Miniature GPS tracking device w/GSM
Some of you may know I had a company some years ago called “10-20.com” which did vehicle tracking with a combination of satellite and GPS systems. The gear I used was based on the Orbcomm 2-way LEO satellite system, and I had some experimental modules that used GSM as a terrestrial data delivery path. The problem with the GSM was twofold: the equipment was fragile (wires) and I couldn’t find any GSM providers who would sell a GSM chip without voice service – they all wanted at least $35/mo for a “package” deal. Oh, and the GSM modems were another $250 on top of the $500 for the Orbcomm devices. Well, times are finally changing. I found this device today that only speaks GSM/GPS but it’s fairly sophisticated after looking at the manuals, and $89! Very nice. The downside is that it will only work with GSM networks, so if you’re out in the middle of nowhere it won’t be able to upload its data. The upside is that it’s cheap. There is a company called Numerex which supposedly sells SMS or GPRS-only account chips, but I haven’t seen any evidence on their site that it can be purchased by “mortals”, but it’s a start…
The device (Shenzhen V-SUN Electronics Co., Ltd. model TLT-2H):
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22968
The manual:
http://www.v-sun.cc/asp_bin/downfile/201061917138726.pdf
And another link to the same device: