Rode Wireless Me – First Impressions & The Ultimate User Guide

Best Wireless Audio Mic for Content Creators - Rode Wireless Me

Rode just released its new wireless system Rode Wireless Me for social media, which is a trimmed down version of its Rode Wireless Go II. Rode Wireless Me has some unique features, but is also missing some features.

Rode Wireless Me Best Features

GainAssist

By far, this is the best feature Rode Wireless Me offers and I believe no other wireless audio system currently offers this feature. What this means is that Rode Wireless Me will automatically adjust its gain (loudness) without the need to set anything up manually.

GainAssist takes away a lot of guess work and hassle and the unit is ready to work when you are ready.

Me Mic

The receiver has a built-in microphone (the ‘ME Mic’), allowing Rode Wireless Me to record from both the receiver and transmitter. This is very handy when you need to record 2 people like when you are interviewing someone.

I haven’t seen any other wireless recorder offering this feature without buying a 2nd transmitter.

There are some features Rode Wireless Me is missing as stated below:

- Doesn’t have any audio recording meter on the devices. So, it’s hard to tell if it’s level or even if it’s recording.
- Doesn’t have any options to change settings on devices. You will have to open the Rode Central app and connect with a USB cable to do that.
- Me Mic doesn’t have any microphone port to add an external mic.

- Transmission range is 100m, half than most other similar wireless mics.

If the shortcomings are not so important, with its unique features Rode Wireless Me is something to take a look at before deciding on your next wireless mic system.

I have a full tutorial video on Rode Wireless Me here:

Rode Wireless Me - The Complete Beginners Guide Instruction Manual

Canada’s Best No Foreign ATM Fee Bank Card Debit Card

Best No Foreign Transaction Fees Bank Card in Canada

I was looking for a Canadian bank card that charges no foreign currency transaction fee and no international ATM withdrawal fee. Then I came across the EQ Savings Plus Account.

EQ Bank offers a high-interest savings account, unlimited transactions, unlimited Interac e-Transfers, bill payments, and Electronic Funds Transfers. No minimum balance requirements, no separate accounts for savings/chequing … and all these are free.

All these sounded too good to be true, so I was hesitant. So, I read of few reviews online and contacted their customer support. At this point, I was certain that this was the real deal and I ended up opening an account.

I was only interested in the unique feature of EQ Bank’s no foreign currency ATM withdrawal fees and no foreign currency transaction fees. I have a one-month long trip coming up, so I needed to have a bank card that lets me withdraw from foreign ATMs.

The problem with taking out money from a foreign ATM with a Canadian bank card is that you will get hit 3 times with fees. Your Canadian bank’s ATM fee, a foreign currency transaction fee, and a foreign location’s ATM fee imposed by that ATM.

With an EQ Bank card debit card, I am removing my Canadian bank’s ATM fee and foreign currency transaction fee, which is a win-win situation and for all these benefits EQ Bank is not charging anything. 

I will keep a few hundred dollars (for security) to access via my EQ bank card when I am traveling and if I need more, I can always transfer more money from my regular bank.

I have a video about EQ Bank you can watch here:

The Best Canadian Bank Debit Card To Avoid International ATM Fees

Avoid These 3 Dangerous Travel Habits

Risky Travel Habits You Need to Stop Now

There are many bad travel habits many of us have, but these 3 travel habits can be dangerous and you need to be aware of them now.

Sleeping During Landing and Taking Off

Air pressure on the plane changes due to rapid altitude change during landing and takeoff. Sudden altitude change affects air pressure in the body and ear, and your body needs time to stabilize the pressure. When you are sleeping, your body and ear are slow to adjust, which can cause damage to the eardrum and many other complications can occur.

Best practise is to stay awake and not sleep while landing and takeoff to keep your body alert.

Not Turning on Airplane Mode

During takeoff, if you don’t turn on airplane mode, your phone signal gets stronger, bouncing off high-rise buildings and the phone works harder to catch a signal due to rapid altitude change. This can clog your flight’s communication channels with the ground, which can be risky when pilots can’t communicate.

At any point, when you are on plane, you don’t want to interfere with the plane’s communication. The safest practise is to keep airplane mode on for the duration of your flight.

Emergency Medical Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is cheap, compared what you would pay if you are stranded in a hospital in a foreign country or if you need a medical air-lift to your country from a foreign country. 

Don’t be one of those thinking nothing will go wrong with you. If you don’t want to pay for insurance, get a premium travel credit card  also gives you free lounge access, along with travel insurance.

If you would like to watch my video on the above, please visit: 3 Risky Travel Habits You Need to Stop Now

2 Big Secrets Most Travel Credit Cards Are Hiding from You

What Your Travel Credit Cards Are Not Telling You

You can be paying a $700 Annual Fee for American Express Platinum, $250 for Amex Gold, $400 for TD, CIBC, RBC Visa Infinite Privilege (and many others), but what they don’t want you to know is that you will get dinged with 2.5% foreign currency transaction fee and some of these even don’t provide free lounge access.

For example, American Express Gold has a hefty $250 annual fee, but it even doesn’t provide free global lounge access. On paper, it looks like there are 4 free Plaza Premium Lounge Passes, but these free lounge passes are only applicable to Canadian airports.

The most important travel credit card feature all these cards don’t provide and are actually hiding from you is the foreign transaction fee. Every time you make a purchase in something other than Canadian currency, you will get charged a 2.5 percent foreign transaction (FX) fee.

However, there is one card with only a $140 annual fee that gives you both zero foreign currency transaction fees and 6 free global lounge accesses. Scotia Passport Visa Infinite is the only travel credit card on the Canadian market that offers both free global lounge access and zero foreign currency FX fees.

If you are reading this from another country, look for a travel credit card that offers zero foreign currency transaction fees and free global lounge access. These features should be the gold standard of any premium travel credit cards.

To view this article in video format, please visit this link: Secrets Travel Credit Cards Hiding From You

American Express Gold Canada Review (Non-Affiliated Real Review)

AmEx Gold Canada Review | Non-Affiliated & Unbiased Review

American Express Gold Canada is a popular travel credit card giving some travel perks and features to Canadians. AmEx Gold has a $250 annual fee (1st supplementary card is free), but there is an annual $100 travel credit when you book travel through American Rxpress website, making it $150 per year.

American Express Gold Canada offers most travel insurance you would expect from a premium credit card, including trip cancellation insurance, which many other premium Amex cards do not offer.

AmEx Gold Canada offers many perks and features, but 3 big features the AmEx Gold Canada card is missing are concierge service, no foreign transaction fee, and global lounge access free passes. Although, AmEx Gold Canada provides 4 Canadian Plaza Premium Lounge passes and a complimentary Priority Pass membership, but not free passes.

A distinctive feature AmEx Gold Canada has is that it’s made of metal, not plastic. 13 grams of stainless steel feels good in your hands and cold to the touch. Although the supplementary card is plastic, not metal. I ordered a supplementary card thinking it would be metal too but was disappointed when I found out it was plastic.

 American Express Gold Canada also provides 24-hour Travel Emergency Assistance, to help in finding hospitals, embassies, doctors and lawyers around the world. This service also provides you with key travel information, including details on visa and inoculation requirements, and much more.

Travel Emergency Assistance is specific to AmEx Gold Canada (and Platinum) and many other premium Amex cards, such as AmEx Cobalt or Marriott Bonvoy, do not offer this service.

Please visit this link to watch my American Express Gold Canada Review in video format.