How to Make a Smart Car Surveillance System Using a Mobile Phone

Surveillance systems for vehicles can be expensive while being annoying should they malfunction. Making your own surveillance system out of a cheap cell phone, low cost plan and a little ingenuity can save you money while giving you something you can more easily handle.

Things You'll Need

• Mobile phone
• Car charger
• Wire

Instructions

1. Get a phone. This needs to be a low-cost phone with a simple low-cost monthly plan. You will not be sharing the phone number and need no frills. With that said, you do need to have a GSM phone, of which most are these days while having good reception, an excellent microphone, and auto-answer and mute features.

2. Note the IMEI number. It should be located on the inside of the battery cover. If you can't find it, ask for help from your vendor. Add the phone plan to the phone. As mentioned above, no frills, no free texting or any of that. You just need reliable connection, wide coverage area and roaming facility.

3. Mount the SIM card and test the phone to make sure it's working properly. Make the phone stealth. This means no sounds or lights. You can either turn off all the settings, or remove the speaker and turn off the light settings. Switch on the auto-answer, automatic network search options, and enable the PIN feature. Lock the keyboard.

4. Install the phone by first soldering the wires together and attaching them to your car battery, connect the other end of the wires to the input of a mobile phone charger. Plug it into the phone. Mount the phone somewhere under the dash in an inconspicuous place that is not easily seen.

5. Test the system by having someone sit in the car and talk, then call the phone and listen to make sure it answers automatically and you should be able to hear the person talking clearly.

6. Act quickly if your car is stolen. By calling the service provider for the phone, you can find out where the phone and car is. Call the police and offer this information and give officers permission to interact with the mobile company and your account. Ask the phone company to leave the SIM card active, because then you can call the phone and listen to the thieves in your car to better find and build a case against them.