How to defeat a supermarket trolley/cart wheel lock?

[jebus197]

Hi, there is no reason for asking this and I definitely have no desire to begin a campaign of stealing a bunch of (or any) supermarket shopping trolleys or anything like that. (UK trolley = US cart).

However as a technology I do think that these new and sometimes annoying wheel locks do deserve a cheap (preferably free), simple and easy to execute way to be defeated. (So that the majority of people could do it, without having too much, or again preferably any technical knowledge).

Can anyone suggest how this might be done?

[Azusa]

Hi, there is no reason for asking this and I definitely have no desire to begin a campaign of stealing a bunch of (or any) supermarket shopping trolleys or anything like that. (UK trolley = US cart).

However as a technology I do think that these new and sometimes annoying wheel locks do deserve a cheap (preferably free), simple and easy to execute way to be defeated. (So that the majority of people could do it, without having too much, or again preferably any technical knowledge).

Can anyone suggest how this might be done?

just find a 24/7 store and find a locked on and just fiddle with it for a bit they don't seem too complex because if chavs can nick then by the dozen then im pretty sure your average neowin user could nick 100's

[___DaviD___]

just find a 24/7 store and find a locked on and just fiddle with it for a bit they don't seem too complex because if chavs can nick then by the dozen then im pretty sure your average neowin user could nick 100's

Funny you should mention that i was at my local Tesco yesterday and they always getting trolleys stolen, Well they have fitted some things on the wheels and i notice on the trolley that says CAUTION This trolley will stop suddenly if it comes upto a blue line ( i think mighta been red).

I thought to myself but what stops the person just carrying it over the line? lol

[Berserk87]

Funny you should mention that i was at my local Tesco yesterday and they always getting trolleys stolen, Well they have fitted some things on the wheels and i notice on the trolley that says CAUTION This trolley will stop suddenly if it comes upto a blue line ( i think mighta been red).

I thought to myself but what stops the person just carrying it over the line? lol

the line shows the perimeter of the field ; an 'invisible fence'.

as soon as its over that line it locks, and wont unlock until the person in charge of them comes by and unlocks them.

i can only find tutorials on how to make them lock, not unlock :p

[___DaviD___]

oh right lol was a bit confused first time i had seen that kinda system :p

[Inklin]

I found something on yahoo answers as to how it works...

"there is a electronic system.

there is a radio operated brake on one (or more) wheel(s), this is monitoring for the presence of the proximity signal (which is broadcast throughout the supermarket and car park) when the signal fades the brake applies making the trolley harder to move."

Whether that is true i dont know, but it does seem likely.

[Minchino]

Some places have two 'poles' (like you see in retail outlets to detect shoplifters), which if you lift the trolley over, the wheels do not lock. (I am not a trolley theif but merely curious after an evening a the pub). Also on some trolleys the 'brake' is just a pad which drops down when activated, some duck tape to hold it up sorts this out. (Hey I'm a uni student with no car; gotta get the shopping home somehow.)

[Azusa]

I found something on yahoo answers as to how it works...

"there is a electronic system.

there is a radio operated brake on one (or more) wheel(s), this is monitoring for the presence of the proximity signal (which is broadcast throughout the supermarket and car park) when the signal fades the brake applies making the trolley harder to move."

Whether that is true i dont know, but it does seem likely.

Sounds like overkill

[Dc'1]

Lift them :p

[metallithrax]

Sounds like overkill

So if you were a supermarket owner, you'd just let people walk off with the trolleys?

[Lechio]

I found something on yahoo answers as to how it works...

"there is a electronic system.

there is a radio operated brake on one (or more) wheel(s), this is monitoring for the presence of the proximity signal (which is broadcast throughout the supermarket and car park) when the signal fades the brake applies making the trolley harder to move."

Whether that is true i dont know, but it does seem likely.

If that was so then it's just a matter of finding that frequency, then tune in. Maybe theres an application that could be used, let's say on a mobile phone, to do this task... :shiftyninja:

[Azusa]

So if you were a supermarket owner, you'd just let people walk off with the trolleys?

No i would just use the ones with the ?1 lock on them....

[shakey_snake]

So if you were a supermarket owner, you'd just let people walk off with the trolleys?

Has to be cheaper.

[majortom1981]

I thought it worked by magnetism.

The ones by me work by if they run over a metal strip running around the permitter of the parking lot. I would think that a good powerfull magnet would make them unlock again.

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

No i would just use the ones with the ?1 lock on them....

I find those ones more annoying and if someone turns up without the coin, the supermarket will lose their custom (well they do mine).

[Lechio]

I find those ones more annoying and if someone turns up without the coin, the supermarket will lose their custom (well they do mine).

There's a Keyring one can get, with a "coin" at the end. That way we'll always have a coin for the trolley. :)

[jordan.]

How about not letting you leave the inside of the store with the trolley to begin with? That's how it works here. The supermarkets have people to take your grocery to your car for you. If you tried to leave with a trolley, you'd be quickly busted since they shouldn't be outside ever.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

How about not letting you leave the inside of the store with the trolley to begin with? That's how it works here. The supermarkets have people to take your grocery to your car for you. If you tried to leave with a trolley, you'd be quickly busted since they shouldn't be outside ever.

It's cheaper to lose a few carts then it would be to pay multiple people $14/hr each just to police the carts and carry the groceries.

[Veedems Veteran]

It's cheaper to lose a few carts then it would be to pay multiple people $14/hr each just to police the carts and carry the groceries.

$14 an hour for a job like that? They'd make more along the lines of $8 an hour.

[John S. Veteran]

is shopping cart theft that big of an issue where you guys live? i've never seen any sort of locking mechanism on them around here.

[Inklin]

They are overkill with their systems here, you have to put a pound coin into a slot to unlock a chain, to get the coin back you have to take the chain from the trolly in front in the trolly park and slot it in, it locks and the pound coin comes out.

There is a superstore in my town that seems to have a line of magnets on the exits from the car park. that lock the brake if it passes it. so yes if you lifted the trolly there it would probably not lock.

they do this as most trollys are worth about ?500 each.

[Azusa]

They are overkill with their systems here, you have to put a pound coin into a slot to unlock a chain, to get the coin back you have to take the chain from the trolly in front in the trolly park and slot it in, it locks and the pound coin comes out.

There is a superstore in my town that seems to have a line of magnets on the exits from the car park. that lock the brake if it passes it. so yes if you lifted the trolly there it would probably not lock.

they do this as most trollys are worth about ?500 each.>

you don't say.........brb

[ring0]

why defeat? it's more fun to engage all the locks inside the store.

http://www.instructables.com/id/EMP-shopping-cart-locker/

[Lechio]

why defeat? it's more fun to engage all the locks inside the store.

http://www.instructables.com/id/EMP-shopping-cart-locker/

Looks like a project for at least a week, and a couple of days pay...

step 11 Install device (on human)

:laugh:

[jebus197]

I have to admit that would be much more fun....