Showing posts with label car batteries charlotte nc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car batteries charlotte nc. Show all posts

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Go Power! GP-SW1500-12 1500-Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter

Go Power! GP-SW1500-12 1500-Watt Pure Sine Wave InverterI have bought two other brands that have failed. One never did work and I was still charged 20% to return it! I did some research and found the Go Power to be backed by a serious company. After over two years of continuous operation, 24/7/365, it has delivered quality power to my three computers, scanner, laser printer, DVR, satellite controllers, speakers, wave radio, well, you get the picture. Don't mess around with a cheaper product, you'll end up paying more in the long run. With what I know now, I would pay the $950 list price.

I'm a mobile DJ and bought this inverter to power my 4000 watt PA/Lighting system. It replaced a modified sine wave unit that was noisy (static) through the speakers. This unit is completely quiet and actually provides cleaner power then my mains service. It works very well and doesn't seem to break a sweat running the PA and lighting system also powering a laptop, mixer and effects rack. It is light weight and feels very sturdy. All of the connections are good and will accommodate 4ga battery cables. I also like the separate voltage and capacity displays to give me an idea of how much time remains.

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This was a real plug and play unit for me since I waws bypassing a modified sine wave inverter. Very solidly built.

The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is there's nothing more than bar readouts for load and voltage and I prefer meters or digital readouts.

Three plus months in operation and I have yet to see any issues.

If needed, I would defintley buy another of these.

Read Best Reviews of Go Power! GP-SW1500-12 1500-Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter Here

It works ok. The only problem is that it can not be hard wired. Runs my frig tv and computer

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I would not buy this brand again, based on my bad experience. However, I bought mine back in 2003, so perhaps the bugs in this model have been worked out by now.

I would've given it 2 stars, but it did get me through Hurricane Sandy by powering my 2 refrigerators (its first emergency use), so I'm thankful enough that I'm giving it 3 stars despite its bugs. Mine does not work correctly in all modes, doesn't work the way the instructions said it should work.

I found some workarounds, but they're complicated, so I had to write my own instructions and tape them to the inverter -I'm pasting them below:

A) Without remote control installed:

Problem: Inverter does not work correctly with low power loads, like a transistor radio, whether or not it's in power saving mode.

1) With power saving mode enabled, it would work for about 30 seconds or so, then turn off, when attached to low-power loads like radios.

2) Even when the power-saving mode is disabled, it still acts as if it's in power-saving mode(!): it stays on for 30 seconds or so, then turns off (at least for about 10 seconds, then I think it went back on again by itself for another 30 seconds or so, but Corina thinks it stayed off), when attached to low-power loads like radios.

Cases where it works correctly: It seems to work okay only for high-power loads, over 100 watts, even with power-saving mode enabled. I've used it successfully for my electric drill and my weed-wacker-type Toro trimmer, and it takes a few seconds to come on but it works.

B) With remote control installed:

Problem: inverter does not work correctly in power-saving mode (even though I set the dip switches as instructed, five six and seven off). When put into power saving mode using remote (hold down button for 5 seconds until green light comes on remote), inverter acts up like it did without the remote control when power-saving mode was disabled (A2 above): it stays on for 30 seconds or so (green light solid on remote and inverter), then turns off for a few seconds (green light off for a few seconds on remote and inverter), then turns back on again (and turns on again even without any load attached!)

Cases where it works correctly:

When using remote, it works fine with power-saving mode disabled using the remote (orange light solid for inverter on, orange light flashing for inverter off). Turn the inverter on and off (keeping power-saving disabled) by one press on the remote button.

Summary and tips:

Without remote, works only for high-power loads (like drills, trimmer, etc.), regardless of whether inverter is in power saving mode or not.

With remote, works only with power-saving disabled (orange light on for inverter on, orange light flashing for inverter off).

If I need power-saving mode: disconnect remote, and use only high-power loads.

If I need to use low-power loads (like CF lights or small radios): keep remote connected, with power-saving disabled (orange light), and then switch the remote on by a short push (orange light turns solid).

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Wagan EL2003-5 400 Watt Continuous Power Inverter with 5V 2.1 Amp USB Charging Ports

Wagan EL2003-5 400 Watt Continuous Power Inverter with 5V 2.1 Amp USB Charging PortsI got this inverter to replace one we had -a 175 watt one -that wasn't powerful enough for my wife's new laptop. This one has plenty of umph to do the job, it's just a bit on the loud side. While it's on, the fan is too, and when on the floor of the passenger seat, it was about 60 dB -about the volume of a normal conversation. You can definitely hear it over the road noise. There is a handy switch on the unit so you can leave it plugged in all the time and turn it off when not in use.

It comes with a cigarette lighter plug, as well as battery clamps. I believe you'll only be able to get the full 400 watts if you connect directly to the car battery, but we only need about 250 watts so the cigarette lighter plug works fine.

The USB ports have enough power to charge an iPad. My iPad showed "Charging" when plugged into the USB ports rather than the usual "Not Charging" when plugged into my old inverter that had USB ports

I'd recommend this but I'd want people to know that it's not whisper quiet like my old one.

First the quirks: The unit will shut off automatically if you are either not using any power or are using really low power. I purchased it to use in the car for various things but when using it to charge AA or my DSLR batteries it will only do so for a short period of time before turning itself off and requiring me to flip the switch. Highly annoying and I will be replacing it for this reason (or selling/trading to someone).

Things I like: The size and design are appealing and its mostly metal so shouldn't heat up as much as some others. Like a few people have said it isn't as loud as some people think, more than tolerable.

I will be contacting the manufacturer to find out if the low or no power use is a design feature or a flaw with my unit. Will update this with a comment with what I find out.

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We travel a lot by car over very far distances so a power inverter is a must have for watching dvd's and charging phones etc. Our older inverter same wattage finally died on us and after research I was nervous about the reviews I read on that brands newer models so this one seemed like a good bet and I was right. I have to disagree with the other reviewers about the noise, compared to my old one (which was only 4 years old)this is whisper quiet, it does make noise but as I've said compared to the whistler that I had it is significantly quieter. I'm sure the USB's will come in handy as the old one did not have them and the on/off button does not stick up really high so it wont get switched off accidently by the plug which was a big problem with our other one. Also, it does include the car charger and the battery clamps unlike the majority of other ones I saw, most only had the battery clamps which is fine if you are camping but what about while you are driving to the campground? Great buy for the price!

Read Best Reviews of Wagan EL2003-5 400 Watt Continuous Power Inverter with 5V 2.1 Amp USB Charging Ports Here

I read some other reviews on here where people complained that it wasn't powerful enough for their application when plugged into the cigarette lighter, and I just had to shake my head. Most cigarette lighter covers have a nice sticker on the inside that clearly states 120W max draw. Use the included battery clamps if you want to run something that draws more power, a 400W inverter can only work with what it's being supplied, so don't blame the product for not delivering 400W when you plug it into a 120W outlet.

Hooked directly to a battery, this little thing fired up my blender, which has an initial draw of almost 800W on startup, and did fine running it under load (ice and margaritas!). Like others have stated, the fan stays on and it's a little loud, but anything you're going to be running off of this is likely to make as much noise, except for a phone charger. All in all, it's great so far, and so much smaller than I expected.

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I purchased this power inverter a few weeks ago to power a deskjet printer in my vehicle. I read the previous reviews about the fan being loud, but it is not bad. The fan runs continously but is not loud at all. This products works great for what I needed it for and it has two plug outlets and two USB outlets as well. The price was right too!

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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Creative Zen X-FI 2 Silicone Skin + Screen protector + Creative Zen X-FI 2 Car Charger + Wall Charg

Creative Zen X-FI 2 Silicone Skin + Screen protector + Creative Zen X-FI 2 Car Charger + Wall Charger + Retractable Data CableHaven't tried out the car charger yet, and the retractable cable is ok.

Silicone skin is as advertised.

I am very disappointed with the screen protector though. It is a generic size, and you have to cut it to fit. Luckily the silicone skin covers the majority of the front surface, so non square cuts are hidden.

Would be nice to have one that didn't require cutting.

I really like the ability to charge the zen fi 2 whether at home or on the road. The silicone Skin does a great job of protecting my zen and the easy to install screen protector works great, too. It doesn't effect my ability to touch the screen menus and get immediate response. I would recommend this kit to everyone.

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Monday, August 4, 2014

Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Black/Silver)

Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio
  • 50 Channels with Up to 36-Mile Range,120V Charger.
  • NOAA/All Hazard Weather Channels with Alert and Weather Scan
  • 142 Privacy Codes
  • Vibrate Alert.9 Levels of VOX for Hands Free Operation
  • This item is non returnable.

The radios by themselves are good, but be careful to read the fine print. The first time I went to use the radios one of them didn't have a full charge on it. No problem, I just used AA batteries. Then we realized we could barely hear each other through the headphones even with the radios turned to max volume. I thought it might be the headphones, but they were very loud when plugged into a friend's radio made by a different company. Midland blamed it on the headphones anyway, but they were not covered under the warranty. So I didn't use the radios again for a few months until we went on another trip and I made sure to place the radio on the charger a day early this time so it would have ample time to charge. Same problem one radio didn't take but half a charge. I contacted Midland on Friday explaining my situation, they got back to me on Wednesday to say there was probably an issue with the battery pack (No duh). I emailed back around 10:30 am and said I figured that much, but how do I correct it. They got back to me on Thursday night saying I needed to buy another battery pack because they are not covered under the warranty either. So what is covered? Turns out not much, not the headphones, not the battery packs, not the charger, not the adapter and not even the antennas. In short if all you need is just the radios and there isn't a problem with them, the radios are OK, but heaven help you if there is a problem with them. It will take forever for someone to tell you that's not covered under the warranty. That large 3 year warranty logo needs to include an even larger asterisk. Radios get 5 stars, everything else including the warranty and service gets 1 star for an average of 3 stars. If I need to buy all new accessories to replace all these defective ones I just bought, maybe I should consider a different brand radio.

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Either I've ended up with the only 10 radios Midland has made that were junk, or the other reviews are from Midland employees. My radios just won't hold a charge, stop working after 2 days or start to sound like I'm talking under water.

We purchased 2 pairs of these for a video production. At first I couldn't believe how good these were. The range, albeit not a million miles like they say, was VERY VERY good! Several miles for sure. Very impressive. So we bough 3 more pairs the same week. But before the second set showed up, the first 4 started flaking out. The batteries wouldn't hold a charge. I thought they were being overcharged, but the book says to keep them on the charger when not in use.

It wasn't 2 weeks before the other ones started flaking out on us too.

Out of the 10 radios there are only 1-2 that appear to work without any issue. For the life of me, I don't see how these have gotten such great reviews since we've only had 10-20% reliability at best with the ones we've purchased.

I don't have any recommendations for any other radios since this is our first radio purchase. These have so much potential, but fall very very short! If they would just stay on and hold a charge for longer than 30 minutes, I would be in love with them because the reception/transmission signal is simply incredible (when working)!

Read Best Reviews of Midland GXT1000VP4 36-Mile 50-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair) (Black/Silver) Here

In the past I have taken walkie talkies to the State Fair and they were unusable because of all the chattering going on. I brought the Midland GXT1000VP4 radios to the fair and randomly selected a channel and privacy setting. They worked perfectly. Not one other person broadcasted on the same channel (200,000 people in attendance). We could hear each other crystal clear. You either get a crystal clear signal or no signal at all with these radios; there is never any static. They lasted the whole day on one charge and the battery indicator still read full.

The only complaint that I have is when putting them on the charger, it takes a bit of menuvering to get the charge light to go on...and I have had it go off after about 15 minutes before. In that case I reseated the one radio again and the light stayed on for the whole charging period.

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I recently purchased these radios after our 2-year old Motorolas were stolen. We use the radios exclusively for RVing (communicating between driver and spotter when maneuvering). The audio on these radios is MUCH better than the previous Motorolas. Menu functions seem to be a bit more intuitive as well.

The only negative I have found is "range", or lack thereof. Midland advertises 36 miles. (Yeah, I know, that's on a straight shot with nothing in between, but how many of us really use them under those conditions!) In the real world we were able to transmit about 1 mile.

I knew this limitation going in, so I wasn't disappointed.

The radios work well for our purposes.

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We got these to use as an intercom between the house and workshed. When they work they are fine, but sometimes they don't work. One will go dead, and then if you keep turning it on and off enough times it start up again. But since you don't get a warning when it goes dead you can't rely on being reachable unless you keep checking to see if it is still on.

I wish I had saved the packaging to return them. They aren't sufficiently reliable to keep using.

We haven't used the advanced features, just because we don't trust the radios to carry them anytime we might need them.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

eBigValue: White Single Port USB Home Wall Charger Adapter for New Apple iPod Touch 4 ( 4th Generat

eBigValue: White Single Port USB Home Wall Charger Adapter for New Apple iPod Touch 4
  • Charger is Small and can be used for travel.
  • LED Power Indicator and Overcharge Protection.
  • * A USB Cable is required to use with iPod Touch 4

My daughter loves it. It's a stand-alone charger that is independent of a computer, so she no longer has turn on our iMac or tie up one of its USB ports to charge her iPod Touch. It's a great convenience and I recommend it for anyone who owns an iPod Touch.

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Monday, June 9, 2014

Dynon SKYVIEW D700 EFIS SYSTEM Bundle (Display & Harness)

Dynon SKYVIEW D700 EFIS SYSTEM Bundle
  • PRIMARY FLIGHT DISPLAY
  • ENGINE MONITORING
  • MOVING MAP
  • EXTERNAL DATA INTERFACES

I believe the Dynon system is one of the best values on the market for experimental aircraft. I have a system in my plane and it's been absolutely rock solid. Add an autopilot and you really can't beat it.

Watch out for bargain basement pricing tactics though. If you purchase just the D700, you'll still need to purchase at MINIMUM the ADAHRS unit and probably the GPS unit too unless you want to get GPS data from your hand-held or your panel mount GPS. The ADAHRS should run you about $1000 and the GPS "puck" around $200.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Fonus Universal Car Mount Holder with Dual USB Charger and Charging Socket for Sprint Samsung Epic

Fonus Universal Car Mount Holder with Dual USB Charger and Charging Socket for Sprint Samsung Epic 4G Touch SPH-D710This mount would be okay for the right vehicle. However, the flexible arm will not stay in position for long when mounted in my 2007 GMC Sierra truck.

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Sunday, May 11, 2014

Musical Car Horn

Musical Car HornI bought a Coga PA about one year ago and I love it. Out of all the toys and gadgets i have purchased over the years this is my favorite and most used.

The only bad thing about this product is the speaker that comes with it,which is not nearly loud enough. After a few days, I went to Radio Shack and bet a much louder speaker/horn.

Me (and my passengers) are most satisfied buy the reaction of pedestrians when talking to them. Most people are either startled, think its funny, or get upset and flip me off.

All in all this is great gadget to have in your vehicle. Im still not sure why everbody doesnt have one of these.

Purchased the Coga horn and its great. Easy hookup they give you all the needed parts and extras. Its nice to have everything built in the handset. Takes up very little room and installs in minutes. The hardest thing is getting the pa wires thru the firewall of the auto to the drivers area. After that its easy. Comes with multi pin connector so the hand unit can be put away in seconds. Has a 10 second digital recorder also so you can personlize your message at will. Five stars on this one. One of the best gagets i have seen in a long time.

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Installs in minutes or keep it loose to change from car to car. Great way to get peoples attention. I use the bull horn to call my dog when he wanders off. A few elephant screams or dolphin calls usually brings the slow wandering teen kids hurrying to the car after school to avoid further embaressment. All in all quite good entertainment with all the different sounds and songs. You can even record yourself. For the $30 it cost it is well worth the money to me.

Read Best Reviews of Musical Car Horn Here

I have it installed and it works just as its described. Very cool how you can listen to each sound from the mic before choosing to play it on the loud speaker. It always surprises me how they can not better describe and provide directions for a company product.

Over all it does as it says, seems to be made pretty well and the sound is fine if you don't turn it up real loud.

Many of the sounds sound terrible no matter what volume, you will have to figure out which ones you like and stick to them. It needs a better quality and more powerful speaker, I looked every where for one of these and they don't seem to make them. I think for a unit that has many sounds to pick from this is the best out there. I may buy a better speaker someday, will have to see how long the mic lasts.

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it was a good product funny and all but the horn isnt loud at all you can barley hear it and the pa is so low you cant even hear it inless you are out of the car lame

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Wagan 9863 300/600 Watt Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter

Wagan 9863 300/600 Watt Pure Sine Wave Power InverterWorks to drive my 90 watt circulating pump when modified sine wave would not. Output voltage is low though (using RMS voltmeter) only get about 100 volts out.

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

SharkMotorcycleAudio Shklxmbt688il Motorcycle Snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone Headsets 6 Ride

SharkMotorcycleAudio Shklxmbt688il Motorcycle Snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone Headsets 6 Riders Intercom Bluetooth, Great for Skiing
  • Use with multiple helmets with mounting kit per helmet
  • Prioritized audio devices e.g. mobile interrupts music
  • Detachable microphone and headset
  • 6 persons Intercom Motorcycle Bluetooth headsets
  • Wireless hands free communication for motorcyclist

I bought a set to try out for snowmobiling to talk and listen to music. Read the other reviews and looked at the company's other products which all had good reviews. The price was right and if it worked out, I would buy another pair for the rest of the family.

Got the first pair and I was pleasantly surprised at the packaging. Nice box, foam padding for the units and parts inside. The instructions booklet is in typical "Chinglish" but can be deciphered fairly well.

Installed them in our helmets. The speakers and mic are fairly easy to install. If your helmets don't have velcro or material for the speaker's velcro to grab, you can stick the supplied velcro inside your helmet. Just be sure that the mic's "hole" is pointed towards your mouth so check by removing the foam covering. The clip system that holds the unit to the helmet is very flimsy and does not hold well. While riding, it would slip down and I had to push it back up into the helmet to keep it from falling off. The other mounting system is stuck onto the helmet with double sided tape. Although this is a bit more stable, you cannot remove it and re-install it on another helmet if needed. The other issue is the tab on the back of the unit which clips into the mount on the helmet is not the most effective means of retention. It simply slides into the mount and is relatively loose in the mount. It can easily move around and up, which it could then come off. It spun itself upside down a couple of times. My son, who wears a motocross helmet with goggles, accidentally broke the tab. As an interim fix, I used velcro on the back and the helmet to hold, which was way more effective than their clip and tab system.

Functionally, they worked well. Was able to talk continuously for 4 hours between riders. Talk time could have been longer but I believe Li-ion batteries are affected by cold. The 1Km Range was not really as advertised (never is) and was more like 1/2 of that. We could understand each other well up to about 80km/h but beyond that, wind and engine noise makes it near impossible to understand. Sound is good but on the tinny side. As for playing music, it works well with my iPhone. But these are not Dr.Dre's so don't expect much for the sound quality. Again, it's rather tinny with no bass at all. To stop and start the music, just push the phone button. For phone calls, it automatically answers after a couple of rings. Phone calls take precedence over everything else, cutting music and communication. After the phone call, it goes back to whatever you were previously doing whether you were listening to music or talking with someone. Phone calls are quite clear at both ends. I talked to my son on the phone while he was riding and I could hear him quite clearly with just a bit of engine noise in the background. Again, speed will affect this. The only negative here is that there is no voice dialing capability but you are riding so if you need to make a call, you should stop, pull out your phone and dial. Not quite the time to remember that you have that important deal you have to call on while riding, is it?

Here is an issue that affected us for snowmobiling so this may not apply to motorcycle riders. The buttons don't work well in the cold. The colder they get, the harder the rubber gets and gets more difficult to get the buttons to register. Another issue is that it is difficult to find the buttons with a gloved hand, especially the smaller ones for the volume or other riders (B, C, D, E). This would become very frustrating when trying to get something to work. Sometimes was able to get it to work by pressing the button repeatedly until it worked but not always.

Also, the communicators would disconnect for no apparent reason although I suspect it's a text message coming in that causes the disconnect as if it was a phone call. Pressing the button reconnects them again.

I also had a chance to contact Shark Audio customer service. I sent an email with my concerns about the broken tab on one and the buttons not working on the other when cold. They sent me a whole new set to replace the defective ones! No dicking around or anything, shipping included and they didn't even want the old ones back. That's the way customer service should be!

With that said, I'm sad to report that the replacement units had the same issues with the cold, breaking tabs and flimsy clips. I just wound up breaking off the remaining tabs and using velcro for a more solid mounting on the helmets. Sometimes just the simplest things work best. As for the cold buttons, we try to warm them up with our hand or just keep pushing until it works. Although they are being advertised for snowmobiling, skiing and so on, maybe they should just do so for motorcycles only.

Since I now had multiple units, I was also able to try them with more than two riders. Pairing them is a bit tricky and you have to follow the instructions (in Chinglish) and you sorta get the hang of it. If you get six of them, it is also different since there is no F button. Again, you have to follow the directions. I also recommend that you label each one. Switching from one rider to another works quite well by pressing the corresponding letter button (A is the main motorcycle button, B, C, D, E. To contact F, you press your letter button). Also took a while to figure out how to go back to music after finishing talking with someone. You have to hang up on them and it will go back to the music. Pressing the phone button won't work while talking to somebody. Another thing about the multiple (3+) units, you cannot all talk at the same time. You can only connect two at the same time (one on one) so basically, no party line. You can however have two separate pairs talking at the same time (A with B, C with D).

So to summarize:

PROS:

price

fair range

fair talk clarity

music ability

multiple units ability

auto phone answer

good talk time

easy mounting of speakers and mic

simple music control

excellent customer service!

CONS:

flimsy helmet mount

breaking mounting tabs

buttons don't work well in the cold

no voice dial

small buttons with a gloved hand difficult to use

reduced advertised talk time due to cold

cannot all talk at the same time (multiple units)

NEUTRAL:

tinny music sound quality (goes with the price)

readable Chinglish manual

I would recommend this product with the caveats of its weaknesses and just replacing the mount with velcro because the price is so good for what you get.

Buy SharkMotorcycleAudio Shklxmbt688il Motorcycle Snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone Headsets 6 Ride Now

Great device, I shared with a friend for our long rides, rather than using hand signals, voice communications is a lot better. It sync'd. to the cell phone without any problems, no code was not needed, and I would say the distance between motorcycles is about 500 meters. There are two problems that I can comment on, first are the instruction, the print should be a lot bigger and it should have two booklets instead of one, second the wires connecting the ear piece and microphone could have been a lot better, I did get to check if the devices were waterproof, and they are as we were caught in two down pours. After riding we spoke to a few friends and a couple have ordered the same units.... Good job Shark

Read Best Reviews of SharkMotorcycleAudio Shklxmbt688il Motorcycle Snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone Headsets 6 Ride Here

I don't like to give 1-star reviews, but this is the absolute worst combination of product and customer service I've ever received from a seller on Amazon. The product arrived promptly, but that was the only good point to this purchase. I bought two sets, one as a wedding gift for a friend and one for myself and wife so we could all ride together and be able to communicate. Neither set worked at all, after following the "Chinglish" instruction manual to a "T". The charge indicator light came on and went out after only about 10 minutes, which raised the first red flag. My first thought was that the set had sat unused for so long that the batteries were absolutely dead. After that I could never even get the unit to turn on. I wrote the seller, but didn't receive a response until I basically had to threaten "further action". When I did receive a response it was terse and suggested I try doing things that I had already done (and told the seller I had tried, leading me to believe they didn't even read my entire message). This went back and forth for a few messages before I finally got them to agree to accept a return. Now it's been over three weeks since I returned the product and I haven't heard anything from the seller, seen a replacement product, or a refund to my bank account. I would say that you get what you pay for, but these units weren't exactly inexpensive which makes the whole situation even more irritating. Scala and Chatterbox may be more expensive, but at least they come with warranties and tech / customer service. I'll be sure to invest a bit more money for a far superior product and support in the future. My advice, don't buy this product or from this seller.shark SHKLXMBT688IL Motorcycle snowmobile Bluetooth Multi Interphone headsets 6 riders intercom bluetooth (set)

UPDATE: Months later and this issue has still not been resolved. The seller (gooddeals18, a.k.a. "Effyzaz, Inc.") has continued to sidestep my requests, seemingly in hopes that I finally get frustrated enough and give up. I'm not a vindictive person, but I sincerely hope people don't buy from this seller. They've shown no customer service skills, have been rude, and have drawn out the simple act of returning a defective product into months of tiresome dialogue via e-mail. Only when I further threatened seeking legal counsel did they respond to me at all. I'm simultaneously angry at, frustrated with, and feel pity for this seller.

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Gave this 3 stars for several reasons. The instructions are limited. It's not very user friendly. when i switch from cell phone to intercom it drops from my cell phone so i have to re-sync hard to do while driving. this may be because i have a smart phone thats smarter than me. works great at lower speeds but above 60mph has its limits. Speaker placement is a must, they have to be perfectly placed over the ear canal to hear anything so they only fit each individual. all in all they are good quality for the money just don't expect perfect function with all applications but it is still a good product if you are on a strict budget

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I was a bit afraid based on the price that these would not work well. They work great! My buddy also has a set and they linked together no problem at all. They also connected to my Garmin NUVI 765T perfectly GPS nav through it no problem. Played MP3's off the Nuvi without issue via the blue tooth connection.

They were rock solid up to about a half mile apart with my friends rig and the battery has not been an issue. It was fine past 75 mph, a bit of wind noise on the full face helmet but not too bad. I could never not here him or visa versa because of wind.

Take the time and make a foam insert to house them in your ear space inside your helmet and they won't sound so tinny. We'll see how long they last, but I couldnt be more happier with them.

I added a cigar lighter to my bike under the seat with 2 ports and 2 USB so I can charge one unit while using the other, and charge my buddies spare as well.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Zune Car Charger

Zune Car Charger
  • Handy car charger for Microsoft Zune media player
  • Lets you charge and power Zune while you drive
  • Also works seamlessly with Zune FM transmitter
  • Plugs into any vehicle's 12-volt cigarette lighter
  • Coiled cable curls up for easy storage; 1-year warranty

There's really not much to review but I figured I would counter the other (misguided) review on this item. The charger works just as fine for powering the Zune while in the car. I pretty much leave my Zune in the car and this lets me do that without having to periodically bring it inside for charging. The part that goes into the cigarette lighter is rather large so take that into account if you have any kind of obstructions around your power socket. The only other thing I noticed that surprized me a little was that the Zune display stays on when connected to the charger and playing music. There's nothing really wrong with that but I was just expecting the screen to go dark like it does when it is not connected to power. Oh, I also like the coiled cord which makes things a bit tidier than having a lot of loose cable cluttering up the console area. I recommend this product.

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Had mine for 8 months. Little button on side of Zune connector either broke or fell off. This locks the connector into the unit until you use a pointed object to push in on the locking pin while pushing "button" on other side of connector. Trick is to not stab yourself when connector lets go.

Noise is probably dependent on vehicles electrical system. I get some low level noise in my '09 Toyota, but not in my Dodge.

I'm going to buy another, because it does work well.

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A little pricy for a charger and bulkier than I prefer but it does exactly what it is suppose to do with no problems and thats really all I ask for something liek this.

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Can't say much about this, other than it works great! Doesn't get hot and it charges my Zune very quickly. I use it for both of my devices; the Zune 30gb (brick) and my Zune HD. It's OEM so you know you're getting the legit and I've never had any issues since the day I got it.

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I use the car charger a lot and it works well. I didn't have any trouble. The product is good.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

NEW Remote Control Car Vehicle camera DVR 8 LED night vision Dashboard Camera DVR With motion detec

NEW Remote Control Car Vehicle camera DVR 8 LED night vision Dashboard Camera DVR With motion detection S186
  • Portable Mini Car DVR with 2.5" TFT LCD Screen; 8 LED IR night
  • motion detection;with Remote Control can power off and power on,recoder.menu operate
  • Image sensor: 3 million pixel color CMOS Sensor; Recording resolution:640*480/320*240/1280*960 pixels ( can set 1280*960,but it is not Full HD.Recommend 640*480)
  • Video Format: AVI file format 30fps;Support SD/HC Cards: Up to 32GB
  • Visual angle: 120-degree wide-angle;

when i first got this camera(shipped to USA) it was set to Portuguese, why Portuguese? after having to google what the Portuguese word for 'language' is, i was finally able to get the menu to be in English. there is an HDMI-shaped hole in the body of the camera allowing dirt to get inside the device. it occasionally flickers from over-exposed to under-exposed at about 2Hz for no apparent reason. inferior video quality, you can't even make a guess at a license plate even if you're inches away from it. nearly impossible to get the SD card in and out of the slot, you need to take a penny or something and push it so the card can pop out. you lose about 6 seconds of possibly vital footage between each file.

worst of all, IT TURNS OFF FOR NO REASON WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING, imagine how much it would suck if you get in an accident that's not you're fault and then realize your camera decided to turn off 5 minutes before.

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The only good thing about this is the remote control. Daylight picture quality is almost acceptable, nighttime picture quality is not. I returned it.

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I needed a low-light required dash cam and was very pleased to fine this NEW Remote Control Car Vehicle camera DVR 8 LED night vision Dashboard Camera DVR With motion detection S186 priced so I would not need to take-out a special loan to mount it.

Have made many hours of road vids and plan to buy units for the other vehicles. 110411.

Friday, January 31, 2014

Coleman Cable 08860 20-Foot Ultra-Heavy-Duty Truck and Auto Battery Booster Cables, 2-Gauge

Coleman Cable 08860 20-Foot Ultra-Heavy-Duty Truck and Auto Battery Booster Cables, 2-Gaugei wold not recommend getting a jumper cable this good unless you have frequent problems with your car.

i play a lot with different stereo components (amplifiers etc) in my car and i end up running the battery down dead quite often.

for me hauling around a 15-pound set of booster cables in the trunk is worth it because, for example, i used it twice within just the first week after receiving it for most other people it may not be worth it.

the jaws grip super tight. actually its very hard to work them with just one hand because they are so strong sometimes i end up using both hands to compress the spring seriously i imagine many guys will HAVE to use both hands but this makes for a stronger contact. there are copper inserts in both jaws (so in 4 jaws in total) and some people prefer that although (of course) only 2 of the 4 jaws actually are connected to the cable directly.

the cable itself really looks like 2nd gauge its almost all copper with only very thin (about 1 millimeter) insulation on top of it. this is unlike 10 dollar jumper cables which have almost the same thickness on the outside but are almost all rubber with a thin copper wire in the middle.

i ran into a bit of a problem with the insulation on the jaws themselves though. the red and black rubbery plastic on the handles is thin and not durable. when i gripped one of the jaws onto the handle of another it bit right through this plastic and started to spark. this is also a testament to how strongly the jaws grip they bite right through insulation (so dont do that).

i never thought i would need so much length but actually its quite handy. we even managed to jump the car in-line parked with a third car in between our cars (but one of our cars had to be parked reversed for that).

for those of you who are not electrical engineers like me your engine needs a certain cranking current and to get it out of jumper cable the cable must have low enough resistance. resistance increases with cable length so if you have a big engine to start (bigger engines need more cranking current) and a long booster cable it better be thick, because thickness of copper is what lowers resistance.

for my engine which is only 3.5 liters this cable is overkill but the only thing wrong with overkill is that you have to haul around a 15 pound booster cable in your trunk ... perhaps in extra cold weather when the engine is extra difficult to start the overkill might come in handy.

five stars this cable is no joke

So these aren't the best cables you can buy. For that you'll have to go to an electrical or welding supply company and you will PAY! Probably between 3 and 5 times what these cost! So unless you plan to start a towing service and need cables that will see daily use, I'd say these are gonna work for you.

(Update: After compairing them to the 4ga cables I bought a month or so back for my car, they don't really seem that much thicker... That's said they are MUCH heavier! The individual stranding is of a thicker gauge than the other model so I'm guessing that's why the thickness isn't much more...)

What I like:

--Length I bought these for a half-ton pickup. Why? Because it never fails that your battery will fail to start your engine when your parked in a packed lot with cars on all sides. Rather than pushing a 3 ton vehicle out you pull the booster vehicle in as close as you can and let the length work for you.

--Heft these cables are no joke. It's a workhorse grade cable that lets plenty of energy flow. When trying to start a 5.7L V8, that's kinda important.

--Solid Clamps Unlike some of the other reviews, I don't have a problem opening my parrot clamps with one hand. But their hardly weak, they'll clamp solid and stay put!

(Update: If you really need 2ga booster cables and your skeptical of these, Deka makes a set of 2ga cables for around $150. I have no personal experence with them but I have a little with the Deka name and they seem pretty good.)

What I don't like:

--Stiffness They're not as flexible as I was hoping. But about as flexible as I expected. True welding cable in 2ga is about $3 per foot and per cable. That's why the best jumper cables cost $200+. Still I was hoping for a little thinner stranding to promote flexibilty.

--Cable to Clamp Like other reviews have mentioned the cable doesn't go all the way to a copper contact connected to the jaws. Instead. It's screwed to the body of the clamp then the copper jaws are also screwed to the body. Still fine I'm sure.

So why buy these cables aren't they overkill? I've had this argument with people before: "My 6ga cheapies start my truck fine." Well I will attempt to addess this. As the number in terms of gauge decreases the ammount of conductor increases. In other words 2ga has more (perhaps 50-100% more) conductor than 4ga. This doesn't automatically equate to twice as much power but it does certainly allow more power to flow safely. For those that aren't aware (and I'm not an electrical engineer here), resistance is the enemy of all electrical circuts. Resistance translates to heat in the same way that friction does when two physical surfaces rub together. Five basic factors contribute to resistance in a give curcuit and determine the appropriate line size. Ambient temperature, conductor, line distance, voltage, and amperage. Ambient temp we have no control over. Hot is bad so just assume the worst. This means bigger cable to overcome the additon resistance heat is producing. Conductor of these is copper so that's good. You want pure or at least a high purity mix of copper in this type of conductor. Distance and voltage. One of these cable's strengths also happens to be a weakness. Total run length for this circut is 50'. Pretty long for a low voltage system like 12VDC. The higher the voltage, the longer it can run on a given gauge wire without encountering too much voltage drop. 12VDC drops voltage on a circuit in a realatively short distance. So heaiver gauge lines are needed to prevent this. Amperage is also a big consideration. The more amps a load pulls the more resistance the circut will generate. Basically on a small wire, a large load will generate a lot of heat and one of two things will happen. 1) the wire will melt and/or catch on fire. 2) The load your trying to power won't work. And make no mistake, starting even a small engine takes a LOT of energy! So bringing it all together. Large load, low voltage (that we don't want to make in lower), and a long distance run means that you wan the heaviest cables you can find. Addressing the orignal question and statment. 6' 6ga cables might start your small-block fine. But if you want or need the extra length, you need to consider heavy gauge cables. That said I've personally seen light duty cables melt and smoke from starting an engine too big for them.

Are these right for you? So these will run you close to $100 shipped...do you actaully need them? I own both these and the Coleman 4ga 25' booster cables. Having no offical training and with no real sizing charts on the packaging I would say this. The 4ga will do you fine at the 25' length for engines up to 5-liters or so (and honestly probably up to about 6L as well.) Anything bigger than that and you should be considering these or something even better.

Also protect your investment. Buy a cable bag for them to keep them neat and protected. Also keep the twist ties that came with them to keep them organized inside your bag. I have the Arsenal #5888 cable organizer and it works great for this. Remember too to clean and inspect your cables after each use to prolong their life and keep you safe.

Buy Coleman Cable 08860 20-Foot Ultra-Heavy-Duty Truck and Auto Battery Booster Cables, 2-Gauge Now

All other jumper cables are not real jumper cables. THESE are jumper cables. Let me explain.

When you're in a bind on some dark night in some parking lot somewhere and your battery is dead, you need to get out of there pronto.

In times like that, it's much easier to get a jump if YOU own a set of jumper cables. It's double good if those jumper cables are long so that they can easily reach the battery of a good samaritan. Now, according to electrical theory in order for DC current to flow across long distances, you need thicker cable.

That's where these cables come in, they're long at 25' and thick at 2gauge.

That's what these cables provide, maximum length at near maximum gauge cable. And yes, your jumper cables SHOULD cost close to as much as your spare tire because that's what you need --just look up the cost of copper on the market (that stuff is expensive).

Yes, you can buy a $17 set of 10 foot, 18 gauge cables out there but if they can't reach between cars or if they can't carry enough power to start your car, you might as well have been lugging a brick in your trunk all those years and you might as well have enjoyed a good lunch with the $17 for all the false confidence it gave you. I'm serious, buy an extension cord for $5 and you get as much jumping potential as many of the so called 'jumper' cables on the market --there should be laws against marketing products that cannot jump start a car. Worse, having no cables or less-than-worthless cables means that a criminal might reach you before you can get a jump and make your getaway.

At the end of the day, you want a 25' or 20' cable, so you better be looking at 2gauge or 4 gauge cable no compromises there. You can go to 6gauge if you're working your way down to 16' cables. But, the reality is that you always need a few extra feet when trying to jump start someone's car parked in some tight parking space --so you're back to the 25' and 2 gauge.

Pros

I know I can jump start a Semi with these (more importantly, I can get a jump from a Semi Truck drivers are the good guys btw)

Extra long at 25'

Parrot clamp are strong, but an average guy can open them with one hand

Copper inserts in the parrot clamps is nice

Clamps are rated at 500amps

they're friggin heavy at near 14lbs, yes that's a pro! that means there's 14 POUNDS of Copper in there and that's what allows the current to flow as freely as the Amazon river (no pun intended). It's huge.

Cons

I do have an issue that the copper cable is not attached to the copper inserts in the clamps, it screws into the metal clamp rather than into the copper insert. I don't know if that's a mistake or not. I'm thinking about doing a bit of retrofitting. I'm sure it's more than enough the way it is.

Overall, these are as close an approximation to the kind of jumper cables that my dad had when I was growing up. He custom made his -he's old school.

Anyway, if you're going to carry jumper cables, and you should --don't muck around -spend the dough, get these --they'll last a lifetime and will not let you down.

Advice, after you get a jump don't waste time rolling these things up in some dark parking lot -just toss the heavy mangled mess into your trunk and get home. There's always time the next day to roll these monsters back up and get them ready for the next wild adventure you might have.

Read Best Reviews of Coleman Cable 08860 20-Foot Ultra-Heavy-Duty Truck and Auto Battery Booster Cables, 2-Gauge Here

The quality of workmanship and materials is outstanding on these cables. If you own a crew cab pickup especially a diesel pickup these are the cables you need.

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I wanted a super heavy duty set of booster cables and these certainly fill the bill. I have not had the need to try them out yet but the heavy duty construction leaves me no doubt that I would be able to jump start the space shuttle if needed. You may be able to get by with a set of 4ga or even 6ga, but if you have full size trucks or an RV, these are definitely worth considering.

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Garmin Zumo 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Garmin Zumo 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator
  • 3.5-Inch Screen
  • High-Sensitivity GPS Receiver
  • 10,000 Point Tracking
  • Bluetooth-Enabled For Hands Free Calling & For Sending Audio To Compatible Helmets
  • High Bright Display For Sunlight Readability & Uv Resistant

People complain about the Zumo not having a built in speaker. Well, you wouldn't be able to hear it while riding your bike it if it had one, so it's a bit of a moot point.

On a side note, I think there are some features the unit lacks that can be somewhat annoying. First, and definitely the most annoying for me, the elevation by which you view your position on a GPS determines the amount of detail you see, i.e. POI's, street names, distance of road to travel, etc. The units I have used previously (factory nav in a Honda, other Garmins and the Mio 310 to name a few) had the ability to select zoom/elevation from the main nav screen allowing you to choose your "view" of the road so to speak, at anytime. With the Zumo, you cannot change elevation/zoom from the main nav screen, you can only adjust it while in map mode searching for a destination. The second you go back to the main navigation screen you loose the elevation you chose and go back to a default level of zoom, which for me is real irritating.

Another annoying feature is the keyboard for text input does not offer a QWERTY layout. I have not had to type on an ABCDEF style keyboard since the invention on the PC. In fact, I have a Garmin IQue 3600 that's 4 years old and it has a QWERTY keyboard?

Also, the search function on the Zumo is relatively slow at times. I once waited 4+ minutes while searching for a popular restaurant. It found it eventually, but for a while I thought the unit just froze up. I happen to be sitting in my driveway so it was only a minor annoyance, but if you were parked on the roadside with cars buzzing by it would seem more like an eternity.

One other issue, the built in hard drive is pretty much full with maps right out of the box, which isn't that big of a deal with the open SD slot. The SD slot lets you slip in a SD card for expanded memory capability (MP3 storage etc.), but when loading routes from your PC (which is a great feature I'll touch on below) you must save the data directly to the units hard drive in order for the Zumo to be able to read it. Well, that's going to be an issue when the hard drive fills up from firmware updates, etc.

While I'm at it, I think the icon that marks your position on the map is annoyingly large. It makes your car or bike look the size of a lake, or some other large map detail.

On the plus side, I believe that all of the issues I mentioned are correctable via a firmware update and a few bugs are to be expected to some extent given this is the 1st generation of a new model. Although, you can also argue that with the price this thing sells for combined with the experience Garmin has building GPS devices there is really no excuse for the Zumo lacking anything.

A nice feature, which is common on Garmins top units, is that you can map out routes on your PC, load it to the Zumo (again, on the built in hard drive though not the SD card) and away you go. This comes in handy if you're in sales for example and need to hit a few clients on a particular day or if you're going to be cruising on your bike and have a bunch of places you want to stop at during the trip. Rather than having to wait and program destinations one at a time as you make your stops, you can knock them all out the night before on your PC so you're entire trip is planned before it's even begun.

Also, the Bluetooth feature is sweet and works flawlessly. Pairing the Zumo with my Blackberry was a breeze. The Zumo was able to read my address book and displayed the contacts on the phone screen so there was never a need to touch the Blackberry once paired. When in the car, the speaker worked well and people on the other end seemed to have no trouble hearing me. I disagree with the one reviewer that said the mount looked weak. I think the mount would successfully support a cinderblock on rough road.

Installing the Zumo on my ZZR1200 took me about 30 min. It takes some time to run the wires and connect to the battery. You will need to crimp connectors (that are not supplied) on the end of the wires that go to the battery. The Ram mount is real solid. The Zumo does not move once you're locked in and on the road.

Now for the justification of the 4 star rating given I beat the Zumo up quite a bit. The build quality of this thing it second to none. It is literally built like a tank. I'd bet it would outlast anyone who buys it. Again, firmware updates will likely take care of all its shortcomings over time. And last but not least, Garmin tech support is second to none. No matter who you speak to they are knowledgeable, professional and will provide answers to anything you can throw at them (and I come up with some good ones) all without making you feel like you're annoying or a technological moron.

Therefore, I don't think you can go wrong with any Garmin, if you can swallow the price of the unit.

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I just wanted to comment on the Zumo 550 with current software. I purchased this unit about 3 weeks ago and before I got it I was a little disheartened by some people's reviews on some lacking features. However when i got the unit and upgraded to the latest software (that was available as of 4/15/2007) many negative comments seem to have been addressed (if I'm understanding the commented issues correctly). First the views of the unit seem very flexable and I don't see the limitations. You can select between 2-D top down views for the people who are used to that view or 3-D. The unit has multiple levels of zoom/un-zoom from the big buttons on the outside as well as on the touch screen... I'm just not seeing any limitations. You can also taylor how much detail you want to see on the screen ( more or less). The only thing I do agree with is the Icon's used to show your position (you can choose between about 6 or so) are kind of large. Would have been nice to have the choice to alter that but I chose the 'wedge' and it works nicely with the screen size. Second, definitely a software upgrade was the addition of two different compus views.. .one small indication on the main map screen and a full 360 degree compus graphic with ELEVATION on a separate screen (selectable from the big rubber buttons or through the menu). The unit is unbelievable compared to earlier units I've had .. I can litterally stand in my family room under cover and turnaround and move 1 step (sometimes 2 is needed) and the unit will reflect the change in direction! I use this with a common motorola razr phone and a Scala Rider helmet bluetooth unit (on a shoei rf-1000 helmet) and everything works perfectly. Also, as far as weatherproofing the manual indicates it can be kept under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes! Great mounting hardware and super easy to use.. definitely a fantastic unit with the latest software upgrades. Thanks.

Read Best Reviews of Garmin Zumo 550 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Discontinued by Manufacturer) Here

The 550 works very well. Specs say it works between 32 & 140 degrees. I ride all winter so far it works at 15 degrees F. Surprisingly easy to use with heavy winter riding gloves. The motorcycle mount is much cleaner than I expected. Very flexible, allowing the unit to tuck in close and not look dorky. The car mount is clean with an acceptable albeit not great speaker. It's VERY easy to move between vehicles. I was somewhat disappointed at first about the lack of a built in speaker, but if I need to walk around with it, it's no big deal to use your cell phone Bluetooth with it. Maybe that's the price you pay for a truely waterproof unit. While riding, you can hear the alert tone using a cell phone Bluetooth, but cannot understand the audio. I plugged in iPod ear buds into the bike mount and it sounds great without being obvious about being "plugged in" (I ride a half helmet). If you use a full face with built in speakers you will be very happy with the audio.

Others complained about the lack of things like a real compass and satellite acquisition display and built in speaker. I have addressed the speaker issue. The compass displays eight points (like the one in the rear view mirror of your GM car). That's all I really need. Showing the satellites it has acquired is neat but what do I really care the thing is very sensitive. I get 5 of 5 bars IN my house. The MP3 player does work well although it does not have play lists. You can at least sort by album, artist and genre. To listen to decent quality audio, you will need ear buds. Displaying pictures looks good but the response is a little sluggish.

Storing up to 50 routes is great and being able to download them to Google Earth and visualize them is very slick (it does take Google Earth Plus a $20 annual fee to support this feature).

Overall I am VERY pleased with this unit it does exactly what I need (and then some) looks great very sturdy.

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The new Zumo 550 is a big step forward in ease of use, but sacrifices some of the flexibility of previous units (Streepilot series, x76C series). The touch screen display and integrated buttons on the left side of the unit are easy to use even with riding gloves, and the new locking mount is a big improvement. GPS reception also seems to be GREATLY improved; not getting lost under dense tree coverage. The display is relatively big, bright and clear; but difficult to read in really bright sunlight. Also, much of the screen is used for large display items and touch "buttons", so the actual map display is fairly small. The built in battery is an improvement over the StreetPilot, allowing the unit to be used when the motorcycle is off. The battery also allows the unit to be connected to a PC without an AC adapter.

The new operating system is easy to learn and use, but lacks some of the flexibility of other units. Long time GPS users may feel restricted by the fixed display formats, but new users probably won't notice. The operating software still has a few bugs and route guidance prompts need some work, but Garmin does a good job of making updates available (with WebUpdater) and has already released v2.3.

The MP3 player is simple to use but does not support playlists and still seems to have software bugs.

I have linked the ZUMO to a bluetooth helmet (Dainese) and phone (LG-VX8500) and it seems to work very well. Although told that the MP3 would not work over bluetooth, it does in my set-up.

In summary: even with the display restrictions and software issues this is a great GPS for motorcycle use.

All the write-ups suggested this Zumo 550 was going to be impressive. They weren't wrong. The BIG positives, from my perspective:

1. Satellite acquisition must be seen to be believed. In my basement it took less than 15 seconds, out of the box, first power-up. That performance has been repeated every time since, with the exception of first-power-up after upgrading the firmware to 3.2. Thereafter it went back to sub-20 second acquisition.

2. Its built like it should be, like you wanted it to be. Solid. Its going to spend time on my Harley ElectraGlide and in my Corvette and I wanted someting that matched their image. I got it.

3. Firmware upgrade was a 5 minute affair, no hassles, no fuss, no tears. Several nice new features were added, for my 5-minute investment.

4. Interchangeable top and bottom plates, in contrasting black, are a nice little extra. They even included the Allen wrench for the 3-minute task.

5. There's no need to buy extra (read, "expensive") accessories. This was the biggie, for me. This unit ships with a bike mount, complete with hard-wire power connector, AND it ships with a car-mount, with its own power connector. The fact that Garmin includes BOTH mounts with this unit was the deciding factor for me. The fact that both docking cradles with each mount are thoughtfully designed to allow super-quick, super-solid on and off mounting of the GPS unit itself, is a nice added plus. Also, the voice quality and volume of the built-in speaker in the car mount is impressive.

6. Bluetooth pairing of both my Blackberry 8700 and my Jabra BT800 was simple and flawless. Thereafter, when the BB and the Jabra were on and the Zumo was insereted into either the bike mount or the car mount, the Zumo automatically paired back with each unit, within 30 seconds of being mounted. I love technology that works. The real zinger was that the Zumo synched the 400-odd contacts in my BB8700, inside of 45 seconds.

7. For me, simply put, Garmin hit a BIG homerun with the design, execution and packaging of their new Zumo 550. Is it expensive? Not really, considering I didn't need to go out and scrounge up the expensive extras Garmin included for free. And the little things, like designing a magnetically-positioned weather cover for the bike's connector pins, is just icing on a big, well-decorated cake.

Bravo, Garmin.

Monday, October 7, 2013

PowerDuo Reserve

PowerDuo Reserve
  • The industry's most trusted AC and 12 volt chargers
  • Charges iPhone, iPod, MP3 players, other USB-chargeable devices
  • Removable backup battery provides hours of additional use for iPhone and iPod
  • Battery is interchangeable between PowerJolt Reserve and PowerBlock Reserve chargers (chargers and Reserve battery packs are also sold separately)

The good: The battery is small and light. The less then optimal: The battery pack does not provide much extra power. Reviews for this product (on Amazon and elsewhere) report it provides about 70-75% additional battery life. In 2 uses of this with my iPhone 4S, it only provided 15%-20% increase in battery power. The 15% was after the battery pack had sat about a week after being charged. The 20% was after the battery pack had been just removed from the charger and said it was fully charged. While I like Griffin products and generally find them to be of better than average quality, I think this product is a bit too expensive for the additional power it provides.

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Ok, I got this for our 4 hour flight and it came in handy when my daughter had 7 percent battery life and when she used this it gave her 37 percent more. Works fast and keeps it's charge even if it's not plugged in for a couple days.

Read Best Reviews of PowerDuo Reserve Here

This is the second griffin charger I have purchased. The first one was for my teenage daughter, who loves this device and carries it with her wherever her phone goes. The second was for my wife, who like my daughter, would find herself in an awkward place with a phone about to die. The backup battery charges from the car charger and is fairly small so it fits in a pocket or purse easily. It provides about a 40% charge, so don't expect a full charge. The 40% charge gives them both about 2 hours of phone service, so so far it fits the need very well without being bulky. Now my grown son wants one.

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Have this product for over one year and liked it enough to send it as a gift for a friend!

This battery has been charged for hours and only provided me with 20% boost. Seems useful for trips and plus it comes with wall and car charger. Didn't pay much for it but $29.99 seems overpriced for me.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Laza Zip Grip Universal 360 Windshield Dashboard Car Cell Phone Mount Cradle Holder iPhone 5 4S 4 3

Laza Zip Grip Universal 360 Windshield Dashboard Car Cell Phone Mount Cradle Holder iPhone 5 4S 4 3g Samsung Galaxy S3 Note HTC Evo 4G LTE Rhyme Incredible 2 LTE Samsung Galaxy S2 Motorola Droid Bionic Blackberry Torch Nexus LG Optimus Elite 3d Elite G2XI use this with my Samsung Galaxy S3 in my otter box case, and it fits perfectly, no need to remove the case at all. Mounting on the windshield and dash was very easy. But one of the best things was the customer service, you get an email from Laza letting you know about your warranty and to contact them should your product fail. Overall I'm happy with the product.

Update: Make sure when using this mount that you turn the locking ring on the base all the way until you feel it click, this locks the base, I had one or two mishaps because I forgot to turn the locking ring till it clicked.

I carry one of these every time I travel, since I use my Galaxy SIII for navigation. This is by far, the smallest, lightest, easy-to-carry car cradle I have seen. It sticks VERY well to the windshield, but like most units, won't stick on the pebble-grain they seem to put almost everywhere these days. Unfortunately, because the unit is very small, it doesn't reach toward you from the windshield, and the glass on many vehicles is quite far away, making the screen hard to reach and see. I usually end up putting it closer to the rear-view mirror instead of low nearer the dash somewhere. However, unless you rest the bottom of the phone on the dash, you WILL have SIGNIFICANT WOBBLE. This guy bounces around quite a bit, owing mainly to the small ball joint that holds the phone. Summary: Choose this only if you can can rest the phone on the dash, or carry-size is your main concern.

Buy Laza Zip Grip Universal 360 Windshield Dashboard Car Cell Phone Mount Cradle Holder iPhone 5 4S 4 3 Now

Great product, very comfortable to take with you when on travel and holds the phone secured (it takes few times to learn how to maneuver the phone into the cradle but once you learned the way it is piece of cake).

I would definitely recommend it to frequent travelers.

P.S. I have Samsung Galaxy S3 which is a relative big phone and it holds it very nicely.

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I had a lot of difficulty setting this up on my dashboard since the dash isn't smooth enough to set. And my window is angled so deep I couldn't set it up making it difficult to stretch my already disabled hand. This cradle is a (tight) spring loaded cradle and not equipped with a quick release so it pinches my fingers hard. So instead of using it in my car it sits comfortably on my desk at the perfect angle.

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I received my product on time with Amazon Prime shipping option. At this price, this is a wonderful product and fits well with my new EVO 4G LTE. It mounts on my window where I use to put have my old TomTom GPS I'm not so sure I'd want to install the dash mount as it warns it's permanaent but it's an option. The suction cup design is very good so it grips very securely. The product itself is very intuitive but I did look over the accompanying instructions booklet and it was very well written and straight forward. I'm a big fan of Google's navigation application and only made sense for me to get something like this. It's not impossible to get the phone on the holder with one hand but definitely much easier with two hands on the other hand, it holds my phone very securely and I don't have to worry about my phone falling out at all. The simple design is very versatile and you can easily have your phone rotate to be landscape or portrait. The only improvement I could think of is if the gripper was spring loaded so that it opens easily and then uses the spring to close.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Roadpro Digital Compass, Inside & Outside Temperature, Voltage Meter and Ice Alert

Roadpro Digital Compass, Inside & Outside Temperature, Voltage Meter and Ice AlertThe compass is of great help as we're relatively new in the area. The temp. read out is a great asset. and as for the ice ice alertI'll wait a bit for that.(hopefully).

I recommend to everyone that does not already have a factory installed compass. It is easy to install and very simple to take down if nescessary.

The unit arrived promptly. I installed in my Ford Edge and it sits neatly on the console under the dash overhang. Upon powering it up, I noticed that the thermometer defaulted to celsius no problem all I had to was open the small battery door in the base and slide the switch to Farenheidt. I did that and everything seemed to work perfectly. The compass was easy to calibrate and matches the readings on my GPS. Upon powering off the unit and back on again, I discovered the temp reading reverted to celsius. Once again I opened the door in the base and moved the switch from F to C and to F again. The reading was F again but when powered off and back on, it reverts to C. If the switch position is F, the temp reading should stay F. Very disappointed in the shoddy workmanship of this unit.

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I bought this for my wife's new Ford Escape because she missed having a temperature readout. This is a very accurate inside and outside thermometer and has 3 compass readouts. I installed it in the console, in less than an hour, instead of the dashboard to keep it out of the line of sight. The built in back lighting makes it easy to read day or night. The outdoor temperature sensor is long enough to run to the grill area and fresh air that is not contaminated by engine heat, which gives a more accurate reading. The voltage meter is useful for monitoring the battery condition. The car is driven short distances, which drains the battery in the winter weather.

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I installed this on my 2006 Toyota Highlander after my wife complained that it didn't have a compass or outside temperature like our last car. Arrrgggghhhh! I purchased this for my wife for Christmas. It took a while to install it, as I mounted it in the middle of the dash just below the mirror and hid all the wires under the dash. Now that I have it up and running, I like the readability of the display. The compass and temperature seem to be pretty accurate. I have three negatives on the unit. First, after I mounted it I discovered that -even with the compass tilted as far forward on its mount as I could -it still slants backward about 15 degrees. I would prefer that it be straight, although it works well enough. Second, too much information is displayed. I really don't need battery voltage, but it came with the unit. Also, the compass shows the compass direction in three places including the psuedo compass card. Third, and the most serious, is that the unit causes noticeable interference on my CB radio. It's a pulse of noise that occurs approximately every second, regular as clockwork. The antenna is about ten feet away, mounted on the back of the vehicle. Shouldn't do that.

I did discover one idiosyncrasy. When I attempted the calibration, the unit wouldn't calibrate. It just kept on flashing the display in the calibration mode. I tried about ten times ... the whole while making the smallest circles I could in the car (the steering wheel was turned as far as it could turn it). Just out of curiosity, I did a large circle (about 100' in diameter). That worked like a charm -it calibrated the very first try. Out of curiosity, I tried to calibrate it again with the small circle -it didn't calibrate. I then did the large circle again and it calibrated just like it should. Go figure.

All said, I'm reasonably happy with the unit. I can easily read it from the driver's or passengers seat day or night. The compass is accurate and responsive. The out outside temperature is spot on. And the most significant benefit? I don't have to hear my wife complain about these any more!!!

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I read up on every single on of these that is sold on Amazon, but i found this to be the one i thought would work the best. So i bought this for a present for my dad. And he loves it. It took a little install, he actually ran all the cords into his dash so you can't see them. These are two things we noticed about it.

Outside Temp: install the receiver out of the wind and far from the engine but somewhere in the front bumper works great. Also note the temp will not be accurate after you have been driving and you stop because of the engine temp. but once you start driving again it takes care of it.

Inside Temp: When you install the item on the dash when it is in the sun it is not accurate at all.

Enjoy.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Porsche Battery Maintainer

Porsche Battery MaintainerI own a 2008 Porsche Cayman that sits in my garage for 2 to 3 weeks between drives. Although I was told to use a battery maintainer or risk getting a dead battery, I did not. Well, I learned the hard way and my battery did in fact die. It cost me $400 for Porsche to replace the battery and test the system. I immediately ordered this item to prevent such a thing from happening going forward. It is very simple to use...plug the charger into a standard wall outlet, the other end into your cigarette lighter outlet in the car. The wire is so thin that you can close the door without kinking the wire. I highly recommend this product to avoid the same costly mistake I made!

This purchase was made once I realized that it was not at all convenient to use a conventional battery charger on my Boxster. The fact that it is a maintainer and will not overcharge the battery is very important to me. I have been using this product for a year now and find it to be a great choice for its intended use. It would get a five star rating from me but as with anything Porsche, it is way overpriced.

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Paid the premium to get the Porsche brand to ensure quality proper charge for the vehicle. It simply quit working after a month leaving me with a dead battery -the absolute kiss of death to anyone with a Boxster given the issues associated with battery access. Hard to imagine a more simple electronic device. Poor quality control. A real disappointment.

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I would suggest that every Porsche owner who leaves their car in the garage for periods of time over the winter invest in the Porsche Battery Maintainer. Cheaper versions are available but why take the chance that they are not perfect for your vehicle. You can buy one from your local dealer or save a few bucks by buying from Porsche of Towson like I did. Works great and saves your battery.

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Porsche recommends this if you are not driving at least 5-6000 miles per year. If car sits 4-6 days often it is a must.

This was half the price of Porsche dealer price. Works great