Tracking Kids (athena) with GPS

August 14th, 2008 admin Posted in technology |

By Steven Walters

I’m sure you’ve seen stories on the news and in the newspapers about children that have gone missing. There is nothing sadder than a parent who experiences the loss of their child like this. The good news is that you don’t have to endure something like this because there are ways to avoid lost children with todays technology. I’m talking about GPS tracking for children. Through the Global Positioning System we can rest at ease knowing that our kids location can be tracked within several yards.

Kids GPS devices today are small devices and they can be in cell phones, backpacks, watches; even placed directly on the child’s clothing. The GPS device will then send out a signal allowing you to track the location of your children at all times. You can program the GPS device to send signals at intervals as short as 15 seconds for near real time tracking of your kids.

GPS technology works great for tracking kids that are at high risk due to child custody issues or similar problems. It is possible to set the device up so that it will alert you not only to the child’s location, but also if the child leaves a predesignated area or boundary. So you can know if your child leaves their school or the neighborhood playground or pool.

Imagine the peace of mind you’ll have when you know that you can simply log into your computer and instantly know where your child is thanks to the GPS tracking device. Some GPS devices also come with panic buttons that the child can use in case of an emergency. The alerts go not only to you, but also to the tracking service so the authorities can be notified in a timely manner.

Often when children are kidnapped the kidnapper will immediately get rid of any cell phone the child may be carrying to avoid being tracked. With a small unseen GPS tracking device attached to the child’s clothing you’ll still be able to track them and locate them quickly. You and more importantly the police will know exactly where to locate the child and this increases the chances they will be found unharmed dramatically.

GPS devices for small children can be as small as a watch or pager and they run on rechargeable batteries that last up to 24 hours. If you want something with a longer battery life you can get larger GPS tracking units that can transmit for up to 2 weeks on a single charge. Older children like teens can have the GPS units placed in their car to keep track of their locations and driving habits. Some auto GPS units can be programmed to send an alert when the car exceeds a certain speed limit.

While personal GPS units are not cheap you really can’t put a price on the peace of mind you’ll get knowing you can locate your child in case of some emergency. When the safety of your child is at risk nothing is too expensive. In addition to the cost of the GPS device itself you’ll also need to pay a tracking service which will run anywhere from $25-100 a month depending on the service and features. Having a GPS device tracking your child can be a great way to grant yourself peace of mind.

To learn more about tracking kids with GPS and tracking teens with GPS visit the authors website.

Hearing Aid Technology - How Hearing Aids Work
By Gemma-Leigh Garner

Recognizing that you have hearing loss can be difficult and overwhelming. Add to that the many choices of hearing aids available, the various style selections, the steps to go through to get one, and you have quite a lot of thinking to do. On top of that, many times the technology behind the hearing aid is the last overwhelming factor for senior citizens.

How do these things work? Technology in general can be difficult for some mature adults to grasp, and when it comes to hearing aids, even the most savvy person sometimes does’t understand the mechanics behind the device that helps them hear.

All hearing aids have the same basic mechanics, parts, and functions. Styles, colors, sizes and features vary, but the general concept is the same.

First, all hearing devices in the form of a hearing aid have a microphone. The microphone receives the sound in the room and passes it through to the amplifier. Most hearing aids come with a standard microphone, but you can also opt to get a hearing aid with a directional microphone, which helps to pick up sound only from right in front of you. This would help reduce background noise & let you focus on a person speaking directly to you.

The amplifier increases the volume of the sound. In some hearing aids, the process of amplifying sound is accompanied by features that reduce background noise and purify the sound, so that you can hear voices more clearly.

After the sound is received by the microphone and then amplified to be louder & more easily heard, it is passed through the speaker so that you can hear it. The speaker’s job is simple - it delivers sound from the amplifier into your ear.

And the last piece that ever hearing aid has is a battery. The battery provides power to the hearing aid’s electronic parts. Most batteries last 5-7 days, but of course the exact life of the battery depends on the type of hearing aid you get. Some hearing aids require more battery power than other hearing aids.

Digital hearing aids, for example, include more features and have more ability to deliver better sound to your ear, but require more battery power, meaning you have to change the batteries out more often.

Ultimately, the selection for hearing aids is broad, but all hearing aids include a microphone, amplifier, speaker, and battery. These four units are the basic mechanics for helping you hear better than you did before.

Gemma-Leigh Garner is a freelance copywriter and blogger that writes on many different health subjects such as hearing loss and hearing aid technology and other current events.

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