GPS Tracker Incorrect Readings & Dodgy Microphone Normal?

• 

  pjetson on 10/04/2018 - 16:11

  it sometimes misses locations readings or give a random location reading ie driving along highway then says a reading occurred hundreds of metres away before jumping back on highway

  I suspect that it's not getting a good enough GPS signal when it's plugged into the connector under the dash.

  • 

    brokenglish on 10/04/2018 - 17:23

    ^ correct
    What SIM card are you using? You must use Telstra on these GPS trackers.
    Company cars have a couple of these, never had a problem tracking employees.

    • 

      lestat87 on 10/04/2018 - 19:12

      Ok Thanks. I'm using aldi which says they use the Telstra network. I guess it must be getting interference in low signal areas.
      Any advice on the microphone issue? Either of you ever used the function on yours? I know that one isn't interference as I get the same issue when running it off battery in my hand.

      • 

        brokenglish on 10/04/2018 - 20:25

        ALDI is using Telstra Wholesale Network, not the full Telstra Telstra network.

        We never used the mic/listen function on the OBD type, all we heard was the engine running and the surrounding cars. If you want to listen, you need to get the 12V hardwire type that has external mic cable, however this is no longer discreet so it beats the purpose of hiding the GPS tracker. The mic/listen is not reliable.

        Also we never had a problem with interference with non-Telstra SIM card either. We originally used amaysim (Optus) then we changed to Telstra because we're deploying in the country. You should not have any weird locations/readings if you're driving in Metro area.

        Another possible cause:
        The free server where your tracker sends locations to is overloaded at that particular time, so they never got the readings.

      • 

        lestat87 on 12/04/2018 - 14:04

        @brokenglish: Thanks. I didn't realise there was a difference. I'll look into other options like external mics. The server was down a couple days ago for a few hours so it is possible it's overloaded.

• 

  pjetson on 11/04/2018 - 08:25

  You've got (at least) two problems here. As far as I can tell, neither can be fixed by changing the sim card or network.

  Firstly, your GPS is not receiving sufficient signal in its present location, which I presume is under the dash. This will be due to all the metal between it and the GPS satellites, or because the GPS module itself isn't sensitive enough. You can't really fix this yourself, since your OBD connector is under your dash.

  Secondly, the microphone in the device is not sensitive enough, and/or the voice circuits in the device are not of high enough quality. Again, this is not really something that you can fix yourself.

  It's possible that the device you have is faulty, but it's also possible that it's just low quality. Why not return it and see if the replacement works any better?

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  lestat87 on 12/04/2018 - 14:02

  Thanks all! I've initiated a return.