GPS jamming?

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Is there a way to block our work trucks gps signal?

 

[wiretap]

Put a metal cap over the receiver.. or unplug it. But, lol.. funny thread. I like where it is going.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I must find a way!

 

[pontifex]

wanna stop at a bar or strip club during work?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

wanna stop at a bar or strip club during work?

No, but that's not a bad idea.

 

[aceO07]

They might phone back home. If they figure out it loses signal, they can still figure out around where you are prior to it. They will get suspicious if it doesn't signal for extended amounts of time.

 

[corkyg]

If you don't want them to work, why have them? Jamming would be illegal, but local disabling would be OK. Again, why have them?

 

[2canSAM]

If you don't want them to work, why have them? Jamming would be illegal, but local disabling would be OK. Again, why have them?

Something tells me he is not the one who can make the decision to have them or not.

 

[corkyg]

Something tells me he is not the one who can make the decision to have them or not.

Yeah - it sounds like a management problem, not a technical one.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

total micro management crap - like turning the trucks off during the winter months to save on gas? Let me get in a warm truck when its 7* and below 0 windchill

 

[corkyg]

total micro management crap - like turning the trucks off during the winter months to save on gas? Let me get in a warm truck when its 7* and below 0 windchill

Confirms my suspicion. Turning engines on and off frequently can burn more gas than idling.

 

[Corn]

Is there a way to block our work trucks gps signal?

Lemme guess, you're a union employee, right?

 

[DivideBYZero]

There is a GPS jammer unit on Deal Extreme.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Lemme guess, you're a union employee, right?

Nope

 

[Leros]

There is a GPS jammer unit on Deal Extreme.

Can you get that shipped to the US? Jammers are illegal.

 

[hanoverphist]

total micro management crap - like turning the trucks off during the winter months to save on gas? Let me get in a warm truck when its 7* and below 0 windchill

we have gps on all our trucks as well. its not for micromanagement, its a tool to track job site info, locations as well as a fallback if there is a question of your whereabouts. we also have gps on their phones as well as a job tracking program so workers can log into jobs as they get to the sites. it makes the paperwork in the office easier, as well as takes some of the burden of filling out forms off the worker.

if youre trying to be hidden for any reason, your employee has a cause for concern. you are the people the "fallback" was designed and implemented for.

edit:
this info is also used to determine the ratio of actual work to drive time for bidding purposes.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

we have gps on all our trucks as well. its not for micromanagement, its a tool to track job site info, locations as well as a fallback if there is a question of your whereabouts. we also have gps on their phones as well as a job tracking program so workers can log into jobs as they get to the sites. it makes the paperwork in the office easier, as well as takes some of the burden of filling out forms off the worker.

if youre trying to be hidden for any reason, your employee has a cause for concern. you are the people the "fallback" was designed and implemented for.

edit:
this info is also used to determine the ratio of actual work to drive time for bidding purposes.

Lets make up an example of what I do. Just for fun. And try to see if you can answer this without breaking the rules they give us.

It's 7* - windchill is about -2* You are about 40-50 feet in the air after climbing up a tree and you are working out limbs that are dangerously close to 13.2kv lines. Opps, forgot to mention the wind is alot stronger at that height and the windchill is biting you. You can feel the frost bite already setting in on your toes, face, and fingers. It's 9am now and you've been in the tree for about an hour. After you complete your clearance you are exhausted & frozen and you have another 7hrs before you can get in your car and turn it on for heat.

Here is my question to you

A) Do you continue to work in your condition and risk pnemonia or hypothermia (?)

B) Or do you break the rules and jump in the truck, turn it on and warm up; letting the company know you are waisting there gas (yes, the gps system will tell them this as well as how many people are actually sitting in the truck)

Believe me, it's been 16yrs in the business and I completely understand every which way they want to use gps for.

 

[corkyg]

What you want to do is reasonable under the circumstances. If the company is unreasonable on this, then cover the GPS antenna with a grounded coffee can and warm up.

 

[deputc26]

There's definitely a way to do it. GPS L1 L2 and L5 frequencies are all in the lower 1.x ghz frequency range but I bet it would be easier to mess up the transmitter that is broadcasting your location than the gps reciever. It is relatively easy to block a GPS signal I believe as the signal is quite weak.

 

[pontifex]

Lets make up an example of what I do. Just for fun. And try to see if you can answer this without breaking the rules they give us.

It's 7* - windchill is about -2* You are about 40-50 feet in the air after climbing up a tree and you are working out limbs that are dangerously close to 13.2kv lines. Opps, forgot to mention the wind is alot stronger at that height and the windchill is biting you. You can feel the frost bite already setting in on your toes, face, and fingers. It's 9am now and you've been in the tree for about an hour. After you complete your clearance you are exhausted & frozen and you have another 7hrs before you can get in your car and turn it on for heat.

Here is my question to you

A) Do you continue to work in your condition and risk pnemonia or hypothermia (?)

B) Or do you break the rules and jump in the truck, turn it on and warm up; letting the company know you are waisting there gas (yes, the gps system will tell them this as well as how many people are actually sitting in the truck)

Believe me, it's been 16yrs in the business and I completely understand every which way they want to use gps for.

how the hell does a GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM tell if the vehicle is running or not (i guess maybe if it turns on with the truck) and how the hell can it tell how many people are in the truck? sounds like you're confusing GPS with something else.

 

[KLin]

how the hell does a GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM tell if the vehicle is running or not (i guess maybe if it turns on with the truck) and how the hell can it tell how many people are in the truck? sounds like you're confusing GPS with something else.

http://www.trackyourtruck.com/standstill.html

EDIT: It's not the GPS transmitting whether the vehicle is running or not. This kind of device is no doubt hooked up to the vehicle computer and can read data from it and send it via cellular data networks.

 

[SunnyD]

http://www.trackyourtruck.com/standstill.html

EDIT: It's not the GPS transmitting whether the vehicle is running or not. This kind of device is no doubt hooked up to the vehicle computer and can read data from it and send it via cellular data networks.

Indeed, which begs the situation - if it can't send data for whatever reason, do you not think it's still going to record the data to send as soon as it has a clean signal? Or perhaps to be retrieved via diagnostics when you bring the truck in and maintenance wonders why the hell it wasn't sending?

Guess you didn't think of that one. Yeah, you're screwed no matter what.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The seats have a sensor that will tell you to put your seatbelt on. I think they are weight activated.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Indeed, which begs the situation - if it can't send data for whatever reason, do you not think it's still going to record the data to send as soon as it has a clean signal? Or perhaps to be retrieved via diagnostics when you bring the truck in and maintenance wonders why the hell it wasn't sending?

Guess you didn't think of that one. Yeah, you're screwed no matter what.

Manager: "Hmm seems that BTRY B529's truck loses signal for about 30 minutes or so every two hours. That's strange, I'll ask him if there's anything weird going on."

After talking to you

Manager: "Well, he doesn't know why it would so lets send it in to the shop to get it looked at"

Mechanic tells boss that the system was on, and it had signal when it got there but lost it after it was there for some reason. Seems to be a regular thing and happen in a predictable fashion.

Point is, you're screwed going the route you want to go.

If you feel this is an issue, talk to HR/boss. Tell them there is a work concern and go that route.

 

[hanoverphist]

Lets make up an example of what I do. Just for fun. And try to see if you can answer this without breaking the rules they give us.

It's 7* - windchill is about -2* You are about 40-50 feet in the air after climbing up a tree and you are working out limbs that are dangerously close to 13.2kv lines. Opps, forgot to mention the wind is alot stronger at that height and the windchill is biting you. You can feel the frost bite already setting in on your toes, face, and fingers. It's 9am now and you've been in the tree for about an hour. After you complete your clearance you are exhausted & frozen and you have another 7hrs before you can get in your car and turn it on for heat.

Here is my question to you

A) Do you continue to work in your condition and risk pnemonia or hypothermia (?)

B) Or do you break the rules and jump in the truck, turn it on and warm up; letting the company know you are waisting there gas (yes, the gps system will tell them this as well as how many people are actually sitting in the truck)

Believe me, it's been 16yrs in the business and I completely understand every which way they want to use gps for.

not much different from working 15 feet underground in a sealed vault in 120 degree summers. the only main difference is most we see is 480v 600A service at our elbows while working. BUT, we allow the guys to run their trucks to get a/c to cool down. it would be silly to tell them they cant cool off if they are getting overheated. when we have had workers that abused that, other employees let us know to keep an eye out for it and they dont work here anymore.

sounds like a bs call from your company, but it doesnt make the gps any less necessary for their side. the nanny aspect really does suck for you tho.

(our gps arent those kinds, we only track location and time. and speed if we want to.)