GPS tracking for our upper end machines....how hard could it be!

[RacerX]

So recently we purchased a GPS tracker for our daughter. This thing is so tiny I can close it entirely in my hand. No antenna, no wires. Just a tiny cube with a button on it.

https://www.amberalertgps.com/

We can track her a few ways.....

I can look at the webpage provided to us and track her.

I can text message the word "where" to the 800 number for the service and for a regular phone it texts back an address and lon/lat. On my smart phone it texts back lon/lat, address and a link to track her on a map which I can bring up on the phone.

The button on her end is for emergencies. If she pushes it, it sends a 911 text to us and we can then track her in the ways above.

This would be extremely useful for tracking a stolen machine but also useful for keeping track of finds by location.

You could set it to fire a track on startup.

For stolen tracking you'd need to have it run full time off the detector battery but with the micro battery in my daughters device it runs for a good while (maybe a week) if we're not tracking her a lot. Imagine how long it would run on a detector that was shut off. You'd also need a micro built in backup battery incase the thieves were smart anough to pull the main battery.

Stupid idea?

[PhilB]

The idea is a good one. I tried using a portable GPS unit to plot my finds at a site. It didn't turn out well as I discovered that the GPS interfered with my detector. I thought having a record of finds might help me recognize patterns I don't notice while actually standing in the field.

[Ferrous]

What a great device. I like it. I have a Garmin 60csx that I use in conjunction with Google Earth, some topo maps, and online research that I use to locate potential M.D.ing spots. A lot of fun.