New technologies and innovations have made it possible for us to not only monitor people in our lives and our prized possessions, but to also hear what is going on around them.
You may call this eavesdropping, well that is what it is as long as it is done within the bounds of the law.
Some GPS devices are able to not only actively monitor our targets put also provide audio or voice recordings of the environment around them. One such device is the mini A8 GPS device.
Since it is a fairly new device, you may not entirely be well versed in how to use mini A8 GPS tracker. Perhaps you just purchased this device from an electronic gadget store and you wish to get a step by step guidance on how to get it working; you are in the right place.
If you have only heard about the mini A8 GPS tracker, and you wish to understand how it works and how to use it, we are here to give you all the details you need on the features of this tracker and how to use it.
And then perhaps this information could help you make up your mind on getting the device.
GPS Devices – Types of GPS Trackers and How they Function
GPS devices use satellites for locating targets on the earth surface. These satellites that provide GPS locations are called global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).
For any object to be located on the earth by a GPS tracker, a minimum of three satellites over that area is needed to accurately pin point its location.
The principle of trilateration is used to calculate the position of objects using the three GPS satellites.
There are 27 such satellites orbiting the earth. Out of the 27 satellites, only 24 are actively functioning. The other three are standby satellites that could be mobilized in the event that one of the satellites breaks down. You can learn more about how GPS devices work here.
Now that you know this, it is also important that you know that GPS devices could either obtain the location of a target and save them on a memory device or transfer them on demand to a remote center where it is processed.
The first category is referred to as the passive GPS device or data logger.
This type uses storage devices such as a mini hard disk or memory card. You cannot access the information on this type of device until you have retrieved it from the target.
The data you need is contained in the storage device. So, you just have to retrieve the storage device and slot it into your computer. Then you can see all the locations your target has been to within the time of surveillance.
This type of device is good for monitoring your car especially when you do not need to know where it is at a time.
It is best used in such applications where you only need to be sure that the vehicle followed a particular route, or traveled to specific locations. This passive tracking device is available on Amazon.
On the other hand, the tracking device that delivers the location of the target at intervals are called active GPS devices or data pusher. They use the internet and in some cases cell phone networks to transmit location data to a remote server.
Newer versions of this category are now able to store and transmit data at the same time. Active GPS trackers can also be bought on Amazon if you so please.
Because of the nature of the operations that require tracking devices, they may need to be hidden from plain sight. This is why improvements in GPS technology is increasingly making tracking devices smaller and looking a lot more like regular utility gadgets.
These advancements led to the introduction of mini GPS trackers. This mini GPS tracker is made small, just about a few inches in dimension.
Some of these new devices are able to communicate with GSM phones (especially smart mobile devices). We now have GPS trackers that make use of mobile phone apps too.
The beauty of this is that you are able to visualize the target on a map on your GSM phone. One such apps is the Google Map. There are several other apps that are built for specific GPS devices.
In such cases, the applications are always available on Google play store for android phones or apple store and other related platforms.
A classic example of this model GPS tracker is the mini A8 GPS tracker.
How to Use Mini A8 GPS Tracker – Your Basic Guide
The mini A8 tracker is particularly useful in monitoring children and aged people who are likely to miss their way. It is also your best device for monitoring your pet animals such as dogs, cats and other pets you may be keeping.
The miniature size of this device means that you can easily tie it around the neck of your pet or put it in the pocket of your child without it being conspicuously noticed.
In addition to this, the mini A8 device has an amazingly long battery life that reaches about 30 hours. This feature is made possible because this device uses Li-ion batteries. It is accompanied by a GSM phone application to visually show you the location of your target on a map.
This is not all, this GPS tracker is able to also pick up audio of voices and sounds around the target.
Because this device functions with a sim card, it transmits on GPRS and GSM baseband frequencies. This also places a restriction on where this device can be used.
Because of the GSM GPRS frequency baseband that this device uses, this device can only work in countries were such technology is available and in use.
Before you begin to use this device, you have to first ensure that the GPS tracker’s battery is charged to full capacity. In charging it, you have to ensure that the standard charge is used.
Please do not utilize a charge beyond or below that specified in the user guide. The standard charge is usually 5V and 500mA with an allowance of about + or – 25mA.
If the battery is not charged, it is always indicated by a dim light. If that is the state of the device, please charge it before using it.
After this has been done, insert the sim card you must have purchased into the sim card housing provided in the device. Once the sim card is properly inserted, the device will automatically come on and begin to boot.
This process of booting will take about 10 seconds and will show on the indicator light too.
Dial the number designated for the sim card on your GSM phone. To monitor the environment around the device, you have to dial the alarm number. You will begin to hear sounds around the device in about 5 seconds.
The device is capable of picking up sounds within a 5-meter radius from the device. You should hang up 3 seconds after you have heard the sound made by the device. This means that the set up was successful.
To deactivate the sound control, send 0000 as an SMS to the sim card number. To reactivate the sound function, you have to send 1111 as an SMS to the same sim number in the device.
For LBS positioning, you have to edit the capital letters “DW” in the SMS to alarm.
For SOS emergencies, edit the message content in capital letters “SOS” and send to alarm. Hold the SOS key for more than 3 seconds. When you have done this, the alarm will then call the number setting and this will activate the indicator flash.
Video: Here is a video that further demonstrates how to use this device
If you followed through on the procedures outlined above, you should be fine and in control of your A8 device. You can also get this device on Amazon.
Last Words for you on the Mini A8 GPS Device
One last thing to note here is that some brand of this device does not use GPS satellites to function. They mostly use the GSM GPRS baseband network tower location.
