Anti theft GPS

[TomD]

Doesn’t appear to be a USA seller?
EELINK TK115

No, TK419-B (battery backup version). You can buy direct from eelink. $50 for the tracker. $4 for external backup battery. $50 expedited shipping (required if buy the battery). Easy breezy.

GPS tracker manufacturer|Tracking device manufacturer-EELINK

Eelink is brand GPS tracker manufacturer in China,build in 2004.You can customize the best 4G,3G, GPS tracking device for car by the manufacturer.

www.eelinktracker.com

You could buy a tracker from a USA seller but why? They are all made in china, might as well buy direct and get the best 4G tracker available. I recommend eelink due to superior tracking performance on turns and it's high quality, not cheap plastic junk.

eelink provides free lifetime tracking, you just need to buy a cheap sim card. The keepgo card I purchased will cost me about $10/year for data in perpetuity.

No need to purchase optional relay, just tap into brake sensor on bike and you can easily disable power via app.

You can supplement eelink's tracking with gps trace's free app if you want push notifications. Lots of more free goodies with flespi and ruhavik (gps trace). Small monthly fee if you want premium options.

Read last 2 pages for all details.

 

[tomjasz]

No, TK419-B (battery backup version). You can buy direct from eelink. $50 for the tracker. $4 for external backup battery. $50 expedited shipping (required if buy the battery). Easy breezy.

GPS tracker manufacturer|Tracking device manufacturer-EELINK

Eelink is brand GPS tracker manufacturer in China,build in 2004.You can customize the best 4G,3G, GPS tracking device for car by the manufacturer.

www.eelinktracker.com

You could buy a tracker from a USA seller but why? They are all made in china, might as well buy direct and get the best 4G tracker available. I recommend eelink due to superior tracking performance on turns and it's high quality, not cheap plastic junk.

eelink provides free lifetime tracking, you just need to buy a cheap sim card. The keepgo card I purchased will cost me about $10/year for data in perpetuity.

No need to purchase optional relay, just tap into brake sensor on bike and you can easily disable power via app.

You can supplement eelink's tracking with gps trace's free app if you want push notifications. Lots of more free goodies with flespi and ruhavik (gps trace). Small monthly fee if you want premium options.

Read last 2 pages for all details.

Thanks. Excellent response and advice .

 

[Ebiker01]

Read last 2 pages for all details.

thank you. yeah in the long run it saves up a bunch of S$. say in my case i was going to pay 18.99$/month and in 3-4years (8-900$) that would b equivalent with almost 1/2 of an ebike purchase.

I'll use my prior tracker for awhile until i get the eelink anf set it up to do what i need then i'll cancel service on the trak-4. Also using an apple airtag but that's just not enough in our times.


Another good option is to lock the ebike/Pev with an Alarm disc brake (makes a big , loud noise anf can't be taken off easily vs the reg. motion alarm that are just taped on a bike frame.

This one works great :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RM34KDP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[TomD]

Admittedly novices may be better off with a turn key solution and just paying a higher monthly fee. To configure the tracker initially you'll need to insert a SIM with SMS capability. In my case I took the SIM out of my phone, put it in the tracker, texted the tracker from my wife's phone to configure it, then put the cheap data only SIM in the tracker to minimize the ongoing cost. Novice users might be better off paying a little more for e.g. a speedtalk SIM ($5 / month) with SMS capability, then eventually swtich to a data only SIM once they get everything set up and working properly. Similarly there is some learning curve setting up flespi/ruhavik. Probably a bit much for the average user, but if you are willing to invest the time to figure it out you wiill save a bunch, and have a flexible / robust solution. For example, I really love the option to monitor my battery with flespi/ruhavik and be notified when my battery charges to 80%. Anti-theft is great, but it's kind of like fire insurance, you hope you'll never have to actually rely on it, so nice to be able to get some side benefits along with the insurance benefits

 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I ordered the Trak-4 after someone posted the link to the deal on Amazon the other day. Two reasons, theft, and my wife worries that I'll be lying in a ditch bleeding to death and she won't know where I am. Here's my mounting solution, on the 17mm bars of the large basket. It's kind of hidden under the seat. 3D printed in olive drab ABS using M3 hardware to mount it.

I also designed one that's for the 27mm sections of frame.

 

[dadooze]

Admittedly novices may be better off with a turn key solution and just paying a higher monthly fee. To configure the tracker initially you'll need to insert a SIM with SMS capability. In my case I took the SIM out of my phone, put it in the tracker, texted the tracker from my wife's phone to configure it, then put the cheap data only SIM in the tracker to minimize the ongoing cost. Novice users might be better off paying a little more for e.g. a speedtalk SIM ($5 / month) with SMS capability, then eventually swtich to a data only SIM once they get everything set up and working properly. Similarly there is some learning curve setting up flespi/ruhavik. Probably a bit much for the average user, but if you are willing to invest the time to figure it out you wiill save a bunch, and have a flexible / robust solution. For example, I really love the option to monitor my battery with flespi/ruhavik and be notified when my battery charges to 80%. Anti-theft is great, but it's kind of like fire insurance, you hope you'll never have to actually rely on it, so nice to be able to get some side benefits along with the insurance benefits

Thank you Tom D for the wealth of information in your many posts on this topic. I have bought 3 TK419 units and have one on test using the battery from my piece of s*it Swiss Tracker (worked for two days).
The good news is that the unit is tracking well from the trunk of my car. This leads me to hope that if I remove the case from the tracker to reduce size perhaps I could fit it into the controls enclosure of my battery and it will track. I am reasonably certain that I can do that with the one on my Rize Mini which I had to rebuild after it was stolen and damaged see photos. There seems to be enough room. Not so sure about the shark style 21Ah shark style for my DJ Fat Bike or builtin on my scooter. They may end up being externally mounted



Regarding relays. I am sceptical about the value of power interruption since if the unit has been stolen it was likely turned off and just hauled away rather than ridden, That was definitely the case in the two bikes stolen from me.
I am however thinking of setting up an on demand horn. If the police are outside a premises I can activate the horn to provide proof positive of the presence of the unit.
So far I have only connected to the Eelink native app and it seems to be working reasonably well. That being said I have been unable to use or receive SMS messages using a Things Mobile SIM which is allegedly SMS capable but it is early days yet.
For Canadian readers I will keep you posted about the viability of the Things Mobile SIMs . I suspect they will be disconnected from Telus after some time because of the Canada wide ban on permanent roaming.. Depending upon how long they last it may be a matter of getting new SIMs periodically since the lowest cost Canadian Data plan is $15/mo and I'm damned if I will pay $600 pa tax in to monitor three devices which consume minimal data.
Again Tom many thanks for the information.

 

[TomD]

Yeah the eelink app is garbage when it comes to notifications. I use the gpstrace app and love it, but only free for 1 device. As far as SiM, look at simbase as it is about the same cost as keepgo but you also have option to send SMS to configure. I ordered one to test but haven't gotten around to it.

 

[dadooze]

Yeah the eelink app is garbage when it comes to notifications. I use the gpstrace app and love it, but only free for 1 device. As far as SiM, look at simbase as it is about the same cost as keepgo but you also have option to send SMS to configure. I ordered one to test but haven't gotten around to it.

I look forward to your comments on SIMBASE. I took delivery of two more Things Mobile SIMs yesterday and have set up separate Ruhavik accounts for each since I will hopefully only ever need to track one device at a time. Had a look inside the Hilong case for my DJ fatbike and there seems to be enough room for the tracker minus the case. I need to buy inline fuses and I will wire one of the units in.

 

[dadooze]

I look forward to your comments on SIMBASE. I took delivery of two more Things Mobile SIMs yesterday and have set up separate Ruhavik accounts for each since I will hopefully only ever need to track one device at a time. Had a look inside the Hilong case for my DJ fatbike and there seems to be enough room for the tracker minus the case. I need to buy inline fuses and I will wire one of the units

 

[dadooze]

Yeah the eelink app is garbage when it comes to notifications. I use the gpstrace app and love it, but only free for 1 device. As far as SiM, look at simbase as it is about the same cost as keepgo but you also have option to send SMS to configure. I ordered one to test but haven't gotten around to it.

Hi Tom
Have you tried your SIMBASE yet? I wrote to their pre-sales support team with some queries including the ability to do SMS configuration. Their response was "Thank you for reaching out. This is not something the Simbase SIM supports."

It's not clear whether they don't support the idea of fitting trackers into ebikes or whether it's the SMS configuration they are alluding to. I look forward to learning what your experience reveals.

 

[DiggyGun]

The PowUnity Bike Trax works well Bosch motors.

DG…

 

[dadooze]

The PowUnity Bike Trax works well Bosch motors.
View attachment 160123
DG…

Hi. I read (waded through) the info on the Power Unity web site. One piece of vital importance for my location, British Columbia. It seems that this unit works on the 2G network which has been phased out here. I do like the fact that a manufacturer is building such systems into their product. I wish more would do it.

 

[dadooze]

SO today I connected the first of my three TK419s to the SIlverfish Style Battery for my 2019 Rize Mini. It was fairly straight forward. I tapped off the positive (red) before the key switch and tapped off the corresponding negative (black). I incorporated a 2A fuse into the red+ feed to the tracker. I removed all other connecting wires since I won't be using them. I had considered using the relay circuit to power an audible alarm but due to space constraints and no viable woring path I decided against that = for now. I well may try that on my Kaabo MAntis Scooter and rethink the bike later if it proves feasible.
In order to help it fit I removed the case and insulated it and secured the Things Mobile SIM with red electrical tape. Also to conserve space I soldered the connections instead of using connectors or barrel crimps.
So here is the news. It works. It is powered 24/7 but that is a requirement since we want to track in the event of theft. I"m currently using the Eelink's native Keelin Tracking but will change to Ruhavik (gps trace). Things Mobile SIMs don't accept direct SMS messages but you can configure the device using SMS messages sent via the Things Mobile portal. They give you 10 free SMS transmittals with each SIM so it should be no bother to set up.

I have a 21 Ah Hailong Battery for my DJ Fat Bike. Will have a look inside that next and see if there is space.

Will keep posting as it evolves.

 

[DiggyGun]

@dadooze

Good job on fitting the tracker.

But have you just given out the details of your home address?

DG…

 

[dadooze]

Point taken. Thank you,

 

[dadooze]

The installation of the TK419 with a Things Mobile SIM into the battery housing of my Rize Mini has been a success IMO. It tracks reasonably well and doesn't consume a lot of power. I am using Ruhavik as suggested by TomD in earlier posts.

I have not had the same success in fitting one into my 21Ah Hailong case for my other bike primarily due to space constraints. I had to shoehorn it in. The good news is that I am getting no signal at all so I have either dislodged the SIM or open circuited the device. I will open the case a check later in the week and get back with an update.

UPDATE. I opened up the Hailong case and found the fuse I had incorporated into the tracker circuit was blown. Perhaps it was faulty to begin with or maybe I grounded it during installation. Anyway I replaced it and it is working now. It was very difficult to get the unit to fit into the available space but it is now tracking well.. Next one goes into my scooter. I won't talk about that here.

Lessons learned.
There is very little space in the battery packs that I have opened. (Hailing and Silverfish) so it is necessary to remove the trackers from their casing to make them fit.
Things Mobile SIMs work but do not accept regular SMS messages but will accept SMS configuration via the Things Mobile Portal thus reducing the setup hassle of switching SIMs referenced by TomD earlier in this thread.
I have had no problem setting up separate tracking accounts with different email addresses - one for each bike.
I have had no success in trying to change the name of my devices in Ruhavik so choose a good name during initial setup. If anyone can guide me in this please do.

I will edit as appropriate as I learn more.

 

[fish2727]

i use a tractive pet gps on my allant.just mount on the bottom with some Velcro and works most of the time.

 

[TomD]

Haven't checked in here in a while. Was looking to add a tracker to another bike and picked up a Micodus MV710G tracker and Simbase SIM to test. So far so good. Notifications from the Micodus app are coming reliably and this tracker can do lot's of cool stuff like send alerts when the bike is turned or (or off).. Also have relay wired to cut power remotely. Not mentioned in the video but this tracker also does smart angle updating like the eelink (sends a tracking point at each turn). I think this is going to be an easy tracker to recommend if it performs as well in the field as it has around the house while I wired it up. More later...

Edit: the MV710G doesn't seem to be performing so well inside the frame, doh! I think the TK419 may still be the better option as it tracks like a champ inside the frame. Good news is I found a way to get reliable notification with the eelink TK419 using flespi and telegram. You can also monitor the TK419 with the Micodus app for $7: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800789188192.html

 

[TomD]

i use a tractive pet gps on my allant.just mount on the bottom with some Velcro and works most of the time.

Ha, sounds like my experience with invoxia. It worked hidden in my chainstay, but it was a PITA to charge, and it just didn't track reliably. Tractive, puts out a good product for pets, especially if you place a premium on health wellness monitoring, but not sure I'd go that route for an ebike unless you can't secure your tracker internally and hard wire it to your ebike battery. The lowest cost option monitoring from tractive, which requires a 5 year commitment, is $300, plus $35 for their cheapest tracker. An unlocked pet tracker would be a fraction of the cost to monitor using simbase and ruhavik.

 

[6zfshdb]

These trackers are indeed great ant theft tools, but what would you actually do if your bike was stolen? Assuming you succeed in finding it's location and call the police, you are at the mercy of that local police jurisdiction, which may or may not respond to such a report. In my rural location for example, unless a life is in danger, my local LEO's usually don't have the resources to deal with a stolen bike.

If you trespass on private property to recover the bike yourself, you become the thief and can be charged accordingly. you could also risk bodily injury from the original thieves.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking these products. They are great for some. In many urban areas, where bike theft is a big problem, these trackers are much more effective, but not so everywhere. In my case, where I live & ride, the money is better spent on bike insurance.