The B@rstewards fitted a tracker to my van!

[P2daz 0]

The company i work for have just fitted trackers to our vans - purely for tax reason of course!

 

I think i know the answer but does anyone have one fitted and have any known weaknesses -like a big hammer?

Or have I got to start putting a full week in?

[dub envy 0]

A mate of mine has a tracker on his van too... he does something with the ABS fuse that disables it or something.... so at night on private time it looks like his van doesnt move... you just have to make sure you park in the same spot when you turn it back on!!

 

Not a very helpful reply but just thought I'd let you know that there ARE things you can do..

[The Hub 0]

They got fitted to my work van over a year ago, as we where told they reduce the insurance premiums...... already had one van recovered because of the tracker so they do there job...... thankfully my boss lets me do my own hours, but would be interested to know if there is a way to confuse them?

[coolrado 0]

i work for a company that manufacture tracking devices and i used to fit them up and down the country, there are a few ways of disabling them, but one of the best i have seen is to simply put a pin through the coax cable for the antenna so it short circuits the outer screen to the centre core, which is almost impossible to find when they are called out to repair it. you also need to be carefull with some systems as even if the power is disconnected they have a battery backup and will run for weeks without external power also if the server that monitors its transmissions is set to expect a transmission at a set time and it doesnt receive it it may flag up an alert that it has either been tampered with or there is a fault.

any decent fitter would not connect its power supply to the ABS system or any other safety related circuitry so they should really ask to have it re-wired.

 

if you can actually get the unit out, a quick blast in a microwave will make sure its dead without showing any external damage :lol:

 

also a baked bean can over the antenna should do the trick, but magnets will have no effect.

[dub envy 0]

any decent fitter would not connect its power supply to the ABS system or any other safety related circuitry so they should really ask to have it re-wired.

 

I'm not 100% sure why he took the ABS fuse out.. I think that might also have disabled his traction control too... It was a while back he had this van and the details are a lil fuzzy!

 

But, it's likely that the company he works for got the cheapest most pikey fitters in to fit them as they are like that!

[Henny 0]

Disabling trackers depends on which type of tracking unit is fitted... some use purely GPS, some use GPS and GSM, while others tap into the ABS sensors so that they can tell if the vehicle is moved while it's not got a GPS signal (for example in a multi-story carpark...)

 

GPS ones are reasonably easy to block the GPS signal from getting to the unit and therefore stopping it from logging any journeys you make.

 

GPS/GSM ones can have a built in triangulation system which will send SMS texts at various times to locate the unit via the GSM network... stopping the messages will ring bells if it happens at regular intervals...

 

With the ABS tapped ones, there's not really a simple way to get around them, unless you can disconnect the ABS and block the GPS signal somehow....

 

Bear in mind that if you do manage to get around the tracker so you can use the vehicle, at the end of the year you ARE going to get caught when they add up the milage the tracker claims you've done and compare it with the actual milage on the odometer...

 

Oh, and don't forget the fact that if they've been fitted for insurance reasons and you disable it, you are driving the vehicle without valid insurance and if you get stopped for any reason (god help you if you have an accident) then you WILL get shafted royally... :|

[P2daz 0]

To be honest I don't think I'll be trying to disable the tracker, it's just nice to know that they haven't got the upper hand and we can disable it if required.

 

What the tracker can't tell the company is the fact that we just have an extended dinner time break to compensate :D

[Henny 0]

there is a VERY easy way to disable it, but if your car has an ECU, it may also stop the car from running...

 

*hides RF interference noise generator* ;) :lol:

[P2daz 0]

And, say, hyperthetically speaking one wanted to buy one, where would one be advised to go? :wink:

[Henny 0]

you couldn't... you'd have to make one... and it'd probably also stop your engine from running and get you arrested for broadcasting on frequencies you don't have a licence to broadcast on unless you REALLY knew what you were doing... :|

[coolrado 0]

or just make one which transmits gps signals like we use to test equipment in our office, you can make the tracker think its somewhere its not 8)

[Henny 0]

coolrado, think you'll find that comes under the "broadcasting on frequencies you don't have a licence to" part of what I said above... ;) :lol: