otterbuff Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I was casually talking to someone about the coke advertisement that we heard about where they are putting GPS devices into coke cans and when you get one, they come to you and you win fabulous prizes ;-0 (not exactly sure what the promotion REALLY is) I am suprised when I searched that this has not already been discussed - maybe I searched on the wrong words! The point of this post though is about using GPS as a locator for something that is lost or stolen. Assume I have a high value item that is left outside for all to enjoy but I actually put this GPS transpoinder on it so I can find it if it is ever stolen. I realize that my item with the GPS unit is stolen, and I activate the transponder and it tells me where it is and I go and retrieve it from whomever "found it." Is this something that exists already for a low budget? Writing this I have more questions about this coke deal - if I am in my office building and I get the winning coke can - how is their GPS transponder going to work? Anyway bottom line question is are there low cost GPS transponders that can be remotely activated and then 'phone home' and tell the owner where it is? Hmmm, this is seeming even more of remote possibility as I type!!! Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment
+O Crew Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I see where you are going. I would be cool if you could economically use a tracking device to find a stolen cache. Here is a link to something I saw on ebay, but I don't think it quite fits the bill. This device hooks to your car and allows you to later download where it has been. Probably good for spying on the wife but no real geocaching application. Quote Link to comment
otterbuff Posted June 16, 2004 Author Share Posted June 16, 2004 Yikes, that is what the black box is that I found on my car! She is on to me - I had better stop going to Best Buy ;-). You are right, that is interesting but not exactly what I am looking for - yet! BTW, definately looking for the transponder route that is going to recieve and transmit realtime. But that ebay deal at several hundred makes me realize that any transponder ain't gonna come cheap. Quote Link to comment
+Rogue_monkey Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 well i know you can get a gps transmitter put on your car for tacking it if it gets stolen, don't know how much that costs but maybe you could use the car one for your item. or find out what they use. just a thought Quote Link to comment
+MrMac204 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 a few months ago in Surrey (Vancouver area, Canada) someone stole a bobcat- small backhoe type of machine- well wouldn't you know it, the owner had one of those tracker things hidden on it- so somehow (via phone call?) he got it turned on, and lo and behold- they found it in someones driveway several miles away.... they did not detail the gps features though, nor the cost.... I thought it was very cool Quote Link to comment
+ZackJones Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I see where you are going. I would be cool if you could economically use a tracking device to find a stolen cache. Here is a link to something I saw on ebay, but I don't think it quite fits the bill. This device hooks to your car and allows you to later download where it has been. Probably good for spying on the wife but no real geocaching application. That thing is cool! If they sold them for around $100.00 I'd buy one or two - to keep track of my teenage drivers. Quote Link to comment
+Geo Leo Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Battery power is the biggest obstacle for a portable unit. Anything that can be hard-wired into a vehicle and draw current from the vehicle's battery is a little more practical, and is widely available now (onstar for example). Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 The technology in question is APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) Quote Link to comment
Cracker. Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I was watching Screen Savers on TechTV last year, and they were interviewing Steve Wozniak......He had just come up with a GPS device that does EXACTLY this....it was small, about the size of a .50 cent piece... http://www.internetnews.com/wireless/article.php/959891 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.05/start.html?pg=17 http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews.../6349353.htm?1c Quote Link to comment
schmism Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I think you misunderstand the coke thing a little. The coke thing is more based on celuar tech than it is GPS. When you press the little button it makes a cell call. Durring which a plane old GPS reciver transmits its cordients to the person on the phone. I'm assuming that if your talking to the peeps in the can, and they cant get your corordinates they would instruct you to go "outside" etc. But it doesnt have some sort of nifty GPS transmitter. Most of the current tech surronding detecting your stolen whatever are based around cellular tech. Onstar etc require you to have a cellular account inorder for hte service to work. You place a call to a reciver, that then transmits its location back to you over the "phone". Quote Link to comment
Clanggedin Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Currently a GPS device that connects to your car and allows you to track the vehicle via the web is about $500+ per vehicle plus a monthly fee for web access. I manage a dealership where we have 300+ cars on our lot. I have been looking for something low cost for a long time now. Hopefully WoZ is the solution. Quote Link to comment
+DanAL70 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 The smaller and chipper thing which might fit your need is Garmin Rino 110. almost 200$. Advise: don't forget the batteries and to turn it on. it will work for a small distance, do not worn you when is stolen, you must "watch" it , and the only thing you will notice is that the IT's going away. more expensive solutions will get you more functionalities and recover possibilities. anyway. the most expensive car , with the most expensive alarm sistem (based on GPS and mobile phone or even satellite) , if is hidden into an steel container (as those for trucks) will do not receive any GPS signal , and will report only the last place where was seen. The steel container will act like the Faraday box, no electromagnetic signal getting in (GPS) or out (radio signal for transponder). So, you have to think about the value of the thing you want to protect, and how much you should invest to get a good protection. If the extra investment will double the price of that something,... you better quit. When the thing will be stolen, you will have savings to buy a new one. Quote Link to comment
+DanAL70 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 The smaller and chipper thing which might fit your need is Garmin Rino 110. almost 200$.Advise: don't forget the batteries and to turn it on. it will work for a small distance, do not worn you when is stolen, you must "watch" it , and the only thing you will notice is that the IT's going away. more expensive solutions will get you more functionalities and recover possibilities. anyway. the most expensive car , with the most expensive alarm sistem (based on GPS and mobile phone or even satellite) , if is hidden into an steel container (as those for trucks) will do not receive any GPS signal , and will report only the last place where was seen. The steel container will act like the Faraday box, no electromagnetic signal getting in (GPS) or out (radio signal for transponder). So, you have to think about the value of the thing you want to protect, and how much you should invest to get a good protection. If the extra investment will double the price of that something,... you better quit. When the thing will be stolen, you will have savings to buy a new one. OOOps!!! you need two Rino's. so the solution should be double by itself: from 200 up to 400$. maybe to expensive allready! sorry Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Currently a GPS device that connects to your car and allows you to track the vehicle via the web is about $500+ per vehicle plus a monthly fee for web access. I manage a dealership where we have 300+ cars on our lot. I have been looking for something low cost for a long time now. Hopefully WoZ is the solution. Have you heard of C-Chip Technologies? Their "Shadow 100" can be had for $359.00. There might be a discount for volume purchases. C-Chip Store Online Quote Link to comment
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