Keep Track of Gadgets with Loc8tor

by Gabe Goldberg

Q: How can I keep from losing gadgets like remote controls?

A: Eyeglasses case, TV remote control, car keys, cat. Where is it? Things we have — animate or inanimate — sometimes take on a life of their own and do not cooperate by appearing when they’re wanted.

We can’t tie strings to them all, and blaming one’s spouse for their disappearance is only briefly satisfying. So Loc8tor, a small gadget that finds what’s missing, is handy to have around.

Loc8tor provides two kinds of small homing tag and two handheld locating devices which work like modern-day dowsing rods. The tags, attached to valuables, signal the devices from up to 600 feet away. The fancier device (pocket-sized Loc8tor Plus) has a small radar screen which displays lines pointing towards a missing tag; it can handle up to 24 tags. The lesser device (credit card-sized Loc8tor Lite, handles four tags) uses a row of lights and a beeping tone to signal when it’s pointed toward the tag; more lights lit and faster beeps shows the device’s excitement at pointing in the correct direction. Using either device, when you get close, the tag’s blinking light and chirping brings you in for the finish.

The Mini-Homing Tag can be found by either Loc8tor; the Loc8tor Plus can sound an alert if a tag goes beyond a settable distance away – useful for keeping children or pets within a comfortable range. The Panic Homing Tag includes a button which sounds an alert on the Loc8tor Plus — giving parent and child, or caregiver and patient, a simple and fast way to communicate an urgent message.

The tags are just a bit too large to mount on eyeglasses. That would require a rice-grain size item and the manufacturer simply can’t – yet — fit battery, antenna, radio, light, and beeper into something that small. And I’ve not yet convinced my wife that wearing a tag as an earring would be a pleasant fashion accessory, while letting me locate her in our house and yard.

But aside from those minor limitations, it’s a great tool for avoiding tedious searches. True story: Such a device once found my keys in the pocket of a heavy winter coat I was wearing, saving me the trouble of wandering all over the house and THEN looking in my pockets. Depending on construction material, the signal works through walls and floors and can locate a car in a parking garage — though likely only on the correct level. Testimonials describe use with pets, model airplanes, toys, and even for construction and running cables.

Loc8tor Plus Pack (locating device, three Mini-Homing Tags, one Panic Homing Tag) costs $170; Loc8tor Lite costs $80 (locating device, two Mini-Homing Tags).

Gabe Goldberg (tiplet@gabegold.com), a lifelong computer pro and technology communicator, has written three books and hundreds of articles for audiences including techies, baby boomers and senior citizens. He enjoys sharing tips and pointers that help people use and have fun with technology.