vehicle "tracking" from the air....

[defuzz]

I'm in the midst of reading a Andy McNabb-esque novel, boys-own adventure sort of stuff, commandos and the like.  A bit of it describes the > shaped marking on allied vehicles etc in the gulf, how they show up on Night vision goggles and the like.

So it got me thinking, when the police chopper is flying around, when they go to night vision mode or "heat seeking mode" (are the two the same?) could they see IR reflective markings on the roof of a vehicle?  What if you had your reg details marked on the roof in IR reflective paint, or perhaps an IR beacon that can be activated by SMS/car alarm?

[Range Rover Blues]

I'm putting a bludy great MCUK sticker on the 'van roof.

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

The theory is good, but I'm not sure on the capabilities of the equipment fitted to Police aircraft.
We used to own a horse trailer and I painted the car reg number on it big letters. That was highly visible. If you have a dark colour car, use lighter letters and vice versa for a light coloured car. Most of the Police aircraft that I know of have 'Night Sun' fitted to them, so Infra Red is not always the best thing to use.
Most car thieves tend to stop when they have a multi-million candle power beam of light shining at them.

[clbarclay]

Most car thieves tend to stop when they have a multi-million candle power beam of light shining at them.

And those that don't make for cheap late night television.



Alternatively, mount fixed cameras to bridges/poles pretty much everywhere and you have an effective way of locating cars in and out of places, would be more difficult/costly for undesirables to get round than just changing the number plates.


IIRC night vision goggles use light amplification rather than IR.

[Lee_D]

if you are serious get tracker fitted. At 1500 ft a red car is a red car - not really distingiushable from a million other red cars. You would need a real BIG font to make it work.

[hobbit]

A big bar code over the roof maybe :)

[Range Rover Blues]

Thig is a tracker is only any good if you know it's been stolen, and once a pikey has spent the night in it I don't want it back, in fact the only radio device I would consider fitting is a remote detonator.

I'm thinking more about motorway bridges and ferrys, most stolen 'vans ion the south east will be on the ferry before the police can find it, so you have to make it easy to distinguish.  However putting your reg number on the top is as bit like putting your address on your keyring