Gps trackers... Nerds assemble!

Gaoler

Gaoler

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What's good tracking device...
I read about air tags and some android tags, but they all seem to use bluetooth with a range measured in meters...
I'm flying Air Canada soon with a piece of sensitive checked baggage... I'm still waiting for a bag they lost (Toronto to Calgary) in 1997...
I'd like to be able to see where my baggage really is if it doesn't meet me in Regina...
Is there something available that can track long distances..
My google-fu is weak.
 
I used Apple airtags on my luggage on our last trip. iPhones are prevalent everywhere in the world. Baggage handlers, airline personnel, they all carry Apple devices. We were able to track our bags the entire way of the trip.

Problem with GPS-based trackers is that they don't work very well when they're indoors and don't have a good line-of-sight to the satellites in the sky. Plus they need an independent transmitter to signal their location, so you are paying for the cell phone tech and mobile data subscription fees over a wide roaming area (if you are on an international flight), not to mention, they will burn through a battery within a day or so, so if your bags get lost for an extended period, chances are, your battery on your cell phone-based GPS tracker will be dead by then.
 
Lightcycle said:
I used Apple airtags on my luggage on our last trip. iPhones are prevalent everywhere in the world. Baggage handlers, airline personnel, they all carry Apple devices. We were able to track our bags the entire way of the trip.

Problem with GPS-based trackers is that they don't work very well when they're indoors and don't have a good line-of-sight to the satellites in the sky. Plus they need an independent transmitter to signal their location, so you are paying for the cell phone tech and mobile data subscription fees over a wide roaming area (if you are on an international flight), not to mention, they will burn through a battery within a day or so, so if your bags get lost for an extended period, chances are, your battery on your cell phone-based GPS tracker will be dead by then.
Click to expand...
What about something like an inreach? Can you set it to check in periodically? Obviously still foiled in locations with no access to satellites.

As for op's question, redundancy is your friend. Even if I used a GPS solution, air tags are cheap and pretty well supported. I own a tile and I use it when I travel but at this point, I give that a much lower chance of working than an airtag.
 
GreyGhost said:
What about something like an inreach? Can you set it to check in periodically? Obviously still foiled in locations with no access to satellites.

As for op's question, redundancy is your friend. Even if I used a GPS solution, air tags are cheap and pretty well supported. I own a tile and I use it when I travel but at this point, I give that a much lower chance of working than an airtag.
Click to expand...

Good idea in theory.

I have mine set to leave breadcrumbs every 10 minutes. However, my InReach v1 runs out of battery within 24 hours. And it won't connect to a satellite when indoors. Also, when searching for unreachable satellites, it will burn through the battery much quicker. Plus it costs $$$ for the HW, $$$ for the annual maintenance fee and $$$ for the monthly subscription fee.

Much, much more expensive and not as useable than an Airtag, which is pretty much tailor-made for this use-case. Why try to force-fit or re-invent a solution when one already exists?
 
Lightcycle said:
Good idea in theory. I have mine set to leave breadcrumbs every 10 minutes. However, my InReach runs out of battery within 24 hours. And it won't connect to a satellite when indoors. Plus it costs $$$ for the HW, $$$ for the annual maintenance fee and $$$ for the monthly subscription fee.

Much, much more expensive than an Airtag.
Click to expand...
Does an inreach work with external power connected? You can't check lithium power packs but an SLA or FeO2 battery should power it for weeks.

I wouldnt buy an inreach for this purpose (although that depends on the value of the item you are tracking) but for someone like you that has one anyway, checking it to track your expensive gear could make sense. Obviously, whether it makes sense is highly dependent on how many breadcrumbs it can get out. That may require quite a few flights to build trust.
 
GreyGhost said:
Does an inreach work with external power connected? You can't check lithium power packs but an SLA or FeO2 battery should power it for weeks.

I wouldnt buy an inreach for this purpose (although that depends on the value of the item you are tracking) but for someone like you that has one anyway, checking it to track your expensive gear could make sense. Obviously, whether it makes sense is highly dependent on how many breadcrumbs it can get out. That may require quite a few flights to build trust.
Click to expand...

Most airlines won't allow you to keep a battery-pack in your check-in luggage:

www.tsa.gov

Power Banks | Transportation Security Administration

Portable chargers or power banks containing a lithium ion battery must be packed in carry-on bags. Spare lithium batteries, which include both power banks and phone chargers, are prohibited in checked luggage.For more information, see the FAA guidance on portable rechargers.
www.tsa.gov www.tsa.gov

Just use the AirTag. This is *exactly* what it was designed for.

Anything else is a kludge that is overly expensive, overly complicated and will not work reliably for this use case.
 
Lightcycle said:
Most airlines won't allow you to keep a battery-pack in your check-in luggage:

www.tsa.gov

Power Banks | Transportation Security Administration

Portable chargers or power banks containing a lithium ion battery must be packed in carry-on bags. Spare lithium batteries, which include both power banks and phone chargers, are prohibited in checked luggage.For more information, see the FAA guidance on portable rechargers.
www.tsa.gov www.tsa.gov

Just use the AirTag. This is *exactly* what it was designed for.

Anything else is a kludge that is overly expensive, overly complicated and will not work reliably for this use case.
Click to expand...
That's why I said sla or fe02.

Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle is the airlines. There are thousands of cases where people knew exactly where the luggage was and the airline actively blocked access/retrieval/delivery. I try very very hard not to check things I would be very upset to lose.
 
You can't replace the battery in an InReach.

What you are describing is incredibly over-complicated and expensive and unreliable to get the same, relatively cheap, user-friendly, reliable functionality as an AirTag.

I have an InReach and an AirTag. I would never ever use the InReach for tracking my luggage. I have used the AirTags to track my luggage on an international flight and it works flawlessly. Also it's much cheaper and and easy-to-use.
 
Thing is... Airtags and such only work within meters...
I'd like to know if my item is in another airport/city.
I know women who track their husbands/kids via their phones, but.. that's probably not going to work in my case... I'd have to buy another phone Lol
 
The AirTag works within 30 feet indoors/100 feet outdoors of *any* Apple device, not just yours.

As long as anybody with an Apple device walks past your luggage within 30-100 feet at any time, it will transmit its location through that device to Apple's Find-Me network over their mobile or wifi connection.

Baggage handler picks up your luggage from inside the terminal. His iPhone in his back pocket will transmit your AirTag location to the network. When your bags sit in the terminal, the iPhone in purse of the baggage staff at the desk will pick up the AirTag in your luggage and transmit it to the network. Any other passengers nearby will also pick up the Airtag and if they have an Apple product on their person, it will update its location. If your bags get sent to a storage facility deep in the bowels of the airport then anybody walking past the storage facility within 30 feet will pick up the AirTag and transmit its location to the network.

The sheer proliferation of Apple devices worldwide make the Find-Me network incredibly powerful and useful for tracking. Any GPS-based device will not work if your bags are inside a truck, inside the airport terminal, or inside a storage room.
 
Gaoler said:
What's good tracking device...
I read about air tags and some android tags, but they all seem to use bluetooth with a range measured in meters...
I'm flying Air Canada soon with a piece of sensitive checked baggage... I'm still waiting for a bag they lost (Toronto to Calgary) in 1997...
I'd like to be able to see where my baggage really is if it doesn't meet me in Regina...
Is there something available that can track long distances..
My google-fu is weak.
Click to expand...
They have come along way since 1997,

The chances of your luggage getting lost going to Regina is likely nill as its a straight flight and no connection
 
GreyGhost said:
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle is the airlines. There are thousands of cases where people knew exactly where the luggage was and the airline actively blocked access/retrieval/delivery.
Click to expand...

ToSlow said:
They have come along way since 1997,

The chances of your luggage getting lost going to Regina is likely nill as its a straight flight and no connection
Click to expand...

AC "lost" a bag of mine I watched get loaded on a flight from Antigua direct to Toronto...
So I wouldn't say "nil"... Lol.

I did get it delivered to my hojeca few days later though. I imagine it got misplaced somewhere between being off loaded at YYZ and the baggage carousel.
 
Lightcycle said:
The AirTag works within 30 feet indoors/100 feet outdoors of *any* Apple device, not just yours.

As long as anybody with an Apple device walks past your luggage within 30-100 feet at any time, it will transmit its location through that device to Apple's Find-Me network over their mobile or wifi connection.

Baggage handler picks up your luggage from inside the terminal. His iPhone in his back pocket will transmit your AirTag location to the network. When your bags sit in the terminal, the iPhone in purse of the baggage staff at the desk will pick up the AirTag in your luggage and transmit it to the network. Any other passengers nearby will also pick up the Airtag and if they have an Apple product on their person, it will update its location. If your bags get sent to a storage facility deep in the bowels of the airport then anybody walking past the storage facility within 30 feet will pick up the AirTag and transmit its location to the network.

The sheer proliferation of Apple devices worldwide make the Find-Me network incredibly powerful and useful for tracking. Any GPS-based device will not work if your bags are inside a truck, inside the airport terminal, or inside a storage room.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that explanation... So that's how it works!
My problem now is,,, I'm an android guy.
 
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