Accutracking: What exactly is it?
 

People are always wondering what exactly they can do to protect their vehicle. Since there aren't many articles concerning increased security on this site, I decided to write a little bit about something called Accutracking. This thread essentially explains what it is, and what it does.

What you're going to need to start is a GPS enabled cell phone. You can either use your personal cell phone and install "Accutracking" software on it, or you can get a starter kit (starts at $69.00), which includes a basic phone with the software pre-installed and a pre-paid service card to get you started.

Personally, I believe it's better to have one of their starter phones, because what you're going to want to do is "stash" the phone some where in your vehicle so that it's not easily accessible.

Once the phone is hidden away, it is sending almost real time information via many satellites in the sky, and if it cannot see these satellites for any reason, it will triangulate your location using cell phone towers. This information gets sent to the Accutracking service so when you log on to their website, it will tell you where you car is, where the car has been, and it will even tell you the rate of speed in which your car is traveling. (There is even a mobile version of the site that you can check on your phone.

This is an added layer of protection that I definitely can support, mainly because I like the idea that it offers because it's similar to LoJack, only in my personal opinion it's better.

The two reasons I think it's better than LoJack is:

- With LoJack, you have to know your car is missing in order to activate the service.

- Even if you have LoJack, your local police have to have the equipment for it, and even if they do, they have to have time to use it. I'm not sure how the police are in your area, but I'm sure if you called them telling them that your car has been stolen, they probably wouldn't be on it right away.

There are alarm systems that DO offer this type of tracking service (Compustar, DEI, etc.), which allow you to track your car via GPS, but the major drawback to a system like this is that the actual GPS device is tied into the alarm itself. More than likely a thief will bypass your alarm system, thus disabling the GPS in the alarm.

So essentially with Accutracking, you can see where your car has been WHENEVER you want, ALL the time.

Another good thing about their service is setting up what they call "fences". This allows you to set up the system so that if your vehicle goes out of a certain radius (specified lat/long coordinates), you can have them send you an SMS Message or text. So if your car ever DOES leave that specified radius (Like your home), you will definitely know.

Hopefully I've explained the ins and outs of this system and it's benefits. More can be found at their website, but I'll be happy to answer any questions that any of you might have! I may also be installing this system into my vehicle sometime soon, so I'll keep you all posted on how that goes, and maybe do a write-up for anyone who is also interested in doing so.