(This is an update of an original post about Pocket Tracker, a tracking solution that uses GPS technology to find missing people in rural areas. Thanks to Pocket Tracker co-founder Tony Barrett for taking the time to get back to us with some necessary clarifications, as well as some interesting additional information).
There we were this weekend, pitching an RV in the rugged Wallowa Mountains of eastern Oregon.
These are mountains where outlaws used to flee, and never got found. Sometimes, that still happens. Except, in my part of the world, those outlaws are more likely to be meth dealers rather than cattle rustlers.
Other times, the good people get lost. And that's where Pocket Tracker comes in.
Union County - a mountains-and-sagebrush expanse of some 2,039 square miles - has a search and rescue group that looks for about 50 missing persons a year. It's now testing the Pocket Tracker, a carry-along unit that consists of a GPS and radio transmitter, connected to a HAM radio frequency.
Search teams use the device to map and coordinate their locations, marking areas already searched and which ought to be combed next. Pocket Tracker is set to work on either 144.390 MHz or 144.340 MHz.
Pocket Tracker was co-invented by retired HP engineer Jim Hall, as well as Tony Barrett, a former HP engineer who owns the HiValue Radio company in Boise, Idaho (about 150 miles as the vulture flies from Union County).
Pocket Tracker also contains additional equipment besides the GPS and the radio- a TinyTrak3 GPS encoder. The tracking system used by Union County SAR also works with two county-owned digi-peaters that were donated by an area resident. Union County got a $4,528 grant last year for 10 complete PocketTracker setups.
Now, they are being tested. This is no lab test - unless your "lab" is wide open spaces, don't fence me in, Marlboro Country.
Literally. Barrett told me that unless a horse turns a certain way, a signal can even work from within a saddlebag. "A PocketTracker was tested on a horse during an endurance ride last summer. It was mounted directly behind the rider near the horse's spine and worked well," Barrett says.
Barrett adds that when he skis with the Pocket Tracker and its antenna completely inside his coat pocket it works just fine. He notes that his own favorable experiences are corroborated by numerous positive feedback on the Web.
The next series of tests will take place next month, in the desolate Starkey region of Union County. In addition to assessing device functionality, the role of that test, as well as others, will in part be to specify the best locations for signal repeaters.
Russell Shaw is a specialist in mobile computing, telephony, networking and covers these fields regularly for numerous print and online publications. Russ writes the popular IP Telephony blog on ZDNet and contributes regularly to The Industry Standard blog as well. Author of seven books, Russ' latest book is Wireless Networking Made Easy.
John Yunker is president of 
1. Tony Barrett - Pocket Tracker co-developer on June 8, 2005 1:55 PM writes...
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity. Your article comes close.
The Pocket Tracker is a transmitter, not a receiver. I know. I'm one of the co-developers of the Pocket Tracker.
There are only 24 through-hole components to add, not 90. You can see the details in the Kit Contents drawing posted on the web page. We offer assembled units and Union County SAR sent 10 of their 11 units back to me for assembly, which I did, with some hired help. They knew what they were getting with a hands-on demonstration before they spent their first penny. They initially purchased kits to save money. In fact, the woman I paid to do most of the assembly had never soldered in her life and the first Pocket Tracker she put together worked perfectly the very first time she turned it on. Union County SAR agreed to pay the difference, but I've been waiting months for a $541 check (to pay for the assembly work on ten units and four antennas of various grades) that I fear will never come. Losses like that make it hard to stay in business.
We've had a website (www.hivalueradio.com) since before selling the first Pocket Tracker in March of 2004. Over a thousand sold worldwide (Africa, India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Scandinavia) in the first 8 months. Granted the URL is forwarded to Byonics, our major distributor (www.byonics.com).
"Makeshift collection"? That's a very unfair characterization. I hear from customers all the time praising the precision engineering in the Pocket Tracker. QEX magazine featured the Pocket Tracker as an exclusive cover story with an 11-page article inside. QST published two pages. Amateurfunktechnik magazine in Germany also published a favorable full-page article.
Last year a Pocket Tracker helped win the Onset Prize for flying a weather balloon to the highest altitude for the year, nearly 120,000 feet, and the Pocket Tracker worked flawlessly to ensure payload recovery. During numerous flights Pocket Tracker signals have been routinely received and decoded by stations that are over THREE HUNDRED AIR MILES AWAY. Pocket Trackers were designed to work even at minus 100 degrees F and tests have proven that they do indeed work well under such conditions. Does that sound like a "makeshift collection"? The National Severe Storm Research Laboratory is integrating Pocket Trackers into their expensive instrument payloads.
You should have shown a photo of the Safety Yellow Weatherproof Pocket Trackers that the Union County SAR organization is using, not the hobbyist model designed to sell for the lowest possible price. Scroll down near the bottom of the Pocket Tracker web page to see a weatherproof model in blue. Other colors are available.
My last name is BARRETT (two "r"s, no "n") and my co-developer was Jim Hall, a retired HP engineer and LaserJet R & D manager. We spent a full year develoing the Pocket Tracker.
The only additional equipment the Pocket Tracker contains is a TinyTrak3 GPS encoder. Your article makes it sound like the Pocket Tracker has a permanent digi-peater, portable digi-peaters etc. These are separate devices, some owned by Union County SAR, that receive, relay, and plot the signals from the Pocket Trackers. Perhaps you meant to say that the tracking system used by Union County SAR is comprised of additional equipment besides GPS receviers and Pocket Tracker encoder / transmitters.
I believe there are two permanent digi-peaters in the Union County area now (LAGRND and TOLGATE), both donated by Stephanie Steele of Ontario, Oregon.
I was told that the signal from the horse was only blocked if the horse turned a certain way. The signal worked from the saddle bag just fine. A Pocket Tracker was tested on a horse during an endurance ride last summer. It was mounted directly behind the rider near the horse's spine and worked well. When I ski with the Pocket Tracker and its antenna completely inside my coat pocket it works just fine. Hundreds of reports make it to the internet from all sorts of unlikely locations throughout the day.
A little fact checking would go a long way towards improving your articles in the future. Such sloppiness gives the "Press" a bad name. I guess one can only believe a small fraction of what they read. Makes you wonder if it's worth the time to read at all. I need some books on wireless networking for some consulting work I'm doing but I will be sure to avoid yours. Perhaps the intent of your posting was to demote your books. If so, good job!
Please try to put a little more effort into your work in the future.
Tony Barrett - N7MTZ
HiValue Radio Inc. - Simplifying APRS (r)
www.hivalueradio.com
Permalink to Comment2. Tony Barrett - Pocket Tracker co-developer on June 8, 2005 6:16 PM writes...
Never fails. As soon as I complain publicly the check arrives in the mail. Union County SAR has paid for all the parts and labor purchased from HiValue Radio Inc.
Thank you very much!
Tony
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