Whistler Pro-78SE High-Performance Radar Detector

• Total Band protection with selectable bands
• Exclusive twin alert periscopes
• Intellicord-ready
• Real Voice alerts
• Radar Signature ID (RSID)
• Enhanced High Performance!
• Detects Laser Atlanta Stealth Mode
• Three (3) Filter Modes Provides extra filtering
• INTELLICORD Ready - Program which features INTELLICORD controls
• Vehicle Battery Saver - selectable

I initially had the pro 78 detector which was excellent. So when that got stolen from my wrecked car it was a no brainer to get the Pro 78se. When I came to Amazon and saw the negative reviews because of false alarms I was skeptical but figured I would give it a try for the price. I used the pro 78se in DE, NJ, PA, NJ and the false alarms were unbearable. I wanted to get a refund from Amazon but since I bought it from another merchant thru Amazon they would not accept a return. I then contacted Whistler directly via email. I informed them that I tried the following modes: City, City1, City2, Filter1, Filter2, KA Max off and none stopped the false alarms. He told me to try and turn the POP Mode off, I did and it is 1000% better. I love this radar detector now. If you have this radar and have false alert issue then TURN OFF THE POP MODE.

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I have been using this radar detector for about a month now, and it is great. I would like to start off by saying that I think many people have unrealistic ideas of what a radar detector will do for them. It isn't the Police Spotter 2000, no radar detector will pick up any and every police car in a 5 mile radius of you, it is unrealistic and wishful to believe that it will. I looked at the 9500i and the V1, and guess what, there are bad customer reviews on both of them, people saying that they are the worst radar detectors on the market. It is important to understand what a radar detector will do for you, once you do, you can more fully grasp the Whistler Pro 78SE.

I enjoy the voice alerts, it's useful to not always have to take your eyes off the road and still be able to tell what band the detector is picking up. Other people have really enjoyed the blue LED "periscopes" on top of the detector, that blink when it is alerting, but I have it mounted high on the windshield near the rear view mirror, so I do not really see the blinking LED lights.

EDIT: After driving with this detector for over a year, I have become very comfortable in its abilities to give good warning on K band in nearly all conditions ( I regularly drive on windy rural roads and picking up a K-band constant-on around a curve or two is normal) and when it isn't giving false Ka band alerts it gives GREAT Ka band detection in all modes. I leave it in Ka RSID (Radar Signature I.D.) I don't usually have it in Ka Max mode because of the falses. After a bit of research and plenty of hours driving with it, most of the Ka false alerts have been on the highway in heavy traffic, I now believe that it was alerting because of leaky low-end (e.g. Cobra) detectors in the vehicles around me. This theory makes sense and is consistent with others' findings and experiences throughout the many forums and boards I have visited.

Things I like/dislike after experience with another radar detector (Bel rx65):

-the blue display is generally better than the red display, although the red is readable in almost any lighting condition whereas the blue kind of washes out in strong sunlight.

--automatic brightness. I never even thought about it till I had to start manually cycling the brightness on the RX65.

--Good voice alerts, very clear even with loud music. It begins the alert by announcing verbally what band it's detecting, then proceeds with the beeps/chirps. my RX65 has creepy male-voice band alerts that are hard to distinguish.

--black casing, has very little reflection onto the windshield, and doesn't look gimmicky or cheap. the RX65 does feel a little more solid and hefty though.

--detection range not on par with the RX65 (no-brainer, look at the price difference, must be for a reason) for K-band on the Whistler i'm used to about 3-7 seconds of notice. For the RX65, it picked it up so far off I thought it was falsing.

--It has a little more chatty nature than the Bel. They both light up when I pass the local gas station that uses a k-band door opener but other than that the RX65 has better filtering.

--Both times I have been clocked with laser, it has actually alerted, with pretty good range (yes I know the cop already had my speed but it picked it up probably 500ft off.) only going 45mph that's pretty decent I think.

Overall I am still very happy with this detector, It's pretty easy to live with when you turn POP off, and put Ka in normal or RSID mode. Here are the settings I use: Filter 1 mode (it's actually the 2nd filter setting, somewhat confusing), Xoff, Kon, Ka-RSID, POP-off, Laser-LSID (laser signature I.D.), SWS-off, battery saver-off, voice alerts-on, periscope blinking-on.

If you're looking for a radar detector, and you've even considered a Cobra or similar detector, save your money and spring for this (or the Bel, which I prefer for its superior detection range and more quiet nature) depending on where you live, the first time this detects radar, and you're 5-10+ over the speed limit, I'd consider this investment already paid off.

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I had an old Uniden detector and decided it was time to get a new one. Too many false alarms and not enough range on the old one. I did an extensive research, and I established a price point, no more than $200 for a radar detector. That put me to the range of a few Whistler models, as well as two Beltronics models. I just do not drive that much to justify $400+ in a top line Valentine One, nor in a Escort or Bel at that price range. I checked many internet sources before deciding.

During XMAS 2010 I drove around 20 hours back and forth, including states such as GA, SC, NC, VA, DC.

On the road, not many false alarms... figured filter 2 works nice to eliminate interference. A cop coming from a rest area triggered KA band with voice and frequency display, enough for me to slow down a bit. When crossed to VA, I turned it off and moved it to the trunk. I know it has a good SPECTRA IV filtering (detectable only close to the radar detector detector), but I just did not want to be on the wrong side of the law. The BLUE DISPLAY IS GREAT !!!! I decided to pass on the 695SE exactly because of the display. I just could not visualize the LCD display on the 695SE being effective during the day. I believe I made the right choice in choosing the 78SE over the 695SE.

Overall it seems to be a keeper. I got the intelligent power cord to control mute and power on/off from a more convenient position, as well as spare suction cups, a spare windshield support for the other car, and the whistler case. Overall, the final price was close to the Beltronics v995, but I am very happy with my purchase.

UPDATE JUNE 2011 -> The unit still performs like a champ, on the road or in the city. I am very happy with this purchase !!!

UPDATE DEC 2011 -> Recent trip to Florida... Got a direct laser from a police car, the unit captured it and I was able to at least remove the right foot from the gas and engage 3rd gear... just in case.

Detected the Ka band all around Orlando. I have never seen that many police cars since my days in Western NY state. Ah, forgot to mention, a small road was blocked and the WARNING message and loud alarm went off... Very nice !!!

UPDATE SEPT 2012 ->> Still rocking !!! No problems at all. Good on the cold and under the sun. Saved me TWICE this past labor day weekend.

Want Whistler Pro-78SE High-Performance Radar Detector Discount?

I have been a fan of Whistler Radar Detectors for a long time. I have owned 5 going back several, several years. Police get better equipment, we get better equipment. Well, I can say starting with the Pro 68SE I had that things are going downhill for Whistler. The speaker in that blew after only a few months and they wouldn't fix it, so I picked this up because I didn't want to change my direct wiring. Okay, I get the Pro78SE, get it all tweaked and start using it. I live way out in the country so false alarms aren't that common. With this one, it would false in the middle of a farm field. I thought I might have a setting wrong so I turned off POP and X and tried it. Well, the next couple of falses blew the speaker. Didn't ever even pick up legit radar. Okay, must be a bad unit, let's get another one shipped in. Drove around with it for a few days, same falses, but this time more and more. I look like the idiot with the cheap detector because I am slamming on my brakes for no reason. Okay, on to what worked. The RSID does work, and it will detect radar, but if you are going just a bit over the limit you don't stand a chance with this thing. I really don't speed or if I do it's only 5 or so over, but this thing might only give a couple hundred feet. Not good. Even my old 1610 had better range, and just for fun I took it out and compared, the 1610 won hands down. Now I wouldn't rely on that model, but it proves a point. Anyhow, after just a couple of weeks this speaker started going out, so back it went. With the speaker problems, and the KA9 falses which are documented, I couldn't take it anymore and asked for a refund this time and not a replacement. I was a die-hard Whistler fan and they saved me a whole lot of money over the years, but this one can neither be trusted nor is it going to last you. YMMV, but that is my experience, and I have moved on to a different brand. If they ever come out with some newer ones with a different design especially the speaker, I may be back, but not for now, save your money and get something that will last and works.

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A short notice driving trip from Tulsa to Washington DC came up and I knew that I was going to be driving many miles. I used to own a radar detector back when the national speed limit was 55. When the 55 mph limit was relaxed I was satisfied driving 5 mph over the limit and didn't need a radar detector. That was until I was caught in a Waskom, Texas speed trap. I was ticketed for going 5 mph over the speed limit at a cost of $180.00. Many municipalities are hurting for money and tickets are a source of revenue. "Warning tickets" are a thing of the past.

On to my review of the Whistler PRO-78 SE High-Performance Radar Detector with Blue Text Display. It combines effectiveness, ease of use and an affordable price. The trip to DC and back was great. The Whistler performed admirably. There were a few false positives but not many. I travelled mostly interstates and the traffic was all speeding so I was a fish among many. I travel in my job so I expect many care free miles with my new Whistler Pro-78 SE. Unless you are driving a Ferrari or a Porshe and have $2,000.00 to spend on a state of the art radar detector I recommend this one as a best bang-for-your-buck deal out there! The only reason I didn't give it 5 starts is the short amount of time I have had to evaluate the product. Happy Motoring ;o)

SIRIUS Stiletto 2 Portable Satellite Radio with MP3 Player

I thought about writing a review for some time now. I wanted to make sure I was out of the honeymoon phase before I wrote about this device. I have had it for over a couple of weeks now and feel like it's time.

I purchased the Stiletto 2 as a late Christmas present to myself. I had signed up originally for the 3-day trial and loved the radio selections. I live Montana and our radio stations are pretty decent, but we have a lot of commercials. So, being able to listen to music without commercials is fantastic.

I wasn't sure what device to purchase, so I started reading. I had read a number of reviews (particularly the poor ones) about the Stiletto 2, but I liked the portability aspect, so I purchased it.

I now understand their complaints. They want better reception from the device itself, better/more comfortable headphones, etc. I agree the reception on the device isn't the best when indoors, but I purchased the home kit and that significantly improved reception.

When I am away from my home dock, I connect through Internet radio and it works just fine.

I also bought the car kit, but haven't had a chance to install it yet. I was able to get reception in my car without it though, so I imagine the car kit will only improve upon that.

The user interface is quite easy to navigate and the controls on the device are fairly intuitive. I like to test devices without reading the manual first to see how easy it is to figure out and the Stiletto 2 was pretty straightforward. I had to refer to the manual to understand the recording options, but otherwise, it was simple.

The recording option is fantastic. I set up a number of recurring sessions in the middle night. In the morning, I can then listen to them when I am working out, running errands, etc. I think this is probably one of the best features of the device. I have 15+ hours of recorded content and have used only 35% of the internal memory. Replay is fantastic. You can skip through songs just like your MP3 player and for me, that's a great option.

The size of the device is just right. It fits in my pocket, but it's not so small that I am afraid it's going to get broken or lost.

The battery life has been more than adequate. It's rated at like 4+ hours for Satellite or Internet radio and 20+ for recorded or library selections. I can attest that I have listened to it for many hours without running out of power. I wouldn't mind having a spare battery, but it's probably overkill.

As for the additional SD card slot. It's too bad it's under the battery. When you install an SD card, it's like you are putting in RAM in your laptop. This is not simple or intuitive for a lot of people (thinking of my mom here). I am sure there was an architectural reason, but it's too bad it's not just inserted on the side like a number of cell phones.

I have owned a number of musical devices in my life, 5+ iPods, a Zune, Rio, CD players, Walkmans, etc, but I can say this device has really reminded me of how music can be such a wonderful part of your life. I listen to my radio non-stop, and I wouldn't have it any other way now.

As the subject states, I really wanted this to work.

For those who read through my review, I want to make it clear that I am a Sirius fan. I've had a Sirius satellite radio in my car for two years now and I cannot imagine driving around without it.

Last year I accepted a new job that puts me on the train every day instead of in the car for my morning commute. I've missed my satellite radio since then so for the last few months, I've had my eye on the Stiletto. I decided to wait for the Stiletto 2, and I finally took the plunge over the weekend.

Out of the box, the radio looks very attractive and fits perfectly in my hand. The large display is colorful, bright, and easy to read and navigate. The controls are very easy to operate. Overall, a very intuitive design.

The radio is feature packed. You can import your own music into the device via included software. In my opinion, there is plenty of space for stored content out of the box (about 100 hours worth) and I think that will acommodate most people. For those of us with large music and audio book libraries, the added micro-SD card slot is a nice touch. Another feature was wireless connectivity. Some claimed they had problems with frequent disconnects. I didn't have this problem.

Activation was pretty simple, however I couldn't grab a signal indoors, I needed to stand outside on the front porch to complete the activation and the initial download of the channels. I was hoping this wasn't going to be a typical problem, as I even had the antenna headset plugged in. By the way, I've heard rumblings about the Altec Lansing headphones being uncomfortable and I would have to agree. I think Sirius could have made a better choice in headphones, since they seem to be a requirement for this device to get any kind of a signal.

Now, on to reception. Let me make it perfectly clear that I live in the outer suburbs of Chicago. I live near a small city called Crystal Lake, and although is not very close to downtown Chicago, I wouldn't consider myself as living in the "boondocks" either. I also want to make it clear that I purchased this radio so I could listen to it on the train. Those of us who have long train commutes would appreciate having such ability to listen to their iPod or satellite radio. And since my commute is up to 1.5 hours each way (up to 3 hours round trip commute) one could see how I would become excited about bringing my Sirius programming with me on the train.

When I first put the headphones on and fired up the unit, I was standing in the depot after having just finished mixing my coffee. No signal. Okay, so I walked outside and with a cloudless sky, I was able to get two bars and I was able to listen to the radio. I walked across the tracks and went to one of the open-air shelters (it was a particularly cold day and there are warmers installed overhead in the shelter.) As soon as I entered the shelter, I lost signal. Huh, okay. I decided to test it. I walked out of the shelter and received signal again. I walked around and although uninterrupted, I walked under a tree and the signal was interrupted. I started to become discouraged.

So, the train arrived and I boarded, selected a window seat and settled in. I was very disappointed (heartbroken, would be a better term) that I could not get a signal for pretty much the entire train ride. I tried moving the headphone wire closer to the window, I tried leaning my head closer to the window, tried holding the unit closer to the window, but the screen continuously displayed "Acquiring Signal." It was only when we were a couple miles from downtown that I was able to get a signal, but I attribute this to retransmitters that I hear people talking about.

I realized the same results on the way home. I tried it again the next day, this time sitting on the upper row of seats but to no avail. Since this purchase was primarily for entertainment while on the long train commute, I have decided to return the radio. I suppose I'll look into XMs option or just get an iPod. I will keep a sharp eye out for future offerings from Sirius and XM. I haven't given up on my quest to bring satellite radio with me where ever I go.

I give this product two stars, for the added features and well designed menues and navigation. It's too bad that I couldn't use it for its intended purpose, hence the deduction of three stars.

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This item is a homerun. I had the first Sirius Stiletto and that, while a nice item, was a little limited with it's WIFI connection and also it was a little large.

Sirius hit a homerun with this, the much improved SL2. To start off, the WIFI capability has been expanded to support 802.11b/g and also will work with most wireless hotspots. Plus, you can now enter a username and password to connect where you could NOT do this on the first Stiletto.

In addition to it's upgrade, it is also almost 30% smaller that the first Stiletto yet this item does not feel cheap. It is very solid, yet very small. It is slightly larger than a Motorola Razor phone. The feel of the device is also very nice with the all black look and the rubberized plastic covering on the back that will prvent scratches when set down.

Overall, the performance of the device has been 100% perfect with no lockups, freezes or issues. Plus, the exandable memory is GREAT. You can add up to an 8gb micro sd card making this a 10 gig MP3 player (2 GB internal memory).

Sirius has also updated the channel logos and wallpaper screens for each individual channel. Plus, the sports alerts are much improved and when listening to on NFL game, the screen displays a graphic of each team's helmet, ie. if the Raiders are playing the Cheifs there will be a Radier Helmet and a Chief helmet on the screen. This doesn't enhance your listening of course, but does make for a nice touch.

There are a few other added features but most importantly, they have included a bass boost with four settings (off, low, med, high) and also SRS Focus, also with four settings. The sound is much improved over it's predecessor when using as an mp3 player and, in my opinion, far better sounding than any IPOD.

The antenna headphones are probalby the BIGGEST improvement as the original ones were god awful. The improved headphones are extremely comfortable and are made by Altec Lansing. Portable reception has also improved with this device but if you do not live near a terrestrial signal repeater, you are probably going to be forced to either use the Antenna Headphones or try to connect over a wireless network because the built in antenna on the device is just not that strong and probably never will be---this is just a shortcoming of satelitte radio, not of the SL2 or Sirius.

Overall, I am loving life with this device as it is now my Satellite Radio for use in my home, car and in portable modes and also my primary MP3 player. I ditched my Ipod since I am now able to squeeze 10gb onto this player. Also, I can record any Sirius program on a daily basis and listen back when I have the time.

If you have been considering Sirius, or your are a current subscriber looking to upgrade to a better radio, your 100% best choice would be the Stiletto 2. A great device without a lot of cool features and capabilities.

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I'm a Gadget junkie...you name it, I've bought it and tried it, from the latest PC's...HD TV's,, Sling TV, TIVO, HD DVD players, Blu-Ray players,I-Touch, Zune, X-Box 360, PS3, Blackberry, XM radio & Sirius players...etc...etc...etc...

If your looking for he Ultimate portable music device, the Stiletto 2 is the answer...This unit does it all, you need no other portable music device...

First: How much money do you spend on downloading songs???

Possibly hundreds of $ a year? With Stilleto 2 you can download up to 10 hours of indiviual songs from Sirius...and it's no additional cost, just the monthly subscriber fee you're already paying, and you can replay them at any time with the built in memory.

Second: It automatically records the stations you listen to, up to 100 hours, so when your in a no signal area, you can listen to hours & hours & hours of music during this time.

Third: Not only does it have 2GB of built in memory but you can add a Micro SD card to increase your music collection. You can transfer / import music files from your PC...it will replaces youe Zune, Ipod, MP3 player, and using the Yahoo music site (software included) you can purchase music online and continue to add to your colection.

Fourth: It has not only satellite reception capability, but WiFi as well, and both work excellent! So if you have WiFi at home, no need to worry about a Satellite signal, it connects to your Wifi...and if you'e in a free hotsspot...wala, connetion!

Fifth: The reception of a satellite signal is very good even without the antennae earphones...anyone who complains that they can't receive a satellite signal indoors with this unit needs to remember "IT'S SATELLITE", that means you need a clear view of the sky to receive, if you got a roof over you, it will block the signal!!!

The only option I would like to see added is being able to load photos for viewing...

I say BUY IT! You'll throw away every other portable music player you have after you do!

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having used numerous consumer and expert reviews in the purchasing of the Stiletto 2, i feel the need to present my experience and opinion on this new receiver. first off, as a long time Sirius customer, i love satellite radio! even if you don't go with this unit, i highly recommend Sirius or XM to anyone that travels a lot or just enjoys listening to radio stations that stick to the stuff they want!

now for the Stiletto 2....

my previous receiver was a basic radio with the car and home kit that lasted 4 years, so upgrading to the Stiletto 2 was a major price jump and leap of faith on my part. i read the reviews (good and bad), product descriptions, and expert analyses. my conclusion? the Stiletto 2 is a very cool toy with lots of features and a sleek attractive design. the sole detractor to it is the extreme reliance on the accessory kits (not included).

ANTENNA RECEPTION: this is the major complaint of most negative reviews. the truth is that the Stiletto 2 has the same reception capabilities as any other unit WHEN outside or connected to a external antenna (only included in home or car kits). it will not work well indoors or in areas with significant obstructions to the sky, just like any other receiver. and its built-in antenna does allow you to listen to it with headphones while walking around outdoors. the Stiletto 2 also has a built-in wi-fi connection, allowing you to listen Sirius over wireless internet networks.

LOOK AND FEEL: nice design, lightweight, easy access menus, color display...overall A+

MP3 PLAYER: cool bonus that allows you to switch between Sirius radio and mp3 modes. the product description claims 2GB worth of space. however, only 800 MB is available for downloaded music, as the rest is designated exclusively for recording live programming from the Sirius channels. if you want more room for your mp3's, you can plug in a microSD card (up to 8GB) with your music into the Stiletto 2 and increase the size of your playlist!

STAND-ALONE/ACCESSORIES: out of the box, the Stiletto 2 will only run using headphones or earbuds. if you want to play it in your car or home, you MUST get an accessory kit (either home or car). websites claim that the universal kits for Sirius radios are compatible with the Stiletto 2. THIS IS MOSTLY INCORRECT! the external antenna is standard, but does not plug directly into the receiver. a cradle (included in kits) is necessary to play Sirius through your car or home stereo. the AC/DC adapter is also a different size and voltage. if you buy the home kit, you can only connect to a stereo via audio cables. this is a change from other receivers, which allow either a wired connection or have a built-in FM transmitter. only the cradle that comes with the car kit allows you to connect to a stereo over an FM signal. my suggestion to those that want the Stiletto 2 to work on any stereo or have previous Sirius radio kits is to buy the Stiletto 2 car kit only, and use your previous antennae to run the radio at home using the car cradle.

i give the Stiletto 2 a three-star rating. it has very nice features and a good look, but some of its advertised capabilities are misleading. there is no reason that the unit should not be able to FM transmit to any stereo without a car cradle, other than to gouge customers out of another $50.

Car Charger Power Adapter for Garmin Streetpilot C340 C330 C320 Cable Cord 12v Round Power Tip

• Smart Fuse for sudden power surge protection
• ! Garmin equivalent - 100% compatibility !

This adapter works well, but I have concerns about the durability of the cable itself (not the connectors). The wire is very light guage and does not have the outer cover that the OEM adapter has.

Edited/updated review: The item shipped IS NOT the same as pictured in the product listing. The cable does not have an outer jacket and consists of two very thin wires with light-weight insulation. After just 11 months of moderate-to-light use, the cable frayed and broke just where it enters the 12-volt power connector for the cigarette lighter socket. I don't believe this adapter is worth the money and would not purchase this product again.

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I purchased one of these replacement power cords last October through Amazon. I was surprised to see how thin the cord was --not the same thinkness as the original Garmin cord. Despite this, I used the cord through the Winter only to have it break one morning due to the cold temperature. While I do live in New England, I still would not expect a car power cord to literally snap due to cold weather brittleness. I've never had this issue with any other mobile power cord. I attempted to contact the seller in February asking for a refund but never received any response. I ended up buying an original equipment Garmin power cord from ebay, which works fine. A bit more expensive but worth the little extra cost. Don't waste your money with this product or seller.

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I ordered this in July for my Garmin c340 and it worked just as it was supposed to until this morning (in early Feb)when I went to plug it into the cigarette lighter, the cord had completely snapped off of the part that plugs in. I didn't notice any fraying previously, but I guess the wires had been fatiguing inside the insulation. I must say that I am disappointed in the durability of this product since it was well cared for and still only lasted a few months.

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We were very unhappy with the quality of this garmin car charger. It worked intermittently for about two weeks then stopped working altogether.

I bought this cord as a replacement for the above GPS model. Since this is an older model, it was difficult to find the exact cord that it came with. This is the cord that fits exactly into the round opening on the GPS and plugs into the car AC adapter. The price was also within reason. Product was delivered quickly.

Schumacher INC-7A-OBD On-Board Diagnostic Connector

this unit works great.will get the job done,at half the price of the tool truck that stops at work.big thanks to amazon.

I saw this exact same item at a shop that I get my tires, batteries, alignment, etc. done.

I had to get a new battery one day and one of the guys brought this out and plugged it into the OBD port to keep the electronic memory from losing everything while the battery was being swapped, I wrote down the info for this item and searched for it, forund it here and bought it, now I don't have to go to the shop for a battery swap, I can do it myself at home.

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Well built and easy to use. Works like a charm. Only reason I didn't give it the 5th star is that the owner can't replace the internal battery, which will mean some down time at some point in time have it serviced.

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If you ever need to change out your car battery and you need to keep all of the programs stored in your cars computer, then this is a must. I had the dealership change some of the factory settings on my truck to improve the performance, but the problem is, if you removed the car battery then you loose all of your upgraded settings. So when you plug this into the OBD II port, it allows current to stay in the computer and you don't loose your settings...

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If you change out a lot of batteries, you know what a pain it is to reset all the electronics on board these days. Especially if it's got to go through an emissions inspection also.

So this little memory saver does what it needs to do so conveniently and for so little cost. Amazon pulled through on the fast free shipping to boot!

Don't go disconnecting the battery terminals while the vehicle's running. That's a NO NO! I really like the LED charge status indicators. Very accurate. Get one of these, you'll be glad you did.

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PowerDrive RPPD150 150-Watt DC to AC Power Inverter Strip w/USB Port and 3 Outlet

I bought this based on a recommendation from a co-worker who purchased this at a truck stop. I am so glad that I did. Its like a power strip...for your car! The 3 Edison plugs are spaced just right so that you can fit 3 wall warts, the USB power is a major plus, and the car power port on the other end is of course a necessity. I love the rubber cover for the USB jack for when it is not in use (It is made of thick, durable rubber, and mine doesn't even show signs of wear).

As part of my job, I often have to drive a truck. That being said the cord is long enough to either set the strip on the dash, or the floor. I have never had a problem with heat, fan noise, or power draw. It is also pretty heavy duty, especially considering it doesn't weigh very much at all. The strip has 4 screw slides on the back for more permanent mounting.

My only complaint (Other than not having more outlets, which just isn't practical running off of a car power port), is that the L.E.D. indicating that it is turned on could be brighter.

This item is awesome for long trips, or for when you have to wait in the truck for a long period. I would say this item is a must for truck drivers, long trips with kids, or those people with tons of gadgets. 5 out of 5, I would not hesitate to buy another one.

I've recently broke one of these by accidentally smashing the plug. Entirely my fault (not the product's). But it works so good, I bought another. Its so nice to charge and use a laptop (and other gadgets) while traveling. I've tried a few 100watt inverters to power my 85 watt computer, they have all failed me. This 150watt inverter does what I want.

The bad...

The fan is noisy, but so are most all inverters of this sort. Plugging it in is a little finicky to get a connection it could be my car's receptacle. The power light is dim; tough to see on sunny days.

The good...

I use this to power either of my two power-hungry laptops. It has never flinched nor got very warm. This item seems more durable than average. It has a heavy gauge power cord that is about 2.5 to 3 feet in length. The power light is dim; doesn't light up the car at night. The 12volt receptacle is nice.

Other...

The long shape may not work for everybody. I leave it in my car's jockybox, and it barely fits. I bought mine from Town Pump (gas station) for a higher price than Amazon's.

Buy PowerDrive RPPD150 150-Watt DC to AC Power Inverter Strip w/USB Port and 3 Outlet Now

We were concerned that it would be powerful enough to run the PC but it worked perfectly. With 3 teenagers on a long road trip it was critical we had enough juice to power all the toys and cell phones. It powered my 17" Sony Vaio PC. We had a Samsung Tab plugged into the PC. Also kept a windows phone charged using the USB. The price on Amazon was incredible compared to the price in a the stores. I also like the "Power strip" layout and the Long cord. It could reach from the front cigarette lighter to the back seat. I also really like all the outlet options, I can charge anything anywhere. I'm going to start taking this on business trips as well. We are always having issues with enough power outlets for our PC and Iphones.

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The PowerDrive RPPD150 150-Watt DC to AC Power Inverter Strip w/USB Port and 3 Outlet is a decent power inverter. It allows you to charge most things on the go. If you have a larger laptop make sure you only charge it while it's off, otherwise the inverter gets a little rough on your car battery. But if you have something like a small camera or cell phone that needs charged this works great.

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Solidly built, well designed and I tested it with a volt meter and found it to produce 117 VAC (AC volts) on all three outlets. I did not test the 12VDC port or the USB port. The manual is well written and informative. The power cable is 4 feet long.

This unit produces a modified square wave to approximate a sine wave and product literature claims this is sufficient to power "most" laptops and electronic devices safely (some electronics are very sensitive to wave form). I will be using the PowerDrive to power a recently purchased Dell Vostro laptop. My expectation is that this advertised to run electronic devices safely so I'd be surprised if it didn't.

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- Broco GOWELD Portable Battery-Powered MIG Welder Kit - 200 Amp Output, Model# 600155

• Operates on two 12V, one 24V or one 36V battery
• Microprocessor control with optical encoder
• Die-cast aluminum chassis
• Two 2-lb. spools of solid (MIG/MAG) and flux-core self-shielding wire from .023 to .045 dia.
• 20ft. gas line

I really like this little welder I bought it because I knew I would be adding armour on to my trucks in Iraq (this was during the start of OIF III) I have used this welder extensively the specifications are accurate and it does a good job.

Having said that, I would like to see a finger stud under the trigger to support the weight of the gun it is hard to grip and manipulate the gun w/out touching the trigger, recently the gun has been running away. I have attempted to contact Broco about this and no reply as of yet.

All in all this is an excellent welder for the price, capable of many projects.

Dc Adapter for GPX 07 Pdl806 Pdl795 Pd718b Pd808b Jwin Jv11055b Jdvd743 Jdvd759 Jdvd766

• After market replacement car adapter
• save money on batteries

Wow! greatest thing since 7Up! yea! Now I can drive and have conversations, un-interupted why... no more bordom in the car! My kids are now able to play their DVD player and watch movies without the battery dying because of this wonderful invention called a DC car power adapter! After ordering from Amazon, It seemed only minutes that I received it! That is how quick the shipping was. It was fast and "furious" !!! Thank you sooo much!

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I ordered this adapter to replace my broken one. Not sure why, but it does not power up my dvd player even though my player's model number is listed.

NOCO IGD140HP Grey 140 Amp High-Performance Battery Isolator

I needed new isolator for my old 1994 dodge van for a 10,000 miles road trip across the USA. It worked perfectly well for me. It was new (not reconditioned) and installation was easy with all hardware provided in the box. They fit exactly in the space that I had when I removed the old one. After my 2-month road trip up it is still working well charging my engine and coach batteries while protecting my engine battery from draining.

hooked this up, does its job, id i needed to id buy some again, full metal design, terminals are perfect, and it charges my batterys amazing.

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This product is larger than anticipated making it difficult to mount in a crowded engine compartment. The instructions for a GM Delco alternator system are incomplete making installation almost impossible. NOCO does not answer emails about the incomplete instructions. Battery cables are needed for installation and NOCO will not send their catalog so that cables can be ordered. Forget it if you live in a small town with limited access to cables, etc. Do not buy.

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Works fine, but the directions are bad. Had to do some serious studying online to make sure I wired it right to my Delcotron alternator

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I installed this isolator on my truck to charge batteries on other vehicles. It works well. The installation was easy.

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Schumacher BAF-2 Battery Post Shim

It really helps on rectifying small battery to post to accommodate big battery terminals, reason for the 1 star deducted is that the shim's diameter is larger than the standard battery terminals, requires little modification to fit.

Stereo 3.5mm Hands-Free Headset + Car Kit Vehicle Plug in Adapter + Home Travel Wall Charger for Ve

This is the worse charger i ever purchase, even with all of the parts that comes with it i regreat buying this.

I do not recomend this product

I gave this three stars because the headset doesn't work. The car and home chargers work good. Not bad for the money.

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AGPtek® Super Mini ELM327 V1.5 Bluetooth OBD2 OBD-II CAN-BUS Auto Diagnostic Scanner Tool

Received the unit 5 days after ordering from BrainyDeals out of NY. Came in a nice labeled box with a foam sleeve inside to protect it. I bought this to use with Torque on Android. Tested on 1997 Ford Taurus, 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 1999 Chevy Trailblazer(Blazer), works perfect. I even tried the Ford Extended PID's with my Taurus and it works 100%. Range is what is to be expected for Bluetooth, with my car doors closed I can walk away about 20-25 feet and maintain a perfect data stream. Not a single time-out or drop-out of the bluetooth connection to my Samsung Galaxy S (SCH-i500). I am more than impressed with this "Cheap China Elm327 Clone" that is so often warned about being incompatible with the genuine ELM327 Standard. It is the smallest unit I have came across, once plugged into the car it doesn't get in the way of your feet. I have had mine for about 4 days now and have left it plugged into a vehicle the whole time, battery drain seems nonexistent, though I wouldn't let the car sit with it plugged in for more than 2 weeks or so.

UPDATE Oct 15 2012: I was so happy with my first unit that came from Brainydeal that I decided to order 8 more. Those 8 came from a company called Patazon, NONE of the units worked and after further investigation, the units from Patazon were completely different internals even though they looked the same on the outside until you look closely. Watch my Youtube video to see for yourself where I compare a Brainydeals Unit to the 8 that I bought from Patazon. ONLY BUY FROM BRAINYDEALS!!!!

Link to my Youtube video about them: (Can't post links, so go to YouTube and search for my channel under the name of IMYOURGUILTYPLEASURE, or you can search Youtube for the name of the video which is "Patazon's Mini ELM327 Bluetooth doesn't work with Torque" and you will find a 2 Part video series that clearly shows the differences between the two different companies' units)

Based on the reviews of this unit from Brainydeals I chose to buy this one even though there are some look-a-likes for a few dollars less. The unit connected immediately and works perfectly in both my '98 Jag XK8 and my '08 Jeep Commander. The pairing code is 1234 in case you're looking for it. I use the Torque Android app no problems. Recommended!

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Out of the 4 Bluetooth devices I use, this is the first that just would not connect with my tab. No PIN was provided. Research showed that likely PIN's were 0000; 1234; or 6789. None of these worked. I was very excited about this purchase as I had wanted to use Torque OBD on my tab. From the reviews I've read your odds of getting a working unit run around 50/50.

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You get what you pay for. This unit worked fine for two weeks and then became increasingly buggy and finally died on day 26. The CD can't be read by my Windows 7 PC. I am going to pay a little bit more for reliability next time.

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Then it stopped connecting to bluetooth. I enjoyed it when it was working though. Saw the status of my car which was the intention. Now it's useless. Not a good buy for $20.

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Black & Decker ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator

This compressor/inflator is very attractive. It is also lightweight and all the accessories with the exception of the charger store right on the unit.

I have owned compressors and I have owned high volume inflators. However, I have not owned a unit that includes both functions, and none of my units have ever been cordless.

Mounted on the front of the unit are three connectors for inflatables and balls. The high volume hose has a large connector and there is also a high volume adapter for pushing in the internal flap of some inflatables. On the front is an LED light for working in the dark.

The digital dial is bright and easy to read both in daylight and at night, and it has a sleep mode to save battery life.

Right out of the box, I see nothing but perks.

THE OPERATION

Operating the pump was not intuitive. First, I hooked up the pump to the tire and pushed the power button. That is the logical thing to do, and all my previous compressors have worked that way. Nothing happened.

I read the manual and it said first, I need to press the button to choose the compressor function or high volume function. Then, I need to press the "+" or "-" button until the pressure reading flashed "0," and then press the "+" or "-" button until the pressure reading was what I want.

It was a task to have to keep pushing the "+" button down repeatedly, especially when I need to go from "0" to "80." There was no way to advance the reading by using continuous pressure. It was just push-push-push. Then and only then do I push the power button to start the inflation. Once the desired pressure is reached, the power turns off automatically.

The operation is not difficult once I learned the steps, but it is not intuitive. I recommend storing the manual and the compressor together for others to reference, just in case.

BATTERY LIFE AND CAR ADAPTER

For the first run, I charged the battery as instructed for five hours. With that charge, I was able to inflate 1 truck tire, 4 minivan tires, and 4 children's bike tires over the course of three days before the battery died. (Note that none of these were inflated from a fully deflated state.)

Afterwards, I tried using the car adapter. The cord is conveniently wrapped to the bottom of the unit. It was long enough to reach to the back tires of my minivan.

I tried running the unit of off the charger plugged into the outlet, but the unit would not run. If I am not near my car and the unit is out of batteries, I am out of luck.

HIGH PRESSURE

The manual states that for pressures above 100 PSI, the compressor must not be operated for longer than 10 minutes at a time and with 20 minute breaks between usage. I did not find the maximum capacity listed in the manual or on the box.

I did test the unit up to 84 PSI and it functions well. The only problem is it's difficult sometimes to unhook the nozzle from the valve, so I have air escaping. So much air escapes that when I inflate to 84 PSI, by the time the nozzle is unhooked, there is only about 78 PSI left in the tires. To get 36 PSI in my minivan tires, I need to inflate to 38 PSI. The workaround is to over inflate the tires.

The compressor can be used as a pressure gauge. Just hook up the nozzle and the pressure reads on the digital dial.

HIGH VOLUME

I inflated some of my children's inflatables and found high volume inflation to be quick. The inflator also will deflate the toys.

One thing to note is the auto-off feature will not work with the high volume inflation. There is no pressure gauge function when high volume inflation is selected.

LED LIGHT

This is a simple yet useful feature. It is bright enough to help when working in the dark. Its operation, like other functions of this compressor/inflator, is not intuitive. There is no on/off button. I must first select the compressor or high volume mode and then press the power button and then the "+" or "-" button twice.

PROS:

+ convenience of compressor and high volume inflator in one unit

+ cordless

+ has a car adapter with a long cord

+ auto shut-off compressor

+ 4 nozzle adapters included

+ will deflate inflatables

+ LED light

+ easy to read dial

+ unit has a sleep mode

+ can be used as a pressure gauge

CONS:

unintuitive operation

will not operate off of wall outlet

automatic shut-off does not function with high volume setting

short battery life

must overinflate due to loss of pressure when disconnecting nozzle from tire

SUMMARY

This is a great unit. It looks beautiful and performs well. I did not find it any louder than the other compressors I have owned. The only problem is the (lack of) ease of use. The elderly may be easily confused by it -or any young person without a manual for that matter. If you don't mind reading manuals, this unit is wonderful.

UPDATE: Due to a comment on my review, I went back to retry the air station pressure setting. I was incorrect in one of my initial observations. The pressure settings can indeed be set by pressing and holding the "+" or "-" buttons and I do not need to press-press-press my way up to 36 pounds.

UPDATE 3/23/11: Died. Simply won't work anymore. It's been charged, plugged in to the car accessory port, and the thing simply will not turn on. The digital readout just blinks. Very frustrating. So I guess the lesson here is: don't buy! Changed my 3-star review to 1-star to reflect the failure.

Original review 2/2010: For whatever reason, I have amassed several portable air pumps over the years, apparently attempting to get the "best" one. I've decided there simply isn't one. This one is close, but suffers the same problem my other battery-operated pump had: it HAS to be charged for it to work, and for it to be charged, it must be plugged into a wall socket for a number of hours. Adding to this is that the unit comes with a cigarette-adapter plug, which aids in powering the unit while running the unit (the other battery-operated unit need this too.) To fill all four car tires, it's pretty much a necessity to make use of the adapter.

Operation is confused a bit as one must first determine the end pressure, with the unit not connected to whatever you are filling. First you must flip the switch on the right portion of the "U" shape of the unit, push to the right for low pressure items like tires or to the left for high pressure items like soccer balls, etc. Middle is off. Under the digital display in the middle are three buttons, the center one to turn the compressor on, the right one to advance the pressure and the left one to decrease the pressure. I found that once the pressure had been started with either button, holding it down would allow for rapid advancement, making high numbers much faster and easier to reach than pressing the button many times. Once reached, simply let it set a moment, then attach the hose. Only *then* do you hit the power button and it will fill by itself. It seems complicated, but once you've done it a couple times, it's not so bad. (Pro-tip: in dark situations, press one of the pressure buttons and an LED at the front will light up the area a few feet in front of the unit. Handy!)

The unit's biggest downside has been disconnecting the nozzle from tires. I don't know if it's my tires in particular, but the nozzle holds onto the valve stems with a death-grip. It should be simple, just flip the lock up and pull back, but what really happens is you pull the lock up and psssssssshhhhh you've just lost 2-3 pounds of air while fighting with the nozzle. I physically have to brace myself, preparing to flip the lock and pull with all my might to get it off the stem as quickly as possible. Most of the time I find I have to refill my tires a couple of times before I get it off the stem properly. Frustrating, to the say the least.

The digital readout is excellent. The preset pressure is a great way to ensure you get exactly what you want in whatever you're filling. The battery issue is annoying, but livable many other units are just like this. The valve stem problem is just that, however, and it might be a deal breaker if I can't get it worked out. It's really too bad because I like the pump in general.

Buy Black & Decker ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator Now

I have been using Black & Deckers ASI300 Air Station for over a year and can safely say that the ASI500 is a much better product. The one marked area of improvement is that the ASI500 is cordless. No more need to drag an extension cord around the car. After reading through the manual, and using the ASI500's digital pressure gage, I checked the tire pressure on one tire. After some trial and error, I was able to go through setting the recommended shut off pressure on the digital gage and inflated our van's tires. I was able to test the claim Black & Decker make about being able to fill four tires on one charge. Without charging, and using only the out of the box factory charge, this was accomplish leaving very little power to spare. I'm guessing that after a full charge the claim would be easily achieved. The ASI500 air station is very compact and easy to carry around. It has all the accessories for car, truck, bicycle, air mattress and all the sports balls. The unit comes with a charger as well as an attached 10 foot cord with 12 volt plug in adapter. All the accessories are nicely fitted on the unit for ease of use. One very nice feature is the small yet powerful light on the front of the unit that makes for easy night tire checking and inflating. This would make a great gift for anyone to add to the trunk of their car for road side emergencies. There are a few things to keep in mind with the ASI500. The first is that the air hose adapter is made of hard plastic and could break if forced. The second thing is the need to have a separate air pressure gage to check the tire pressure after inflating. I found that the AI500 was around 2 psi over the setting and I needed to release some of the air out of the tires. However these are quite minor issues. It took me around 15 to 20 minutes to fill all four tires to their proper psi. This was a bit faster than my old ASI300. With gas stations charging around a dollar for air, this is highly recommended for the home garage and those camping, biking, or vacation trips.

Read Best Reviews of Black & Decker ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator Here

Got my product today, read the instructions, charged it up, unplugged it, and turned it on. LCD displayed ERR. Went to B&D website for support, it told me that division was sold to Baccus Global.. went to their website, only units with jumper cables are listed.. not this unit or anything close to this unit.

So, I called Black and Decker. They first asked if I turned it on when it was plugged in. I don't think I did, but it would be a rather simple mistake. She acted like I might have killed with such a simple action. I said 'no'. She said that it can't be fixed and I had to take to the local authorized service center for a replacement. That service center was 25 miles out of my way. I called the service center, they told me they would replace my hours old product with a refurb.. and by they way, they don't stock them so it may take 4-8 weeks.

I fiddled with the compressor and re-read both the paper instructions and the instructions at blackanddecker.com. Note: they were different (whatever that means). The on-line version indicates you can inflate a tire without setting a max pressure whereas the printed manual didn't.

Regardless, I actually managed to get a non 'ERR' screen, and actually managed to get it in PSI instead of KpA. I inflated exactly one motorcycle tire, and it worked flawlessly. However, the battery, which did charge for 4-5 hours, was flashing that it was nearly dead after only one motorcycle tire.

I plugged it in (making sure the unit was turned off first so I didn't destroy it) and walked away. Unplugged it, turned it on to see how it was, etc. I got the infamous 'ERR' on the screen. I turned it off and on several times until finally I did not get the 'ERR' display. Cool... that's not that bad. A little inconvenient, but hey, I can turn it off an on 10 times. I hooked it up to a tire to get a reading and it read something like 700 KpA I Don't deal with metric KpA, so I tried to switch to PSI. No luck. I followed the instructions to the letter and hit the + and keys at the same time. I tried hitting them many times, holding them down for a while.... no luck. Seems stuck in KPA forever.

I disconnected from the tire. Turned the unit off, walked away for a while. Unit is charged up, not plugged in, and not connected to a tire at this point. Turn it back on, and it is taking a pressure reading of my garage of 770 KpA.

Bottom line: This unit seems flaky (at best), and I'm at my wits end. There is a 1 year warranty on the product from B&D, but I have decided to return the product and go with a simpler battery inflator with less bells and whistles. I'd hate to think that if I hit the off/on button (not the compressor run button) while plugged in that I might freak this unit out. I just get the feeling that if I got a new unit, and it worked perfectly, that it would flake out after 13 months.

Thanks to Amazon for treating customers better than the manufacturers do. I have purchased hundreds of items at Amazon, and I believe this is my first return. After dealing with B&D, I don't know if I'll ever buy a B&D product again.

One more thing: If the air hose was 6 inches longer (like my old inflator), it would be much more useable (if you get one that's not flaky). To get to a motorcycle tire over exhaust pipes, I had to hold the inflator in the air as the cord would not allow the unit to sit on the ground.

Sorry for such a long and 'sob story' review. This has got to be my longest review yet.

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I really love this air inflator/high volume pump. It's cordless and very powerful.

It can be used to inflate pretty much anything including automobile tires, bike tires, beach balls, rafts and so much more. I own another air inflator that you have to plug into the cigarette adapter in your car and it's a pain and it doesn't have the power to inflate automobile tires unlike this air inflator. This air inflator has plenty of power. It quickly inflated my car tires to 35 PSI and the manual claims that it has the ability to inflate up to 100 PSI, which is much more pressure than I will ever need to utilize.

The air inflator will take about 4 hours to fully charge the first time but then it's so convenient to carry around and not worry about pesky wires. The power cord has a light on it that will be red while charging and will turn green once fully charged. It also has sleep mode that it will go into if it's not used within two minutes. This helps to preserve the life of the rechargeable battery. It also has a built-in 12-volt vehicle charging cord that plugs into the cigarette adapter in your automobile. This allows you to recharge the battery while on the road. There is a blue LCD panel on the top of the inflator. First you set the desired PSI and then begin inflating. It will monitor the PSI and automatically stop when you have reached the chosen level. You lose a small amount of pressure while removing the inflator hose so I normally inflate an extra 1 or 2 PSI due to that fact.

The air inflator also has a built-in LED flashlight that comes in handy when working outside in the dark or in a dark garage. It also has built-in nozzles and hoses that are used to inflate other things

I love this air inflator & I would recommend it to all.

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Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver w/ Home Kit

I bought an Xmp3 player from Amazon about a week ago. I have to write that it became almost difficult to buy one because I read all manner of both rave and poor reviews. In the end I took a leap of faith and bought one despite identifying with some poor reviewers. The principle poor I read here was absolutely wrong and I want to address that here because the leap of faith I took was in deciding that the poor review was written by someone who likely didn't know how to operate the device.

The poor review stated that you had to view all the channels and could not save favorites so that you could easily go to the channels you like easily. Frankly I couldn't believe that, bought one anyway, and found the feature the review stated was not there in all of 5 seconds. And I am first-time XM device owner and subscriber.

So I want to accomplish two things in this small review. I want to say if you are too stupid to use the device, don't bother writing a review about it. You scare me and anyone else looking for credible information on a device. I just can't stand it when write bad reviews with less then all the facts. This rotten reviewer could have spent a few seconds with the device without even reading the manual and found the settings. It's right on the menu and so I am lead to believe this person has some ax to grind because no one is that stupid to miss the feature.

I do have some complaints, but for the most part, anyone would like this device.

The xmp3 has a very simple menu system on the device itself. You start off by being able to see all channels in a long list or seeing them by group. Once you find a channel you like, click options, then click Add to Favorites. It's so simple I don't know how one bad reviewer missed it. There is a paper channel guide sitting on top of the manual too. So if you just want to type in a channel, like 129, just press the keypad button and type it in. So in just 2 steps you are into whatever channel you want. I know CNN is 122, so I can go to my favorites, or just punch it in. I can't see how to make that any easier.

Someone here mentioned signal problems. I very much want to cover this because that also scared me. I live in San Francisco. And I take public transportation all the time. Buses, BART, I walk, etc. Some city streets allow just 2-way traffic. One lane for cars in each direction. If I walk on those narrow streets with 2 to 3 story houses on both sides, then the signal cuts out. If I want on wider streets, it's fine. And there are two kinds of signals. Terrestrial and Satellite. You can get one or the other, or both. And there is a setting in the options that shows you both signals while the music or news plays. So you will see how little signal you need to get the programming. Unlike regular radio, a limited signal does not mean poor quality. It's all you need to get the full experience. It's digital, so it's perfect or it's not. It doesn't need full strength to get a perfect audio output. This is important. Now, the Xmp3 came with a home kit, and I bought an extra one for work. I didn't have to mount the antenna outside at all. Just place it on a window ledge and watch the antenna signal. Aim it around and watch the signal response. It's stupid-easy. I did the same thing at my office. So when I am home or at the office, I plug the xmp3 into the doc, which is already plugged into the external antenna and I get great audio. It comes with a remote control with every home kit. A pair of self powered $20 speakers is all you need to use these with the home kits. It works fantastically and you need only the one device.

Some wondered if you can truly record more than one station at a time. Yes, you can. Keep this in mind because it's important and I'll explain why in the next paragraph where I explain the battery issues also raised in review.

Some complain the battery only lasts for 4 to 5 hours in live mode. First, live means you are listening to Xmradio live, and not recorded. The XMP3 player can play MP3s, WAVs, and recorded XM radio, plus live XM Radio. There is an easy way to extend the use of the radio to meet anyone's enjoyment needs. I have owned 5 iPods, 4 Zunes, 3 Zen Players, and 2 Rios, plus a Sansa. I have listened to over 200 audible books. I listen to podcasts more than anyone I ever met. I've been listening to portable audio for over a decade. So Xmp3 has a lot to live up to. I'm just as tough on a device as anyone else.

I want to give a quick example of how I use it and you can apply this to the battery issue. Because my method solves all the problems of battery, signal, etc in my opinion. So open those eyes wider and pay attention. The reality that this records 5 stations at once is the key. In the morning before the New York Stock Exchange Opening bell, I am up and getting ready for work. I record CNN, Bloomberg, and CNBC at the same time for about an hour. I can mostly listen to one of those live as I get ready for work, but the other 2 are recorded at the same time. When I hit the street to take my bus, I listen to the other recorded programs to avoid any signal issues. The information is still fresh, and I get no signal problem as I did record this while the unit is mounted into the external antenna. Playing back recorded programming, audible books, or mp3s makes the battery last 16 hours. So my point is, when you are listening to something live take the opportunity to record other stations so you maximize your listening time. It's easy, and it works well. And you get to use the device all day. Again at 4:00PM at work I set it to record the stations I want for an hour. So that at 5:00PM when I leave, I am listening to recorded shows from 1 hour ago and again, little battery drain, and no signal problems on the way home because it's recorded playback. What's the difference in listening to 1 hour ago programming? In fact, it's better. Let me explain why. When you record a channel for 60 minutes or more and then play it back, you can skip ads as easily as you can hit the "Next" button. The recorded shows are divided up by every change. If a ad comes up, it's considered a segment which can be skipped in playback. So when I listen to record news, I can quickly listen to the news by skipping ads. And it's even easier than a tivo! Just one tap of skip, skips one ad. If there are 3 ads in a row, you can skip 1, 2, and 3 times to skip all three ads. Easy as pie and you'll love it. So believe me, you want to take advantage of recorded shows when you go for a walk. You skip the bull, get perfect audio, and can listen just like live or skip ads. Up to you.

So I have to say, in terms of the device itself, it's a 5 star device. After reading poor reviews, I'm glad I tried it anyway. If you are on the fence, go for it. You will see as I have see that the device is fantastic. That's where the rave reviews come from. Those are from those folks that have a brain in their head and don't have some ax to grind.

Now I do have gripes, but they have to do with the XM2Go Music software. This software is not a music manager as you might think. It should not be compared to iTunes or Media Monkey, because it's honestly not a music manager at all. It's more of an upload tool to upload mp3s or WAV files to the device. Read on...

I thought the XM2GO app would be a full music manager, but rather what it does is allow you to easily setup a program record time if that's what you want. You can use it to upload music to your SD card. But the best way to do this is by organizing what you want to upload to the device into a single folder before you upload it. If you already have a full music collection on your hard drive that is stored in the file system by artist and you want a small subset of favorite tunes, you're going to go crazy with XM2GO because you will have to pick one by each song using a director tool in XM2GO to hand pick each song and choose upload. It's insanely stupid.

I use Media Monkey instead of iTunes. And in Media Monkey, I can take my favorites playlist and sent a copy of the songs in that playlist to a folder on my desktop in Windows. Then I use XM2GO to upload the contents of that single folder to the SD card. This gives me my favorite MP3s on the XMP3. I find this the fastest, easiest way to deal with the extremely lousy XM2GO software, which didn't even come with my player. I had to download it. The one real complaint I have with the XMP3 player is not with the device. It's with the Music app from XP / Pioneer. These two companies absolutely blew it on the software. You can work around this as I said, but it would have been great to have a more full-featured music app so that you can easily manage podcasts and mp3 playlists on the device. The way it's done now makes me want to visit with Pioneer and XM and slap these stupid programmers. I don't know why it is so hard for these companies to see what needs to be done to make something simple and enjoyable to use. It's as if they have no brains in their skulls, and know that's not true. It's not a show-stopper. I'd buy the device all over again even knowing what I know now.

You can add audible content to the Xmp3, but not on the SD card. It goes on the devices built in memory. And recorded XM radio also goes on the device memory. So the SD card is truly good for MP3s and WAV files.

Now a few other points for first -time XM people. If you use the web app to play content online you can click a button and buy the song from Amazon. I love this feature. So listening via a laptop over the internet is a good idea and can help you discover new songs to buy. BUT! And I mean BUT, some stations are not available online. No Bloomberg or CNBC for example. Don't count on every station being there exactly the same way as on the device. Because of this, I strongly recommend getting a home kit for your home and office. If you just think it through a little you'll find that the battery, being mobile, etc are all not a real problem. Even for those walking around dense cities as I am.

This is an awesome device.. when it is working.

I loved mine.

Then it gave me the "powering up" or "please wait" signal of death.

This isn't uncommon.. check out the xm fan message boards to see more.

I used mine pretty heavily.. gym, office, car, home... probably 8-9 hours a day

My wife has a unit too.. .i can only wonder how long it will be before it dies.

Pioneer will replace the unit.. then XM will try to charge you fee to switch the subscription, so then you have to fight them to waive that.

I love XM, and I really want my XMP3 to work, but it is not a reliable product... a good product, but not reliable.

Update: Pioneer did send me a replacement unit.. but get this.. I bought my unit in April, I got my replacement unit 11/12/09. The warranty isn't going to be 1 year from 11/12/09 though.. it's still from April. So basically now i'm down to 6 mo. warranty with what I assume is a refurb.

If you are going to buy this product, this is one time I would HIGHLY suggest purchasing it from a place where you can get an extended warranty.. and i'd buy the most warranty I could possibly get on the product.

It's a great unit.. but reliability is TERRIBLE.

Buy Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver w/ Home Kit Now

REVISED 10/21/09

If I could reduce my Amazon rating of this product to one or fewer stars, I would. The Pioneer GEX-XMP3 has failed for the second time is just a hair over ten months. The first time around, Pioneer took far more than a month to replace it and Sirius/XM customer support was worse than useless. It took five people there to finally tell me that I needed to contact Pioneer for warranty support. Pioneer immediately lost my request for an RMA. Sirius/XM would not credit me for the month of service where I had no receiver.

A bit more than a year ago I had three XM accounts. Changes in programming after the merger led me to cancel two of those accounts. If I wanted to listen to moronic AM music stations, I'd tune in on the radio, not a service I'm paying for.

Now I have one XM account and as soon as I get this GEX-XMP3 replaced by Pioneer, I will have no XM accounts and the radio will be offered for sale.

I am totally down on Sirius/XM and Pioneer. With all the alternatives, both companies are a bad deal.

REVISED 6/15/09

Durability of this product is questionable. The unit I purchased on 12/15/08 died a few days ago. Trying to get a replacement from Sirius XM is a nightmare. The first call, the rep hung up on me because I asked her to speak louder. The second rep referred me to XM's online shop. The third rep referred me to a "product specialist" that turned out to be the general number for Pioneer Electronics which was closed at the time and doesn't provide any information on its website for XM radios. Five calls in all without a tangible result except to convince me that canceling my other two XM subscriptions was a good idea.

All the calls were handled by offshore personnel who spoke heavily accented English that was difficult to understand.

Sirius XM programming has deteriorated to the point where the classical station I listen to most now carries a great deal of NPR and WFMT-FM programming, which I can receive for free on an FM radio. Why should I pay for it?

At this point, I cannot recommend Sirius XM for any reason. The programming is awful. The customer support is terrible. They lost 400,000 customers last quarter and I suspect that is only the beginning of a flood of subscriber losses.

I had a high opinion of the GEX-XMP3 initially, but it frequently loses its activation which is irritating and, as I said, it died on me a few days ago after less than six months of use.

My advice: stay away from Sirius XM it is not s company you want to do business with.

Original Review:

The Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver is a technological marvel. The unit, however, has no useful existence without the companion Sirius/XM service and I have grave reservations about the newly merged service which I'll address below.

The XMP3 is a vast improvement over the original INNO. It is smaller, lighter and has more features. The unit measures 2 x 3.6 x 0.6 and weighs 3.1 ounces: definitely shirt-pocket sized. It has a 2.5" screen that displays information such as titles and program guides in vibrant color. (Unfortunately, the screen is useless for displaying your own photos or video as will be explained.)

The battery supports 4 hours of live XM playback or 16 hours of recorded audio playback. A second battery or backup power supply is a must for active use when playing live XM. I recommend the Tekkeon TekCharge Rechargeable Li-Poly Battery for this purpose.

The XMP3 feature list is long and impressive:

It takes microSDHC cards up to 8GB. With 128kbps MP3 audio, that's enough space for about 120+ hours of recorded music. Because the XM service cannot be dependably received in buildings and some other locations, you will definitely appreciate this capacity.

The 2GB of internal memory will store 75 hours of programs or 10 hours of songs. I have no idea of why this peculiar limitation exists, though it probably has something to do with the RIAA.

You can record up to five channels simultaneously. Recording setup is quick and easy. There is also an interesting automatic recording feature which will "learn" your music listening preferences and automatically record up to 30 hours of programs from five channels.

Another very neat feature is the ability to pause live audio and then playback up to 30 minutes. Kind of like an audio TiVo and very handy if you have to interrupt your listening for a short while.

The user interface on the XMP3 is delightful. Four physical buttons, a scroll wheel and four touch sensitive buttons. Menus are explicit and very easy to follow for all available functions.

There's a 3.5mm audio jack and the volume is sufficient to ruin your hearing, if that's your choice. Audio range is adequate, but not outstanding. There is, by the way, no built-in speaker.

You can tune in the XM program guide, which is helpful, and there are TuneSelect and GameSelect features. These latter two features allow to find your favorite artists whenever they are being played on any XM channels. You can input up to 30 names.

There a bunch of other features that I don't have a lot of use for, but you may. You can play audio books, make up playlists and more. There is also well designed software to managae your XMP3 music from your PC. Best to visit the Pioneer website to get all the information on the XMP3.

XM reception with the built-in antenna is surprisingly good, but if you get one of these, expect to use it as a pre-recorded music player much of the time when depending on the internal antenna.

What don't I like? My biggest dislike is the merged Sirius/XM service which I'll get to momentarily.

I don't like the fact that the unit is so expensive. I bought mine through a special XM promotion with home and car docks and while it represented a considerable savings, it is still too expensive in my opinion. Pioneer and XM put outlandish prices on the docks, in my opinion, to discourage users from using one receiver in multiple locations. A dock costs as much as a year's second XM subscription. Considering that they sell many perfectly adequate XM receivers for just a few dollars or even give them away free occasionally, you can see their logic: they want you to buy multiple radios, each of which needs its own subscription.

I'd rather use one radio and have one subscription XM does all it can to discourage that approach.

Second, I think XM really limits its market by not including photo and viewing capability in this unit. I'm not an engineer and I have no idea of what it would take to add such capability. But I do see many other reasonably priced personal media players that include music, photo, video and even FM tuner capabilities at one-half or less the price of the XMP3 and don't require a subscription. In fact, as I wrote this paragraph, I have to question why I own this unit especially considering what has happened to the once superb XM service.

Sirius and XM recently merged. I had never been much interested in Sirius thinking that any station that paid Howard Stern hundreds of millions to be vulgar wouldn't have much to offer me. XM offered truly wonderful programming. Their programmers or disc jockeys or whatever they were called loved their music and it showed.Almost every channel was an adventure when you first tried it. You might not like the genre, but it was apparent that whoever compiled the playlist loved what they were doing.

When the merger took place, most of the XM programmers were apparently let go and Sirius programming was put into place. Sirius programming isn't much different than what you would find on any AM or FM station. It is dull, uninspired and often permeated with way too much talk. For example, where XM had commercial free classic rock, Sirius has Wolfman Jack in some form or other (I don't know if it's the real Wolfman Jack or an imitator). I didn't care for the screechings of Wolfman Jack when I was a kid and I sure don't like them now. I'm paying as subscription fee to listen to music, not the rantings of some guy.

Even the country music XM channels are now polluted with insipid talking. Same for the classical stations.

In short, the once truly fine XM programming is now utterly dumbed down Sirius programming.

Not only the programming suffered as a result of the merger, so did customer service. Deactivating an old XM receiver and adding this one to my account took more than an hour, dealing with people speaking heavily accented English and reading from a script. Some of the questions they asked were irritating, such as demanding to know why I was switching from one XM radio to another. Talk about stupidity.

A letter of complaint to Sirius management went unanswered.

In short, Sirius is not XM and, quite frankly, I am considering cutting back to one subscription and giving it six months to change for the better before dropping Sirius/XM altogether. Personally I don't think I'll be alone in this. If what I read in user group forums is at all accurate, satellite radio may be in for a short and dim future as result of this merger. Time will tell.

So, the XMP3 itself is a five-star product. There are a couple of things, most notably photo and video playback, that I'd like to see in it, but I am reviewing the product in its actual state, not my wish list. The revised XM programming since the merger with Sirius merits not more than one-star. Sirius/XM service rates one-star as well.

Thus, if you are really considering this technological marvel, consider the other two factors first.

Jerry

Read Best Reviews of Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver w/ Home Kit Here

The Inno was the best portable xm radio until now. This improved version is thinner, lighter, has a bigger, beautiful screen, can record several channels simultaneously (!!), has more memory (75 hours), an sd card slot, and the best of all, now lets you look at the program guide on the screen so you can see what programs are coming up. The old push buttons have been replaced by a touch wheel. Pioneer does it again!

Want Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Portable XM Satellite Radio Receiver w/ Home Kit Discount?

I received this as a gift and I've been very happy with it. It's not perfect by any means but it does just what I need, play's music! =)

I never thought I'd subscribe to XM/Sirius. Why spend money on music you can get free over the radio? I travel frequently even within my own area of the country (NYC) and I always hated the fact that I'd lose radio reception of my favorite radio stations as I would go from one area to another. As such I would strongly recommend a portable XM unit to anyone who travels frequently and likes hearing the latest music w/o buying individual songs.

That's where this little unit comes in. I've had it for a couple of days and I can say the audio quality is pretty good. Audiophiles who demand crystal clear high def audio might be disappointed but for everyone else it's definitely better than FM radio.

As far as reception goes, I have trouble receiving a clear signal in my apt. It does come with a home kit which allows you to attach an antenna (included) that you can place on the nearest south facing window and that takes care of the problem.

The nice thing about this unit is the recording features. I love how I can set it to record several stations continuously. This way if I'm on a flight or train ride with a weak signal, I can turn off the antenna and just listen to pre-recorded music. (It also allows you to insert an SD HC card of your own music and play that too) Works for me.

A few gripes about this unit as some others have mentioned is that although it allows you to record individual songs or programs, it has an annoying fade in/out 'feature' that you can't turn off. It fades in at the beginning and fades out at the end. It's annoying when listening to a playlist of songs you've recorded from the radio.

Unlike an Ipod, it doesn't show you the album art. Not a big deal but with such a crystal clear color screen, it would be nice if it took advantage of it to show something other than the default backgrounds.

The navigation could be improved as it takes several clicks of different buttons to get to the features but I got used to it after a while.

Overall, nice unit. Not quite a 5 star but it's good enough for me.

UPDATE: 1/16/2009 a new firmware for this unit v1.18 resolved the fade-in/fade-out annoyance. It makes playing back all the recorded songs and programs so much more enjoyable! Love-it!

UPDATE: 11/15/2009 I've seen a lot of people talk about faulty units. I must be lucky or they must be unlucky. Mine has taken a few (unintentional!) drops and bruises and still keeps on ticking. Noticed a few times the loading screen of death or the no power up scenario but holding down the power button for a few seconds, leaving it off and then trying again worked for me. That or putting the unit in it's home base unit to charge got it back to normal. Battery hasn't been an issue for me. The most recent firmware for the unit does a good job of turning off the antenna when listening to recorded audio so that saves a lot of battery. Even after almost a year of use it still lasts me 3-4 hrs. Enough for a train ride from NYC to Boston. I still keep my 4 star rating.

CyberTech MagSafe 2 85W Car Charger Adapter (20V 4.25A) For Apple MacBook Pro MD506LL/A A1424 Retin

If you have a Apple MacBook Pro and travel a lot, this is a must! It charges quickly and has a port for iPhone or iPad. Highly recommended.

Only DC 12volt change I could find for the new MagSafe2 Charger. It happen to be selling on amazon so worth a shot. The item is made decent build quality on the medium side, the high end part I would guess is the MagSafe2 looks to be same as original part for OEM chargers. If there was one with a Kevlar cable and metal DC plug because the unit does get quite hot and serve as a better heat sink.

My only question is longevity otherwise I would give the rating 5 stars and have only used it for 2 weeks. More efficient than inverting and the fan noise of my inverter was annoyingly loud plus having a separate charging cable when I was mobile was convenient. Leaving the DC Charger in the car and leaving the AC charger stored in laptop bag has been better then the occasionally situation of packing up and leave the car to find out I left the charger in the car.

Charging the macbook does not prompt any thing special just starts charging when you plug in and the led indicator light is of course the same. There is also a 2 amp USB charger on the plug and theoretically can charge your iPad at full speed.

Hope it last long... if it does not it would be nice to find a high quality built version.

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