Electronic Tracking Devices

[dreambeats]

Any ideas anyone?

Attach one of them tracking devices ( very small) hidden into the bag or something just an idea any thoughts people. Our pans are becoming increasingly more known about....

Any thoughts

Chris

[Harshak]

Thats a good idea! Wish i had done that

The cost of such a device is far from the cost of having to buy a new pan

[in2nation]

I suggested that victor use a tracking device when posting his Instuments to the few people he had promised them to - ( he had some postal concerns at that time) not sure if he used them


I think it's a good idea - maybe one of us could start a ( fairly priced ) business selling these 'homing devices'

[GotHang]

I suggested that victor use a tracking device when posting his Instuments to the few people he had promised them to - ( he had some postal concerns at that time)

Great idea!

As a maker, get a few of the trackers, magnetize them to the bottom of the creation when it is sent out, and have the buyer send the tracker back when received!

It's a bit of a costly investment to start with, but they're re-useable and you have surefire realtime tracking.

[Harshak]

I suggested that victor use a tracking device when posting his Instuments to the few people he had promised them to - ( he had some postal concerns at that time)

Great idea!

As a maker, get a few of the trackers, magnetize them to the bottom of the creation when it is sent out, and have the buyer send the tracker back when received!

It's a bit of a costly investment to start with, but they're re-useable and you have surefire realtime tracking.

That is something the Panmakers should try to make

Maybe also be able to sell them for a fair price as an option

[Spike]

Idea is good, but let me get this right...

So lets say you have your HandPan ripped off. and you track it to some location.... Happens to be an apartment building..
So you what? call the police and have them bust down a door, only to find out that they busted down the wrong door?...

Not to sure if the police are going to be too happy to jump on this band wagon or not... Also, without a search warrant, is an invasion of privacy, and unlawful.

Don't get me wrong here, anyone that rips something off should have their nuts cut off as far as I am concerned, but just wondering what good it would do to track it..

Now as far as builder tracking.... that could be a cool option.... I wonder what the % of loss is so far.... Mine is 0% and I use UPS and USPS

[omrhythm]

Probable cause to enter is indicated by the presence of the device. And they can simply knock on the door Steve. I think it would be as useful for shipping as simply having it in the instrument at all times. Theft is more likely after shipping than during. UPS and USPS are not flawless services. In fact, since you have never had any issues with them, you are unaware how utterly stupid they are when it comes to trying to find something they have actually lost.

[Spike]

Probable cause to enter is indicated by the presence of the device.

If it is not within "open view", they need a search warrant in the US. That is the law...
I just went through this last year with the crack house next door... (there are exceptions to this, like if the person was on probation), but still they can not search the house without a warrant...

Theft is more likely after shipping than during.

Yes, I know that, kind of my point here... how long do the batteries last? Who is going to remember to change/replace/charge the batteries on this hidden device?

you are unaware how utterly stupid they are

Not saying I have never had any issues with UPS or USPS, just that they never lost any of my Zen YET! I know they are a PIA. I have had USPS pick up a box that was for UPS and had to chase that guy around the hood... only to find out that he could not give it back to me... He had to bring it back to my address.... But I understand why...


Don't get me wrong, I agree, something is needed... Now if they had a GPS that did not need batteries, that you could place inside your Pan that would still get a signal....


I am the type of person that tests the water before I jump in... inotherwords I am going to point out what could be an issue before hand...
A tracking device will not stop theft, in fact, not slow it down.
Do we feel that the few Handpans that have been riped so far have been ripped by the same person? I don't think so...
Does the person that ripped them know what they are? I think so...
Are they doing their homework to find the value? I think so...
Are they reading forums like this one? I think so...
Would they be checking for a tracking device? I would!

Or to put it another way.... If you had a tracking device on your Handpan, and I ripped it, you would be able to track your tracking device right to the car of some unknown person that had nothing to do with it.. just for fun... Maybe I would place it on a car of some guy that I did not like... you know, just for fun....

Just saying......

[Miguel Carvalho]

Maybe I would place it on a car of some guy that I did not like... you know, just for fun....

[TheHoff]

I agree with Spike's points.

It sounds like a great idea on the surface, to be able to track your stolen pan, but in life, it just wouldn't work.

To get a signal strong enough to penetrate say an appartment complex, bounce off a satellite and handily land into a smartphone with an appropriate app, that needs quite a bit of power. The anti-theft tracking systems on cars (lo-jack and the like) are hooked into the car's battery and have rather large antennae, not exactly button-sized and portable. The system I have on my phone, that uses the integrated GPS to allow me to track it in case it gets stolen will only work as long as the GPS is on, and there is a direct line-of-sight to a satellite, meaning that the phone is outdoors, or maybe right by a window. Battery on the phone lasts about 10h with GPS and Wifi on.

Now... Military grade spary-on chemical tracking systems, that employ certain radioactive isotopes that can be traced with special spectroscopic photography equipment found on spy satellits... That would work. A system like that, provided it would be legal to set up and operate, would probably set you back about $80 to $120 million, if you had the contacts.
And at this point, we wouldn't need warrants anymore, since we'd employ a team of highly trained Handpan Recovery Operatives (HROs, pronounced "HeROes") who would come and go with impunity.

I love to dream.