iPass/EZ Pass with GPS now?
Locked
 
|
I live near the Chicago area and don't really have any choice but to use the tollways occasionally...and so we've had an iPass for several years. When we first got it, I was worried that it would give me problems, but it never did.
Now we recently got a letter saying we needed to trade in our transponder for a new one--something about the battery getting ready to run out--so we dutifully traded them. BIG MISTAKE. I can tell the new one has a GPS transponder in it (or at least something that gives me the very same reaction as the GPS in our car...). Within moments of getting in the car, I could feel the chest pain and especially the tightening of my throat right in the area of the thyroid. By the time 5 minutes had passed, it had become so bad, I had to take the thing off my windshield and bury it under everything I could find. Even then, only getting out of my car for close to an hour made it better. Now I've tried wrapping the bottom side of it with no less than three layers of aluminum foil, tucking in the edges tightly. The part facing the windshield is still exposed, so that hopefully it still works (I'm not sure...). Unfortunately, even though it is no longer unbearably painful, I can still feel my heart racing when I'm in the car and I know it's not enough. I was thinking of maybe getting shielding fabric to encapsulate the thing, but would taping it to the windshield be sufficient? And if three layers of foil didn't help, will the fabric? I'm so hopping mad, I want to go to the toll authority and say that I didn't give my consent to them putting GPS in these transponders and threaten to go to the media with it, but I don't want to go even further off the deep end than I already have. But I'm awfully tempted. I know they're just going to tell me to go jump in a lake. Suggestions? Anyone else had similar problems? Lisa |
|
|
Lisa,
I don't know about the options available to pay tolls in the Chicago area, but here in Texas, we have an option not to have any device of theirs in our vehicles. Their system will read our license plate number and send us a period bill. Granted the price is higher without our toll tag, but if the technology is causing a problem it would be worth it. Jim --- In [hidden email], "lthngsbrtnbtfl2" <lbergman2@...> wrote: > > I live near the Chicago area and don't really have any choice but to use the tollways occasionally...and so we've had an iPass for several years. When we first got it, I was worried that it would give me problems, but it never did. > > Now we recently got a letter saying we needed to trade in our transponder for a new one--something about the battery getting ready to run out--so we dutifully traded them. > > BIG MISTAKE. > > I can tell the new one has a GPS transponder in it (or at least something that gives me the very same reaction as the GPS in our car...). Within moments of getting in the car, I could feel the chest pain and especially the tightening of my throat right in the area of the thyroid. By the time 5 minutes had passed, it had become so bad, I had to take the thing off my windshield and bury it under everything I could find. Even then, only getting out of my car for close to an hour made it better. > > Now I've tried wrapping the bottom side of it with no less than three layers of aluminum foil, tucking in the edges tightly. The part facing the windshield is still exposed, so that hopefully it still works (I'm not sure...). Unfortunately, even though it is no longer unbearably painful, I can still feel my heart racing when I'm in the car and I know it's not enough. > > I was thinking of maybe getting shielding fabric to encapsulate the thing, but would taping it to the windshield be sufficient? And if three layers of foil didn't help, will the fabric? > > I'm so hopping mad, I want to go to the toll authority and say that I didn't give my consent to them putting GPS in these transponders and threaten to go to the media with it, but I don't want to go even further off the deep end than I already have. But I'm awfully tempted. I know they're just going to tell me to go jump in a lake. > > Suggestions? Anyone else had similar problems? > Lisa > |
|
|
I noticed, first of all, that the transponder is not working with the foil around it, despite the fact that I was careful to put it only on the side facing the vehicle, not all the way around.
I also read on the Toll Authority website that in cases such as this, when you have a transponder registered to the vehicle, that it does match up your license plate and charge the toll correctly...but it says that if this happens too often, there will be additional fines...not sure what that means. Has anyone tried shielding something like this with shielding fabric? I still can't help wondering whether the media would pick up on something like this--having a GPS transponder hidden in these devices...I would think that people would be upset about this, being tracked without their knowledge or consent... Lisa --- In [hidden email], "sradv777" <j777@...> wrote: > > Lisa, > > I don't know about the options available to pay tolls in the Chicago area, but here in Texas, we have an option not to have any device of theirs in our vehicles. Their system will read our license plate number and send us a period bill. Granted the price is higher without our toll tag, but if the technology is causing a problem it would be worth it. > > Jim > > --- In [hidden email], "lthngsbrtnbtfl2" <lbergman2@> wrote: > > > > I live near the Chicago area and don't really have any choice but to use the tollways occasionally...and so we've had an iPass for several years. When we first got it, I was worried that it would give me problems, but it never did. > > > > Now we recently got a letter saying we needed to trade in our transponder for a new one--something about the battery getting ready to run out--so we dutifully traded them. > > > > BIG MISTAKE. > > > > I can tell the new one has a GPS transponder in it (or at least something that gives me the very same reaction as the GPS in our car...). Within moments of getting in the car, I could feel the chest pain and especially the tightening of my throat right in the area of the thyroid. By the time 5 minutes had passed, it had become so bad, I had to take the thing off my windshield and bury it under everything I could find. Even then, only getting out of my car for close to an hour made it better. > > > > Now I've tried wrapping the bottom side of it with no less than three layers of aluminum foil, tucking in the edges tightly. The part facing the windshield is still exposed, so that hopefully it still works (I'm not sure...). Unfortunately, even though it is no longer unbearably painful, I can still feel my heart racing when I'm in the car and I know it's not enough. > > > > I was thinking of maybe getting shielding fabric to encapsulate the thing, but would taping it to the windshield be sufficient? And if three layers of foil didn't help, will the fabric? > > > > I'm so hopping mad, I want to go to the toll authority and say that I didn't give my consent to them putting GPS in these transponders and threaten to go to the media with it, but I don't want to go even further off the deep end than I already have. But I'm awfully tempted. I know they're just going to tell me to go jump in a lake. > > > > Suggestions? Anyone else had similar problems? > > Lisa > > > |
«
Return to ES
|
1 view|%1 views
| Free forum by Nabble | Edit this page |