Last updated 2024-09-27
The only cost in this setup is the GPS tracker itself and the monthly SIM card subscription. The trackers are available for as little as $15 and seem to work quite well. Most come linked to Chinese servers, but you can change that to a different IP address and different reporting frequency. I use the minimum of 10 seconds for higher accuracy, and data usage is still extremely low. Around 100KB/hour for a 2G tracker. 4G trackers probably consume more. In the US, Redpocket sells one year subscriptions with 500MB data per month for about $5/mo. I can get 4GB for $3.50/mo where I live.
Basic outline is as follows:
Sign up for a free VPS (Oracle) or use your home internet if you have a public IP
Install traccar and configure
Install Mosquitto and configure
Install Node Red and configure
Install ntfy.sh and configure
Buy as cheap a SIM card as possible
Adjust settings of the GPS tracker to point to your own server
Set up geofences in traccar
Optional steps:
Get a domain name and use Caddy to reverse proxy so you can use https for traccar
Set up notifications in Node Red