GPS obsessed

Time synchronized in GPS satellites providing Stratum 1 accuracy to atomic clock.
Uses 8 channel Trimble receiver.
WindowsXP, serial interface or telnet – Discovery software included for WinXP.
Software to configure and monitor the device over Ethernet.

– NTP Reference for ethernet LANs in box self-contained
– NTP query, broadcast modes, multicast
– Standalone or rackmountable (shown)
– Battery backed real time clock circuit
– User assignable network configuration (or DHCP)
– Assignable configuration network

Read about NTP100-GPS

The Archos 5 has a 5″ display best for watching the hours of video it can store and it also make the Archos a best in-car navigation devices. Now the Archos five is the best Android Tablets with GPS, especially when paired with the in car GPS-cradle. This cellphone (143 x 79 x 10.5 mm).

ARCHOS 5 – Best Android Tablets with GPS

Tablets with GPS and cellphone function. With 3G the cost can be $185 in bulk. They also use the Telechips ARM Cortex-A8 for $129 without 3G. And they’ll use the next Marvell processor next month and Infotmic also.

Tablets with GPS and cellphone function.

Best of Shenzhen: $87 Android 3.5″ capacitive phone, MTK6516 FG8

Here are the specs for this Mediatek MTK6516 ARM9 Based so-called FG8 Android phone:

MTK6516 ARM9 460Mhz + 260Mhz DSP (that can do certain video playback and other UI acceleration)
Froyo Android 2.2 supported
Dual-SIM Card slots GSM Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3.5′ Capacitive HVGA 480×320 screen
256MB RAM
works worldwide on GSM/GPRS/EDGA (no 3G HSDPA data speeds though)
WiFi, AGPS, FM, Bluetooth A2DP, Mp4 playback support claimed, 2Mpix Camera, Microphone, MicroSD card slot (up to 32GB), 3-4 hours talk time and 200 hours standby time claimed (I haven’t tested yet).

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Vehicle theft used to be pretty simple. Break in, hotwire the engine, and joyride out of town. Keep the vehicle or sell it to make some quick cash. These days, however, would-be thieves may be in for a surprise if the vehicle they’ve stolen has a GPS vehicle tracking device installed.

Both large companies and individuals have wised up to the fact that GPS tracking can be the best possible investment when trying to protect vehicles from theft or misuse. By sending a signal from the GPS transmitter inside the vehicle to a home or office computer, the device provides constant monitoring capabilities and gives owners the knowledge they need to protect their fleet vehicles or privately owned cars and trucks.

How effective is GPS vehicle tracking for the average business? Take the case of Texas company Airtronics Air Conditioning and Heating. When a company vehicle turned up missing, employees simply had to follow the trail provided by the Rocky Mountain Tracking GPS vehicle tracking device installed earlier to lead authorities straight to the thief. The surprised driver was taken into custody and the $20,000 vehicle returned to Airtronics.

If even one $20,000 vehicle theft can be prevented over the course of a year, the investment made into GPS tracking will be well worth it. Even if no one tries to steal an expensive truck, though, GPS vehicle tracking can provide invaluable information such as employee activity on the clock, speed, driving habits such as leaving the car idling over a lunch break, and personal stops made on company time. They can also help businesses determine what routes their drivers take to and from each job with the goal of helping them drive the shortest distance to each job site, effectively saving thousands of dollars in fuel costs over time.

In today’s economy, GPS vehicle tracking can give businesses an edge over competitors by helping them shorten response time and arrive at client locations on time without calling for directions. Customers appreciate knowing that a business takes its responsibility seriously, and the positive experience gained with the help of GPS tracking could be enough to keep that customer for life.

On the other side of the coin, protecting vehicles from theft may be one of the best ways to save money over the long run for budget-conscious companies. Investing time and resources into GPS vehicle tracking capabilities for the company fleet may be the best decision a business can make during a time when economic responsibility must rule the day.

Day and night, police officers defend the public against threats to order, safety, and decency. Knowing that an officer routinely patrols your neighborhood or the streets around your workplace provides a sense of well-being and an assurance that someone watches and follows up on any suspicious activity taking place. But what if that officer sat in his car all night instead of monitoring his assigned route? What if he reported that he performed his duty, but in fact did not? And what if the body of your loved one went unnoticed and unreported because that police officer failed in the performance of his duty?

That’s exactly what happened to a family in Cleveland. When suspicions were aroused that two officers were not doing the work they reported, their superiors took a look at records from a GPS tracking device installed on their car. The device showed that not only did the officers remain stationary for most of their shift, but also that their response to a report of a body proved unsatisfactory. Their assessment of a woman’s body as a deer left a family without information for longer than necessary.

While most police cars have a GPS tracking device installed, not only departments use the information gained from those devices effectively. With the information received from the device, someone can monitor not only the location but also the speed and direction of each car on the road and can determine whether a car sits idle for too long or does not complete its assigned route. With this knowledge, department personnel can keep officers accountable to their superiors and to the taxpayers for performing the duties expected of them to keep citizens safe.

Many companies install a GPS tracking device in each fleet vehicle so that they can monitor their employees’ movements throughout the day as well as determine whether they operate vehicles efficiently. Idle time, speed and routes can all be monitored by the GPS tracking device and can make a difference in fuel consumption. Smart driving can save a company thousands of dollars each year in fuel costs over less efficient vehicle operation.

While most employees on the police force and in other job situations are honest workers, the few bad apples make GPS tracking a good idea for all employers. Even one mistake like the one made by the Cleveland police officers is cause for concern on the part of superiors and citizens. With GPS tracking, managers can make sure repeat incidents don’t occur and that employees are performing the jobs expected of them.

By James Neely/Guest Author

Bank robbers have been showcased by movies and television countless times, with real life characters such as Bonnie and Clyde adding glamour to bad choices. One thing bank robbers traditionally had in their favor was the element of surprise. Even when businesses installed elaborate alarm systems, hired guards, and trained employees in emergency procedures, the bank robber could often make a clean escape simply by planning his strike so that he caught people off guard and could escape before being stopped or seen clearly. But no more. Today, GPS tracking devices can help police track down stolen cash even if no one saw the thief and he left no traces behind.

In an effort to protect assets, many banks now place GPS tracking devices alongside cash when it’s placed in bags to be transported. When a would-be robber demands money, he doesn’t know that the bag he receives from the clerk can bring police officers straight to him. One recent example of the strategy’s effectiveness occurred in Atlanta when a man walked into a bank and demanded money. Witnesses reported seeing the robber drive away in a black SUV, so as the police began their investigation, they focused on similar vehicles. A GPS tracking unit inside the bag of cash, however, eventually led officers not to a black SUV, but to a gold Nissan, where they apprehended both cash and criminal.

Law enforcement departments that are strapped for cash can realize more positive results in numerous investigations when they implement GPS tracking to help them solve cases. Recovering stolen vehicles and property, monitoring suspected or convicted criminals, and apprehending thieves like the bank robber in Atlanta can all be done more effectively with the implementation of GPS tracking. Acting as another set of eyes, a GPS tracking unit can stay with a person or piece of property at all times without needing breaks or overtime pay. By sending signals at intervals, the unit discloses the location of the item, vehicle, or person it’s tracking accurately within a few feet.

While the days of Bonnie and Clyde may be long past, bank robbers are still around, and they’re getting smarter and more technologically advanced. Thankfully, law enforcement departments have the tools necessary to fight back. With GPS tracking implemented into a law enforcement program, departments can not only increase their recovery rates for stolen items, but they can do so on a limited budget while still offering protection to the public.

By James Neely/Guest Author

Serious crimes like murder or sexual assault deserve serious consequences. In the overcrowded U.S. prison system, however, sometimes law enforcement departments need to make arrangements for suspected criminals to be placed under house arrest or institute monitored parole for offenders. Unfortunately, many convicted criminals find it all too easy to break parole and commit further crimes even while under supervision. Victim advocates continually lobby for more effective laws and better prevention procedures, but both individuals and law enforcement departments can work together to reduce the prevalence of crimes committed by known criminals when they implement GPS tracking devices into their normal routines.

Many law enforcement departments already use GPS tracking ankle bracelets to monitor convicted criminals who have been placed under house arrest or who have been granted parole. These devices keep track of a person’s whereabouts at all times by sending a signal to the police department computer at specified intervals. In addition, police can set up perimeter boundaries around the person’s home or around specific off-limits areas such as schools and playgrounds. If the boundary is crossed, the device will send an alert by email or pager, enabling officers to address the violation immediately.

Sometimes, however, ankle bracelets are not enough to keep crimes from happening. Criminals can remove bracelets or can commit attempted murders, attempted assaults, and other crimes while wearing the bracelet. Although police officers make an effort to respond as quickly as possible, the damage may already be done. For parents, knowing that paroled criminals wear ankle bracelets may not be enough to alleviate fear, especially if their children or teens walk home from school or must be at home alone while the parents are at work. In these cases, parents should equip their children with personal GPS tracking devices for safety. Children can easily carry the device in a backpack or pocket, and some can even be worn as a watch. With the device in place, parents can monitor their children’s location at all times and can immediately check up on them when they don’t answer the phone or make it to a friend’s house at the expected time.

GPS tracking provides individuals and law enforcement departments with the tools they need to increase safety and awareness. GPS tracking does have limitations, but when both society and individuals take the initiative to use the technology to best advantage, communities can expect safer streets and safer kids.

By James Neely/Guest Author

For residents in urban areas, construction is a part of life. Almost all city dwellers will encounter a construction site at some point in their day, and some will see bulldozers and dump trucks when they look out the front window. But where does all that construction equipment go at the end of the workday? It’s not feasible to pack everything up and cart it back to a warehouse or secure parking area, and for that reason many contractors will leave vehicles and equipment in place on the jobsite where they become tempting targets for theft. In order to reduce the chances of losing equipment and materials over the course of a job, more and more companies have begun protecting their construction equipment with GPS tracking systems.

A GPS tracking device placed inside a vehicle or on a piece of equipment or material will send signals at intervals to a computer, allowing construction managers to monitor their assets even when away from the job site. If a piece of equipment is stolen, law enforcement officers can recover it much more quickly with the information provided by the tracking unit than they could without that information. Companies that choose not to implement GPS tracking technology on the job site see thousands of dollars in losses each year due to theft since many of the vehicles stolen will never be recovered, while those that do monitor their equipment with the technology see savings in the thousands.

In addition to location monitoring, GPS tracking also provides construction managers with information about their employees’ driving habits. They can tell which drivers maintain the speed limit in their company vehicles, which ones leave equipment idling over the lunch break, and which ones take a detour for personal reasons while driving the company vehicle on the clock. Information can be viewed in real time or as a report at the end of the day, with each stop noted along with the length of time spent at each place. With this information in hand, managers can implement training programs that teach drivers how to conserve fuel and they can address any problem behavior that crops up.

Companies across the nation currently face economic struggles, but GPS tracking provides construction businesses with the knowledge and resources they need to make the most of every dollar. Savings garnered by conserving fuel and protecting assets from theft will quickly justify the cost of implementing GPS tracking units for the jobsite.

From elementary school on, children and adults alike display a fascination with paper airplanes. There’s something about the ability to build a flying machine with nothing more than two hands and a piece of paper that ignites the imagination, leading to some really fantastic creations. While most people limit their paper plane construction to simple projects constructed during idle moments, some take the hobby much further. One of the most daring paper plane projects is set to launch this summer in the United Kingdom. The aircraft will be carried aloft by a weather balloon with a GPS tracking unit attached and then released remotely, with the intention of setting the record for the longest paper plane flight in history.

The GPS tracking device carried by the Vulture 1, as the plane has been dubbed, will send signals every couple of minutes to a computer, allowing viewers to watch the plane’s progress and also to locate it once it has reached the ground. Dedicated plane watchers can follow the flight in real time via their computers as the GPS unit sends each signal rather than waiting for a complete report at the end of the flight.

The masterminds of the project have already given their GPS tracking unit its first test run by carrying it in a vehicle through some remote parts of the country, with outstanding results. Despite traveling through various terrains, the GPS tracking unit continued to transmit and produced an accurate log of its travels. The technology works by sending a signal from the transmitter to a computer and then plotting the unit’s location at each transmission on a map. As launch day approaches, fans of the project can expect a progress map that reports location at each transmission accurately within a few feet.

While most of us will never send a paper plane launching into the sky with a GPS tracking unit attached, still, almost everyone can benefit from the technology that will be carried by the plane. GPS tracking devices can assist in care for the elderly, keep children safe, protect your vehicle, monitor criminals on parole, and keep an eye on the family pet. They provide a measure of safety and peace of mind that can’t be achieved any other way, since they provide another pair of eyes to watch out for the people and things you care about most when you can’t be there.