RAD Industries Diamondback trailer showing off 1 man operation Loading a Goldwing.
Tags: Goldwing, Trailer, Motorcycle, Loading
Expandable Add-A-Gauge Technology
The ScanGaugeII has been redesigned with expandable Add-A-Gauge (aka XGauge) technology. Add to the original 12 gauges by customizing the ScanGaugeII to monitor up to 25 more--depending on your specific vehicle's sensor design. Four gauges can be displayed simultaneously and can help determine fuel consumption rates, allowing you to adjust driving behavior and save gas. At the same time, keep an eye on coolant temperature, engine speed, and much more in real time. If there is a young driver in the house or friends borrow your car, the ScanGaugeII can record speeds of up to 158 mph and store the information for you to view later, so you will know just how fast your young driver or friend was going last night. If the unit was disconnected, you'll know: An indicator will be displayed in the trip data.
ScanGaugeII mounts easily to your dash. |
Gauges include:
ScanGaugeII makes diagnostics easy. View Larger |
Multifunction Trip Computer
Four sets of data are automatically recorded on the trip computer: Current, Today, Previous Day, and Tank Trip. The "current" trip restarts after the engine has been off for more than 3 minutes. The "today" trip restarts after the vehicle has not moved for 9 hours, and the data from "today" is moved to "previous day" when you restart the car, so you don't have to reset the computer every time you begin a trip. "Tank trip" resets when you fill up the tank. It can provide you with "to empty" data and other useful information, which can be viewed any time during the trip. The trip computer also integrates information from the Cost Per Mile gauge. Simply enter how much you paid per gallon or liter of fuel, and the ScanGauge will automatically calculate the cost of your trips as you drive. The ScanGaugeII features 12 individually stored parameters, including:
ScanGaugeII features 63 backlit colors. View Larger |
The Midland 75-820's design is ideal, with a push-to-talk button on the side, squelch and volume knobs, and a small LCD screen that displays the current channel, signal strength, and a variety of other useful information. Several buttons on the device can be used for scanning, whether quickly flipping between the emergency channel (9) and the standard highway channel (19) or activating the LCD's backlight. The unit also comes with a short, flexible antenna.
Overall, the 75-820's portability is excellent--comparable to a child's walkie-talkie. Unfortunately, the unit's compactness hampers its usefulness, because the relatively small antenna has a hard time pulling in distant signals. In our tests on local highways and on the interstate, transmissions rarely could be heard from more than half a mile away. However, when we connected the Midland 75-822 to a whip antenna that was several feet long, the range increased considerably. As a result, we recommend investing in a better antenna before using the device in your car, although the radio still works well for communicating with nearby semis when you're trying to find out the source of a traffic jam.
We had better luck using the radio to monitor National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio broadcasts, which we were able to receive from nearly anywhere since Weather Radio stations transmit at much higher power than mobile transmitters. These broadcasts are repeated every few minutes, are updated every few hours, and can help alert travelers to severe weather conditions. It's a nice feature to have on a portable CB and makes the Midland 75-822 a standout choice for travelers who want to be in the know. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros: