A Common Question About GPS Tracking Devices (2024)

13Sep2011

The question often asked is, can I mount my GPS tracking device so that it is hidden from plain view?

The answer is yes.

Here’s a little background, GPS signal is beamed down to earth from the 24 Global Positioning Satellite System. The signal transmits on the 1575.42 band, better known as L1. These radio signals are pretty robust, they are able to penetrate and be received through materials such as wood, glass, and plastic. However, they will not penetrate metal.

That being said, a GPS device placed in a vehicle, under a dash with no metal obstructions works well. In fact, most every hardwired GPS vehicle tracker is installed this covert manner.

So how than does a GPS tracker work under a vehicle?

That’s a good question, as vehicles are comprised primarily of metal, one would expect it not to work at all. GPS signal as it is beamed down, hits the surface of the earth and gets reflected back up, basically, it bounces off the ground. A vehicle equipped with a GPS tracker attached to it’s under carriage is able to receive the bounced GPS signal.

Some people are under the impression, that GPS tracking devices can be mounted inside a vehicle’s engine compartment. This will not work, the engine compartment is one big metal box. Moreover, the heat produced by the engine may damage the electronics inside the GPS tracking device. We would not recommend this.

The portable PT-10 Professional GPS tracker, works extremely well in these conditions. Feel free to contact with any GPS questions you may have, thanks for reading our blog!

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