GPS Jamming

[todwic]

Ok, brilliant people. The powers that be are going to put GPS transponder(?) on my work vehicle. Either I (we) have to find a way to circumvent, or no more Friday afternoon strip clubs.

So I am asking the brightest bunch of people that exist: How do I Jam/scramble/make worthless the signal w/o obviously tampering with the device?

[campbellcj]

Easy; park it in a church lot somewhere during lunch, and have a buddy drive you all to the nudie bar in his car!

[KevinP73]

why not find the main fuse for the gps unit. get several of the same type fuse and overload them burning them out. Now when it's time to head for the nudie bars just insert one of your "special" fuses. You'll get to see some boobies and the tech guys willl prolly go nuts trying to solve the "problem".

[fintstone]

Wrapping it good with aluminum foil would probably do the trick.

[KevinP73]

Originally posted by fintstone
Wrapping it good with aluminum foil would probably do the trick.

that keeps the government satallites from reading your brain signals but I don't think it works for gps signals. 'course you could allways wrap your head with a wet towel. I saw that work one time for that one guy.

[fintstone]

Originally posted by KevinP73
that keeps the government satallites from reading your brain signals but I don't think it works for gps signals. 'course you could allways wrap your head with a wet towel. I saw that work one time for that one guy.

What makes you think that Kevin? Been working without a respirator again? (just kidding) It is just a receiver that receives RF...much like a radio..but different freq. Pretty much anything that would affect a radio signal should affect the receiver. A jammer would just be a nearby transmitter in the same freq range emitting "white noise."

[competentone]

Originally posted by todwic
Ok, brilliant people. The powers that be are going to put GPS transponder(?) on my work vehicle. Either I (we) have to find a way to circumvent, or no more Friday afternoon strip clubs.

So I am asking the brightest bunch of people that exist: How do I Jam/scramble/make worthless the signal w/o obviously tampering with the device?

Who's system are they installing?

I doubt it is a GPS "transponder"!

Most of the vehicle tracking systems work by receiving the signals from the government's GPS satellites -- just like the handheld GPS units you can buy for knowing your location -- then uploading that data via "mobile phone" frequencies (through the cell towers, similar to the way a mobile phone sends a voice signal) to the service provider's servers. The authorized account holders then access the server and receive the data about your location (usually displayed on a map).

Most systems will store data in the module in the vehicle. If you block the GPS signal from reaching the unit by some shielding method, the unit can still approximate it's location via the cell tower it will be in communication with. If you blocked both the GPS signal and the mobile signal, the unit will probably still be able to store data about your vehicle and will know whether it is parked or moving. This data will then be communicated when the signal is restored.

Some units can have their own battery back-up, so even if you tamper with the fuse-link in an attempt to shut-down the unit while you take your little diversion, it will still be tracking you.

In short, I think you may have to start doing your "Friday afternoon strip club" visits on your own time. (Which is what your employer is hoping for by installing the units -- and can you really blame him for not wanting his employees to be cheating him out of the time he is paying for?)

[Don 944 LA]

If it is NOT an RF antenna, like a serial or usb type, you can log the data, then fed the data into the system as you are parked .

[Christien]

As far as I understand, any loss in signal is reported via the monitoring equipment, and, if prolonged, is treated as either a malfunctioning unit or a disabled unit - if they believe it's disabled, it can get reported as stolen. Some monitoring systems (depending on the level of sophistication/cost) disable the vehicle (prevent ignition from working, lock doors, etc) if the unit is in any way disconnected, unable to communicate with the satellite/cell tower, loses power, etc.

[kang]

I have a handheld GPS unit used for hiking, etc. It is very sensitive. Even in areas of dense trees it loses the satellite signals. Those signals are very weak and easy to block. I would think it would be easy to wrap the antenna with something that would block the GPS signal. If you left it there permanently, they might get suspicious. Take it off when you don’t need it.

[cstreit]

I think they'll notice it dropping out every friday at 2:00

Sounds like you'll have to take a cab from the nearest Burger King

[skipdup]

You might reconsider your Friday afternoons...

Californian stripper stabs man who refused lap-dance

[Dantilla]

You could always just shoot down the GPS satelites from orbit.

Kang is correct. When flying small airplanes with my hand held GPS, the signal is very weak unless I use the seperate antenna. Same thing in the mountains. Must get away from tree cover to get an adequate signal.

[fintstone]

Yes the signal would be very weak..Unless you have a dish on the vehicle. since it is coming from a satellite constellation.... You would just want to attempt to block the signal randomly throughout the week so they would not hone in on Friday fun.

[Noah930]

Californian stripper stabs man who refused lap-dance

Wow. If that happened to todwic, could he claim it on workman's comp?

[fintstone]

I think he could sue his company...for not monitoring his movements better...a total lack of supervision.

[tracka]

the GPS tracking unit in my car is not a crap hand held unit you can buy for a few hundred dollers.

the GPS aerial is located under the dashboard and can see straight through the dash. works fine where there are trees and in the city around high rise buildings.

data is fed back via mobile phone network(GPRS) and data stored on a server after the car is pinged at a set time frame.

not easy to jam tho.

After a mate had his WRX stripped and stolen twice, I installed a GPS/GSM tracking unit INSIDE his passenger seat with a battery that will last 8 hours. so, if they steal his seats from the car again, they are basically taking the tracking system with them as it is hidden in the seat. the unit gets ground from the bolts that attach the seat to the chassis and positive(for bat charging and power) is via the factory loom that tells the car if the seatbelt is plugged in or not.

can't wait for it to be stolen again

[competentone]

Originally posted by tracka
the GPS tracking unit in my car is not a crap hand held unit you can buy for a few hundred dollers.

Whose system do you have?

todwic, I'm still curious to know the company that is installing the units in your situation.

Thanks,
Joe

[tracka]

Originally posted by competentone
Whose system do you have?

todwic, I'm still curious to know the company that is installing the units in your situation.

Thanks,
Joe

i'm in australia but the system is by rojone.com.au and is called ezitrak.

they also have USA dealers

[todwic]

Originally posted by competentone
Whose system do you have?

todwic, I'm still curious to know the company that is installing the units in your situation.

Thanks,
Joe

Sorry, been out of town for a while. It's @Road. The units have a lot of cool initials like: iLM/iTM, iDT and StatASAP, all &reg. Secured website. Has it's own software. My boss gets a notice everytime the vehicle stops or starts moving.

Yer right, it's not a transponder, sorry. I'm as high tech as a stick. The fuses are coated with a tamper proof material. If I touch the fuse, the stuff desintagrates and I'm busted. It's a little pod on the roof of the vehicle, a little bigger than a coffee mug. I heard that the little galvanized pails that candles come in will block the signal. But I know that I'd slip up and leave the pail on when I rolled into the yard.

I don't blame my company at all for wanting to watch my every move, hell, I'd have fired me a long time ago, except I'm the only one there with the C.D.L. to drive the darned thing, and still knows how to operate it when I get it there. Blaming and cooperating are two different constructs, tho. It just smacks of big brotherism.