Vodafone Automotive SCD40 – Obsessive Vehicle Security

The Vodafone Automotive SCD40 is the GPS hardware used with the MindR Telematics Platform.

It can also be used without MindR as both a Theft Recovery System and an Alarm.

The SDC40 can work in full CAN-BUS configuration, or as a simple 3 wire system (12v, GND, Ignition).

The first thing to know is that it is manufactured by Vodafone Automotive in Italy. It is a quality piece of hardware.

It is small enough to fit in your hand. Speaking as an installation technician, this makes it a pleasure to install. So many other system are bulky and this compromises the install.

It won’t flatten your vehicle battery!

The biggest issue I have with most GPS tracking devices in New Zealand is that most importers fail to publish any data about the hardware. Most put a horrifical drain on the vehicle battery and will flatten it in days if the vehicle is not driven.

The SCD40 current consumption is below 5mA when in standby mode.

I know that many (and by many I mean most of the trackers I’ve looked at) pull around 50mA on standby. Some draw as much as 85mA and are simply not fit for purpose as explained here.

CAN-BUS Telematics

This means that the tracker can read the vehicle data rather than simply using the ignition switch and GPS to work.

The CAN-BUS data available varies among vehicles. It depends on what information the vehicles CAN-BUS carries, along with what has actually been captured and included in the vehicle specific firmware.

Useful Telematics CAN-BUS data will include the odometer and whether driver’s seat belt is fastened. On some vehicles it can even include fuel tank level and engine check light notifications.

SCD40 Size

It measures 95mm x 65mm x 25mm yet still packs some powerful features and even has an internal GPS aerial.

There is the option of an external GPS aerial, but for the vast majority of installs it is not necessary.

SCD40 Theft Recovery

This is a great option if you want to be able to recover your vehicle from theft without the expense of paying for a monthly subscription.

Even though the SCD40 is not connected to the MirdR Telematics Platform, it will still log its most recent locations in the internal memory. Should your vehicle get stolen you can simply phone the MindR team on the out-of-hours phone number and they can activate your account to recover the vehicle. Once activated it will send all the stored data to the platform.

There is a one-off cost of $250.00 plus GST ($287.50) to do this. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but it’s a nice insurance policy that will not kill your wallet (or your car battery!)