In a
signal receiving apparatus as, for example, that used in the monitoring in a stolen vehicle
transceiver of the presence of sequential transmitted signals specifically requesting that
transceiver to respond to enable tracking the vehicle, wherein the
receiver is powered by a consumable
energy source of predetermined budgeted lifetime and adapted to operate between quiescent energy-saving and energized energy-consuming states for performing such sequential
signal monitoring, desired
signal identifying and related functions, a method of and apparatus for insuring the availability of energy to be able to perform such functions within said predetermined budgeted
life time, that comprises, allocating budget time intervals for periodically operating the
receiver intermittently in energized state to enable the performing of such functions as monitoring for such signals; and, in the event of inordinate
energy consumption during such operation, that, if continued, would render the operation out of overall allocated
time budget, adaptively skipping time intervals with the
receiver quiescent, sufficiently to get the operation back on overall
time budget.