LandAirSea LAS-1505 Tracking Key Vehicle GPS Tracking System

After looking at many reviews for a variety of products, I settled on this as the best bet, and am not disappointed. One thing not made clear in the specs and comments is that you do not actually need Google Earth to review tracking history. The installation CD includes a US street map. Not as clean and easy to navigate as Google Maps or Google Earth, but it is plenty functional to do what you need to do. You can also download text-based data with speed, heading, and GPS coordinates for each measured point, if that suits your needs. I've reviewed many days of driving records and watched as the car icon drove along the map at scaled speed, with the timer and speedometer showing me progress and rate. You can zoom in and out as needed, speed up or slow down the playback, etc. Using the software's built-in mapping software, the track did not always follow the roads I know the car traveled (the tracking line sometimes went off into space with no roads, or doubled up). After working with this for some time I have discovered that (1) The line track sometimes shifts as you zoom and pan, and (2) the built-in map is inaccurate and outdated. Still, it does quite well enough that there is little question as to where the tracker went, and you can cross-reference the time and get the GPS coords from the text report to verify exact location in an external map application. This inconvenience is not a deal-breaker. And of course, you can always use Google Earth like they intended. You can tweak the display track to change colors based on speed, to make it immediately obvious when the tracker has exceeded certain speeds. Pretty cool. There were times when it lost the signal for a minute or two, but for the amount of driving I tracked I'd say it caught well over 95% of the data it was supposed to. I've placed it under one of the front seats, and behind the rear bumper, so it did not have the clear view of the sky that the manual suggested... but let's be real, these will rarely be planted in an obvious spot. Considering how much it grabbed in a non-optimal hiding spot, very good for the cost. Gripes: No on/off button (see that a lot in these comments). Right before putting it to use, you have to install new batteries and dink with those tiny screws, or you can do the access panel earlier and insert a strip of paper or one of those thin plastic bookmark tabs over one of the battery heads to prevent contact, leaving it hanging out from under the battery panel, and then pulling the strip when you are ready to use it. Someone mentioned parking the screws on the magnet to not lose them, which is not a bad idea as long as you don't drop them when trying to put them back in. One thing I found out the hard way is that you have to be careful with your screwdriver around that magnet. I put all four screws on the magnet when the panel was removed and laid the panel on the table, and then laid the screwdriver down by the panel... the magnet and screwdriver snapped together with such force that all four screws went flying! Found them with some effort, and when putting them back in, once again the screwdriver tip got too close to the magnet while trying to put it back together. And once again they smacked together hard enough to launch the screw. Take away from this comment that the magnet is plenty strong. Battery life: Got a little over five days or recording under heavy driving conditions. Not great, but enough. Under light driving, the daily errand and commuting variety, it went over a week and was still active when removed. Perfect. Anyway, I got the info I needed, and know that there will be plenty of other times I need to track my daughter in the future. For that matter, remember to think outside the box... it can be stowed in a backpack or other places, too.

Very effective in the application I am using it for. I am using it to determine where my vehicle has been driven. The magnet is very strong making it easy to place underneath the vehicle in a number of different locations. While the device is supposed to be water resistant, I took the advice of another reviewer and place it in a small sandwich bag prior to placing on the vehicle. The removal of the battery panel is somewhat annoying as it requires removing 4 screws using a small screwdriver. Not that it is difficult, but it is not just an easy pop off type cover. Also, it would be nice if the device had an external on/off switch as the device is always powered on if batteries are inside. Again, not a huge deal. I've found the accuracy to be pretty impressive. It appears that while the vehicle is being driven (in constant motion), the better the accuracy. When the vehicle makes lots of stop and go movements, the accuracy is not as good, but good enough to be able to figure out where the vehicle has been. The software that comes with the device is nothing fancy, but does make easy to download and view tracks. Being able to import a track into Google Earth is a nice touch. I would recommend looking looking over the documents found on Land Sea Air's website before buying (http://www.landairsea.com/gps-tracking-support). It provides a great deal of information on how to use the device and any limitations, thus helping you make an informed purchasing decision. Overall, I would recommend this to others who are looking for a simple, easy to use GPS logging/tracking device.

This product is a classic example of a product that was probably cool and very useful ~7 years ago with 15-year old software, but it definitely shows its age against today's easy-to-use, battery-friendly devices. You start to get this perception from the moment you remove those 4 tiny screws to insert 2 AAA batteries and a very thin "gasket" that's supposed to provide "water resistance" falls out. Then you squeeze the batteries in place in what seems like a compartment that's too small but not snug enough to hold the batteries in place. I had to retrofit a little piece of styrofoam in there to prevent the batteries from coming loose. Then, as others have said, you have to be careful to insert the screws without having them *snap* to that powerful magnet. Why the tiny screws? And, if so, why put the magnet there? Then, when you load the software and attempt to setup the device, after seeing another loose gasket around its USB connector, you notice that you actually have to instruct the software to go find the device. Quaint. And it shouldn't take as long as it does to find. Then, after you run it for a day or two you completely deplete those two batteries and try to review the data. You actually have to download the data before viewing it. It seems to be a really old USB format because it takes a long time to get 300-400k transferred. The Past-Track map display is "interesting", it renders the vehicle as what seems to be a black horsefly. Panning & zooming yields results that you wouldn't expect like reset, US-wide view, zooming into another state, etc. What you get with the software seems to be like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get. The whole UI for Past-Track, the software that comes with it, is like a throw back to Windows 95. So, I've had it for a couple of months, hoping somehow that it would get better, but earlier today I noticed yet another odd behavior. It's supposed to go dormant (in low battery consumption mode) while it's not moving around. You can tell when it's active when one of the green lights blinks every second or two. When I put it on my desk last night, it was still blinking. This morning, it was still blinking, but the battery indicator light was red -- indicating that I've almost depleted two batteries by having it measure the movement of this thing sitting on my desk all night. D'oh! I can't believe I bought this thing. I guess it just goes to prove what a desperate & frugal Dad would do vs. shelling out $25+ / month for a tracking service. Here's my advice to all those like-minded desperate Dads out there. Unless you really like to tinker every day or two, and don't mind doing battle with the software, just pay the extra monthly fee for the onilne tracking service. Besides, you can always turn off the service when your little bundle of joy gets his/her own car or leaves home.

Wow. I researched this for a long time and settled on this one. The consistent cons I read were that it has no on/off switch and the software is difficult. Well, true no on off switch, but one of the other reviews had a great idea. you fold over black tape on itself and put it between the battery and contact, then extend the tape outside of the device. When you pull the tape, it turns on. It's helpful to store the device and have it ready to go on a moment's notice. I had a little problem installing the software, but not bad. Just keep restarting the computer till it takes. Pros are amazing. It realy works well. It has a narative report, a google earth overlay or a city map with a playback feature. You can watch a little car run the route and in the upper left corner of the screen, you see a clock and speedometer. You can tell exactly where the car was, when and how fast it was moving. I have a chevy silverado and tested it under the rear wheelwell. It was surrounded by metal and worked fine. I understand that when the batteries run down, accuracy depletes. I've not run them down yet so I can't attest to that. I'd suggest buying the absolute best AAA batteries you can find to put in it. I've researched Louisiana law regarding this item. There was infact a GPS tracking law passed in this last session in 2010, but it was for the active type. It speciffically states that it is illegal to place a GPS tracking device on someone else's car that transmits their location. This one is passive and simply records, not transmits. It is completely legal. I'm going to use it on my teens and my drivers at work that take 2 hours to run a very simple route. The device is pretty small and has a very powerful magnet. It locks on very securely. It clearly says it's water resistant but advises to put in a sandwitch bag. I did so and it still sticks very well. It has 2 green lights on the side. One tells you it's operating and the other blinks when it gets satellite lock. The data is stored on your computer under the date it was downloaded. When you click on the saved file, the report options come up. The city map is the best one by far. I don't usually write reviews, let alone this long, but this thing kicks ass. It was incredibly cheap compared to the others and that gave me reason for hesitation, but it pulls it's weight. Perhaps the others work even better, but this one does everything I wanted and more. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

As a preface to this review, I’m convinced there are as many fake reviews on Amazon as there are real ones. Look at reviews, then check the date of their OTHER reviews. Many times, they review ALL their stuff in a single day! This is a real review based on real testing. I have a teen daughter who is a lead-foot. Of course, no way to prove this other than to either ride with her or somehow track her. I can’t afford a monthly contract for tracking, rather, I refuse to spend the money. This device does not require a subscription or any other costs beyond the device purchase price. Of course, this device IS NOT a live or real-time tracker, meaning, you can’t watch the “trackee” driving down the interstate on Google maps as it happens. Rather, it records the trip, speed, direction, elevation, etc. A lot of reviews state it isn’t picking up this or that, or cuts out, what-have-you. I found that the device is spot on with regards to everything. It downloads the data, where you can view it on the software’s mapping image, create reports, or just download a blow by blow of all the data. In short, it works. I have tested it in my own car and it’s within a 0.10 MPH of my speedometer. Is it perfect? No, it’s probably not, but it does the job its assigned very well. I'm not working for the CIA, just trying to see that my daughter isn’t a menace to society. (And right now, she is LOL) As a side note, there is a PRO version of this device. It’s the SAME EXACT device, but with a power button. I tested it as well and it captures the same exact information as its less expensive sibling. I wouldn’t spend another $100 for the PRO version, it’s just not worth the extra $$$ in my opinion. In summary, I found the LAS tracker to be a solid device that does what you ask of it. YMMV

Unit works well sometimes but other times barely if at all. Seems to work poorly on days with rain or heavy cloud cover (think satellite TV signal problems). Also in cooler temperatures it will not lock on for 5 to 30 minutes, even though the batteries read and check well into the good. If the unit was on the dashboard or stuck to the roof of the car (impractical), it might work fine. Inside the car though, the operation is intermittent. When it works, it's pretty accurate. The software and reports are great. The magnet is very strong and will hold to any flat medal surface through a hurricane, I believe. Two stars may be a bit rough but if you were counting on the device to work every time from inside a vehicle, you would be disappointed.

The tracker is affordable and on the first couple of trials accurately recorded vehicle route, etc. There were no specific mounting instructions. It would help to have some suggestions as to what concealed locations have the best chance of working. The software, like the hardware, has no user guide. It seems to work, but the user has to experiment to learn what does what. The emphasis on "water resistance" seems a bit misplaced in that the unit was not supposed to be mounted outside the vehicle because it might be jarred loose and be lost. To replace batteries four small screws must be removed, and care must be taken to not mess up the rubber seal. Personally I find this to be an awkward arrangement because invariably I drop the screws and have trouble finding them. Also, the strong magnet located right next to the screw locations wants to grap my screw driver and make life more difficult. (At least the magnet can be used to help find the dropped screws.)

Not 100% but I give it a high B+ based on price and performance! I was not willing to pay a monthly fee so thought I would try this unit first. Experienced user and have learned what works and whats does not. I have no idea if the software has been updated or not as this unit was purchased a few years back but at time of purchase I found the outdated software was hard to understand and learn however, I embrace such things and figured it out quickly but give yourself time to learn what this thing can do. After I learned the in and outs I actually like the software as it is designed to exactly was it should do. The unit comes with a factory default settings but the advanced user can learn to change these settings and may help with your specific need. I find this unit is not 100% but close enough and works, I find placement, trees and the battery are the key. I find the unit will work to some extent no matter the placement as sometimes you may not have choice but the more open the area the better but I have found it will work located in places you would think no way but may not be as accurate. I have found the key to proper operation is the battery. In my case ( perhaps because of the non ideal location of the unit ) regular name brand alkaline batteries just do not work. The results being bad mapping all over the place. I have found the Energizer Advanced lithium AAA be it expensive are all but a requirement to give proper mapping; for me the lithium AA was the difference of this unit working or not. I can get 7 days out of a set of batteries and still going, it all depends on how many miles driven as to battery life. I was actually stunned just how accurate this device is. I have found tree cover can hurt performance but I am talking secondary roads with large oak trees and is not a huge issue. The unit is NOT waterproof but a ziplock sandwich bag and electrical tape does the trick. If you need real-time GPS location services you have some higher price options but if you need a low cost way to get an idea of where your car/ truck / property has been and you can embrace older style challenging but good software ( think windows XP days) this may be a great inexpensive place to start! However, keep in-mind for me, it worked almost perfect with the Lithium batteries, I was about to trash the unit when using all other batteries as it would not work.

The good: one of the few options for tracking your vehicle without paying a monthly fee. The bad: no on/off switch. screwdriver and 4 screws to remove to change the 2 AAA batteries. data sometimes corrupted if batteries run dry. Used this device to track my teen drivers. Sometimes frustrating but it did what I asked it to, show me where they went. I would buy it again but only because there are no viavble alternatives

Doe's what it says on the tin and costs only 2 batt's to run excellent

I wanted something self-contained (power-wise) to monitor the movement of farm vehicles. Fitting the batteries is fiddly (I could have done with a non-magnetic screwdriver) and there is no on-off switch. The simple reports of vehicle movement are OK, though not very useful to me. The software uses Google Earth to produce the maps of the tracks I wanted, but the device outputs a proprietary format for which there appears to be no widely available converter to extract latitude, longitude, and time of day, which I needed to determine speeds and detailed trip data. Google Earth will produce a KML file if you just need the tracks, but that doesn't include timing. I eventually had to write a program to convert the data files to something I can use in Excel. The more expensive version has an on-off switch and appears to produce a more accessible text format, but a much cheaper solution for my purposes would have been a cheap USB battery pack and a USB-powered GPS dongle.

It works as advertised. I put it in a plast zip loc to keep it safe from the elements and wrapped and elastic band over that to ensure it did not come apart. Use Energizer lithium batteries and got 3 weeks + out of it. Sometimes it shows routes that simply aren't possible is my only complaint but by and large it works as advertised.

Easy to use.