Showing posts with label best battery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best battery. Show all posts

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Glove Box Car Jump-Starter

Glove Box Car Jump-StarterIf you have read the other reviews, you know that there is some debate over whether this works or not. Having tested this product, I will say that almost everyone is right on both sides of this debate. This is because there is confusion about what this product actually is and what it actually does. It is probably improperly described as "jump start" device. When you hook jumpers to your car from another car or from a portable jumper, electricity is sent to both the discharged battery and the engine. When the electricity goes to the engine, it allows it to start by sparking the gasoline. This product does not do that and is not designed to do that. So, technically, you cannot jump start your car with this. However, this does not mean that it will not help start your car if your battery is dead. This is because this is actually a battery charger. When you hook up Mighty Jump to your lighter, it is supposed to start recharging your battery. The electricity it is sending through the circuits to your battery is not enough at any moment to start your engine directly, but it is charging your battery. After 10-15 minutes, your battery may very well have enough current to start your engine. So, technically, it is correct to say that this will not work to jump start your engine. It could though recharge your battery, and this could very well get your engine to start.

This will only work though if your battery is capable of holding a charge or being recharged. If it is old and needs replacing, this product will do nothing for you. On the other hand, if you leave your lights on for a few hours and your car won't start, this could very well be enough to help you get it started.

Do you I recommend this? Only if you have a good battery and you can get this at a good price.

Do I recommend that you buy a more expensive portable jump starter instead? From my experience, they are not very reliable either. They are essentially just rechargeable batteries, probably very similar to your car battery. That means they will wear out relatively quickly. For the price, you could probably just replace your car battery. For that reason, the Mighty Jump at a smaller price point is very tempting.

In general, having a set of jumper cables would be your most reliable option particularly if you live in an urban setting with a lot of people around. If you are out in the middle of nowhere regularly, you might want to invest in something more versatile (and more expensive).

If you can get this at a good price, it would be a good option for just running down your battery from leaving your lights on. If you suspect that your battery is bad or is getting old, this will do nothing under those circumstances.

Sabre Rattler and G. Mahler (commentator on Aquabusa Jib's review) comments are the most informational and accurate.

For any jump starter to work (including the Mighty Jump) the following conditions must be present:

1. The battery in the jump starter must be in good condition and kept charged. This is needed to charge up the car battery.

2. The accessory (lighter) socket must be in the "ON" position and the connection is good all the way to the car battery.

3. The car battery must be capable of retaining the charge from the jump starter. That is it must not be too old or incapable of holding a charge.

4. All devices using battery power (eg Head lights, rear window heaters, radio, cabin lights etc) should be switched off so as not to drain the limited battery power available.

5. Wait for the car battery to be recharged sufficiently to provide the cold cranking amperage that Aquabusa Jib mentioned in his review to start the car. This may take between 1 to 10 minutes depending on the battery power in the jump starter and how discharged the car battery is.

6. The car should start now (unless the starter motor on the car is dead!). Do not switch off the car engine during the first 15 minutes of driving to allow the car generator to at least partially recharge the car battery.

Remember to recharge the jump starter battery after use so it is ready for the next emergency. It can be achieved by leaving the jump starter connected for about 15 to 20 minutes while you are driving. It is good practice to recharge the jump starter battery at least every 3 4 months. All rechargeable batteries deteriorate over time and need to be replaced after a few years. It is time to replace when it will not hold a charge for at least a few days when not in use.

Jump starters do work if used correctly.

Hope this helps some people.

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This product works fine. People need to READ the instructions and do as directed. I noticed many people have commented that they only wait 5 minutes for their battery to recharge. The directions clearly state to wait 10 to 15 minutes. Also, be sure your ignition switch is turned to the 'Accessory On' position. Otherwise, no electricity can flow to the battery. Do NOT leave the Mighty Jump in a car when the outside temperature plumets below zero, or it will lose its charge too. Bring it inside to keep it warm. Another tip. If your battey is old or not holding a charge properly, it's time to get a NEW BATTERY. It's not Mighty Jump's problem. PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Don't be so quick to blame Mighty Jump. 99% of the time it is the owner's fault, not the product.

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Do NOT waste your money!!! I bought 3, one for me, one for my mom and the other for my sister. My mom had to use hers, it didn't work; I bought mine and it didn't work! THIS IS JUNK JUNK JUNK!!!

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While driving home my battery light came on. I was able to get the car home. I turned the car off than tried to restart the car and nothing happen. when I told my roommate what happen she gave me the mighty Jump to try and jump start the car to go get a new battery. I had the might jump connected for 5 min and the car started right back up. I turned the car off and than back on but sadly it died again. I had a bad alternator. The main point of the store is that it charged my battery up enough to get it started. Which means that the product does work.

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

7 inch TFT Color LCD Car Rear View Camera Monitor Support Rotating The Screen and 2 AV Inputs

7 inch TFT Color LCD Car Rear View Camera Monitor Support Rotating The Screen and 2 AV Inputs
  • 7" LED Backlight Color TFT LCD monitor
  • Full color LED backlight display.
  • High-resolution picture.
  • With 2 AV input.
  • Comes with an IR remote controller.

I ordered this monitor to hook up to my BOSS DVD Player in my van so that kids had a screen to see a movie or to see what music track was playing. Hookup is very easy, even though the instructions are basic to say the least. Red wire to +12v, Black wire to -12v, Blue Wire is hooked up to a backup camera sense signal so that when the camera comes on, the monitor will automatically switch to the camera input. I did not use this cable as I do not have a backup camera, I just left it as is. There is no power on this cable so you do not have to worry about it shorting out to anything. The composite video cable gets plugged in from the source. I wired my monitor right to the power harness for the radio so that it turns on and off with the van and ran the cable under the dash out of the back of the radio area, looks clean and allows the monitor to be moved if needed.

The monitor is by no means a high resolution monitor, but it gets the job done and kids really do not care about the resolution so long as they can see the movie and subtitles if enabled, both of which are very usable on this monitor. If you need a cheap monitor for the kids, this will do just fine and it is cheap enough to replace should something happen to it.

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Works for the Raspberry Pi composite cable video out. I cut the wiring harness down because the cable that comes with it is so long that it was out of control. I now run the monitor off of an old 12V wifi router power plug, and both the raspberry pi and the monitor fit into a pelican case for easy transport and usage. The actual area you get to work with on the screen is limited, but what do you expect for under $40 bucks.

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First I should state that this unit is very easy for anyone with basic automotive wiring knowledge to install. What that means is, you should need no instructions, the wiring is self evident. Because of that the instructions that come with the unit are very brief.

I purchased the package consisting of the monitor, the E363 camera and the Koolertron license plate camera. There is no comparison between the cameras, the E363 with 170 degree viewing angle wins. I have a 2007 Honda CRV and I mounted the camera low under the rear bumper and the view from the camera is just amazing. I then ran the wiring into the spare tire well and made my connections in that area. There is an ignition activated power outlet on the left rear wall that I used for the power source running everything all the time while driving. Snaking the single cable which contains the video signal and power wire up to the front was relatively easy, tucking the cable under the trim.

The monitor is very nice, I found the picture quite pleasing. I mounted it with nylon straps via the AC vent over my radio, which I never use. The single cable from the monitor is all that is required, it contains the wiring for the two video inputs and power, snaking it around was quite easy. It plugs into a longer harness that connects to the cable coming from the camera. The monitor has brightness and contrast controls along with the ability to flip the picture left or right, up or down so it accommodates the camera no matter what. As one might expect the monitor is always on, that is, anytime you turn the key it automatically comes on. You do not have to punch the on-off button every time.

Backing up at night is adequate because of the built in vehicle back up lights. The E363 camera has no infrared LED's.

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This works well for Raspberry Pi using the Raspbian linux operating system. Out of box the text and icons are too small and fuzzy. To increase display text and icon sizes you can edit the folder /boot/config.txt. Change the lines

#framebuffer_width=1280

#framebuffer_height=720

for example to

framebuffer_width=480

framebuffer height=300

Don't forget to delete the # at the start of each line. The resolution of the screen is supposed to be 480x240 but putting 240 as the frame buffer height produces a letterbox display. When you open a window on the screen, it will likely be much wider than the display. I haven;t To cure this problem, drag the window to the left to expose the upper right corner of the window and then shrink the window so that is fully within the display. Then click on the square full display button. The window will then expand to fit the display.

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Hooked this up to the svideo output from my direct tv box for a tv monitor next to the computer... works great simple install

Friday, September 12, 2014

Pyle PLAM14 20 Feet 8 Gauge 1000 Watts Amplifier Hookup For Battery Head Unit and Speakers Installa

Pyle PLAM14 20 Feet 8 Gauge 1000 Watts Amplifier Hookup For Battery Head Unit and Speakers Installation Kit
  • Kit includes 20 8-gauge red power wire, 4 8-gauge black ground wire
  • 20 16-gauge blue remote turn-on, 20 12-gauge speaker wire, 20 right angle RCA interconnect audio cable conduit.
  • 6 black split loom cable conduit, AGU type 60A gold plated fuse
  • Water-resistant in-line fuse holder
  • 2 ring terminals\

The wire inside the thick insulation is maybe 10 or 12 gauge. The outer diameter is the same as a normal 8 gauge car audio power wire, however it's mostly insulation. Very poor quality wire. Look elsewhere.

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I was very interested in this item given the price and everything it includes. But, what everyone says is right. The actual width of the wire is 8 gauge; but the wire itself is 12 gauge. You're paying for insulation. Also, the hardware is cheap and not durable at all. Save your money and get something else.

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The kit is working fine for me now but it is more like a 10 gauge not an 8 gauge.

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got the job done but i found out after the install that the wire isnt the claimed gauge. go to walmart and get their true-claim wires for about the same price. scosche is way better quality.

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Kit seems good. Though the wires almost like they've been previously used. Testing could account for this, but snipping the ragged wire at the end isn't that hard. No fuse holder was included, contrary to item description. Ground cable was less than approximately 30 inches (4 feet in description), and is the same wire that is used for power. Indicated in description is 20 feet of blue signal wire. I received two blue wires, one is approximately 20 feet, the other is much longer. Speaker wire looks to be between 5 feet and 7 feet, falling way short of the 20 feet.

I did order a reconditioned kit, so I expect some deviation from the description. Deviation being the indicated missing manual, maybe fuses from a different manufacturer than a new kit, things like that. I did not expect deviations so wide from the norm. Whether these issues are from Pyle Audio or another seller, I couldn't say. But I'm fairly miffed about this.

I have not had the chance to install it, as I've been hunting down the other parts I will need to complete my install, but I will update my review once I do get it installed.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Car Charger for Lg 5450 C1300 C1500 C2000 G4010 G4015 G4020 G4050 L1100 L1150 L1200 Vx4500 Vx4600 L

Car Charger for Lg 5450 C1300 C1500 C2000 G4010 G4015 G4020 G4050 L1100 L1150 L1200 Vx4500 Vx4600 Lx5550 Vx6000 F9100 Vehicle Car Battery Charger / AdapterThis car charger failed to work at all. It was the correct device for my phone and in a brand new car with three different power source outlets, none of them fit this charger such that all the contacts were made...I guess the 99cent price should have been a give away... 1 star is one too many!

Item worked great & arrived quickly. NO complaints...exactly what I was looking for & saved a ton not buying from the Cingular store!

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Saturday, August 16, 2014

HQRP Car Windshield Cradle Suction Cup Mount / Holder and 12V Car Charger for TomTom One XL XL-S pl

HQRP Car Windshield Cradle Suction Cup Mount / Holder and 12V Car Charger for TomTom One XL XL-S plus HQRP Universal Screen Protector
  • HQRP™ Car Mount and Charger plus HQRP™ Universal Screen Protector;
  • Type: Mounting Unit; Designation: Automobile;
  • Type: Car Charger; Designation: Automobile;
  • Plug in this spare car charger into the cigarette lighter and charge the battery of your GPS;
  • Compatible with Li-Ion , Ni-Cd and Ni-Mh batteries.

I bought this package car charger / suction cup / screen protector because my original GPS accessories were old and worn out. I am very satisfied.

The suction cup has a reinforced edge (better seal) that is an upgrade from my original equipment. The charging cord is in line with the connector to the GPS which is a better design than the original equipment "L" shape cord connector end which over time developed a short in the "L" bend of the cord.

Tom Tom's factory direct pricing for these replacement accessories is several times the cost of this package. Great value and good quality.

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Easy breezy quick service. No complaints here! Bought the product as a gift so I can't attest to its functionality, but it arrived on time.

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This was bought to replace our broken dash-mount. It clipped right on and we were ready to go.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Battery Tender 022-0157-1 Waterproof 12 Volt Power Tender Plus Battery Charger

Battery Tender 022-0157-1 Waterproof 12 Volt Power Tender Plus Battery ChargerI have many different vehicles and pieces of motorized equipment. Everything from a 50 ft long motor home with 4 engine starting batteries, to four Harley Davidson motorcycles. The common thread is that they all sit for extended periods of time, and they all have expensive batteries. I have tried all of the different battery maintainers I could find and I still keep coming back to Battery Tender. Aside from the terrific reliability, (not true for other maintainers), the best feature for me is the fact that all you do is plug the Battery Tender in and forget about it. Everything is automatic....this is important if the power fails. Other Battery Maintainers require that one push buttons to set certain parameters. The unfortunate side effect is that the charger will not work without the afore mentioned "button pushing" and your battery may be dead when you need it. Stick with Battery Tender!

Battery Tender Plus 022-0157-1 received as described. It is a compact size in a heavy duty, weatherproof case which makes it great for outdoor applications such as charging batteries on a travel trailer. Very easy to use...just plug it in and walk away. Consider getting extra wiring harnesses for other charging applications. Harnesses make it easy to plug in and charge batteries without having to hook up bulky clamps and cables. Would recommend.

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This is a great product for protecting your batteries. I have used it for years on my TransAm, which I rarely drive, and my motorcycle. Motorcycle batteries usually last 4 6 years. My last one lasted 9 years. I have a friend who has a Z which he rarely drives; and during the time I had one battery on my TransAm he replaced his 3 times. After suggesting he get one of these 3 or 4 times with no success I finally bought him one myself.

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Amazon's dimension specs for this say that it is almost double the size that it is. The actual correct dimensions are 5.2" L x 5.0" W x 2.0" H. The weight appears to be correct. This error can make a BIG difference if you are planning out the space for it before it arrives.

As far as the product itself goes, nothing but positive things to say. I know several people who use these regularly as well for classic cars that sit in storage and they all rave about them as well. I have been using to charge a marine deep cycle battery that I use to power a power-box for my telescope and equipment. It has worked perfectly and does an excellent job charging and keeping a charge on this when not in use.

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I've used Deltran chargers before and they've always been a solid product. However, the discrepancies between their marketing literature and their instruction booklet, and the general way the instruction booklet is written, means that I can only give them a 4 star rating. Their website states, "any capacity lead acid battery." While the instruction booklet states "designed for six-cell. . . 1.2-200Ah," lead acid batteries. Not a big deal for most, but if you're looking for something to charge batteries in parallel (such as in a diesel truck or marine batteries), it would be good to know which info is correct. Which brings me to my next point. There's nothing in the official literature about using this particular charger to charge more than one battery at a time. I can only guess that if the voltage matches and the amps aren't exceeded, it should do just fine. Another issue is that the instructions only give the steps for hooking-up the alligator clips to the battery, however this unit doesn't come with the clips, just the quick-disconnect ring terminals. It would also be beneficial if they matched-up the marketing and instruction booklet technical specs to battery manufacturer specs. So, if the battery manufacturer recommends a max float charge of x, then state what the float charge of the charger is. This is a well built charger and deserves well written literature to go with it.

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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Farenheit HP-11S Swivel Ear Pad Single Channel Infrared Wireless Headphones

Farenheit HP-11S Swivel Ear Pad Single Channel Infrared Wireless Headphones
  • single -Channel Infrared Wireless Headphones With Swivel Ear Pads
  • Adjustable Straps For Maximum Comfort
  • receives Broadcasts Up To 10Deg From Transmitter
  • on/Off Switch Saves Battery Life
  • auto Power Off and Mute Functions

These headphones are really nice. They offer a lot of cushion on the ears. They are adjustable to fit multiple ages. The carrying cases are a very nice feature. The best thing about these though, is the auto off feature. I was going through tons and tons of batteries with my old head sets. I have had these for 6 months and have not had to change the batteries at all!! These headphones synced right up with our van's DVD system. Very good product at a good price. Highly recommend!

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I'm afraid I was 'Taken" this time. Your plug for these wireless headphones never said ' Without transmitter'. I'll use them as a spare set of ' Wired ' phones for my stereo system. Amazon sold me on a Pig in a Poke. Please edit your copy to reflect the actual product and its purpose. Jim Dutra

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Great purchase. Much less $ than the dealer. Excellent battery life due to auto-off feature. Crisp clear sound with great range. Can use wired also.

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The Farenheit HP-11S turned out to have several potentially useful features although I wasn't able to evaluate them because my copy of the headphones worked only sporadically, and then only when within a few feet of the transmitter (less than half the range of the unit it was hoped to replace). Its fold-flat feature and the auto-off feature would have been especially useful in my situation. It was also fairly inexpensive.

I was unable to find any complete description of the product before I purchased it, so I discovered most of the unit's features only when reading the descriptions on the package. It would have been helpful especially for comparison purposes if more detailed info had been available while I was comparing alternative products.

The biggest piece of missing info was the unit's operating frequency. This made it impossible to determine whether the unit was compatible with my existing transmitter prior to purchase. Because the unit turned out (apparently) not to be compatible, it was not usable because it did not have an included transmitter of its own, and I was unable to determine whether any compatible transmitter is available for it.

Although I could not tell for sure whether my unit was simply incompatible with my transmitter, or if the unit itself was defective in some way, I suspect that most of the negative aspects here stem primarily from lack of needed info prior to purchase.

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I guess I should have read the reviews a little better. This comes with no IR transmitter so I cannot use it with my indoor TV..... that was the whole reason I purchased this item. This should have been clearly described in the product description.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Pioneer DEH-P3000IB In-Dash CD/Mp3/Wma/iTunes AAC/Wav Receiver

Pioneer DEH-P3000IB In-Dash CD/Mp3/Wma/iTunes AAC/Wav ReceiverPioneer always has really great, high-end products. I was only slightly disappointed with this one. Whoever they have in their usability/user interface department, they need to fire them. The controls on this deck are absolutely counter-intuitive. I consider myself pretty much a gadget geek and computer nerd, so I'm usually able to figure out how to use things without reading the manual. However, I had to read the manual to figure out how to use it, which generally means it hasn't been designed very well. It's very difficult to navigate through the menus of the deck.

I would say whoever wrote their user manual should also be fired, since it's extremely confusing and hard to read. I still don't know how to change the clock on it.

Overall, it's a great upgrade. I miss my stock Honda one, but some of the buttons didn't work. Once you get the Pioneer deck installed, I suggest just using the included remote, as it's much easier.

Totally awesome head unit. It is iPod compatible and I can control the iPod from the head unit controls and it charges the battery on the iPod too. Also displays the name of the songs on the head unit display........

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I have had this for about two months and could not be happier. The stereo is very easy to use, sounds great, and looks great.

I got this to replace a Sony that went bad about two days after the one-year warranty expired. So with this, I purchased (at Circuit City) the extended 4-year warranty for $30 for peace of mind. So of course, my opinion of this could change drastically if it goes bad, but Pioneer is a well respected brand so fingers crossed that won't happen.

I noticed some of the other reviewers complain about the user interface. Are they using the same stereo that I am?? I think the joystick is a great idea, the menus are all easy to work through, stations are easy to flip through. I love it. By the way, I always play MP3-CD's. It also has a connection to plug an mp3 player but I have not tried that feature.

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The biggest problem I have with this thing is I can't see the display. My car has a sunroof and the glare is too much. I'm really not thrilled with not having the presets in the face either. but it sounds good enough for the money. What's the purpose of having the 1 button do most of the features is also a pain especially when you CAN'T SEE THE DAMNED DISPLAY!!!! I think a lot of times these companies just have to add more options to display them in their advertizing. How about a dial you can seein any light, a volume, and three tone controls. These preset tone controls are crap. to many variables with the speakers and the vehicle sound for them not to sound different in every car,

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It does what indicated, but ...

1. there isn't separate channel equalization, that by 2008 should be mandatory. So I still have the same EQ on the rear speaker and on the front ones. Really bad.

2. the USB is available only if you buy a $100 kit... too much for USB option.

3. no RDS on radio stations (I had it back in Europe in 1995).

4. The knob/wheel isn't very intuitive and the interface is quite hard to use. The remote instead is quite good.

5. It sounds ok, could be better.

6. It does play CDs with AAC/iTunes well but the navigation isn't too intuitive. Many characters in the song names or artist names aren't available so they get replaced with annoying "?".

Overall, it is cheap but with today technology at that price you can offer USB, rear/fwd separate EQ, RDS and a better interface.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Optima 8042-218-FFP YellowTop Group 75/25 Deep Cycle Battery

Optima Batteries 8042-218 D75/25 YellowTop Dual Purpose BatteryAt first I was a little leery to order a car / truck battery from on line, but my local auto parts wanted close to double what I found it on Amazon for. So I plunged in. The battery arrived sooner than I had thought it would, greatly packed, no problem with the battery, came charged and fit right in my truck. Truck cranked right over. After a month battery still has had no issues and still looks new.

I purchased this battery for my Silverado 4x4 truck. I have a large Alpine stereo system with two amps and two 12" subs under the back seat. The truck also uses electric fans for cooling. My old battery would go dead every couple of weeks under this current drain. With this new Optima Yellow top battery, everything works great. My problems are solved.

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There may have been packaging problems in the past, but not now. Battery came in heavy cardboard with all corners protected. It arrived a day early. The size was exact, all brackets & cables fit. A lifting handle works fine and stays on the battery. A plastic elevating platform, about an inch thick, was included but not needed for my Corvette. Battery was fully charged, car started right up. I have another yellow-top in an old Blazer, that Optima has worked without incident for the last two years. Very pleased.

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This is replacing the same battery on my car a 2002 Subaru WRX.

PROS:

Strong battery

AGM technology > No liquid and non-spillable

Reliable power > Won't die immediately and leave you stranded on the side of the road when it's weakening.

Side posts are helpful when you have a lot of electronics going on and need another connection.

High quality construction (save for the Amazon packaging and eventual shipping damages)

CONS:

The box in which it shipped was snug and contained virtually no protection. My battery had 3 chipped plastic corners. The battery was 100% functional however.

The CA (Cranking Amps) and CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) numbers dropped a bit since 4 years ago. Not sure if Optima is making a weaker battery or just more accurate specs. It is the same item number as my old battery and that had over 800 CA and 660 CCA. This one is showing 770 CA and 620 CCA. Weird.

CCA not as high as Optima Red Top line; can be an issue if you experience very cold winters.

Heavy (~37 lbs.)

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My battery arrived in a snug cardboard box with holes in the sides for handles. If I remember right the cardboard at the bottom extended a bit to protect it if it was dropped 3 or 4 inches straight down. After reading the reviews here, I put a sign on my door asking the delivery person to ring the bell and wait so I could examine the packaging. UPS delivered it. I don't know if they would have taken it back had I refused it because no signature was required. In any event, the packaging was fine, the battery was fine, and it works fine. This is not my first Optima. If it works as well as the last one, a different model, I will be happy.

However, I just noticed that even though this item is sold by and fulfilled by Amazon, there is a notation of no returns. I don't remember seeing this when I purchased it in January and the restriction does not appear on my invoice. This battery has a three year replacement warranty and I am wondering how that is going to work with Amazon not accepting returns. I always assumed that Amazon was an authorized dealer for items sold and fulfilled by Amazon. As soon as I find out where to make an inquiry in Amazon's maze of a help system I will report here what I find out.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Xantrex Prowatt SW1000 1000W True Sinewave Inverter

Xantrex Prowatt SW1000 1000W True Sinewave Inverter
  • Power - Surge Rating 2000 W
  • Power - Output (Watts) 1000 W
  • Voltage - Input Range (Volts) 10.5 - 15.5 Vdc
  • Waveform Tru
  • Waterproof NONE

Recently the price on inverters (esp true sine) has dropped quite a bit (there are two xantrex 1000 watt units the older 750 buck one and now the $200-$300 price one). Xantrex has a wonderful reputation. I own this inverter along with their older model (pro-sine) and also the new entry from sunforce (yes I have alot of 1000w inverters).

I also have alot of 1000w loads. In particular is my favorite testload a 1050 w (with motorthe heating element is 1000w exactly but it has a blower that consumes 50w so technically its a tad high).

With this dummy load both of my xantrex inverters will run it all day or until the battery bank dies whichever comes first. They draw about 110-115 amps on the 12vdc lines.

The sunforce 1000w inverter CAN NOT run this load for more than 2 seconds without an output overload shutdown. But I still like the sunforce because it can handle 900W and it has an RF keychain remote on/off switch.

The point is Xantrex products are clean, reliable power, while other knockoffs (compare sunforce's 1K and this one and guess who coppied who) are not up to being a real 1K unit. If anyone wants a demo my email is in my profile i'd be happy to film the two side by side on optima D31 blue top batteries and even give the sunforce the running head start with the fresh charge on the cells 2 seconds and it will shutdown. Yes, i know 1050 watts is over 1000w, but the xantrex will drain the batteries before they complain of anything else runing the heatgun.

This is the leading brand in inverters today. Their new product line offers 3x the value of their older units without sacrificing quality or stability. It's a real value in high power inverters. Unfortunately, xantrex moved their mfg overseas and the quality suffered from more than one report. We no longer use this model, but for an apples to apples comparison against offshore mfg inverters, xantrex still has a better design to begin with = better product to ship back to the usa

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I'm not running much off this device and the thing that strikes me is that the cooling fan only turns on when a certain temperature is reached. So for small loads, it's very quiet because the fan has no need to turn on. Previous experiences with inverter default to the fan being on and they are often very noisy.

The sine wave seems to be clean. After trying this, I'll never go back to modified sine waves for devices remotely designed to work with sine waves. Otherwise, I'll just go with the cheap square wave inverters.

I plan on buying another unit in the future.

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So far I returned (3) inverters (1)Power Bright PW400, (2)Tripp Lite PV1000 because the output voltage was to low (89-95volts). Fluorescent light would not be as bright,fan would not come up to speed and I"m sure this was not good for motors. Had this one for (3) days (Xantres Prowatt SW 1000) and am very satisfied with it. Output voltage is 124 volts, lights are bright motors are running up to speed And my running amps are lower. I don't know whether this unit is just made better or if its because its a pure sine wave inverter or both but it puts the other inverters I tried to shame.

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I bought this about two months ago. So far I only use about 250 watts everyday 6-7 hours run time) and have had no issues at all. To test it I plugged in my 32" tube TV, two 60 watt lamps, two 15'6 notebooks, PS3 Playstation and the Frig. Ran it all just fine and took the surge from the Frig very easily. And more I'm sure! Well made product, great directions, easy to intall. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a well made power inverter that performs as advertised.

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I bought this inverter for long power failures. I wanted a way to keep my fridge running overnight when I can't run my generator (out of consideration for my sleeping neighbors). At first it failed to start the fridge using 8ga jumper cables on a set of golf cart batteries. I ditched the jumpers and hard wired it to the batteries using proper connectors and 2ga wire. After that it ran the fridge fine. The nameplate on the fridge says 1320watts, using a meter I found it to peak around 1200w with an avg continuous load of 250w. I've only run it for about 8hrs so no word on longevity, but it appears to be a well made unit based on fit and form.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Advanced Tool Design Model ATD-5495 125 Amp Fixed Load Tester

Advanced Tool Design Model  ATD-5495  125 Amp Fixed Load TesterI bought this load tester because it has a test timer that automatically shuts off when done and locks the reading. You do not have to count or quickly read the scale. I found this feature useful since I cannot precisely duplicate the timing every time or reading that fast if I was using similar testers with no locked result.

The price is a little high when compare to a similar digital one.

This device is simple to use and that is what I was looking for. I had three batteries for trolling motors, ran the load test, and quickly found one battery that was weak and would not have lasted very long. I gave it a 5 because of this simplicity and the price. I cannot speak to any "missing" features compared to more expensive counterparts, only that it is easy to use and answers the one question that I have... is this battery shot or on the brink or is it still good to go? I hook it up, press the red button, it does it's thing for 5-8 seconds, and the gauge gives me the health. My kind of device!

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Great battery load testing tool for the do it yourselfer. Simple to use, just connect the test leads to the correct battery terminal, push a button and it puts a load test on the battery for 3 seconds and gives a reading on the meter scale. Will work on 12 volt or 6 volt car/truck/tractor/golf cart/aerial lift type batteries, you just flip a selector switch to the correct voltage. The resistor element does get warm during a test, but it is amply ventilated and cools back down quickly.

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I received this product promptly and in good shape. I have only used it once to test it out, and it did what it said it would do. Be aware that this thing generates a lot of heat when a test is conducted at the resistance bar, and that's what the chrome ventilated shroud is in the picture.

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I bought this for my husband. It is just like his dad's and it works great.

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Sunday, April 6, 2014

Stanley DPS109 Digital Portable Power Station

Stanley DPS109 Digital Portable Power StationI bought two of these units about one year ago. One is still functioning. The other failed after 3 months. .500 is a good batting average if you are a baseball player but not so for consumer products. I will not buy another nor recommend the product.

My daughter has one of these because her husband felt it was a good thing for her to have, when her battery died and she was stuck 2 hours waiting for a tow truck. She has used it numerous times for things like pumping up a trailer tire, jump starting their riding lawnmower with it, charging up her cell phone in a power outage, and tonight we just used it again during a five hour power outage as our main source of light. It has a 12 volt cigarette lighter style socket, a USB and wall outlet power source. We can't find anything bad to say about this little unit and I am going to buy one of these for myself when I return home. We Love this unit!!!!

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This thing cranked a car with a dead battery once for me. After that it just did not have enough power for the job. I used it to pump up a few tires (that were soft, not flat) and now it barely does that.

Now after using it 5 or 6 times, I have it on the charger and it won't go past 11.3 volts.

This unit was a replacement for another Stanley jump box that also failed after a month. Don't waste your money on this it will let you down.

BTW, the jump box I owned previously jumped dozens of cars and lasted for several years! It was a generic unit I bought on sale for $20! I am wishing I had not left it in the back of some car I worked on.

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Overall I like it, documentation is sparse, LCD readout is very nice, my main complaint it it does not come with a 12V adaptor so it can be charged form a car 12V outlet.

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This thing didn't hold a charge, the digital readout didn't work and it overheated so fast the 120AC outlet was useless.

DO NOT BUY! YOU CAN NOT RETURN IF IT IS A PIECE OF CRAP!

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Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Wilson Amplified Power Microphone - Black

Wilson Amplified Power Microphone - Black
  • Premium amplified mic for unsurpassed sound quality
  • Ergonomic design for comfort
  • Heavy-duty 7-1/2' cord
  • 4 Pin connection
  • Uses standard 9 volt battery

POLECAM , świetny mikrofon, duże wzmocnienie, nie ściąga tła , bardzo dobrze i solidnie wykonany, idealnie lerzy w dłoni, jedyne co kabel mógłby być lepszej jakości.

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This mic sounded good,but I found out that most of their power mics have problems like wont key up or static sound. I sent my back to the Wilson Manufacture and I never received it back. Wow got me coming and going. Never will I purchase another Wilson product.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Roadpro 12V, 2 Outlet Platinum Series Fused Cigarette Lighter Adapter with Short Cord

Roadpro 12V, 2 Outlet Platinum Series Fused Cigarette Lighter Adapter with Short CordHi. I thought a video of this interesting 12 volt splitter was the only way to review the product. I hope it helps you with your shopping.

This isn't a very complicated device so this review will be brief.

It effectively splits a 12v connection into two functional ones, each with a nice handy cap on it. Don't underestimate the usefulness of those two caps, as a stray bit of metal or anything conductive could blow the fuse on this.

Having mentioned the fuse, let me point out that not all splitters are manufactured with a fuse built into them. Without a fuse on the splitter itself a stray bit of metal or conductive material will cause the fuse in your car's electrical box to blow. This adds a little extra security as likely the fuse on the splitter is of a lower rating than that in your electrical box: so it blows first.

An earlier review mentioned electrical interference which made me wary about this product at first. However upon examination, I'm not exactly clear where such interference could be coming from. The splitter is incredibly simple with no real electrical processing being done to the power going through it. It's a fuse gated adapter with two connectors on it. As I have a zune controller and in line adapter running off one of the connectors on this, I was afraid that I would experience some hum or something similar to that mentioned in an earlier review. No issues here.

The wiring doesn't seem to be of high quality, but since I paid so little for it and don't plan on using it for heavy duty applications, that isn't something I will deduct for. The wiring is adequate and likely will not break unless I pull hard on it or abuse it.

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Very nice item, handy and safe. It is fused and saves digging under the dash for auto fuses when you overload it -and ends cover to prevent shorts and keep dust out when not in use. I love it and good value for money.

Read Best Reviews of Roadpro 12V, 2 Outlet Platinum Series Fused Cigarette Lighter Adapter with Short Cord Here

I bought this after reading many of the reviews touting this as a great product. I was very disappointed. I am not certain what those folks were plugging into this splitter, but I just wanted to charge my phone and run my radar detector at the same time.

It is very low quality and does not hold a connection very well at all. It has a copper cylinder/sleeve for the side connection and this simply does not have enough grip to hold the center connection down all the time. Hit a bump, move your device, or any jiggling at all, and you are disconnected. I am 100% sure it is not a quality issue with my male ends because they work great in any other connection I have used them in previously.

Great idea, but it needs some sort of tapering or other way to secure the connection and this would be a great product for the price. Until then save your money and look elsewhere.

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The Roadpro 12V, 2 Outlet Platinum Series Fused Cigarette Lighter Adapter is made. Each outlet socket comes with a plastic cover to prevent objects from an accidental producing a shot circuit. The wiring to each socket uses standard 16awg wire; which is adacquit for most devices using this connection. The built in fuse is a MUST. Do not purchase one without it. If you exceed the maximum allowed current, the fuse in the plug should "blow", not the car fuse. The fuse in the Roadpro in much easier to replace than the one in the car.

Note of caution: Make sure that the center pin, on the male plug, will spring in & out as you compress it, with your finger. A "good" connection will not be made unless this is true. If it doesn't, rotate the tightening nut first CCW [loosing it] and then CW [tightening it] and it should free itself. If not, repeat a couple of times. The nut should be finger tight.

This is a passive connection. NO hum or electrical interference can result from using it. If you hear noise or buzzing sounds, they are produced by the device you have plugged into it, NOT the "pig-tail." Cell phone chargers are notorious noise producers as are some other devices as well.

I purchase two and am planning to purchase two additional ones. Great product!

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Monday, October 21, 2013

KnuKonceptz KCA Kable 0 Gauge Power Wire Black

KnuKonceptz KCA Kable 0 Gauge Power Wire BlackThis is some awesome wire. I picked up 3 feet of black and 5 feet of red and did the "big 3" upgrade in my truck. Thats upgrading the battery alternator, batter ground engine block, and battery ground frame. Since I only have a 140 amp alternator in my truck I decided to go with the CCA instead of the OFC. Copper Clad Aluminum is great for lower power applications because its cheaper and a little more flexible. This wire is an awesome buy

Much better wire than everyone else's "0-gauge" wire. Most other 0-gauge is mostly insulation. There's more copper in the knukonceptz. I'll recommend it to anyone.

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This cable us super flexible. That makes it really easy to work with. I will be ordering more for future projects.

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Shipping was incredibly fast. Just remember each order is 1 foot of the power wire. Other than that this is probably your best deal for wire choice.

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This wire is great. It's very flexible, the gauge is accurate and the installation was easy. The results were great! Really good wire.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Masterbuilt HMXCR HITCH-HAUL Steel Motorcycle Carrier

Masterbuilt HMXCR HITCH-HAUL Steel Motorcycle CarrierI have a 250 Kawasaki Dual Sport that I load on to this carrier. The bike is about 75-100 lbs less than the carrying limit. The bike is relatively easy to load and take off, I can do it by my self, but that may not be true for everyone as I am a relatively tall person with circus like arms. The frame of the carrier shows some twisting as the bike is loaded onto the carrier. I am not sure if this is true with all carriers, but as there is only one central mounting point (the hitch) the shear physics of the weight on one side lead me to believe this would be the same on all carriers. The twisting goes away as soon as the bike is loaded on. It did not come with any tie down straps, but this was remedied with about 30 dollars in straps from the local true value. All in all I am very happy with the way this carrier performs and I recommend it.

works great on hitch of my motorhome. got a kawasaki klr650. can put bike up myself no help needed.

easy assembly.

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This carrier is very adjustable and sturdy. It is constructed of steel, with multiple locations for pins and bolts to accommodate a variety of different sized motorcycles.

It works very well as designed, but could be better engineered if it was made so tightening the bolts didn't begin to crush the steel tubing.

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I used this on a 2,000 mile trip with a KLR650 on the back of a 2005 Tacoma. Getting the bike loaded deformed the metal a little bit so after the first use I put a block under the end to support it while loading and unloading. For the price it did a fair job considering other carriers can get up to $500 and more. I'm sure with a lighter bike it would do much better. For larger bikes you might find it blocks the taillights so consider getting some magnetic or strap on taillights with it (typically used when towing another vehicle).

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It's GREAT we use it on the RV when we go camping for our scooter and love it.

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Monday, October 14, 2013

DB Link GMBAT1 Gm Battery Post

DB Link GMBAT1 Gm Battery Post
  • No Copy

Cheap Price, however cheap product too. It's true, you get what you pay for. The Gold flaked off during installation and the threads stripped. Very poor quality.

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Saturday, September 28, 2013

Husky Liners Custom Fit WeatherBeater Molded Front and Second Seat Floor Liner for Select Honda CR-

Husky Liners Custom Fit WeatherBeater Molded Front and Second Seat Floor Liner for Select Honda CR-V ModelsI'm a little OCD, and I got these because I want to make sure I can easily clean any potential messes. They fit perfectly and clean-up with a wet rag/sponge. I had these for a previous car and was quite pleased, so I am a repeat buyer and would definitely recommend.

Perfect ft for my Hinda 2013 CRV. Have collected lots of snow, dirt and muck and easy to install and clean.

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These were a perfect for for my 2013 Honda CRV, much better than other out there on the market. I am so glad I bought them to protect my rugs. Fit like a glove. Seller shipped super fast and these were as described. Thanks for offering these on Amazon!

Read Best Reviews of Husky Liners Custom Fit WeatherBeater Molded Front and Second Seat Floor Liner for Select Honda CR- Here

These are just the thing to keep my new car clean inside and easy to maintain for years to come.

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I was debating over Husky or WeatherTech and I ended up puling the trigger on these floor mats. I am glad I did. They are well built and fit great, No water gets off the matt. The only reason I dont give this a 5 star is there is a bit of gap (2012 Honda CRV) between the doors and matt. Other then that they fit great.

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