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Help building a tracking device.

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HBD

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I found this site through Google, and I could sure use some help. I was recently the victim of a break & enter, and the thieves stole a lot of random stuff, but mainly my XBOX 360 (which makes me think they were just kids). I'd love to be able to build some sort of small form tracking device, small enough to fit into the empty spaces in a 360 controller, that I could then track if they ever broke in again.

I had originally thought of going an RFID route, but the price is out of my reach, with active readers costing around $1500. Some posts in this forum talked about building an FM transmitter. Would that fit my needs? Like I said, it needs to be relatively small, relatively cheap and easy (I have some circuit board/solder experience), and have about a 30-50' range (something that I could read from the street, and through buildings).

If anyone has any ideas, or diagrams, or sites to visit, I would be extremely grateful.
 
I've seen them for locating model rockets and planes, would definitely be small, probably right range, but not sure if powerful enough for what you want. Been a while, but don't think the circuits would be too complicated. Something to search for, might look later, as it could be something I could use for my dog...
 
Look at the transmitters used for animal tracking. There the game is long battery life, so they transmit only for short bursts, but you may not have a receiver that works on those frequencies. If your XBox ends up in a pawn shop (the most likely around here), then it will not be plugged in, and the TX will have to run on batteries.

Your design problem is based what type of portable receiver you have (scanner, etc), and what frequency your device transmits on. If you put it on the FM band, chances are that other people will hear it, too. If you pick one of the "license free" bands, then choose it on the basis of what receiver you own or can borrow. Avoid the Aircraft bands (the government will come after you), and avoid the Ham bands (Hams have time on their hands to track down bootleg transmitters). I know, because I'm a flying Ham :D
 
Being the paranoid little girl that I am, I have several things in my house that I have rigged to be "thief proof". The first is my Wii console, I opened it up and I installed an RFID reader (bought from radio shack for $30) and connected the output to a 555 configured as a retriggerable missing pulse detector. Then the 555 powers a relay to give the system it's power. The card is mounted inside the entertainment center, so as long as the Wii is in the entertainment center, it will operate properly. For your situation though, you need some way of finding your xBox. Just try finding a pet tracker or if you use an FM transmitter, make a circuit similar to mine so that if it is stolen it will transmit, but it won't transmit otherwise.
 
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