Enough is enough, which trade member has a decent tracker?

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Although the "mobile phone" style trackers have an integral battery which is kept charged by the main boat battery. So I would expect it to last several hours (I think one of them claims >24 hrs)? after disconnect. Surely you only need to be able to track for about 2 hours after the engine leaves its designated geofence for you to have time to (1) verify its on the move/stolen (2) tell the police and give them the tracking information.

Your an engine right, Mr Spiner, and your thrown into the back of a transit van. You have been disconnected from your power supply but you have one built in, but it is being drained fast because the metal van is getting in the way. Then you get unloaded and put inside a railway arch, or other nefarious but suitably unseen location. Your battery is going flat and you can not see the sky.

OK, I have scared myself now, I shall go for a lie down.

[chewy]

Originally Posted by malthouse

Your an engine right, Mr Spiner, and your thrown into the back of a transit van. You have been disconnected from your power supply but you have one built in, but it is being drained fast because the metal van is getting in the way. Then you get unloaded and put inside a railway arch, or other nefarious but suitably unseen location. Your battery is going flat and you can not see the sky.

OK, I have scared myself now, I shall go for a lie down.

I've got a terrier, paid £25 for him, I'm willing to post him to you for a trial, chain him to your engine and see if it gets knicked. I'd appreciate it if you didn't do it whilst afloat though!

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by malthouse

Your an engine right, Mr Spiner, and your thrown into the back of a transit van. You have been disconnected from your power supply but you have one built in, but it is being drained fast because the metal van is getting in the way. Then you get unloaded and put inside a railway arch, or other nefarious but suitably unseen location. Your battery is going flat and you can not see the sky.

OK, I have scared myself now, I shall go for a lie down.

I don't have one of these devices to test - but with no display to power I doubt its going to die in minutes. My phone lasts for over two days with a very old battery even if its in an area with no signal (working hard) and has a backlit display to power. If its in continuous tracking mode then you'll know where it was when it ran out of power/lost signal which is presumably much closer to the engine than the tracker left on the boat.

Getting a text to say the boat/engine has just been tampered with if you're not on the doorstep isn't much use.

[chewy]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I don't have one of these devices to test - but with no display to power I doubt its going to die in minutes. My phone lasts for over two days with a very old battery even if its in an area with no signal (working hard) and has a backlit display to power. If its in continuous tracking mode then you'll know where it was when it ran out of power/lost signal which is presumably much closer to the engine than the tracker left on the boat.

Getting a text to say the boat/engine has just been tampered with if you're not on the doorstep isn't much use.

I'm with Polly on this one. I think alot depends on how much you trust you local force.
Been slap bang on the border of two counties the control room sometimes struggle to work out where I am.
During one case my pager went off and the police over took me whilst I was enroute to station, by the time the police had got lost and I proceded within the speed limits I still got there before then!

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Getting a text to say the boat/engine has just been tampered with if you're not on the doorstep isn't much use.

Your probably right again. I just have a suspicion that the reason they thieves remove the engine is that it is easier to get under cover than the whole boat.

Of real value would be a tracker that used GSM as well as GPS to find a position, like the iPhone does.