Thanks to Parallel Track, I’ve had a wonderful bit of GPS tracking kit to play with recently. The TrackBox from Parallel Track is a robust GPS tracker that allows you to locate the tracker via the internet in realtime! If you have a smartphone, you can also located the tracker using your phone too. The TrackBox beautifully blends GPS, GSRS and internet technologies to create a very usable product.

The first thing that struck me about this GPS tracker is how simple the kit is to use. It’s an understandable worry that any decent bit of kit is going to be complicated to use. This kit is very straightforward. I was up and running without even looking at the manual (although I did skim the quickstart guide). And even if you do get stuck, the very comprehensive PDF manual and technical support via email will solve any problem you come up against.

Parallel Track Tracker Unit
(click to enlarge)

The Parallel Track TrackBox is a well constructed box measuring 100mm x 65mm x 30mm, making it really easy to install or even hide in a vehicle. The metal casing protects the unit from general knocks and bangs. The case is not waterproof and so can only be used inside the vehicle, but that’s not a problem as far as I can see.

Parallel Track Tracker Kit
(click to enlarge)

So what do you get in the kit? Lots!

• The GPS tracking unit
• RS232 Serial Cable to configure the GPS unit
• GPS antenna with several metres of wiring and SMA connector
• GSM antenna with SMA connector
• Printed quickstart guide and full electronic manual on a CD.
• Three different power supplies – for testing and hard wiring
  • Bare-wire cable to connect directly to the vehicle power supply
  • 12V cigarette lighter adapter and power cable
  • UK mains power supply

The 3 different power supplies are well chosen because it means you can test the device in various locations (even at your PC) before you create a more permanent installation. The UK mains power supply was useful to configure the GPS tracker before I used it in my car. When I tracked myself on a journey, I used the cigarette lighter adapter to test the unit. If I was going for a permanent solution, then I would use the bare wire cable.

The tracker is well suited to both covert and overt tracking solutions, as the hard-wire kit makes it simple to hide behind car panels. You might need help from an automotive electrician to fit the tracker, but it shouldn’t take longer than an hour or two.

Changing the GPS settings
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To configure the GPS tracker, you connect the GPS unit to your PC using the provided serial cable. You then install the configuration software and power on the unit. The software gives you a few options such as adjusting tracking intervals and changing the SMS password.

If you want to request the location of the unit instantly, you can send the device a text (SMS) message. The SMS password is used to ensure that only someone who knows the password can retrieve the current tracker location. You get a reply from the tracker within 60 seconds (assuming it has GSM reception). You can then use a web-based tool that converts the degrees/minutes/seconds coordinates into decimal Latitude/Longitude usable by Google Maps and Multimap.

Tracking a journey
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So here’s the fun bit. Once you log into Parallel Track, you can see where the tracker is at any given time. You can even see the little car icon moving on the screen showing you exactly where the tracker is!

I tracked myself on shortish journey on the M3, and you can see the result above. I could see the route that I took, as well as where I started and finished. On key parts of the journey I could see what speed I was travelling too! Time information, direction and altitude are also logged. If you want to check on previous tips, you can go back in time to see previously tracked journeys. It’s all very user friendly.

Changing the car colour
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The typical uses for such a product would include managing a fleet of your company vehicles, or even to keep an eye on cars being used by your family. You can configure many trackers to be used on the same web interface just as simply as configuring a single unit. As you can see above, I was having fun changing the vehicle icon and label!

Conclusion

I was very impressed by the professional quality of this GPS kit, as well as the large range of accessories to allow you to use the kit easily. The detailed and easy to read manual will help you customise the tracker to meets your requirements.

The straightforward web interface is actually very entertaining to watch. The hybrid view on Google Maps combined with a tracking a vehicle in real-time gives you the impression you’re actually looking on that vehicle from a spy satellite!

Professional and inexpensive. Gets my vote! And thanks again to Parallel Track.

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