Talk:Tracking transmitter

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Merge this stub?[edit]

I feel this article is clearly not needed, we already have Homing beacon, Emergency locator beacon, Emergency locator transmitter, Radio beacon, and Radio direction finding. This article will just duplicate information in these articles. The small amount of info in this stub could easily be covered in Radio direction finding, where it can be presented in context. I propose the article be merged there. --ChetvornoTALK 21:35, 25 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  • Oppose. There's material about tracking transmitters that is off topic for RDF even though it employs similar technology. Tracking transmitters are usually surreptitious devices placed on a car so it can be tailed at a distance. They can be low power if the tail is supposed to stay close. They may be attached with magnets. The user gets to set the frequency and the duration. It's not like the catch-as-catch-can RDF detection of U-boats in WW II. The article could describe significant uses of the technology by law enforcement. There was a Hollywood movie staring Edmund O'Brien where he put a transmitter on a truck, and there were scenes of HQ doing the triangulation. The article can also point to more modern GPS trackers; they are more economical because the information is just logged rather than employing labor to tail. Homing beacons are a different application; Amelia Earhart used RDF, but she failed to home. Other articles can supply more detail and history about their applications/devices. Ages ago, I toured a plant that made emergency locator transmitters for the military; if the plane crashed at sea, sea water could be used to activate the battery; for a crash on land, urine would suffice. Glrx (talk) 16:12, 30 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose It is not Goniometric triangulation, it is just zooming in on a known signal, and is different technique. This article needs to be expanded with some real techniques. scope_creepTalk 08:12, 3 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Closed, given the consensus not to merge. Klbrain (talk) 17:23, 6 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]