How to use gps chips as anit-theft devices?

May 14, 2007 9:23 AM

I would like to put some sort of gps chip in items that are likely to be stolen from me. Does anyone know how well these work, how they work, or what they cost?

I am renovating and reselling two houses that are four blocks from where I live. Someone broke in and stole all of our tools. So we put on metal doors,window locks, and deadbolts. Then someone stole the two HVAC units from behind the houses (ten grand and not covered by insurance). So we put up a back privacy fence with a padlock and installed extra lighting. The houses are now up for sale and we have had wreaths and plants stolen off of the front porch. I don't just want to prevent further theft. I want to catch the people doing it.

posted by flarbuse to Technology (12 answers total)

Well, you have to remember, a "GPS chip" can only figure out where it is. You'd still need some sort of attached device to tell you where it is (i.e. a mobile phone transmitter). So, I'd expect the cost to be around $100 each for such a device. Not the sort of thing you'd put on individual tools, but maybe in a toolbox (not that it'd work very well with so much metal in the way). The HVAC units are expensive enough that they might actually justify the sort of Lojack device used for tracking cars (which is not GPS-based, IIRC).
posted by kindall at 9:28 AM on May 14, 2007

Wow. Lots of light and a couple fake video cameras?

The kind of trackers that broadcast seem really expensive.
posted by voidcontext at 9:34 AM on May 14, 2007

I recently visited a local 'spy store' and saw this stuff. THere are essentially two flavors - passive and active. The passive GPS device is something you would stick on a car and later retrieve and download all the GPS data. You'd use this to track someone. These are cheap, but wont work for you as you are not retrieving the stolen items.

The second one is a cell phone with a GPS box. It was pricey (a few hundred dollars) but supposedly would contact some centralized server with the coordiates every x minutes or so. This one is 500 dollars.

Befoer going this route you should find out if the police can even use this data. You can tell them that your GPS unit says the object is probably in this house or warehouse, but who knows if they will act on this info.
posted by damn dirty ape at 9:42 AM on May 14, 2007

There are devices that are sold as pet locators that send location data to your cell phone, but one would think that any thief with half a brain would notice it on the generator he stole.
posted by Lame_username at 10:01 AM on May 14, 2007

You can do this for $100 dollars and a pittance every month. Check out mologogo!
posted by phrontist at 10:06 AM on May 14, 2007 [1 favorite]

Woah, make that $60.

I'm not a shill, just a fan.
posted by phrontist at 10:07 AM on May 14, 2007

I would probably recommend a cheap prepaid GPS phone + existing tracking service like phrontist listed. That's probably the smallest and cheapest way you'll get tracking info + broadcasting capability. On the downside, cell phones suck a lot of power compared to something like voidcontext suggested, so you'll probably have to wire the charging cord into the power supply of whatever equipment you want to track for extended use, making it only suitable for larger electronic equipment.

I don't think you'll be able to find anything that's small/cheap/power efficient enough to track objects like wreaths and smaller tools for extended periods of time.
posted by chundo at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2007

Cameras would probably be cheaper and more useful. At that distance, a decent antenna could have the cameras wirelessly broadcasting back to your occupied home.

Lots of outside light just makes the place an eyesore, although with judicious use, it can make it look occupied. ;)
posted by wierdo at 10:26 AM on May 14, 2007

There was a fellow doing the same thing in my town and finally got caught because some construction companies, in a desperate attempt to make any money at all from their jobs, were looking for replacement tools in local bulletin boards, craigslist, etc.

Someone bought a big box from him, and then realized it was the one they used to have. Police called, man arrested, now he's got a quarter century to plan it out better.

Short story---let it be known that you're looking to buy cheap A/C units and tools.
posted by TomMelee at 1:37 PM on May 14, 2007

You might want to install alarms. If theft is that big of a problem in the neighborhood it might even add value to the home for resale.
posted by caddis at 1:39 PM on May 14, 2007

I think lots of cameras and some form of recorder, maybe combined with leaving some juicy "stealables" out where they can be seen (nothing really valuable, but maybe an old empty toolbox) would work better. You'll need good low-lux IR cameras for nighttime, though.

But I second the idea of asking around, maybe through an intermediary, to see if someone has some HVAC equipment that they'd like to unload for cheap. Craigslist might be a good place to look, or eBay. Whoever took that stuff is going to want to sell or install it pretty quick.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:27 PM on May 14, 2007

having somebody living in the houses would probably help. find out if local churches or community centers know of somebody who is trustworthy and needs someplace to sleep.
posted by Megafly at 2:28 PM on May 14, 2007