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Gps tracker


fieldmixer

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but am way too weary of checking any of it for fear of it being lost/stolen.

That's what the insurance is for?

I'm currently working in a travel show and fly many times per week with 12 pieces of luggage. I check everything except cameras, wireless mics + receivers, batteries + chargers and a couple of discs. Airlines hate hand luggage and we often have to fight to get even our cameras onboard.

I do like the idea of a GPS tracker however.

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Anvil makes a GPS tracking device for their cases. According to their press release information, it's a cooperative venture with LoJack. I don't know anything about costs; I expect there is probably an ongoing charge for monitoring over and above the cost of purchasing the GPS module.

Here's a link to their webpage explaining the system:

http://www.anvilcase.com/applications/anvil-case-tracker/

David

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Years ago, I decided against insuring my Kit. Iknow, risky perhaps, but ten years later, that's 15g saved. I insist my clients cover my gear under their production Ryder. It is awkward sometimes, I need cross out a couple lines in my contract and add a line stating: production agrees to insure kit against lost damage or theft. Ends up, 90% of the time I'm covered. Production needs their own insurance when renting camera kit, I feel, situation is no different when renting audio kit. Even if I am the operator. Note: I am

Not incorporated. Sole proprietor.

I'm not a big believer in double and triple insuring things... Seems like a scam.

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I'm a firm believer in carrying gear on board the plane. They swipe it, look at it twice and let you go on with it.

Would you let a PA load your truck? Probably not...

Why would you let a baggage handler drop your pelican case with $30,000 worth of fragile gear 12 feet to the tarmac?

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

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  • 4 years later...
  • 5 years later...

Hi, reviving this post again, as technology evolves, and the need for some kind of safety for the gear increases...

 

There are some companies that makes pen size gps trackers that can be hidden in a sound bag permanently. Even while recording is the idea.

My question is regarding RFI.

As far as I know GPS trackers work with at least 2 to 3 frequencies around 1.5 and 1.2 Giga Hz.

Are there any risk of experiencing RFI issues with the devices being very close to the recorder and receivers?

For the receivers our antennas  filters might be good enough to filter that out but any inputs/experience would be welcome.

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I have never worked with a specific GPS tracker, but I have other devices in close proximity to my audio gear, with no apparent effect, such as my phone or my ipad. Those things also work in various RF ranges. 
However, if you want to make sure you could find out the exact frequency and incorporate it in your frequency coordination. That won’t help with any spill and/or desensitisation of the receivers, but it will help with any possible intermodulation. 

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Invest in insurance.
Even if you know exactly where your stolen equipment is, what are you going to do?
(Really, you could march in with an axe and chainsaw, and get back what's yours, but when the shit hits the fan, you'll loose.  Sadly, but this is the way it is, for reasons.)

 

 

 

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... my comment on gear insurance, and why I never continued with it after our 2011 house fire : The Hartford pulled stunts after our personal and biz losses that made my jaw drop. The most outrageous : they claimed that my 5 digit serial numbers for destroyed cameras did not match their records (all amongst the highest individual valued items covered in the policy). That part of the claim was therefore denied. They either deliberately altered the records, or serial number data got corrupted over the aprox 15 years of continuous coverage with them. Either way, it must be classified as fraud.

 

Appealed - no success. (the only way forwards would have been to lawyer up. Not feasible while homeless, of course). I am now 'self insured'. Never again, I say. Your view on gear insurance my go under a sudden re-evalution... if you ever actually need it! (I will take a moment to evaluate how much I have saved, no premium payments since 2011 - I would guess around $25,000. Hooray!). Just my experience, of course....

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Bouke, I am with Grant over insurances here (no pun intended). I considered them one of the biggest crooks service of the capitalist world. His story is édifiant enough, no need to give mine.

I might be naive still, but I actually put more trust into the police services that might be glad to get some help apprehending organised high jacker groups like those starting to raid film set.

 

23 minutes ago, Rick Reineke said:

Have you looked into the iPhone Air Tag, it is about the size of a US quarter.

That is something to explore, thank you.  I did not know about it. Is it working without a sim card?

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I do not know for sure, I do not have any direct experience,  it is a 'relatively' new feature. It will probably work without a SIM card as long as the user has an iCloud account and the iPhone can connect to the internet (WiFi), or has access to an internet connected computer... like the iCloud  'Find my iPhone'. The last time I looked, the AirTags were about $25 (usd) each.. or less depending on quantity.

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Pff, no  clue where you live.
Over here, if you can pinpoint the stuff, NOTHING will happen, so you have to go in yourself, risking a fight with bad guys, and on top of that, a lawsuits cause it's illegal.
I totally get the sentiment to get your stuff back. (I need to recover my 1500 euro MacBook), but I also know that the price to recover it will be HIGH, and probably not worth it.

 

 

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You probably are right about the authorities not making use of the pinpoint, but it is a gamble as much as with an insurance. Except the insurance will charge thousands. Only for you to recover peanuts when you in need, or a fraction of the cost of your gear...

 

Anyway I am not much about the worried type, just thinking that in some situation/places a mini gps tracker hidden in your bag and/or peli might become helpfull.

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I snagged up a couple of Gego GPS trackers for this season. Little flat rectangle devices that use Bluetooth when in close proximity and GPS for long range. You have to buy an annual service plan for the GPS part, but the Bluetooth part works all the time after you buy it. Not too expensive. Haven’t had the chance to extensively use them yet. My purpose is mostly for checked luggage not making it to destination and knowing which direction to send authorities to if someone walks off with my kit.

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I use Apple Air Tags in my bag/cases. It’s a level of comfort to be able to see where everything is in case I’m doing walk-aways, or traveling with checked gear. At about $25 per, it’s cheaper than anything that requires a paid subscription. I’ve read about people recovering equipment while using these, so I figure there’s no risk, so why not use them?

 

They do make noise if they’re away from you, since they're mainly designed for you to locate your keys, but you can open them up and remove the speaker without destroying them if you follow instructional videos on YouTube. 

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On 4/15/2022 at 11:24 AM, Grant said:

... my comment on gear insurance, and why I never continued with it after our 2011 house fire : The Hartford pulled stunts after our personal and biz losses that made my jaw drop. The most outrageous : they claimed that my 5 digit serial numbers for destroyed cameras did not match their records (all amongst the highest individual valued items covered in the policy). That part of the claim was therefore denied. They either deliberately altered the records, or serial number data got corrupted over the aprox 15 years of continuous coverage with them. Either way, it must be classified as fraud.

 

Appealed - no success. (the only way forwards would have been to lawyer up. Not feasible while homeless, of course). I am now 'self insured'. Never again, I say. Your view on gear insurance my go under a sudden re-evalution... if you ever actually need it! (I will take a moment to evaluate how much I have saved, no premium payments since 2011 - I would guess around $25,000. Hooray!). Just my experience, of course....


I was with the Hartford, for business insurance a long, long time ago. They dropped me and the entire insurance pool that I was in(did away with the policy they were offering), after several large claims(not from me).  I believe Liberty was the next insurer I had.  I had a large theft while out of town on a job, and without insurance at that time, I could have never recovered.  It was a $40K+ claim.  Every penny paid.  No fuss or pushback.

 

$25,000 is nothing to sneeze at, and if you have had no reason to make a claim, on the surface it seems like the smart move.  But $25K wouldn’t even cover replacing a single zoom lens of mine, much less my audio package or even scratch the surface of my entire gear package.  Yeah, it hurts and I hate paying all those thousands of dollars every year in insurance premiums, but it’s less painful than if I had to replace hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment without it.

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