My Loc8tor is a hand-held tracker that searches for homing tags attached to things that get lost. You can name each tag, using the on-screen menu, so that, when you select one from the list, the Locator will only search for that one tag.

The display, beeps, and vibration, guide you: the beeps getting quicker as you get nearer to the tag. The combination of visual and vibrating alert is ideal for deaf and hard-of-hearing people.

As an example, to find your phone charger: attach the tag, register it, and name it 'charger'. When you can't find it, select it from the on-screen list, press the locate button, and turn around in a complete circle.
The hand-held will start to beep, so walk in the direction that the screen indicates: left, right, up, or down. It beeps quicker as you get nearer to your phone charger, and should guide you to within a few centimetres. The tag beeps and has a flashing LED to aid location in the dark.

To look at larger photos, hold your mouse over the zoom buttons below. The photos are 480px x 360px and about 40KB each so, if you're not on broadband, they'll take a short while to download.

Loc8tor Lite.

Loc8tor.

Loc8tor.

Loc8tor.

Loc8tor Lite is about the size of credit card. It has one operating mode: locate. In locate mode, it searches for homing tags: direction and proximity are represented by a column of eight LED lights. The pack includes one black hand-held, two black homing tags, two CR2032 lithium batteries, four LR54 lithium batteries, and a wall bracket for the hand-held.

To find your tagged item, turn round in a full circle then walk in the direction of the strongest signal shown by the lights: it’s as easy as that. The tag beeps and has a flashing LED to aid location in long grass, on a construction site, in your pocket, on the beach, or in the dark.

In an unobstructed environment, Loc8tor Lite has a range of around 120m, although thick walls, large metal areas, and strong electric fields will reduce this. You can register up to four tags, each one of which has a different beep for easy recognition.

Loc8tor Lite measures 86mm x 54mm x 6mm and weighs about 20gms, so will fit in a wallet or purse. It has an on-off switch, four keys, a column of eight LED lights, and a volume control. The backlit LCD measures 30mm x 30mm. A homing tag measures 30.5mm x 19.5mm x 8.5mm and weighs about 5gms.

Loc8tor, shown in the photo near the top of the page, is about the size of a mobile phone, so a little larger than Loc8tor Lite. It has one operating mode: locate. In locate mode, it searches for homing tags: direction and proximity are shown on an LCD screen. The pack includes one silver hand-held, two silver homing tags, 2 AAA alkaline batteries, and four LR54 lithium batteries.

To find your tagged item, turn round in a full circle then walk in the direction of the strongest signal shown by the screen: it’s as easy as that. The tag beeps and has a flashing LED to aid location in long grass, on a construction site, in your pocket, on the beach, or in the dark.

In an unobstructed environment, Loc8tor has a range of around 180m, although thick walls, large metal areas, and strong electric fields will reduce this. You can register up to twenty four tags, each one of which has a different beep for easy recognition.

Loc8tor measures 110mm x 54mm x 17mm and weighs about 75gms, so will fit in a pocket or handbag. It has four keys, a menu-driven LCD, and a volume control. The backlit LCD measures 30mm x 30mm. A homing tag measures 30.5mm x 19.5mm x 8.5mm and weighs about 5gms.

Both the Loc8tor and the tag batteries should last six to nine months, although the display warns you when the battery voltage is low.

Loc8tor Plus is about the size of a mobile phone, and the same size as Loc8tor. It has two operating modes: locate and alert. In locate mode, it searches for homing tags: direction and proximity are shown on an LCD screen. The pack includes one silver hand-held, three silver homing tags, one silver panic tag, 2 AAA alkaline batteries, and four LR54 lithium batteries.

To find your tagged item, turn round in a full circle then walk in the direction of the strongest signal shown by the screen: it’s as easy as that. The tag beeps and has a flashing LED to aid location in long grass, on a construction site, in your pocket, on the beach, or in the dark.

In an unobstructed environment, Loc8tor has a range of around 180m, although thick walls, large metal areas, and strong electric fields will reduce this. You can register up to twenty four tags, each one of which has a different beep for easy recognition.

In alert mode, an alarm sounds when an object, animal, child, or dependent relative or friend goes out of a pre-set range defined by near, medium, or far. The panic tag can contact your hand-held, in an emergency.

Loc8tor Plus measures 110mm x 54mm x 17mm and weighs about 75gms, so will fit in a pocket or handbag. It has four keys, a menu-driven LCD, and a volume control. The backlit LCD measures 30mm x 30mm. A homing tag measures 30.5mm x 19.5mm x 8.5mm and weighs about 5gms.

Both the Loc8tor and the tag batteries should last six to nine months, although the display warns you when the battery voltage is low.

Loc8tor mixes new and conventional wireless technologies. Both the hand-held and the tags transmit and receive radio signals on the international 2.45GHz ISM frequency band. A special ariel system detects the direction and proximity of the selected tag.

The signals are largely unaffected by clothes, ordinary rooms, and busy open spaces, and have an operating range of up to 180 metres, clear and unobstructed. However, thick walls, metal areas, and strong electric fields will reduce the range, so a bit of practice will help you get the best out of it.

An upgrade is available which enables the Loc8tor to log 6000 tags. This is particularly useful for workers on a building site, tracing specific cars in a car park, or finding shared equipment in a busy environment.

It's a good idea to always leave your Loc8ter in one place, so that it's just where you expect it to be. No technology is perfect: it can't find itself.