Digital DawgPound

One of our neighbours recently got a new dog, unfortunately however it seems to have an uncontrollable tendency to bark at all hours of the day and night.
Therefore I started looking for possible solutions to this problem. After some brief research purchasing a dog whistle (usually used for dog training) seemed the logical [...]

The GM862-GPS is a hardware module with support for connecting to the GSM (mobile phone) network and receiving GPS position data. It also includes a Python interpreter, this combination makes it the perfect choice for building a tracker.
I purchased the GM862 Evaluation Kit (RS232 version) from SparkFun Electronics, at a cost of $309.60 (if [...]

I have been doing some development recently on the GM862-GPS embedded Python module from Telit.
I had the need to upload multiple files to it over the serial port, so I coded up a quick C# .NET application.
It supports setting the hidden file flag also.
It has an issue if you try to upload files over 7000 [...]

When working with electronics / microcontrollers / embedded hardware you need some basic tool. One of these is frequently a reliable serial port for programming / debugging purposes. The serial port however that used to be standard on pretty much any PC (in 9 pin and 25 pin combinations) now seems to be [...]

I decided to try and improve the reliability and responsiveness of my previous RFID front door project (based around a client / server design), by re-implementing it using the Parallax BASIC Stamp 2e, and the 13.5MHz APSX RW-210 RFID reader as a standalone device. I was also looking to gain some practical experience with [...]

Update: See also RFID Enabling Your Front Door (with a Parallax BASIC Stamp & 13.5 MHz APSX RW-210)
How I RFID enabled my front door with a Parallax RFID reader, a TTL serial to Ethernet module, and some custom C# .net code.
There are a number of options available for RFID front door projects. RFID Toys [...]

I recently had the need to connect a purchased electronics module which has a 2400 baud Serial TTL level (output only) interface to a PC’s serial port (difference between them is voltage levels). I could have just bought a converter, such as the "RS232 Serial Interface Module", but thought I would have a [...]

Original Post: Using a Radiosonde as a real time, low cost GPS based tracking device

Thanks to Hack A Day and those that left comments, many useful ideas / suggestions were received along with some offers of support and a promising looking solution.

Here follows a roundup of the more informative comments:
Wizdom points out that if you [...]

A Radiosonde is a small package of electronics used in weather balloons by Meteorologist’s to measure pressure, altitude, wind speed, and humidity. They are mass produced, rarely recovered after use, and fairly low cost devices (~£20 on eBay / Bullnet (non GPS model).
After being launched the Radiosonde works by continuously transmitting back readings to [...]

I have been hearing bits and pieces about RFID technology for a while, but it now seems that it has evolved to a point where kits are available to the amateur electronics hobbyist at an affordable price.
Most recently Kn1ghtl0rd, and Lowtek Mystik, did a T.W.A.T Radio episode on RFID, and Make Magazine Volume 6 had [...]