Spent $20 on a cheap ankle monitor kit for a mock program at the county jail in Austin - got way more than I bargained for

I bought one of those knockoff GPS ankle bracelets online, just to show inmates how the tech works for a volunteer rehab class I help with. Turned out the battery lasted 5 days instead of the 2 they claimed, which got me thinking about how we overspend on official gear. I hooked it up to a simple phone app and managed to track distances within 50 feet of real GPS data. The guys in the class started brainstorming how to improve the real system's chargers and straps, which I didn't expect at all. We ended up building a basic battery pack from spare phone banks for under $15 that could keep a monitor running a week. Has anyone tried jailbreaking or testing these cheap trackers to see if they actually hold up for reform programs?

2 comments

2 Comments

juliarodriguez13d agoMost Upvoted

5 days on a $20 knockoff? Sounds like a fluke. Those cheap battery claims are usually lies. Plus 50 foot accuracy isn't reform program level. Real ankle monitors catch tampering within seconds. That $15 power pack won't stop someone cutting it off.

murphy.tessa13d ago

Has anyone actually tested if those cheap monitors alert properly when tampered with?