Circuit for anti-theft buoys

Thread Starter

nielz

Joined May 4, 2017
26
I shall submitt my idea and enquiry at the same time, I have a problem in my work related to buoys stolen at sea .we looking for a solution to make the buoy itself defend upon ,in other word in case of removing buoy tower bolt and nets an action occure such as stopping the work of all individual instruments by generating instant surge or make position coordination firm and function as lock if this equipment move to another position it will be defect and useless.
this can be implemented by programming the coordinations in the microcontroller memory ,and the action after stollen prosses will occure as output in this way we can make intellegent buoy defend upon itself and no need for monitoring .
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Why are the buoys being stolen? What is it that the thieves find to be of value? Unless you steps render the buoy sufficiently worthless to them that there is not point in taking it, you are barking up the wrong tree. Is it even possible that their motivation in stealing them is simply to deprive you of the buoys and whatever their information is used for?

Do you presently have to physically go to the buoy to get its data, or it is transmitted remotely? If the latter, you might simply have it transmit its position information (if it doesn't already) so that the stolen bouys can potentially be tracked. This may, of course, be easier said than done since the bad guys probably already assume that you might be trying to do this -- but maybe they aren't.
 

Picbuster

Joined Dec 2, 2013
1,047
I shall submitt my idea and enquiry at the same time, I have a problem in my work related to buoys stolen at sea .we looking for a solution to make the buoy itself defend upon ,in other word in case of removing buoy tower bolt and nets an action occure such as stopping the work of all individual instruments by generating instant surge or make position coordination firm and function as lock if this equipment move to another position it will be defect and useless.
this can be implemented by programming the coordinations in the microcontroller memory ,and the action after stollen prosses will occure as output in this way we can make intellegent buoy defend upon itself and no need for monitoring .
Is the question:
How to bobby-trap a buoy?

Picbuster
 
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pmd34

Joined Feb 22, 2014
527
Something like an "inductive proximity sensor" sensor could be used to detect the presence of a missing bolt etc. Or perhaps you could use a tilt switch, which would activate when the boy went horizontal, if it was taken out of the sea.

Probably best to have the buoy flash / sound some sort of warning though otherwise it might still get stolen and they only find that its no use to them after they have moved it!

But cant you just make a buoy only active at particular coordinates, add a simple RF transceiver into it so you can reprogram / reset it (when you are next to it) without having to take the thing apart.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
Is the question:
How to bobby-trap a buoy?

Picbuster
Yes and no.

The TS's "booby trap" is limited to rendering the buoy nonfunctional. It is not a booby trap in the usual sense of injuring/capturing/killing the offender.

MOD NOTE: Any discussion in the sense of the latter is a ToS violation and will be deleted.
 

Thread Starter

nielz

Joined May 4, 2017
26
Yes and no.

The TS's "booby trap" is limited to rendering the buoy nonfunctional. It is not a booby trap in the usual sense of injuring/capturing/killing the offender.

MOD NOTE: Any discussion in the sense of the latter is a ToS violation and will be deleted.
Yes
 

Thread Starter

nielz

Joined May 4, 2017
26
Why are the buoys being stolen? What is it that the thieves find to be of value? Unless you steps render the buoy sufficiently worthless to them that there is not point in taking it, you are barking up the wrong tree. Is it even possible that their motivation in stealing them is simply to deprive you of the buoys and whatever their information is used for?

Do you presently have to physically go to the buoy to get its data, or it is transmitted remotely? If the latter, you might simply have it transmit its position information (if it doesn't already) so that the stolen bouys can potentially be tracked. This may, of course, be easier said than done since the bad guys probably already assume that you might be trying to do this -- but maybe they aren't.
the thieves in my region find to be of value .
 

TechWise

Joined Aug 24, 2018
151
Yes and no.

The TS's "booby trap" is limited to rendering the buoy nonfunctional. It is not a booby trap in the usual sense of injuring/capturing/killing the offender.

MOD NOTE: Any discussion in the sense of the latter is a ToS violation and will be deleted.
Perhaps it could be rigged to splatter thieves with purple dye that doesn't wash off.
I believe that's legal in the UK as it's used extensively by banks and couriers. Some companies have also started selling such systems to deter quad bike thieves.
You can also buy a coating called "smart water" that the thieves don't know they're covered in until the police catch them and do a test. Each smart water kit has a slightly different mixture so I think it can be used to prove that the culprit definitely touched your equipment and didn't get marked elsewhere.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
the thieves in my region find to be of value .
It's important to have a good idea of WHY they find them to be of value.

If they like selling them for conversation pieces or scavenging them for components, then rendering them nonfunctional will not matter to them at all.
 

BobaMosfet

Joined Jul 1, 2009
2,110
Have the buoy simply sink to 100ft below the surface for 10 minutes if non-acceptable conditions are met via tranducers. Maybe deflate and reinflate using a small module... not saying this is feasible, but might grease the wheels of someone's thinking in a way that could be useful.
 
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