Another option is to look at building it with Arduino and one of the GPS
modules that go with it.

More on HTTP://www.arduino.cc

Goodluck,
Miten

miten sampat | HTTP://about.me/mitensampat
On Feb 1, 2011 9:44 AM, "Brian Russo" <[email protected]> wrote:
> In the volumes you'd be purchasing you can get OEM GPS devices with a
> usb or RS232 interface for around $30-35.
>
> Battery life is going to be simply dependent on the size of the battery
> I wouldn't bother with buttons, just have it start feeding when the
> power source is connected. Or implement a switch. There's no reason to
> have it on when it's not doing anything.
>
> Accuracy is a function of many things, but CEP <30m is quite
> achievable with even the cheapest OEM device under most circumstances.
>
> I doubt you're going to be able to build one with a transmitter for
> <$50 in small volumes though. It's not really sensible engaging in R&D
> for something like this unless you have specific requirements or are
> going to build large volumes. Too much hassle unless you're going to
> build hundreds or have unusual requirements (size, form factor, etc).
>
> You can get little zoombak trackers or garmin gps dog collars for
> around $80-100. There are many systems like this (just google gps
> tracking beacon or something), most involve a subscription around
> $10-15/month. That's probably your best bet.
>
> Here's an example - http://www.zoombak.com/products/universal/
>
> - bri
>
> On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 7:24 AM, Paul Faunik <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> I'm looking to build a location transmitter that would have the following
>> constraints
>>
>> - low cost (sub $50) for the hw
>> - long battery life. based on the device broadcasting location every 5
min
>> and doing nothing else. days between charges?
>> - two simple buttons : start broadcasting : stop broadcasting
>> - the geo coordinates are relatively accurate most of the time - 30
meters
>> (used almost exclusively outdoors in San Francisco)
>>
>> One thought is it could some super cheap older model cell phone, some
simple
>> native app to send geo coords to web service or send sms (if this
>> circumvents a data plan), super cheap pay as you go phone plan, put it
all
>> in a box and just expose two buttons and the charging plug.
>>
>> Other alternatives?
>>
>> Anyone ever built or heard of such a project?
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Brian Russo / (808) 271 4166
>
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