STOLEN

[rustysteel]

All,
Had my truck stolen in San Antonio TX today and my drone was in the back. It was powered down but is there any chance of being able to locate it with GPS?
Im beside myself right now as all of my camera equipment is gone, along with my tow vehicle. My wife and I live in an RV full time so are super screwed. Besides that, I cant begin to describe how angry and destroyed we are. Yeah, its just stuff, but I worked for it and earned it.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Chrislaf]

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully insurance will get you back up and running quickly and the police will track down the scum bag who stole your truck and gear.

Best of luck to you.

Chris

 

[rustysteel]

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully insurance will get you back up and running quickly and the police will track down the scum bag who stole your truck and gear.

Best of luck to you.

Chris

Thanks. I have insurance but wont get replacement value for everything lost. Mostly I was just wondering if DJI could locate the drone, even if its powered down. Thought that may help as police dont have the bandwidth to look for my vehicle.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thanks. I have insurance but wont get replacement value for everything lost. Mostly I was just wondering if DJI could locate the drone, even if its powered down. Thought that may help as police dont have the bandwidth to look for my vehicle.

Not sure about DJI locating the drone but I understand about insurance. I had my house burn down many years ago - lost many sentimental things including hundreds of photos and slides (was before the age of digital imaging).

Good luck to you.

Chris

 

[Deleted member 154384]

All,
Had my truck stolen in San Antonio TX today and my drone was in the back. It was powered down but is there any chance of being able to locate it with GPS?
Im beside myself right now as all of my camera equipment is gone, along with my tow vehicle. My wife and I live in an RV full time so are super screwed. Besides that, I cant begin to describe how angry and destroyed we are. Yeah, its just stuff, but I worked for it and earned it.
Thanks in advance.

I am very sorry for what happened. but unfortunately I can't help ..

 

[Meta4]

I was just wondering if DJI could locate the drone, even if its powered down. Thought that may help as police dont have the bandwidth to look for my vehicle.

No ... the drone only communicates with its own controller (not with DJI), and only when it's powered on.
Without power (and an unobstructed skyview), there is no location data anyway.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

All,
Had my truck stolen in San Antonio TX today and my drone was in the back. It was powered down but is there any chance of being able to locate it with GPS?
Im beside myself right now as all of my camera equipment is gone, along with my tow vehicle. My wife and I live in an RV full time so are super screwed. Besides that, I cant begin to describe how angry and destroyed we are. Yeah, its just stuff, but I worked for it and earned it.
Thanks in advance.

Sorry to hear of your situation, and yeah the violation you must feel by these ‘waste of oxygen’ thieving scum.

Don't think there's much you can do, even if they manage to work out how to turn the drone on.

Let's hope the Police aren't too busy to put some real effort in and find these gene pool protozoa (single cell parasitic organisms), and hopefully get your truck and gear back.
It's not a really big town is it ? (Looked on Google maps.)
Actually just read a bit "seventh-most populous city in the United States, second largest city in the Southern United States"

Best of luck with it either way, be nice to see justice though and get something back.

 

[Big Bro]

I’m really sorry to hear of your situation. I’ve had vehicles and tools stolen, had a house burn down, losing everything, so I know how heart breaking it can be. I’ll be praying and sending positive energy you and your wife’s way. We can only hope the thief’s find out just how bad a @&$#* karma can be!

 

[Defens]

I agree that the GPS won’t be able to help, but share in feeling bad for the loss of your truck and gear. It’s probably across the border and parted out by now.

 

[Deleted member 84685]

Yeh that pretty sad alright,hope the insurance pays out quick for yous

 

[LoudThunder]

What year/model truck did you have? The reason I ask is because if it's not too old, it might have an onboard/factory "Emergency Call System." You know, an SOS system like OnStar…

My 2019 Toyota and my 2020 Honda both have an OEM emergency call system, a button I can push if I run out of gas, have an accident, etc… both also have built-in stolen vehicle locator built in that will give the police the GPS coordinates. It's not a selling point by the dealer, they just tell you about the accident protection features (automatically calls if there is an airbag deployment, etc… so you might not know about it capabilities. I do know about mine because I'm **** and I even read the instructions on how to assemble Ikea Furniture…

I do not know if there are other built in systems that might assist the police in locating the vehicle, but I suggest you Google you vehicle's model and year and "SOS" and "Emergency Call System". You can also call a local truck dealer that sells your truck and ask them.

If the worst case comes about where you must deal with an insurance agent, say this to yourself, "Do not go gentle into that good night." It from an old Dylan Thomas poem and means that death is inevitable—everyone dies, sooner or later. But that doesn't mean that people should simply give up and give in to death.

Although we are not talking about death, but your truck and other possessions, fight for the value of everything that was taken, when the agent says s/he cannot offer more, thank them, but tell them you cannot accept their "offer" and I say offer and walk out, because that is exactly what it is, an offer. And do not worry about walking out, that adjuster has to settle the case, s/he cannot ignore you.

The insurance adjuster has great latitude but s/he also can't waste (or if you prefer, spend…) much time on your case. S/He is expected to clear the settlement quickly.

Back in 1994, the shed out building in my back yard was torched (arson) and my '84 Harley parked inside was totaled. The State Farm Adjuster showed me the "Red Book" that they use to establish the value on a vehicle was X,XXX dollars, while the Blue Book showed the value to be XX,XXX dollars. I refused to accept the value and we went around and around. He finally raised his offer to an acceptable offer paying on the motorcycle's insurance policy. As a side note to this, they also had to pay for all the items that I had upgraded with custom equipment. The old exhaust system, seat, handle bars, foot pegs, hand control and grips, etc… were also in the shed and destroyed and they had to pay for their replacement under the home policy. In the end, I did not make a profit, but I received enough to rebuild my bike from the ground up…

Good Luck and I hope they catch the #%@@&*#!

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

What year/model truck did you have? The reason I ask is because if it's not too old, it might have an onboard/factory "Emergency Call System." You know, an SOS system like OnStar…

My 2019 Toyota and my 2020 Honda both have an OEM emergency call system, a button I can push if I run out of gas, have an accident, etc… both also have built-in stolen vehicle locator built in that will give the police the GPS coordinates. It's not a selling point by the dealer, they just tell you about the accident protection features (automatically calls if there is an airbag deployment, etc… so you might not know about it capabilities. I do know about mine because I'm **** and I even read the instructions on how to assemble Ikea Furniture…

I do not know if there are other built in systems that might assist the police in locating the vehicle, but I suggest you Google you vehicle's model and year and "SOS" and "Emergency Call System". You can also call a local truck dealer that sells your truck and ask them.

If the worst case comes about where you must deal with an insurance agent, say this to yourself, "Do not go gentle into that good night." It from an old Dylan Thomas poem and means that death is inevitable—everyone dies, sooner or later. But that doesn't mean that people should simply give up and give in to death.

Although we are not talking about death, but your truck and other possessions, fight for the value of everything that was taken, when the agent says s/he cannot offer more, thank them, but tell them you cannot accept their "offer" and I say offer and walk out, because that is exactly what it is, an offer. And do not worry about walking out, that adjuster has to settle the case, s/he cannot ignore you.

The insurance adjuster has great latitude but s/he also can't waste (or if you prefer, spend…) much time on your case. S/He is expected to clear the settlement quickly.

Back in 1994, the shed out building in my back yard was torched (arson) and my '84 Harley parked inside was totaled. The State Farm Adjuster showed me the "Red Book" that they use to establish the value on a vehicle was X,XXX dollars, while the Blue Book showed the value to be XX,XXX dollars. I refused to accept the value and we went around and around. He finally raised his offer to an acceptable offer paying on the motorcycle's insurance policy. As a side note to this, they also had to pay for all the items that I had upgraded with custom equipment. The old exhaust system, seat, handle bars, foot pegs, hand control and grips, etc… were also in the shed and destroyed and they had to pay for their replacement under the home policy. In the end, I did not make a profit, but I received enough to rebuild my bike from the ground up…

Good Luck and I hope they catch the #%@@&*#!

Interesting tidbits, thanks for sharing

 

[rustysteel]

Thank you all for the kind words and information.
Ive reached out to DJI to see if they can "block" my drone so it wont fly again because it is stolen, havent heard back yet.
I always had the impression that an insurance payout would allow you to "level up". We were well insured but as I am learning insurance only kicks back some, not all of what was lost. You get item value, not replacement cost. For example, I paid about half of market value for my used MP2/tablet/batteries/charger. Insurance will give me what I paid, not the double amount it costs to replace it.
Additionally my insurance has a cap. I am compiling a list of everything lost and so far I am at 4x the cap for replacement cost.
This is going to hurt.

 

[rustysteel]

What year/model truck did you have? The reason I ask is because if it's not too old, it might have an onboard/factory "Emergency Call System." You know, an SOS system like OnStar…

My 2019 Toyota and my 2020 Honda both have an OEM emergency call system, a button I can push if I run out of gas, have an accident, etc… both also have built-in stolen vehicle locator built in that will give the police the GPS coordinates. It's not a selling point by the dealer, they just tell you about the accident protection features (automatically calls if there is an airbag deployment, etc… so you might not know about it capabilities. I do know about mine because I'm **** and I even read the instructions on how to assemble Ikea Furniture…

I do not know if there are other built in systems that might assist the police in locating the vehicle, but I suggest you Google you vehicle's model and year and "SOS" and "Emergency Call System". You can also call a local truck dealer that sells your truck and ask them.

If the worst case comes about where you must deal with an insurance agent, say this to yourself, "Do not go gentle into that good night." It from an old Dylan Thomas poem and means that death is inevitable—everyone dies, sooner or later. But that doesn't mean that people should simply give up and give in to death.

Although we are not talking about death, but your truck and other possessions, fight for the value of everything that was taken, when the agent says s/he cannot offer more, thank them, but tell them you cannot accept their "offer" and I say offer and walk out, because that is exactly what it is, an offer. And do not worry about walking out, that adjuster has to settle the case, s/he cannot ignore you.

The insurance adjuster has great latitude but s/he also can't waste (or if you prefer, spend…) much time on your case. S/He is expected to clear the settlement quickly.

Back in 1994, the shed out building in my back yard was torched (arson) and my '84 Harley parked inside was totaled. The State Farm Adjuster showed me the "Red Book" that they use to establish the value on a vehicle was X,XXX dollars, while the Blue Book showed the value to be XX,XXX dollars. I refused to accept the value and we went around and around. He finally raised his offer to an acceptable offer paying on the motorcycle's insurance policy. As a side note to this, they also had to pay for all the items that I had upgraded with custom equipment. The old exhaust system, seat, handle bars, foot pegs, hand control and grips, etc… were also in the shed and destroyed and they had to pay for their replacement under the home policy. In the end, I did not make a profit, but I received enough to rebuild my bike from the ground up…

Good Luck and I hope they catch the #%@@&*#!

Thank you for this, it gives me some hope. We are fighters, because we have always had to and not good at being victims. The truck was a Ford F250. I had downloaded the Ford app to use on a previous truck and wasnt able to link it so never went back to using the app. Ill be looking into anti theft options for my next truck.
Thank you again!

 

[rustysteel]

I’m really sorry to hear of your situation. I’ve had vehicles and tools stolen, had a house burn down, losing everything, so I know how heart breaking it can be. I’ll be praying and sending positive energy you and your wife’s way. We can only hope the thief’s find out just how bad a @&$#* karma can be!

Thank you and I am sorry to hear you have also experienced loss. I really wish I could be the one to deliver some of that Karma!

 

[Cymruflyer]

I had my car stolen right off the street by my house sometime in the night, when I lived in London, many years ago. I know that feeling when you go to where it was parked and there is nothing there. Never did get it back and lost a lot of things in the car, but when I bought my Porsche to replace it, I fitted a special pressure sensitive in-line device which I placed under the car floor mat.

I knew the exact point where it was placed, so all I needed to do was step down on it right at that spot on the floor, while I turned the key, and it created a contact which made my ignition active. If I tried to start the car without pressing on that spot, nothing happened, and it was as if the ignition or electrical system was shut off.

Same thing if anyone tried to short out the system to get the car to start, there was no power going to the ignition, so it was not possible to start. This helped for thieves who would try and start cars and drive them away. However, if they had a tow vehicle to take it away, that would not stop them. Never had another stolen car though, thankfully.

Of course, now that you mention car theft, I suppose it would be worth fitting one of those apple tracking devices on a car, just so you could find out where it went, if stolen. The other thing would be one of those alarms that have cameras all around in the car that also send a message and video to your phone if movement is detected through the sensors, while you are away, as its parked somewhere. That way you can call the cops as you run to it, if you were close.

Thinking about the cost when you have your car, you might think it a little expensive, but once you lose your car, you'd pay out ten times the cost just to have had it fitted. Sorry for your loss and I hope it does get found for you.

 

[HOG2K]

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident, hopefully the police will find your truck with all your belongings still intact.

Were you about to head out on a photography shoot or for your own pleasure? Is that why your camera equipment was in the truck? Trucks just do not have many places in which to hide valuables like cameras or drones.

I put an Apple Air Tag in the trunk of my car, and will be putting one on my Air 2s just in case it gets away from me due to my fault or the fault of the Air 2s. Just another tool we can use to help put the odds in our favor of recovery.

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Did you by any chance use an iPad with your controller? If so check your google map history, or find my phone app on the iPad. If either are or were on, it may give you a location, or a map of the path the thieves took when they left. Have you checked to see if anyone around you had a dash cam, or a home or business security cam that may have recorded the theft?

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident, hopefully the police will find your truck with all your belongings still intact.

Were you about to head out on a photography shoot or for your own pleasure? Is that why your camera equipment was in the truck? Trucks just do not have many places in which to hide valuables like cameras or drones.

I put an Apple Air Tag in the trunk of my car, and will be putting one on my Air 2s just in case it gets away from me due to my fault or the fault of the Air 2s. Just another tool we can use to help put the odds in our favor of recovery.

Just reminder, if you use a Air Tag or other tracking device, put it under the foam in your case, not in one of the compartments, or they may find it and toss it.

 

[Clintoops]

Thank you for this, it gives me some hope. We are fighters, because we have always had to and not good at being victims. The truck was a Ford F250. I had downloaded the Ford app to use on a previous truck and wasnt able to link it so never went back to using the app. Ill be looking into anti theft options for my next truck.
Thank you again!

You know about the tags they sell that have a gps in them they use others cell phones that track there tags. They last a year and use an app the cool thing is stuck with 3m tape between the cab and box of truck out of site. You can track your truck on your phone
Not hooked to car battery so works for a year