GPS units CAN be tracked!

Some day we'll be lojacked and be traced or your carrying something in your wallet, pocket(anything)or a pellet on your body, hope not in my days.

I think that you will find that the gps unit itself is not tracked or receives the information (but we may see).

Most trucking companies, police/fire/ems departments and some taxi services have a gps receiver hooked up to the two way radio. The gps unit will send its location (via the radio) every so often to the base so they can see the location. More costly systems will have a computer that gives the user an interface and the ability to see messages. I would be very intersted to see how they allow the streetpilot to work in this manner. I guess it would be similar to the traffic data.

This is great news to me, as I have a radio/scanner fleet (50+) for my home/car etc. This may solve some of the traffic delay woes if you could have a UHF channel for each city, and then tune your twoway radio for the channel. You could send the data much faster than what is currently sent in the MSN or TMC formats.

Will be staying tuned....

Daniel

Vehicles can be tracked when you add a device like this:
http://www.beaconwireless.net/product-zoom.html
which uses packet radio services to transmit location data. No transmitter, no tracking.

GPSr's like the mainstream ones we all have are passive receivers, they don't broadcast like a cell does. So, for now we're all safe from Big Brother.

Edit - Nomad, you beat me to it! *grins*

The device is a transmitter/receiver. I would be interested to see what the messages look like when they come in to the unit.

Correct, that is the "with the some help" part. But they must be relaying the map data back to the company to let them see where you are. I'd like them to show more of the working screens that make it different http://www.gps-buddy.com/site/EN/images/bigmessage2.gif

I had not seen anyone interface with the Garmin yet, so thanks for the link.

Daniel

If you're looking for a few screenshots, this pdf from GPS Buddy has a few pics (on page 2):

http://download.gps-buddy.com/manuals/Folders/PDF_brochures_...

Hey Daniel, here's another company working with Garmin in case you're interested:
http://www.gps-buddy.com/site/EN/GPS-Buddy-product-connect.h...

Big Brother Watching?

I am not worried about it yet.

Bill

American Apparel's tags start tracking your pants
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/15/american_apparel/

and check out: http://www.dslreports.com/nsearch?boardlist=18&cat=remark&ad...

If it is a well designed "system", it will send only what it needs to.....which would be a unit ID and the coordinates. Sending map data would be a waste of resources (bandwidth).

A home project that will cure the tag, and drive the inventory folks possitivly nuts.

Of course, only for those that are interested:
http://tinyurl.com/6l8mbe

I love it!

Don't like the idea of that much....

If you're driving a GM car or truck, it might already be happening. OnStar, that comes pre-installed on all recent model, is basically a GPS receiver with a cellphone to transmit data and receive commands.

They've introduced a new service where OnStar will locate your stolen car and remotely disable it when the police is in pursuit:
http://www.wheels.ca/Article%20Category/article/32150

Also, if you bought your car (I leased mine) you might want to try hacking your OnStar:
http://www.hackaday.com/2005/03/29/gm-onstar-hacking/
http://www.governmentsecurity.org/archive/t1730.html

I sure would love to use that hands free phone with my cell service.

Simon

I have heard that rental car companies are using GPS to track their fleet.

Jen

...Or if you got a new mobile phone anytime since, I believe, 2005 in the US. Most companies have only activated E911 capable phones since then. Yes, that means you can be tracked with it even if you don't have GPS capabilites on the phone! Only time you couldn't be tracked is if the phone is off.

Try here for a personal tracking/messenger device: http://www.findmespot.com/Home.aspx

Mike

I work for one and it's not happening.
Margins in the industry are low and the cost would be prohibitive.

Now.....if you are talking about renting a $300,000 Bentley, that might be a different story !!

As far as the military/government tracking who uses their signal, this will never happen. If you have a basic understanding of how GPS satellites work you will see that it is not possible. And as far as credibility I work at 2 SOPS which is the squadron that does command and control for GPS satellites.

AHA! A gov't spy in our midst!! Just kidding Klooney. I use to work at AFRC HQ, and worked with all you guys in the SOPS units. Thanks for setting the record straight!

Cheers........ Joel

Be careful which websites you visit. Websites can now upload your track history and home location from your GPSr.

And since the website already knows your IP address, the website can build a pretty extensive database file about you which can then be sold to marketing companies.

And you know this how???????

Another conspiracy theory starting????

Maybe, just maybe,someone could get this info from your computer but only if you have your GPS hooked up to your computer all the time, and you have a GPS that has tracking..............

Get real!

Oh but it is worse than you think. If you have a webcam attached, they can use it to probe your eyes with a modified Vulcan mind meld technique and extract information directly from your BRAIN......assuming that there really is anything in there !!

Now this is one I can sink my teeth into !!!

Large trucking companies have been using the two-way system for years. Have you ever noticed the white domed object on the back of some semi tractors? That is the satellite system that reports location, speed and other pertinent information.

Some local UPS trucks are also equipped with a similar system. One day at our office the driver got a phone call telling him he had just stopped on a major roadway and forgotten to utilize his emergency flashers as a warning to other drivers.

Imagine that!

Since you are so smart I'm not going to point you to the exact page. But if you do a little reading, you'll discover I'm correct. Here's Garmin's very own site for developers. Read and learn.

http://developer.garmin.com/forum/index.php?sid=65814cf5aa58...

Learn Learn Learn........

I've learned that if you don't keep your GPS hooked up to the PC all the time and only hook it up when YOU want to transfer files between the GPStoPC/PCtoGPS you shouldn't have any thing to worry about. Especially if you aren't connected to the internet during the time the GPS is hooked up to the PC.

Also most people have firewalls to keep unwanted people out of their computers. And Anti-Virus programs to keep all those little Trojans at bay.

My Brother has an Etrex..and he had a problem with it..so they sent him a New one..well he called and said that he lost all his waypoints..They said they could send them to him..a few minutes later he said they were there>?? I couldnt believe it ..

I don't know who is right and who is wrong here but the above quoted sentence is a CLASSIC smoke-screen defense of an in-defensible position.

If you actually have reputable information, there is no logical reason not to share it. The inescapable conclusion when you chose NOT to share it is: You have nothing......or what you have is not reputable.

If you are really trying to be helpful, you need to change your tactics/attitude a bit.

Unless you have a Dash Express..... and if that concept catches on, hello Big Brother.

Yup - Dash, and your cell phone know exactly where you are at any time.......... I fool it though - I almost never carry my cell phone, so it always thinks I'm at the house.

Joel

Sigh.

If you spend five seconds and click on the link I provided you will find that I did share the source of my comments. Which is Garmin's own developer website. By reading the threads on the developer website you will discover how websites can and are being built to pull data from your GPSr.

Is it a conspiracy? I never said it was. I just wanted to alert people to the fact that their private GPSr data can be accessed without their knowledge if they visit certain websites.

let's all play nice ....