An 87-year-old Bend-area man was found safe and in good shape this morning after he spent the night in his vehicle, which became stuck Wednesday in the national forest south of Tumalo Falls.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas O. Laidlaw, who has lived in the area since the 1940s, went to scout game Wednesday in an area off Skyliners Road. Around 9:30 p.m. Laidlaw used his cellular phone to call his brother in Bend, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He told his brother his vehicle was stuck and he planned to spend the night in it. Laidlaw carries extra clothing and provisions in his vehicle, the news release stated. The National Weather Service recorded a temperature of 28 degrees in Bend early this morning, according to its Web site.
The brother, who was not identified, called 911. Deputies and law enforcement officers with the Forest Service searched the roads in the area during the night but did not find Laidlaw or his vehicle, the news release stated. The type of cell phone Laidlaw carried and its provider prevented law enforcement from pinging, or attempting to electronically locate, the phone, and calls to the phone went directly to voice mail, indicating it was out of range or turned off.
More law enforcement and search and rescue personnel joined the search this morning, and the Oregon State Police diverted one of the agency’s planes that was headed to Christmas Valley to search the area.
About 9 a.m. Laidlaw again called his brother and told him he was at the cross-country ski shelter at Swede Ridge, which is between Virginia Meissner and Swampy Lakes sno parks. The state police plane flew over the area, and its occupants reported that they saw a man waving to them, the news release stated. Rescuers found Laidlaw at the shelter about 11:25 a.m. and took him to his brother’s home in Bend.
Showing posts with label mobile phone location. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mobile phone location. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Location Sensitivity - Cell Phone and Mobile Phone GPS
In the mid to late 1990's, many people got cell phones just for the emergency use of being able to call for help almost anywhere. The problem came up when statistics showed that almost 92% of all serious 911 calls, (where the person was just barely able to make the call), they either didn't know where they were or was unable to tell the 911 operator where they were, or they might not have been able to talk at all. This caused a big concern, 911 operators couldn't do anything but listen to the person on their cell phone as they pass away. The Location Sensitivity system still doesn't work if you are in an area that only has an analog signal. (Which is the older cellular system of the mid 1990's and earlier). Most metropolitan areas and all interstate freeways are covered by the newer digital service. It's just when you get out in the middle of no-where, you might end up with an analog signal. Most phones will display the letter "A" in the top right or left corner when using this system. Check your phone documentation, some phones don't even have this capability. Which means if you get into one of these areas, you can't make any type of call what-so-ever.
Soon, the Location Sensitivity feature will probably be offered by the cellular companies as part of their pricing plan. Some carriers like Nextel are already taking advantage of this new technology by giving customers a GPS location service along with their calling plan. If you don't have this option with your carrier, and you have a Smartphone you can always purchase one of the SD slot GPS units that works with mapping software. The program I've really enjoyed is Mapopolis, which works great with most of the popular GPS hardware available. And most even have a voice activation that will tell you where to turn, which is directed through the speaker phone portion of the Smartphones. The ability to have GPS information and mapping on your handheld will be a great plus while traveling.
Back to the Location Sensitivity. I'm just wondering how much the cellular companies are going to charge for such a GPS type service!? I'm sure they're all working hard right now on the new pricing plans that we'll have to pay if you don't have the GPS hardware to install on your Smartphone.
When these services become available, they will only be location based. Another words, most GPS's these days will actually give you your current altitude and most have a pretty fast refresh rate. The refresh rate is the time between position updates. An example; If you have a GPS in your hand that refreshed three times per second, this would be a very acturate reading. Even if you are driving at 70 miles per hour, the moving map on the GPS will be able to keep up with your actual location. That's an issue the engineers are dealing with on the Location Sensitivity system. It wasn't designed to have any type of refresh rate at all. Once a position has been found, it never was designed to refresh that position. (I guess if you are hurt, and you called 911, you aren't supposed to be moving. Hmmm, So if you fell off a bridge, and landed in the back of a truck driving down the interestate, I'm not sure if they would be able to locate you. They would know where you were when you first dialed 911, but as your location changes, they might not be able to find you). Supposedly, the 911 operator can pull a refresh, this would at least tell them the direction the vehicle is moving. But to locate you while you're moving, might be more difficult than anyone had expected.
Another problem with many of the handheld units, the actual speed of the processors within them. Most cell phones operate on around 1 to 2 MHz processor speed. Most Smartphones operate anywhere between 30 to 500 MHz. (Most new home computers are operating between 2 to 4 GHz processor speed, just to give you an idea). This is where the engineers are running into the biggest problem with creating a GPS refresh rate. The processors in all handhelds will just have to be faster than they are today. And like all of our other technolgies, I'm sure this won't be a problem very much longer for the designers.
Soon, the Location Sensitivity feature will probably be offered by the cellular companies as part of their pricing plan. Some carriers like Nextel are already taking advantage of this new technology by giving customers a GPS location service along with their calling plan. If you don't have this option with your carrier, and you have a Smartphone you can always purchase one of the SD slot GPS units that works with mapping software. The program I've really enjoyed is Mapopolis, which works great with most of the popular GPS hardware available. And most even have a voice activation that will tell you where to turn, which is directed through the speaker phone portion of the Smartphones. The ability to have GPS information and mapping on your handheld will be a great plus while traveling.
Back to the Location Sensitivity. I'm just wondering how much the cellular companies are going to charge for such a GPS type service!? I'm sure they're all working hard right now on the new pricing plans that we'll have to pay if you don't have the GPS hardware to install on your Smartphone.
When these services become available, they will only be location based. Another words, most GPS's these days will actually give you your current altitude and most have a pretty fast refresh rate. The refresh rate is the time between position updates. An example; If you have a GPS in your hand that refreshed three times per second, this would be a very acturate reading. Even if you are driving at 70 miles per hour, the moving map on the GPS will be able to keep up with your actual location. That's an issue the engineers are dealing with on the Location Sensitivity system. It wasn't designed to have any type of refresh rate at all. Once a position has been found, it never was designed to refresh that position. (I guess if you are hurt, and you called 911, you aren't supposed to be moving. Hmmm, So if you fell off a bridge, and landed in the back of a truck driving down the interestate, I'm not sure if they would be able to locate you. They would know where you were when you first dialed 911, but as your location changes, they might not be able to find you). Supposedly, the 911 operator can pull a refresh, this would at least tell them the direction the vehicle is moving. But to locate you while you're moving, might be more difficult than anyone had expected.
Another problem with many of the handheld units, the actual speed of the processors within them. Most cell phones operate on around 1 to 2 MHz processor speed. Most Smartphones operate anywhere between 30 to 500 MHz. (Most new home computers are operating between 2 to 4 GHz processor speed, just to give you an idea). This is where the engineers are running into the biggest problem with creating a GPS refresh rate. The processors in all handhelds will just have to be faster than they are today. And like all of our other technolgies, I'm sure this won't be a problem very much longer for the designers.
Mobile Phone Fraud
Please be aware of this, as I have had these calls from the switch board ? if you receive one hang up IMMEDITELY!
Phone Fraud ? Warning from the Police 11 May 2005 we have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation, this applies to home and work telephone, landlines and mobile phones. If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning and all expenses trips to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that cost approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes costing around £100. The final part of the call involves you being asked to key in the postcode and house number, which has other serous consequences. After a further 2 minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the lucky winners. The total bill by then will be £100. Since the calls are originated from outside the UK, BT and other telephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only save solution is to HANG UP before the message prompt you to dial 9. Even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited "free offers calls". There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the latest four number may vary, but certainly the first for will remain the same. If you call this number back you will be charged £50 per minute.
People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal. So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with 0709.
Phone Fraud ? Warning from the Police 11 May 2005 we have been advised of a telephone fraud currently in operation, this applies to home and work telephone, landlines and mobile phones. If you receive one of these calls, upon answering the telephone you will hear a recorded message congratulating you on winning and all expenses trips to an exotic location. You will then be asked to press 9 to hear further details. If you press 9 you will be connected to a premium rate line that cost approximately £20 per minute. Even if you disconnect immediately, it will remain connected for a minimum of 5 minutes costing around £100. The final part of the call involves you being asked to key in the postcode and house number, which has other serous consequences. After a further 2 minutes you will receive a message informing you that you are not one of the lucky winners. The total bill by then will be £100. Since the calls are originated from outside the UK, BT and other telephone companies are left relatively powerless to act. The only save solution is to HANG UP before the message prompt you to dial 9. Even safer HANG UP on any unsolicited "free offers calls". There is another scam operating on mobile phones as well. A missed call comes up. The number is 0709 020 3840, the latest four number may vary, but certainly the first for will remain the same. If you call this number back you will be charged £50 per minute.
People have complained about their phone bills, once they have realised the cost of the call, but apparently this is completely legal. So beware, do not call back numbers beginning with 0709.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Mobile Phone Tracking and Tracing
If you ping a mobile phone location service is transparent and extracts the data from the network operator as to the location of the mobile that you want to track. In essence, we get the same data as the police regarding the movement and location of mobiles.
Mobile phone tracking is not an exact science and accuracy will vary depending upon the cell mast density of the area that the mobile is within.
We have seen mobile phone accuracy as precise as 100m in central London (where there are many cell masts) and as inaccurate as 10km in the Scottish Highlands(where there are few cell masts).
We have also seen fluctuations where a local cell mast is down or overloaded with calls, when you requested a location. This can result in the mobile phone being logged onto a longer range mast by your network operator and accuracy in such cases can diminish. However, the movement of the phone throughout the day to differing locations will minimise any user experience effected by network failures/overloads in specific area.
Mobile phone tracking is not an exact science and accuracy will vary depending upon the cell mast density of the area that the mobile is within.
We have seen mobile phone accuracy as precise as 100m in central London (where there are many cell masts) and as inaccurate as 10km in the Scottish Highlands(where there are few cell masts).
We have also seen fluctuations where a local cell mast is down or overloaded with calls, when you requested a location. This can result in the mobile phone being logged onto a longer range mast by your network operator and accuracy in such cases can diminish. However, the movement of the phone throughout the day to differing locations will minimise any user experience effected by network failures/overloads in specific area.
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