Hi Guys,

03:20 last night, my phone rings - Vodafone Vehicle Tracking (Cobra), I have their CAT5 system ( http://automotive.vodafone.co.uk/products/...ak-5-.aspx

http://www.trackerfit.co.uk/cobratrak-cat-5.html )

They advise that the GPS tracking has been "jammed" on the car, this is not something which has happened before, as you know I have owned the car for 16 months or so.

When I asked what it meant they advised that someone is actively jamming GPS signals.

Do you guys think its an attempted theft?

Also, does the new InControl have the GPS jamming alerts? 2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

There have been several cases reported to the Insitute of Navigation where GPS in the Dover / Calais areas is regularly jammed (it doesn't just affect vehicles but electricity meters, street lights and traffic control systems among other things).
After a considerable amount of investigating it has been found that some truck drivers that have trackers installed to their tractor units buy cheap jammer units on that well known auction website to disguise where they might be stopping up overnight and they don't want the owner of the vehicle to know............... GPS transmissions are VHF and easily jammed by a strong transmitter nearby so if you have a truck park nearby or a trucker has a "friend" that they like to visit for overnight companionship they might be jamming the system so that the truck's position is obscured. There was a prosecution of a truck driver in Kent a couple of years ago for this. You would be amazed what has an embedded GPS transceiver these days now that they can be made into tiny units smaller than a finger nail. Often GPS isn't used for navigation but as a super accurate clock! Unfortunately what the users don't seem to understand is that although the jammers are also very low powered they still have a range of a 100m+ And don't just jam the systems on their trucks but also a whole host of other systems, some of which are safety related.......... 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

So I contacted Cobra this morning (after posting).

They've said that due to my location (small village) and the time of the alert (03:20) and the fact the signal was jammed for over 3 minutes they think that it was potentially someone doing a dry run jam prior to trying to make a clone of the key.

Do I need to inform car insurance company or anything? I guess its all hearsay at the moment anyway....

I remembered the post on here regarding metal bags at 3:30 last night so the keys went in a biscuit tin...in the oven as it was the most shielded place I could think of at that time of night  2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

Delivery drivers often use GPS jammers to stop them being tracked by the Company. Maybe there was someone having a clandestine encounter and didn't want their partner to find out. 

Maybe a trip to Halfords for a Diskloc or similar device that is highly visible and then a trip to B&Q for a webcam security system (and a notice to warn that CCTV is in use) and PIR activated bright lights connected to an alarm (you can get some good battery operated systems now if you don't want to have wires to instal. Do you have gates across your drive? If so close them and put a lock on as well. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Do you own a shotgun, if so maybe you could sit near your car cleaning the gun all night and if you see someone on your property you just grab the nearest thing to you . Fearing for your life and giving fair warning you shoot the intruders ( in the front of them , as if they were going to attack you ) only stopping a few times to reload . I can be an eye witness , just out walking the dog if you need one . Give me a bit of time to get there and buy a dog though.

 John

RRS MY12 SDV6 HSE. Sumatra Black/Ebony & Walnut + Dynamic Pack, + Cold Climate Pack + Memory Pack, Digital TV/DVD, Premium Leather, Cornering Lights, Cooler/Fridge Box, & most Options.

CCTV going in tomorrow.

Police stated that chances are of a break in to the house within the next 14 days almost inevitable.

Dog now sleeping with full access to ground floor.

Now....that shotgun idea is a good one!! 2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

Fletcher - can you be like Clint Eastwood "get off my lawn" 😂😂 2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

JSR2014 wrote:

Police stated that chances are of a break in to the house within the next 14 days almost inevitable.

Really? Why would a thief do a dry run of a GPS tracker jam? 

You must of seen how stupid some thieves are ??

JSR2014 wrote:

Police stated that chances are of a break in to the house within the next 14 days almost inevitable.

I think that they were suggesting that they were trying to remotely steal the car, as that failed its inevitable that they will attempt to get the keys, I am sure some of this is just them covering their own backsides.

They think that they jammed the GPS (or turned the jammer on incase I had a tracker) and then tried to remotely access the car using some sort of booster for the key signal.

I'm not sure, I am not the police - I can only go on what they tell me and follow their advice

I also think that the 14 day timescale is ridiculous 2014.5 Mariana Black 5.0 Supercharged V8 Autobiography

I think what you've been told is crock.....GSM jammers knock out mobile phone signals and satnav signals but also disrupt the GSM signals used by some tracking devices.

A blocker is incredibly easy to obtain and are freely available on the Internet. They are used by a large number of both delivery drivers and workmen to disguise their personal movements when using company vans.
I would more likely to suggest it's one of your neighbours who works for BT or one of the big construction or utility forms who has a device and is using it to foil his employers many of whom use tracker as a sign on sign off device re workload.

Because of atmospherics the range they can affect varies considerably.....I would more likely to suggest that this caused the interim signal loss from your vehicle.

Rebroadcasters are about but their usage is still quite small....keep your keys away from window ledges and the hook behind the front door and put them away from the parked car and I'm sure you'll be fine!

You are more at risk from key blocking whereby a thief deploys a device such as a remote control bell push which broadcasts on the same frequency as your keys.... Hence you think you've locked your car but in fact the key signal was blocked and the vehicle has actually been left open. Always watch your mirrors fold in when locking and preferably lock the car via pushing the buttons on the door handle rather than locking it via remote!