I recently had the Ultimate 9 Live Track Stealth GPS installed in the Everest and I thought I’d share my thoughts.
The Unit
The unit is quite compact at 100mm by 80mm in size, and about 15mm in height. It has a slot where you install a Sim Card, and two simple wires – one to connect to constant power, and one to earth. Inside is s high sensitivity GPS receiver with a G-sensor.
When you buy one, it comes with an ALDI sim card, which connects to the Telstra network, and will give you 12 months connectivity for each recharge. $15.00 of credit will last a year of use I’m told.
It operates off the 3G network, so coverage is best with Telstra (ALDI uses them), but you can use your own network.
Install
Install of the unit is pretty easy but there are a few key steps:
If using the ALDI Sim card (connected to Telstra Network), you’ll need to activate the Sim
Install the Icar app from the App store
- Activate sim card and install in unit, and download and setup the Icar app on your phone – this is as simple as creating an account using the Aldi sim card that come with the unit, activating the sim card, and then installing in the unit. You’ll need the information in the box with the IMEI number etc to synch the device with the app.
- Install the unit in the vehicle – all you need to do is connect the two wires – one to earth and the other to constant power. It can be hidden behind trims, or underneath the dash – the only consideration is that there isn’t too much metal above the unit which could interfere with the operation.
Once these are done, you simply turn on the app and check that the app is receiving the GPS Signal. If you are having issues, it is likely that either the location it is installed is preventing it getting a GPS reading, or the sim card may not have activated yet.
App Operation
The Icar app is a free download from the app store. It is a GPS tracker with maps, which will show current location, as well as 7 days of previous locations. There are a range of settings you can choose, from how often the location is updated (default is 30 seconds), setting Geofence alerts, and more. There is also a parking mode that will increase the sensitivity of the g-sensor inside, and then alert you if the vehicle moves from that location.
The basic view of the location using the Icar App. The parking mode can be activated by selecting the P Icon on the sidebar
The settings page. Here you can share your tracker, change the reporting intervals, name the tracker etc
The great thing here is that you can add multiple devices to the app, and you can also share your location via the app, which means you can see where all of your vehicles are, and history of up to 7 days if you install a unit on each of them too.
The Geofence capability I mentioned before can be set from a 100m radius to a 10km one, depending on your needs, and it can alert you on arriving or leaving the geofence.
It is reasonably intuitive, with instructions being easy to understand. It is probably not as refined as some more expensive units on the market, but to be honest it provides everything you could really need.
Setting up a geofence to track a vehicle entering or leaving a location…
What the location history looks like. You can track up to 7 days of history, and in the example above there are 602 data points. You can then click into each data point for more specific information
Verdict
For the price point, this is a very cool piece of gear that would give you some ability to identify a theft as it happens, and potentially track your vehicle in that instance. It is also a cool device to be able to share details of where you are with friends and family, and also to know they are OK.
Cost
$299.00 RRP
Where to buy
Reputable Auto stores, Ultimate9.com.au
Would you like to see this in the Safety Shop?
