Reviews of Battery Tender 081-0148-25-BG4 25' Extension Cable - Pack of 4

Customer Ratings:

Battery tender extension cables are great .I have an 06 GTO and a 13 corvette GTS in my garage. Cars in the driveway keep their batteries topped with chargers in the garage using the 25 ft. cable reaching out to the driveway. they are good quality like everything from battery tender . Ijust wish that they made everything in the usa . Bigger units are American made though.

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Cheap Go Power! GP-PSK-80 80W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp

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List Price: $698.00
Sale Price: $387.99
Today's Bonus: 44% Off

The key reason I purchased this assembled package was the protective carrying case & the attachments for charging. The general quality of the product is excellent. My biggest gripe was the charge controller mounted underneath on the back is not weather resistantmeaning that this expensive equipment needs to be attended to when rain approaches. Depending on how you use it, this may work well for someone who understands how they intend to use these panels. I did end up returning this package and making my own set up. For about $25 more, plus my time (2-3 hours), I was able to create something similar at 200 wattswhich is a huge jump assuming you are charging RV batteries or other higher use batteries90 amp/hours in my case. The downside to my creation was that the charge controller has to be mounted near the inverternot outside. Morningstar does make charge controllers made for exterior use and would work depending on the amperage in play. For the person who wants a simple, straightforward plug & play system while paying attention to rain patterns, this Go-Power system will work well.

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Great unit, easy to set up, nice carrying case, compact-fit in our RV storage compartments. We used it for 5 days and it kept our RV batteries charged. Didn't have to run our generator to charge the batteries. The only draw back is a short cord. My electrician husband had to make an extension cord to get it out and away from the RV and into the sun.

Best Deals for Go Power! GP-PSK-80 80W Portable Folding Solar Kit with 10 Amp

We have been using the 80 watt portable charging kit for about a month now and just love it. We used it to connect up to our car when we were at the beach listening to music. It felt good knowing that the battery wouldn't run down! We also used it to jump my fathers pick up truck when his battery was dead. It took a couple hours to get enough charge to boost the car, but it saved having to fandangle another car near the hood of his truck. It lives in the back of our car whenever we go camping now as well to keep the music going! I'd recommend this to anyone that wants an easy to use portable solar power kit. The system is simple to set up, and tear down. Connecting is easy as well. It comes with two different types of connections. Easy!

Buy Motorola V3 Razr L7 Slvr Z3 Rizr Mini USB Stylish Loop Version Car

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I was searching for a car charger for my new shadow, and came across this product, almost accidently. It was one of the few cords that stated it would work with the shadow. The price was great, and was not bad if it didn't work. I got the product in a couple days (great turn arond for shipping) and tried it. It worked. The center circle that lights up creates a nice touch. It works, what else can I say?

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Easy transaction and speedy delivery. The product is as advertised and expected. Great charger!

Reviews of BAOFENG UV-5R Dual Band UHF/VHF Radio RF 4W Transceiver + Free

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $56.59
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

The Baofeng UV-5R is a nice little 5 watt HT. The programming cable is an absolute necessity as the radio is difficult to program manually. It took a bit of surfing the net to find drivers for the cable that would work with Windows XP but I finally found a driver that works. The programing software is not very good, it was much easier to use "Chirp", a free program found on line. Once I got the radio programmed it works great, I can hit most of the repeaters in my area from the home QTH.

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after 1 month , all i can get is the weather station,,Im going to take it to someone that can program it

and after I got it ,the prices went down..

your on your own to program it,, dont call radio shack....

after 4 months ,still does Not work

Review of Jabra TOUR Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone - Retail Packaging - Black

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List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $54.75
Today's Bonus: 45% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I realistically give this 4.5 stars, but I reserve 5 stars for perfect devices, so I round down.

I'm a gadget-guru and have used a number of Bluetooth in-car speakerphones in search of the perfect device. In fact, I've used so many, I've come up with a criteria-list of 14 items that I use in my pursuit of the perfect Bluetooth device.

What makes the perfect car bluetooth speakerphone?

==============My 14 Most Important Criteria Items============

1. It should have caller-id that speaks the name of the caller

Yes, this Jabra Tour has spoken caller-id, works great!

2. It should automatically turn on/off as you are away from the car

Yes, it does this with a motion sensor which also works great.

3. It should have ample volume while driving at highway speeds

Not as loud as the Supertooth HD (my favorite), but reasonable and acceptable.

4. You should only have to press a single and easily accessible button to answer or place a call

This is where I mainly deduct a half-star. The button to use voice-dial is different than the button to answer a call and they are tiny and opposite each other. In fact they are so small that you sometimes have to glance up to see that you are pressing the right button this defeats the purpose of hands-free that is supposed to keep your eyes on the road. If Jabra could just improve this, I would absolutely give this 5 stars. Look at the Supertooth HD SuperTooth High Definition Bluetooth Portable Visor Car Kit and Speakerphone for Cell Phones, iPad 2, and iPhone Retail Packaging (Black) (the only 5 star rating I've given), it's one big button, just press it, easy to find every time without looking.

5. It should make use of your phone's built-in voice recognition system (if your phone has this)

Yes, assuming you can press only the small voice-dial button and not something else. Jabra if you made the big round speaker an actual pushable button, you'd have an awesome, perfect product. [I'm still waiting for a manufacturer to make a wireless button we can install anywhere so we don't even have to reach up to the visor]

6. It should be easy to pair and auto-download your phone's contacts

Yes, super easy to do.

7. It should reconnect easily when you are in the car

Yes, this works very well.

8. Callers should be able to hear you clearly at highway speeds

Callers can understand me but as with every Bluetooth speakerphone, they will likely know you are talking on a speakerphone or headset just because of road noise. I've used/listened to built-in factory Bluetooth phone systems in BMWs and Hondas and you can still tell they aren't holding the phone to their ear and mouth.

9. The charging port should not be obstructed when the device is installed on a sunvisor

Yes, this is on the side and it is in an ideal spot.

10. It should have a long battery life

Yes, although it doesn't automatically tell me battery life like the Supertooth HD does whenever it connects, you can hold the voice-dial button down for 3 seconds, say Battery and it tells you battery life. Fully charged it's some 20+ hours of talk time. After a couple of weeks of moderate usage, it was still at 12+ hours of talk time. I think after a month it was still around 10+ hours, which is excellent.

11. It should be reliable whether it is -40 degrees in Fargo or the internal car temperature reaches 140 degrees in Texas

I've only had this for a couple months so it is too soon to tell, I will update this review after a few more seasons.

12. It should have good documentation or manufacturer's website and/or responsive customer support

Yes, Jabra is excellent with their website and online support documentation. In fact, it doesn't really ship with a detailed manual, but it is easy to find on their website. I've noticed a lot of vendors have been doing this, cost-cutting, but greener for our environment.

13. It should be usable whether the sun visor is flipped down or up

I am not deducting anything for this, but no, this is "one-sided" for however you've installed it. If you flip the sun visor, the speakerphone will likely be blocked and against the windshield and you're going to have to blindly find the buttons and lean forward to talk. The Supertooth HD is the only device I'm aware of that uses a magnetic clasp so that it can be removed and used on any side of the visor. If you never use your visor, then this is a moot point.

14. It should be reasonably priced

As of this writing, the Jabra Tour is ~$85 and the Supertooth HD is ~$60. I still feel the Supertooth HD is a better device and value all around.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Jabra TOUR Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone is a very good quality bluetooth speakerphone. It is easy to pair up and operate. The button are back lighted and big enough for easy operation. The sound quality is good . and the auto on and auto off motion sensor feature is very convenient. Pretty much all you can ask for from a bluetooth speakerphone at this current moment.

Key features:

1. Good sound quality

2. Very easy to use

3. Pair up with multiple devices

4. Auto on and off with the motion sensor

5. Compatible with both Android and Apple IOS (and SIRI as well)

6. Make calls using your voice (voice control feature)

Sidarta Tanu

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I was wondering what the difference was between this "Tour" and the Jabra "Freeway" as they are so close in price...

The Tour is louder, which in my case is good for use in my noisy old Jeep CJ... at cruise anyway 8-)

Voice commands TO THE TOUR work the same as my Jabra Freeway, but you must hold the voice command button down for at least two seconds, just hold down until you hear "say a command" and not just a quick on/off push

Actual PHONE commands must be avail on your phone in order to use them.

Jabra seems to have this bluetooth tech down pretty well, but have to wonder why make a fully new model at this price point with the Freeway already in place with happy customers... but again, it IS louder with this big single speaker and 3 watts of power.

Bluetooth range is set by industry standards (low power) so you're not going to find any that have longer range (33ft) until the rules change in general and allow them to make more powerful bluetooth transmissions.

This is Bluetooth V3 but the industry has already approved V4 for manufacturers to use so that should show up soon in products.

The Jabra Tour DOES play music files from your phone... however is not in true stereo.

Great heavy duty, full width solid metal clip to hold on the visor (or even your belt or shirt/pants pocket if you care to use it that way) Also works just fine on the desk as a speakerphone.

Car charger and USB cord supplied, but Jabra really should have included an AC wall charger at the MSRP I think. I would never charge something like this from my computer's USB port.

This TOUR works well, but you might want to check out the Freeway before you pull the trigger; Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone (Black, Retail Packaging) Just know it's not quite as loud on full volume as the Tour.

PDF user manual is available for download or viewing at the Jabra site.

Honest reviews on Jabra TOUR Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone - Retail Packaging - Black

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I LOVE my Jabra FREEWAY Bluetooth Speakerphone that I use in my convertible and I really needed another speakerphone for my SUV. My husband uses the Jabra JOURNEY Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone in his work truck, so you can see we are long time users of Jabra products and they have been reliable, easy to use and we consider them to be high-end quality. Sadly I do not feel the same about the Jabra TOUR. Pairing it with my iPhone 4S was extremely easy, just follow the voice commands after you turn the unit on and go to the bluetooth setting on your phone.

Voice commands are easily recognized and Siri's responses are heard back loud and clear. Siri is the only one heard loud and clear, but anyone else who I talk to sounds muffled and hard to understand. Even when playing music the sound the speaker produces is not the best. It states it is a "Powerful 3 watt speaker delivers rich sound on calls, music and multimedia", but it sounds like someone has turned the bass off and the treble on the highest setting. There is nothing rich sounding about that. This speakerphone should of came with the option play it through speaker, or transmit it via FM to your car stereo. At least that way you can control the equalizer settings to your likings.

The unit is extremely sturdy and it will stay put. Now Jabra needs to come out with a new speakerphone that has the construction and the functionality of the voice commands of the TOUR with the FM transmitter feature and virtual surround sound of the Jabra FREEWAY.

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I only have this for one day but I've already made a number of calls so I feel I have enough to review this device.

I bought this for my wife, who is a very demanding user in terms of simplicity and ease of use. If she needs to struggle with operating the device she will not use it. If she needs to turn it on and off, she will likely skip it... Also making and receiving call should be super easy and simple.

Well I'm glad to say the Tour does all of the above: it turns on and off automatically, pairing is super easy with her iphone 4 and my iphone 5 (and they can both be connected at the same time!), making and receiving calls is super easy and the best thing is that sound quality is excellent. I have talked to my wife while she was driving and I could not believe she was on the speakerphone. She could hear me very well too.

I've had a number of speakers and headset, and this is by far the best one in terms of call sound quality.

We've also used this with a navigation software on the phone and it worked well.

I did not give this device 5 stars though because of the relatively high price and because I feel that some features are not 100% "on the money". For once, it did not announce callers as it was supposed to. I'm still looking into this. Also, when connecting two phones it got a little confused and disconnected one of them for no apparent reason. I will update this review if anything changes.

The bottom line though is the great call quality on both sides and the ease of use. The product also looks nice and is very well finished. My wife already managed to drop it in our garage and it proved to be pretty robust...

Best 40A 12V/24V SOLAR PANEL BATTERY CHARGE CONTROLLER LCD SCREEN Deals

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List Price: $90.00
Sale Price: Price Unavailable
Today's Bonus: 40% Off

This is a good charge controller, you can't beat the price. This charge controller has all the good bells and whistles of more expensive name brands at a fraction of the cost.

I have it hooked up to 350 watts, 20 Amps, from my solar panels and it is working great. The LCD screen is nice, definitely worth a few extra bucks, I can know exactly what my battery voltage is at anytime I want. This charge controller is able to use 8 gauge wire connected directly to it, bigger wire means better power flow. I plan on adding to my home built solar setup and this charge controller gives me that option. I am very happy with my purchase. It was shipped fast and the company even with the broken English was very helpful.

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This is a piece of junk and perhaps if I read the manual backwards and upside down it would make sense.

Best Rapid Car Charger w Smart Chip For HTC Droid Incredible Deals

Customer Ratings:

This little device works as advertised, and it's a must-have for my HTC Incredible, with it's abysmal battery life. The only thing to be careful of: do not leave this plugged in to the dash port when the car is off! It will drain your battery, as it did mine. Nothing against the device, just be aware and don't forget.

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A good usable charger for my HTC Droid Incredible at a low price. I was skeptical at first, but the charger works well.

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I got this because it was cheap and the old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies here. Stopped working within two weeks and my HTC smartphone gave the message that this wasn't the right charger, my other smartphone would beep and blink as if it didn't like it either. Not worth the little money

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Broke after ONE WEEK of barely any use. I guess you get what you pay for. I paid like $3....

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This charger works perfectly. The price can never be biten. The charger stays in place, I never have to readjust it.

Belkin 2 Outlet Dc/Ac Inverter Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $44.20
Sale Price: $35.84
Today's Bonus: 19% Off

We bought this item so that we could use our laptop in the car and also to be able to plug in more items in our RV. I like that it has two outlets.

Some people have said it was "loud" but I didn't understand that at all. Yes, there is a quiet "whirring" sound from the fan, but if you're driving down a highway or have the radio on low, you'd never hear the fan.

I think it was a good purchase. Worth the money and I'd recommend it to a friend.

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I purchased the Belkin AC power converter for my cross country trip from california to virginia. I am half way done with the trip and the power converter has worked extremely well. I am able to work on my laptop while my wife drives and the kids watch their portable dvd player in the back. This was a great purchase and I am also able to save by not having to purchase separate car chargers for my cell phones, they just plug into the power converter.

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This Belkin inverter is much louder than the 140 watt inverter (which is difficult to hear at all). You can easily drowned out the noise with your radio but the pitch was a little too high for me.

The 300 watt unit is only a little bigger with a second outlet than the 140 watt inverter. It comes with an automotive type fuse (30 amp) which does seem to be very useful if your car lighter fuse is 10 or 15 amp.

Honest reviews on Belkin 2 Outlet Dc/Ac Inverter

Worked great for me on a recent trip to Florida. Only used one of the two outlets to recharge my laptop computer battery. Fast and efficient recharge--way cheaper than buying an extra battery and performed flawlessly. Some reviewers thought it was loud, but I could barely hear any noise at all, just a very low fan noise, which is necessary to cool the inverter. Excellent supplier through Amazon--received fast and in perfect condition. Product does everything it's supposed to.

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Bought Belkin F5C400-300W 2 Outlet Dc/Ac Inverter and it was the best buy. I have used it on road trips for my kids computers, hand held games, my Curling iron (no I wasn't driving)but was great when I was running out of time and needed to do my hair on the way), a crock pot for potlucks (we wanted to keep the food hot on the way to the party), Cell Phone charging (my son does not have a car charger), etc. The thing as you can tell has come in handy for many things as you can see. It has been such a great item I am purchasing another for my Mom. There are some reviews that say it is noisy but I am not sure which one they are referring to. The one I have listed above is very quiet. It is hard to hear the slight hum of the fan which keeps it cool. I have had it on with no radio on and you can hardly hear it. It is a wonderful inexpensive product, a great gift for the person hard to buy for. I am quite certain they will love it.

Belkin F5C400-300W 2 Outlet Dc/Ac InverterBelkin F5C400-300W 2 Outlet Dc/Ac Inverter

DC car power adapter for Durabrand DUR-1500 DUR-1700 DUR-8.5 Review

Customer Ratings:

after I got it and tried it out my dvd player is having picture issues :( .. was so excited to get it now what...

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it is very good quality. still is working great. haven't had any problems with the product. it is a good buy.

Best Deals for DC car power adapter for Durabrand DUR-1500 DUR-1700 DUR-8.5

I purchased this item and it arrived on time, and functioned great with the DVD player that was missing its car charger. It has been providing our children with hours of car fun once again. Although a little skeptical at first as to whether this would be an actual Durabrand charger, I'm very glad to have made this purchase.

God Bless!

Honest reviews on DC car power adapter for Durabrand DUR-1500 DUR-1700 DUR-8.5

This product was perfect for what I needed it for. It was exactly what I needed. It fit my dvd player perfectly

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Just as good as one that came with our portable DVD player and hopefully will hold up better than original one did!

Best Energizer Energi To Go 1 AA Instant Cell Phone Charger Micro USB Deals

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This item works fine, and is convenient for when can't charge with a wall charger; when out. Too bad couldn't find just the plug for my existing chargers, but worth it.

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Power Bright VC2000W Voltage Transformer 2000 Watt Step Up/Down Reviews

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List Price: $104.99
Sale Price: $88.99
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

I found the Power Bright VC2000w Voltage Transformer to be just what I needed. We moved from the Philippines and had several appliances that needed 220 volt power in the United States. While the transformer is fairly large and a bit heavy, it is not noisey. I have had no problem with it using it every morning for boiling hot water with my Korean water heater which boils water in less than 1 minute. The product was reasonably priced and we are happy with it.

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It is 2000W and my device is using 1000W (load). The transformer is cold after using for about 1 hours (good sign). I do not notice any bad part of it, it works what it should be. It has hum noise some times, overall it is good. Daily use, it has been using for more than two month long, no problem.

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I live in Germany and got this to use some of my US appliances like my Keurig coffee maker and blender ... it works great and very quiet ... there are just a few downsides: it's very big, very industrial looking and only can support 1 US or European plug at a time. That said, if you are looking for something to make US or European appliances work with 110 or 220, this is it!

Honest reviews on Power Bright VC2000W Voltage Transformer 2000 Watt Step Up/Down

I purchased this to use along with my USA bought LED TV back home in India where the voltage level is 240.

Pros: Has multiple input selections, and 2 output levels ( 220 and 110), so this is a very generic converter

USB charging works

RMS voltage (as measured by a multimeter) is pretty close to what it should be.

Cons: There is a big banging sound when the unit is energized, guess its normal with any transformer based converters

Somewhere the earthing is not correct. if you put a tester into the earth, it glows.This shows that somewhere there is current leakage. I checked the ground to output phase voltage, that is zero whereas my mains ground to phase voltage is nearly equal to the neutral to phase voltage.

if you connect your sensitive electronics items like LED TV or home theater receiver with improper earthing, it will be damaged very soon.

I bought 3 pieces of this type with different wattages, and all of these have the same problem. so I believe this is not a individual unit problem.

Verdict: if you are buying this for appliances like mixer grinder or heater, you can still use it, but not for sensitive and costly electronics.

On a side note, I bought 1 powerbright and 2 goldsource units, but they look very similar in construction/user manuals/packaging etc. I guess its the same unit but branded differently.

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We had 2 transformers, but were looking for a higher wattage one for the kitchen here in Europe for our numerous American appliances. We went with this one and were amazed. It is the highest wattage and yet the QUIETEST of the 3. We couldn't ask for more. Honestly.

Highly recommended.

Buy Pioneer AVIC-U310BT 4.3-Inch In-Dash Navigation Receiver with CD

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The boss (Wife) had the stock 6 CD changer in her 2006 Explorer XLT. She wanted a new radio that would allow her to listen to her iPod and have Bluetooth for her phone. I also wanted to add GPS, since if I was going to replace the darn thing, I may as well give her all the functions she might need for the future.

I looked online for a new head unit but it seemed that all the units were in the above $500 range. I saw that Amazon had the Pioneer AVIC-U310BT on sale for $259.00. I did some research and found a mixed bag of reviews, for every good review, there was a not so good one. After a bit of thinking, I decided to bite. I'm glad I did.

I bought the head unit along with the PAC Can Bus module05-08 FORD RADIO CAN BUS MODULE INTERFACEand the Scosche Scosche FD1426B Double ISO DIN Kit for 2004-Up Fordmounting kit. The harness was about $80 and the mounting kit another $15. If you look at a lot of the head units out there, they offer Bluetooth as an option, not include it with as with this radio. That would have added another $100 to many of the competitors out there.

I opened up all the parts I bought and read all the documentation on all the items BEFORE I went outside. I prewired the Pac module, connecting all the wires to the wiring harness from the radio. This made it easy when I went out to the truck. Plug and play, the only wiring I need to do was routing all the wires for the microphone, GPS antenna and the Aux output wire for her Sirius radio.

About that Sirius, Pioneer offers the built in module for Sirius or XM. Both cost $100 and you have to find a place for the big Sirius modules under the dash. They don't offer some of the features the little Plug and Play units Sirius offers; pause, FF, and favorite song or artist reminders. We decided to keep her existing Sportster 5 and plug it into the Aux port.

I got it all installed in about 90 minutes. I placed the GPS antenna under the top tray on the dashboard. The antenna sees right through the plastic tray, and stays hidden. The iPod cable is simply the USB cable that came with the iPod. You can buy the cable from Pioneer for about $40. I don't see the need, as it works fine with the Apple cable. I put the iPod in the glove box, as you don't need to access it, all the controls can be reached from the head unit.

The sound from the radio is great. The GPS navigation seems to be good, but I can tell you more as we use it in real world driving. Some people have said that they had issues with Bluetooth not connecting consistently. I started and turned off the truck about 20 times so far, and each time it finds and connects to my iPhone....no issues at all. The sound quality of the included microphone seems good, so far. Again, we will see how it goes in real world driving conditions.

Overall, it isn't as neat as the $500-$1000 dollar head units out there, the screen is not as big, and it may not have all the features of its higher priced cousins. But to have GPS, CD, iPod and Bluetooth for about $350 total, it cannot be beat.

Edit 4/27/10 After a week of use:

Wanted to add a few items on the use of this system. First, some have complained about the quality of the microphone that is supplied with the unit. For us, it works well. I have been involved in both ends of phone conversations as both the sender from the truck, or as a reciever of a call from the truck. Both come in loud and clear. Perhaps other people had issue with the location of the microphone? We clipped it directly to the driver's visor.

Sound quality is fantastic. This head unit really takes advantage of the factory sub woofer in the Explorer. We never heard such powerful bass from the stock unit.

The iPod control takes a little getting used to, but once you figure it out, it works well. My wife has simply put the iPod on random from the head unit controls. It is like a juke box with thousands of songs.....it is playing songs we long ago forgotten that were on the iPod.

GPS navigation has been fine. Sure, not a lot of POI's, but we simply enter in addresses. For my wife, it is no big deal.

Using the PAC Sys can bus module made the wiring easy. The system knows when the truck is moving, it knows to dim the display when the headlights go on, etc. It is just like a factory installation.

Overall, we are still happy with the purchase.

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Sorry for the long winded review, but I want to provide as many details as possible for people to understand the unit better.

I bought this unit after seeing some so called professional reviews online. I did see their notes about very limited POIs or lack there off, no video etc. But I was not looking for Video or not even lot of POIs.

I liked this unit for the fact it is always in standby state and will come on instantly. For Pioneer F series that has a major complaint about start up time. I installed this unit a week ago and did lot of experimentation so far and here are my thoughts.

Looks and installation:

I liked looks of the unit for it simplicity, not too many buttons, and able to control Major audio functions without using Touchscreen etc. Installation went very well with excellent documentation provided(courtesy Crutchfield).

Phone, Bluetooth Module:

After everything is installed, synchronized my iPhone with bluetooth module and tried to make some calls. I can hear other side verywell, no issues here. But other party can hardly hears my voice. If I hold Microphone within few inches from my mouth it was acceptable, but if that is the case I would very well hold my phone instead of Mic. Tried lot of positions, and nothing helped. So, I looked around avic411 forums and saw quite few people having problems with supplied Microphone and used either Parrot Mic or Garmin Mic. So, I went ahead bought the Garmin Mic from local Frys electronics and installed it( Garmin Mic wire length is shorter, only 10 feet). Now the quality improved substantially and usable. But it still had problem with boomy echo(even with echo cancellation), but that was partially because of location. Moving the Mic close to head liner( above rear view mirror) somewhat reduced it, and now I thought this is usable. I was able to transfer the phone book quite easily from iPhone 2G(My other car Toyota Prius built-in system has problems with iPhone 2G for Phone book).

In total I drove the car 4 days, and out of 4 days, Bluetooth system hung 3 times. The symptoms are, bluetooth does not connect. But when to click on Phone button in Menu, it goes to phone screen and shows Bluetooth off and connections button disabled. When I click on Bluetooth to turn it on, it keep circling and nothing happens.

Trying to do a F. Reset does not do any good. Only way to get it working again is doing Hard reset by pressing the small reset switch on LCD frame. This does fix problem, but also resets everything else. Phone Book is completely gone, all Illumination color, Radio presets, Song details Display preferences, Eq settings, and Navigation preferences(ATT, Mute etc) are gone. We have to do set everything again back from scratch.

RESET OBSERVATION NOTE : We can reset the unit after taking out of docking position. This way unit does not reset AUDIO/NAV settings.(Contacts/Phone Book and Some Nav settings seems to be lost).

Also, the volume adjustment is independent from main audio system, so if you raise the volume to hear over road noise during a highway drive it would not reflect in bluetooth volume.

Another bummer is, you can not access the numeric pad after call is connected(it is disabled). That means, you can not select IVR systems voice menu option which is quite common if you call any customer service, and even more annoying, there is NO MUTE . But atleast you can do it from actual phone.

Navigation:

Size of the screen is small, but I think it is okay size as long as it is not too far away from driver. Menu structure, selecting options, settings etc are fine.

Just to clarify, DETACHABLE SCREEN DOES NOT WORK AS PORTABLE NAVIGATION. It does not have any built in GPS antenna/GPS processor. You can browse maps like paper maps, or create route etc.

This system uses Tele Atlas database(instead of NavTeQ) for Navigation which does not have good reviews. Despite being the latest database it does not have main roads( Bus route) which are 4-5 years old. Even for old neighborhood like 30 years old does not have correct road information.

Now the routing, I got to tell you this got to be worst navigation I ever used(Garmin, TomTom, Omnitech, Toyota in built). It lags much behind the actual vehicle position(not a signal problem), sometime a street or more behind actual location. I think unit is taking too much time reading the data, calculating position and representing on the actual map. It may not be a problem for most highway driving or sub-urban driving, but for downtown it is pretty close to useless.

For some reason it does not show the all the road names. It's 3D mapview is not good, 2D is ok. It does not know the difference between a walking trail vs roads, it will insist on driving on trails!

Text To Speech is pretty bad too, it says take a slight turn when infact it is very sharp turn. Sometime it lags, and sometime it all together forgets to tell you that you need to turn. Sometimes, it does not even show you on screen whether to turn or not(you come to a T-junction, but it does not tell you which direction to take.

I tried to compare same route with portable Omnitech Navigation unit(Destinator software). That is 100 times better in routing, shows better details on screen and providing direction properly.

And now the POIs, it is not the problem because of just 500k POIs. It is the categories they intentionally removed. The most commonly used categories, restaurants and Gas stations are missing, and do you believe they have Cemetery there? There is an option to feed the locations using AVIC feeds, but that does not come as POIs or category or even based on location unfortunately.

BTW for Navigation there is option to set voice, either to mute music, ATT music or simply say directions while music play at full volume(default, which does not make any sense).

Audio:

Audio portion I liked it. It is able to play music from recent thumb drive( 4 years small thumb drive did not work), and works wonderful with iPhone. Sound quality is pretty good, Radio reception is ok. Joystick navigation is ok, menus are easy to understand once you read the manual.

It seems many retailers listed saying this unit can music from SD card, but that is not true. YOU CAN NOT PLAY MUSIC FROM SD CARD. It can only be used to upload AVIC feeds(color, Locations, trip data etc). Pioneer confirmed it also See notes from Crutchfield editor to one of the reviews.

The illumination color can be selected or can be fed with custom color using AVIC feeds software. The LCD never turns off even when you turn off the unit. It only turns off when car keys are taken out(out of acc position). There is a button to turn off screen, but this is to turn off while system is on. Good thing about it is, you can turn off screen entirely when driving long distance during night. It comes back right away if you touch the screen.

Note: As of now there are no firmware updates available to fix any above issues I described, and quite few people have problems with Navigation Freezing. I think overall hardware is good, but it is the software/firmware that is problem.

12/04/2009: Another update. I can confirm after the Europe Firmware update, I did not get any bluetooth hangs anymore(4+ weeks). It also seems routing is little better(TTS voice is still bad). But I am having problems now-and-then with USB drive. During the playback it suddenly has problems with reading the USB, and I also saw the same issue with iPhone playback. Unplugging and plugging in back fix the problem temporarily. I checked the routed cable in my console and it seems fine, but I have not check behind radio to see if it moved(Highly unlikely as I anchored all cables with zip ties). I will update once I check it out.

11/03/2009: I did a partial upgrade using Europe firmware as Pioneer did not provide any updates to this unit in US. This seems only upgraded the Bluetooth module. But this change/improvement seems to be significant enough to report. First I no longer see the "Cell Phone disconnected" message after I turn on my car as Bluetooth module was not aware that I shutdown the car before and just started again(Just embarrassing if someone in the car). Now the change is that, when I shutdown the car(out off ACC postion to off/lock), the Screen does not shut-off immediately, but waits for about 5 seconds, identifies that Bluetooth module is disconnect, then shutdowns(It may look weird as you took your keys from car, closed the door behind, but this thing screen us on). The good thing is because of this change Blue-tooth connect quickly next time when you start(approx 18 secs vs 34 seconds without any other app running/audio/nav etc). This also reduced Bluetooth freezing episodes(not completely gone, but ran more than week or two with out freezing). Bluetooth freezing happens more frequently if Contacts are synced.

But Nav issues are still there, it thinks I am driving somewhere without roads, that is with fulll GPS signal( not just my unit, other too), Only way to correct is undock and dock it again( restart does not work).

And AVIC feeds, which I was excited about as I can create my own POIs is really restricted to the point that is not useful. Like example if you want to add all SHELL GAS stations(5000+), it only takes first 100. Ofcourse you can add 100 of each gas stations or restaurant. And you can not search these POIs like inbuilt POIs.

And AVIC Feeds for iPhone, it is joke for this unit( again highend units are ok). If you add a POI, it adds like a contact in your phone(like you will have McDonald as your contact) and you need to sync complete phonebook again from scratch to get single POIs from iPhone to AVIC-U310BT. But on the higher-end unit you can simply transfer that one contact.

09/16/2009: Now, even Navigation unit is hung. I tried normal reset, but that did fix problem. I had to hard reset keeping unit in head. All settings are lost as expected, but atleast navigation and bluetooth are working again.

Best Deals for Pioneer AVIC-U310BT 4.3-Inch In-Dash Navigation Receiver with CD

Pros:

Instant On!

AM/FM/Single Disk CD Player with 18 FM presets; 6 AM presets

Total iPod control thru unit

Basic GPS with text to speech

Hands Free Bluetooth (when it works)

Detachable faceplate

Cons:

There's a software glitch in the bluetooth software that requires re-pairing your phone with the base regularly. Menus might seem initially confusing.

Summary:

I installed the AVIC U310BTs in my 2009 smart car after reading that this unit would be offered as the "official" GPS upgrade on the 2010 model smarts. I picked up a unit on eBay for $370. Another $30 for the iPod cable plus $50 for the double din face plate and wiring harness and another 50 bucks for new speakers and for $500 I had an upgrade that the dealer will offer for $1300.

The GPS is basic but adequate. The lady in the box giving directions has a very slight flutter to her voice but she gets me there just fine.

The radio/CD player work great and the units puts out a lot of sound. Paired with decent speakers, you will not be disappointed.

With a 120 Gig iPod, my Holy Grail has been a way to navigate through the hundreds of artists and thousands of CDs to play the tune I wanted without killing myself while driving. I've found that the AVIC U310BT succeeds in allowing me to search with a minimum of clicks and twists to the exact song I wanted-while driving! However, here's where the confusing menus might make you want to read the manual. Once you "get" the menu flow, it all makes sense in some weird way.

My biggest disappointment with the unit is the software glitch with the bluetooth. About every 4 starts of the car the bluetooth hangs and will not work with my phone. It requires a faceplate reset which takes about 30 seconds then you must re-pair your phone which takes another couple of minutes. This is really the only thing that I do not like about the unit. I take a star away for the bluetooth hassle.

Pioneer AVIC units in the past have been criticized for slow boot times. On the 310BT however, the unit comes on instantly because the battery in the removable faceplate keeps it in standby when the car is off. The instant on function seems to be the culprit that somehow causes the bluetooth to hang upon occasion.

The U310BT has only been on sale since June so I expect that as more owners report this bluetooth problem there will be a firmware update to correct, but until then I'm not as happy as I could be.

Update: I've found a workaround to the bluetooth problem and my phone-once I paired my wife's phone to the unit, it began working flawlessly! Dropping and re-connecting my phone from the unit now seems to fix the lockup. On reconsideration, I give this 4 stars!

Honest reviews on Pioneer AVIC-U310BT 4.3-Inch In-Dash Navigation Receiver with CD

I was shocked to find out this unit has no POIs to speak of. Pioneer has a hundred dollar solution, buy their SD card with updates. I would not purchase this had I found out before it was installed in my dash. Audio features are fine and bluetooth is OK, albeit a little confusing. Had to reset after removing the SD card for some reason. Who wants a GPS that can't locate a gas station?

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Pioneer AVIC-U310BT 4.3-Inch In-Dash Navigation Receiver with CD

This is a pretty solid HU when you update the firmware, and installation took a few hours (primarily to route wires and get steering wheel interface working). Ipod controls are pretty good, if a little slow. The AVIC Feeds software is useless, so don't waste too much time on that, and as others have noted the POI database included with the navigation system is laughable. If you like to search your nav for gas stations, restaurants, hotels, ... they are not in there. You'll need to buy the POI supplement from Pioneer, which runs around $85 $99 and does include all of those things. All-in-all, for the money, this is a pretty nice and very capable unit.

My big complaint is with Amazon nowhere do they disclose that they are not an authorized reseller for Pioneer car audio. When I had a problem with the Bluetooth microphone, I was told by Pioneer that the unit is NOT waranteed. So in essence, you have your normal 30 day window to return purchases to Amazon; after that, you have NO PROTECTION. If the unit dies on day 31, you are out of luck. This is borderline deceptive if I knew that I was not getting a warranty, I would not have purchased from Amazon. By the time I learned, I had already invested lots of time and energy installing the unit in my car if I decide to return I would have to reverse the process, then spend even more time installing something else. This will be the last electronics purchase I make from Amazon.

Discount Samsung Vehicle Car Charger for Samsung DROID Charge i510, Samsung

Customer Ratings:

I am using this charger with the factory Samsung car dock for my Samsung Droid Charge, mounted on the windshield. On a long drive last week, in sunny weather, the Charge overheated and stopped charging. It's internal "IC chip" self-protected OK, but the phone switched to normal mode instead of docked mode. That means all the icons rotate back to portrait mode and the docked software disappeared. Even at night, the phone and charger get very hot while charging.

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I have had this product for over a year now and still using it. Will purchase again if I ever need to.

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This Samsung Vehicle Car Charger does what it is supposed to do. Works well and definitely worth the price of the charger.

Honest reviews on Samsung Vehicle Car Charger for Samsung DROID Charge i510, Samsung

made pretty well, hasnt broken yet and i have had it for awhile, better than the first charger i had for my phone

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it charges my phone

looks and acts like the real thing

totally worth it & a great deal compared to the retail stores!

Best TRACER MPPT 3215RN Solar Charge Controller 30A 12V 24V EP Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $215.00
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Did some research and wanted to go with a 24v solar pv setup on the roof (520 watts total), but still have a 12v battery bank. You'll need an MPPT controller for this, and the Tracer by SainSonic 30amp controller works great. I have it hooked up to 2x175ah AGM batteries, and it keeps them charged and ready. It's interesting too how it takes a 24 volt input from the solar panels (actually closer to 34 volts in the direct sun), and down converts to a 14.5 volt charge and increases the amperage from about 10 amps from the panels to over 20 amps feeding the batteries. Makes for a quick recharge for my battery bank. I recommend getting the plug-in digital meter so you'll have some idea what's going on with your system.

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We purchased this item from Amazon in 12/12. It was set up and running by the end of the year. All associated components (solar panels, batteries, wiring, etc.) were new. At first it worked as expected. After a couple months it started to take a day off" sometimes. It then would work again. We contacted customer support and they agreed to work with us. The next problem that then started was that the battery charge indicator light would be blinking green (full batteries), but no power was available. A battery voltage check showed about 12v instead of the 14.4v cutoff for charging (the point at which the light should blink). Any attempt at introducing a load, no matter how small would blow out the fuse in the battery circuit, but never the fuse in the load circuit (10A). After many attempts on their part to try to make it my fault, they agreed that it was a faulty controller, but that since more than 3 months had passed by then, return shipping was my problem. They promise to refund my purchase amount within 5 days of receipt of the controller. If there is any further problem with the return, you will read about it here. It worked ok when it worked, but customer service could not answer ANY questions put to them (such as determining the rating for the fuse in the BATTERY circuit). It has a 30A solar input limit so I used a 30A fuse (the instructions call for a fuse, but don't give a clue as to it's amp rating). They couldn't say if that was right, wrong, or even seemed to understand that I was following THEIR own directions. 3-4 stars for operation (when it works), 3 stars for prompt (but uninformed)customer service, and 1 star for me paying to return it. **** Our money was refunded within 5 business days as promised. Once again, the customer service was prompt and courteous, but not helpful other than just having us send it back.

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I have just fired up this Controller. I followed the connection sequence and the start-up procedure, and everything turned out perfect, I am currently only feeding in 200 watts of panel power , but I will be adding another 150 watts soon. I love the fact that it can handle up to 150 volts of panel input, so hooking the panels in series allows for much smaller losses through the wiring and more current into the batteries for quicker battery recovery time. Nice construction and clean step through start-up make this unit A+ for me.

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This MPPT controller is awesome. I got 3 100 watt Renology matched panels (the best) and hooked them up in series to this controller. The batteries were getting charged way past sunset actually until it got dark. The controller puts way more in the batteries then a PWM (almost 15 volts). I like the feature of extending battery life with its battery optimization. I noticed the batteries are getting fully charged with this controller. I have the prowatt SW2000 inverter so I can run the refrigerator or the air conditioner. The solar panels and the controller keep up with the small air conditioner on a sunny day. The only downside is that my wind charger sensed to much voltage and kicked on the brake. I moved the wind charger to another battery bank. You may not be able to share the battery bank with a wind charger. The manual is not that great just adequate. It is easy to set up; connect the solar panels then connect the batteries and change battery type done.

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I am totally pleased with this unit. It is easy to use and is working perfectly in my small system. I plan to buy a larger version sometime next year.