This seems to be getting more routine.
Robbery suspect caught through GPS device

I know newspaper reporters have to write to the uninformed on about an eighth grade level, but since I am in the company of fellow geeks: How did a gps device itself help catch the robber? Probably it was a gps device broadcasting a position through packet radio (aprs). I saw something similar on CSI Thursday night, and they just mentioned a gps receiver and not the transmitting device. The good guy picked it up on his lap top showing a street map and bad guy blip. We have been doing this in ham radio for a while. You have a gpsr connected to a black box (tnc) which is connected to a transmitter which is connected to a network of similar ham stations. Some folks even have a digital weather station connected in the black box so now you get lat, long, temp, barometric, altitude and wind speed (only if you are stationary). So how's that for geeky, nerdy stuff?

Note to self:

If robbing a bank be sure to have a metal box capable of blocking radio signals to throw moneybag in.

Also see State has glitches in system designed to monitor parolees. I really like the last lines

quote:

wrapping them in aluminum foil. That would prevent any signals from coming in or leaving"

quote:

capable of blocking radio signals

Better open/close the box quickly because it'll transmit at the speed of light once opened.

Nice stuff Nasty about the APRS but here's an article on a similar subject that may explain the technology more so using GSM/GPRS.
The BluTag GPS ankle bracelet and GPRS Platform

quote:

Originally posted by Joebids:
[Better open/close the box quickly because it'll transmit at the speed of light once opened.

But as we all know it takes time for a GPS to figure where it is once it can receive the signals from the satellites and has a very hard time in any major building. Plenty of time to find the device with the transmitter and GPS receiver and put them back in the box.

quote:

Originally posted by AllenLacy:

quote:

Originally posted by Joebids:
[Better open/close the box quickly because it'll transmit at the speed of light once opened.

But as we all know it takes time for a GPS to figure where it is once it can receive the signals from the satellites and has a very hard time in any major building. Plenty of time to find the device with the transmitter and GPS receiver and put them back in the box.

The GPS takes time to PROCESS and FIGURE, but the Satellite data can be sent out right away for another computer to FIGURE.

But it wouldn't surprise me to start seeing 'RF tags' (we have those now) embedded in our currency. So that when stolen money left the building, all those bills would be 'rf tagged' with an ID transmitter. If anyone tries to spend them, they're nabbed.