Readers of Fractals of Change Are Very Smart

It took you almost no time to spot one of my favorite wireless devices in the picture from my last post.  Many of you correctly identified it as an EZPass transponder. You also identified some other devices which I hadn’t thought of.  More below.

EZPass, for those of you who don’t live in the US Northeast, is a toll collection system which lets you zip through toll booths without stopping, sometimes at highway speed.  Probably you’ve got something like this where you live, too.  The system identifies you by chatting with your transponder and debits your account which can be replenished automatically by credit card or manually by check. (I’m describing how it works in NJ.  Some states are different).

The convenience extends beyond not having to hunt for change, stop, and roll down the window.  Often there are EZPass-only lanes leading to designated booths or highspeed EZPass lanes which bypass lines of cars waiting to pay tolls the old fashioned way.  Cool.  You can also use EZPass to pay for parking at the airports operated by the Port Authority but that isn’t as well automated.

States are starting to accept each other’s payment system so EZPass, for example, works in Massachusetts which has a different bookkeeping system.  Somehow the various authorities clear payments between each other so you don’t need an account with each of them.  Hopefully this spreads.

Most EZPass transponders are attached to the inside of windshields and can be easily detached so you can take them with you if you fly somewhere and then rent a car.  Reader David Pitkin perceptively asks if the Volvo has a metallic windshield.  No, but it’s predecessor did and it blocked the transponder.  That’s why I have a license plate mounted unit.

Reader Douglas Mitchell spotted the bump at the back of the car.  It is a Sirius satellite antenna but it’s not attached to anything in the car currently.

Readers Judith Hellerstein and Rob used xray vision to see the garage door opener built into the headliner of the car.  I haven’t trained it yet because the junk doesn’t get cleared out of the garage until it snows but that’ll be pretty soon here in Vermont.  You can see the leaves turning on the hill below.

Readers Mark and Rob suspected a radar detector but I don’t currently have one.  Have been a little less ticket-prone since I slowed down to save gas last hurricane season. 

The black square under my rearview above the inspection ticket is just a fat mount for the mirror – I think.  It could be what tells the windshield wiper when they need to make a swipe, though.

Amazing how much wireless stuff there is, huh?  More coming up.