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Viability of tracking device

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Glyph

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I'm off to a distant place in a far away land and i'm bringing gear such as a laptop and other expensive goodies that are tempting targets for thieves.

So I was wondering the viability of installing a tracking device into laptop, the most likely target of theft.

The technical side i can deal with: I'm probably going to put in a low level RF transmitter for short range tracking (so i can locate it once i know its general location) and a GPS receiver for long range tracking (for finding out the general location in the first place). They'll be linked to a modified Cell-phone that i can query by text-messaging to get the GPS coordinates. I've already identified a suitable hiding place inside the body of the laptop and can power it by the battery and an additional hidden backup.

Now, the information in the laptop isn't worth very much, I'm going to be using an internet backup solution so i'll never lose my data even if the laptop gets hit by a lightning bolt.

So i'm wondering: is it worth to go through the trouble of paying a hansome sum (cost of equipment and monthly cell-phone charges) to retrieve a laptop? or am I better off simply buying insurance? The cost of insurance and the cost of tracking are about the same.

Or should i just save my money and take the risk? I'm obviously going to invest in some anti-theft gear like chains and locks (although i'm fully aware these are more of a deterrent than actual preventative measures).

The bonus of laptop retrieval is the off-chance that i find a ring of laptop thieves and get a reward from the police. Although the majority of laptop thefts are from opportunists rather than professional thieves.

Any thoughts?
 
i would get insurence so you get it back no matter what.
if somthing happens to the satalite or the transmitter you will never get it back. if you get insurence you will get a brand-new one... :twisted:
 
Assuming you were willing to pay to run a GPS tracking system, where would you hope to install it on the laptop? Any scumm of the earth thief who steals your laptop is going to notice a GPS receiver stuck to it isn't he. Either he's going to disable it and end up making off with a laptop AND a GPS receiver, or he'll simply remove it and throw it away, so that the best your tracking efforts will do is lead you to a bin.

I'd recommend getting home contents insurance or upgrading your existing insurance. Mine covers me for equipment on my person up to the value of £2000, which is more than enough to cover for a stolen laptop. Not sure if it covers me for abroad though, so make sure you check that with the insurance company when you make enquiries.

Brian
 
As i said in the original post, i've already identified a suitable hiding spot in the body of the laptop. Unless the thief physically dismantles the shell of the laptop and part of the motherboard they won't find it. From the outside its impossible to tell the laptop is rigged.

But i guess the chance of device failure is about equal to the chance of theft, and thus not worth taking.

Probably go with insurance.
 
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