The Mandalorian Tracking Fobs

A puck is just a cool sci-fi wanted poster, the fobs are the things that are used track individuals. Apparently, they were not used on Yoda or Obi-Wan. How do the fobs work? They work very well, thank you.

 

I just hope they drop this like they dropped the power level detectors on DBZ

 

Dragging this over from another thread (to avoid cluttering that one):

The fobs objectively made 100% perfect sense and were actually quite well-explained in the very first episode of season one by The Client (Werner Herzog). The problem is the assumption by some that the fobs are all you need to track down a target. That simply isn’t the case. As shown in season one, the fobs are only activated once you are close to the target. Otherwise, why would the Imps need to employ bounty hunters to find Grogu? Why not just use a fob and go get him? Here’s what we know from season one about this issue.

1. The Imperials need a bounty hunter to track down Grogu. That’s because they don’t know where he is. Despite the fobs, they can’t find him. They need a hunter.

2. Din asks the Client for at least three pieces of information as an “aid” to finding Grogu, not as the sole means. Those are 1) chain code; 2) puck with personal details including facial features; 3) fob. For Grogu, all they have is a fob and one part of his chain code - his age. And Din is disappointed by that. He makes it clear that this is going to make it difficult to find him.

3. Once Din (off-screen) determines that his target is on Arvala-7, he requires the assistance of a local guide (Kuiil) to help him locate the possible location of the target. So the fob doesn’t just take him there. It’s not beeping like crazy in Kuiil’s hut, is it? We don’t hear the fob working until Din is really close to Grogu. Essentially within the same building. Nay, the same room. So again, it only works when you’re very close to the target.

4. On Sorgan, ONE bounty hunter finds Din and Grogu TWO WEEKS after their landing. If the fobs worked as you say they did, hundreds of bounty hunters would’ve arrived the same day that Din did. Instead, only one. After two weeks. Because it still requires a bounty hunter to do the old-fashioned detective work to track someone. And as Din said, the commotion he and Cara made on the planet may have alerted people to their location. And he was right. What he meant by “they’ll keep sending hunters” and “he’ll never be safe” is not that the fobs are bringing bounty hunters to Grogu, but that as long as the bounty is not lifted, he’ll always he hunted. And by people who are good at it.

5. Further evidence that the fobs only work when close to the target is that Toro Calican’s fob doesn’t go off on Tatooine, despite being on the same planet as his target.

6. So ultimately, it makes no sense to claim that all Din needs to do is grab a fob with Grogu’s details and find him, as the fob simply doesn’t tell him where in the galaxy Grogu is. Din has to do old-fashioned detective work to get that information. He needs to find the location of Gideon’s ship first.

In short, the fobs objectively made perfect sense. However, if you make the incorrect assumption (incorrect because the show’s literal script contradicts the assumption) that the fobs are all you need to find someone, then of course you won’t think the story makes sense. None of it would make sense, as the very need for a bounty hunter wouldn’t exist. If all you needed was a fob to track someone down, then bounty hunters would ALL be out of a job. Replaced by fobs.

And the face scan is a similar issue. Ultimately it’s not that easy to get info on key Imperial remnant military assets because there are multiple layers of security: you need to be aware of where an Imperial terminal of that kind is, you need to locate that place (and this one was deemed wholly secret by Mayfeld), you need to infiltrate the base, you need a security code cylinder, and you need to not be on a **** list. The last one is what the face scan was about. Could the system have been more secure? Sure. But we’re talking an Imperial remnant here, and a small base at that, not the Empire at its height. And we know from R2’s exploits that the Empire at its height had iffy security measures too.

Because as Darth Chiznuk said at the beginning of the thread:

Case closed.

 

If you lose a tracking fob can you use another tracking fob to find the one you lost?

 

Yes, but your tracking provider charges you a service fee.

 

They probobly contain some form of biodata (it makes sense the the Empire would have a sample, becuase they obviously knew Grogu was what they needed for their experiment). That seems like a pretty solid explanation to me - you take DNA and a tiny little lifesigns scanner, and bingo, so long as your close enough to your quarry you can home in on them. Not dumb at all, IMO *shrug*.

I know your joking, but if my biodata speculation is correct - yeah, you probobly could...

 

Hey, TPS reports are thing in the GFFA, so why not Verizon?

While we’re at it, make Verizon the new villain post-ST. Most could relate to that.

 

I really hated their advertising campaign with the guy who kept saying "Can you track me now?"