Tip
Find Your Keys, Remotes and Cell Phone Fast
I am constantly losing my keys. Either they get buried under a pile of gloves on our front table, or my one-year old decides that my keys are really much better served by being placed safely under the sofa. And, it's always when I'm about to run out the door that I realize my keys are nowhere to be found. This is usually followed by the fractic family bonding session we affectionately call, "Find Mommy's keys."
However, issues with lost keys—or cell phones, or TV remotes, or whatever—disappear as quickly as...well...my keys when you have a locator device attached to them.
The locator devices come with a small tag you attach to the item you want to track, and then you register the tag on the locator device itself. Some systems come with pre-paired tags, others let you input the name of the tagged item into the locator. When an item is lost, the locator will search for the item’s unique tag and give you auditory and/or visual directional signals to help find your item. Some products—including our two recommended ones below—also have tags that emit a sound or flash when you search for them.
Locator devices have a listed maximum range of anywhere from 60 to 400 feet. However, this reflects ideal circumstances. If your keys are buried in the sofa downstairs, you can expect the range to be about half the listed distance.
Our Picks
EZ-Find! ($59.95 for 4 tags and locator) Program up to 25 devices into the EZ-Find locator, each with a unique 12-character name. Tags measure 1.8 by 1.3 by 0.2 inches and beep when you look for them with the locator. Maximum range is 60 feet inside and 100 feet outside.
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Loc8tor Lite ($79.99 for 2 mini tags, 2 key fobs and locator) The credit-card-size locator pairs with 4 included tags. Mini tags measure 1.36 by 0.76 by 0.33 and all tags flash and beep when you look for them. Maximum range is 400 feet.
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Comments
From James Turner on January 06, 2010 :: 4:11 pm
Buy yourself a Loc8tor kit (for around £60) - with the kit, you get some little tags that you can stick to items you’re prone to losing. You also get a handset that’s can be used to track down one of the tags. The Loc8tor can handle 24 different tags and lets you find items by direction-finding.
Before you can track one of the small Tags, you have to let the base unit recognise it (with the yellow button), and give the tag a name e.g. “Tims Car Keys”. The tag is then ready to be attached to whatever you want to keep an eye one.To attach a tag, you can either stick the tag on with one of the supplied adhesive pads, or attach to a keyring with the supplied loop. You’re then all set - they are brilliant!