This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Find out more about how to manage cookies, or dismiss this message and continue to use cookies.
Device for truck tracking with iButton support
covik
1 Point
I'm looking for a truck tracking device with ability to log the driver with iButton. Got a couple of small trucks doing local deliveries (they usually work 8 to 16) and a couple of large trucks doing international transportation. They all operate in Europe.
I am a software developer so I don't need any kind of dashboard/map software but I prefer highly customizable products (in terms of configuration) instead of 'works out of the box' thing. Never worked before with iButton but it looks trivial to implement if the device supports it - this is really important, devices should support iButton readings.
Worked with only Teltonika devices before and what I found pain in the ass is their configurator. Every model, every firmware has it's own software configurator. It's such a hassle when you have to remember all this, and on top of that if you want to update firmware you gotta ask their sales person because it's so hard to put a download link on the website?
Ruptela is their competitor and I heard from one of the colleagues it's better in terms of configuration unlike Teltonika. Don't know if this is true.
I recently discovered a brand called 'Dolphin'. So they have listed some advantages over the competitors and I noticed they have configurators for Linux too, unlike Teltonika and Ruptela that have Windows only configurators. That's a plus for me since I'm a Linux user.
What I noticed in all three of these brands is lack of/messy documentation. Sure there are Quick Start Guides and User Manuals, but I'm a software developer. I like understanding what's happening under the hood, I prefer consistent and searchable documentation with content for advanced users that's not pure PDF download.
Ok, that's a lot of rant about configuration and documentation, lets get to key points;
What I value most is:
I am a software developer so I don't need any kind of dashboard/map software but I prefer highly customizable products (in terms of configuration) instead of 'works out of the box' thing. Never worked before with iButton but it looks trivial to implement if the device supports it - this is really important, devices should support iButton readings.
Worked with only Teltonika devices before and what I found pain in the ass is their configurator. Every model, every firmware has it's own software configurator. It's such a hassle when you have to remember all this, and on top of that if you want to update firmware you gotta ask their sales person because it's so hard to put a download link on the website?
Ruptela is their competitor and I heard from one of the colleagues it's better in terms of configuration unlike Teltonika. Don't know if this is true.
I recently discovered a brand called 'Dolphin'. So they have listed some advantages over the competitors and I noticed they have configurators for Linux too, unlike Teltonika and Ruptela that have Windows only configurators. That's a plus for me since I'm a Linux user.
What I noticed in all three of these brands is lack of/messy documentation. Sure there are Quick Start Guides and User Manuals, but I'm a software developer. I like understanding what's happening under the hood, I prefer consistent and searchable documentation with content for advanced users that's not pure PDF download.
Ok, that's a lot of rant about configuration and documentation, lets get to key points;
What I value most is:
- Standard features - just to see device on the map, no need for geofencing, geoboxing, auto-whatever. Send me the coordinates
- iButton support - immobilizer is not important right know
- Configuration management - can be OTA, GUI, CLI - or can be none. If there are only drivers for Linux I'm okay with that, I can make a program that will upload config file to device
- Documentation for advanced users - I need documentation on how their protocol works, all the possible parameters in the config file, structure of the config file, etc.
Comments
Thanks for letting me know!