Archive for the ‘Field’ Category

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The iPhone of Flashlights?

Friday, March 4th, 2011

I have not really paid much attention to Maglite lately. They were slow to adopt LED technologies, the industrial design while solid has pretty much never changed – the brand had become stale and boring. There are probably many reasons for the stagnation, included the founder’s nasty divorce and protracted legal battle. But whatever the reason, it appears to be in the past. The company has finally begun introducing new products starting with XL100.

While the design is a dramatic departure from a traditional Maglite, overall it is nothing revolutionary, rather it brings the brand more inline with the industry’s current offering. The “magic” if you will is in the user interface and overall value. Instead of spending a 1000 words, describing it to you, check out the video below, keeping in mind you can pick on up for about $30, I would say the XL100 is solid piece of equipment worthy of adding to your toolbox, vehicle, etc…

Link: MAGLITE XL100 LED Flashlight, Black

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The TekPicks Go Case

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Over the next several weeks I will be breaking down our primary travel case and the tools that keep our operation running while in the field. So to kick things off it only seems appropriate to take a look at the case itself. The Pelican 1510. Between all the guys in the shop, our best guesstimate is these cases have seen at least a million miles in travel.

With that many miles under our belt you would think we would have at least one or two minor grips about our  Pelicans…a broken hinge, bad wheel – something.

Nothing. Not one problem, crack, break or malfunction. All of our Pelican cases have performed perfectly. To get the most functionality out of the case, we recommend the configuration that includes the padded dividers and lid organizer. Amazon sells a kit including the 1510 and dividers for $160 plus the organizer for another $20. If you do not plan to carry many small items, Pelican offers a laptop/overnight insert option as well. One more more item of note, The 1510 does meet FAA size requirements for carry-on baggage, an essential feature for us since we NEVER check our camera gear.

Our runner-up selection was the Porter Case. It has a great feature that we wish our Pelican offered. The case folds down from the handle making an extremely handy luggage cart. Our only real gripe is that the new injection molded cases show a lot of minor wear – while the Pelican still look basically new.  But a small trade for a built in cart that saves our backs.

Link: Pelican 1510-004-110 Medium Carry-On Case with Padded Dividers

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Eye-Fi Connect X2

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Eye-Fi X2

I have owned the original 2 GB Eye-Fi for several years and while the concept was neat, I never got much use out of it. For me anyway, transfers were slow and never seemed to work quite right. Needing to replace a lost card this week, I thought I would browse by their site to see if the technology had been updated. Not too surprisingly, it had and with some very nice features.

The two biggest improvements I found were the addition of what Eye-Fi calls “Endless Memory” and “Ad Hoc” transfers. Endless Memory automatically removes the oldest content on the card that has already been uploading to your computer once the remaining space available on the card hits a user set threshold. And while that is neat enough, Ad Hoc is where the real magic is at. Typical Eye-Fi cards upload via your Wi-Fi Network. No available network – no upload. For anyone working away from an internet connection you were out of luck. No more! The Ad Hoc feature creates a private WLAN connection that allows for direct transfers from camera to phone including photos shot in RAW.

Unfortunately the Ad Hoc feature is only available on the 8 GB Pro Card, retailing for $100 +. The TP budget did not have quite enough in it this month for that one so if one out there has had a chance to play with it, tell us about it in the comments. Considering how many fire scenes ETC works without power or internet access, Ad-Hoc sounds like a perfect way to review and share photos in real time, especially if it works with the iPad.

I did go ahead and upgrade to the 4 GB X2 card and other than the slight disappointment of not being able to assign an local upload destination based on connected network, everything worked as advertised. To solve that minor annoyance I just set the upload destination for my Flickr account and never set a local one.

Link: Eye-Fi X2 Series

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Send Station Dock Extender

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Dock Extender (Docking without case removal)

For years, I never bought cases for any of my gadgets, but now its seems they have nearly become a mandatory item. My Kindle, iPad – although that is more for propping it up to watch videos in bed, Canon G11, MB Pro or my iPhone 4 all have some sort of protective carrying case. But this with evolution in my shopping habits, I have had to sacrifice my use of charging docks – which has long been one of my favorite accessories. The good news is there are more and more solutions out there that allows customers to use both. Many iPad case manufacturer are building in removable back pieces to accommodate a dock and SendStation has a practical if a bit overpriced dock extender for use with virtually any iPod or iPhone.

dock

The kit comes with the actual extender, a wire support, and 3 rubber pads of varying thickness depending on how far your phone sits away from the support. As you can hopefully see from the picture above, I am using it in a Kensington iPhone Dock, in which it fits perfectly. Even with the Otterbox Defender case. In my mind, value of is function of utility so calling the Dock Extender overpriced is perhaps a bit unfair as it works almost flawlessly. The only real problems that have surfaced so far are it takes two hands to add or remove a phone – either the case tab is in the way to dock or the dock is not heavy enough to stay in place when I go to pull the phone off and the extender often pulls off the dock instead of the phone.

So while I am pretty happy with the solution, it is relatively expensive and it doesn’t work perfectly but I think the investment was worth it.

Link: SendStation Dock Extender for iPhone

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A New Era in Bluetooth Headsets

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

jawbone-era-blueooth

I have been testing the new Jawbone Era for couple of weeks and thought it was time to share my thoughts on Aliph’s latest noise destroying headset. I have been a fan of the brand since its inception. To launch the original Jawbone, the company produced a short video with some pretty crazy demonstrations to show the power of the its then new NoiseAssassin algorithm.

When they turned on the leaf blower and the headset was able to effectively eliminate that level of background noise, I was sold.

Of course, as powerful as those demo’s were, there was one huge gaping hole in that strategy. It does not matter how well the person on the other end of the call can hear me, if I cannot hear them. With a leaf blower going full blast just a few yards away, the user would have little chance of enjoying a conversation. Which sums up my main issue with technology even now, four years later.

While manufactures have improved nearly every other aspect of their headset, incoming audio quality has remained a continuing source of annoyance and frustration. So after reading Aliph had specifically addressed this issue, I was quite excited to get and see how successful the company was in achieving a resolution.

Era

Their method of attack was to use the NoiseAssassin 3.0 technology to automatically adjust the incoming volume level based on the users surrounding. So ideally, you will no longer have to resort to fumbling around trying to find a couple of small buttons on the side of your head to try and hear what your wife wants for dinner because you happen to driving by a construction site.

So far, I have not noticed the technology in action. And to me, that indicates the effort is pretty darn effective. My experience in both an office environment that can get quite loud and regular use commuting, dealing with the usual road noise I have not had to adjust the volume or ask someone to speak up. In fact, I kinda forgot about it until after an especially long conversation and realizing that not once did I have any trouble hearing.

The updated Era also adds HD audio for a better music/media experience and an accelerometer that lets you shake the headset to pair and double tap to answer a call. At $130 the Era is a the top of price heap, nothing unusual for the flagship Jawbone and if you rely on a headset to get through your day, you cannot do any better than the Era.

Link:Jawbone ERA Headset

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Posted in Field, Wireless | Comments Closed

My Favorite Kindle Case

Friday, January 28th, 2011

51dtkkKJPqL._AA300_

After upgrading to the latest Kindle, I was hesitant to slap a big bulky case on it. I am not a huge fan of case in general and considering how nice and slim the new Kindle is, I did not want to lose that. Well, I held off as long as I could but a few weeks ago I saw about an inch long scratch had appeared on the plastic housing. Just enough to drive a man crazy.

It took me a few days but I finally settled on the Timbuk 2 in a snappy neon green and gray pattern. The outer nylon cloth shell is quilted with high density memory foam and the interior is covered in an ultra-soft faux fur. The case is perfectly form fitting, providing great protection for the device in my travel bag.

Depending on your needs, this may not be the case for. You do need to completely remove your Kindle from the case to use it and there is no extra room for any accessories like the charger or screen light. For me, that was an ok trade-off as I really never travel with those items anyway and I get to keep the Kindle and its sleek form factor, just the way I like it.

Link: Timbuk2 Nylon Quilted Kindle Envelope Sleeve

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Posted in Field, Travel | Comments Closed

Inova T4-WB 175 Lumen Rechargeable LED Flashlight

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

inova

Its time to update our flashlite recommendation. Over the last few years the Inova T4 has emerged as our go to unit for several reasons. First, is durability. The housing is aircraft aluminum the has been hard annondized. We have beat the heck out of it around the shop and in on the job site and they still look new. Next is size. The T4 is impressively small but still comfortable to handle. Finally, we love the LED bulb that can pump out up to 175 lumens for 2 hrs before killing your battery.

The kit comes with a Lith-Ion battery, charging cardle and both AC and DC plugs.

Link:Inova T4-WB 175 Lumen Rechargeable LED Flashlight with Knurled Hard Coat Anodized Aluminum Housing, Black

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Youngstown Glove Co. Waterproof, Kevlar Lined Gloves

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

gloves

I am on the search for a new pair of winter work gloves. My needs are simple and obvious. Warm, waterproof and durable. This pair from the Youngstown Glove Company, seems to have filled all of my requirements and then some. Features include Kevlar construction for ANSI/SEA 105-2005 level 3 cut resistance on the palm, micro-fleece lining plus a water and windproof membrane that is still breathable. On top of all that, the palm is covered with Clarino Non-Slip surface that can maintain its gripping force even when wet.

Sounds perfect right? My only concern is the price point. At $50 these would among the most expensive gloves I have ever bought. But if they are as durable and useful as the manufacturer purports I would have no problem throwing down the loot. I would love to hear a few testimonial, so if you own a pair give us your rundown in the comments.

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Plano Molding XXL Wheeled Storage Box

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

piano locker

We have been long fans of the Rubbermaid ActionPackers for their exceptional durability. But they have always lacked in one area of utility, movement, i.e. the lack of wheels. We pack our AP’s full, so it would be great to have a little help moving them, especially if we are stuck out at job site alone.

And so we have begun the conversion to Plano units. While we have not had years to stress test yet, these boxes have found a place in our hearts with their heavy duty construction, reasonable price and best of all, wheels! Our favorite model the XXL, also sports three locks, tie down hooks and FAA approval for all airlines. We did find a couple areas for improvement though…a domed lid would add a ton of extra storage and metal hinges and locks would solidify any durability concerns.

Link: Plano Molding 1819 XXL Wheeled Storage Box

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Light for Life UC3.400

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

light for life

Having a good flashlight is critical in our business. MagLights and StreamLights have been our favorites for both durability and quality of illumination. We prefer rechargeable models but long recharge times still keep us packing at least one disposable battery unit as backup. Enter the UC3.400.

Constructed of a durable and lightweight polymer, the UC3.400 is impact, abrasion, and water resistant; using 3 LED’s rated for 50,000 hours to produce up to 270 lumens with a run time of about 2 hours (30 minutes at peak). While those specs are well and good, at this price point ($170) I would expect nothing less. So what sets this light apart from the crowd? How about a 90 second recharge time? To Full. Yeah, that would do it.

Link: Light for Life Flashlight, UC3.400, Full Size, Black

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