Sendero Group Travel Blog

Saturday, September 28, 2013

taxis in New York City

I was pleasantly surprised last night when taking two taxis in New York City. The monitor  in the back seat, normally just playing advertisements, says tap several times on the screen to enable visually impaired mode.

When you do that, you are presented with a bunch of options the most significant of which is hearing the fare. They tell you to tap upper left, upper right and so forth to activate different functions. One of those functions is location. It tells you what point of interest is nearby. There are probably many other options. I have no idea how many companies have this functionality but it was refreshing to experience access in a whole new area of travel.

Mike

posted by Sendero Group  # 6:50 AM 0 comments

Thursday, September 19, 2013

cell phone signal boosters

How about one more thing to add to your bag of mobile phone tools along with your AfterShokz earphone and extended battery? This would be the Sleek Mobile 4G-A cell phone repeater from Wilson Electronics, about a hundred bucks. Part number 815326. There are different models if you are not an AT&T user.

I have had an older model in my bedroom for quite some time with an antenna on the roof. It boosts a 1 bar signal to 4 bars within 20 feet of the unit.

For mobile use, the benefit is not only fewer dropped calls but also better data transmission for running a server based GPS.

I used this Sleek Mobile this weekend on a stretch of road in the Napa foothills where phone coverage disappears for about 8 miles. Using this device, I had coverage for at least 4 out of those previously dead 8 miles including service for the Seeing Eye GPS app. I learned about POIs I didn't know existed in them there hills. When I got to my destination, I put the device in my room and it helped turn a weak signal into a usable one.

This device consists of a flat cradle with arms to hold your phone in place.

It works by contact. You don't plug your phone into it. The Sleek Mobile has either a 4 inch or 12 inch mag mount antenna to put on top of the car. It has a USB cable to plug into the cigarette lighter adapter, which comes with it. It is pretty simple although you do have cords to manage.

There are much more powerful models for home or office use. In fact, Wilson nicely donated a 70DB repeater to the Enchanted Hills Camp and it works great.

I know this is not something most people need for personal use but it does make sense if you do business on the road and need to have a good connection more of the time.

Mike

posted by Sendero Group  # 6:52 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Nifty use for Lat/Lon info and Sendero GPS on a notetaker

Bob had an appointment to do some training at UCLA today.  A friend dropped him off at the dorms, and he left a few hours later via paratransit.  There are only a few places where they will pick you up on campus, and of course in the wisdom of the bureaucrats who make such decisions, none of the stops are very close to the dorms.  His pickup was to be at the flagpole near Royce Hall.  I was able to see the flagpole using mapquest.com, and with a little mouse click, I could get its latitude and longitude. 

Voila, you just set that lat lon as your destination, use the getting warmer method, and after a little hike, you're there.  This method does require a sighted guy who has access to a computer and the internet, but unless it's already a public user POI or you've been there before, it is pretty cool!

Sue Sweetman

posted by Sendero Group  # 1:45 PM 1 comments

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