Anybody got a Skytag GPS tracker fitted?

[KevH]

I have one of these, it is a well made piece of kit, but it is costing me £6.99 a month for it to be monitored.

Has anybody ditched the subscription and successfully managed to track their bus using the GPS as a standalone device?

If so, any tips on how to do this would be appreciated.

BTW - I have read the small print, which 'bans' this sort of behaviour, but having shelled out a wad on it on far (£125 + £6.99 a month) I reckon they have had their monies worth.

Thanks.

 

[67westy]

I haven't but what does the skytag system look like? Is it similar to the chinese ones? Does it use a sim card? Might be a rebadged chinese tracker underneath it all, if so you could use it in a similar fashion

 

[Wannabay]

i've got one fitted and don't begrudge the monthly fee
provides peace of mind should the worst happen
and because its externally monitored, I don't have to chase round the country tracking it down and confronting the b***turds who've nicked it
something to think about

 

[MrAndyP]

i've got one fitted and don't begrudge the monthly fee
provides peace of mind should the worst happen
and because its externally monitored, I don't have to chase round the country tracking it down and confronting the b***turds who've nicked it
something to think about

This. They also tell me monthly that i need to charge my vehicle battery!! :roll: :lol:

 

[jimbo4861]

Hi
I have a stand alone tracker which you can track yourself via a mobile sim card it dedects vehicle movement and sends a text to your phone should some tosser drive it away, best thing is you dont need to charge your battery the unit is good for around a year domant, my bus has been parked up with no battery for around four months i took it out today and the tracker texted my mobile to advise it was on the move great bit of kit i dig out the details and post on here

 

[gagvanman]

Cheapskate...
Less than the cost of 2 pints of beer a month. I bet you rip films and music off the internet as well...

 

[KevH]

Thanks for your good advice.

I must admit that having somebody else confront whoever nicks the bus is a comfort, and something I had not thought about. I wonder how the police might react though, when reporting a theft that has been monitored on a standalone app basis, might they just say 'OK, you know where it is, go get it. Any probs, come back.'

I don't really begrudge the subscription to Skytag, but I do feel a bit vulnerable that I will only know that the bus has been nicked when I get back to an empty pitch after a day's walking. The idea of being texted by the bus itself if it moves is very appealing. I know Skytag offer that service too, but the cost is a bit steep.

As you can see, I am a bit torn on which is better, a subscription or a standalone. I could do both of course :lol:

 

[MrAndyP]

Arent them stand alone ones about £30 anyway.......so yeah, you could run both. As you say,getting that alert its disappeared that little bit quicker,is pretty good.

 

[67westy]

You can order them on ebay from china. Depending on which option you go for they are 30-50. Not fitted mine yet but I'm sure it wont be a big hassle, for the basic functionality it just needs power and the aerials connected.

I'd like to think that if your van is stolen and you can provide the police with regular updates as to the location then they would go after it for you. I'd follow it and keep a safe distance away until they arrived.....

If you go for one I'm in the middle of writing an android app that makes them easier to manage and plots updates on a map for you.

 

[jimbo4861]

Hi
Look at this system i cant fault it costs around £200 for the unit then just a top up on a mobile sim costs next to nothing unless you track your bus but you wont need that unless its stolen contact details:
http://Www.tisogps.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Tel 0161 368 0388

 

[Irishpete]

I've got both the sky tag and the camper tracker sim only one. I prefer the sky tag but like the fact I can see stuff on my phone for the other one. If I had to keep one, it'd be the sky tag - £6.00 a month isn't much for the peace of mind it offers.

 

[Foz]

Do skytag fit the system for you? I would be interested in having this fitted to mine also, as a secondary precaution...


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Own a Bay?......Feel the love!

 

[KevH]

I've got both the sky tag and the camper tracker sim only one. I prefer the sky tag but like the fact I can see stuff on my phone for the other one. If I had to keep one, it'd be the sky tag - £6.00 a month isn't much for the peace of mind it offers.

That's exactly my thought. What I really want is the back up that Skytag offer for a subscription but the ability to follow the GPS signal on my phone, and Skytag won't do that, which is understandable I guess.

So, I have just ordered a cheap jobbie off fleabay (£32) to supplement the Skytag unit and that will give me hours of fun watching my van going absolutely nowhere :lol: .

Foz - Skytag is a self fit job but its a doddle, just normal battery and earth connection and a couple of phone calls, once you have hidden the unit (about the size of a box of kitchen matches).

 

[Foz]

Foz - Skytag is a self fit job but its a doddle, just normal battery and earth connection and a couple of phone calls, once you have hidden the unit (about the size of a box of kitchen matches).

Might have to invest in one of these also, for extra piece of mind. I like the fact that it is monitored 24/7


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Own a Bay?......Feel the love!

 

[MrAndyP]

I also liked the fact its self fit. I know there isnt many places to hide it in a bus.......but im the only single person in the world that knows exactly where it is.

Do people advertise on there Bus that they have a tracker fitted?

My concerns were,if i advertise it (stickers) if someone wants to nick it,the tracker will be the first thing they look for. But then the fact it has one might put them off.

If i dont advertise it,someone may take it unaware its tracked,and therefore wont be looking for it,and may aid finding it easier....

Looks like ive chosen my destiny.... :lol:

I can barely get it off my drive myself without beaching it,so good luck to em......

 

[Humphrey]

I've got both the sky tag and the camper tracker sim only one. I prefer the sky tag but like the fact I can see stuff on my phone for the other one. If I had to keep one, it'd be the sky tag - £6.00 a month isn't much for the peace of mind it offers.

That's exactly my thought. What I really want is the back up that Skytag offer for a subscription but the ability to follow the GPS signal on my phone, and Skytag won't do that, which is understandable I guess.

So, I have just ordered a cheap jobbie off fleabay (£32) to supplement the Skytag unit and that will give me hours of fun watching my van going absolutely nowhere :lol: .

Foz - Skytag is a self fit job but its a doddle, just normal battery and earth connection and a couple of phone calls, once you have hidden the unit (about the size of a box of kitchen matches).

You can pay a bit more to upgrade your plan and they will give you the option to track in real time online or from your smart phone. Also the sky tag is a machine to machine unit and is way superior to the DIY eBay jobs which all use phone networks.

 

[67westy]

The skytag website says they use a celluar modem so it will rely on the phone networks in the same way the eBay units do. I would guess the units are very similar if not the same really, anyone got a picture of a skytag unit?

What do you mean by machine to machine?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[Humphrey]

Machine to machine (M2M) is the 3G circuit, the cellular would only be used if the unit falls back to GPRS. If you google M2M there is a lot of info. Provides enhanced coverage, less subject to signal loss etc.

 

[67westy]

Machine to machine (M2M) is the 3G circuit, the cellular would only be used if the unit falls back to GPRS. If you google M2M there is a lot of info. Provides enhanced coverage, less subject to signal loss etc.

Ahh never heard of that before, learn something new eh! Only had a quick read but so far I can't see how it offers improvements for coverage but more reading may reveal that.

The real time track is available on the chinese units, I intend to add support for this into my app at some point. For me at the moment I can only see the 24/7 monitoring and no top up fees being the only extras from the skytag. If you are happy to monitor it yourself then this doesn't appear to offer much more....... Happy to be proven wrong though

 

[KevH]

All this technical stuff is a bit over my head to be honest.

I now have (as of today courtesy of Royal Mail and Fleabay) a standalone unit that should complement the Skytag very nicely, telling me instantly when/if my bus moves without me in it. That should cover the weakness of the Skytag basic subscription, that you only know the bus has been nicked when you get back to an empty plot.

I am aware that I can subscribe for a ring fence to be put around the bus, but the costs start to escalate. I cannot see that Skytag offer a self monitoring option, the monitoring being their main USP.

Now to find yet another little hideaway for the unit.