Car tracker: what it is, how it works and how to choose

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What is a car tracker?

Trackers are nothing more than geolocation devices installed in automotive vehicles, such as motorcycles, cars, trucks and buses . Therefore, they are used to indicate the trajectory and location of the vehicle.

Some of them, when associated with more complete management services, can provide relevant information on speed variation and indicate the best routes to follow.

With Leo tracker, you can find out which cars, motorcycles or trucks are closest to a place of interest to pick up material or perform a service.

To understand a little bit how it works, the system considers the traffic on the roads and the exact location of your company vehicle. If you want, check out our fleet tracking page to understand more.

How does a car tracker work?

Trackers work mainly in three different ways: by radio frequency, via satellite or M2M/GSM . So to find out which one is the best will depend on how they work.

Satellite trackers are the famous GPS, which everyone has heard of.

GPS is an acronym, in English, for “Global Positioning System”. These are devices that communicate with a network of 24 satellites scattered around Earth’s orbit.

They emit signals to the receivers, the GPS devices, which respond by sending the vehicle’s geographical coordinates.

The satellites are equipped with extremely precise atomic clocks, which check the time that passed between the emission of the signals and the arrival of the GPS response.

Based on this time interval, it is possible to calculate the location of the vehicle with meters accuracy.

Now, if the tracker works by radio frequency , the transmission of information depends on electromagnetic waves captured by antennas .

The range of radio waves is smaller, as they depend on the proximity to the antennas, but the coverage area is still wide.

Radio frequency trackers can work in places where GPS sometimes fails, such as tunnels and basements.

Finally, the most modern models usually use M2M/GSM technology, which transmits the signal to telephone antennas.

You just need to be careful with the data made available, as this can interfere with the real-time update of the information.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of tracker?

Radio frequency and GPS have different advantages and disadvantages. Check it out below!

GPS

The main advantages of satellite trackers are the scope of coverage and the accuracy of the information provided.

GPS can identify the exact location of a vehicle and allow you to track its movement in real time , offering even more security for your employee.

Despite the vast coverage area, GPS can malfunction – or not function at all – in tunnels, basements, warehouses and other closed environments.

Radio frequency

The greatest advantages of radiofrequency are the same as those of GPS: the coverage area and the accuracy of the information .

If there are close antennas, the signal is unlikely to be lost, leaving the driver in the lurch.

As each tracker usually operates on a specific frequency, signal jammers will not so easily interfere with the emission or reception of signals.

Car tracker jammers are devices used by criminals to make it difficult to find stolen vehicles.

The car trackers also have security systems that quickly alert the control center if the presence of a “jammer”, a signal blocker, is identified.

However, communication with the antennas is not constant and automatic, that is, an initial command is necessary beforehand.

Furthermore, the content streamed by them is reasonably limited. This means that they are restricted to longitude and latitude data only, so they only provide the trajectory and location of the vehicle.

How much does a car tracker cost?

On the internet, you can find various prices for a car tracker. Let’s say there’s one for every budget cap.

But the advantage for those who have a fleet of vehicles, for example, is to pay monthly for a service that monitors the movement of the vehicle in real time .

There are also so-called “free car trackers” offered by insurance companies. In fact, they are not free, because the cost is built into the deductible paid by the customer.

What is the difference between tracking and monitoring?

A lot of people confuse vehicle tracking and monitoring, it’s normal. Let’s say it’s even easy to understand the reason for the confusion.

The technologies used for both activities can be the same, GPS and radiofrequency. But be careful, contrary to what you might think, there are some important differences. See below.

Tracking

• Think of the word “trace” and similar ones like “trace” and “trace”.
• What is “trace”? They are the traces that a person, an animal or a vehicle leaves behind when moving around.
• Tracking, then, is to observe a trajectory, not to simultaneously follow the displacement of a vehicle.

Tracking is collecting and storing data along a journey to check if everything went as agreed or if there was a problem along the way and what caused this problem.

From the analysis of this data , the fleet manager will be able to make more assertive decisions and develop good strategies so that nothing goes wrong or that problems are resolved more quickly and do not happen again.

Monitoring

Monitoring is following in real time, from start to finish, the journey of a vehicle. The objective is to guarantee the safety and well-being of the employee and, of course, to ensure that everything goes according to plan.

By monitoring the movement of a vehicle, that is, managing the fleet correctly, the manager will be able to check whether the schedule is being met, predict the arrival time at the final destination and also think of more economical routes for the next trips.

7 mistakes when choosing a car tracker

Be careful not to make a mistake when choosing a car tracker or hiring a tracking service. Take a look at the following tips:

Not thinking about the resources provided by each tracker

There is no point in choosing the cheapest one. It is necessary to check if the tracker has resources capable of benefiting your vehicle or your fleet.

Have a sensor that indicates when the truck’s doors or trunk have been opened and a device that allows you to remotely turn off the engine in the event of theft, such as, for example, the Cobli car blocker.

In case of robbery or theft, the manager will be able to identify what happened at the time and block the car remotely. To do so, he just needs to access Leo monitoring and tracking system . Simple and fast like that!

Not evaluating the time to update the information

The interval at which information is sent – ​​the pulse – can vary from one device to another.

Knowing this before figuring out how to install or plug the device into your vehicle will prevent you from complaining later about not receiving the information quickly enough.

Some trackers operate with separate pulses, one for when the ignition is off and another for when it is off.

Whether the engine is running or not, the shorter the information update time, the better.

For good fleet management Services , it is recommended that the information be updated every 10 seconds at most.

If the update interval is longer, the manager may not have enough information to make decisions in urgent situations.

If you decided to install a tracker for safety, you can opt for a slower tracker.

It doesn’t matter that it updates information at intervals of up to a few minutes, what counts here is knowing where the vehicle has gone, not gathering information to improve fleet management.

Ignore data transmission technology

As we saw above, trackers work mainly via satellite and via radiofrequency. Each technology has advantages and disadvantages.

It’s no use buying a GPS and then complaining that it doesn’t work in tunnels and underground, places where your fleets tend to pass more frequently.

And it won’t do any good to invest in a car tracker that works by radio frequency, if your priority is not safety, the important thing is to gather reliable information to manage your fleet.

Ignore the differences between an installed and plugged in car tracker

Some trackers are installed in the vehicle; others are plugged.

Plugged trackers are still not very popular in Brazil, but they are great for deceiving thieves. As nothing will be visible, they might think there are no trackers in the vehicle, which is good for the police.

Plugged trackers also have other benefits: the price is lower and it is not necessary to pay for installation, as they come with the “Plug & Play” function (“Connect and Use”, in Portuguese).

Installed trackers also give thieves a headache, because they are more difficult to disable and remove from the vehicle.

Not calling an expert to install the tracker

Some devices, the “ Plug & Play ”, are plugged directly into the vehicle’s OBD port. In those cases, you can put them to work yourself.

Other devices need to be installed. Installing any equipment in the electrical part of the vehicle can lead to the loss of the warranty and increase – and a lot – the chances of an electrical failure.

When the tracker is not installed by an expert, the risks are even greater.

A poorly done installation increases the possibility of a short circuit in the electrical harness, can drain the vehicle battery or, in more extreme cases, cause a fire.

When installing the tracker, seek support from a reliable and experienced professional.

Not researching additional costs

If you prefer to hire a tracking service from a company, which is the most recommended, do a good research first, do not sign with the first one you find.

Remember that you will have to pay other costs in addition to the monthly fee, such as the installation fee .

Therefore, find out about the service packages they offer, are they extensive, do they cover maintenance and do any repairs to the device?

Don’t forget to find out if the service provider rents the equipment or works on a lending basis (free loan that must be repaid).

When closing a contract, give preference to those that do not require long periods of loyalty and, if possible, do not charge fines in case of contract termination or service cancellation.

Not evaluating the quality of the tracker components

Opt for a GPS that comes with a powerful module, capable of accurately informing the location of the vehicle.

If you buy a tracker that works by radio frequency, demand a quality antenna so as not to lose the signal all the time.

Tracker hardware – like computers, for example – also gets outdated over time and needs to be updated to maximize its processing capacity.

Always be aware of the cost-benefit ratio when spending money on a vehicle tracker.

As you may have noticed when you finished reading this article, the car tracker is a valuable investment for the most diverse types of companies. Nowadays, you can find several options in the market.

But you can’t be too careful, the cheap is expensive. Look for a serious and traditional company in the market before hitting the hammer. This care will reduce future problems.