More outboards being stolen - Trafalgar Wharf

[ashley]

Are trackers any good for the outboard?
i realise they wont stop it getting nicked but might aid recovery

ashley

[neilda]

Originally Posted by ashley

Are trackers any good for the outboard?
i realise they wont stop it getting nicked but might aid recovery

ashley

Unfortunately tracker systems rely on a constant trickle of power - so it would work for an entire boat, but I can't see it being used to track an engine once removed from a boat. Space looks moderately tight within most outboards too, so if a tracker could be fitted it would be seen very quickly.

[Hightower]

The way I look at things like this is that you'll never be able to stop the thieving B£$6terds from nicking your pride and joy, if they want it they'll have it! So this makes having right insurance extremely important. It's a pain in the ass when you have to claim but if it means that I can sleep at night and not have to worry 24/7 then it's gotta be a good thing.....Yes?

[Poly]

Originally Posted by neilda

Unfortunately tracker systems rely on a constant trickle of power - so it would work for an entire boat, but I can't see it being used to track an engine once removed from a boat. Space looks moderately tight within most outboards too, so if a tracker could be fitted it would be seen very quickly.

The cheap phone based ones do have an internal battery that gets charged from the boat. How long that lasts whilst trying to get a GPS signal in the back of a van / lockup and SMSing back the data is a matter that has been discussed here in the past. But got to be better than nothing - perhaps someone with a tracker could test it? does mean you'll need a live feed from the battery to te engine when in storage though.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Polwart

The cheap phone based ones do have an internal battery that gets charged from the boat. How long that lasts whilst trying to get a GPS signal in the back of a van / lockup and SMSing back the data is a matter that has been discussed here in the past. But got to be better than nothing - perhaps someone with a tracker could test it? does mean you'll need a live feed from the battery to te engine when in storage though.

24 hours and you would get the first text about 500 meters from where the engine was nicked from.

Some of the more advanced ones would even text you to tell you that the power had been cut. I think they can also be set up to "Fry" the EMM if you really want to piss on their bonfire however lets be honest its doing you any favours either.

[C2 RIBS]

I spoke to some guys at a recnt show with tracker options and we spoke about an engine/outboard facility which I believe they are about to release so may be worth keeping an eye on them. One of their directors has a RIB at Southampton Dry stack so know what we are looking for.
www.demonalert.com
I have not seen the kit or know what it does but certainly a new solution may be on the way

[tonymac]

Originally Posted by willk

mai fkkn heeryo:

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

Absolutely right Willk!

Though shootins too good for them.

Make sure their voices go a few octaves higher!!

[Hightower]

How much of a discount do you get from insurance companies by fitting a tracking system?

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Hightower

How much of a discount do you get from insurance companies by fitting a tracking system?

None if its not approved by them.

[neilda]

I have a tracker on one of my cars, the insurance company insisted on it and there was no discount (either fit it or don't take our insurance). It does have a small back-up battery, however it needs constant power and is always on a trickle charge in the garage.

It will email, text and phone if the car is tampered with, moved, driven over a certain speed limit etc. I can also disable the car through the web interface (turn the engine off, sound the horn, flash the lights). There is a also a live mapping facility showing where the car is 24/7.

I doubt any of this would be available from a device that would fit on an outboard in addition there is the problem of putting it somewhere that wouldn't be spotted.

The manufacturers ought to be trying to find a solution to this - it would not be beyond their wit to fit a tracker deep in the engine somewhere (encased in the leg somewhere perhaps) and being recharged when the engine is run and supplied with voltage through the engines electrical circuit. I guess a power pack could be left on the boat to supply power.....

I can imagine how deeply irritating it would be to have an engine stolen and the boat vandalised to remove it.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by neilda

I doubt any of this would be available from a device that would fit on an outboard in addition there is the problem of putting it somewhere that wouldn't be spotted.

I think it would. The "cheap" trackers people are talking about are the size of a mobile phone, i.e. smaller than a fag packet. And can do most of that. I.e. trigger if moved, if above a certain speed etc. and can feedback position (to web or phone). So the only "difference" is the ability to turn off the engine or sound the horn etc. Thats very simple electronics although given that most boats/engines are nicked on land its not essential (and the risk of it accidentaly leaving you stranded somewhere may be worse).

I'm sure I could hide a tracker somewhere on my engine and its only small - but not sure if it would still be able to see the sky (1) during normal use (2) if on its side in the back of a van - which is presumably necessary for the GPS functions to work. At the moment I would guess that only a tiny fraction of boats, and an even smaller number of engines are tracked so thieves aren't even going to be looking for a tracker. That may change of course.

[willk]

how's de goin der bosses ar yis well?

tell us dis dem space blankits an aunty statik sheets how wud dem tings effekit a gypsy receever i means a GPS receever ift it wuz rappit in wun

jus wonnerin

lyke

[neilda]

Originally Posted by Polwart

- but not sure if it would still be able to see the sky (1) during normal use (2) if on its side in the back of a van - which is presumably necessary for the GPS functions to work.

Some tracking units use radio frequency (RF) transmitters which will transmit through walls, garages, or buildings - in addition to GPS.

[Chris]

The "cheap" traxcker unit that I got from Xexsun is currently located in my console, I then have the boat stored in a roofed barn. The tracker recieves GPS fine and if I enter the current coordinates into Google Earth it shows the signal is coming from the barn about 15 feet to the left of where the rib is actually located.

I have the "move" alert set so if the rib moves more than 500ft from its current location the tracker sends a TXT to my phone.

The only problem I have is that on my current phone (iPhone) is I can't set a contact specific text alert. On my old phone I set the alert to a siren that would wake the dead when any text from the Boat Tracker came in.

There are various other alerts that you can set such as overspeed, geo fence (same as move really), battery level dropping etc and also there is a slightly larger version that has some other options such as water level, engine cut off etc.