Find your car from up to half a mile away.
April 13, 2010 1 Comment Wednesday, April 14th, 2010, Netcast 1068
Sure you can use your key fob to blink the lights and sound the horn to help find your car in a shopping mall parking lot, or at the ball game. But what about if your car is really far away. The horn/lights option works within a 100 feet or so, but Auto-Findercan guide you to your car from up to ½ mile away. This technology is superior to GPS because it guides you to what you are looking for without the requirement of open sky for satellite signals. To find your car, press and sweep the small hand-held finder and let it the lighted arrows and sound guide you in the right direction. Patrick Franz from Auto-Finder stopped by my office to give me a demonstration. I told him the best thing to do would be to park his car some place in the vicinity of my office and let me search for it. He did, and at first I thought the Auto-Finder was wrong because it kept pointing ahead from my office. I had told Patrick to go right or left, and that's what I thought it would have done. But for a more sure fire test Patrick went straight ahead and parked in the next block. I was able to find his car using the Auto-Finder. There are three different sweeping techniques to finding a car and it pays to watch the videos on the company's website. Sometimes one technique is superior to the others, depending on where you are. Patrick said in New York City you get signals bouncing off buildings, so it was good I did two different techniques to locate his car. The basic kit is $99 which is all is need for a single car. It includes the receiver which Velcros to the car windshield, the transmitter & case, plus the batteries. They also offer a travel kit and family kits. All the info is at their website.
Hear this Netcast: http://www.twit.tv/dgw1068
Reader Comments (1)
Hello Dicky-D! I'm a long time listener and you may remember me as the guy who suggested unscrewing your antenna if you have an FM transmitter for your MP3 player and live in a metro area. To be clear, I did suggest unscrewing the antenna and not breaking it off which is apparently what Leo heard but I digress.
I just listened to episode 1068 where you feature the Auto-Finder. I have another auto related tip for you that would help extend the range of the wireless dongle that comes with your car. It will not extend the range as much as the Auto-Finder but it does help. You can turn yourself into a part of the transmitter's antenna. Simply place the dongle under and touching your chin when you press the lock/unlock button and you will find that you can interact with your car at a greater radius then simply holding it in your hand. It's really only a few feet but I have found myself in a parking lot having forgotten to lock my car and using this method I could lock the car without walking back towards it. This should also help you locate your car a little easier in a parking lot.
Thanks for the show guys. I really enjoy it!
Leo, how many auto tips does it take to win an iPad?