+necron Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 once saw an event cache idea in england where a guy hooked up his phone with SMS messaging to his GPS, if you sent him a message it would bounce back his lat/lon. basically he used this as a fox hunt idea... driving around giving people the opportunity to SMS him to get his position until someone found him. this was, to me, one of the neatest ideas i'd heard of. anyone know of any hardware/software that could do this well? -bd Quote Link to comment
+Seamus Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 I can imagine how it might be done, and I think I recall having seen one or two here in the US a while back, before. I think they've enacted rulings disallowing moving caches since then, though. Quote Link to comment
+IV_Warrior Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Hmmm.....sounds like a fun game for a geocaching event......maybe a "stay within the park" and everyone on bicycles...... i too would be interested in the technical side of how this was done..... Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 (edited) Nevermind - I originally posted information about a similar, but different technology which does not apply here. My apologies for the interruption... Edited June 7, 2004 by Neo_Geo Quote Link to comment
+necron Posted June 7, 2004 Author Share Posted June 7, 2004 I do remember in boston they use a system that posts a snowplow's lat/lon to the base office. they use this to track what's been plowed and what hasn't. i wonder if this is privately available... Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 As I was going to mention in my previous post, APRS - Automatic Position Reporting System - is a growing trend. It basically involves hooking up GPS receivers to radio transmitters that broadcast the GPS location information at regular intervals. The location information can then be plotted on various maps. Emergency Service dispatchers use it to help locate the nearest unit able to respond to a call. Trucking companies use it to track their drivers and can tell if the drivers are breaking laws (speeding, driving for longer periods than federal regulations allow, etc.) While most of the gear is designed for mobile applications, some pedestrians are able to use this technology as well. I lived and worked in a town for 5 years and commuted by bus the whole time. The bus system started using APRS to help riders determine where the next bus is and a highly accurate E.T.A. The following link is best viewed during the day or early evening when buses actually run: Fairfax, Virginia's CUE Bus system map Showing Realtime Location of Buses 2 months after they started using this technology, I moved to another town! As mentioned in my earlier post, this is a different technology from what was employed with the cell phone discussed above. GOOGLE IT! Quote Link to comment
+necron Posted June 8, 2004 Author Share Posted June 8, 2004 i wonder if this would work with a garmin rhino... Quote Link to comment
Deego Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Have a look at this cache for the info there have been a few. the last one went right around the UK. but there have been others that have to stay in a smaller area. hope this helps a bit Quote Link to comment
+nfa Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Hi, My UPS delivery guy has a unit in his truck that constantly updates his coord, and uploads them to the central office...if a cacher could just "borrow" a UPS truck, we could have a fun cache-event... nfa Quote Link to comment
+necron Posted June 9, 2004 Author Share Posted June 9, 2004 I think i came up with something... use a pda with a gps reciever, connect to a phone via bluetooth. on the pda write a small AIM script that will bounce back input from the gps and sent it out via the wireless phone. now all i need is a new pda since my is dead! Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 APRS - Automatic Position Reporting System will work with any GPS that has a data interface. Of coursed you will need other hardware as well, a two way radio and TNC (termina node conector) and a Radio license for the band you will be operating in, no FRS wil not work, You would probably need a Technicians class ham radio lic. Quote Link to comment
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