The anatomy of an FBI GPS tracker

mikea

mikea

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
16,975
Location
Lake County, IL
Display Name
Display name:
iWin
We partnered with Wired to bring you a peek inside an FBI car-tracking device. The device was loaned to us by an unknown owner and is similar to the one Yasir Afifi found underneath his car.

The device comprises of a GPS unit for receiving the car's position, an RF transmitter for relaying your location to the interested authority (aka the FBI), and a set of sweet D-cell batteries that power the whole enchilada. But we didn't stop there, of course. Read on to find out exactly what components make this secretive device tick.
Click to expand...

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Tracking-Device-Teardown/5250/1
 
gismo said:
Something I don't understand about such devices is how they are able to receive GPS signals from underneath a metal car body. Seems like a GPS antenna on the care which can see the sky would be a dead giveaway.
Click to expand...


Modern cars have urethane bumper covers through which a GPS signal is available.
 
More and more of us give our positions away through cell phones (although this method is a little more direct and spooks don't need no steening papers).
 
Not to mention have you seen the sensitivity of modern GPS chipsets? The really good ones?

I can lock three satellites in my basement with a datalogger GPS device that cost $70.

On the contrary, my original Garmin GPS III would lose lock driving in a car between tall buildings.

They really have gotten incredible.

If you load AGPS (Assisted GPS) data into the thing so it can use cellular signals to help get an initial startup fix into the GPSs that support that, the acquisition time is virtually zero.

I bet the FBI gets all the best toys in this regard... ;)
 
The GPS receivers have gotten much better. I have a new Aera and it works very well; just a short battery life. The driod phone GPS is really good too. Orux maps doesn't work as I would want, but it seems to make a good data logger for geotagging photographs.

My Garmin V is likely to become semi-retired as a bike computer and VFR GPS (it has a nice CDI type display)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top