TRACKER REMEMBER THE 80s

TRACKER – REMEMBER THE 80’S

Before we tell you all of the reasons why buying Tracker is a mistake and why GPS is far superior, it is only right to commend them for creating the most powerful and successful brand name in the whole business that is tracking systems, today in the UK.

Their aggressive marketing and clever use of the word “Tracker” has generated millions of pounds in income and made a lot of people very wealthy. In addition, their relationship with the police has enabled them to have perhaps the most official looking advertising campaign ever seen. However, the name is misleading to say the very least.

Tracker actually stems from an American system called Lojack and is now over two decades old. It works by transmitting a radio signal using UHF, a little like a CB radio or homing beacon. This signal is picked-up by various antennas dotted about the UK and even some police response vehicles can pick-up the signal too. But there’s a problem. The signal Tracker emits is only strong enough to be transmitted up to 2-3 miles around the vehicle and there lies the first problem. How many police cars did you pass on your way to work this morning? One every 2-3 miles or how about none at all?

So, unless I’ve got my maths wrong, unless the stolen vehicle has a police car or helicopter with the receiving equipment fitted and switched on, every 2-3 miles in its vicinity at all times, it’s unlikely to be found.

It seems to me that the vehicles that are recovered by the police, must be coincidental. Perhaps PC Plod is driving around town on a very quiet day (crime wise that is) and suddenly his electronic compass starts bleeping and he thinks “There’s a stolen vehicle 2-3 miles north of here. I’m not up to much today so I’ll drive towards it and see if the signal gets stronger. Once my machine is bleeping like mad I might be able to actually see the vehicle!”

Let’s be honest; we don’t see the police about as much as we used to; the last government saw to that. The massive amount of paperwork and bureaucracy they now have to endure means that they seem to spend more time at a desk than behind a wheel! Do they really have time to play hide and seek?

Besides, times have changed and technology is a constantly evolving thing and tracking is no different. Having a Tracker fitted to your vehicle is like going out and buying a transistor radio (or wireless) instead of the latest DAB tuner with iPod compatibility. It’s just crazy!

Products that use GPS, like market leader Trackstar, provide contact and exact global position and even speed. This is communicated instantly and accurately, so the police and Trackstar know where the vehicle is at all times when its activated.

What is more, we often hear people say that Trackstar and other GPS tracking systems don’t work when the vehicle goes inside a container or an underground car park. Well, as far as I’m concerned, when I go into a car park my radio loses its signal and I just get white noise. Maybe it’s just me though?

Perhaps the biggest nail in Tracker’s coffin is the fact that there budget system and until recently, best selling system – Tracker Retrieve, is no longer accepted by insurance companies because the vehicle owner has to tell Tracker to switch it on to get it to work. Not so good if you’re on a beach in Bali and your vehicle is in the airport car park. What is more, the technology generally provided by Tracker is so outdated that the smarter insurers now only accept GPS tracking systems anyway.