The Gizmodrome

Swedish Fire Steel

2012-02-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

Like most campers and outdoorsmen, I switched from matches to disposable butane lighters years ago. They're waterproof, reliable, and inexpensive. Yet these ferrocerium fire starters- the modern equivalent of the old flint and steel- seem to be more popular than ever. They're not as convenient as a disposable lighter, but they do have the advantage of being just about indestructible, and impervious to water, heat, and shock. I suspect there's also a certain romance to using a more primitive fire starting method, and more than a little association with the survivalist mindset.

Regardless, they're handy things to have, and there are a wide range of fire steels at widely varying prices available. I bought a few off eBay for under $2 each, and more recently this Swedish Firesteel from Amazon for around $15. There are some significant differences between the two.

The cheapest ones consist of a magnesium rod with a very small- about 1/8"- rod of ferrocerium set into the magnesium. The idea is that you scrape some magnesium off he rod for tinder and ignite it with sparks from the ferrocerium. It works, but the thin rods don't last very long. The better units consist of a solid 1/4" ferrocerium rod. That's twice the diameter, and 4x the mass.

There's another difference. The cheap units come with what looks like a piece of hacksaw blade as a striker. On mine, I had to scrape a thick coating of green paint off the metal before it was usable. The Swedish units come with a hardened steel striker that works much better. Of course, you can always use the back of a good knife as well.

My feeling is that the cheap ones aren't a particularly good deal. Assuming you're buying a fire starter as a piece of real emergency gear, you should probably buy the best one you can- especially when it's less than $20.

I might need one of these...

2011-12-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

Nothing like the taste of hot dogs cooked at the local 7-11:

Amazon Kindle Fire

2011-11-15T10:46:00.001-08:00

I bought one of the earlier Kindles, the second generation standard model. While it was impressive in many ways, there were several things I didn't like about it.

It was slow. This was particularly annoying when flipping back and forth between pages.
The Web browser was all but useless.
It wouldn't display all the available e-Book formats
You couldn't zoom in on a page
It couldn't display most images
Navigation was clumsy

The new Kindle Fire is supposed to improve on all those issues. With a larger, color display, touch navigation, a dual core processor and free cloud storage, this may actually displace my iPod touch as my go-everywhere electronic notebook. I've pre-ordered mine, and with luck it'll be here inside of a week. You can find out more about it here.

Invasion of the Robot Tea Infusers!!!

2011-10-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Is it high tech? I'm still not sure, but I do know I coveted this Kikkerland Robot Tea Infuser the minute my friend Kev showed me the one he found on the web. How can you resist?

Maxpedition Fatboy GTG Versipack

2011-09-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

I like my Maxpedition Noatak Gearslinger pack (reviewed previously) a lot, especially for biking. I can carry cameras, a jacket, iPod, books and pretty much everything I need for a day's outing in it. But it's a bit much for just walking about in the woods or in town. For that, I just acquired a Maxpedition Fatboy G.T.G. Versipack , which slings over the opposite shoulder and rides comfortably at your side.

Maxpedition makes a wide range of Versipacks, and this is one of the more compact ones- the main compartment is 6.5" x 3" x 8". Cheap, too- under $45 at Amazon, and there are left handed models, too. But it's built like a tank, and you can stuff an amazing amount of gear in it. Besides the main compartment, there's a water bottle pouch, a side pouch, and a zippered front pouch. And behind the main pouch is a zippered, conceled pouch, lined with velcro; Maxpedition makes a simple holster and magazine carriers that fit in here.

Right now mine is carrying a camera, spare memory cards and battery, notebook, iPod touch, pens, pencils, and pepper spray. If I head off into the woods I can easily add a space blanket, pocket GPS, candle, lighter, pepper spray (for dogs and rapid animals, mainly), a water bottle and still have room. It's an excellent system. But I'm still thinking of getting one of the the larger "Jumbo" models, too.

There are several basic models of the Versipack, and several sub-models within each, and all come in a variety of colors. My packs are in "foliage", a kind of subdued green that blends in nicely in the woods, but still looks okay in the city. You can also get black, khaki, OD, digital camo, blue, red, and even yellow in some models. The smallest makes a great every day carry bags- a "man purse", if you like, though I'm sure women would find them useful, too. The largest would make a great travel bag. It's small enough for airline carry-on use, and big enough that you could live out of it in warm weather. You can see all the Maxpedition Versipacks here at Amazon. (Maxpedition's site has even more info, but Amazon's prices are lower.)

Moog Monotron

2011-08-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1970s I really wanted a Moog synthesizer, but of course a full setup with multiple oscillators, filters, mixers, and amplifiers could cost as much as a small house. Even the later Minimoog cost as much as a car. Today, analog synthesis has been largely made obsolete by digital techniques, and I have software on even my small computers that can outdo anything the best synths of the 70s were capable of.

But there's still a certain coolness to analog synthesis, and there are still analog syths being made. The smallest of these is the Moog Monotron, with just one oscillator, one LFO, and one filter. It can be had for under $60, and it's so cool I had to buy one.

Instead of keys, it has a ribbon controller with keys printed on it. It uses a pair of AAA batteries for power, it's made of a cheesy plastic, and it's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. And boy, is it fun. Even though it's pretty simple, even by 1970s standards, it's the equivalent of several thousands of dollars of tube-era synthesis gear. You can get a tremendous range of sounds out of it- enough to do the soundtrack for any Sci-Fi film made prior to 1972, at a minimum. And you can patch external signals through it- I like feeding the output of various sound generating apps my iPod through the Monotron.

Summary: Cheap, cool, fun. Evey musician needs one.

Otterbox Defende Case for the iPod Touch

2011-06-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

The latest addition to the gadget box is an OtterBox Defender Case for my older 3G iPod Touch- something I carry with me everywhere. It's my MP3 player, G-meter, transit, star map, notepad, internet terminal, mailbox, sketchpad... well, the list goes on and on. I've become very dependent on it, and I worry about dropping it.

The Otterbox products have received top reviews for years, so I purchased one for the iPod. At $19.95 it's more expensive than a lot of cases, but still cheaper than many that do a poorer job of protection. It's actually two cases: The outer case is a plastic clamshell with a clear screen, and the outer case is a silicone rubber jacket that protects the inner package from shock as well as holding everything together. and sealing the headphone and data ports.

It's still thin enough to travel in a shirt pocket, but now it can take a fall from that pocket to the sidewalk and survive unscathed.

Xaviere XV-JT100 Jazzmaster clone

2011-06-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

I just bought this neat Jazzmaster clone from Guitarfetish after reading a number of reviews that all agreed they delivered a very good product for the money. Their pickups are said to be especially good, and they sell a lot for use in upgrading other clones. I was actually looking for a cheap travel guitar, and they do make one, but then I got interested in their Tele clones, and finally, this guitar.

The asking price is $229, which is pretty reasonable, but I bought a blem for $179- $50 less. It may be a blem, but it's hard to tell exactly what's wrong with it. I can't find a flaw in the fit or the finish. The only thing that differs from the photos on line is that the knobs and switch are ivory rather than white- so it looks like I saved $50 by having knobs and a switch that don't match the pickup covers! I could buy some white knobs or ivory p/u covers, but it hardly seems worth the bother. Perhaps later.

Overall, I'm very pleased with it. Yes, the neck would be better if it didn't have that heavy poly finish, and there's no internal shielding, but it's still very playable, and I have enough copper tape on hand to do a complete shielding job the first time I do a string change.

The hardware is all good quality, and very close to the original with the exception of the tuning machines (this guitar has mini-Schaller clones instead of the original Klusons) and the string tree. The vibrato tailpiece is just like the original in that the arm will fall out if you don't wrap a piece of tape around it*, but it lacks the locking button of the original.

The pickups do have that fat Jazzmaster sound- these are real Jazzmaster clones, not repackaged P-90s or Strat pickups. It's a sound very different from what I get in my Strat, my Dot Neck or a Tele. It's ideal for surf music, of course, but I think it will also make a great country guitar and maybe even a jazz guitar as Leo intended. Don't think these pickups are just for smooth tones- they have a really bright sound, with a lot of chime.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it and I think I'll be keeping it for a while. Might even order one of their Tele kits for a project this Fall, too.

* Turns out that thousands of Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Mustang players are dead wrong about the vibrato arm (which Fender confusingly calls a "tremelo arm.") I had the tailpiece off the guitar to tighten up the sleeve that holds the arm, and discovered that at the end that sits inside the tailpiece there's a simple but effective four-jawed collet chuck! If you insert the arm into the sleeve/collet until it stops, and then push it in another 1/8", the collet grabs the arm and hold it firmly. So throw away your tape and other fixes and just push that vibrato arm in a fraction of an inch more.

Roku XDS Video Streaming PLayer

2011-01-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those few people left (it seems) who've never had cable. It's expensive, and to get the few channels I want, it always seems I have to pay a huge premium, much of which goes for hundreds of channels I have no interest in. Anyway, haven't they been saying for years that internet streamed content is the real future of video? Well it is, and it's here now.

I bought my Roku XDS model on impulse when Amazon had a one-day $20 off sale, and it's been in constant use ever since. For $6.95 a month I have a full streaming Netflix account that gives me unlimited access to hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of movies and TV shows I've always wanted to see. In addition, I've got a number of free channel subscriptions that provide access to University classes, BBC radio shows, classic TV shows and more. I just added a subscription to a channel called "Drive In Theater" that cost all of $3/year. I've rented my last DVD.

Image quality is great, it's easy to set up, and there's a ton of program material out there. There's a huge on-line community of Roku users that share info getting the most out of your Roku box. What more can I say? Get one. The cheapest is only $59, and can do most of what the $79 and $99 models can. (But get the top of the line 1080p XDS model- it's worth it for the better WiFi connection options and component audio outputs.)

UPDATE: The other day my Roku remote control stopped working. The unit itself it putting out the IR signal (you can check this with a digital camera) but the Roku box isn't responding. I don't know if the fault is in the remote or the box. I did however discover that there are several Roku remote control aps available from the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, ranging from free to $2.99, and that's what I'm using now. They use the WiFi network rather than IR to control the Roku, which could lead to problems if two close neighbors were both using this remote, and one was either malicious or not particularly clever ;-)

Drum Workshop Go Anywhere Practice Set

2011-01-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

I started playing drums when I was 8, and even though I don't consider them my main instrument anymore, I still like to drag the set out from time to time for a jam or when we throw together a band for a party or barbecue. In between, I try to keep in practice, but that's not easy when you live in a suburban neighborhood- particularly in warm weather, when everyone's windows are open.

I'd considered getting a set of electronic drums- and I may yet- but while you can now get a halfway decent kit (Alesis DM6 USB Express Kit) for under $300, something with real drum feel and sound is still going to cost you more like $500-600, minimum, and a lot of these sets take up as much, or more space as a standard kit.

But all you really need for practice is a set of pads you can position at various locations. You don't need authentic sounds or cymbals you can choke. And for that, I think the DW Drum Workshop CPPADTS5 Go Anywhere Pad Set with Stand, at under $150, is just the ticket. I originally bought this kit for my multi-instrumentalist nephew, but when I mentioned that I was buying another for myself, he suggested I take his as he wasn't using it much- he's too busy with the other three instruments he plays.

The kits takes up very little room, even when assembled. The pads offer decent rebound, and are quiet enough to practice at night when people are sleeping. You can attach your favorite bass drum pedal, and the whole thing packs up in a supplied bag. Drum Workshop will sell you additional arms and pads, including a pad with a snare sound, if you want to expand your kit.

It's not perfect. The clamps that hold the pads in position really have to be cranked down to keep the pads from moving. There are only four pads, so you'll have to do with just two toms and one cymbal. And there's no hi-hat. I just tap my foot, but if you liked you could add something like a Hansenfutz F�tz Practice Pedal. (The Hansenfutz can also be rigged to hit a cowbell or wood block, so it can do double duty in a drum kit, too.)

Maxpedition Noatak Gearslinger

2011-01-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

I just purchased this Maxpedition Noatak Gearslingerfor use as a versatile daypack and bicycle bag. It's made of a very rugged Cordura nylon, and has a large number of pockets and compartments for stashing anything from a pen to a small laptop- I can slide my ASUS Eee Netbookinto the compartment behind the padded pack, and there's still plenty of room for the charger, books, raincoat, etc. That same compartment can also be used for a water bladder, and there are straps all along the padded sling where a drinking hose can be snaked.

One feature that attracted me to this design was the single sling that goes over the shoulder. This is more stable on a bicycle (or walking) than the usual two-strap design, and it allows you to rotate the pack around in front of you for access without the need to remove it. I have a Lowepro camera bag (the SlingShot 202) that works this way and I find it far more convenient and comfortable than any of my other bags. I find I can easily store one of my pocket cameras in the Noatak, and with the addition of a padded inner bag, I can carry a digital SLR safely as well.

The Noatak is in the middle of the"Gearslinger" range, which includes bags with a wide range of sizes and bags with and without the water bottle pocket seen above. I chose the this bag after a lot of consideration, finally deciding that the Noatak was big enough to carry everything I'd need for an afternoon out on the bicycle or taking a nature walk, without being so large as to weigh me down or look like a wanna-be commando on maneuvers. I chose the fabric color seen- "foliage"- for similar reasons. You can get most Maxpedition bags in black, OD, khaki, digital camo, or foliage. Some are available in combinations like khaki/foliage, and a few of the Versipacks are also available in orange, yellow (good for search and rescue), blue, and red.

Maxpedition makes a wide variety of rugged bags of all sizes for everything from daily carry to search and rescue. Their Versipackline includes a series of waistpacks and over-the-shoulder slings designed for comfortable carry and ease of access. For military, police, and concealed carry use, they also offer velcro-attachable holsters and magazine pouches that can be fit into all their bag.

Kimber Pepperblaster II

2010-12-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

Pepper sprays are a useful non-lethal tool for self-defense, but they can be hard to use, requires several seconds to spray, and can require getting closer than comfortable to an assailant. But Kimber, a company better know for fine firearms, is importing a device that solves these problems- the LA98001 Kimber Pepper Blaster II Pepper Spray Gun

Rather than a spray propelled by compressed gas, the Pepper Blaster II uses a small pyrotechnic charge to propel the entire load of pepper and dye up to 15' away, and does so in an instant. If one shot isn't enough, a second shot is instantly available. I've seen videos of this device in action and it's very effective.

I'd buy one myself, but I can't, as the strength of the spray exceeds Michigan's maximum 2% limit on the concentration of pepper sprays. Curious, as it's freely available in many countries that prohibit all private possession of firearms.

UPDATE: Michigan regulations have been changed to allow the Pepper Blaster as of Spring 2011.

Toro 1800 18" Electric Snow Thrower

2010-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Southeast Michigan doesn't get as much snow as it did 40 years ago, but we still get a few blizzards every year that bury us in enough snow to shut down the city for a day. It's times like that I start to wish I still had a big snow thrower. I used to have a huge 8HP snow thrower that was a family heirloom. I think my father bought it around 1968. Every year I'd tear it down and replace cotter pins and screws and washers, and every year it would fall apart early in the season. I finally got rid of it and went back to using shovels.

I do have a couple of powered snow brooms- one electric and one with a tiny 2-stroke motor. These are fine for clearing the front porch and the rear deck, but most of the time they don't save much time over using a shovel. Problem is that a minimal gas powered snow thrower costs at least $400. A really good one costs more like $600-700. I'm not sure that we get enough snow to justify that kind of expenditure. I've been replacing a number of gas powered yard appliances (tiller, weed wacker, edger) over the years with electric ones, so an electric snow thrower seemed like a reasonable choice. Of the electric units on the market, the Toro 1800 seems to have the best reviews from owners, so I ordered one from Amazon last week.

It arrived today, and after a quick assembly, which consists of removing it from the box and attaching the handle, I plugged it in and turned it on. As expected, it came to life immediately with a loud whirr. Some of the earlier versions of this unit had a reputation for throwing belts, so I was pleased to see that the current 1800 shows no such tendencies.

The proof, of course, is in the shoveling, and we'll have to wait for the first snow to see if it's as good as its reputation. And if it isn't, you'll read about it here. (Update: Two and a half months later I have yet to encounter a Michigan snowfall it couldn't handle. And unlike my old gas snow thrower, it never fails to start!)

A good value in a Weber grill

2010-09-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Though I've been barbecuing and smoking over charcoal and wood for the past 23 years, I finally broke down and bought a good gas grill. Wood and charcoal are great, but sometimes you want to grill up a storm for company, or just for yourself, without spending 45 minutes lighting a fire and preheating the grill.

What I had my eye on was a $649 Weber Genesis grill; what I could reasonably budget for was this $359 Weber Q320 grill, and you know, while it's very different in design from the Genesis series of grills I've used at friends' homes, it's a pretty good grill in its own right.
Weber calls all their Q-series grills "portable", but this unit, with attached cart, isn't what I'd call portable. It's solid, fairly heavy, and you're not going to fit it into your car trunk unless you do some major disassembly.

The grill surface is cast iron, the housing is cast aluminum, and most of the rest is plastic. This gave me some concern at first, but then, it's not going to rust, which is a real concern here in the rainy, snowy, Midwest. I don't trust materials alone to keep it rust free, of course; I also ordered a Weber 6553 Premium Cover to protect it. Came in handy, too, as a major thunderstorm hit here just minutes after I'd finished assembling it.

Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike

2010-09-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

I've been using a Concept2 Rowing Machine for many years, and I think it's the best all-around home exercise machine out there, but of late my knees having been giving me some problems, and I thought it might be best to switch to something thought wouldn't compress the patella as much. Being a daily bicyclist, my first thought was an exercise bike of some sort, and on reflection, a decided that a recumbent machine would be the best for my knees and lower back.

After a lot of search, and trying a lot of machines, I settled on the Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike, for a number of reasons. First, it was the most comfortable machine I tried- better, even than some costing almost twice as much. I was easily able to adjust it to fit my 6'2" frame. Second, the price was right: $384 and free shipping from Amazon Prime. Last, Amazon customer support. Even though they're located at the far end of the country from here, I consistently get better support from them than I do from any of the big-box discounters around here.

It went together easily enough, and so far I'm finding it a great alternative when the weather's too cold or too wet to ride. I've been using it on rainy days (which we have a lot of this time of year) and so far I'm pleased with how comfortable it is in a 20-30 minute session. We'll see how I feel after a Winter's worth of riding.

Update: Here it is 4 months later, and I use it every day- I think I've missed maybe 5 days in all that time. Spinning at low resistance has been great for building up my knees, and it's so quiet I can watch TV at low volume while exercising. (Update 2: I used it almost every day from September, when I bought it, to May, when the weather was good enough to bicycle every day. And I still use it on rainy days.)

A Personal Video Drone

2010-09-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be cool if you could have your own personal video drone that you could control from any iPhone or iPod Touch?

A good, inexpensive, ball head

2010-09-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Serious photographers know that the best tripod ball heads are probably those made by Arca of Switzerland, but not everyone can budget $380-600 for just a ballhead. Luckily there are a number of inexpensive clones that may not quite match the quality of the Arca, but that do a very serviceable job nonetheless. After checking out a number of clones, in person and on the web, I've decided that the best of the budget Arca clones is the Smith Victor BH8, which can support 40lbs, uses Arca-type mounting plates, and costs just under $60.

Mine was initially mounted on a an old compact Gitzo tripod, replacing an old Bogen ball head, but I've since moved it to a set of Culliman Titan legs. I've also added a second adapter plate so I can swap back and forth between my D70 and D80. It may seem a bit overkill to use head that can support 40lbs to support a few pounds of DSLR and lens, but size = stability. If you like a more compact version that can support 26 or 16 lbs, Smith Victor makes the smaller and lighter BH5 and BH2 as well, for under $48 and $43, respectively. Adapter plates interchange between all three heads- they differ in length, but not in width- and sell for a very reasonable $9.95 each.

A Budget Studio Flash

2010-08-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

I was photographing a friend's art work the other night using a single off-camera flash, regretting having sold my hot lights and stands a few years ago. When I got home, I dragged out my box of Vivitar 283 flash units, thinking maybe I'd just cobble together something with a few of these and some slave triggers and power supplies.

While searching on-line for slave triggers compatible with the 283s, I found these neat Adorama Budget Studio Monolight Flash units. They're self-contained, have a built-in 60 watt halogen modeling light, two adjustable power levels (100 and 50 watt-seconds), and best of all, cost only $49.95 each. My first thought was, what kind of quality can you get for $49.95- but after reading a series of reviews on various web sites, I ordered a pair.

They come with a 12 foot synch cord, but few cameras have a PC synch socket these days, and the high trigger voltage isn't good for those cameras that do. Luckily, there's a simple way to use the flash on your camera or an outboard flash as a trigger: Just dial the flash on your camera down several stops, and it becomes a flash trigger. I can dial my Nikon flash down to 1/64th power (6 stops) and it'll still reliably trigger the Adorama flash from across a large room. Or you can buy a hot shoe to PC adapter for between $5 and $70 that will do the job as well.

You can bounce the Adorama units off walls and ceilings and (my favorite for cheap lighting) large sheets of foam core board- I keep a couple of sheets on hand that are plain white on one side, and have aluminum foil glued on the other. If you want to get fancy, Adorama will sell you matching umbrellas and soft boxes for very little, and the mounting bracket on the flash already has a slot intended to hold an umbrella. Simple. These little units are great for students, shooters on a budget, or someone who'd like to get started with studio work or multiple flashes without spending a fortune.

The $139 Kindle

2010-07-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

If you've been putting off buying an eBook reader because of the cost, now may be the time to make your move. Amazon just announced the new Kindle at $198, and a WiFi-only version for only $139. You can still use it anywhere, of course, but you need to be in a WiFi zone to download books- and there are very few places outside of wilderness where you can't find a WiFI zone these days.

I'd been planning on buying an iPad for my eBook reading, but at $500 plus another $100 for a two year warranty, I've decided it's too expensive right now. I'm putting in my advance order for a WiFi Kindle for late August delivery.

UPDATE: I decided to get the full $189 version so I could also use it traveling when I might not be near a WiFi hot spot. In general, I've found it excellent for reading text, and not so great for illustrations. Navigation is much easier than on the earlier units. The e-paper still updates slowly, which can be annoying for fast readers.

I haven't purchased many full-price books, but I've found a lot of free and 99 cent classics, and I subscribe to The New Yorker on it. When my Reason Magazize subscription runs out, I think I'll transfer that to the Kindle as well.

A tiny, inexpensive media player that handles almost all formats.

2010-06-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

If, like me, you're getting tired of converting video formats and burning DVDs in order to view old movies and TV shows on your TV, you may have found yourself asking the same question I asked myself: We don't burn CDs to transport data anymore; we use SD cards and USB drives. Why are we still messing with writable DVDs?

Truth is, we don't have to. There are dozens of "media players" out there now that allow you to go straight from USB drive or flash media directly to your TV, and one of the cheapest, at less than $35, is the NBOX TV Media Player. This is a wonderful little box that can read just about any digital video format, and output video signals, via either composite or component video. You can use it for streaming video, or as a super portable digital media viewer. I plan on using mine to carry videos over to friends' houses with the assurance that I can play all the videos I bring, without worrying whether their DVD player can read the disks I burned on my computer. One tip: Make sure you go through the setup menu! When I first connected mine, the on-screen color was washed out, and the movement was jerky. Turns out they come set for PAL (European standard) video. Switching to NTSC put everything right.

Something's Out There...

2010-06-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

One of the great technology fallouts from the military has been the explosion in inexpensive, high-quality night vision equipment. Quality first-gen gear like this Bushnell 2.5x 42mm Night Vision Monocular opens up the night to nature viewing and exploration. I have a great time using my night vision monocular on my back porch late at night, watching the various animals that come out after dark. It's even more fun out in the wilderness on vacations.And it's handy for home security, too.

DeWalt 18volt cordless impact driver

2010-05-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Not long ago a friend gave me an extra DeWalt 18 volt drill he'd come into. I'd been using a 12volt Makita for over a decade, and I was amazed at how much more torque and battery life the DeWalt had.

The same friend also had a DeWalt impact driver from the same series, and again, I was impressed how well this handled mechanical tasks usually relegated to a pneumatic impact driver. But even more impressive was how well the DeWalk worked for driving screws.

A few years ago, the major cordless tool makers started toi come out with impact drivers which they marketed not to mechanics, but to carpenters. While today's 18volt cordless drills do a pretty good job of driving screws, they still start to bog down when driving really long screws, or driving screws into hard or resinous wood. They slow, stall, and eventually overheat. But impact drivers don't do this. They work on a different principle, using a motor-driven hammer to repeatedly strike an anvil that drives the output shaft. As the load increases, they switch from spinning to a rapid-fire staccato impact mode, in which every impact turns the screw a bit farther, while the motor continues to spin and bring in cooling air.

I was pleased to discover that Amazon has a DeWalt impact driver available in a batteryless and caseless package for those of us who already have a charger and several batteries- the Bare-Tool DEWALT DC825B 18-Volt 1/4-Inch Cordless Impact Driver for about $125.

I purchased mine for a mix of yard projects- this is a great tool for driving the big screws used to tie landscape timbers together- home projects, and motorcycle/scooter maintenance. And amazingly, it's even lighter and more compact than the DEWALT DC759KA 18-Volt Cordless Drill! I'm giving away my Makita 12v drill/driver to a nephew who likes tools and gadgets, and switching 100% to the DeWalt system.

The Korg Kaossilator

2010-05-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

How about a multi-voice, multi-track electronic music synthesizer that fits in your hand, has a few hundred different voices, runs on a few AA batteries, and can be programmed with simple gestures on a touchpad? And did I mention you can buy one for about $125? It's called the Korg Kaossilator Dynamic Phrase Synthesizer and it's a very addictive toy. You can see a number of demos of it on YouTube- this one is one of my favorites.

The Flip SlideHD camcorder/video player

2010-04-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've had a Flip video camera almost from day one. I carry it with me everywhere. I've attached it to bicycles and motorcycles, and now that I have a spare one I bought at a yard sale, I'm thinking of sending one up in a balloon with a note and return postage.

Since I bought my first unit, the Flip people have come up with a number of improved versions, the latest being the Flip SlideHD Camcorder, a pocket-sized HD video recorder that includes a 3" wide 16:9 format screen you can watch your videos on as soon as you shoot them. Using the included software, you can edit and store up to 12 hours of video on the SlideHD- enough for a whole vacation and then some.

If you grew up in the pre-video era, when home movies were made on silent 3-minute reels, you can't help but be amazed how far the technology has come in just a few years. One person with one Flip SlideHD can shoot and edit videos of better quality than the pros were shooting just a few decade ago- and at a tiny fraction of the cost.

The Korg NanoKEY

2010-04-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

The latest addition to the desktop here is this tiny Korg nanoKEY USB MIDI keyboard. It's small enough to carry in your laptop bag, but full functioned enough for adding MIDI trqacks to a home music recording/production setup. Granted, it's not as nice as a full-sized keyboard, but it's perfect for non-keyboard players like myself- and it's really cheap. The black-and grey verion seen here can be had for under $4o.

Even better, it comes with a code that lets you download a free copy of Korg's M1 Legacy program, a full-functioned digital recreation of the Korg M1 synthesizer. The whole package integrates nicely with Apple's Garage Band, which is how I'm using it.