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Beakon

How to track a vehicle with GPS easily

Beakon’s GPS tracking device installs into a vehicle such as a car or a truck to tell you where it is, live on a map. In this article we’ll explain how does the device work and how you use a GPS tracking system to track a car.

What is GPS vehicle tracking?

GPS is powered by a global radio navigation system. These satellites orbit the earth, and there are a minimum of 20 of them that are typically used in GPS tracking. 

Together with the power of GPS, the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) emits radio signals to communicate with the GPS device. The method of trilateration, which uses the satellites to determine the latitude, longitude, and other information is gathered to help track a vehicle.  The information from this, or the data, is what is used for GPS tracking.

To achieve this, a GPS enabled device is will be placed in a vehicle and connect to the GPS system. It has a sim card within it, which then provides mobile data, such as 3G or 4G data, and sends this to a tracking server. This is how the information is entering from your vehicle into an online server. Because the sim card has mobile data, this allows a continuous upload so long as there is suitable service to do so, sending data from the GPS tracker to the server. 

You then log in to your computer and then can see your vehicle on a map. This is data is sent to the device to the server.

How does a vehicle GPS tracker work?

Here’s how it may work when wanting to track your vehicles:

  1. You install a GPS tracker in to the car. This can be done by a suitably qualified installer, typically someone who does car security, audio and/or electrics
  2. A sim card is inserted into the GPS tracker. For our devices we typically supply a sim card. The tracker connects to GPS satellites.
  3. Information or data is relayed from the GPS tracker. The sim card by 3G or 4G (as applicable) relays this to the server.
  4. The server receives the data and stores it.
  5. You log in to your computer or mobile phone on the tracking server’s website. See the data plotted on a map. Together with this you can see the history of it too.

GPS tracking has great benefits. You can see where a vehicle is. The collection process is useful to view the history of where a vehicle was travelled. You can find out where it had travelled using GPS. Where applicable, you can then use this data and set up alerts to make great use of how it all works.

GPS alerts can help you find out different information such as finding out if a driver or vehicle was speeding.  You may also also set up GPS geo zoning which would help you understand if a vehicle had entered or left a particular area, which you draw on the map. For example you could draw your house, office or warehouse on a map. Then get an alert when it has stayed in or left that zone.

Step by step guide for tracking a car or vehicle

Follow these steps to be tracking a vehicle with GPS:

  1. Buy a GPS tracking device that can connect to a server and comes with a sim card.
  2. Wire the device into the vehicle, typically this would be done by a suitably qualified installer.
  3. Have the GPS tracking server issue a login and ensure the sim card is sending the data to the server.
  4. Log in online and track the vehicle.
Diagram explaining how to track a car using GPS

Tracking the car or vehicle on your phone

You may also be able to use your smartphone to track the vehicle. Typically the use of an app such as from the Google Play Store, or App Store by Apple could achieve this. Alternatively the provider may offer a mobile website. 

You could add the mobile website to your home screen which gives it the resemblance of an app.

Get set up now

Here at Beakon we have an all in one GPS tracking solution which means that by buying a device from us, it comes with a sim card that can connect to a sever. This would allow you to track your vehicle and your order can be placed online with ease.

Author

Beakon Team