I’m active in different parts of the Internet and in my travels around I’ve noticed that there’s some people out there that have a little paranoia about GPS Tracking Systems in the sense that maybe themselves or their vehicle is being tracked.

Todays technology makes all this possible and in fact really easy to do. Bur keep in mind that these devices are still quite large so it would be pretty obvious if someone were to put one in your gym bag or purse.

So far the hardware that is ‘dedicated‘ to GPS tracking is designed to be easily attached to a shipping container, tool box or even a vehicle. Sometimes they incorporate a secure braided wire that is used to attach the device to the object the owner wants to track.

There’s nothing small enough yet to be really inconspicuous because the technology doesn’t rely on just the GPS System to do the tracking. The GPS system is composed of satellites orbiting the earth and sending out a broadcast of their positions. The user end of the system has only a receiver of these signals. It’s a communications system that works much like your common radio – RECEIVE ONLY.

You’re going to need 2-way communication for a tracking device to function. The receiver part of it gets the signal from the satellites and then the transmitter part of it relays it’s position to another system that would be the front end for the user who is doing the tracking. In many cases the user front end is a secure Internet site accessible from any Internet connection.

There are a few ways of accomplishing the transmitter part that relays the positional data. The transmitting system can make use of WiFi to upload the position directly to internet, of course you’d need to have to be within reach of a WiFi signal for this to happen. The system can make use of the cellular communications network to relay position to the cellular network that would process the signal and then send it to the user front end. The cellular system is more reliable than the WiFi system because of area coverage but as we all know the whole world isn’t wireless just yet so this is great for cities but it probably won’t work in the Australian Outback. The most reliable transmitter system is to use a satellite communications network to relay the data to the user front end because of the extensive coverage area. Keep in mind though that the GPS System does not receive signals so it is a whole other service provider that the data will be relayed too.

So all of you with a little bit too much paranoia on this subject can now put away your tin foil hats – these systems are still too expensive for a jealous lover or overbearing parent to utilize just yet!