LoJack Question

[ecps92]

I used to think I would come across a radio jammer however never have after decades of monitoring the LoJack frequency while driving around. A jamming signal may prevent the LoJack from being activated however a jamming signal would also provide a signal capable of being tracked by a radio enthusiast like myself directly to the stolen vehicle.

The original LoJack was a one time fee for the life of the vehicle whereas now it is a monthly fee, i.e. perpetual income for the company.

Radio technology was great back in the day prior to GPS and LTE and offered some advantages however I imagine GPS and LTE offer better results overall today over the older radio technology.

No longer the original company, couple of hostile take overs/buy outs.

Still actively used in many area, and even had some folks jam them, but then you/it can DF the jammer.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I checked 173.075mhz. last night, and there's at least one location still active here in Illinois. Probably a chicago suburb.

 

[ScannerSK]

This morning 28 FEB 2025, I still see/hear 3 LoJack base stations transmitting every 64 seconds. this is about half as many as I once hear but hearing 3 has been the same for the last couple years.

It's the same here, about 1/2 as many stations. The FCC records show the number of towers dropping off over time.

 

[ScannerSK]

I imagine the Spireon company is not under any legal obligations to continue to provide "lifetime" service to the customers of the old VHF system as those agreements would now presumably be null and void. Out of the goodness of their hearts and for the sake of the brand name (LoJack) they must be continuing the VHF service until most remaining vehicles with VHF service are junked.

But what about all the LoJack units installed in classic vehicles and in thousands, potentially tens of thousands, of pieces of industrial equipment like skid steers? These customers/businesses are just out the money? Are they even being notified that their "lifetime" service is being terminated in specific coverage areas? No refunds or anything?

"Stolen Vehicle Recovery service only. Typically purchased prior to May 2021." LoJack Owner's Hub

Are batteries even being replaced any further in the older VHF LoJack units? The e-mail I received from LoJack made it sound as if all service for the older VHF units has been terminated. A manual online states, "A battery’s useful service life can vary but is generally expected to be a minimum of five (5) years and up to ten (10) years, depending upon a variety of factors including..." https://www.lojack.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LoJack-Owners-Manual.pdf. Is this when they plan to terminate the VHF system, as soon as May 2026?

Before long, the LoJack VHF system will just be another memory of something that once existed with a few remaining recordings online for those that come after us.

 

[ecps92]

I imagine the Spireon company is not under any legal obligations to continue to provide "lifetime" service to the customers of the old VHF system as those agreements would now presumably be null and void. Out of the goodness of their hearts and for the sake of the brand name (LoJack) they must be continuing the VHF service until most remaining vehicles with VHF service are junked.

But what about all the LoJack units installed in classic vehicles and in thousands, potentially tens of thousands, of pieces of industrial equipment like skid steers? These customers/businesses are just out the money? Are they even being notified that their "lifetime" service is being terminated in specific coverage areas? No refunds or anything?

"Stolen Vehicle Recovery service only. Typically purchased prior to May 2021." LoJack Owner's Hub

Are batteries even being replaced any further in the older VHF LoJack units? The e-mail I received from LoJack made it sound as if all service for the older VHF units has been terminated. A manual online states, "A battery’s useful service life can vary but is generally expected to be a minimum of five (5) years and up to ten (10) years, depending upon a variety of factors including..." https://www.lojack.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LoJack-Owners-Manual.pdf. Is this when they plan to terminate the VHF system, as soon as May 2026?

Before long, the LoJack VHF system will just be another memory of something that once existed with a few remaining recordings online for those that come after us.

Keep in mind, we here are discussing the US system - Lo/Jack operated in many other countries using other frequencies allocated by that country...

 

[BinaryMode]

I used to think I would come across a radio jammer however never have after decades of monitoring the LoJack frequency while driving around. A jamming signal may prevent the LoJack from being activated however a jamming signal would also provide a signal capable of being tracked by a radio enthusiast like myself directly to the stolen vehicle.

The original LoJack was a one time fee for the life of the vehicle whereas now it is a monthly fee, i.e. perpetual income for the company.

Radio technology was great back in the day prior to GPS and LTE and offered some advantages however I imagine GPS and LTE offer better results overall today over the older radio technology.

I'm not talking about the original VHF LoJack frequency, I'm talking about LTE and GPS... Very easy to jam...

Let me reiterate what I said.

And massively perfect for jamming. Was there a cost savings or what?!

Was there a cost savings going from VHF to LTE and GPS?

 

[ecps92]

I'm not talking about the original VHF LoJack frequency, I'm talking about LTE and GPS... Very easy to jam...

Let me reiterate what I said.



Was there a cost savings going from VHF to LTE and GPS?

Yes - likely as they don't need to design/equip Police vehicles, Aircraft and ground stations.

 

[dlwtrunked]

I checked 173.075mhz. last night, and there's at least one location still active here in Illinois. Probably a chicago suburb.

Although I live in Va, I get around. Year ago in IL and DF'ing found:

808E 8-1 WNVD283 Chicago IL
018E 8-2 WNVD283 Mokena IL
818E 8-3 WNVD283 Aurora IL
028E 8-4 WNVD283 Hawthorn Woods IL

First column us SDRTrunk ID field.
Second column is those properly parsed.

 

[rf_patriot200]

Although I live in Va, I get around. Year ago in IL and DF'ing found:

808E 8-1 WNVD283 Chicago IL
018E 8-2 WNVD283 Mokena IL
818E 8-3 WNVD283 Aurora IL
028E 8-4 WNVD283 Hawthorn Woods IL

First column us SDRTrunk ID field.
Second column is those properly parsed.

I'll bet the data I'm hearing is probably from Aurora .

 

[dlwtrunked]

I'll bet the data I'm hearing is probably from Aurora .

I did not know exactly where you lived. I regularly visit a friend in New Lenox but actually spend most of the time researching the HFT stations in the area that link to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CyrusOne CH1 facility in Aurora.

 

[ScannerSK]

One additional detail I discovered back in the day regarding LoJack decoding, which I don't recall ever sharing, was they reserve the middle letter 'X' in Function 1 commands for tower to tower related commands. This might be an interesting detail for a few on this thread before the system becomes defunct in the United States. The following are the three examples I noticed locally back in the day:

"GPXN3" - Used locally to resynch a tower into the correct timeslot.
"RUXN3" - Used locally in an attempt by an online tower to get an offline tower back online. This appears to be broadcast by the next lowest numbered tower. Ex: tower N2 will broadcast the RUX command to get tower N3 back online.
"NDXN3" - Used locally in an attempt to get the called tower (first tower in the daisy chain) back online by the first non-called tower. Also, when the called tower is offline the non-called towers each begin to generate their own pseudo-random characters instead of all mimicking the pseudo-random characters generated by the called tower.

So, technically the Function 1 command had at least three general purposes that I am aware of:

If the middle letter was an 'X' this was a tower to tower command.
If the middle letter was a 'Y' it was a site ID (a place holder when nothing important was to be broadcast).
If the middle letter was anything other than 'X' or 'Y' it was a valid stolen reply code.

'X' and 'Y' were reserved and 'Z' was not used in the bit decoding scheme. By 2018, they had made it up to the letter 'N' as the middle character being used in reply codes.

1-SPEED UP REPLY CODE
1Y-SITE ID
1X-TOWER TO TOWER COMMAND (Never incorporated)

The 1X was never incorporated into the SDRTrunk decoding scheme that I am aware of as I never made this detail known. I still use a very old version of SDRTrunk from 2017 (0.2.1.beta-2) on rare occassions which works great for my purposes.

I just thought I would mention this for anyone who may be interested before the system goes belly up in the United States.

 

[ScannerSK]

They are making LoJack decoy devices now. Interesting...

"Add a LoJack decoy to your existing order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. Adding a decoy LoJack device will confuse thieves. If they find the device and remove it, they will think they are in the clear; however, they will be none the wiser that the active device is still tracking their every move!"

"$150.00 + Free Shipping. Add a LoJack decoy to your LoJack order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. LoJack decoy devices can only be ordered and installed at the same time as an active LoJack device."
VG Motors Website (LoJack Decoy Device)

I never heard of such a thing.

 

[BinaryMode]

Folks, read post #39 again. This is what I use and it will work on the cheap. Use them for a trailer, construction equipment or RV, too!

 

[rf_patriot200]

They are making LoJack decoy devices now. Interesting...

"Add a LoJack decoy to your existing order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. Adding a decoy LoJack device will confuse thieves. If they find the device and remove it, they will think they are in the clear; however, they will be none the wiser that the active device is still tracking their every move!"

"$150.00 + Free Shipping. Add a LoJack decoy to your LoJack order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. LoJack decoy devices can only be ordered and installed at the same time as an active LoJack device."
VG Motors Website (LoJack Decoy Device)

I never heard of such a thing.

Sort of like a Porcelain Owl to scare the other birds away ...

 

[ecps92]

They are making LoJack decoy devices now. Interesting...

"Add a LoJack decoy to your existing order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. Adding a decoy LoJack device will confuse thieves. If they find the device and remove it, they will think they are in the clear; however, they will be none the wiser that the active device is still tracking their every move!"

"$150.00 + Free Shipping. Add a LoJack decoy to your LoJack order and provide even more protection to your vehicle. LoJack decoy devices can only be ordered and installed at the same time as an active LoJack device."
VG Motors Website (LoJack Decoy Device)

I never heard of such a thing.

if they have gone as so far to find the decoy, they have likely also found the true device. Well hidden within the vehicle.
Actually (war story) my former agency tracked one down into Boston from NH, then a PD in NH placed the locate on the vehicle as they found the burned out shell along the river banks. Had them re-enter it, and we continued to track the device in Boston. Turns out the thieves (paid to burn the vehicle - Insurance Fraud) knew the car had Lo/Jack found the box and threw it into a transport truck coming thru Boston to Rhode Island...

 

[dlwtrunked]

One additional detail I discovered back in the day regarding LoJack decoding, which I don't recall ever sharing, was they reserve the middle letter 'X' in Function 1 commands for tower to tower related commands. This might be an interesting detail for a few on this thread before the system becomes defunct in the United States. The following are the three examples I noticed locally back in the day:

...

As mentioned in earlier posts, I wish it would fix its decoding of tower IDs so they correspond to the system ones.
Like (SDRtrunk)818E -> (referse HEX) E818 -> 1110 1000 0001 1000 -> (111) 01000 00011 (000) 8-3 (this example being the site one poster thinks he may be seeing, WNVD283 Aurora IL)
Starting by doing this, something like fixing this might lead to being of better understanding of the rest.
Some of the sites I have personally gone near enough to ID (some now off):
814E 4-3 WPED308 Washington DC
805E 5-1 WPNS384 Rising Sun DE
806E 6-1 WNWU571 Miami FL
816E 6-3 WNWU571 Palm City FL
026E 6-4 WPZL332 Riverview FL
826E 6-5 WNWU571 Bradenton FL
036E 6-6 WNWU571 Christmas FL
836E 6-7 WPZL332 Punta Gorda FL
046E 6-8 WPQB583 Jacksonville FL
846E 6-9 WPQB583 Espanola FL
056E 6-10 WPQB583 Homestead FL
856E 6-11 WPZL332 Winter Garden FL
866E 6-13 WPQB583 Melbourne FL
076E 6-14 WPZL332 Vero Beach FL
876E 6-15 WPZL332 East Naples FL
086E 6-16 WPZL332 North Miami FL
096E 6-18 WQJL992 Howey in the Hills FL
0A6E 6-20 WQJL992 Boca Raton FL
808E 8-1 WNVD283 Chicago IL
018E 8-2 WNVD283 Mokena IL
818E 8-3 WNVD283 Aurora IL
028E 8-4 WNVD283 Hawthorn Woods IL
014E 4-2 WPED308 Bethesda (for DC) MD
80AE 10-1 WPLP844 Clarksville MD
01AE 10-2 WPLP844 Baltimore MD
81AE 10-3 WPLP844 Frederick MD
02AE 10-4 WPLP844 Prince Frederick MD
82AE 10-5 WPLP844 Hillsville MD
80BE 11-1 WNSY453 Detroit MI
01BE 11-2 WNSY453 Chelsea MI
82BE 11-5 WNSY453 Onondaga MI
03BE 11-6 WNSY453 Kalamazoo MI
04BE 11-8 WNSY452 Niles MI
09F 25-1 WQBL588 Randleman NC
019F 25-2 WQBL588 Garner NC
819F 25-3 WQBL588 Durham NC
029F 25-4 WQBL588 Charlotte NC
829F 25-5 WQBL588 Westfield NC
039F 25-6 WQGH385 Fayetteville NC
839F 25-7 WQBL588 Gastonia NC
03DE 13-6 WNRU939 Rosenhayn NJ
878E 8-15 WQDJ531 Cleveland OH
088E 8-16 WQDJ531 Chardon OH
888E 8-17 WQDJ531 Amherst OH
098E 8-18 WQED841 Akron OH
898E 8-19 WQED841 Columbus OH
0A8E 8-20 WQED841 Delaware OH
898E 8-21 WQED841 Newark OH
0B8E 8-22 WQED841 Hudson OH
802F 18-1 WQKE793 Wyndmoor PA
012F 18-2 WQKE793 Allentown PA
812F 18-3 WQKE793 Reading PA
022F 18-4 WQKE793 Philadelphia PA
879F 25-15 WQER759 Wando SC
089F 25-16 WQER759 Columbia SC
099F 25-18 WQER759 Florence West SC
899F 25-19 WQER759 Greenville SC
8A9F 25-21 WQER759 Anderson SC
0B9F 25-22 WQER759 Myrtle Beach SC
872F 18-15 WQGL264 Nashville TN
082F 18-16 WQGL264 Old Hickory TN
011F 17-2 WQTM566 Bull Run (Haymarket) VA
811F 17-3 WQTM566 Fredericksburg VA
021F 17-4 WQTM566 Midlothian VA
031F 17-6 WQTM566 Emporia VA
831F 17-7 WQTM566 Suffolk VA

 

[ScannerSK]

As mentioned in earlier posts, I wish it would fix its decoding of tower IDs so they correspond to the system ones.
Like (SDRtrunk)818E -> (referse HEX) E818 -> 1110 1000 0001 1000 -> (111) 01000 00011 (000) 8-3 (this example being the site one poster thinks he may be seeing, WNVD283 Aurora IL)
Starting by doing this, something like fixing this might lead to being of better understanding of the rest.

Personally, I find reply codes and speed ups most useful and interesting. There is nothing more satisfying than hearing a distant stolen vehicle transponder breaking the squelch on my Motorola receiver, tracking down the approximate location and turning it into the police. The LoJack receivers installed in police vehicles actually suffer from RF overload much easier than professional radio receivers in RF rich environments which gives those using a professional radio receiver an advantage when it comes to tracking down stolen vehicles from a distance. A professional radio receiver can detect faint LoJack signals miles away in the distance which are not strong enough to even begin to be decoded by the LoJack receivers installed in police vehicles. I remember when the local LoJack liason made a company paid visit to me. One of the questions he asked was how I was finding the vehicles and turning them into the police. This happened shortly after I turned in a LoJack to the Denver police that could only be detected within a one block radius and which was not responding to tower speed up commands. I think the antenna must have been severed on the LoJack transponder and I can only assume they must have been looking for that vehicle for quite some time. Possibly the battery may have been nearly dead as well in the LoJack transponder.

Most speed ups are typically broadcast by the tower 3-5 minutes after the dispatcher is advised of the LoJack code by an officer. The five character alpha-numeric speed up code transmitted by the tower is identical with the tracking code transmitted by the stolen vehicle. Knowing this allowed me to track down which police department was in pursuit of specific LoJacks, using online scanner apps, and allowed me to monitor the activity and final outcome online. Now, most departments are encrypted which spoiled the fun of listening online.

Those are good memories. I turned in a LoJack last week to the local police and they were swift in recovering it. This particular stolen vehicle transponder had been transmitting for at least several days and it bugged me that someone was not getting their stolen property back in a timely manner. It appears there are fewer and fewer local police vehicles equipped with LoJack receivers these days. It's possible as police cars are being swapped out with newer models that the LoJack receivers are no longer being reinstalled into the newer police vehicles. I wonder if LoJack, now owned by Spireon, stopped providing funding for receivers to be transferred to newer model police vehicles? This may explain why this stolen vehicle was not being quickly recovered. Or, possibly the vehicle was under surveillance and then as it drove off to a different part of town they lost track of it. Either way, there was a good outcome for the owner not having to wait any longer thanks to a little outside assistance.

One time, I saw someone driving around in Denver with four white circles (maybe an inch tall and four inches wide each) mounted in a square on the corners of his truck. When I looked at him, he moved a laptop computer out of his lap into an adjacent seat. At that very moment, there was a LoJack going off one block away in a Walmart parking lot. I always wondered if he was looking for it and using some type of stealth antennas. I'll miss the VHF LoJack system if/when it is terminated locally. But, time marches on and better technology comes along to take the place of the old.

 

[ScannerSK]

Turns out the thieves (paid to burn the vehicle - Insurance Fraud) knew the car had Lo/Jack found the box and threw it into a transport truck coming thru Boston to Rhode Island...

Haha... I bet the police had issues finding that LoJack as it did not match the vehicle description. What if someone were to throw one into the back of a railroad car? That would be interesting. I've read where they have been discovered ditched along the side of the road. I remember reading a story online of two separate LoJacks that were going off in a neighborhood. They would transmit for a while and then stop and then transmit for a while again and then stop. They finally tracked them down to someone who was hooking these LoJacks removed from stolen property up to a 12-volt battery inside their apartment. That was probably not the smartest thing to do. Lol.

 

[BinaryMode]

There is nothing more satisfying than hearing a distant stolen vehicle transponder breaking the squelch on my Motorola receiver, tracking down the approximate location and turning it into the police...

-snip-


...Knowing this allowed me to track down which police department was in pursuit of specific LoJacks, using online scanner apps, and allowed me to monitor the activity and final outcome online. Now, most departments are encrypted which spoiled the fun of listening online.

Good for you. There's a thread here you may want to chime in on.

Those are good memories. I turned in a LoJack last week to the local police and they were swift in recovering it. This particular stolen vehicle transponder had been transmitting for at least several days and it bugged me that someone was not getting their stolen property back in a timely manner. It appears there are fewer and fewer local police vehicles equipped with LoJack receivers these days.

I had wondered about that. Don't the police cars that have LoJack detectors in their car have a multitude of antennas? I've seen cruisers like this, but then again it may be for multiple bands or a repeater.

Edit-

About how many stolen cars have you found?

 

[ecps92]

Good for you. There's a thread here you may want to chime in on.




I had wondered about that. Don't the police cars that have LoJack detectors in their car have a multitude of antennas? I've seen cruisers like this, but then again it may be for multiple bands or a repeater.

Edit-

About how many stolen cars have you found?

Lo/jack is 4 VHF Antenna's
depending on the installer they maybe spring loaded or not (Car Washes bend many of the non spring loaded)