Anti theft GPS

[TomD]

OK, I did some quick tests and somewhat chagrined to say it doesn't seem to work well. I have an old FreedomPop SIM that can only send / receive data (it can't send SMS texts) so maybe that's the problem. I really need to upgrade to the latest FreedomPop SIM so I can send/receive SMS texts to/from the tracker (and perhaps change some tracker settings via text which can't be set by the app). In any case, the SIM can send data so I should be able to get app notifications on my phone, but I don't get anything when I move the bike.

Maybe @liteEbike can test his TK419 and see if he gets the alarms to trigger?

The geofencing also seems glitchy. Minimum fence diameter is 300 meters, which seems too big to be of practical use. Furthermore when I set the fence to my current location, then view the fence, the center of the fence has moved outside the originally set location. It's unclear to me whether it's just a glitch displaying the fence, or if the fence is actually set wrong. Need to take the bike out and see if it triggers an alarm. Then again, I don't seem to be getting any alarms for motion, so I may not get any alarms for the fence.

Edit: It could also be that I'm using the android app which isn't as well supported as the ios app. I note the android app hasn't seen an update since last year (and isn't showing up as an an official andoird app in the google play store) whereas the ios app seems to be getting monthly updates. Maybe that explains my missing alarm notifications and the geofencing glitches in the android app. Suspect the ios app works much better.

 

[Sunshine2021]

I’ve got a Tile inside the frame of my road bike and another glued under the seat of my fat bike.

Just wondering: can you still track your bike when the Tile is inside the frame / surrounded by metal ?
(I just received an AirTag and put it inside a metal cookie box. I cannot receive any signals from it in the box).

 

[Vewlix]

Just wondering: can you still track your bike when the Tile is inside the frame / surrounded by metal ?
(I just received an AirTag and put it inside a metal cookie box. I cannot receive any signals from it in the box).

Wouldn’t hot gluing it under the seat be a better place for it? Still waiting for my airtags to arrive.

 

[Sunshine2021]

Wouldn’t hot gluing it under the seat be a better place for it? Still waiting for my airtags to arrive.

In terms of signal strength yes. But I think it is the most obvious place to look for a tag so the thief will easily find.
Using hot glue might work because it makes the removal harder. On the other hand one can always get rid of the complete saddle then.

 

[ki11a]

Just wondering: can you still track your bike when the Tile is inside the frame / surrounded by metal ?
(I just received an AirTag and put it inside a metal cookie box. I cannot receive any signals from it in the box).

I hope you know that with the new Apple AirTags, it will notify a local iPhone around if it is 'following' them, making it useless as an anti theft tracker.

Putting anything that needs to transmit a signal in all metal is a bad idea, I found this out firsthand when I tried to hide a GPS tracker inside my ebike frame. You are basically building a faraday cage for the tracker, which makes it useless.

 

[Sunshine2021]

I hope you know that with the new Apple AirTags, it will notify a local iPhone around if it is 'following' them, making it useless as an anti theft tracker.

I read that the AirTag will notify the „tagged“ person once he/she reached its home address. After 3 days without contact to the original iPhone the AirTag will also make some noise.

 

[scrambler]

OK, I did some quick tests and somewhat chagrined to say it doesn't seem to work well. I have an old FreedomPop SIM that can only send / receive data (it can't send SMS texts) so maybe that's the problem. I really need to upgrade to the latest FreedomPop SIM so I can send/receive SMS texts to/from the tracker (and perhaps change some tracker settings via text which can't be set by the app). In any case, the SIM can send data so I should be able to get app notifications on my phone, but I don't get anything when I move the bike.

Maybe @liteEbike can test his TK419 and see if he gets the alarms to trigger?

The geofencing also seems glitchy. Minimum fence diameter is 300 meters, which seems too big to be of practical use. Furthermore when I set the fence to my current location, then view the fence, the center of the fence has moved outside the originally set location. It's unclear to me whether it's just a glitch displaying the fence, or if the fence is actually set wrong. Need to take the bike out and see if it triggers an alarm. Then again, I don't seem to be getting any alarms for motion, so I may not get any alarms for the fence.

Edit: It could also be that I'm using the android app which isn't as well supported as the ios app. I note the android app hasn't seen an update since last year (and isn't showing up as an an official andoird app in the google play store) whereas the ios app seems to be getting monthly updates. Maybe that explains my missing alarm notifications and the geofencing glitches in the android app. Suspect the ios app works much better.

Thank you for testing.
Not having a SIM that supports SMS could definitely be the issue. You should report the rest of the issues to eelink to see what their support looks like

 

[scrambler]

Also, if the Android app is not in the play store, having to sideload the app is not good news...

 

[TomD]

When I loaded the eelink (keelin) app last year it was available in the play store, no sideload needed. Google is finicky about their policies and can add new terms on a whim so I'm guessing eelink has to tweak something first before Google will deem it compliant with their latest policies.

As an alternative you can use this app for monitoring:

https://gps-trace.com/en/ruhavik

The free version of ruhavik allows for in app notifications, smaller geofences, etc. and it seems a lot more functional. I may switch to ruhavik to the extent the eelink app doesn't continue to get updated. That's the beauty of open source and not being locked into any given provider for monitoring, app, etc!

 

[scrambler]

Thanks for the info,
Let us know how it goes if you try it

 

[TomD]

Probably not any time soon as I'd need to upgrade the FreedomPop SIM in my tracker to use SMS texts. In order to configure the tracker to send data to another server (such as ruhavik) you need to SMS text the tracker (not sure why it can't do it via mobile data). That's one downside of hiding the tracker in the frame, it's a lot of work to pull it out! Fortunately the newer FreedomPop SIMs allow for texting so this is hopefully the last time I'll need to pull out the tracker and replace the SIM.

 

[scrambler]

Does the tracker support different time intervals to manage battery life.
Can you put it in sleep mode with very rare update, or choose various time interval down to a few seconds if you are actively tracking a stolen bike?

 

[TomD]

Yes, it supports all that with the native app. Since I have my tracker hard wired to my e-bike battery, the battery life is not much of an issue so I just leave it at the highest consumption setting. If you remove the e-bike battery you'll need a backup battery to keep the GPS tracker running (power only lasts for ~30 minutes with the tracker's internal battery). Note @liteEbike's solution upthread. I always leave my battery locked to the bike as I have plenty of range, and if I removed my battery the GPS unit would be exposed and easier to get to. While a thief could pick the battery lock to get to the gps, it's just one more layer of protection.

 

[scrambler]

Looks like the Keelin app is back in the Play store

可依恋Keelin - Apps on Google Play

A professional GPS positioning platform

play.google.com

 

[scrambler]

@TomD

If the TK419 is connected to the Main battery (red and black wire), and you also connect the external 5200mah battery to pin7 and pin8 because the Main battery is not always on, do you know if the external battery gets charged while the Main battery is on (does the TK419 have a charger for it built in)

Also, do you know how long the external battery powers the unit when it is set to the smallest monitoring interval (high usage)?

Thank you

 

[TomD]

No idea. I don't have a need for an external battery as I don't remove the ebike battery from the frame (so tracker is always powered by the ebike battery). Also, I'm not sure I could fit an external battery with the tracker in the top of my head tube either.

I would suggest asking the manufacturer on amazon. They have responded to other questions there.

 

[scrambler]

Thanks, I also sent the question to them, will update here if they answer

 

[Clamps]

@TomD May I ask what make/model bike you've installed this into, and whether doing so voided any warranties?
If your bike is home brew, I imagine it's fine. But as I'm buying a bike, I'd hate to break the warranty trying to protect the bike from theft.

 

[TomD]

It's a Frey CC. I'm tapping in to the fuse between the battery and charging port. Worst case scenario is a blown fuse so can't imagine it would void warranty in my case but you might want to ask the manufacturer. Also, depending on the bike you purchase there may not be room for the GPS in the neck of the frame and/or may not have a charging port fuse to tap into if the charger plugs in directly to the battery.

 

[TomD]

Just an update on my GPS monitoring solution. I was using a FreedomPop SIM that provided free monthly data after paying a small setup fee. Unfortunately they discontinued that plan and their new "free" plan required a new SIM which I couldn't get to work in the tracker so I started shopping around. After considering various IoT SIM plans that cost about $3-4 per month depending on data usage I found these 2 data only SIM cards on amazon. I decided to purchase both as you never know how long these companies will stay in business. The only real negative with these SIMs is they are data only (they don't have a phone number or offer SMS texting) so if you need to text the tracker to change the APN, point it to an alternative server, etc. you'll have to pull a SIM out one of your phones, insert it in the tracker, text the tracker from another phone, then re-insert the data only SIM after configuring the tracker. I'm going to give each of them a try but I think the more expensive option will actually be best in the long run.

Option 1: IoT-Turbo Data-Only SIM Card​

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B09V58RR9S/

Currently on sale for $1.99 (regular price is $5). Provides 100MB of data that never expires. My tracker uses ~15MB of data each month. However, I don't ride in winter so really only 4-5 months of usage per year which means the 100MB of data should last 1-2 years. You can top it up with data for $25 (300 day expiration) but I figured why mess with that, at $1.99 I bought 3 of them and will just replace them once the data is used up. Only major con is it only works in the US. Upside is it leverages AT&T's LTE network which I've had good experience with on FreedomPop. Edit: turns out the 100MB of data expires in 1 week, SMH! Oh well, at least it only cost me $1.99 to test.

Option 2: Keepgo Lifetime Prepaid Data Sim Card​

https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q78MU6G

Currently on sale for $24.50 after 50% off coupon. Provides 1GB mobile data that is valid for a lifetime if refilled at least once a year. Cheapest option to refill is $3. 1GB should last me at least 10 years, so annual cost is about $6 per year amortizing the initial cost and token $3 annual refill. That's actually pretty darn good. Compared to option 1 it's more expensive but I wouldn't have to ever replace the SIM and I get worldwide coverage should I need to track my bike outside the US.

Edit: this one turned out to be the winner. Works like a charm, no issues, happy camper!

Option 3: for businesses only​

https://1nce.com/en-us/ is another option but only available to businesses. $10 for a 10 year SIM with 500MB of data. It can be topped up with another 500MB for $10. Let's say you are developing a device that requires internet but not a lot of data or need for high speed data you could purchase in bulk and put them in your device and they would last for the expected lifetime of the product without customers needing to invest in a data plan. Seems ideal if someone were developing, say, a GPS that was embedded in an ebike controller or offering a hard wired GPS tracker like the tk419 with their bikes. Hint hint @Ravi Kempaiah or @pushkar

EDIT (5/2024) Option 4: Simbase IoT SIM​

https://simbase.com

First SIM is free with promo (additional SIM are $5) plus $6.99 shipping. Cost per active SIM is $0.01 / day (can deactivate when not in use for no charge) plus $0.01 / MB data (varies by country). Can send SMS to tracker for $0.02 (replies back are $0.05). Cost is similar to keepgo if you are tracking every day 24/7. Even if you are in a country with higher per MB data costs, would be well worth any trivial premium vs keepgo to have the option to send SMS. While more expensive than 1nce, there is no business only requirement. This is likely the best option for most users.