Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

It is probably a good product. But when a product put the yearly cost on the third page so you have to look for it. It pisses me off. It is a kind of bait and switch. The receiver is sold at cost but they get you with they yearly serves cost.

It requires the use of the wireless/cellular networks which is quite an infrastructure. I doubt that you can get wireless or phone service for less than ten bucks a month.

Ya just gotta be amazed about the technology we have at our fingertips today. Remember when we thought the "Communicator" on Star Trek was "science fiction". Compare that to what a smartphone or tablet can do.

If you wanna play, you gotta pay and there are a lot more things to play with today.

I bought a LORAN set in about 1985 for $1000. It would tell me my Latitude and Longitude, speed, track me between waypoints, and very little else. It was reasonably accurate but not nearly as accurate as GPS. Today, I can buy a GPS receiver that plugs into a USB port for about $30. I can download nautical charts for the entire US (and probably other countries as well) for free. I can download a program that will display the chart and my position on the chart and a host of other cool functions for FREE.

It just keeps on getting better out there.

I'm not sure I need a GPS tracker just yet, but I could see it's potential and it would be a bargain at $10/month. Compare that to auto insurance.

Just my 2 scents.

Cheers,

Gus

It requires the use of the wireless/cellular networks which is quite an infrastructure. I doubt that you can get wireless or phone service for less than ten bucks a month.

Ya just gotta be amazed about the technology we have at our fingertips today. Remember when we thought the "Communicator" on Star Trek was "science fiction". Compare that to what a smartphone or tablet can do.

If you wanna play, you gotta pay and there are a lot more things to play with today.

I bought a LORAN set in about 1985 for $1000. It would tell me my Latitude and Longitude, speed, track me between waypoints, and very little else. It was reasonably accurate but not nearly as accurate as GPS. Today, I can buy a GPS receiver that plugs into a USB port for about $30. I can download nautical charts for the entire US (and probably other countries as well) for free. I can download a program that will display the chart and my position on the chart and a host of other cool functions for FREE.

It just keeps on getting better out there.

I'm not sure I need a GPS tracker just yet, but I could see it's potential and it would be a bargain at $10/month. Compare that to auto insurance.

Just my 2 scents.

Cheers,

Gus

eamarquardt wrote:It requires the use of the wireless/cellular networks which is quite an infrastructure. I doubt that you can get wireless or phone service for less than ten bucks a month.
Just my 2 scents.

Cheers,

Gus

I'm missing something. Where does it say that?

One of the reasons I use my SPOT device (not this one) is exactly because it does NOT require wireless/cellular network so that I can send spouse/other significants word of my location and that I'm alright (or not alright and need some level of help) totally independent of the reach of wireless/cellular infrastructure.

RKH wrote:

eamarquardt wrote:It requires the use of the wireless/cellular networks which is quite an infrastructure. I doubt that you can get wireless or phone service for less than ten bucks a month.
Just my 2 scents.

Cheers,

Gus

I'm missing something. Where does it say that?

One of the reasons I use my SPOT device (not this one) is exactly because it does NOT require wireless/cellular network so that I can send spouse/other significants word of my location and that I'm alright (or not alright and need some level of help) totally independent of the reach of wireless/cellular infrastructure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_tracking_unit

http://www.findmespot.com/shop/index.ph ... ucts_id=29

I failed to mention satellite infrastructure in my original post. Opps.

Note that the SPOT device requires a service plan. Some outfits include a one year service agreement in the purchase price of the device so it's not "obvious" that yer gonna pay, pay, and keep on paying if you want the service. They hook you and only later reel you in for the long haul.

Any device that communicates with other devices over any significant distance has to be using some infrastructure (cellular, wireless, or satellite) as it simply isn't possible/practical w/o doing so unless the two devices are in reasonably close proximity to one another.

Not sure what yer using but if you have a GPS tracker that will communicate with your wife or whomever over long distances w/o using any infrastructure (and the attendant monthly/yearly fees) I'd be interested to know the details as I'm contemplating buying a boat for offshore use and something like that would be a real plus if things go south.

Looking fwd to learning more.

Cheers,

Gus

I have looked into GTU's (gps tracking unit) and all of the ones I have found involve the use of a cell phone SIM (subscriber identity module) card. The levels of sophistication of GTU's i.e. phone home when moved and locating themselves on a map (there is a free service for this) is impressive. There are probably GPS trackers that use satellite communications http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Vehicle-GPS-Tracker-Latest-Car-Alarm-THINPAX-TK103B-Cut-off-oil-SD-card-slot-with/1500622186.html
What Nancy and I can do is use the SIM card from Nancy's phone when we journey so no additional cost.
One demonstration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWz6FQfXN0

I saw some 'Old School' Theft Prevention the other day. A Cargo Trailer at a Construction Site had the 2 left side Wheels off completely, and it rested on Blocks. I couldn't see the other [right] side, but I assume those Wheels were removed as well.

That said, an Electrical Contractor Pal has had his Trailer left on site broken into twice using a Cordless Grinder and 'stout' Grinding Wheel to cut the Rear Door Bars. Losses in both episodes were each over $10k in Equipment.

The SPOT tracker does not rely on the cell phone networks. It has a GPS receiver and transmits to satellites in low earth orbit. I have the earlier SPOT that is used as a personal locater beacon. It's great as I can let my wife know that I'm OK when well outside of cell phone range.

It's kind of a recycling story. The company GlobalStar spent billions launching satellites as a competitor to Iridium. The transmitters in the satellites degraded and the phones were useless. The receivers were OK so they came up with SPOT to make use of those expensive on orbit assets.

My SPOT service costs me $150/yr, but it allows me to go on solo 500 mile dirt bike rides across the California desert.

The thing is even with one of these your trailer still gets stolen. You just have a chance of getting it back. Lojack might be a better deal though.

I think that a big decal reading "Bob's Asbestos and Toxic Waste" would keep your trailer safer.

On a separate topic I have a cell phone on PagePlus that only costs me $30/yr. Only 300 minutes though. I recently had a phone with RingPlus. $10/mo gave 400 minutes, 400 texts and 300MB. They have a free plan that is hard to get into but gives 300 minutes a month for zip.