I need a miniature transmitter to put on my prized possession (sports car, TV set, motorcycle, coonhound) to find it after it wanders away or is stolen/abducted. What is available?
Yes, I have actually had inquiries about tracking devices for each of the above examples, and many more! Unfortunately, it is still true that you get what you pay for, and no matter what you pay, there’s no assurance of success. In the under-$40 category are “experimenter” micro-transmitters such as the TT7-K “Tracking Transmitter Homing Beacon” sold by Amazing Devices. Several miniature transmitter models are available from ElectroKits. These “bugs” typically use the 88-108 MHz FM broadcast band, where low-power unlicensed transmitters are permitted by FCC Part 15. Manufacturers sometimes claim range of three miles or more for these FM micro-transmitters. But that range assumes high-gain antennas on both transmitter and receiver. A practical antenna on a stealth radio tag will seldom be large and efficient enough for that. Furthermore, if one were to actually achieve three-mile range with such a transmitter, that fact would demonstrate that the field strength is in excess of that allo
Yes, I have actually had inquiries about tracking devices for each of the above examples, and many more! Unfortunately, it is still true that you get what you pay for, and no matter what you pay, there’s no assurance of success. In the under-$40 category are “experimenter” micro-transmitters such as the TT7-K “Tracking Transmitter Homing Beacon” sold by Amazing Devices. Several miniature transmitter models are available from ElectroKits. These “bugs” typically use the 88-108 MHz FM broadcast band, where low-power unlicensed transmitters are permitted by FCC Part 15. Manufacturers sometimes claim range of three miles or more for these FM micro-transmitters. But that range assumes high-gain antennas on both transmitter and receiver. A practical antenna on a stealth radio tag will seldom be large and efficient enough for that. Furthermore, if one were to actually achieve three-mile range with such a transmitter, that fact alone would demonstrate that the field strength is in excess of tha
