GPS? No, thanks!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by bnmb, Aug 26, 2010.


  1. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    This comes as no surprise, but that's the point. Too many people have just accepted this incremental move toward police state ownership of every facet of their lives.
     
  3. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    I'm keeping my compass...at least I know It's not gonna rat on me!... :D
     
  4. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well from reading that article it doesn't look like they are using your GPS, but rather something the MIB are planting on your vehicle.

    Edited to add:
    While the use of GPS units are nice, the guberment has the ability to disable the civilian use of the GPS satellites at any time. Once they doe that, all that fancy tech is now just a paperweight.
     
  5. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    Nothing prevents them from using our hand held GPS devices for tracking...It's the thought that counts!
     
  6. UGRev

    UGRev Get on with it!

    That's when you sell it to some junkie down-town :)
     
  7. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I may be wrong here but, wouldn't a handheld GPS (or one in your vehicle) need to have a transmitter in it to transmit it's location? Most GPS units are going to be receivers only, they receive the signal from the GPS satellites.

    Yes, there are GPS locators out there (many of them made for pet tracking) and cell phones can be used to pinpoint your location using gps, and a few other devices.

    Suffice it to say, that MOST of the GPS units out there are receivers only and cannot transmit their location.

    Now I know the tin-foil hats will come out and say that ALL GPS units have a built in, hidden transmitter. I'll call BS until proven otherwise.
     
  8. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    Since the technology is so cheap, would it really be a problem to make ALL new GPS devices with built-in locators and transmitters?...and then just change few bytes in the software, so that old, non-transmitting GPS devices don't work and people have to buy new, chipped ones?
    You see?...I have my tin foil hat on!.... :D
     
  9. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I think it is safe to say that the technology exists to acquire a fixed position on a GPS, since we do know a few basic facts:

    -A GPS receives a signal from the satellites, or a series of signals, but in order for the GPS to accurately send you YOUR position, it must first receive a signal from the GPS unit, otherwise it could list you being in China when you are in Toronto -how would it know where you are unless the GPS transmits a signal to be located?

    -A GPS unit in a car can track your speed (mine does this very well), and this only means that there is two-way communication between the GPS and satellite or satellites. (or the ground based systems, but that is essentially the same thing.)

    -The only weak argument I see is how a GPS "could" be used to track YOU as opposed to simply functioning as it is intended. A GPS probably won't be used to track an individual since they are not all registered to specific people, although some may claim that upon purchase, the unique identifier number of the unit can be traced to the person buying it..of course, this doesn't always apply to those who pay cash unless they were recorded on face recognition cameras or did not remove the tracking chip (if applicable) on the product before taking it home. Something to think about.

    Overall, it is POSSIBLE to track a person with a GPS. As far as it being LIKELY...I doubt it.
     
  10. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Brokor, a GPS calculates your position and speed by referencing 3 or more satellites. MOST GPS units are receivers only, meaning they take the signal that is sent down from the satellites and triangulate your position.

    Here is a good page describing how GPS works:
    How does the Global Positioning System (GPS) work ?
     
  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Cool. And that further proves that they aren't used to track people. Now, about that GPS placed on that guys car to track him. All it required was a transmitter, right? I guess what I am getting at is, even though the technology exists to track using a GPS, the standard units we use will not be used for this purpose, at least not currently.

    I am glad you posted that info about triangulation. There really isn't much difference between a transmitter or receiver except (obviously the separate components) and the power it uses, as it's all electronics we have the capability of using. If the GPS units were ever to be used to transmit, it would not take a lot of alteration to do so, but it would be impractical for hand held GPS since they run on batteries. So, I guess this guy who was obviously treated like a criminal and whose rights meant nothing at all becomes a sullen reminder of what can happen rather quickly and easily when the technology is decidedly used against the public.
     
  12. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    My phone's GPS syncs up in seconds and can eerily plot which end of a building I'm in via Google Earth or Google maps within moments. It's also fast enough to 'geo-tag' any pictures I take with the lat and long.

    This situation is the scary one because my phone also keeps in constant communication with the network...

    Now, with a handheld Garmin etrex or other GPS unit this isn't the case because there is no transmit.

    You can't just fire up a PC to find your lost dog if you have him chipped. You can place a reader directly over a chipped dogs neck if it's found and taken to a vet. RFID does not transmit, (OK, I'm sure they have some that do but you have to think about the fact that to transmit takes power), it merely bounces back a signal at a certain freq that the specific reader can translate.
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    You might as well know me for a troglodyte. I don't want a GPS either, if for no other reason that it's too easy to become dependent on gadgetry. It is a LOT easier to learn map reading than it is to figure out what all those functions are good for, much less what buttons to press to get them.
     
  14. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Agreed. I use mine more when I'm hiking or mountain biking to track my distance and be able plot it on a map when I get back. Necessary? No. Interesting? Yes
     
  15. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Yes, a cell phone is all kinds of problems rolled into one big brain cooking almanac of fried hamburger. Hrm, brainburger. The cell networks are vastly being improved pretty much daily, and if I am not mistaken, nearly wholly owned and/or operated (or at least contracted out) to/by the Israelis and their spy networks. Naturally, we have several major corporations involved with selling the phone products and service plans, but the real meat and potatoes of the practice is in the networking and frameworks, which are subject to questionable actions. I believe this would also bring us into computing and the recent firestorm surrounding schools spying on children by remotely activating the laptop camera and microphone and recording the daily lives of school kids. A great deal of controversy also surrounds the cellphones --are they actually transmitting data (sound primarily) to the network even when it is not in use or turned off? It's not a theory, it is actually completely possible.
     
  16. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I used to remove my battery when discussing delicate subjects. iPhones don't have a removable batteries and the primary reason I 'Jailbroke' mine was to be able to toggle off Cellular data, Edge and 3G on AT&T networks via SBSettings. I've tested it and when I toggle everything off in the hidden settings menu, it's just a brick. Actually, it's a brick that can play music.

    It's sad but our world has gotten so far ahead of us technologically that I've nearly given up on my How to Be Invisible lifestyle. I envy the Amish and Mennonites.
     
  17. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    lol, yes. They are everywhere in this area I live. Mucho respecto for the bearded ones. Menonites too, but not so much. I just watched George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead, and I was elated to see an Amish guy in the movie who came out and threw a stick of dynamite, blowing some zombies to smithereens. [axe] He carried a scythe and was chopping 'em up, too. Good times, good times.
     
  18. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    they don't really need to track us secretly. we pay for the privilege. think OnStar and LoJak.

    I'll go tinfoil now but with wireless internet and bluetooth so ubiquitous, why couldn't a small app running be reporting the gps coord and the vin number to someone in the ether?

    Just sayin..............[peep]
     
  19. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Good point. I don't use cars like that though.
    Well, it could. It's not "tin foil" at all, but an honest inquiry. ;) However, if it's a battery powered unit, the transmit capabilities will be severely limited. Even so, if it's a GPS and not tied in to some prepaid service, there really is no "good way" to track you unless the GPS unit can be tied to you (at purchase for instance), and even then there is no guarantee that the user is the "target". But, that's enough speculating for me.
     
  20. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    How many phones have built-in GPS? And AGPS? They can track us via cell phones without problems and precision is within 1 meter! Don't even need GPS systems...
    I'll never buy Iphone or Blackberry...and no built in GPS...Just a normal cell phone with removable battery...
     
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