Crime novelist question

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Rat

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
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Location
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I write crime novels. I want the main character to figure out something important by using the stored GPS tracking data. My handheld GPSr and my Nuvi both have a tracking option and I know how to retrieve the data from those, but only if tracking is turned on. I've read through my 2011 Leaf manual navigation section and I see how to store destinations and routes and retrieve them, but I don't see a tracking option either to set it or to retrieve it. Does anyone know if the Leaf's nav stores where the car has been (other that saved destinations/routes)? Maybe on later models? My character doesn't have to drive a Leaf in particular or other NIssan. If this option is not on Leafs or other Nissan cars, does anyone know which makes/models do have that kind of tracking ability?
 
The only thing I can think of is when the car automatically saves the location if you plug into a level 2 EVSE. I don't know if they log a time though. Maybe you could combine it with data from a charging network or use the pings from the cars data connection on cell phone towers.
 
Other ways to track locations that many don't realize
Google Plus locations of friends
Fitbit activities will record locations and the path
Cameras.. most cameras save the GPS location and time of where a picture is taken in the EXIF data. . Given several pictures, you can create the path.
 
Or you could do like most fiction writers and provide the car with more capabilities than it has. The general public will believe it as long as it sounds plausible.

One idea would be those cars that advertise now as being mobile hotspots. A 'detective' could trace the path by reviewing the car's router log to see which cellular tower it hit and when. Whether the car's system retains such a log would be such obscure knowledge, it will be easily swallowed. And figure a good number of people have heard of browser history being a dangerous record of one's activity and that their computer automatically stores it without their interaction. It is an easy leap from there to the idea that the car's browser also stores such a log and the log could even have a GPS and time stamp for certain events if the 'detective' needs that level of specificity. In such a scenario, the stamp could be placed in the log whenever the car reaches out to the Internet to update the real time traffic maps.
 
I saw an option on my 2016 LEAF to automatically record charging spots. It was not turned on by default. In addition, I could further enable it to include L1 trickle charging spots. The minimum duration of being plugged in to be considered a charging spot was 5 minutes, and this too is adjustable.

The BMW i3 I enjoyed an extended test-drive also would (by default) save charging spot locations. The test-drive vehicle had a long list of locations previous drivers had charged the vehicle at, which were mostly L1 charges at private homes. Even if you erased previous destinations in the GPS, it still kept the charging spots on a separate list, which provided its own delete all function. Being the computer geek that I am, of course I found every such "history" list I could and erased them before turning the car back in. As I recall there were a handful of such lists of locations and phone numbers dialed. It had even downloaded my recent calls list from my phone (as does the LEAF, I believe).

Any car with a cellular radio for telematics, should, in theory, be traceable via search warrant to the respective wireless provider. Logs of check-ins to cell towers would provide quite a comprehensive history for any particular ESN, just like those for any cell phone moving about.

Final thought - computerized license plate readers are being deployed for automatic toll lane revenue collection. Seems like that is a huge trove of data.
 
Yes, LeafSpy records lat and long elevation and speed once a minute if logging is turned on.

Date/Time Lat Long Elv Speed
6/30/2016 19:25 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:26 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:27 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:28 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:29 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:30 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:31 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:32 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:34 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:35 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:36 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:37 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:38 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:39 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:40 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:41 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:42 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:43 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:44 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0
6/30/2016 19:45 45 45.0831 -122 28.01517 374 0

It puts this into dropbox in a excel compatable file if dropbox is turned on.

Thanks,
Dan
 
Danl said:
Yes, LeafSpy records lat and long elevation and speed once a minute if logging is turned on.
It puts this into dropbox in a excel compatable file if dropbox is turned on.
This looks good. I'm not familiar with LeafSpy. Is that hardware device that plugs into the port under the dash?
 
Rat said:
Danl said:
Yes, LeafSpy records lat and long elevation and speed once a minute if logging is turned on.
It puts this into dropbox in a excel compatable file if dropbox is turned on.
This looks good. I'm not familiar with LeafSpy. Is that hardware device that plugs into the port under the dash?

Probably 1/2 the Leaf drivers on these forums use LeafSpy. If you are doing a tech item on the Leaf you need to understand LeafSpy.

Go to Accessories/mods and then CANBus and then do some homework on it.

Yes, it enables access to data in the Leaf computer system through the connector under the dash. It displays data on your smart phone.

Thanks,
Dan
 
How about just an Android phone, for somebody who has location history turned on.
Have you seen Google Maps Timeline?

https://www.google.com/maps/timeline

If you have a Google account and have turned on the feature, you can see exactly where you were at any point in the past. You can look at specific days and it will tell you the hours you were at each location, and show the routes you took to travel between locations.

Once you've signed in and turned on location history, you can use the controls at the top-left to look at specific dates.
 
I don't have a smart phone or any bluetooth device (other than the Leaf), but my main character does. I'm very familiar with GPS technology, though. I don't think it's critical to have the tech aspects absolutely perfect in a novel, but I try to be as accurate as possible. I could use a tracking device once the main character has focused on him, but that won't work to show where the suspect has been in the past, before there was any interest or suspicion. That's the part I'm trying to nail down. I want him to be able to find out the info by accessing the suspect's car, not the suspect's phone. I'll research the LeafSpy thread, though just to get an idea of how it works.
 
Rat said:
I want him to be able to find out the info by accessing the suspect's car, not the suspect's phone.
Then I'm afraid LeafSpy won't help. It's an app that runs on your phone to let you look at various things going on with your car via the OBD port. No data will be stored on the car itself from this app.
 
garsh said:
Rat said:
I want him to be able to find out the info by accessing the suspect's car, not the suspect's phone.
Then I'm afraid LeafSpy won't help. It's an app that runs on your phone to let you look at various things going on with your car via the OBD port. No data will be stored on the car itself from this app.

Just to clarify, LeafSpy can be run on most android devices with blue-tooth capability. It can be on a tablet, it does not have to be on a phone. I use a separate tablet that runs LeafSpy Pro. That way, I don't have issues with my phone trying to connect to the NAV system and OBD dongle at the same time. The NAV connection for the phone is important here, as just having the phone in your hand while driving is illegal.
 
Yeah, I assumed as much. I have a tablet (Kindle) that has the LeafSpy app available, but it doesn't have bluetooth, only wi-fi and a USB port/cable.
 
Rat said:
Yeah, I assumed as much. I have a tablet (Kindle) that has the LeafSpy app available, but it doesn't have bluetooth, only wi-fi and a USB port/cable.

Are you sure there's no bluetooth? I use a Kindle Fire tablet that has Leaf Spy Pro installed on it. I also have an older HP tablet with Leaf Spy Lite installed.
 
baustin said:
Rat said:
Yeah, I assumed as much. I have a tablet (Kindle) that has the LeafSpy app available, but it doesn't have bluetooth, only wi-fi and a USB port/cable.

Are you sure there's no bluetooth? I use a Kindle Fire tablet that has Leaf Spy Pro installed on it. I also have an older HP tablet with Leaf Spy Lite installed.
I went back to read the product description and it says it has "built-in bluetooth with support for A2DP" headphones speakers, etc. Maybe it would work with LeafSpy after all. However, I have no idea how make bluetooth work. I don't see a bluetooth icon or app listed. Does this mean I can play audiobooks or music on my kindle through the car speakers without the Aux cable and with the steering wheel audio controls?
 
Rat said:
baustin said:
Rat said:
Yeah, I assumed as much. I have a tablet (Kindle) that has the LeafSpy app available, but it doesn't have bluetooth, only wi-fi and a USB port/cable.

Are you sure there's no bluetooth? I use a Kindle Fire tablet that has Leaf Spy Pro installed on it. I also have an older HP tablet with Leaf Spy Lite installed.
I went back to read the product description and it says it has "built-in bluetooth with support for A2DP" headphones speakers, etc. Maybe it would work with LeafSpy after all. However, I have no idea how make bluetooth work. I don't see a bluetooth icon or app listed. Does this mean I can play audiobooks or music on my kindle through the car speakers without the Aux cable and with the steering wheel audio controls?

The bluetooth options (on mine) are in Settings under Wireless & Networks. Theoretically, you should be able to link the tablet as a media device using bluetooth. I've never tried. I usually leave bluetooth turned off. I get a prompt that enables it when Leaf Spy is started.
 
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