How to build a burglar-proof holder for your car GPS system

After our Navman was stolen from our van parked in our driveway, we resolved to never leave it in the car again. But as an electrical contractor, we are always on the road or at unfamiliar job sites and it is a hassle to always take it out even when we are away just for a few minutes. So finally we designed and built this burglar-proof holder for it.

Objectives:

• GPS must not be able to be seen from the outside
• GPS must be secured in a way that would deter the most determined thief
• GPS must be positioned in a way that it can be easily used
• GPS controls must be accessible
• GPS must operate in the normal manner
• GPS to be locked into position
• GPS to be identifiable and PIN secured
• GPS power cable to be concealed in a permanent position.
  

What you need to build it:

• 3mm mild steel plate
• 6 1/4 nuts and bolts
• Felt (to prevent scratches and reduce vibration of GPS)
• High tensile lock
• Jigsaw, metal jigsaw blade
• Welder
• Grinder
• Paint

How to build it:

Step 1 Cut the metal with the jigsaw according to the shapes shown in the image. Measurements should be as per your satnav system. Leave some space for the felt to go in before the satnav. Remember to leave a hole for the power button as shown and also for the charger and any other button that needs access.

Step 2 Weld the cut-into-shape metal plates together to make a box with one side open for the satnav to slide in. Make sure the lower rear section of the satnav is open so that GPS signals are received.

Step 3 Cut out the backing plate and clamp to the holder. Drill six well spaced bolt holes. Drill the vehicle plate as required. Weld six nuts on the backing plate. Fit the backing plate behind the panel of the vehicle and bolt the holder through the vehicle panel and through the backing plate.

Step 4 Paint the box and stick the felt on the inside.

Step 5 Cut out & paint "padlock fill plate": a separate piece of metal that will fit onto the right-hand side before the padlock is fitted.

Step 6 Slide the navigator in the holder and put on the high tensile lock.

Step 7 Rewire the satnav so that the wiring goes behind the vehicle panel and is out of sight. You may need to extend the original power cable to do this.

What’s for sure, nothing you can do with totally guarantee the GPS will never be stolen. Its all about making the task of stealing it so hard that it is just easier to move onto softer targets. Despite the doubts of family and friends, the GPS is still in position and I can rest easy that it is safe and secure.

If you are interested to know more, leave a comment and I will try to answer your questions.

In-car GPS navigation system to make life easier

One activity that is constant in the life of every electrical contractor is travel. For an electrician, time is money. We cannot afford to get lost even if we've never heard of the place a prospective customer calls from. On the job we might need to drive out again to get some supplies from the nearest Middy's or other wholesale electrical supplier. Along the way, we might need to grab a quick burger to keep us going. And doing all this travelling and route planning would be next to impossible without our in-car GPS navigation system.

We bought a NAVMAN S150 in February, right after we bought our van. At $390, it comes with the following features:

• Bluetooth so the phone can be connected to this and used handsfree
• 3D lane guidance. At intersections, the lanes and nearby landmarks are shown in 3D, with prominent arrows making choosing the right lane and taking the turn easier
• Local Live Search: You can search for places of interest such as restaurants, railway stations, parks, gas stations in the surrounding area. With job sites often in areas we are not familiar with, this feature comes in quite handy
• Safety and alerts for speed limits, speed cameras, school zones, black spots and railway crossing
• Audio navigation guidance with distance, street and direction to turn into. This is pretty much a given for all in-car navigation systems these days. However some free maps that can be used on high-end phones or other hand-held gadgets may not have this spoken street names feature. A blue dot showing where you are and a red showing the target may be ok for a day trip, but quite frustrating for an ever-travelling tradesperson. So invest in a system that gives detailed instructions. It will even let you choose what woman and with what accent you'd want to be told where to go! :)
  
  The more premium S-series models (S200 and S300T) come with FM transmitters, media players and live traffic updates. The new MY500XT even has live weather updates and travel books. We have found that the S150 suits our needs fully and we'd hardly use the additional features the higher end models offer. There are also a host of other companies that offer in-car GPS navigation systems - Garmin and TomTom being the top two that come to mind. Head over to forums like CNET Australia to see what other users say about each of them and choose what suits you best.
  
  Do not throw out the Melway or other maps you used before you bought the GPS. At the rate our cities are growing, GPS maps do not always keep up with new suburbs and it is worth having a backup for finding all the new homes we wire up. New maps are updated by Navman once a year. Checking up on Google Maps is also useful for new estates.
  
  And finally, once you buy one of these - keep it safe. Never leave it in your car on the windshield or dashboard. We had our van broken into and the GPS stolen when we did that. We had to replace the Navman and also shell out a few hundred more to replace the broken side window! Lesson learnt: Never leave valuables (GPS included) in the car, especially overnight on a regular basis.  However, we did come up with a way to not have to take out the GPS everytime we left the van at a work site.  More about this in this post.