Cat tracking collar

Thread Starter

wil21

Joined Jun 28, 2020
4
Hi,
I'm trying to build a radio beacon that would be mounted on a cat collar.
The goal is to get the distance of the cat
- every 10 seconds.
- for ≈ a month
- with a ≈ 30 metters range detection
- through walls
- can fit on a cat collar (battery + electrical components)

Would it be possible considering the specifications ?
If yes could you tell me the needed components ?
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
It takes light (or radio waves) about 100ns to travel 30m. How are you going to synchronise the transmitter and receiver to that accuracy?
Alternatively you could make the cat collar a receiver and transmitter - a transponder in other words. Then you transmit a pulse and time the return signal. You still need to time that to within 100ns.
 

Thread Starter

wil21

Joined Jun 28, 2020
4
is it possible to get a nanosecond accuracy ?
Another solution would be a gps module but I'm not sure it's optimum regarding energy consumption and localization accuracy.
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
I used to work for a company that made cable fault locators. Send a pulse down the cable. The pulse reflects back from any discontinuity (break or short) and then time the reflection. That worked to ns resolution but the circuitry was not simple. It was patented.
 

Thread Starter

wil21

Joined Jun 28, 2020
4
I used to work for a company that made cable fault locators. Send a pulse down the cable. The pulse reflects back from any discontinuity (break or short) and then time the reflection. That worked to ns resolution but the circuitry was not simple. It was patented.
Ok thankyou for your help, i’m going to try the transponder
 

402DF855

Joined Feb 9, 2013
271
Just a friendly reminder, only use safety collars on cats, the kind that will come apart if they get caught on a tree branch. Non safety collars can be very dangerous for a cat.
 
There was an article on IEEE's Spectrum at least a decade ago, which an engineer had fitted a battery, GPS, flash memory and USB port into a cat's collar. The purpose was to find out where the cat had wandered around because, as non-neutered tomcats do, will wander around for days looking for a mate.

He would overlay the dowloaded GPS data into Goggle maps.

Fascinating article, not only showing how far away cats can wander yet still find the way back, but because a decade ago, the components were not as miniaturized as today. Nowadays, perhaps the best solution would be to hack a smart watch.

Of course, he would know AFTER the fact, not in real time. And hoping that the cat would indeed return.
 

402DF855

Joined Feb 9, 2013
271
Yes, indeed. Don't use the elastic ones - they can end up strangling the cat.
Not sure what elastic has to do with it. I looked on Amazon and they are selling unsafe leather collars. Tree climbing cats can get caught on a branch and end up hanging themselves. The safety collars I've used have a plastic clasp that will separate if the pull is enough.

Better yet, don't let your cats outside. I was an advocate for letting cats outside to play for many years, but have gone 180 degrees on that. They are called housecats after all. Ten years ago my unfixed male wandered off in the night, no doubt looking for love. It took me 7 weeks of intense effort, but I located him, and brought him home.
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
There are some collars which have a elastic section that are supposed to safe but they are not.
The clasps that pull apart are the only safe ones.
 

peterdeco

Joined Oct 8, 2019
484
It's just an example of what's out there. Last year I was given small flat tags to track my dogs. Before I had the chance to look them over, they were lost (presumably thrown away) during the after holiday clean up at my house. Damn wife!
 

Deleted member 115935

Joined Dec 31, 1969
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