Hey I was just thinking if our Navi. system could be used as a Lojack feature...since it has the GPS option. If somebody stole my **** couldn't it be tracked down using the built in GPS antenna?

 

If you wanted it too.

 

Not without some serious modifications on the 02s and older models. You're right--GPS auto alarms are going to be the next big thing (and bar far the most effective). The big restriction with the navi system on the 02s and older models is that it only receives GPS data and doesn't transmit it. So even though your car knows where it is at all times, it has no way of sending that information out to anyone.

Now the '03s come with OnStar, which *does* have the ability to transmit GPS information. In theory, the OnStar service (on any vehicle so equipped) should be able to call up your vehicle if it is stolen and tell you where it is, since that's how they do it now to give you travel info or movie listings, etc. Also, same thing when the airbags are deployed.

Personally, I think that's a *BIG* marketing area OnStar has neglected for some reason. I have no interest in OnStar but for anti-theft purposes I'd buy it in a second. They could do some cool stuff if they wanted to. Right now, if you lock yourself out of your car, you can call up OnStar, give them your name, account number and a PIN/password and they can remotely unlock the car for you. In other words, they send a signal over the satellite to pop the locks for you. Imagine if they had something like that hooked up to your fuel pump!! Your car gets jacked, you call OnStar from your cell phone and give them the info and then bam!--they send out the signal to kill the fuel pump and the car stops. Then they can locate it with the GPS.

I'd definitely pay the monthly fee for that.

 

Yeah, I agree. I would get that in a heartbeat as well.

 

Yeah, still trere is a limitation. THe GPS signal is too weak to work indoors. So if the theif gets it into a chop shop or indoors before you call on star, there's still no way they can find your car.

Plus, I'd imagine if it gets popular enough, theif will be able to bust/disable the GPS transmitter. Since Lojack isn't instaled in the factory, it's transmitter location is changed by the installer for each car. No way a theif will know where to look so it's harder to disable.

Still, very promising.

 

Just break the antenna

 

dont give out any ideas dude....

 

GPS receivers don't work at all indoors. OnStar does not use GPS--it uses cellular towers to locate itself. It works whenever there's a cell phone signal. LoJack uses both cell towers and a homing beacon, I believe.

Nothing is perfect. They can drag your car into a basement chop shop with metal shielded walls and nothing will help you locate that car.

Or you can break the antenna

 

Or just kill the power - a la the s*& of a B#$%@ did to my 87' Prelude SI. Still huring over that one - never did get back the $7k in sound gear. Damn insurers and their "permanaently attached" definitions.

Oh well..... :flamer

 

LoJack doesn't use any cellular technology. All done with a homing beacon. And a backup power supply so it will still function for a few days without outside power.

You're right about the GPS not working indoors. Line-of-site transmissions are obviously a drawback. But technology being what it is, they may get a workaround on this.

Kinda like now, with DeereTrack from John Deere. Works like LoJack only you don't have to keep track of your stuff. They do. Sure, it's Big Brother but when you have a $200,000 excavator it's worth it to have someone watching it 24/7. DeereTrack works with a GPS/cellular interface like OnStar. You tell Deeretrack where the piece of machinery is stored and operated normally. If the GPS reports the vehicle outside, say, a 25 mile radius of that area, DeereTrack calls you and says your stuff is on the move, were you aware of it?

So I imagine something like that for your car. For a monthly fee, you get a monitoring service like ADT does for home alarms. When you arm your vehicle, it starts blipping its location every two minutes or so, broadcasting its GPS location. If it starts to move while still armed, the service pages or calls you and says are you moving your car. If you say no, they kill it right then and there. Not much time to move it that way.

Again, there are all kinds of limitations with the above-proposed ideas. Just brainstorming about what could someday be the ultimate car alarm.

 

I have a feeling that a car alarm would be a truer theft deterrent system if it had some kind of electro-shock feature built into the seats, or nerve gas or something. If the OnStar could remotely flood the cabin with gas and shock the thief into a coma after confirming with the owner that the car is stolen, that would be worth paying the monthly fee. Oh well, the lawyers would probably never allow this in America.

Too bad that all of OnStars theft functionality is based off of wireless signals. Wireless is too easy to jam/block/snap the antenna. So it uses cellular networks...:o, we've all experienced poor cell phone reception.

 

i would rather have more privacy...

I will most likely NOT want to have onStar on my car even if it's free...

Navi is a whole different story thought...

I mean imagine that they can really track down where you are with OnStar, knowing that where did you go and how long did you stay and all...

I think that's some thing really bad...

don't know if anyone knows what I am trying to say, but it's a lot like AirMiles, where they can collect some info off you and use it for marketing and all that...

 

Plus how fast you were driving .

 

Right. I won't get OnStar even if it's free because of this very reason. Imagine you're in some legal tangle in the future. The courts could subpoena all of your position history from OnStar; that's not a good thought.

In this day and age, I think people (Americans in particular) are increasingly losing control of what information they give away--and OnStar is just another tracking device (and so is your cell phone).

 

there is another device out there that is like LoJack.. its called ForceTracker.... from the reviews i've read it seems pretty good...

here is an old artical on it...


http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoen...24/focus2.html

 

I say a system demonstrated in San Jose a few years ago. If a thief got past the srater kill switch on your car, the fuel pump would shut off shortly after the car was started. Then teh system would begin releaseing this neon green smoke from underneath the car to draw attention to itself (by now they assume it's int eh street since the full did not cut off right away) so people notice a car with green smoke. A voice then announced for all occupants to exist the vehicle in 30 seconds or they will recieve a stun gun like shock. It was pretty cool

You're right, I'm sure lawyers would have a field day with cars that attacked. I still can't get over how theives can sue you for getting hurt while breaking into/running away from your house.

 

Welcome to America, land of free-range Lawyers.