Rocky Mountain Tracking

By Greg Bartlett

Your two German Shepherds are just like big kids sometimes. They play with your children, chase each other constantly, and fiercely defend their family from intruders. But they have one small vice. They absolutely love to chase squirrels. Sometimes you’re convinced the neighborhood squirrels are planning a strategic attack to lure your dogs away from your home.

Just this last week, for instance, your German Shepherds were playing tug-of-war in your yard when they spotted a squirrel on the fence. Instantly the dogs were alert, and when the squirrel hopped onto the other side of the fence, your dogs took off. They might not be interested in escaping most of the time, but when they have the opportunity to chase a squirrel, no fence will stop them.

So off they go, tearing down the street and barking eagerly as the squirrel escapes up a tree and taunts them. Of course your German Shepherds keep following. Last week you found them three miles from home, still barking at a tree where a squirrel watched them. And sometimes your dogs wander further than that, and occasionally they’ve been missing for days.

But how can you make sure that you’ll be able to get your dogs back? You might not be able to stop their interest in squirrels nor to completely escape-proof your yard, but you can make sure that you know where your dogs are. If you attach a GPS device to your dogs’ collars, you will be able to find out where your dogs are at all times. So if your German Shepherds race off again after a squirrel, you can find out where they are by following the signal from the GPS device and going straight to the dogs’ location rather than searching the neighborhood and hoping they haven’t been stolen.

Furthermore, a GPS device will alert you once your German Shepherds cross over your geo-fence, predetermined boundaries which would probably be just your yard and property. You won’t have to find out two hours after the squirrel teases your dogs that the dogs are gone – you’ll know the moment they escape.

You no longer have to wander around looking for your dogs, trying to find the place where they’re still chasing the squirrel or where they’ve fallen to sleep in exhaustion. With a GPS device on your German Shepherds’ collars, you can know precisely where they are – and ensure their safe return after their squirrel chase is over.

By Greg Bartlett

Your children have been excited about this for months, and if you’re honest with yourself, you have been, too. Today you’re bringing home your new Samoyed puppy. She’s fluffy, white, cute, and excited about being a member of your family. Now that you’ve finally got her in your arms, you know this is going to be the perfect dog for you.

After hours of playing with her and showing your puppy her new yard and toys, you finally go inside to eat your supper. Your kids are eager to go back outside to play with her some more, and when you finally let them, they come running back inside moments later, crying that the puppy isn’t there.

Your Samoyed puppy was expensive, so you definitely don’t want to lose her. Besides, you’ve already fallen in love. Thankfully, there is an easy way to find her. When you brought her home, you took the precaution of putting her collar on – and on the collar, there’s a GPS device.

The GPS device will allow you to pinpoint your puppy’s exact location. You didn’t have time to set it up today, but you’ll be able to create a geo-fence, and if your puppy wanders outside that boundary again, you’ll be instantly alerted with a phone call or text message. Right now, though, all you have to do is go to the computer and check to see where your puppy went. The GPS device is informing you that she’s in the area of the nearby creek, and since you can also monitor her speed, you can tell it looks like she’s there on her own – not stolen.

If someone does come along and spots your expensive puppy and doesn’t want to give her back, well, you’ll at least be informed. The collar is lockable and if it’s removed without using the key, you’ll receive an alert. You can then call police immediately with your puppy’s last location. Right now, though, that’s not necessary. All you have to do is head out to the creek and retrieve your exploring Samoyed.

Your GPS device will help you keep track of your puppy while she grows. Even if she never loses her curiosity and desire to explore, you’ll always be able to find out where she is. Your lovable new family member can continue to play and enjoy your family instead of getting lost and then stolen, injured, or even killed.

By Greg Bartlett

My 16-year-old sister just got her restricted driver’s license this week. She’s been driving for a while now, but only with an adult in the car. Now she can drive by herself during the day and, like most teenagers, she’s enjoying the additional freedom.

But for many parents, when their teenagers reach the point my sister has, they become concerned about what their teenagers are doing. After all, since the teenager can drive without an adult in the car anymore, it’s hard to determine now exactly what is going on behind the wheel. Are your teenagers continuing to drive carefully, like they would if you were in the car with them, or are they becoming careless? Do they ignore speed limits, run stop signs, and take risks?

Teenage drivers are in danger, whether they realize it or not. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers, and teenagers are more likely in general – perhaps four times as much – to have accidents. Whether it’s because they are over confident, willing to take risks, giving into peer pressure, or just because of inexperience, teenage drivers need protection.

For teenagers, of course, getting a driver’s license is exciting, but it can be a fearful time for parents. They want to ensure the safety of their child, but they know they can’t smother their teenager and always be in the car, too. Even if it was possible on a practical level, the teenager still needs the freedom. But thankfully parents can still protect their child using a GPS device.

With a GPS device, parents can monitor their teenage driver’s car in real-time and can watch everything from the location of the car to its speed and the stops it makes. You can see whether your teenager is speeding or is driving recklessly and can even receive alerts – whether by phone, email, or text message – if your teenager exceeds a certain speed limit. A GPS device will inform you if your child is driving unsafely and needs you to correct the behavior.

Now you can permit your teenagers freedom while still offering the protection and guidance they need during this important transitional phase of their lives. You can help your teenagers change any problematic driving activities before they become dangerous and threaten their lives and the lives of other drivers. With a GPS device, having a teenage driver can be a fun time for both you and your teen instead of a nightmare.

By Greg Bartlett

You love your dog, Rover, but sometimes he’s a headache. He likes to live up to his name, but your fear is that eventually he will be one of the millions of dogs who get lost each year. After all, approximately one third of all pet dogs go missing at least once, and Rover has already exceeded his quota. You’re always afraid that the next time he gets out will be the last time you ever see him.

Pet Tracking Collar

If you put a GPS device on Rover’s collar, you won’t have to worry so much. You can check while you’re at work to see if Rover is still there, and if Rover escapes, you’ll be alerted instantly by text message, phone call, or email. Because you can preset the boundaries for Rover to, for instance, your yard and house, if Rover leaves those boundaries, you’ll know immediately.

So Rover does escape, and you get a text message and head out to find him. You can follow his progress in real time and receive turn-by-turn directions from the GPS device about how to find him, plus you can even watch how fast he’s moving. That may not seem important, but if Rover is stolen and is placed inside a vehicle, the speed will be vastly different than if Rover’s just roaming on his own four paws. Some GPS systems will even send you an alert if your pet’s speed exceeds a preset limit, so that if Rover suddenly starts going forty-five miles an hour, you’ll know something is up.

Your GPS device also has an LED light built in, so it’ll be easier to find Rover at night. Furthermore, some devices, like the SpotLight device developed by Positioning Animals Worldwide, Inc. and American Kennel Club Companion Animal Recovery, allow you to have a team of professionals on hand to help you with the tracking and recovery process 24 hours a day.

Keeping track of Rover is easier than ever, and now you can have peace of mind knowing that your pet is safe. Even if Rover does manage to pull one of his trademark escaping acts, you’ll be able to track him with your GPS device and retrieve your pet before he is injured, stolen, or permanently lost. Recovering your pet is important, and using a GPS tracking device may be the key to ensuring your pet’s safety and health and guaranteeing that you will be reunited with Rover.

by James Neely - freelance writer for hire

The Smart Tracker with NavIQ software gives you a “one-two” punch which helps you to actively and continuously monitor your assets. Marrying hardware and software together in this configuration gives you the advantages of being able to keep close tabs on your assets. Whether it is a vehicle or other large, high-ticket item, you will appreciate the benefits.

Smart Tracker

The Smart Tracker gives you on-demand and live tracking from any computer through a web page interface. The NavIQ software is the interface and has more features than just being able to visually inspect the movements of an asset. You can also run reports and set boundaries with geo-fencing.

Also with the Smart Tracker you do not have to purchase a monthly subscription plan for tracking. You can activate and locate the device as the need presents itself. This type of “pay-per-use” option helps save you money.

Assists in locating stolen property. When installed to specification you can pass along information to police as to the whereabouts of your property. Police would rather be involved in the instant recovery of an item than to have it end up in a manila folder on an investigators’ desk gathering dust.

NavIQ software features boast these options:

• Request locate. Institutes a polling feature that locates the position of your asset.

• Rapid Tracking. Map refreshes every thirty seconds holds the asset on the current map view. This provides real-time tracking as long as the GPS device is set to the same interval.

• Geo-fencing. Predetermined points on a map are set which form a boundary and send out notifications via email or SMS text in order to alert the recipient that the boundary has been breached.

• Speed alert. Speed thresholds are set which are triggered when they are exceeded. The actual speed is recorded along with the location.

• Navigation or routing. Turn-by-turn directions are given for routing purposes.

• Extensive Reporting. Risk Management Reports deliver information on improper use of an asset. These uses can include speed limits, and off-hours usage. There are other more in-depth reports as well.

• Google Earth’s imagery used. You can see routes and tracking via this popular software interface.

• Long-term storage. History reports are stored off-site from your facilities for future reference for up to one year.

• History mapping. All detailed activities are contained within reports that can be accessed at any time.

• Actual mapping. All map controls on the computer are easy to navigate and move around with which provides great user interaction.

Now that you know what the advantages of a Smart Tracker with NavIQ software are, the only question is when will you make the move to obtain them for your business. You’ll be glad you did.

By Greg Bartlett

You’re walking along the street when suddenly you notice someone seems to be following you. Whether you’re a reporter in danger zone in a war-torn country or a teen in your hometown on your way back to your car, you suddenly don’t feel safe anymore. While you’re trying to remember everything you know about self-defense, there’s another fear. What if the situation escalates and you are kidnapped or attacked? Can someone find you in time to help?

Personal Safety

Many people, whether traveling executives, journalists in violent areas, or everyday citizens leaving work, are concerned about their safety and wonder if they will be able to receive help if an emergency arrives. What if they can’t use their phone in time? Will anyone ever be able to find and rescue them?

A GPS device ensures your safety by not only following your every move, but also allowing you to activate a panic button in an emergency. If you find yourself in danger, you can alert family, friends, or authorities to your position and can be assured that help is on the way immediately. It can be used even if you’re just lost, but for those who routinely travel or go into dangerous areas, a GPS tracking device with a panic button could save their life.

Furthermore, a GPS device can have extra protection measures. For instance, it can alert family and authorities if you go outside predetermined boundaries, so if you already know you’re only going to be in one area while you’re researching your story but the GPS tracking device says you’re somewhere else, law enforcement can investigate and ensure that you’re safe.

If you realize you’re in a dangerous situation, you need to be able to have someone who can find you and find you quickly.

If you’re carrying a GPS device, your position can be instantly determined and any movements you make monitored while help is sent. This can be helpful even without a panic button, so that if your family becomes concerned they can check up on your location, but a panic button will alert family and authorities of immediate danger, giving you immediate help.

Your personal safety doesn’t have to be risked if you travel in dangerous areas or even just have to walk across the street at night. With a panic button in a GPS device, you and your family can have peace of mind and can know that help will be instantly on the way if needed.

By Greg Bartlett

Pressure is mounting at work, school is becoming burdensome, your house is filled with activity, and you never feel like you have a chance to relax. You know that the weather outside is beautiful, just the kind you like when you’re hiking, and so you decide to go on a hike to unwind a little.

While you’re preparing for your hike, you include water, a cell phone, maybe some snacks and a camera, and your GPS device.

As you enjoy the beauty and peace of the woods as you tramp along mossy trails, you can use your GPS tracking device to find out exactly where you’ve been. You may want to look later to see what stops you made, how fast you were going, what your elevation was, and make sure you can find especially beautiful or enjoyable stops again.

You might have enjoyed a small waterfall you discovered and want to bring your other camera back so you can take pictures, but if you didn’t take a GPS tracking device with you, it might be hard to find, especially if it wasn’t along the main trail. Maybe you took one trail and wanted to explore another one at a later date, but you can’t remember just by looking at the trail junction which path you already took.

A GPS device will let you know which trail you’ve been on and you can come back later to explore the other path.

Furthermore, a GPS tracking device provides you with an added layer of safety. Say you get lost or you slip on a muddy area, fall, and break your leg. You can call for help on your cell phone if you’re in cell phone range, but with the mountains around you, it might not go through. Besides, you’re not entirely sure about your location, although you have a pretty good idea.

Your GPS device, however, knows your precise location to within a few feet, and many GPS devices also have panic alert buttons which you can use to alert family or friends if you need help even if your cell phone is out of range.

The next time you want to unwind a little and choose to go hiking, be sure to take your GPS device with you. You’ll be able to find out exactly where you’ve been and save any special locations you found for later visits, plus you’ll be safer.

By Greg Bartlett

Keeping track of your teenager can be complicated. Your son has to go to school and work, plus he has football practice and he wants to join a band. Your daughter is involved in school programs and works downtown. Your teens are good kids for the most part, but it’s hard to know where they are at all times.

However, keeping track of your teens is important.

In 2006, over 836,000 people were reported missing. Around 80% of those were under 18 years of age. In 2008, close to 780,000 people were reported missing, and approximately 615,000 of those were under age 18.

Avoiding having your teenagers become one of the statistics may be as simple as giving them a GPS device. A GPS tracking device will let you know where the teen is at all times – provided, of course, the teen keeps it with him or her – and can alert you if your teenager goes out of particular boundaries or stays out past curfew.

You can find out if your teen has just been going to work and school, or if he’s also been sneaking to some friends’ houses where you think they’ve been drinking alcohol.

If the GPS device is in the car, any time the teen drives anywhere you will know about it and the teen can’t remove the device easily. If instead you use a small device that can be carried, say, in a purse, the teenager can accidentally forget about it or deliberately leave it, but it will pinpoint your teen’s location rather than just the car’s location.

That may be especially helpful under certain circumstances, such as if your teen walks to school.

Many GPS devices also allow users to hit a panic button if an emergency arises. If your teen finds herself in a dangerous situation as she leaves work, she can alert you – and police – and can have help sent at once.

A GPS device will let you know where your family members are and can provide peace of mind for you and them. They can know that help will be on the way should an emergency arise, and you can know what they’re doing at all times.

Rather than waiting for your teens to come home, never knowing if they’re lost, hurt, kidnapped, or just out late, with a GPS device you can monitor your family for their safety and to ensure that they don’t become missing persons.

By Harriette Halepis

The city of London, England, has begun experimenting with GPS trackers and dangerous mental health patients. The decision to tag mental health patients with GPS tracking bracelets and anklets was made following the gruesome death of an elderly man.

Convicted rapist Terrence O’Keefe strangled 73 year old David Kemp after escaping from a mental health facility. This incident prompted London authorities to begin tracking all mental health patients that are given day passes, or those being transferred from one facility to another. The hope is that through constant monitoring of dangerous mental health patients, incidents such as the one mentioned above will not happen again.

Computers will monitor every move made by mental health patients that are not within the walls of a secure facility. While this solution seems like a logical one, some are not so sure that tracking only those patients outside of mental health facilities is enough.

When O’Keefe strangled his victim, he had been on the run from authorities for quite some time. Were O’Keefe fitted with a GPS tracking system prior to his escape, police could have found him almost immediately. However, under the new London tracking project laws, O’Keefe would not have been fitted with a GPS device at all, since he was inside of the facility before he escaped.

Thus, many London locals are calling for the tracking of all mental health patients inside and outside of mental health facilities. On the flip side, human rights activists are claiming that not all mental health patients are dangerous. In fact, some patients wiling enter mental health facilities on their own. Then again, those mental health patients with criminal records are a bit of a different story.

If the new London tracking program proves to be successful, dangerous mental health patients throughout England will be tracked regularly. Presently, those mental health patients that are outside of facilities are tagged with curfew bracelets that warn authorities when a patient is outside of a facility after curfew hours.

The transition from curfew bracelets to full-time tracking bracelets would be an easy one, and it’s also a transition that many citizens and government officials are willing to make. Londoners feel as though the constant monitoring of dangerous mental health patients will help to make London’s streets a bit safer. All London eyes are on the current tracking project, and many have high hopes that this project will be a success.

By Greg Bartlett

Do you want to monitor a vehicle with GPS tracking?  Maybe you want to find out where your car has been, what your teen is doing, or where your spouse is going.  You want something small, but effective and affordable.  Which GPS device are you going to choose?

Before you make your final decision, consider the TracKing Key.  It is a passive system which tracks your subject every second accurately within a few feet.  It will report to you times, locations, routes, stops, addresses, speed, and pretty much anything else you would want to know.  And the great news is that you won’t even have to pay a monthly fee to get all that information.

If your car is started cold, it will take less than 40 seconds for the TracKing Keyto acquire satellite information.  A warm start will take about 30 seconds, while a hot start will take your TracKing device less than 3 seconds.

Another advantage is the battery life of the TracKing Key.  It is powered by two AA batteries, on which it can operate for about 80 hours on each charge.  The TracKing Key will go into sleep mode if it senses lack of movement for much more than two minutes, thus preserving battery life so that you can use it for as long as possible before replacing the batteries.  With its magnetic mounting, you can put the TracKing device either outside or inside your vehicle.

Furthermore, the TracKing Key is water-resistant, so you don’t have to worry if you drive through a huge puddle and your TracKing device is fixed to the outside of your car. 

Once you download the information from the TracKing Key onto your computer, you can see a daily log and different maps of the car’s activities, including satellite imagery of the streets.  The device can store up to 100 hours of driving activity.  At around three inches long and under two inches wide and high, the TracKing Key is small and unobtrusive.  Furthermore, it can operate in temperatures from -15 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit, ensuring that you can use this GPS device almost anywhere you want.

While you are choosing the right GPS device for your needs, remember that you if you’re looking for a small, passive, water-resistant unit with great battery life, the TracKing Key can track your vehicle accurately, giving you times, addresses, locations, stops, speed, directions, and peace of mind.