GPS Tracker for £2 a month

[guerney]

An interesting thing about Carbon Fibre, friend of mine was a mechanic at Lotus (the F1 team) First time they tried Carbon Fibre as a nose cone the radio antenna was fastened to it, they were unable to tell the driver the car was on fire and come in quick!

Were they using fibreglass before? It's weird that Lotus engineers didn't account for electrically conductive carbon fibre, interfering with radio signals.

 

[Max Tolerance]

Were they using fibreglass before? It's weird that Lotus engineers didn't account for electrically conductive carbon fibre, interfering with radio signals.

Bit like Locomotives in the early days, the sheer velocity would kill people!

 

[guerney]

Bit like Locomotives in the early days, the sheer velocity would kill people!

I do hope you've been out riding your new bike at the sheerest possible velocity, complete with the aforementioned newly unlonely GPS tracker.

 

[Max Tolerance]

AS it happens I am very pleased with the GPS tracker. It told me that there had been a "sudden reaction incident" After I had gone arse over breakfast on the lawn, so that function works!

 

[Bikes4two]

An interesting thing about Carbon Fibre, friend of mine was a mechanic at Lotus (the F1 team) First time they tried Carbon Fibre as a nose cone the radio antenna was fastened to it, they were unable to tell the driver the car was on fire and come in quick!

As an aside an aside and tad of-topic, the car radio probably didn't work because an antenna needs a conductive 'ground plane' to perform correctly. (If you're having trouble sleeping, an insight into aerial ground planes can be found here).

 

[gsm.terra]

@gsm.terra tried one of those back in post #28 (here) and Ali Express sell the GF-07 GPS for well under £10 shipped. At that price you have to wonder at its reliability. However, stick one of those under your saddle and an 'informed' thief may spot it, detach it and throw it away then leg it with your bike not knowing that your real tracker is else where doing its thing!

I’ve now upgraded to the Vodafone bike gps with built in rear light. It’s miles better than the vodafone curve, and don’t think I’ll be getting any cheap gps trackers again

 

[Bikes4two]

Hi @gsm.terra - glad to hear you have a better tracker - when you say much better than the Curve - in what way is that (I'm still in my 14 day return no quibble phase, so keen to hear why you say the light version is better than the Curve - is it the tracking accuracy or something)?

Cheers,

PS - keep the crap tracker and stick it on your bike somewhere for a thief to spot - they'll rip it off and hopefully leave your real tracker alone whilst you follow them home with your well built mates carrying large sticks!!!

 

[gsm.terra]

Hi @gsm.terra - glad to hear you have a better tracker - when you say much better than the Curve - in what way is that (I'm still in my 14 day return no quibble phase, so keen to hear why you say the light version is better than the Curve - is it the tracking accuracy or something)?

Cheers,

PS - keep the crap tracker and stick it on your bike somewhere for a thief to spot - they'll rip it off and hopefully leave your real tracker alone whilst you follow them home with your well built mates carrying large sticks!!!

that's a great idea!!
There are more controls on the app for the bike tracker, you can turn on or off the alarm, check the battery of the tracker and the detachable light, track your rides. It will text or call you if the alarm is activated, also it will text or call a chosen contact if a crash is detected. The light has a brake light function too. It's not perfect by any means, but its the best yet! I still have my curve, and use it on my other ebike.

edit; its only £59.99 @ ebikes direct link

 

[guerney]

that's a great idea!!
There are more controls on the app for the bike tracker, you can turn on or off the alarm, check the battery of the tracker and the detachable light, track your rides. It will text or call you if the alarm is activated, also it will text or call a chosen contact if a crash is detected. The light has a brake light function too. It's not perfect by any means, but its the best yet! I still have my curve, and use it on my other ebike.

edit; its only £59.99 @ ebikes direct link

Is this the same one at £39?

Curve, Bike light & GPS tracker | Vodafone Smart Tech

Curve bike light and GPS tracker is all-in-one safety cycling device that can clip to your seatpost and help you feel safer with its smart tech features.

eshop.v.vodafone.com

I'm quite happy with my cheapo, but adding a decoy sounds like a good idea. On my bike, I've got no more room on the seatpost, because it needs to lower completely to fold.

A review, the Curve looks good:

Vodafone Curve bike light & GPS tracker

Great hardware hampered by unpredictable signal and an app that needs work

road.cc

 

[Max Tolerance]

Is this the same one at £39?

Yes and the one I bought, as the poster above says: I too have had it with cheap GPS trackers, the Vodafone app is quite (very) useful.

 

[guerney]

Yes and the one I bought, as the poster above says: I too have had it with cheap GPS trackers, the Vodafone app is quite (very) useful.

I prefer the text based simplicity and zero contract, zero data and zero app nature of my cheapo - plus I avoid any hardware which relies on apps... because apps can suddenly get pulled from the app store, not be updated/deactivate reach "End of life", and then you're left with an unnecessarily killed device, like so many wasted electronic hardware poisoning soil and warerways while disintegrating in landfills. Dead before it's time, like too many other other internet or data dependant devices. Unless of course the Curve works without an app? One data slurping phone is enough, I don't want to end up with a tracker not working for lack of data connecion, in one of the many data deadspots which exists all over the country, usually where cycling is nicest.

I do very much like the look of the more secure seatpost clamp of the Curve. It's a pity that cheapo Chinese manufacturers of such products, don't bother to design them well. I'll just epoxy my GPS tracker light on...

 

[Bikes4two]

 

[Bikes4two]

• Hecky thump (as my granddad used to say), so much choice and functionality between devices with functional overlap between them.
• Now I don't know whether to return my 'ordinary' Curve and go for the 'bike light' version of the Curve!
• A couple of things that are putting me off the bike light Curve are:
  - as a tracker they are going to be very obvious to those in the know, especially clued up bike thieves (but of course that's discounting crack heads who rarely know which was is up!)
  - and of course even if the thief is not clued up, as soon as the siren/alarm goes off then attention is drawn to the device leading to its removal
  - as for seat post mounting, that's ok for the average roadie with their tools in a jersey pocket, but I'm old school with Carradice saddle bags
  - and finally I already have some great rear lights including a Garmin Varia rear facing bike radar alert thingy
• Food for thought though (the bike light Curve that is, especially at twenty squid!) ..........................

 

[guerney]

• Hecky thump (as my granddad used to say), so much choice and functionality between devices with functional overlap between them.
• Now I don't know whether to return my 'ordinary' Curve and go for the 'bike light' version of the Curve!
• A couple of things that are putting me off the bike light Curve are:
  - as a tracker they are going to be very obvious to those in the know, especially clued up bike thieves (but of course that's discounting crack heads who rarely know which was is up!)
  - and of course even if the thief is not clued up, as soon as the siren/alarm goes off then attention is drawn to the device leading to its removal
  - as for seat post mounting, that's ok for the average roadie with their tools in a jersey pocket, but I'm old school with Carradice saddle bags
  - and finally I already have some great rear lights including a Garmin Varia rear facing bike radar alert thingy
• Food for thought though (the bike light Curve that is, especially at twenty squid!) ..........................

Vodaphone have your number... they're directly marketing at YOU! How can you resist? (But of course it'll be £5.98 in total per month, after 12 months) (I'll stick to my £10 a year. I hate contracts any longer than a month...)

 

[gsm.terra]

Is this the same one at £39?

Curve, Bike light & GPS tracker | Vodafone Smart Tech

Curve bike light and GPS tracker is all-in-one safety cycling device that can clip to your seatpost and help you feel safer with its smart tech features.

eshop.v.vodafone.com

I'm quite happy with my cheapo, but adding a decoy sounds like a good idea. On my bike, I've got no more room on the seatpost, because it needs to lower completely to fold.

A review, the Curve looks good:

Vodafone Curve bike light & GPS tracker

Great hardware hampered by unpredictable signal and an app that needs work

road.cc

Wow!! Didn't notice that vodafone had dropped it to £39.99!!

 

[gsm.terra]

Vodaphone have your number... they're directly marketing at YOU! How can you resist? (But of course it'll be £5.98 in total per month, after 12 months) (I'll stick to my £10 a year. I hate contracts any longer than a month...)

I did buy an apple airtag too, free to run, yet i ended up sticking it in my wallet due to too many "senior moments"

 

[AndyBike]

Personally I cant see how these trackers will aid getting a nicked bike back.
Scenario-- Bike gets stolen.
You track it to such and such and area or even address.
You contact the police and the police say..

Naff off. Nowt they can do.
They cant just go breaking down people doors on the say so of a member of the public, or even from the supplied data of a tracker, the tracker might be malfunctioning, or likely a dozen other legal reasons.

 

[sjpt]

Personally I cant see how these trackers will aid getting a nicked bike back.
Scenario-- Bike gets stolen.
You track it to such and such and area or even address.
You contact the police and the police say..

Naff off. Nowt they can do.
They cant just go breaking down people doors on the say so of a member of the public, or even from the supplied data of a tracker, the tracker might be malfunctioning, or likely a dozen other legal reasons.

That's exactly what happened with my son's phone a few years ago.

 

[Bikes4two]

Personally I cant see how these trackers will aid getting a nicked bike back.
Scenario-- Bike gets stolen.
You track it to such and such and area or even address.
You contact the police and the police say..

Naff off. Nowt they can do.
They cant just go breaking down people doors on the say so of a member of the public, or even from the supplied data of a tracker, the tracker might be malfunctioning, or likely a dozen other legal reasons.

All fair points but that assumes that you'd go to the police and that they wouldn't do anything (although you're probably right but not necessarily so). Many folks would just face up to the thief and take the situation from there.

Many wouldn't of course and whilst it would be well outside of my comfort zone, I'd not just 'roll over' and give in.

Further, I have the tracker to give comfort to my wife for whom I share the location data as at times I'm out for longer than planned and omit to inform the good lady that I'm well and she can see that I'm on the move (cafe stops withstanding - lol).

 

[gsm.terra]

Personally I cant see how these trackers will aid getting a nicked bike back.
Scenario-- Bike gets stolen.
You track it to such and such and area or even address.
You contact the police and the police say..

Naff off. Nowt they can do.
They cant just go breaking down people doors on the say so of a member of the public, or even from the supplied data of a tracker, the tracker might be malfunctioning, or likely a dozen other legal reasons.

Depends on where you live and the scenario, could be traced within a few streets and I would happily knock the door and demand answers