Hi all! I'm not quite sure if this should be here in modding or in technical (sorry mods if it's in the wrong place). I'm sure many of us fear the day our house is broken into, and our most prized posessions (technical or otherwise) are taken from us, and most of the time never returned. House insurance covers us, but you never really get your machine you loved back. Looking at how cheap texts/simcards etc are and how cheap the most basic of mobilephones are, do you think it possible to rip one to pieces so it's effectively just a simcard/antenna with a battery and then charge it from the psu? I've put this under modding as if anyone here can point me in the rite direction I'll do a portfolio of how to do it and mod your PC/Laptop so if it gets stolen you can simply geolocate the mobile and tell the police where the druggy is that took your stuff! (or go there yourself with a bat) Basically the problems I can see are: 1. Could I mod the phone easily enough so it can charge from the PSU or even better make it so it plugs into one of the spare power cables and just move it from PC to PC? 2. Would the phone antenna work in that kind of environment with the heat and potential static? Any other problems people could see? Andy
Antenna could be external to the case out the back. A car runs on the same voltage as a psu so should work. Try modding a car charger. Also could police really be bothered tracking down a guy for a computer that insurance will replace?
Its not just about about finding the stolen property it finding the thieving bastids that took it. I think this idea could work but I dont have the knowledge to help out.
This could apply to other possessions such as bikes. I keep getting bikes stolen from me and this could be the perfect way of tracking them. Power could come from kinetic energy from the bike. M7ck is right, it's not about getting the property back, it's about finding the person who took it and possibly getting other people's stuff back too. I really want to see this happen. Keep us posted.
It's not the hardware that matters (most of the time, the hardware is easily replaced) but rather the data that was on the PC. If you don't have current back ups and your PC gets stolen/die,etc you are pretty much screwed. It's virtually impossible to replace some photos,word documents,etc.
I mean to track them down you need to get the police involved on cheap phones don't you? Also isnt there microchips for babies that have gps in them? Wouldnt that be way easier?
I'm thinking cost vs convenience on this one, I'm trying to think of something that I can re-make incredibly cheap, however, if I was to make this for my laptop I would need to think "small", there are ones which clip on cows ears so farmers know where a heifer is when they go into labour. I have tried hunting for proper tracking chips, but I can't find to buy one anywhere. Are they legally sold in the UK to civilians?
The cheapest pre-built item that doesn't cost over £100 is this: http://www.cheap-electronic-store.com/prodDetail.asp?MercID=48&ProdID=614 I'm still thinking a small mobile (nokia 8210?) or other could do it much cheaper and just as well, I was remember most mobiles come with USB cables that can charge them, it's easy to get a USB port inside a PC, but the issue is it comes up on the machine asking for drivers! At the moment, the most attractive is using a car charger and modding it to run off the psu. I've investigated dog/animal gps tracking devices which are either in the 100's or require batteries changing ever 2/4 days, is it easy to convert something that's battery powered into mains powered!
