Global positioning system (GPS) trackers are devices that allow vehicle owners of all kinds to monitor and track their cars, trucks, motorcycles and fleets. Real-time GPS vehicle trackers are providing instant location, speed and other function data from the vehicle, while less expensive options record this type of information for later use. With some GPS vehicle trackers, it is possible to set up real-time alerts to go off whenever a driver speeds or leave from a specific area.
How Does GPS Tracking Work?
GPS tracking uses a network of satellites to determine the location of a GPS device that was specifically designed for that purpose. The basic idea is that a GPS tracker uses a process called trilateration (a sophisticated version of triangulation) to determine its location based on its distance from three GPS satellites.
GPS tracker uses the exact same technology that your cell phone does to make calls or connect to the internet. This is why most GPS trackers require a monthly subscription fee (except Geckram G-Track here in the Philippines).
Benefits of GPS Vehicle Tracking
The main purpose of a GPS vehicle tracking device is to let you know where your vehicle is at all times, and there are a lot of different scenarios where that can be helpful. For instance, if your car was stolen, but you had a vehicle tracker installed, you could provide the police with its exact location.
GPS vehicle trackers also fall directly in the rift between free-range driver control and authoritative driver control. With the tracker installed in your car, you can pull up the location in real-time, or view a record of where driver and car have been, when they were there, and even whether or not they broke the speed limit.
GPS vehicle tracking devices are also useful for large fleets of cars or trucks. Some use the technology to keep real-time records on where their vehicles are at any given time to better coordinate daily operations, while others are more interested in tracking mileage for bookkeeping or scheduled services.
If you can think of any situation where you might want to know where your car is, or where it has been, how it has been used, then you need a GPS vehicle tracker.
How To Use It?
Using a GPS vehicle tracker is pretty easy, but the installation process is a little different from one device to the next.
Some GPS vehicle trackers (such as Geckram G-Track) are designed to plug into the car battery and ignition or diagnostics connector. The benefit here is that these GPS trackers get power directly from the car, so they’re extremely easy to use.
Other car trackers are designed to plug into a cigarette lighter or accessory socket, which also limits where you can install them. These trackers are easy to install and use, but some of them will continue to draw power from your battery when you aren’t driving. In that case, you need to unplug the vehicle tracker to prevent your battery from going dead.
Some GPS vehicle trackers are powered by its own battery, which means they can be installed virtually anywhere in the vehicle. Since there is no external power source, this type of GPS trackers have to be removed and charged periodically or it will stop working when its battery is discharged.