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Fenix Flashlights Now Available!
Our first inventory shipment should be arriving later toady. Fenix is recognized throughout the industry for both their quality and value so we are very happy to be able to offer them to our customers.
We have access to Fenix’s entire product line, so do not hesitate to contact us with your special orders!
Attack of the Mini Copters!
I remember my first RC car. It was a Nikko Dune Buggy Racer with these great knobby tires for off -roading. There was also a “turbo boost” control for extra speed when you needed it. For a 10 year old it didn’t get any better.
With any toy at that age, at first you cannot imagine life without it but eventually it ends up in a box somewhere. I suspect the purchase of my first Nintendo killed my interesting in the genre as that was my first and last RC toy until about 5 years ago when I first spotted the relatively new micro helicopters.
I remember feeling that same excitement getting ready for my first flight, just as if I was 10 years old again. Unfortunately the thing was a piece of junk. The body was made of Styrofoam that split down the middle after the first crash and the blades were so brittle that both sets broke within a few days of use and there was $60 bucks down the drain.
The good news is the micro helicopters are way better today and way cheaper. Our friends at Xenon Project were kind enough to send us demo unit to dust off our pilot skills with.
Our unit is the S107G in red. The little sucker is surprisingly well made. The chassis is metal and the housing is a nice high quality plastic. Our only wish here is that the gears were made of metal as well.
The other major improvement we noted was the blades. Instead of being fixed and super easy to break, each blade can fold back and is made of much more flexible – i.e. damage resistant plastic than previous models.
The copter itself has a rechargeable battery, but the control takes 6 AA batteries that you supply. In the air the S107G is a whole lot of fun to fly. The controls are very stable and responsive, making it pretty easy for even beginners like us to look like seasons pro’s. Our only other minor gripe pops up with the controller. It communicates with the unit via IR which means a very limited flight range. We found that with any more than 10 feet the connection was lost causing a crash.
All in all, we love this little guy. At just $25 bucks is less than half the price of our first copter and superior in every way from fly-ability to durability.
Be sure to zip over to Xenon Project to check it out along with their huge inventory of everything RC.
Link: Xenon Project
February Consumer Product Safety Commission Recalls
Adding a new feature to the site today, highlighting the Consumer Product Safety Recalls for each month. Our initial post kicks off with the Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum. 142,000 units have been recalled due to the risk of fire and shock. The power cord between the power nozzle and the wand connector can short-circuit posing fire and shock hazards to consumers. This condition can occur even if the vacuum has been turned off but left plugged in.
For full detail and on the matter and a complete listing of all CPSC recalls for February visit: http://1.usa.gov/glVgui
The iPhone of Flashlights?
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
Milwaukee 12v Li-ion Sub-Compact Driver Kit
The Milwaukee 12V Li-ion Sub-Compact Driver 
The TekPicks Go Case
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
Cyberpower 1500VA UPS with LCD Display
As part of our ongoing project to protect and secure our IT equipment and corporate data we have added Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) to each of our workstations. Our shop is in a fairly rural area so the power grid can be a bit tricky at times, especially in the winter. On a dolllar/VA or Watt basis, the Cyberpower unit blew away anything APC had to offer and considering how well reviewed the product is on both Amazon and New Egg, it was a pretty easy choice to make. 1500 VA might sound like a bit of overkill, but we figure given the setup of our machines we will only get about 20 minutes of work time before killing the battery – not bad but not amazing…
Perhaps the best part of the new setup is the ability to move our data acquisition cart around the shop without having to shut down all the equipment. A nice time saver for sure.
Link: Cyberpower CP1500 UPS
Little Giant's Little Jumbo Safety Ladder
One of the unsung heroes around the shop is our Cotterman 4 Step Rolling Ladder. Ok, great but why is the post about a Little Giant product? Don’t worry, I will get there….The beauty of this ladder are the 4 recessed casters that let you easily move it around. When you need to use it, just climb up. The ladder will automatically sink down and secure itself at floor level. The only real negatives to the product are cost and space. Units start around $400 and since it does not fold, the Cotterman is difficult to transport and takes up a lot space in the storage closet.
Because of those downsides the Little Giant could be a very good choice should we need a second ladder. Even at its largest, 4 step, configuration the Little Jumbo comes in at less than half the cost. Plus it collapses down to just 5 inches deep making storage and transport a snap. Additionally, the back legs have two casters that let you drag it around the work site while it is in its unfolded position. Finish up with a hand rail, small work tray, large rubberized treads and a 300 pounds capacity and it looks like a great choice to us.
Available in three sizes: 2 step/18 inches, 3 step/27 inches or 4 step/36 inches.
Link: Little Giant 10310B Little Jumbo Safety Ladder
Eye-Fi Connect 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
Send Station Dock Extender
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.
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
Milwaukee M18 Hacksall
UPS just dropped off another box of power tool goodness, the Milwaukee M18 Hacksall along with a couple of Boar Blades. More once we have had time to check this guy out.
Link: Milwaukee 2625-21CT M18 18-Volt Hackzall Reciprocating Saw Kit
Link: Boar Blades 7X761 Bi-Metal Reciprocating Blade
Drobo FS
This year we have decided to beef up our data storage and backup system. We have relied on a magnetic tape process for several years now and wanted something more accessible and reliable. Our biggest concern was the cost and complexity of implementation. We are a small shop and try to avoid calling in the IT professionals whenever possible. After looking at several solutions we made our choice and the first piece of the puzzle went live Friday, The Drobo FS by Data Robotics. The FS is a dead simple Network Attached Storage (NAS) system that is basically infinitely expandable and can both backup and share files across a network. What we liked best about the system is company’s BeyondRaid Technology that lets us just shove in any drive we want regardless of capacity, speed or manufacturer plus we can hot swap them if needed. As an added bonus, depending on how you configure it, the Drobo can protect itself from up to 2 HDD failures. The downside is this option dramatically cuts down on your total storage available and requires three separate drives to enable as the data is mirrored across two drives instead of the default single redundancy.
The FS has 5 bays and can accept up to 3 Tb drives meaning you can store up to 7.5 TB of data. We started with two Western Digital Green Caviar 2 TB
Over the next few weeks we will be working any kinks out of the system as well as determining if we need to add off-site storage for added security. Once all that is done, look for a full length article on our setup process and experiences to date.
Link: Drobo FS 5-bay Gbe Storage Array
A New Era in Bluetooth Headsets
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.
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
My Favorite Kindle Case
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
Charlie's Soap
I will blame my lack of children on just finding out about Charlie’s today but the stay at home crowd has been all over this laundry soap for years. And if the reviews are even half right, I will be dumping my usual detergent very soon. So here is scoop…Charlie’s only needs 1 tablespoon to eliminate oders and eradicate stains. Stains like those found in a reusable diaper. Yeah, sounds like my marinara and grease stains should be child’s play for ole Charlie. The word is there is no need for fabric softner either so not only is Charlie’s cheaper per load (only $0.13) but you save on not having to buy all the extra’s like Oxy Clean and Downey. I just placed my order today for the soap and all purpose liquid cleaner so look for an update as soon as UPS drops off my loot.
Link: Charlie’s Soap Powder – 2.64 lb Bag (80 Loads)
Security Bits
While I rarely advocate using anything cheap, when its comes to a bit set like this I will say it is probably ok. I don’t see a scenario where I would these guys would see frequent use nor use in any high torque applications so getting 33 bits for just over 4 bucks is pretty good deal.
Included Bits:
9 Torx head security bits sizes: T8, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, T35 and T40 3 Torq head security bits sizes: 6, 8 and 10 mm 6 Hex head security bits sizes: 5/64″, 3/32″, 7/64″, 1/8″, 9/64″ and 5/32″ 6 Hex head security bits sizes: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6 mm 4 Spanner head security bits sizes: 4, 6, 8 and 10 mm 4 Tri-Wing head security bits sizes: 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm plus 1 Hex head extension.
Link: SE 33 pc. Security Bit Set
Klein 10-in-1 Screwdriver
Filed firmly under you can never own too many screwdrivers…our current favorite is this Klein 10-in-1 model. Bit Includes: No. 2 Phillips with 1/4″ slotted, No. 1 Phillips with 3/16″ slotted, No. 15 Torx with No. 10 Torx, and No. 1 square with No. 2 square. The reversible bit holder also works as 1/4″ and 5/16″ nut driver. The rubber grip is a nice touch as well.
Hanger One Vodka
Many would argue that one cannot be a true Vodka connoisseur, because vodka has no taste. While it is true there is no real taste, Vodka definitely has different levels of harshness depending on what it was made from, i.e. grain, potato, etc and how it was distilled and filtered. Over the 10 years or so I have been drinking my pallet has certainly become more refined. Recently, I have switched exclusively to premium vodka’s like Grey Goose, Belevedre and Kettle 1. These are all great spirits and perfect for a normal mixed drink but all three still have a distinctive alochol overtone. It is not unpleasant, but is it definitely there.
For Christmas I was lucky enough to recieve my first bottle of Hanger One. Friends, let me tell you this is quite simply the smoothest vodka I have ever enjoyed. Mix it with anything citrus and you cannot even tell it is there. Until you stand up anyway…
Certainly there are more expenisive vodka out there but typically you are paying for a fancy bottle and not a better quality liquor. By comparison Hanger One is about $36 for 750 ML where as Kettle 1 comes in at $22 for the same amount. So here is what I do…Kettle 1 for a nice weekday cocktail, Hanger One for Saturday nights and Three Olives in the Goose bottle for guests. Check out Hanger One’s excellent website for all the vodka porn you could want.
Link: Hanger One Vodka
Inova T4-WB 175 Lumen Rechargeable LED Flashlight
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.
TRENDnet TEG-S5g 10/100/1000Mbps Switch
I have been looking to augment my home theather setup with a Slingbox, but for that to be possible, I will need to add an access point for additional dataport that I will need as I have no intention of taking my xbox offline. I have been looking around for a cheap but faster router for a few days and stumbled on the TRENDnet this morning. It has something the company is calling “green” technology where as the router is smarter enough to know what ports are actually in use, devices are on or based on the the length of the cable run. The reviews are great and the prices are right starting at just $14.99 so if you are in the market be sure to check out the whole line including the wireless-N options.
Link: TRENDnet Green Routers
