Tracking GPS receivers with no TX

I was watching that episode last night, on the strength of the preview showing a tsunami washing ashore.

What a crock indeed.

Soooo many factual errors and 'monkey science' (meaning a group of actual monkeys seem t have written the script.)

And how many different plot points and 'gotchas' can they toss in a given episode.

- Why are every cop available to track down these crooks", Why aren't they out helping with disaster relief?

- How the _heck_ do GPS RECEIVERS transmit their locations?, esp when they specifically mention they are actually looking for one that is _not_ a receiver but is TRANSMITTING? (Just trying to explain it can make your head hurt.)

- A building is set to be demolished by timed charges- something that goes on all the time in demolition but at the last minute a COP shows up and lets the crew know there might be a live person inside. You're telling me they have them set to 'no looking back now' timers? Who is on the button?

There are more, but I don't really want to remember too much about it right now.

It seems the show is coming to an end and they had all these really cool plot points left that they had in the grab bag so they, well, grabbed a handful and threw them at the screen.

Hell, if I had known it was going to be like that would have been watching Medium instead.

TBerk

btw- to actually address the original post:

- GPS units can be 'tracked' if they have a way to transmit, say for example a cell phone (w/ built in GPS capacity) which reports to the local 'cell' it's in it's unique 'serial number'.

BUT, If the unit just receives GPS signals from the orbiting satellites then I don't see it having _any_ way to send out a "Here I am!" signal.

TBerk

Last night's Miami CSI showed the coast guard showing the CSI team the GPS radar scope. It had tons of every one with a GPS receiver showing up as green blips and where they were, then they homed in on the stolen gold with the GPS transmitter on it, it had a red blimp.

Tonight on CBS criminal minds, they said, "her car has GPS, we can track her."

What a crock.

I am now assuming they wish to program us to think that if you have a GPS receiver device, they can find you. (cell phones are transmitters, they don't count ;)

They can find you only if you have a Transmitter sending GPS codes out, last I knew.

If anyone else knows better, please correct ;)

Cranny "I'm lost and can't find my drink" Dane

You are correct.

but the script would need to say, "she has on-star in that SUV, track her !"

CD

Maybe, who knows, now back to rockets plz.

-Booms

Likely, On-Star would roll over without a warrant.

Well, technically, every modern reciever is also a transmitter, at a very low level. Your ham friends would certainly know that! But that ain't gonna let you track someone with a GPS RX unless they're arm's length away.

Please turn off your HTML when posting. USENET is still an ASCII media.

radar scope. It had tons of every one with a GPS receiver showing up as green blips and where they were, then they homed in on the stolen gold with the GPS transmitter on it, it had a red blimp.

receiver device, they can find you. (cell phones are transmitters, they don't count ;)

Technically no, It had a larger GPS screen on the dash "I think" I remember though the fog ;)

Yes, one star can actually listen to you while you drive with a search warrant.

Some mobsters got off on a technicality that while being eves dropped on, their 911 emergency button would no longer work so their lives were endangered while being spied on by the feds.

They got the case dropped !

Read that one last year on Google News.

Cranny Dane

You are correct Grass Hopper ... the embellishments of the Hollywood writers are well known as is their ignorance ... but still it makes for ENTERTAINING tv ...

Remember Thunderball, where 007 swallows the capsule that is a transmitter that can be detected from helicopter ...

Some of those things were researched and implemented by the CIA and KGB ... now whether they worked in application is another story ...

RFID tags? It's been proven that an unpowered RFID chip can be read from 60+ feet away. If it's powered, the distance grows alot.

looking for, and that you were actually driving a car with GPS such as OnStar, If OnStar can activate your electronics to unlock your doors for you, it wouldn't be a stretch to activate a GPS transmission if they served OnStar with a warrant making them do so, especially with the new auto-airbag EMS trigger that they now have.

As it turns out, in this case the thing they were looking for was a floating bag (inflatable device you use w/ scuba diving) that had a grip of gold bars hung underneath it. The bank robbers devised a way to have the 'booty' washed out to sea via Hurricane, only to find an advancing Tsunami almost too good to be true.

Point was, it was a GPS receiver on a bag out at sea, but... Argh- It hurts my head to even try and define (and by doing so seem to _defend_ ) the script of the show.

They were five or six plot devices down in the show and just kept throwing stuff at the screen.

TBerk