traffic Member 51 Member For: 9y 4m 25d Gender: Male Posted 17/09/15 04:14 AM Share Posted 17/09/15 04:14 AM I wanted a cheap way to track my car with GPS. In case anyone else wants to do something similar, here's the details. I looked at a few options, but ended up just getting a cheap 2nd hand android phone from ebay. Sony Xperia running android 4.4 for $25 is what I got. I also got a 12v usb adapter for around $4 also on ebay. Aldi has 365 day expiry pre paid recharges starting from $15, so that's perfect. Then all I had to do was wire the USB adapter up to the battery and hide it and the phone somewhere in the car. Install Where's My Droid app on the phone and now I can text the phone in the car and get a text with the Google Maps link as a reply. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JETURBO ...JD TUNING ADELAIDE... Gold Donating Members 23,708 Member For: 16y 5m 30d Gender: Male Location: Adelaide Posted 17/09/15 04:35 AM Share Posted 17/09/15 04:35 AM Not bad buddy, well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discostig Manual mode ________________________ All day, erryday Donating Members 13,798 Member For: 17y 6d Gender: Male Location: Probably above atmospheric pressure Posted 17/09/15 05:26 AM Share Posted 17/09/15 05:26 AM Old android phone is a good idea. I have a spare Galaxy S2 and S4 sitting around.You could even buy extra large battery for said phone, usually pretty cheap.Next step, hide the phone in the seat base lining and make it explode if you send the right code word = blow off the nut sack of the thief 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masda74 To Loud Gold Donating Members 4,112 Member For: 13y Gender: Male Location: WA, Perth Posted 18/09/15 02:45 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 02:45 AM older phones tend to lock up more often than newer phones.Also make sure that you factory reset the phone to scratch and don't install anything.Just activate your google account on it and turn on gps services.Jump on a pc and you can locate your phone without sending an sms. you will still need a sim with a data plan though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Wiggum Moar Powar Babeh Lifetime Members 19,323 Member For: 19y 2m 7d Gender: Male Location: Perth Posted 18/09/15 02:50 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 02:50 AM https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dread7us.reboot.scheduler&hl=en 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTR_NITRO_FG Donating Members 3,214 Member For: 11y 6m 5d Gender: Male Location: NOR Perth Posted 18/09/15 03:41 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 03:41 AM Might be a dumb question....but having the phone on charge through your car battery; does that mean it sucks juice when the car is off I.e. flattens car battery? Or does that adaptor thing turn off when the car is off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masda74 To Loud Gold Donating Members 4,112 Member For: 13y Gender: Male Location: WA, Perth Posted 18/09/15 03:49 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 03:49 AM http://www.autoblackbox.com.au/accessories/blackvue-power-magic-pro/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTR_NITRO_FG Donating Members 3,214 Member For: 11y 6m 5d Gender: Male Location: NOR Perth Posted 18/09/15 04:12 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 04:12 AM So OP got a bargain @ $4 vs. $59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masda74 To Loud Gold Donating Members 4,112 Member For: 13y Gender: Male Location: WA, Perth Posted 18/09/15 04:19 AM Share Posted 18/09/15 04:19 AM I think he might have a flat battery soon. I wont have that problem as I already have one for my dashcam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traffic Member 51 Member For: 9y 4m 25d Gender: Male Posted 18/09/15 08:24 PM Author Share Posted 18/09/15 08:24 PM Might be a dumb question....but having the phone on charge through your car battery; does that mean it sucks juice when the car is off I.e. flattens car battery? Or does that adaptor thing turn off when the car is off?I've got it connected to constant power, if it did prove to be an issue I'd move it to accessory power. Considering the phone won't be drawing significant current all the time, just when the battery needs to top up. I did a quick calculation and the car battery should last for a month or so without being driven before it would be flat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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