Any idea what this Tracker fob is for?

[Ari]

I've just bought a car, and taped to the keyring is a small black fob which is apparently to do with the Tracker system. I asked the dealer exactly what it does and he wasn't sure, went to find out and came back with the explanation that you just leave it in the car if there are multiple users, but if only one person drives the car, then if they take that Tracker fob with them and the car is moved, Tracker will be informed immediately that it's been taken without consent and will call the police.

It seems an extraordinary idea that you have to carry around an extra fob that doesn't even attach to your keyring (short of taping it there).

Is that right or is there another purpose to it?

Also, is there just one Tracker company or more? If there are more, then I've no idea who I should be contacting to set this up.

[V8mate]

TTIUWP

[Ari]

Here's a photo of it.

[V8mate]

Have you peeled back the tape to see if the label has any useful info?

[Ari]

Not yet as away and don't want to lose the thing. I will when I get home. Was hoping someone would say 'Ah, that's the doodah dongle, it...'

[Baldchap]

High value vehicle trackers usually have a separate driver card or transmitter. They're a pain in the ass compared to a solely vehicle fitted system, but offer a higher standard of security, supposedly. Essentially, if the vehicle moves without the tracker/card in it, an alarm is raised with the monitoring company and police advised if appropriate.

This does look quite bulky and therefore I'd guess old - given nobody has a clue at that end, I'll bet the subscription has expired and nobody is monitoring it.

Easy test is leave it at home and go for a drive. Someone will get a phone call if it's being monitored and will then say it's been sold, at which point it'll stop being monitored and therefore you can forget about it.

[Ari]

That's interesting, that is how it was described to me, but like you I looked at it and thought 'surely not?'

The car is 3 years old so it's no older than that.

I'll take the tape off when I get home. Hopefully there's a manufacturer's details on it and I can contact them, find out if that is what it is, and get it signed over to me (if that's possible, would assume so).

[Butter Face]

If you send me the reg I can get the tracker company details form HPI and send it to you.

[Ari]

Many thanks BF! I'll take the tape off when I get home, it's probably on there, but if not I'll give you a shout.

[GHOSTinstaller]

Looks like a Trackstar Cat 5 DRS tag, they are still current, you should here a single beep in the car when you put the ignition on, this means the card has been read OK, might be worth giving them a call to swap the subscription over.

[Ari]

GHOSTinstaller said:

Looks like a Trackstar Cat 5 DRS tag, they are still current, you should here a single beep in the car when you put the ignition on, this means the card has been read OK, might be worth giving them a call to swap the subscription over.

That's very helpful, thanks. But does that mean that I have to always carry the tag around as well all the time? I seem to have 'moved up' to keyless entry only to result on carrying more stuff about!

[Butter Face]

I suspect it will be deactivated as soon as the subscription goes unpaid

[Baldchap]

Ari said:

GHOSTinstaller said:

Looks like a Trackstar Cat 5 DRS tag, they are still current, you should here a single beep in the car when you put the ignition on, this means the card has been read OK, might be worth giving them a call to swap the subscription over.

That's very helpful, thanks. But does that mean that I have to always carry the tag around as well all the time? I seem to have 'moved up' to keyless entry only to result on carrying more stuff about!

Yes. We have them in three of our decent cars and they're a fking pain, especially when the batteries run out.

[Ari]

How utterly bizarre. You'd think they would at least put a hook on them so you could hang them off the car keyring rather than having to gaffer tape them to the fob!

Sounds like the dealer was correct then, which is remarkable (not that he was correct but that this really is the reason).

Appreciate your help, thanks.

[GHOSTinstaller]

Yeah you do have to carry them around, they don't have a loop on them as they are designed to be kept away from the car keys, the idea being if you get burgled, when the thief starts your car and the tag isn't there, the tracking company will contact you straight away as the tracker hasn't been turned off by the tag if that makes sense.

[Nijj]

I have the same tracker system with my brand new vantage. Operated by Vodafone. There’s a red led in the centre

[broncoupe]

The reason why someone has taped it to the keyring is laziness
Cat 5 fobs by definition are supposed to be separate from your keys at all times
This setup technically invalidates your Cat 5 tracker and YOUR INSURANCE in the event of theft
The idea of separating them is just that --leave your keys at home someone steals them and takes your car
The process now works correctly you get a call from Secure Centre to ask did you know your car is started and moving without a fob present
If the fob is removed from the car at anytime the engine is running the same applies you get acall
So it is the Fob that ties you to the keys to the car as such
And before someone says this is incorrect
The rule change in December 2018 only applies to new installs from that date forward a Cat5 from 3 years ago old rules apply as i have explained

Edited by broncoupe on Saturday 25th January 13:56

[Beggarall]

I got one of those trackers when I bought a Porsche Cayenne and it was a real pain. Somehow the tracking system is hard wired into the electronics and the fob serves to suppress/modify the signal so that Tracker Central Control "knows" all is well. Unfortunately if the signal is lost (which happened frequently to me when travelling abroad) Tracking Control then sends an alert text followed by a call to your nominated mobile phone and the alert is then cancelled by you contacting them and reciting a password. If you don't have your phone with you or if there is no signal the alert remains in place - and in my case did so for a couple of days - but then nothing happened - no police check and no vehicle immobilisation which i am told is possible. The business of having to carry a fob separate from you key and then checking to make sure the battery was OK became such a nuisance that in the end I cancelled my subscription.