I have a question about tracking devices for a story that I am writing. (monitor, cellphone)
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Oh yeah, the story doesn't call for five years, it's just the one that was posted in the example was five years, which is why I asked about it, that's all. He would only need a couple of weeks in the story.
Where are these tracking devices that private detectives used that anyone can buy? Do you mean ones like these:
Oh yeah, the story doesn't call for five years, it's just the one that was posted in the example was five years, which is why I asked about it, that's all. He would only need a couple of weeks in the story.
Where are these tracking devices that private detectives used that anyone can buy? Do you mean ones like these:
Yes, I think so. Although I suppose a professional will probably use a higher-quality more expensive one. It’s a bit frightening how easy they are to come by isn’t it? Many a cheating spouse have been caught by these devices.
Way back in the early 90s we put a tracker in my wife's car. She had a propensity to get lost coming down the freeway in the rain. That system was a small attache case with a GPS and an amateur radio transmitter which had a fixed message. The package could have been easily concealed in a car and would be powered off the car electrical system. The package had its own batteries and was recharged whenever the ignition was on. The difficulty would have been the antenna. Probably would have had to work out some way of sharing the cars antenna as the amateur radio one was obvious. The GPS antenna would have been easily concealed.
Okay thanks. So when you plant these devices on a car, the device sends out a signal, that can be read by say a cellphone, so the person following, can know where you are, while following then?
Okay thanks. So when you plant these devices on a car, the device sends out a signal, that can be read by say a cellphone, so the person following, can know where you are, while following then?
A cellphone is one way. A radio transmitter is another. The system we put in actually used the amateur radio repeater system and you could see the location of the transmitter on a map on the internet.
If you were trying to be sneaky you would use something that is not leaving a track as a cell phone will. There are transmitters that are suitable in the public and amateur radio areas. If the installation was not legal the perpetrator would use an illegal frequency. There are available transmitter than can be set up to work on illegal frequencies making discovery unlikely.
The way it works is the car unit simply comes up every 15 or 30 seconds and transmits a lat/long. A suitable receiver shows it on a screen.
Oh okay. But wouldn't a cellphone only last about a day and a half in battery power the most? That would mean that the main character would have to be keep switching it out everyday, hoping not to be seen.
How long would the batter in a radio transmitter last?
Oh okay. But wouldn't a cellphone only last about a day and a half in battery power the most? That would mean that the main character would have to be keep switching it out everyday, hoping not to be seen.
How long would the batter in a radio transmitter last?
Gimmicking a cell phone so it lasts can be done. One way would be to tie it to the car electric system if you have good access to the car.
Another would be to program the phone so it stays in a low energy state most of the time waking for a few seconds every few minutes to report its location. A phone could last weeks in such a mode.
There are also battery packs available that would extend the life of a phone by a factor of three or four.
The various commercial trackers will use these techniques.
The batteries in our old tracker were good for a day or two. They were really there so the system did not run down the car battery on a long shut down.
Oh okay. So when the tracking device sends out a signal of where it's location is, to be read, can a stalker read the signal on their cellphone while driving and following the car?
Oh okay. So when the tracking device sends out a signal of where it's location is, to be read, can a stalker read the signal on their cellphone while driving and following the car?
Yes. Just need suitable equipment. With a cellphone based tracker the tracker can have it call him or he can call it. The cardiac recorder in my chest is called by my cellphone in the middle of the night which then unloads the data to a central depository in the cloud.
Note that either technique leaves a track that can be discovered by others.
Radio transmitter devices leave no track unless someone is looking for it at the time and then it is only the transmitter that discloses its presence.
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