School me on Trackers

[Shox Dr]

I'm looking to buy 2-3 trackers. From reading the TK series, look to be the best on the market.

1 is for a MCycle, so needs to be small.
2 is for a car, so needs to be able to cope with been hidden in one
3 for whenever I need to covertly track whatever, so small with reasonable battery life

All must have the ability to use multi carrier SIM (lock to best signal across networks).

Had anyone used these or other makes?
What are the pros and cons?
What would you like it to have/not do/have.

 

[skotl]

I looked at these a couple of years ago but there turned out to be a pretty major challenge with the SIMs in the UK.
If you get a PAYG SIM but don't pass any chargeable calls through it in a given period (varies by carrier, but tended to be anywhere from 3-6 months) then they disable it. So you'd need to remember to prise it out of the tracker every few months and make a couple of calls.

The alternative would be to get contract SIMs but that was going to work out too expensive for what I wanted them for.

Sorry I don't have any advice on the trackers themselves but not sure if you had looked at the SIM contracts yet.

 

[Bobtail4x4]

as long as you "ping" it once each month or so, it replies and the credit stays live.

 

[Shox Dr]

Anyone used worldsim.com.

Looks like you only need it put £20 on it and it works dor 365days

Full multi-network

 

[GW8IZR]

as long as you "ping" it once each month or so, it replies and the credit stays live.

Thats certainly what I do on the ones I use for telemetry/control , I use 3 and EE and they both do the same.

 

[GW8IZR]

Anyone used worldsim.com.

Looks like you only need it put £20 on it and it works dor 365days

Full multi-network

We used (at work) Manx Telecom sims, anyone who works in the mobile service world needs a mobile that works on 'any' network :-)

Used to buy them on line but I think they tightened up on it and you had to buy them in the IOM, although there are ways round that.

 

[500e]

GW are you saying that the sim is roaming all networks ? can it both rx & tx on any network ?

 

[GW8IZR]

yes, I used them for my field engineers who needed data connections anywhere in the UK on whatever network was available, it was particularly useful in Scotland where the coverage wasn't always consistent.

When we started using them you could even buy them from Carphone Wharehouse etc but last time I spoke to someone setting one up they had a bit of a faff getting the sim from within the UK but I never pursued how they got it.

from Manx website :

Using your Manx Telecom Mobile in the UK and abroad is as simple as using it in the Isle of Man. Provided there is a roaming agreement in place your handset will search out an available network for you. Sometimes you may need to manually select a network - for example, if your handset fails to automatically attach to a network, if the network you are on has poor coverage, or if you require access to a network which has data facilities. You can do this through the 'network settings’ area of your handset’s menu.

 

[Shox Dr]

so like these guys worldsim.com

 

[GW8IZR]

so like these guys worldsim.com

Dunno.. never used them but I have used Manx.

 

[Shox Dr]

Dunno.. never used them but I have used Manx.

Well if you get time, have a look it maybe to your advantage

 

[GW8IZR]

Well if you get time, have a look it maybe to your advantage

I'm retired .. I no longer care ;-)

(edit) I just had a read at the website and it seems to suggest that in EU1 its homed to Vodaphone, no mention of being allowed to roam onto any network, do you know if it definitely does roam anywhere?