Lo-Jack schmojack. You don’t need some spendy GPS unit and to keep tabs on that new Escalade . Uplinking your wheels to the excellent eye inside the sky without breaking the bank is less complicated than you observed.

Standalone GPS units can cost hundreds . And that’s not counting the installation and (frequently hefty) activation and monthly fees associated with whatever service you do choose. For most of us, it’s overkill. The excellent news is that in the event you happen to have a GPS-equipped phone lying around, you possibly can rig your individual vehicle tracking system for virtually nothing. Here’s how it’s done:

Here’s Tips on how to Do It:

GET A PHONE
• Whenever you already have an old handset (make certain it has GPS), skip directly to software installation bit.

• In the event you don’t, head over to Boost Mobile and buy one. Don’t worry, they’re cheap. We advise the Motorola i290 -at $30, it’s the most affordable burner you will get. (Other cheap iDEN phones are also available at Best Buy and Target.)

SET IT UP
• Despite which phone you decide, be sure you activate its Internet access (it’s not a smartphone, and you’ve to manually activate that inside the settings). Otherwise your phone won’t have the capacity to transmit data.
• Tweak the settings. Presumably, you’re only going to exploit this for vehicle tracking, so you’ll are looking to set the ringer volume to 0 and mute the keypad. No point in alerting thieves to the very fact they’re being tracked, right?
• Next step is choosing a tracking/mapping service. There’s no shortage, but we love InstaMapper because it’s free, you’ll install it over the air (download this tool , and then grab this .zip file ), and it’s easy to exploit. AccuTracking is another alternative, but it surely’ll cost you about $6/month.
• Launch that bad boy. On the i290, it’ll be located under ” Java Apps” and called ” GPS Tracker.” (Search for the satellite icon). Now enter the device id you obtain from your InstaMapper account and click ” save” . The phone will ask on your permission to access the GPS chip. (Select ” yes.” ) When the status message changes from ” Locating…” to ” Tracking…” you’re up and running. You ought to see the position of your phone on InstaMapper’s website.

STASH IT
• The overall step is the trickiest. For real 24/7 tracking, you’ll must hardwire the phone for your car’s battery. This suggests getting intimate with the electrical system. While you’re not comfortable doing that, ask someone who is…like a qualified installer. If you’re…proceed.
• You’ll first need to pick up a Motorola car charger, like the Syn1630 . Next, connect it to car’s wiring with a 12V Accessory Outlet. The trick this is finding a 12V circuit for your car that’s NOT always on-in the event you connect it to something that doesn’t shut off once you power down your ride, you need to drain the battery when the auto is parked for ages. We promote the light inside the glovebox-consult the wiring scheme to your car or ask your mechanic.
• Voila, the adapter will power for your phone automatically if you (or a thief) starts the automobile.
• Finally, you’ll wish to hide your little tracking device. Since you wired the item into your glovebox, you’ll want to stash the phone in there. Now visit the InstaMapper site and track for your hearts delight.

See? It’s not that onerous. And now that you just’ve saved as much as a grand by not springing for that Lo-Jack, go ahead and use the more money for something truly worthwhile, like, say, some nice 20-inch spinners .

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This post is tagged: breaking the bank, cellular plan, internet access, mapping service, optional equipment, pre paid phone, software installation