GPS trackers

[Beanhead66]

Hello all. I'm new to this forum. Can anyone help with info on GPS tracker? I'm thinking a tracker that will fit on my Dad's keyring. He has been waiting around & looking for a friend that has suddenly popped into his head. Going out several times some days just waiting he says. Its about 18 months now since diagnosis of Alzheimer's & vascular dementia. My Dad is a very sociable man & loves to go out. It would be distressing to stop him. So thinking if we knew where he was it would put our minds at rest!
I really don't anything about GPS trackers so any help gratefully received ! ?

 

[Shedrech]

Hello @Beanhead66
A warm welcome to DTP

you might try putting some terms into the search box at the top of the page as this question has come up before

My dad did have a tracker he wore as a watch but it had no way to interact with him, and this was years ago

 

[Cumbria Mum]

Hello all. I'm new to this forum. Can anyone help with info on GPS tracker? I'm thinking a tracker that will fit on my Dad's keyring. He has been waiting around & looking for a friend that has suddenly popped into his head. Going out several times some days just waiting he says. Its about 18 months now since diagnosis of Alzheimer's & vascular dementia. My Dad is a very sociable man & loves to go out. It would be distressing to stop him. So thinking if we knew where he was it would put our minds at rest!

Hi
We had the same thing with my dad a couple of years back. He was really keen to go for walks around the neighbourhood alone, but me and mum were always dead worried in case he got lost, walked too far and ran out of steam, fell over, went into someones house with them or decided to hop on a passing bus (only happened once and him suddenly speeding up to 20 miles an hour gave the game away!) . I did a lot of research and eventually bought a Spytrack Nano, which we /he would turn on and slip into his jacket pocket as he left the house. You buy the little unit, then pay a very reasonable rolling subscription which allows you to see exactly where the tracker is on a map (like google maps), whether the tracker is moving, if it is stationary - and for how long, the speed and distance covered etc. I used to renew the subscription every 3 months so that if he stopped going out, was too ill or whatever, we wouldn't be paying for a service we weren't using. The tracker itself had a pretty good battery life (rechargeable). Dad's account page had an area where it saved past routes and we got to know his favourite walks, so if he nipped out without the tracker we had a good idea of where he might have gone, should he not have returned. It was set up so that I got a message to my mobile when it was activated, then anytime I wished I could click on the website (from my phone or laptop) and the map would come up showing me where he was in realtime. I could zoom right in to the extent that I could pinpoint the bench he was sitting on to have a breather! I had read some blogs etc. saying that trackers were an invasion of a dementia patient's privacy and comments along that theme but, for my dad, it gave him freedom (and space from me and mum), a chance to be responsible for himself and make his own choices, and it gave us peace of mind. He's too frail to go out alone at present so I've let the subscription lapse, but I would wholeheartedly recommend getting your dad a tracker.
There are several on the market but Spytrack Nano by Rewire worked well for us.
All the best.

 

[Beanhead66]

Hi
We had the same thing with my dad a couple of years back. He was really keen to go for walks around the neighbourhood alone, but me and mum were always dead worried in case he got lost, walked too far and ran out of steam, fell over, went into someones house with them or decided to hop on a passing bus (only happened once and him suddenly speeding up to 20 miles an hour gave the game away!) . I did a lot of research and eventually bought a Spytrack Nano, which we /he would turn on and slip into his jacket pocket as he left the house. You buy the little unit, then pay a very reasonable rolling subscription which allows you to see exactly where the tracker is on a map (like google maps), whether the tracker is moving, if it is stationary - and for how long, the speed and distance covered etc. I used to renew the subscription every 3 months so that if he stopped going out, was too ill or whatever, we wouldn't be paying for a service we weren't using. The tracker itself had a pretty good battery life (rechargeable). Dad's account page had an area where it saved past routes and we got to know his favourite walks, so if he nipped out without the tracker we had a good idea of where he might have gone, should he not have returned. It was set up so that I got a message to my mobile when it was activated, then anytime I wished I could click on the website (from my phone or laptop) and the map would come up showing me where he was in realtime. I could zoom right in to the extent that I could pinpoint the bench he was sitting on to have a breather! I had read some blogs etc. saying that trackers were an invasion of a dementia patient's privacy and comments along that theme but, for my dad, it gave him freedom (and space from me and mum), a chance to be responsible for himself and make his own choices, and it gave us peace of mind. He's too frail to go out alone at present so I've let the subscription lapse, but I would wholeheartedly recommend getting your dad a tracker.
There are several on the market but Spytrack Nano by Rewire worked well for us.
All the best.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Hoping to find one to hook on his keys. Never leaves his key. I'll have a look at the spytrack. Thanks again ?

 

[kazcorks]

Hello all. I'm new to this forum. Can anyone help with info on GPS tracker? I'm thinking a tracker that will fit on my Dad's keyring. He has been waiting around & looking for a friend that has suddenly popped into his head. Going out several times some days just waiting he says. Its about 18 months now since diagnosis of Alzheimer's & vascular dementia. My Dad is a very sociable man & loves to go out. It would be distressing to stop him. So thinking if we knew where he was it would put our minds at rest!
I really don't anything about GPS trackers so any help gratefully received ! ?

Good morning hope you are well. I am sorry but I cannot help you but I am hoping you can help me! I am at the point where you were 12 months ago and wanting to get a tracker that goes on dads keys and I was wondering did you ever get one and if so which one and did it do the job. There are so many on the internet but always good to go by recommendation. Thank you and hope all is well. Karen ?

 

[Just Jill]

Hello Kazcorks

I bought a ”Locàite“ tracker a year ago from Amazon for my Mum. It is now 129.99 with a subscription of £7.99 per month.

It can be added as a key ring or worn on a lanyard around the neck. It has an SOS button which mum can press to call my mobile ( I can also call her on it if she disappears). The device also has an all important gps tracking facility with a pretty good map so I can locate her.

Mum lives with us and we have had a few occasions where she has wandered and I have had to track her down. Of course circumstances change: Mum has deteriorated in the past year and I can no longer leave her alone so I have added alarms to doors so I can keep an ear out and hopefully divert any wandering. Mum still likes to wear her tracker as from her perspective the SOS button is there in case she has a fall.

There are many similar devices on the market. Some have a signal that works with a call centre and can link to other devices such as motion sensors by a bed or the front door. It is a case of finding what suits you and your Dad.


Best Wishes Jillx

 

[kazcorks]

Hello Kazcorks

I bought a ”Locàite“ tracker a year ago from Amazon for my Mum. It is now 129.99 with a subscription of £7.99 per month.

It can be added as a key ring or worn on a lanyard around the neck. It has an SOS button which mum can press to call my mobile ( I can also call her on it if she disappears). The device also has an all important gps tracking facility with a pretty good map so I can locate her.

Mum lives with us and we have had a few occasions where she has wandered and I have had to track her down. Of course circumstances change: Mum has deteriorated in the past year and I can no longer leave her alone so I have added alarms to doors so I can keep an ear out and hopefully divert any wandering. Mum still likes to wear her tracker as from her perspective the SOS button is there in case she has a fall.

There are many similar devices on the market. Some have a signal that works with a call centre and can link to other devices such as motion sensors by a bed or the front door. It is a case of finding what suits you and your Dad.


Best Wishes Jillx

Thank you so much Jill for your reply. I will have a look at that one. Sorry to hear your mum has deteriorated such a sad illness for all. Thank you again. Have a good weekend.
Karen xx

 

[duchess55]

We got my husband a gator watch a couple of months ago. Very similar t what “just Jill” is describing. Pay monthly and we have programmed a couple of telephone numbers in and they can ring him and the locator on it. It is a godsend.x

 

[silkiest]

Hi @kazcorks,
it might be worth having a look at your local authorities website. We have carephones for my parents and MIL for a small monthly fee. There is lots of optional add on technology - we have gps trackers as part of the enhanced package and MIL has door alarms. We used to have a recorded reminder to take her medication when she was first diagnosed with dementia until she started swearing at the recording lol.