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Live Unit Tracking

When your FiveM server runs the PulseCAD resource, on-duty units appear and move on the dispatch and MDT maps in real time, on the actual GTA-V map.

How it works

  1. Each on-duty player's game client samples its position every couple of seconds. The resource batches those samples and pushes them to the CAD over outbound HTTPS on a set interval (default every 20 seconds, minimum 10 — adjustable in Admin → FiveM).
  2. The CAD resolves the player's in-game license (falling back to Steam/Discord ID) to their on-duty unit and updates the map for everyone watching that community/server.
  3. Markers show a car when the unit is in a vehicle and a dot when on foot, colored by the unit's current status.

To keep bandwidth low, tiny movements are skipped — but a heartbeat always sends at least every ~15 seconds, so a stationary on-duty player keeps their blip instead of ageing off the map.

Requirements

  • The player has linked their account once with /cadlink <code> (see FiveM Integration).
  • The player is on duty in the MDT (a unit with a callsign). Off-duty players are not shown.

Who sees whom

  • Dispatch sees every on-duty unit in the community/server.
  • Officers (MDT) see their own agency plus any agencies on their watch list. Add an agency to your watch list to see its units and its calls on your map.

See Dispatch and Law Enforcement (MDT) for the map controls on each side.

Coordinates & postals

The CAD works in GTA-V world coordinates — the same x, y the game uses — so no manual calibration is needed. Units, calls, and postals all share that one coordinate system, so everything lines up on the map.

The map is overlaid with postals — the numbered location callouts FiveM communities use. PulseCAD bundles the standard "New & Improved" postal set, and you can upload your own pack in Admin → Postals ({code, x, y} JSON, compatible with Sonoran/Imperial/Snaily exports). Each live position is reverse-geocoded to the nearest postal, so the units list and traffic-stop/field screens show a readable location, not just a dot.

Dispatch GPS routing & auto on-scene

  • GPS routing: when a dispatcher assigns you a call, your in-game GPS auto-routes to it and you get an on-screen notification with the call nature and location. Use /callwp to re-set the waypoint any time.
  • Auto on-scene: if you're en route/dispatched to your assigned call and arrive at its location (same postal zone, or within ~40 meters of an exact-coordinate call like a /ts stop), the CAD flips you to On Scene automatically and starts the per-call safety timer. (Requires postal maps enabled.)

Disconnects & the grace period

If you disconnect while on duty, PulseCAD doesn't drop you instantly:

  • Your unit stays on the board with a "disconnected (grace)" indicator for the configured grace period (default 5 minutes; set 0 to disable in Admin → FiveM).
  • Reconnect within the window and your status and call assignment are restored automatically — you never left the board.
  • If the grace period expires, the CAD removes the unit and cleans up its call attachment (no ghost units).

Even on an ungraceful disconnect (crash/timeout), the CAD ages out stale GPS after about a minute, so a disconnected unit's blip always drops off the map.

Not showing up?

If a unit isn't on the map: confirm the player linked (/cadlink), is on duty, and that the viewer is in the same community/server. Officers on the MDT also need the unit's agency on their watch list (Dispatch sees all).