Review of Malcom Distributors Dual Port / Socket USB Cable Car Cigarette

Customer Ratings:

Worked well with my bluetooth charger. I especially like the USB cigarette adapter. It keeps me charged on long trips....

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I bought this doo-dad so I could charge my Plantronics 510 blue tooth earpiece in my car. The added bonus is that with the two USB ports I can now charge my phone and earpiece at the same time. The only real price for that is that this unit is a bit bulky compared to my prvious car-phone charger; it certainly makes for a longer plug. The blue LED light on the unit is a bit bright at night on dark roads out in the sticks, but it really hasn't been much of a problem. USB adapter cables for various devices are dirt cheap so this way you don't have to buy a new car charger every time you change devices. You can also charge Ipods and other similar devices without needing 110V power. I may get a second one for the second vehicle.

Combo Rapid Car Charger + Home Wall Charger + USB Data Charge Sync Review

Customer Ratings:

For a couple bucks I dont expect it too last forever. Worked great for the first few months and then okay for the next few months and then got a replacement.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Review of Xantrex Freedom 458 20-12 Inverter/Charger - Single Input/Dual

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,981.55
Sale Price: $1,225.99
Today's Bonus: 38% Off

I installed this 458 12volt unit to replace the 24volt DR2424 unit to operate our house 4 Trojan L-16H-AC batteries. The 24 volt unit had a defective off-on switch. Having operated off grid since September 2001, neither of these units would properly charge our house batteries to the rated Specific Gravity readings of fully charged cell at 1.260-1.275. Had to replace the batteries continuously during the 2 year warranty period due to sulfation from the under charging cycle. Doing "E" charges did not correct the problem, but only increase plate shedding. In doing an "E" charge, my 7.5KW generator blew a stator winding which caused us a $6800.expense to purchase a new generator. The mfg would not correct the undercharging design cycle, and Trojan was kind enough to give us good warranty service on undercharged batteries. This last set turned in actually had sulfate which could be

viewed through the cap holes. On the 14th of January, I connected up the new Magnum

24 volt 3924 watt inverter to the new set of Trojan batteries with the monitor installed. This monitor will allow me to control the battery charge cycle, and adjust to prevent plate sulfation by reaching the correct Specific gravity readings after reaching the Float cycle.

I suggest that any one considering purchasing an inverter to carefully search for the unit that will fully charge each battery cell to the 1.260-1.270 values. We have gone through 4 sets of Trojan L-16 batteries due to undercharging. If smaller batteries are to be use, the problem I have experienced may not show up in their

system.

Update 11.15-2012. The installed Magnum inverter sales information given by their technical staff on 15 June 2010 was that their inverters operated by the gravity readings. This prompted us to purchase a new inverter, RD3924, from them in June

2011. Back surgery caused the installation to be done in January 2012. Right at the start, this new inverter proceded to operate in the same faulty condition as the Xantrex units. They installed a new custom control board with two missing resistors which almost over amperaged our generator windings. Their custom control board did not follow any of the inputs I made. Then they shipped me a remanufactured unit built in 2008 in place of my 2011 purchase one. In the process, I had the off-on switch fixed in our Xantrex DR2424, and removed the remanufacture Magnum product. In searching the internet for answers, I located Schneider Electric, and they gave me the information to set the DR2424 from the #7

position to the #2 position. This change adjusted the Bulk voltage to reach the factory 29.6 vdc, and continue it until the absorption cycle was completed. This ended the L-16H-AC battery cell undercharging. The short time the new December 2011

four new L-16H-AC were on the Magnum, one of the battery cells went dead.

Yesterday I install a new L-16H under warranty. In my discussion with the Trojan factory staff, they had told me to charge these tall batteries at the 29.6 vdc voltage, and in reviewing the downloaded information from the factory website, this same voltage is listed in the material. The conclusion, is that using these large batteries, the inverter purchased should have a voltage of 29.6 at the end of the Bulk cycle, OR you will not get the 80% Specific gravity reading in the battery cells. The last 20% charge is put in at the continued 29.6 voltage until the charge

amperage is lowered to the results of the rated amperhour battery rating divided by 40 is reached. In my case; 435/40= 10.87 amps. At this time, the Float cycle starts. My cell Spgr readings now are in the 1.280 value which is in the max value.

It has been published that the cell Spgr reading could go to 1.290, but that is really to high. The cell readings I am getting now, the possibility of getting cell sulfation is very low, and "Equalization" charges may not be needed as the higher Bulk voltage could very well stir up the electrolyte enough to prevent

stratification.

Magnum would not fix the problem using their engineering staff.

Have any questions, let me know. My system has been in operation since 2001.

Cheers!!!

Richard

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is a must have for all the Truckers out there. And also you campers and Rv owners. You will always thank us for this one.

Review of Nokia 808 PureView Cellet Retractable Cord Auto Car Charger Adapter

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $7.99
Today's Bonus: 73% Off

Good quality charger overall, but it takes approx. 3.5hrs to fully charge my 808's battery from 1/4 life. Construction is decent, cord is a little thin.. guess it has to be since it retracts.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Discount LG Dare VX9700 Cell Phone Car Charger

Customer Ratings:

Good product to purchase for the price. If it was more I wouldn't purchase it because the cord is not long enough and when I try to talk on the phone the cord becomes disconnected from my phone. But overall for the price it's okay.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

For this price, I thought I would try it, since Verizon wanted $29.99. I am extremely pleased. The service was nearly perfect. The charger arrived in 3 days. It works. Not much else to say about a charger, but I will definitely deal with this company again for all of my accessory needs.

Best Deals for LG Dare VX9700 Cell Phone Car Charger

When I ordered this charger I thought it was too good to be true, or just impossible. The price is ridiculously low. The quality of the actual item is pretty low too, but you get what you pay for.

Works fine to charge my phone, the only problem is that the actual end that you plug into your lg Dare is a little bit too fat so you feel like you're shoving the cover for the slot way out of the way.

Honest reviews on LG Dare VX9700 Cell Phone Car Charger

This charger gets the job done. The only downside is that the cord is kinda short, so if you were planning on trying to talk while charging it(which you're not supposed to anyway) the cord is a bit short/

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for LG Dare VX9700 Cell Phone Car Charger

Works great and it is inexpensive, can't believe some people pay $30.00 for there charger from the Verizon store when this one works just as well.

Best NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $122.95
Sale Price: $97.36
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

This seems to be a great charger! I am using it as a permanently installed charger in a back-up battery-powered sump pump application. I have dual 12-volt deep cycle maintenance free batteries in series for a 24-volt system that feeds a back-up sump pump. It installed in a few minutes but I did have to install different size connectors to fit my battery posts, I configured it in a few seconds, and it has been running fine. This is obviously not designed to deliver high current under continuous operation, but it seems to keep my batteries fully charged and no worries of over-charging. I like the fact that it indicates the percent charge on the batteries, and it definitely shows the drop in charge as the back-up pump goes through run cycles and drains the batteries. I have not had it long enough to vouch for reliability, but it appears to be well made and well designed. As an electronics engineer, I am satisfied with it from a technical and functional perspective.

Update: After nearly 18 months of operation, here is an update that you should be aware of. This charger is very sensitive to power outage glitches, which we get a lot of in our area.

I was wondering what was going on but finally figured it out. The unit charges just fine, but when we get a short power glitch, the unit gets hung up. During a power glitch (lasting a second or two), the unit does not recover. It just sits there with all the indicators blinking. I have to unplug the unit and wait a minute before plugging it back in, then it works fine. I tested this by flicking the circuit breaker on and off quickly, and was able to repeat the problem every time. I fixed it by first plugging the charger into a plug-in surge protector. Works like a champ! So, not sure if it is just my unit or a general issue, but the unit I have is sensitive to power glitches. If you are depending on it to operate without checking it now and then (as in a sump pump battery back-up application like I use it for) then be aware that it might fail when stressed by the power grid. The surge protector seems to fix the problem and I have not had any trouble since. I tend to check my sump system every few days just because it is convenient to do so, so that is how I caught this issue. I am still happy with it but would be concerned about purchasing another one, especially for an unattended long-term charging application.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

A modern battery charger that is small, well-built, and works as advertised. The manual is well written and very clear as to what to do in what order, what to expect from the battery charger, and excellent suggestions to follow when attempting to bring a highly discharged, but still good, battery back to life. NOCO refers to their battery charger line as "wicked smart chargers". I'd say they're right on the mark!

Best Deals for NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger

This works very much like the 6v/12v version just a bit bigger in size and instead of a trickle option it has a supply (13v) and a "boost" (16v). The only draw back IMO is it doesn't have the small battery settings but i guess its a trade off to get the extra features of more power.

Honest reviews on NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger

This charger is great with Optima batteries. Has a specialized charge mode just for AGM batteries. Also charges regular wet cell batteries too. I was also pleasantly surprised by the high quality of this charger. Very nice charger!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NOCO Genius G7200 12V/24V 7.2 Amp Smart Battery Charger

I finally decided to purchase the G7200 after having to jump start my battery for the 3rd time. Had an old schumacher charger that can't charge a battery below 7 volts. Purchased the G7200 because of the supply function as it will charge a battery even down to zero volts! I know there are less expensive options out there, but for the features and functions of this charger, you can't beat the price.

Review of HHI Retractable Car Charger For Amazon Kindle Fire (Package include

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $16.99
Sale Price: $6.99
Today's Bonus: 59% Off

The retractable cord is great. Had it for several years,but the cord is quite thin, and alas it finally gave way. Would like the same type with a stronger cord.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

RUN, RUN, RUN from this seller. Do not walk, but RUN!! I ordered this charger. When it arrived I found the male plug would not fit into the female socket on my Kindle Fire. Further, the car plug would not fit tightly into my car socket. It was so loose it just fell out. I notified the seller and was treated as if I were trying to scam them out of a thousand dollar item. I was told I first had to photograph the tip of the charger, and their invoice and e-mail it to them. I explained that I do not have a camera and could not take the pictures. Afetr several e-mails I caled their customer service and was told it was not their policy to refund shipping even though they sent a defective or wrong item. They then had the nerve to ask me to give them a positive feedback. After they receive this feedback they would consider my request that they reimburse me for the item and shipping. (This sounds an awful lot like blackmail). And, they insist I pay the shipping to return this item to them.

All this aggravation for a $6.99 item!!!

I rated these schlocks with one star, but only because it is not an option to give them a minus five rating.

Best Deals for HHI Retractable Car Charger For Amazon Kindle Fire (Package include

This is a great charger for the car. It 's compact, doesn't 't get in the way as you drive and does the job for my phone and Kindle Fire. Stays out of the way when not in use. Great product! The stylus was an added bonus.

Reviews of Dexim DCA275B Mini Car Charger and Visible G Cable (Black/Blue)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $24.99
Sale Price: $9.99
Today's Bonus: 60% Off

It's awesome.. for a couple of weeks (one lasted almost a month). Then it dies. Not just the lights.. but none would even charge. I purchased two.. and then got two replacements.. so 4 out of 4.. lemons. The design is fabulous and fun, the actual product.. sucs :(

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

So my cable worked for 3 weeks and then it sporatically worked for 1 week, now it wont charge either my wife's or my iPhone.

So i contact Dexim to ask them what they want to do.

They contact me saying they are going to send me a UPS shipping label via email to print off and return the damaged unit.

I never received the mail, i check my junk mail and my spam box on my email account. I asked the customer service rep to send it to an alternative email address, same thing.

I believe they never sent the email and they have no intention of offering me a replacement cable.

So Dexim's response is "f-you" and buy another one.

Ive learned my lesson, I'll NEVER buy a Dexim product ever again, complete crap product, and worse customer service.

Buyers be warned.

Best Deals for Dexim DCA275B Mini Car Charger and Visible G Cable (Black/Blue)

If there was a zero star rating, this would have got it. It was cool though, the ONE time it ever lit up. Tried customer service on their website, no responses.

Honest reviews on Dexim DCA275B Mini Car Charger and Visible G Cable (Black/Blue)

I bought this for my son's birthday in April. Lots of fun, the light is great and it was a big hit. Now suddenly it has stopped working. The cord lights up for about thirty seconds when plugged into the wall but the devices I've tried it in don't charge (iPad, iPhone 4 and an iPhone 4s).

This is very disappointing as it was not inexpensive. Tough to rate something well when it does not last more than 2 months.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dexim DCA275B Mini Car Charger and Visible G Cable (Black/Blue)

This cable does exactly what it's advertised to do. It charges our iPhones very well and adds the very cool charging effect. The cable is "stiff" but not overly so. The USB connector is a bit longer than you'll be used to but I don't have a problem with it.

I was so pleased with this charge cable that I also purchased the Black/Purple one

Dexim DWA063-BU Visible Green Smart Charge & Sync Cable for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad (Black/Purple)

No complaints. We'll see if it holds up longer than the Apple cables in our house (will update if anything changes)

UPDATE 5/10/12:

The Black/Purple one has stopped working after less than 3 months. It was primarily used on the desk so it wasn't moved much that would have damaged the cable.

The White one is still working like a champ though.

Waiting to hear from Amazon about a replacement or refund on the Black/Purple cable.

UPDATE 7/10/12:

None of these still work. 1 fell from the table to the floor and busted open. It charged for a short while longer but the LEDs never worked again. The other 2 just stopped working for no apparent reason.

These are VERY cool and people LOVE them when they see it in action. They are NOT very durable though. I can't afford to replace this cable every few months.

For Jabra Sport / Revo / Cruiser / Cruiser2 / Drive / Freeway Review

Customer Ratings:

Though I had a Jabra I had lost the charging cord and needed one. I saw their advertisemrnt and product was as discribed and service excellent.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The most important feature-making a call by saying the persons name-doesn't work. What I do instead is speed dial the person and the Jabra takes over from there. People say they can't tell I'm not on the cell phone, which is good. Off-On switch a pain to locate and use. If I paid full price I would return it, but since it was a Groupon price I'll keep it.

Best Deals for For Jabra Sport / Revo / Cruiser / Cruiser2 / Drive / Freeway

It works very good. It also works with my phone as well.I bought it to charge the Jabra freeway speaker

Discount Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $249.00
Sale Price: $153.23
Today's Bonus: 38% Off

Just got this charger recently so I haven't had a lot of time to evaluate it. I like the fact that it is waterproof as some other brands of marine chargers I looked at were not. The charger seems well made and works as advertised. I know some people have taken issue with the fact that the charger switches banks every 5 minutes when charging but this seems a better situation to me than a typical 15 amp, 3 bank charger that only gives each battery 5 amps max. I say this because during the initial charge the batteries will accept the full 15 amps during the five minute sequence and that should help with mixing electrolyte and desulfating the plates, while guarding against heat and boil-over. The Schumacher has true 3 stage (bulk--adsorption--float) charging and the overall charge time seems at least as fast as the typical 15 amp total, 5 amp per bank charger. All in all I am happy with this charger. I have another Schumacher that is over 30 years old and still going strong. While that kind of reliability may be an unrealistic expectation, it makes it all the more likely that this charger will end up being an outstanding value.

Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board 3-Bank Charger

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Internal cooling fan makes god-awful noises right out of the box (lots of starting/stopping, speeding up/slowing down), which I can live with... but the evidently cheap little fan was not up to the task and died within a couple of months. Pulled it all out of the boat, sent it back under warranty, reinstalled the repaired unit, and, guess what... the same thing happened. The case never gets hot so I just ran it with the non-functioning fan. Kept all three batteries topped off OK for a couple of years.

Now I get a red indicator saying one of my batteries is bad. Removed the battery and had it checked at the parts store. Battery is fine. Swapped the charging leads among my three batteries and the charger now says ANOTHER battery is bad (the problem is with the #3 bank in the charger). Doesn't seem to be charging on the third battery now. I don't have time for this crap. I'm just going to pull it out and go with a different unit (Minn Kota maybe).

This is just a cheapo, unreliable unit. I've had several Schumacher products in the past and was pleased with them, but this one is junk.

Best Deals for Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board

Product came with no problems and I ma using it to keep my Class A RV Battieries on a trickle charge. I would recommend this product to my friends without thinking twice about it.

Honest reviews on Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board

I highly recommend this product. Easy to install and keeps my batteries fully charged. I have had no problems with it.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Schumacher SS-15A3-OB Ship 'N Shore 15 Amps 12V Automatic On-Board

Schumacher customer service don't know much about there product cant give you much help . customer service don't understand how the product works.

Review of Sirius S50 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Pack

Customer Ratings:

I've waited for three months for the S50 to come out. I finally found one and had it installed professionally in my car. I love what the S50 can do, and I'm overall very pleased, but I have some problems with the S50. First the good stuff. It's a great design with an awesome LCD display. The station, artist and song are always visible. None of the scrolling stuff. The base has a rotating know to change channels, replay songs, press to record a song you like while it's playing and a host of other options. Very cool. The removable lightweight unit is about the size of 2/3 of a deck of playing cards. With this unit, you can remove it from your car, plug in the headphones and play your downloaded MP3's and recorded content from sirius. The rechargeable battery is supposed to last around six hours. I haven't drained it yet. It recharges automatically when plugged into the base unit. Additionally, it will automatically download music from your three most listened to stations...ingenius. Also, if you like a song you're listening to, you simply press the rotating knob, and the song is recorded for you onto the portable unit...awesome! Additionally, if you like a song you just heard, you can click the knob, and it plays again. You can then skip ahead to the current song playing or keep listening. You can also pause the broadcast and unpause without a hitch. As you turn the knob to change channels, a voice tells you what channel you're selecting which is a cool feature if you want to keep watching the road.

I love the selection of music that is available for my taste (alternative stuff). Some stations are lame, the all Elvis channel or all Bruce Springstine channel for example, but that's a matter of taste. Besides, there's plenty to choose from no matter what your taste in music.

And now, the bad stuff. 1) I was disappointed with the sound quality. I would describe the quality as somewhere between good FM radio and AM. Voices often sound like they're speaking or singing through a tin can. I thought it may have been the FM broadcaster in the unit, but when I play MP3's in the car through the unit, they sound great, so I guess it's not enough band width in the broadcasts. 2) The portable unit does not have an equalizer option. You can't adjust the bass or treble which even the cheapest MP3 players have. That was poor oversight on their part. 3) My biggest gripe is that the removable unit will sometimes vibrate loose, causing a loss in the transmission. This is very annoying, but I'm getting used to tapping my unit from time to time to prevent it. I think part of the problem there is that my unit was installed so that it lies in a flat position. I may have to get that changed, despite the fact that I love the way it's positioned right now. Sirius should have designed it so that the unit locks in. However, when you lose the signal (not from the unit vibrating loose), the voice asks if you'd like to switch to downloaded content which can be done very easily.

UPDATE: I had the unit re-installed so that it's not flat, no problem now with the unit slipping out.

Moreover, I'm very pleased with the S50. If you're aware of sound quality issue I'd definitely recommend the unit.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

First off, let me say that I view the current S50 as a prototype. I think they rushed to market in order to have the product available by the time Stern started broadcasting. The fact that none of the accesories (including the home dock) are available yet shows that this product was rushed. The bugs and missing features, too, indicate a rushed release. Wait a few months and you will probably see prices drop, reliability increase, and features added.

Missing features: (1) There are no audio settings (not even the omnipresent "bass boost"). It should be against the law at this point to release a product like this without at least some sort of rudimentary equalizer. I have found the sound to be very poor largely because of this. The bass is lacking and the highs sound tinny. (2) If you are listening to one of your automatically recorded favorite channels in playback mode and leave the playback and return, you do not return to the point where you left (even if you don't turn the player off). You must start at the beginning of the recording and cycle through the tracks to find your spot. Remember those old CD players that started at the beginning of the disk each time you turned the player on? Would you buy one today? (3) Can I get a small keypad on the dock so I can change channel without using the dial? Come on, Sirius has almost 200 channels. I'm supposed to scroll through them one at a time? True, the remote has a keypad, but I will lose that thing. (4) Unlike your Tivo or DVR (which this unit is constantly compared to), the unit has only one tuner. That means that you can not listen to live radio while recording another channel. Why would you need to record a show that you listened to live? (5) Also unlike Tivo and DVR, the unit will not turn itself on for a scheduled recording. That means, if you want to record Howard Stern in the morning while you are still asleep, you'll have to leave the unit on all night. If you were able to track down a home unit during the limited release in December or you have purchased a DC/AC adaptor, you can just leave your S50 on at home. If you only use yours in the car you will find your battery dead and will be calling AAA for a jump start if you leave this thing on all night.

Design flaws: (1) The designers thought it would be cool to have the top of the player shaped like a triangle instead of sitting flush like every other MP3 player. Thats no problem if you only want to listen with the provided headphones (which suck), but if you want to use aftermarket headphones, the 1/8 jack for many will be to big to fit (the housing of the jack, not the jack itself of course). (2) The unit frequently freezes up and fails to respond to any commands. You have to remove the battery and wait ten seconds before reinstalling it in order to "reset" the unit. (3) Six hours of battery life? Thats at the low end of what I would consider exceptable. That is not a huge problem now, but what about a year from now when the battery begins to lose its charge and only holds, say four hours? (4) The interface is anything but intuitive and needs some major tuning. Example: the "Shut off Device" option is in the Setup Menu. Every time I turn this thing off I feel like I'm about to make a major change in the way the device functions. (5) Unlike most players, which have a full-time display, the screen on this unit goes black unless you have recently touched a button. I don't need the screen to glow all the time, I just want the text of the song on the screen so I know what I'm listening to. Only the backlight should shut off when the unit is "idle." You can go into "display settings" and change the screen to always be on, but since the backlight will always be on, this will drain the already inadequate battery.

I could go on, but I want to wrap this up. I give this product three stars instead of two or one because it is such a great idea. Finally, we can save large amounts of satellite radio content and play it back on a portable. Also, if you want to listen to Stern, but don't have the time to catch the show live, this is the only thing to buy.

Would I buy it again? No, not even at a lower price. My advice is wait and see what comes next. This is a new idea, using new technology. Things will only get better from here on. Wait a few months rather than blowing $350 on a prototype that never should have left the Quality Control Department in its current condition.

Update: Sirius issued a software patch for this unit. Now you can fast-forward through recorded material (before you could only skip tracks), schedule recordings for music shows in addition to talk shows, and save more individual songs to your "my sirius songs" folder.

My advice stays the same. Wait for the next generation S50. It will undoubtedly have two tuners, an equalizer, better sound, and will lack the bugs in this unit. Or, you can buy my S50 used on Amazon.com the day the next generation comes out(I will definitely be upgrading).

Second Update: Today is 2/9/06. My S50 is dead. All of the sudden it stopped receiving live broadcasts today. I turn it on while docked and all I get is the startup sound and the Sirius logo screen; then the unit freezes up. Now this thing is basically an Ipod with bad battery life and poor navigation. Luckily I have an extended warranty...

Best Deals for Sirius S50 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Pack

I bought this primarily for the Tivo-like recording feature and that's a huge disappointment. If you want to record a full Howard Stern show, forget it. It's not designed to record that many hours and it rarely records the full amount it's supposed to. Show are almost always incomplete or the device frequently crashes! I've had to remove the battery multiple times because it was frozen.

If you're a Mac user, there's no software interface fo the MP3 functions.

The sound quality is pretty mediocre, even with full signal strength.

Given the cost (don't forget to add $100 to be able to use it at home) and the mediocre performance, don't buy this.

Honest reviews on Sirius S50 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Pack

Anyone giving this product less than 4 stars is Ignorant and/or bitter, because they spent over 300 bucks on something they didn't research or don't know how to use. NO it does not get live broadcast without being docked (either in your car or in your home) But it doesn't claim to!, and NO you can not set up a recording segment (longer than simply recording one song) for any of the music stations(but this isn't nearly as important as i originally thought it would be)

Let me tell you what it can do. I've had mine for a little over a day now so I'm not an expert YET but i have gotten pretty familiar with the product. The most important/impressive thing that this product does (which has been overlooked by or atleast not explained clearly by anyone YET) is the "MY sirius Channels" function. Your S50 will "automatically" ( I left my unit on and docked while I went to sleep) record content from your most listened to channels...which in my case was the channel that i left it on while i was sleeping. when i checked my s50 in the morning i had 5+ hours of Quasi recorded content "saved" under "my sirius channels" I sorted through the saved content which coulden't be more convieniet ( you can FF RW Pause and if you like/choose Record and the greatest part is you don't even have to listen to the full song to record it you can simply hit the "love" button to record, then hit the ff button once and you are skipped ahead to the next song, and yes the one you recorded is saved in your memory. Using this technique I was able to save 68 songs worth of material in about an hour or so (that represents about 20% of the memory for the unit. Tonight I'll let the S50 "automatically" record more music for me and then tomorrow i'll record and save only what i want and delete the rest, which will make room for the S50 to "automatically" record some new content for me to browse through.

Everything else about what this product can do is explained pretty well in the product specs or at I wanted to explain about the recording function b/c this is what seperates this product from other music players. As far as docking your S50 with your computer and using the software goes, it's pretty simple and easy to work with. However if you are used to using Itunes you will realize that "my sirius studio" (the media player used to store and manage your music files on your pc) is incredibly basic but so far has worked w/o problems...(I was also able to transfer MP3's to my S50 via this software.

I won't say much about the looks b/c by now you've seen pics...i'll only say that those pictures are surely justified.

Yeah it's a lot of money...but it does things an Ipod can't dream of ...If you are REALLY into music and are sick either the songs on your Ipod or commercials on the radio...You'll love sirius and the S50

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sirius S50 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Pack

Ok I'm a big Howard Stern fan so I had to get the S-50. Let me start by saying the most important thing, for those people who are complaining about not getting the home kit, I have a brilliant suggestion: GO BUY A 5-VOLT AC ADAPTER. That's all you need. I too was pissed when I found out that the home dock wasn't even available, and I am planning on only listening to it at home, but then I realized all you need to do is go buy an adapter and you can plug the "car kit" in at home too. Genius, huh? Anyways, on to the review of the radio...

UPDATE: I forgot to include that with the car kit, you will not only need a 5-volt adapter, but you will need something thick and VERY metallic, like a cookie sheet or a pie tray to attach the "car magnet". This is a rather crude but cheap way to replace the total lack of supply of the home docks.

So far so good. Sucks that you can't adjust bass/treble, but the fact that this thing is not only a satellite radio, but also an .MP3 player makes up for this drawback. You can record any song or program you want. Another awesome feature. I, like everyone else, was disappointed when I found out it's not really "portable" with live content, only with the stuff you have recorded onto it. The good, the bad.. and the ugly. The ugly part being that the Sirius software on the computer is buggy as hell. I put some .mp3s on it, and before I know it, the software bugs out and won't run. I had to uninstall it, and re-install it many many times. I'm not the only one who has had this problem either, so I recommend that you put the .mp3s on there that you really want for a long time to avoid this hassle. All complaints aside though, this is a great piece of technology and the pros outweigh the cons. Lots of people are pissed, but most of them are using it in their cars, and since I'm not driving with it, I don't have a problem.

In short, the fact that I can play .mp3s on the same device that I can listen to Howard Stern and Eminem's satellite channels on makes this a wonderful Christmas present and I'm pretty happy with it. But if you have a car, you might want to think about getting a different Sirius radio, one that's a little more reliable through speed bumps, weather, and lots of engine restarts. From what I've read it flakes out a lot in the car, and if you're just using it to drive, why not play your songs on your regular CD player and buy a cheaper Sirius radio just for the satellite?

Reviews of Satechi CHR-61 4-Way 12V Car Socket Extender Charger Adapter

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $24.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

Anyone contemplating the purchase of the Satechi CHR-61 might want to know about a design feature that's not documented on either the Amazon or Satechi websites.

The Amazon/Satechi photos and descriptions mention LED's associated with each of the 4 main power ports as well as for the USB port. It turns out that there are actually two sets of LED's associated with each of the main power ports and a single fifth LED associated with the USB port.

When the 4 main 12V ports are switched off, blue LED's mounted beneath each push button switch glow brightly. When the ports are switched on, the blue LED's turn off and red LED's mounted above each of the push buttons turn on. The fifth LED associated with the USB port always glows blue, and does not change color, even when an attached device becomes fully charged (as is the case with most USB chargers).

The issue I have is that even when turned off, each of the main power ports' associated LED's are always on with no way to disable them. That means that if you plug this unit into a cigarette lighter socket that always on (as is the case with many vehicles), these 5 very bright LED's could eventually drain your vehicle's battery. I know that LED's typically don't draw very much current, but given enough time, full drain could occur.

Additionally, because they're so bright, I think many might find them distracting, especially when driving at night. While some customers might like these always-on LED's, I don't, and think they're inclusion is a dumb design decision.

Because I was otherwise OK with this unit's design, I decided to try disabling the blue LED's myself. If my experiment failed, no big deal; I'd just trash the thing and purchase something else.

I disassembled the unit by removing 4 small bottom screws, and then, using a pair of needle nose pliers, extracted the 4 main, rectangular, blue LED's from the circuit board. The fifth USB-related LED is round and attaches to the circuit board via 2 lead wires, which can be easily severed using wire cutters. I left the remaining upper row of red LED's intact.

After reassembly (it's a bit tricky to get all the parts aligned properly), I plugged the unit back into my cigarette lighter and determined that removing the blue LED's had no apparent effect on operation. That is, all main 12V ports still operated normally except that now there is no glowing LED when a push button switch is off, but the red LED does glow when a switch is on.

The 5V USB port is now permanently dark, but otherwise continues to function normally. I should note that it's also possible that the remaining circuitry might also draw some small amount of current even when all switches are off, but I have no way to test whether or not this is the case.

If you don't like the always-on LED feature of this unit, but are not inclined to tinker (the hack I describe also clearly voids the warranty), then you might want to consider another product.

By the way, I'd judge the overall build quality of the Satechi CHR-61 to be adequate, though not great. The push button switches don't operate very smoothly, but they're probably OK for their purpose. The circuit board and internal construction look OK to me (I'm a former electronics manufacturing engineer).

As a final note, if you're considering a semi-permanent installation of this unit in your vehicle, you might want to use sticky-back Velcro, rather than the included 3M adhesive pad. While perhaps not as stable as the adhesive pad, the Velcro would allow for easy removal and re-attachment.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I wanted something like this with four switched outlets badly enough to start building my own. With this thing's measly $20 price, I kicked the homebrew solution to the curb. I'd rather have the switches and the jacks on the same face instead of on opposite sides so I could tuck it into a little cubby below my stereo, but I'll get over that.

Fears of battery drain from the LEDs are absurd.

Yes, the blue LEDs are bright, but that brightness does not necessarily require high power consumption. With all switches off, my unit consumes 30mA @ 12V. With all switches on and no accessories plugged in, illuminating the reds consumes 36 mA @ 12V.

The energy in a single alkaline AA battery, ignoring for a moment that an AA battery only supplies 1.5V, could power this thing for five days. In the context of a 40-pound lead-acid storage battery with orders-of-magnitude more energy capacity than the AA cell, 30mA is utterly negligible. If you're not going to drive your car for a month, sure, go ahead and unplug it. Leaving your vehicle idle for a weekend, don't worry about it.

My unit has a curious but ultimately trivial defect: the plug labels are reversed. The "plug 1" switch operates the socket labeled "plug 4". I don't know if all units are the same way. I first assumed the assembler simply oriented the plate wrong, so I disassembled it to correct the flaw. Well, surprise on me, the plate is keyed to the shell so it can't be reoriented. I now figure that whoever printed the labels on the plate goofed.

Jim Wood said in his review "it's a bit tricky to get all the parts aligned properly" when reassembling it. I'd change "a bit tricky" to "ridiculously fussy." Resist the urge to take it apart unless you have a really good reason.

During my peek inside, I saw some rather poor craftsmanship. The PCBs look fine, but they're surely assembled by robots. The hand-soldering, on the other hand, is generously described as "amateurish." I'm not afraid that the unit is going to catch on fire or fry my phone charger or cause any other trouble, but I won't be surprised if it flakes out in a year.

Don't mistake criticism for dissatisfaction. I'm really happy with the purchase. It fulfills a simple need in a simple way. It's unobtrusive enough to go unnoticed, but good-looking enough that it doesn't need to be hidden.

Best Deals for Satechi CHR-61 4-Way 12V Car Socket Extender Charger Adapter

There isn't much more to say about this product than it works and has worked well with everything I've plugged into it thus far. Right now it is charging my iPhone 3G through the USB port, but it has also charged my GPS and another iPhone through the main sockets at the same time without any problems. It is also a nice option to be able to deactivate the unused ports to ensure that you aren't draining any power from your car battery unnecessarily.

I will also say that the main cord is a nice length and is long enough so that the adapter is currently connected my dashboard socket, but is physically situated between my center console and the passenger seat without any problems. It's a very nice product and I have had zero compatibility issues so far.

Honest reviews on Satechi CHR-61 4-Way 12V Car Socket Extender Charger Adapter

This item puts a large amount of Radio Frequency noise. Enough noise to effectively block my FM transmitter. Only when I plugged the FM transmitter in a separate outlet and placed the two devices as far apart as possible, the radio could receive a very weak static filled signal of my music. I is the FM transmitter every day and planned on plugging it into this car socket power stip. I like all of the features except the always on led lights. If you do not plan on using this with a FM transmitter I think it is a great buy.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Satechi CHR-61 4-Way 12V Car Socket Extender Charger Adapter

i have this for about a month now, its ok but its not actually that great

Pros : Great concept and design

Cons: the Charger holes are a tad big, if your actually mounting it sideways,

where the Buttons is facing up and the charger plug holes facing down, it Loses connection

Cheap Desktop Cradle with Extra Battery Slot for Samsung Vibrant

Customer Ratings:

While I love the charger, the xtra battery slot was why I bought it. However the lack of instructions being included was why I didn't give it a five. Can I charge both phone & xtra battery at same time? No indicator of when xtra battery is chargingor fully charged; so I'm left using only the battery in phone section....I do like the fact it has a stand, & I use it even when not charging

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

HQRP KIT (85 Watt Solar Panel 85W Power 12V Monocrystalline 12 Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This is a great panel, it was easy to install on top of my motor home. Once we installed this solar panel on the roof, we had to make a trip down to Home Depot to buy 20 feet of wire to run from the panel down to the controller and then to the batteries. If you purchase this solar panel, you are going to need to also order some solar panel brackets because this one did NOT come with any. I have also ordered another controller so that way I can split the charge, one going to my main batter and one going to my Auxilary batteries.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Product arrived as scheduled but box was damaged. Upon opening found everything to be ok other then a smashed outer corner,

My guess is it happened during manufacturing. Good news was it did not effect performance. I put this panel on a voltmeter and it

Registered all specs as promised. Overall this panel is built well. Now, about the coaster which is advertised in the title description. Folks this is just a blue drink coaster! Why or how a drink coaster would be packaged and advertised in the title is beyond me.

Also , the MC4 connectors are not easy to find and are pricey online but they are water proof, well insulated for long term so I would suggest investing in this concept. If not you could cut these and use comparable stranded copper wire to make your connections which are obviously shielded. As for the charge controller it also worked accordingly. It is nothing fancy but does the

Job. I got a 4.76 amp reading on a clear winter morning here in Florida and I'm sure with a more direct noon angle this thing could put out just under 5 amps! Thanks for reading.

Best Deals for HQRP KIT (85 Watt Solar Panel 85W Power 12V Monocrystalline 12

Notice any connecting cables? You don't see them because you don't get any! It's my one complaint. There is no way to directly connect the solar panel to the charge controller, because the plugs on the solar panel do not plug into the charge controller. You could chop off the special cable ends, or make your own power cord like I did (requires skill/training).

This panel puts out a lot of juice. I just wish that it had been plug-and-play.

Honest reviews on HQRP KIT (85 Watt Solar Panel 85W Power 12V Monocrystalline 12

Excellent price and well built solar panel and charger. As good as my BP panel. Liked the Led display on charger. Did not like the connectors and cut them off and fed wires direct from panel to charger. Installed on my RV and works perfectly in February in Arizona only used generator a couple of times. Delivered ontime.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HQRP KIT (85 Watt Solar Panel 85W Power 12V Monocrystalline 12

I purchased a relatively large Jayco camping trailer (Pop-up) this year and wanted to be able to dry camp for a week at a time and not need to haul along a generator or be overly worried about conserving electricity. After doing the math I upgraded the stock group 24 battery to a group 29 and found this panel/charge controller combination for a bit of a discount over buying each separately. I did a few "dry-runs" at home by discharging my battery 20-40% and bringing it back up with this panel and controller and my battery was left with the same charge that my Schumacher SC-600A charger left it at so the controller's charging logic seemed sound. Using this in the field I'm happy to have plenty of power to the point that the charge controller is usually indicating a full battery by 9:30-10:00 each morning after a night with a few hours of running about 20 watts of dome/patio lights, the water pump as necessary, two small fans overnight and the furnace induction and blower fans as needed. The system has been reliable and performance has been great so far. While I haven't hooked up a meter to verify output, my back-of-the-envelope calculation based on draining up to 40% of the rated capacity of my battery and then charging it with this panel/charge controller combination it seems to be working as advertised.

I used some 10AWG outdoor rated wire and connectors leftover from my home PV installation I completed about 3 years ago which allows me to place the panel up to 20' from the battery to get it clear of trees or other shade that we like to place our trailer beneath. Worse case I can pull the battery off and move both battery and panel/charge controller to a more favorable charging location during the day and return it to the trailer once charging completes. I crimped some ring terminals on the wires going from the charge controller to the battery for easy installation/removal keeping these wires about 2' long to reduce losses from the charge controller to the battery and keep the charge controller sheltered by the bunk that slides out over the front of the trailer. Being 85 watts this panel isn't small so spend the time to look at the dimensions and make sure it will fit wherever you plan to store and use it. Mine stows beneath the dining table with about 6" to spare.

I did discover that the panel is reasonably tough as my wife mentioned to me one evening that she caught our friends' kid standing on it behind our trailer. Yes, actually STANDING on the glass portion of the panel while it was lying behind our trailer. This panel is build in the same manner as my 200 watt panels on my roof with an aluminum frame and PV cells glued to the back side of a panel of glass. Now I know this panel can support at least 40 pounds of kid without failing. I was prompted to put together a small "A-frame" stand made with leftover aluminum rail and brackets from my home install so now I can do a better job of optimizing the tilt of my panel and hopefully avoid subjecting the panel to a load-bearing stress test!