Showing posts with label portable automobile GPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portable automobile GPS. Show all posts

Monday, April 18, 2016

Trackimo - An Excellent Personal GPS Tracker

Do you have problems finding lost belongings? Are you anxious about pets or family members who may wander? The Trackimo may be the perfect solution to end your worries.  The Trackimo is an international GPS tracking gadget that is affordable, very easy to use, and works great.  If you need to find something or someone, need someone to be able to alert you if they are in trouble, or have a potentially problem driver driving your car, this may be the answer.

I have thought about purchasing a GPS tracker for a few years.  I've wanted one for my dogs, when we are in the woods. But reliable tracking dog collars  have been expensive - and can only be used on your dog. I've also wanted one for the vehicle I own but don't drive.  But most of those GPS trackers somehow need to be installed in the fuse panel, or need to be wired into the system.  And also have monthly subscription fees.


Then I learned about the Trackimo by watching a video of a gentleman who finds his drones when they go down.  He gave such a thorough and excellent review that I had to get one for myself.


Trackimo



My Truck


I own and am financially responsible for truck that I don't drive. At times, it received tickets for speeding or parking in questionable areas. I ended up paying for the tickets.  After time, I realized that I need to know the location of the truck until which time I'm not longer financially responsible for it.

I was so impressed by this gadget.  The Trackimo is not weather-proof.  However, it does come with a rubberized skin to help protect it.  When I had ordered the Trackimo, I had also ordered a really big, magnetized key holder - the type placed under cars for the spare key - because I did not expect the Trackimo to have a strong enough magnet for my purposes. But I was wrong. The Trackimo is plenty strong!

I followed the charging and setup directions.  I also started my account on the Trackimo website. And found the site really easy to use. I drove around for days, with it attached to the painted metal inside my Jeep.  Yes, it does send an alert when speeding.  I tested that out almost immediately by accident.  I intentionally placed it on my door (on the inside) and slammed the door shut when exiting.  I expected it to pop off. But it remained where I had placed it.  

I was ready for the real test.  I placed it under the bumper of the truck. The Trackimo tracked it very well.  Day after day I got reliable information about the location of my truck.  I only have a few cautions - depending on how you need to use it - and am listing those thoughts below.  Concerned about it during all of our rainy weather, I then began to place it under the bed rail.  It worked just as well there. 


My Trackimo in the rubberized cover



My Dog


As soon as I decide how I want to attach it to my dog, he will be wearing it when he's in the woods. My only hesitance comes from not wanting him to get snagged on trees.  I currently take off his collar or harness completely when he's in the woods.  However, if he were wearing the Trackimo, and was snagged, I could find him to release him.  

I am considering making an elasticized collar for him, with a Trackimo pocket.


Other Uses for Trackimo



Tracking


I mentioned the gentelman who uses the Trackimo to locate and retrieve his downed drones.  I think this would be a perfect way to track your teenager who is borrowing your car. Because the Trackimo is not permanately attached, you can move it easily to whichever car the teen is driving that day.  I also think it's a great tracker for your elderly family members who may become lost or your younger children who are walking down to the local playground - and you want to know where they are.

I think this would be a great item to place in checked baggage.  If a bag is ever again "lost" for a long period of time, I could tell Amtrak (insert: airlines) where to begin their search!  


Signaling for Help


This device comes with a SOS signal. If the button is pressed for four seconds, you receive a signal. And can see the location of the device. If your child pushes the button for help, you will receive that call for help. If your teenager has had an accident, and they want your help but can't describe their location, you will know where they are. If your elderly family member can remember things except their location, they can feel more confident knowing you are a button-push away.


The Drawbacks


It is not water-proof. While mine weathered the rain nicely, I'm not sure how it would have done on the dog in a rainstorm. 

Depending on how often you set the tracking (as often as every minute), the device will need to be charged up to every day or two.  Not practical for your business vehicle that an employee may have for a few days at a time. (I charged my Trackimo every evening and placed it again every morning).

In some areas, the "triangulation" problems may present a brief problem with accuracy. I live near Chesapeake Bay. When the truck was closest to the water, the map would sometimes have a warning that the device was traingulating for a more accurate location. During these moments, the "you are here" icon would blink up to about a mile from where the truck was located.  However, these moments were brief and only showed on the map during real-time tracking.  This inaccurate moments did not show up on the tracking history map.

Even though my Trackimo stuck to the painted surface of my Jeep without problems, I would always look for a more "bare" metal surface area - to ensure a strong bond.


Reasons to use the Trackimo 


Find belongings
Find your vehicle
Know where your elderly, young, and teen family members are
Track your dog
Know how responsibly your teen driver is driving
Cheap and Easy (I paid $139 for mine, with no subscription or hidden costs for a year)
Free Android (and iphone) apps 

I am not technologically savvy.  I usually can't get those "plug and play" computer things to work without help. But this thing was ridiculously easy. Because I'm not very good at gadgets, I'm including the following videos that are very helpful. 

** Warning -- Stalking and similar things are against the law. I would not advise using this to track you neighbor, boyfriend, girlfriend, enemy, frenemy, or secret crush.  Just don't do it. **


Related Videos:

Trackimo Advertising


How to setup Trackimo








Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


Friday, August 7, 2015

Tomtom VIA1515M Portable GPS Navigator Review

Portable GPS TomTom
We recently traveled from Tennessee to Toronto, Canada, which is almost 1000 miles, much of which was unknown territory for us.   The rental vehicle did not have a built-in GPS, so we purchased a Tomtom VIA1515M Portable GPS Navigator.  That was, by far, the best purchase we have ever made for a road trip!  After discovering the benefits of the Tomtom GPS, I can assure you, I will never leave home on a road trip without it again.  I couldn't even begin to count how many hours or how much stress this one little unit saved us.  Not only did she map out the trip for us, she give essential warnings and directions that kept us from taking wrong turns or getting caught in the wrong lanes and unable to move over when needed.

As the passenger/navigator on the trip, I was still able to look at the printed road map and compare routes, but each time I found the Tomtom recommendation to be the best.  More importantly, she could plan a new route around construction faster than I could physically do it, which saved us having to pull over to study the map at length.  Several times I simply told my husband, "just do what she says".  That was so much easier than trying to read tiny street names on the map in time to give my husband fast and accurate directions.

One of my personal favorite extra features is the ETA function.  I loved seeing the estimated length of time for our trip constantly displayed in the lower right corner.   Since we actually divided the trip over 3 days, we were able to plan each leg with an ETA for each day.

Also, we did not make hotel reservations in advance since we were not sure how far we would actually be able to drive each day.  With the nifty Tomtom "point of interest" feature, I was able to look up near-by hotels, choose one and call them to see if they had a room available all before we even reached the exit.  What a huge time saver!  No more physically hunting for a hotel, stopping and asking about room availability only to discover they didn't have any rooms for the night and having to move on.

She also told us, in advance, the location of gas stations and restaurants.


Pros of the Tomtom VIA1515M GPS


  • Includes USA, Canada & Mexico Maps 
  • Displays the Speed Limit plus Your Current Speed  (Speeding Alert)
  • 5" Touch Screen
  • Turn by Turn Guidance
  • Lane Guidance
  • Colorful Display that Make Reading at a Glance Easy
  • Spoken Street Names, Warnings & Directions
  • Advance Warnings, Lane Recommendations  & Instant Re-Routing after Wrong Turns or Detours
  • Mileage Display with ETA (estimated time of arrival)
  • Separate Display for Points of Interest such as Gas Stations, Restaurants, & Hotels/Motels
  • Included Phone Numbers for Points of Interest  (so we could call ahead if needed)
  • Can Set to Metric or Imperial Units Depending on Where You are Driving  (Converts the Local Units to Your Selected Units)
  • Satellite Powered - Still Works When Cell Phones Don't! 
  • Battery Life - 3 hrs. for Out of Vehicle Use



Cons of the Tomtom VIA1515M GPS


Haven't found any yet and we used it on a 1000 mile trip!



Recommended Accessories for Your Tomtom VIA1515M GPS


Be sure to buy a pillow for your Tomtom!  Since we didn't own the vehicle we were driving, we purchased a weighted pillow for our Tomtom.  It worked perfectly.  It kept the Tomtom from moving around or falling.

Also, a carry case will allow you to take your Tomtom inside with you so it will not get stolen from your car.  Plus, you can easily switch it between vehicles this way.  The case simply protects it and makes it easier to carry.



One Final Note


In case you are wondering, we loved Canada!!!

And yes, the GPS worked perfect in Canada too and saved a world of misery for us since we were completely unfamiliar with cities, streets, street signs and using Canadian kilometers.   That little Tomtom was well worth the cost for that one trip alone, but I have no doubt we will be using it frequently now that we have one.


Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


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