In our article we will talk about how to make a GPS tracker for a car with your own hands. We will potentially use it on the example of a personal car. However, it is worth noting that the considered scheme can be safely used to monitor absolutely any objects that move. So, there are trackers for dogs, other animals or people.
What is it for?
Perhaps, after reading our article, the male half of society will shudder, because at present, incredulous or curious wives have the opportunity to effortlessly track the "uncomfortable" location. However, let's not think about bad things, because new satellite technologies are designed to serve solely for the good. How to make a GPS tracker from a smartphone?
Selecting a GPS monitoring server
It must be borne in mind that the procedure for making a tracker for a child, pet or car begins with the choice of a server. Only after this procedure, the special software is configured.secure under its settings on the phone. Next, we will show the principle of operation of the tracking system using a specific example. To do this, take a fairly well-known online service gpshome.ru.
Tracker settings
How to make a DIY GPS tracker? After choosing a server, it is advisable to proceed to setting up the mechanism. In our example, for these purposes, we will use the most common Android-based smartphone. So, you should install a certain program called GPS Home Tracker on it.
It should be noted that it will be the link between the user device and the server designed for satellite monitoring. You can download it for free in the official online store. It should be added that the technical requirements directly to the device in question can be studied in the section called "Android Application" on the service resource.
An interesting enough point is that even a relatively old smartphone that lacks a GPS module is quite good. In this case, the system will determine the position of a particular object precisely by cell towers. Naturally, this will cause an increase in the error. However, what more could you want in a situation like this?
Setting up a GPS tracker with your own hands
It should be borne in mind that the setup procedure is extremely simple. To do this, you need to run the downloaded and then installed application on your phone. Next, in the settings menu, you need to open a tab called "About". This isis done in order to find out what the unique IMEI of the device is, which will be necessary in the future in order to implement binding to the server.
Next, proceed as follows:
You can use a similar system in a car on a "smart" mirror that does not have a slot for a SIM card. However, it should be borne in mind that the GPS Home Tracker generates this number one way or another. Interestingly, this approach expands the list of compatible gadgets several times (it is on them that you can distribute the Internet from the outside).
How to make a DIY GPS tracker? Further, it is advisable to activate the device using the appropriate switch, and turn on the Internet on the mobile device, in particular, the geolocation function. After a short period of time, the position will be determined. Thus, it will be possible to observe your location on a geographical map:
So, we have learned how to set up a GPS tracker with our own hands. Now he is absolutely ready to go. It remains only to go to the monitoring service to finish what we started.
Binding a GPS tracker to a tracking server
So, we looked at how to set up a GPS tracker with your own hands for dogs, cars or people. It is advisable to move on to linking the device to the server intended for tracking. It should be noted that the procedure is also quite simple. To do this, in your personal account, you must go through the followingpath: "Monitoring - Add object". Next, in the tab that opens (namely, in the line called “Tracker model”), you need to select “GPS Home Tracker + Android software”, and a little lower indicate the IMEI that was generated by the program earlier:
Fill in other fields
It is worth noting that the rest of the fields are filled in in accordance with the example shown in the screenshot above. As it turned out, there is absolutely nothing complicated in the procedure. In tabs of an additional type, you can mark the estimated consumption of fuel resources so that you can query for a report on the consumed liters, as well as on the distance traveled.
So, if everything is implemented correctly, then on the tab called "Monitoring" the required vehicle should be displayed with detailed information regarding the location. It is worth paying attention to the tab called "Info". It is located on the left side of the window. The fact is that there you can find a lot of interesting information:
What else do you need to know?
In principle, the extremely simple system associated with satellite monitoring is ready for use. However, it must be understood that we have considered only the basic functionality. It should be noted that detailed reporting and the history of car movement can be found only on paid rates.
In the free version, it is possible to link no more than one object in this service, be it a car, a person or a pet, and so on,accordingly, view only the location of the GSM tracker in the current period. In other words, there is no archive. If suddenly this alignment does not suit you, that is, you want to expand the functionality, capabilities of the system, then you need to pay money.
For example, in order to study the system, a certain tariff plan called "Start" was tested. Its cost is 70 Russian rubles. per month. It should be noted that the price is quite low. At the same time, the number of options that become available increases several times. So, there are such chips as SOS notifications to e-mail, storage of a history of movement during the day, landmarks, geo-zones, and so on.
Final part
So, we have fully considered how to make a GSM tracker with our own hands. In conclusion, it is advisable to analyze the main advantages of the features listed in the article. So, SOS alerts are extremely good when other people (for example, a wife or child) are driving a car. After the system fixes the excess of the set speed, a person immediately receives a corresponding notification by e-mail or phone.
It is interesting to know that by means of geo-zones you can draw certain areas on the map, upon exiting or entering which the tracking system issues a message. So, it is extremely convenient to control, for example, whether the child went to the gym or not, and also what time he did it in terms of time:
It is worth noting that the theme of the tracker for a car, a child or a pet fromphone, in any case, smoothly turns into a global issue related to GPS monitoring of transport (this is a complex analytical system that is used in large enterprises; GPS transport monitoring of employees and stationary objects is nothing more than a way to significantly save the resources of a commercial structure, increase productivity of the car park and, of course, increasing the strength of the discipline of the company's employees). At this stage, it is not advisable to "dig" too deep, because at the amateur level such knowledge is unlikely to be needed.