Tracker System

T

tarik

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Which on board Tracker system would the Team recommend. Off to Gib soon and SWMBO wants to follow me en route ( just in case I divert to the Carribean !)


Nothing too elaborate a transmitting GPS signal onto a domestic laptop at home would do the trick.


Many thanks for all replies.



David
 
Why not fit an active AIS? She would be able to see you most of the time on AIS tracking sites and it would be also a useful spend for other safety reasons too.
 
tarik said:
Nothing too elaborate a transmitting GPS signal onto a domestic laptop at home would do the trick. David
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No offense David but that sentence just about sums up the public's grasp of technology.

You want a system that costs next to nothing, can be installed by an amature and runs off very little power. It has to interface to satellites orbiting high above the earth and calculate a position to within say 10 metres, a service provided to all intents and purposes for free. Having done this it must somehow relay its position from miles out to sea back to a portable, low cost computer and display the result on a map in real time.

I can remember a time when my Grandparents house had outside plumbing. Any one of the above requirements 25 years ago would have been laughed at as pie-in-the-sky.

People continuously complain about the unreliability of 'technology' these days, the fact is that the consumer can purchase all kinds of stuff that generally delivers hidden miracles. Spoilt is what we are.
 
Before firing off both barrels may I respectfully suggest you read my request again. At no time have I suggested that I want something that costs next to nothing - I am more than prepared to pay the going rate. I do not require the item to be complicated to use.

Your apologies will be accepted.

D




nimbusgb said:
No offense David but that sentence just about sums up the public's grasp of technology.

You want a system that costs next to nothing, can be installed by an amature and runs off very little power. It has to interface to satellites orbiting high above the earth and calculate a position to within say 10 metres, a service provided to all intents and purposes for free. Having done this it must somehow relay its position from miles out to sea back to a portable, low cost computer and display the result on a map in real time.

I can remember a time when my Grandparents house had outside plumbing. Any one of the above requirements 25 years ago would have been laughed at as pie-in-the-sky.

People continuously complain about the unreliability of 'technology' these days, the fact is that the consumer can purchase all kinds of stuff that generally delivers hidden miracles. Spoilt is what we are.
Click to expand...
 
Ric said:
Why not fit an active AIS? She would be able to see you most of the time on AIS tracking sites and it would be also a useful spend for other safety reasons too.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your useful reply. I already have AIS on board and will explore the possibilities mentioned.

David
 
nimbusgb said:
You want a system that costs next to nothing, can be installed by an amature and runs off very little power. It has to interface to satellites orbiting high above the earth and calculate a position to within say 10 metres, a service provided to all intents and purposes for free. Having done this it must somehow relay its position from miles out to sea back to a portable, low cost computer and display the result on a map in real time.
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Yep no problem:

Depends how far off shore you are of course, but a possible solution is a Cheap Android phone (circa £100 ebay)

Plus a PAYG sim with a bit of data on it £10/ month or so.

Various free Android apps will do the tracking. I use 'Android Lost'

Obviously will only work if within phone reception, but will also allow you to access the internet for other things too.


Another left field suggestion is to get your ham radio licence

One of these:
http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-r...handheld-radio/yaesu/yaesu-vx-8de-pd-2419.php

Then use the free APRS system to transmit your location:
http://www.aprs.org/

Via the amateur Satellite network
http://amsat-uk.org/

I'd like to get around to doing my Ham license sometime..
 
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I have a Spot and it is really reliable.

I opt to transmit a position every hour which is good discipline since it reminds you to note position and update the log.

A super little hobby and not reliant of mobile phone coverage.

Tony.
 
Well I never! Some people can take offense at anything!

Oh well never mind! Consider the offer of a free loan formally retracted!

Couldn't even be bothered to contact me after I PM'd him my phone number and details.

Last time I do that!
 
nimbusgb said:
Well I never! Some people can take offense at anything!

Oh well never mind! Consider the offer of a free loan formally retracted!

Couldn't even be bothered to contact me after I PM'd him my phone number and details.

Last time I do that!
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I must say I was following this thread originally as I'm also interested in a cheap method of tracking my boat cheaply when I sail her home in June from Portugal, I couldn't believe the response from the OP to your generous offer, my reaction was "wheres that come from?" but I didn't comment as I wondered if there was any previous bad blood between you? Having "weaned" myself away from the Lounge forum because of all the needless rudeness and bitterness that goes on there, it's disappointing to discover the same behaviour in the sailing forums. The OP really needs to explain his reasoning behind his reply to your offer imo.

Cheers, Brian.
 
No previous interfaces at all! Just a friendly offer to a forumite.

My subsequent post was just a light reflection on how we all take modern technology for granted but seems to have got under the OP's skin to the point that he wants an apology from me. :)

No skin off my nose as they say!
 
nimbusgb said:
No previous interfaces at all! Just a friendly offer to a forumite.

My subsequent post was just a light reflection on how we all take modern technology for granted but seems to have got under the OP's skin to the point that he wants an apology from me. :)

No skin off my nose as they say!
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Well, as an innocent and uninvolved bystander on the other side of the world i thought your first post was a generous offer but your second post was rude and offensive to the OP.
May well not have been intended as such but that is how it came over!
Glad to read that it wasn't in fact intended as such.
 
There's a lesson in there somewhere.

When reading electronic communications in the absence of the feedback clues offered by face to face communications it is very easy to infer unintended nuances. Both reader and writer need to remember that fact. Something that is often highlighted by exchanges on the forum.

I can see that if I had written 'They want a system that .... ' instead of 'You want a system that .... ' it might have made a difference but in spite of that it was vastly misinterpreted.
 
I too was confused by this - the original offer which I thought was excellent, then the subsequent post which was completely at odds with it. As it seemed unlikely that someone who would make such a generous offer would do that without a reason I wondered if something was happening behind the scenes via pm.
I'm glad it was unintended; I've been dismayed of late by the tendency for the tone of the lounge to spill out into the general forums and hope it's not a trend...
 
I would like to clarify the situation. I have just got home and read the replies etc. I initially replied to nmsusgb very positively and contacted him via a pm. I then later read an entry the first line of which I interpreted as a pop at me wanting something for nothing - or similar. I returned a somewhat abrasive answer, I did not read who the writer was. I wasn't until today I realised that it was the same person who had contacted me originally with the very generous offer.

My interpretation of the message still stands, however I did not wish to offend anybody and apologise unreservedly,

I have subsequently decided to buy a Spot tracker as I hope - next year to go onto the Canaries.


I consider this matter closed.
 
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