand but the flaw is so gaping wide open I couldn't believe it.
They use GPS which is usindg military satellite to position and locate very accurately the car. Great! But GPS needs 'clear sky'. Put the stolen car in a metal container ( a favoured method) or in a thick concrete building and it simply disappears! The satellite loses touch.
But worse is still to come. If there is a good GPS signal and the system detects the car is stolen, it then contacts the tracking control centre via GSM. GSM is basically the mobile phone network. It then gives the control centre its location.
As you know with your mobile, you can't always get a signal. This can happen as your trackstar device happens to contact the centre.
Worst of all though, GSM can easily be blocked or'jammed' with the right equipment which means there is no way your device can communicate with the centre. So your tracker is useless.
Jammers are becoming more common among professional car thieves via the black market and it is an easy way of ovetrcoming a GSM/GPS tracking system. They are illegal in the UK but so are guns and plenty of people still have them. One UK firm actually makes them for export,
see :
http://www.spy-equipment.co.uk/Jammers/jammers.html
I even e-mailed RAC Trackstar because I couldn't believe a system I was nearly going to buy which was that expensive can be overcome so easily and this was their reply :
Hello Mr Robinson
Thank you for your email, please find below the answers that you wanted
clarified.
1. Can the GSM signal be jammed by GSM Jammers?
The signal can be jammed by GSM Jammers if they have the correct equipment.
2. Can the GSM signal be sometimes 'lost' as with mobiles in a poor
receptuion area or in a concrete building etc?
The signal of the tracking unit can sometimes become weaker if the vehicle
is stored in a concrete building or gets put into a steel container. We
will know up to 20 seconds before the signal goes weak that it has been
moved to a poor reception area
That's no good for a system that costs£600 installation plus £120 a year!!!!!
So, you pays your money you takes your choice, but i don't think I'll be bothering with either. I think its wrong that they both portray such total peace of mind and solid security when they are both obviously not.
Paul
What I have discovered has put me off, especially when you consider the costs as they are both not as secure as they seem. I'll tell you why:-
The Tracker is the oldest system and uses a radio transmitter which is supposed to be 'homed' in and located by the police. Getting your car back relies entirely on the police locating it.
Firstly only a few police cars have the locating equipment ( ie. only 2 or 3 per force and maybe a helicopter). A family member who is in the police has told me the equipment is very hard to use, you have to be trained and hardly anyone knows how to use it. Also your car being stolen might be the most important thing to you, but don't be fooled, to the police it is'nt. Depending on how busy they are, whether the car with tracking equipment is availiable or being used for other normal traffic patrols, or whether they have the manpower are all factors which determine whether they will make the effort. Tracker makes you think they will just drop everything and start frantically hunting your car. The reality is they rarely will, especially at a weekend.
Also , the first thing a thief will do as soon as he can is disconnect the battery. This means a countdown of just 48 hours has begun till your battery backup runs out and your tracker is useless. By the time the police start a concerted effort to look for your car it might be too late.
Next, RAC Trackstar.(and all GPS and GSM Tracking systems)
This is the one for me I thought. Until I saw a major flaw which totally changed my mind. Reading the Scoobyworld forums I read a couple of threads by people who had RAC Trackstar but their car still disappeared because it 'failed to activate'. Not good. So I researched exactly how they work and how this could happen.
Being a telecom engineer it was easy to understand but the flaw is so gaping wide open I couldn't believe it.
They use GPS which is usindg military satellite to position and locate very accurately the car. Great! But GPS needs 'clear sky'. Put the stolen car in a metal container ( a favoured method) or in a thick concrete building and it simply disappears! The satellite loses touch.
But worse is still to come. If there is a good GPS signal and the system detects the car is stolen, it then contacts the tracking control centre via GSM. GSM is basically the mobile phone network. It then gives the control centre its location.
As you know with your mobile, you can't always get a signal. This can happen as your trackstar device happens to contact the centre.
Worst of all though, GSM can easily be blocked or'jammed' with the right equipment which means there is no way your device can communicate with the centre. So your tracker is useless.
Jammers are becoming more common among professional car thieves via the black market and it is an easy way of ovetrcoming a GSM/GPS tracking system. They are illegal in the UK but so are guns and plenty of people still have them. One UK firm actually makes them for export,
see :
http://www.spy-equipment.co.uk/Jammers/jammers.html
I even e-mailed RAC Trackstar because I couldn't believe a system I was nearly going to buy which was that expensive can be overcome so easily and this was their reply :
Hello Mr Robinson
Thank you for your email, please find below the answers that you wanted
clarified.
1. Can the GSM signal be jammed by GSM Jammers?
The signal can be jammed by GSM Jammers if they have the correct equipment.
2. Can the GSM signal be sometimes 'lost' as with mobiles in a poor
receptuion area or in a concrete building etc?
The signal of the tracking unit can sometimes become weaker if the vehicle
is stored in a concrete building or gets put into a steel container. We
will know up to 20 seconds before the signal goes weak that it has been
moved to a poor reception area
That's no good for a system that costs£600 installation plus £120 a year!!!!!
So, you pays your money you takes your choice, but i don't think I'll be bothering with either. I think its wrong that they both portray such total peace of mind and solid security when they are both obviously not.
Paul