/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>72484
>they

typo

Micro-controller, GPS module, GPRS module, lots of code.

>>72490
i'm more interested in something off the shelf with a relatively high reliability factor

scientists use trackers. these are devices that store the geolocation cords on the device itself. they have to retrieve it from the animal and download the data.

what you are looking for is probably a live receiver type. for that you'll need a receiver about a palm size. that wouldn't be practical for the purpose you are talking about.
there are companies that provide that kind of service and you can buy a fairly small but expensive devices from them

>>72497
Op may I ask what you are trying to protect?

>>72497
What is commonly used to track wild animals is very different.

The smallest ones are as big as a match, and are usually inserted under their skin. These are transponders. They just answer to beacons placed in the area. That's why they are so small, and can transmit for a very long time. But that's not something you want, you can't put these all

Then, there are the radiotelemeters. These have a huge battery life, and will broadcast a signal when contacted on a specific frequency. Triangulate this signal, and you find beacon. This is what you want, but as you can see, getting it back isn't that easy.

Now, some carry actual GPS trackers. But most of these just log all the places, they never transmit anything. The data is gathered once the animal returned or is captured again, that's why it can last for a few days, and allows for a much smaller battery. That's not what you want.

Some do call back home to give their position, but only a few times. Mostly when they leave a specific area: they start sending warning messages, and then broadcast their position until the battery dies. Others give their position each time they move, or each time they stop for a long enough time. It's commonly used to track pets, and this looks like a good solution. But you'll have to take it off quite often to change the batteries. It's hardly a long term solution.

Finally, some GPS trackers can last for weeks. They can even be remote controlled, so you can choose how often it broadcasts its position. That's the best long term tracking solution, but it is of course XBOX HUEG.

>>72525
Is there anything that exists that would be able to hop onto open wifi networks and send out a message via said network with the ip/location?

>>72544
Obviously you can do this on a laptop/phone, etc. Do dedicated hardware units exist?

>>72544
Same guy here, never heard of such a thing, but it isn't a bad idea. As long as there's free wifi around.

But by the way, what is it exactly that you want protected from theft? Different solutions exists for some specific cases...

google the website hack-a-day i remember reading an article about 5 or 6 months ago about a guy who used a prepaid trac-phone to reply with its cellphone tower GPS coordinates when it received a text with keywords in it.

the guy wired it in to his cars fuze box to track the movements of his car.

but there are all kinds of tracking things available with phones that use similar concepts

>>72544
Google APRS