Just received my Device Therapy Bike Mount & Reflector for Apple AirTag and I'm really Impressed.

[scrambler]

Thank you for the quick response.

From what you are saying, it looks like there is no way to send any command to the device via the Sigfox network.
This means no settings can be changed once the bike is stolen and out range, which is too bad.

When you say you can set the device to arm automatically when out of Bluetooth range, I assume you mean set the Locked state.
This is good for forgetful people, but does not really help with the tracking management.

My wish was to be able to only track on demand to maximize battery life. Basically have "Periodic Transmission" set to OFF, but if the bikes gets stolen, have the ability to trigger tracking remotely (via the Sigfox network) when looking for the bike.

As it is, you have to rely on the motion detection to have been triggered and have successfully sent a location at the current place the bike is located.

 

[shiruba]

Hi,

Yes, when you get far enough away, it will lock automatically.

The tracking is always off if the alarm hasn't been triggered, but basically you can't move the bike without setting it off, so as soon as someone so much as rattles you bike, it will start sending updates. So the tracking is always on if your bike gets stolen, unless you turned off the automatic arming and also forgot to arm it.

If you are concerned about someone noticing it and breaking it, you can turn off the alarm, so that it will only send the alarm to your phone and start silently tracking.

 

[scrambler]

The concern would be that the bike is stolen, but for some reason tracking was not sent successfully when reaching its temporary storing location.
At that point the bike is not moving so no longer sending its location, and if you cannot trigger that, you wont be able to find the location.
Not necessarily a real issue, just peace of mind

About the Alarm, Can you set the alarm to only ring a specific number of times then go silent?
The goal would be that you would get one alarm to deter the theft, but then go silent so that if the bike is stolen it wont force the thieve to locate the device and remove it...

The whole alarm is a conundrum anyway. It has the benefit to deter amateur thieves, but with the alarm in the device, it gives up the location of the device so a real thief can remove it...

Ideally you would want to move the alarm speaker out of the device and locate it in a different place on the bike with either a wire concealed inside the frame, or a wireless trigger.

One last question
If you are within Bluetooth range, can you manually trigger the alarm to locate the bike?

 

[shiruba]

Hi,

The only way the location would not be sent would be if it was out of Sigfox range (or the device had been destroyed). I know from experience that this worked even in a parking garage two floors underground.

The alarm can only be turned on or off. If it's on, then it will sound, and then sound every few minutes if it's still armed and still being moved.

If course I haven't tried to take the device apart, but running wires would probably give up the location. The official place to mount it is in the water bottle mount, but if you're bike doesn't have one of those, you can use something else (as I did on one of my bikes). The best version is smaller, so I suppose that gives more options.

You can arm the device when you're in range, but it won't send location until the bike is jostled so far as I know. The newer version may have additional features, but it has been sold out for months now.

Also, if you have a lock with an alarm, it might make sense to turn the alarm off on the AlterLock.

 

[scrambler]

It appears on the latest version, they added the possibility to set a number of alarms before it goes silent. That is good.

AlterLock Bike Alarm Review - OneManEngine

AlterLock is a new type of product for your bike. Not so much a lock, but more a smart alarm. Read all about how it works here.

onemanengine.com

They are not yet available in the US though

 

[shiruba]

Hi,

Interestingly, Sigfox itself is available in the US, so it should be possible to market the same product there.

Coverage • Sigfox USA

Coverage Sigfox provides coverage from coast to coast. Contact us to learn more We’ve got you covered! Sigfox is already available in over 72 countries

www.sigfox.us

They are still having problems keeping up with orders in Japan for now. Their site says they are back ordered until October right now.

 

[scrambler]

the seesense upcoming Air device sounds like it will be a similar product to the AlterLock

See.Sense Knowhere GPS Bike Tracker - Pre Order

Pre Orders Are Currently Out Of Stock(Formerly known as See.Sense AIR) A TOTALLY NEW WAY TO PROTECT AND LOCATE YOUR BIKE. With Knowhere, we’ve taken everything we’ve learned across everything we’ve done to create a clever little device to help you rest easy, knowing where your bike is anytime...

seesense.cc

See Sense: A new way to protect and locate your bike

An accurate and long-lasting bike tracker with cutting-edge NB-IoT coverage

www.kickstarter.com

They switch from Alarm mode when you are in Bluetooth range to tracking when not.
They say you will be able to trigger a location when out of BT range

Definitely an interesting concept

 

[tomjasz]

They are not yet available in the US though

No coverage except in big cities. Very very poor coverage!

 

[ActionJackson]

In fact I thought maybe it was only available in Japan, but one of their pages says something to the effect that "versions sold in different countries are different due to differences in Sigfox frequencies).

Did you buy yours online? Right now they are taking pre-orders, I assume for the next version. I’m really stoked about this device! By the way, looking at the map in your next post maybe you were about 20 minutes from my location in Meguro. I sometimes ride Kannana Dori on the return leg of my long ride to Ikebukuro via Yamate Dori. It’s nice to find someone who can relate to the traffic conditions I have to ride in .

 

[shiruba]

Hi,

I have two. One I bought online, and one in a store in Nakano. Both more than a year ago and both the old version. The pre-orders are for v2. Until a few days ago they were taking orders to be delivered this month, but it looks like that batch sold out because the date now is October or so.

Sometimes scalpers are selling them at a profit on Merucari. I avoid Kannana, but I ride on Honan and yamate a lot. Often times I will deliberately take the back roads, though, to see interesting stuff and aid traffic jams.

As for sigfix overage in the US... I am surprised if it's that bad given the allocations it is used for. The coverage in most countries is worse than LTE. Normally I don't care about... Anything outside of large cities, but for anti theft tracking, you kind of want it to work at that warehouse out in the middle of nowhere.

Realistically, I park my bike in the sketchiest of places at the oddest of times (like Kabukicho at 2am), and nobody has ever touched it other than police. It's much more likely the parking police will take your bike than a criminal, and if you have this, at least you'll know which depot they took it to before any notice arrives in the mail.

I make a point of using locks that would be such a pain to cut through that they will say "let's do his bike later...". When most people use easily snipped cable locks and my bike has $400 worth of real locks, people avoid it. (also, my bikes are big and heavy). I also try to avoid parking where I know they tow.

Either way, I have theft insurance, so if they want to take my bike and I get a brand new one, I won't exactly cry.

The use case they give on their site is like... You forgot to lock up and some kids take a joy ride on your bike. I suppose that's also more common than a hardened criminal coming for your bike.

 

[ActionJackson]

Hi,

I have two. One I bought online, and one in a store in Nakano. Both more than a year ago and both the old version. The pre-orders are for v2. Until a few days ago they were taking orders to be delivered this month, but it looks like that batch sold out because the date now is October or so.

Sometimes scalpers are selling them at a profit on Merucari. I avoid Kannana, but I ride on Honan and yamate a lot. Often times I will deliberately take the back roads, though, to see interesting stuff and aid traffic jams.

As for sigfix overage in the US... I am surprised if it's that bad given the allocations it is used for. The coverage in most countries is worse than LTE. Normally I don't care about... Anything outside of large cities, but for anti theft tracking, you kind of want it to work at that warehouse out in the middle of nowhere.

Realistically, I park my bike in the sketchiest of places at the oddest of times (like Kabukicho at 2am), and nobody has ever touched it other than police. It's much more likely the parking police will take your bike than a criminal, and if you have this, at least you'll know which depot they took it to before any notice arrives in the mail.

I make a point of using locks that would be such a pain to cut through that they will say "let's do his bike later...". When most people use easily snipped cable locks and my bike has $400 worth of real locks, people avoid it. (also, my bikes are big and heavy). I also try to avoid parking where I know they tow.

Either way, I have theft insurance, so if they want to take my bike and I get a brand new one, I won't exactly cry.

The use case they give on their site is like... You forgot to lock up and some kids take a joy ride on your bike. I suppose that's also more common than a hardened criminal coming for your bike.

This thing definitely looks better than an AirTag, so I’m going to consider it at some point. I never really leave my bike, except of course to dash into a combini for a drink. I use a fairly light Abus chain. Actually this is the only bike I’ve ever locked up really. Like you I’m more afraid of the parking Nazis then a thief. And I do have property insurance from the company Specialized recommended. Actually maybe I don’t need it for my bike, the dog however is a different story .

Now you have me reconsidering Kannana. I assume you use the roadway versus the bike path on Yamate?

 

[shiruba]

Hmm... It would hurt to get an airtag too, they are cheap, and the battery lasts around a year. I spoke the two are complementary.

As for Yamate, it depends on my mood and how fast I want to go, but usually the road.

 

[ActionJackson]

Hmm... It would hurt to get an airtag too, they are cheap, and the battery lasts around a year. I spoke the two are complementary.

As for Yamate, it depends on my mood and how fast I want to go, but usually the road.

Yep! I’ve siliconed an AirTag inside the plastic part of the mudguard. Works great there and you can hardly see it bc I’ve permanent markered it black.

 

[Merle Nelson]

CNET: Man hunts down stolen scooter using Apple AirTags.

Man hunts down stolen scooter using Apple AirTags

Then he shared the epic journey in a 22-tweet thread.

www.cnet.com

Just saw this article. Possibly of interest, possibly not.

 

[WattsUpDude]

CNET: Man hunts down stolen scooter using Apple AirTags.

Man hunts down stolen scooter using Apple AirTags

Then he shared the epic journey in a 22-tweet thread.

www.cnet.com

Just saw this article. Possibly of interest, possibly not.

I have the same scooter. But I placed mine inside the stem. Signal is still good.

 

[tomjasz]

Decided to not use my white on black.
Cost with 1 cent shipping. $15.99, $16 shipped

 

[babycaptain]

Thank you for the quick response.

From what you are saying, it looks like there is no way to send any command to the device via the Sigfox network.
This means no settings can be changed once the bike is stolen and out range, which is too bad.

When you say you can set the device to arm automatically when out of Bluetooth range, I assume you mean set the Locked state.
This is good for forgetful people, but does not really help with the tracking management.

My wish was to be able to only track on demand to maximize battery life. Basically have "Periodic Transmission" set to OFF, but if the bikes gets stolen, have the ability to trigger tracking remotely (via the Sigfox network) when looking for the bike.

As it is, you have to rely on the motion detection to have been triggered click and have successfully sent a location at the current place the bike is located.

It seems like the new Apple Airtags would be a great solution for tracking a stolen Teardrop (or other vehicle). I understand that when you are out of Bluetooth range you can put your AirTag into Lost mode and get a notification when it's within range of the Find My network. I had my homebuilt teardrop stolen several years ago and replaced it with a CampInn 550 which I would sure hate to lose. I have multiple levels of security on my teardrop but for $29 I may give it a try.