sw_hunt

I'm head of engineering for a company that designs radio tracking devices.
We could make a device that sat in the car and transmitted to a box which could be either in your garage or near your work carpark etc. This could then transmit to an alarm box on your desk/in your pocket if the car was moved. The range from car to detector box could be adjusted from anything from 1m to about 30m so if the car moved out of this range your alarm box would go off.
A Tracker is only any good if you tell them it's stolen (could be hours after the event if you're sat in an office unable to see the car) and you can be well out of earshot of the car's alarm. We could also make it alert you if the car is broken into ie before it's even moved, by incorporating an ultrasonic sensor in the car box.
What would people be willing to pay for this system?
Anyone got any better (polite) ideas that this kind of technology could be used for?
Steve

Andy W

sounds like a good idea, particularly with the ultrasonic protection, will put my mind at ease when in the better weather I take the bike to work.
Keep us posted if you decide to develop this

logiclee

Steve,

Godd Idea!!!

Pagers are available for alarm systems with around a 1 mile range for about £50. Your system is slightly better as it alarms if you go out of range and would be vastly better with a 30 mile range.

Two things for you to consider.

1. The size of the box for you desk/pocket.
2. Alternative device is £50 fitted.

Hope this gives you a clearer picture.

Lee

sw_hunt

Sorry - by 1m or 30m I meant meters! The idea is that if the car is moved eg out of your garage (moved just one meter) or moved out of your car park (say 30 meters because you wouldn't necessarily park in the same place so one reveiver near the car park would cover it all), then the alarm will sound. The point is that it would be POSITION sensitive, so that even if someone defeated your alarm or towed it away then the receiver would notice that the car had moved and alarm.
The best position sensitive devices that I know of for this type of thing are GSM which aren't terribly accurate (just really a phone cell which can be miles wide) and need connecting permanently to the phone line (ok for tracking ambulances on call for rapid response but too expensive for cars - imagine the phone bill being on all the time). My technology works down to sensible location sizes and doesn't rely on the GSM system.
Only trouble is my system needs 3 boxes - one in the car, one in a fixed spot so it can tell that the car has moved and one in your pocket. The pocket one could just be your phone or pager and the fixed unit could dial it.

Boost II

iTrader: (1)

I'd like something to let me know if the alarm was being triggered whilst I was away from the car. There are tracking sysems that do this even though the basic Tracker does not. Problem is they require a subscription fee for the service. A cheap one off alternative would be welcome if not too expensive.
I am considering a pager but I am concerned that I work in a huge building which is notorious for hindering radio transmissions - the whole corporation has to listen to Virgin FM on meduium wave as no other stations can be picked up.

(Edited to say this is a serious when they used to only play the same handful of bland songs over and over again for about 3 months solid.)

[This message has been edited by Boost II (edited 18 February 2001).]

MattN

erm........... I don't have to tell them it's stolen they tell me!!!!

Not sure what you mean by it could be hours before you notice it's gone, just buy a decent tracker!

The idea of a tracker is once the system is activated if the car is moved it sets of a signal the tracker company then phone you saying they are tracking your car are you in it! this happened when my car was towed away, they called me, I went rushing out and hey presto my car was being towed, I cleared up the confusion and my car was put back.

I don't have to pay a subscrition it was all included in the package I bought (about £600). This was the same price as a decent Cat 1 alarm.

Matt

sw_hunt

How can Tracker tell it's you driving away not a thief? I thought a Tracker can detect a tilt eg if it's put on a transporter. Do you mean it can also detect a change in location of the car - if so deos this only trigger if the ignition/immobiliser is not disarmed...otherwise it would trigger every time you drove the car? Thanks for enlightening me.