WorldTracker Data Logger review

[lbendlin]

GPS data logging has always been an interesting topic. After many attempts we finally managed to secure some review gear that is very different from the average GPS receivers we review.

First up is the "WorldTracker Data Logger" by Security Concepts - marketed as a tool for tracking cars and people, mostly without knowledge of the tracked subject. So basically they are spy toys, or investigation assistance devices if you are with the police.

Read the review here.
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[DriveSmart]

Datalogging is very cool and its a really usefull thing to have.
We added this function to the Drivesmart a while ago so people could store where they have been,Speeds travelled and if you were exceeding the set speed limits,Direction of travel,If they passed any speed camera's.
We think there is going to be a big interest in this type of technology and also as a parental control system(You can see where your kids have been going and what speeds they have been travelling at!)

[pdriver]

I can see a big market for tracking pallets and containers or other high value goods being delivered by third parties. This application is sometimes referred to as asset tracking.

In such situations the all important consideration would be battery life and remote and tools for remote tracing of the assets location.

Can these devices be to hibernate between check in times, so as to preserve power?
_________________
Paul Driver
Director, British Computer Fairs
easable.uk

[lbendlin]

You can set the logging parameters to (for example) "once every five minutes and only if moving faster than 5 mph" but you can't put the Furuno chipset into power save mode (you can do that with a SiRF chipset - it's called Trickle power there)

But for friendly tracking you don't need to worry about concealing the setup, and can add one of these monster 8800 mAh external batteries.
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[tabspop]

I receantly read a review here for the Worldtracker Data Logger. While I feel it was honest and acurate with my feelings I also wanted to add a few considerations.

The hardware we have purchased from this manufacturer/distributor has consistantly given us trouble. The operation and function is not consistant; very unreliable. We must continue to call tech support to resolve problems they describe as programing issues.

This and other products by the same manufacturer/distributor (Worldtracker) are not user freindly. User manuals are cryptic and incomplete. Simple things you should know are not addressed requiring a call to tech support.

Technical support is sub-standard. It is difficult to reach the one and only person incharge of technical support and is not very forthcoming with answers. Sometimes very impatient and condescending.

The individuals are very unprofessional and lack basic business sense and customer service skills.

If I could, I would never make another purchase from Worldtracker. Buyer beware.

[lbendlin]

While I agree that these devices are complex, and not suited for the average user, I think you should be more specific about the company. "WorldTracker" is not a company name. What company did you buy the product from?
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[Berkowitz]

The gadget does not seem bad, however I do not feel like being a cash cow for this company to be able track routes and find the whereabouts of my car just in case it gets stolen. For an hour I have been trying to decipher the gadget's latitude and longitude readings so that I could find the location of the gadget in Google Earth (the readings of the last but one picture given in the article 3003.7355,N 09526.9347,W).

However, could not make it work. Any suggestions on how it could work on Google Earth? Since, when I place those values in search field, my search does not return any results.

Is there any similar small and affordable product on the market working on GSM SMS basis?

Harris

[lbendlin]

In the NMEA stream co-ordinates are encoded as DDDMM.MMMM and therefore you cannot use them as is in search engines. You also need to glean the sign from another field, with W and S meaning negative numbers.
A quick formula for Google is D+(M/60).
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

[Berkowitz]

Thank you Lutz for your prompt response, however it sounds like rocket science to me. I was finally able to read the $GPRMC data given in the examples with Google Earth.

The problem was with formatting and that you have to make spaces among certain groups of numbers.

The following readings:



should have been entered into Google Earth as follows:

30 03.7355' N, 095 26.9347' W

[Berkowitz]

I will go on how I was able to decipher the gadget's readings provided in this article examples and share the knowledge I was able to find here: http://www.werple.net.au/~gnb/gps/nmea.html#gprmc

The GPS tracker message I tried to decipher is

From; "WorldTracker"
Subject;
Sent: 12/23/05 8:32 PM
SECO,20,GSM:31026,BTS:4CACFG8D,Auto,Now ,Position-$GPRMC,023244,000A 3003.7355, N, 09526,9347,W,36.66,238.00,241205„*2B

All we care about in this message is $GPRMC line. the first group of digits separated by comma should be the time stamp.

A - means validity OK

All we simple people care about is the stuff following A, which is

Current Latitude 3003.7355, N, (N here stands for North)

and next digits are current longitude 09526,9347,W (W stands for West)

The rest is less important:

36.66 - the speed over ground in knots (somebody in the police should check if the guy was not speeding, if they are able to convert knots to miles per hour ),

238.00 - true course,

241205 - date stamp ( if the guy was indeed speeding this is the date of the well documented crime )

Should we want to find out the location of our moving or standing tracker with the help of Google Earth we take Latitude and Longitude readings 3003.7355, N, 09526,9347,W - the readings that we really care about, and then copy them in Google Earth search bar in the following format:

30 03.7355' N, 095 26.9347' W

I am writing this for simple people like me who know nothing about GPS and who, being cheapskates, want to locate moving objects without paying monthly fees or acquiring expensive mapping software.

I hope Lutz will correct me if I was wrong.

We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?.
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!