E-Tag

[apstar]

Has anyone here placed their tag in the sunglass holder near the overhead light console? what will happen if I go through to test it out and if I don't hear a deep then place it on the dash so it will work on the exit sensor will I receive a notice to pay or will they work out that it didn't register on the entry sensor

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[Whoosha]

Originally Posted by apstar

Has anyone here placed their tag in the sunglass holder near the overhead light console? what will happen if I go through to test it out and if I don't hear a deep then place it on the dash so it will work on the exit sensor will I receive a notice to pay or will they work out that it didn't register on the entry sensor

apstar

Providing you go through more than one pay point it will pick it up as missed and no excess charge will be incurred. and you have posted in the wrong place the Pub would have been better for general Q & A :

[Dusty1]

Stick it on the windscreen behind the mirror, best place for it, and it will guarantee it works. I think you guys get the small etag as well, which is a better look than the cassette size one I have.

[F6Mont]

Originally Posted by Dusty1

Stick it on the windscreen behind the mirror, best place for it, and it will guarantee it works. I think you guys get the small etag as well, which is a better look than the cassette size one I have.

You are referring to the old Citylink tag (I used to have one!). Eastlink and I'm pretty sure now Citylink offer the smaller tags.

As for the OP's question, as long as it misses just a single point, you should be fine...I'm pretty sure they take pictures when you pass under the gantry and transfer charges to your account that way...

[RicOz]

Have stuck my Roam e-Tag on the black mesh stuff behind the rearview mirror, it works fine. Not sure about the sunglass holder. Will have to test this one out!

[apstar]

I want it to be portable so I can use it in more than one vehicle ages ago someone here said its hard to get off once on it fits perfectly in the sunglasses holder and out of sight of thieves

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[ian b]

I swap my Roam tag between two cars, just buy a windscreen holder for each $3 from Roam. The tag clips and unclips easily from the holder.

[apstar]

Originally Posted by ian b

I swap my Roam tag between two cars, just buy a windscreen holder for each $3 from Roam. The tag clips and unclips easily from the holder.

lol when I got my tag from the RTA I was told this will not fit any holder it sticks onto the windscreen because my account is an infrequent user apparently a frequent user gets a different tag that fits holders :togo:

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[Geez Louise]

As long as it picks it up at one etag point you will be okay.

A former workmate had his personal Etag in his console and it picked up his work one (stuck behind the mirror) PLUS the one in the console. so I don't see why it wouldn't??

If you try it, let us know how you go. Interested to see what range they pick up.

[GTpilot]

I had mine in a bag in to boot once and it did not pick up. in the centre console it did.
Not sure it will work in the sunglass holder as it will have a sheet of metal between it and the gantry as you pass under. having it in the console, the microwave will still pick up through the window as the sensors are angled and there is no layer metal sheilding. I'd assume this would be the case in the sunnies holder.
Some cars with metallic film on the widscreen (such as some BMWs) have problem with the tag not working, even when mounted on the screen.

I have one of the older style ones and have it above the mirror stuck to the black section, works fine and does not stand out like dogs.... from the outside.

[Macca23]

I just asked for a second etag on the same account for my second car. There is no extra cost up here!

[Pedro]

I think they're ugly so I carry mine in the centre console and just hold it up near the screen when I have to use it.

[last fairlane]

Actually asked this question at the toll booth office
I had an old style one and the battery got a bit low after 5 years so I asked and was told if your account is in credit the camera will video match your No plate and just deduct it from your account
any way I asked for a fresh one and they gave me a new type small one
Just watch them though
as I had one in a truck and I was charged a car cost for crossing the Gateway bridge and when I checed my work docket against the statement I wasnt even near the bridge that day
I rang them and was told to make a stat dec in front of a JP to clear it up
it wasnt worth the hassle but keep an eye on your statements $2 multiplied by a few million = pure profit
John

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by Pedro

I think they're ugly so I carry mine in the centre console and just hold it up near the screen when I have to use it.

Bugger never thought of that, i think they are hidious. And i have a small tag :

[aquahead2001]

The old City Link ones in Melb don't work when they're upside down on the dash.... Got the bill to prove it! Nor do they work off the front passenger side floor, not many places to stop when your fumbling with an e-tag in a tunnel surrounded by trucks in peak hour and realise that the e-tag you took out of one car to swap into your other, is still in your pocket and in the hurry drop it!

[Zed7fiddy]

mate i jsut throw mine on the dash depending the vehicle im in, and i dont bother carrying it on the bike.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Not all E-tags work by putting them behind the mirror. When I got my current car, the tag stopped beeping and took it back to the E-tag place. They took 1 look at my car and told me that the putting it below the small console / roof lining extension protruding into the top middle of the wind screen blocks the signal, and they were right. I needed to put it to the left of it.

If you want to fool around with locations, just register your plates with the company. That way, any time you go through and it doesn't register, it takes a pic anc cros references it with your account.

My sister bought an Audi A4, the the previous owner left her old tag in the glove box, that registered when going through tolls.

The idea of holding it up is fine providing you remember to do it lol.

I had the old cassette style tag. Couldn't believe I got almost 10 YEARS of service out of it. Whatever battery and circuitry they use is pretty impressive.

[pauljh74]

I had mine sticky taped to the dashboard of a loan car and it didn't work. I had to basically face it the SAME way as it would in the holder, then it worked. The slot where it attaches to the holder needed to face outwards and tilting it back slightly while taped to the dash worked in the end. The positions where it didn't work were in line of sight and I couldn't see why it didn't go off.

[apstar]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Couldn't believe I got almost 10 YEARS of service out of it. Whatever battery and circuitry they use is pretty impressive.

Well most don't have batteries[foolproof] they worked on the same principal as cards for security gates/doors a coil acts as a transformer and supplies power to the circuits as you drive through the entry toll it's like driving through a magnetic field but a very narrow one so it doesn't pick up cars driving past on the main road being a retired techie I have one trick up my sleeve I may wrap thin cable [telephone wire] around the E-Tag and pass the end out towards the mirror hopefully it should work on the very same principal I mentioned above

apstar

[apstar]

Plan B

[quirdan]

I bring mine out and throw it in the cupholder and it seems to work. If it 'misses' an overhead toll point it can usually work it out. However, if it can't, they charge something like $0.75 for a photo inspection fee (which only works if you have the registration tied to the e-tag).

[p1mpdout]

i think that when you sign up for an e-tag account, you have to give them your number plate rego, i have 5 numberplates linked to my account, and weather they drive threw citylink/eastlink or any toll way in victoria, with out the actual e-tag, it will still deduct the money from my account..

my missus doesnt have one in her car, and she uses citylink a fair bit, never get sent a bill.. my parent are from warrnambool and there rego is on my tag, and they never get a bill...

so i think that whether the e tag does beep or not, it still registers through your nnumber plate.

[saber]

Originally Posted by apstar

Well most don't have batteries[foolproof] they worked on the same principal as cards for security gates/doors a coil acts as a transformer and supplies power to the circuits as you drive through the entry toll it's like driving through a magnetic field but a very narrow one so it doesn't pick up cars driving past on the main road being a retired techie I have one trick up my sleeve I may wrap thin cable [telephone wire] around the E-Tag and pass the end out towards the mirror hopefully it should work on the very same principal I mentioned above

apstar

Sorry, but I don't follow. What would this be achieving?

[apstar]

Originally Posted by saber

Sorry, but I don't follow. What would this be achieving?

What part you don't understand?.... the wire wrapped around the E-Tag! assuming it is then look at it this way is your TV outside the house to pick up a picture no its in the house and you run a wire from the TV antenna to the tv do you understand now I run the other end of the wire out to the rear vision mirror near the top of the windscreen hopefully the signal will flow down to the E-Tag and from the tag to the transmitter ;) ps don't need the wire I tested it out this afternoon and it works in the glasses holder yippee :

apstar

[apstar]

Forgot to mention when you place it in the holder workout which way it will end up when the holder is closed in other words the back of the tag is facing down towards the dash because that is where the antenna is

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[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by apstar

Well most don't have batteries[foolproof] they worked on the same principal as cards for security gates/doors a coil acts as a transformer and supplies power to the circuits as you drive through the entry toll it's like driving through a magnetic field but a very narrow one so it doesn't pick up cars driving past on the main road being a retired techie I have one trick up my sleeve I may wrap thin cable [telephone wire] around the E-Tag and pass the end out towards the mirror hopefully it should work on the very same principal I mentioned above

apstar

Ummm, ok.....

[apstar]

Thanks mate be told a fib by the RTA bloke I be back there next week and have printed out your photos to show him he told me they work like a security card which I'm familiar with because he said the RTA don't want people getting into the tag as you have done. Yellow_Festiva so how do you change them ?

apstar

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by apstar

Thanks mate be told a fib by the RTA bloke I be back there next week and have printed out your photos to show him he told me they work like a security card which I'm familiar with because he said the RTA don't want people getting into the tag as you have done. Yellow_Festiva so how do you change them ?

apstar

You are not meant to change them. They are a sealed unit.

When the battery dies, you hand it back to get another one. I guess when they 'service' it, that includes changing the battery. The battery is soldered in, but whould not be all that hard to change if needed.

[X000BOSS]

lol... i thought the beep coming out of the unit would tell a retired techie that there is some sort of battery in there.

[rawr]

I work at a call centre that deals with a few toll roads. I know a bit (too much!).. so just ask.

If you're in Sydney, the only time you need to worry about the etag not beeping is if you're in a rental. Rental companies charge you extra for passing on toll notices so make sure the tag beeps at every single toll gantry. If you're in a private vehicle they try to match the LPN (so make sure it's on the account) but it only works half the time because of all the different companies owning different bits and pieces of the toll infrastructure.

Any NSW toll notice can be transfered to an e-tag account for just the toll amount, the admin charge gets waived. There are recent exceptions for this - such as if your account was deactivated and the tag company operates the toll infrastructure on the road for which you got the notice. Sometimes they enforce the admin fee since your account was deactivated but most of the time they just transfer the toll by giving your account number and tag number.

In Sydney, AFAIK vehicle matching fees only apply in the special passes for when you don't have an etag and they're 75 cents per toll. In Melbourne they charge a VMF, QLD I'm not sure about.

Part of the T&Cs of most accounts require the etag to be in the 'correct position' which is in a holder on the windscreen. Some cars (european builds mostly) won't work anyway because of metallic tinting. Etags, at the most basic, are similar to TV remotes and send a signal that isn't much stronger. Sometimes they'll work and sometimes they won't if they're not in the 'correct position' because they have a harder time sending/receiving the signal.

Etags generally should be completely replaced when the battery runs low/out. In Melbourne I've had one that lasted over 10 years, in NSW they are more likely to last 4-6 years before needing replacement.