GPS locating devices

[RICH MUISE]

I was reading a story on Hemmings about a woman's pickup that got stolen in Oklahoma City, and the blogging got on to the subject of hiding a GPS in your car so it can be tracked if stolen. Has anyone used one of these? I'm curious how they work as far as retriving the signal the unit gives out..are they a system that has some type of a home base unit, or is it strictly a police type thing?
Also, I was wondering if the thieves disconnected the battery after hiding the vehicle, or loading it in a truck, how long the system would work.
One guy talked about buying a cell phone that had a gps in it, and hardwiring it in a hidded position in the car so it stayed charged all the time.
Any thoughts??

[Ford Blue blood]

Rich read the cell phone thing a year or so ago, don't remember where now, cheap phone, subscription for incoming only, wired to 12V, stays on if the battery is disconnected, pings for cell towers making it very tracable.  Worked well for finding the test car they had it in.  Not an urban myth.....

[gasman826]

LoCar had a special deal for collector vehicles.  It was like 40% off and they install.  I lost interest when I found out that the signal is for police only!  By the time police get involved, it could be too late.  I will go with a GPS locater type thing.  Anyone with a smart phone can track immediately after the car is lost.  I think that at any car gathering I could round up enough old farts to make a good posse to go kick some car stealing ass!!!

[Zapato]

there are 2 classes of people I have absolutely no use or love for pedophiles and thieves. the messes they leave behind most often ruin lives forever. horrible that we have to spend so much time, energy and money to keep what is ''ours'' ours. how they dealt with horse thieves in the old west seems right to me.

Zap-

[Alex L.]

I read that phone thing too, but now I think you might be able to get away with using a cheap burner instead of a contract phone what with technology the way it is.

Seemed like a great idea and if you could use a burner there would be no payments, just upfront cost which would be limited anyway.

Thankfully old car theft doesn't seem to be a problem in my neck of the woods.

[drof75]

Most of the GPS units solely used for theft recovery send the position of the vehicle via a cellular network. They run on an internal battery if the car power is removed. The position is only sent when requested by you or the company to conserve power. If your car comes up missing and your phone in in car then most cellular companies offer a Family Finder service, for a monthly fee, that will let you know where the phone is. The price for the recovery systems varies alot. Edmunds has a decent write up on this stuff.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-technology/evaluating-stolen-vehicle-recovery-systems.html?articleid=128786

Buz

[RICH MUISE]

That was an interesting site..thanks for posting. Unfortunatly the info is from 2008, and with tech and cost changes being what they are , I don't know how how relavent the article is, but it sure gives a lot of points to start from. I printed out the article for future reference.
Thanks again
Rich