Electronic locating device

摘要

An apparatus and method suitable for use as an electronic remote locating device. The method including synchronizing an unprogrammed receiver with a transmitter so that the unprogrammed receiver responds only to the transmitter. The transmitter continuously increments a storage element when electrical power is initially applied to the transmitter and halts incrementing of the storage element when a first event is detected. Next, the transmitter saves the value of the storage element in memory as the unique identification code. The transmitter then transmits the identification code for a first predetermined length of time at a preselected frequency. The receiver monitors the preselected frequency searching for a received identification code for a predetermined period of time after electrical power is applied to the receiver. The receiver then verifies the validity of the received identification code and determines whether a prior identification code exists in the memory of the receiver. The receiver saves the received identification code in memory if the prior identification code was not found in the memory and halts the monitoring. The receiver then periodically monitors the preselected frequency range and compares the received identification code to the prior identification code. The receiver issues an indication to the user if the received identification code equals the prior identification code.