Monthly Archives: March 2009

While the coming of Spring means warmer and longer days, it also means we are also entering the time of year when there are a lot of storms. One of the most useful items you can have is a quality weather radio. We currently carry three great weather radios that will keep you informed of inclement weather headed your direction.

The first is the Midland WR-100B Weather Radio. This is ideal for those that only need basic storm warnings, or live in areas with only minor weather problems. Although we refer to it is a basic model it has some rather advanced features.

The WR-100B supports the Public Alert system and SAME technology (which allows you to receive weather and civil emergency alerts and warnings only for your designated area.). When a severe weather or civil emergency occurs a loud (90dB) siren will sound alerting you of danger, and a description of the alert will appear on the display. No longer do you have to monitor the NOAA weather stations yourself, the WR-100B will do it for you.

The WR-100B also acts as a normal weather radio, providing you with broadcasts from the NOAA weather service at the touch of a button. For those nice days with no threatening weather, well the WR-100B also has an alarm clock with snooze so you do not sleep in too much.

The next step up is the Midland WR-300 Weather Radio. Like the WR-100B it supports the Public Alert system and SAME technology, has a (90dB) siren, and is also a full feature weather radio. The WR-300 also has selectable alarm settings, and AM/FM radio, full calendar display, and works as an alarm clock.

In addition to the above weather radios, a good crank powered backup radio is a must for many people. The WR-100B and WR-300 both have a battery backup, but if the power is out for a long time, you will want a Midland ER102 Emergency Crank Radio.

The ER102 provides a flashlight, a digital AM/FM radio, NOAA weather alert radio, freeze warning indicator, and even a cell phone charger. The ER102 can operate from several power sources: standard AAA batteries, a plug-in AC adapter, and a built-in rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery can be charged using the AC adapter, or manually by turning the Dynamo crank.

The ER102 can provide audible and visual weather alerts. If you are in an area with a NOAA station that supports this feature, you can have the Midland ER-102 alert you (with a siren or flashing light) to a changing weather situation instead of constantly monitoring yourself.

A growing side hobby for many animal watchers is nocturnal watching. There are even special tours being offered by some companies to view seldom glimpsed animals in their night habitat. Now with affordable night vision equipment you can enjoy this new hobby as well. Night vision equipment is great tool for bird watches, hunters, and budding naturalist.

With Spring here, why not expand your animal watching hobby to the night time as well. Especially since many animals are active only at night or in the early evening or dawn hours. Our night vision equipment provides everything you will want to start out with. From the Yukon Patrol model to the Yukon Tracker, you will have hours of entertainment and expand your knowledge of the nocturnal world around us.

Whistler BT Headset

A new series of products that are coming soon from Whistler is a series of motorcycle Bluetooth® headsets. The BT2200 / 2300 / 3200 / 3300 headsets are designed to work with any full/flip-up/open style helmet and allow full duplex bike to bike or bike to passenger communications.

This series includes four products to cover all scenarios (bike to bike or bike to passenger, and open faced or closed faced helmets). The MSRP is $219.95 for the bike to passenger products, and $259.95 for the bike to bike products.

Features:

• Bluetooth® 2.0 High Quality Stereo Audio
• Noise Cancellation Microphone
• Easy Installation
• Full Duplex Wireless Intercom
• Weather Proof Case

The BT2200/2300 headsets provides two channel rider to passenger communications, and the BT3200/3300 headsets provide two channel bike to bike communications. In addition, the headsets can also be used for true stereo music. Battery duration is estimated at 7-14 hours of usage. You can adjust the volume and the BT2200/2300/3200/3300 headsets also have a large mute button for easy use.

Whistler Headset

We just got the scoop on a new product from Whistler that we are expecting to be available sometime in 2009. We don't have all of the details at this point, but thought we would share some basic specs and a few images.

Whistler RLC-100

Whistler RLC-100 Red Light Camera Detector
First is the new Whistler RLC-100 red light and speed camera detector. The RCL-100 compares your current GPS location with an on-board database of red light and speed camera locations and alerts you when you are near one. The MSRP is $139.95.

Features:

• High Sensitivity GPS Antenna
• Updatable Camera Database
• Dual Alert Display
• Current Speed Reading with Max Hold Feature
• 100 Location Manual Entry

The RLC-100's database is updatable from the internet using the integrated USB port. You can also connect the RLC-100 to a Whistler radar detector if you use the optional interface cable (not included). You can specify MPH or KPH and a speed warning notification. The RLC-100 also has a digital clock and trip meter.

Well spring is finally here. A lot of you are avid boaters, as some of us here are, and are in the process of getting your boat ready. In addition to testing your safety equipment, planned upgrades, and checking your radios, there is another safety item and tool that many find very useful you may want to learn more about.

Night vision equipment is a great tool for any boater that is out at night. Especially if you enjoy night fishing, or heading out early in the morning before dawn.

While we do hope you have plenty of light sources with you, night vision enables you to see even farther and more clearly. They are great for navigation, piloting around obstacles, and are indispensible in an emergency situation. The ability to find someone overboard at night is difficult, especially if you are just using spotlights and flashlights. Night vision equipment may be one of the best tools you have in that situation.

We have a great line of night vision binoculars and monoculars for every budget and situation, from the casual fisherman, to those caught out unexpectedly after sunset. Contact us and we will be glad to help you find the night vision equipment for your specific need.

If I think back to my school or college days, especially the classes, all I can remember is fervently taking down notes during lectures. I remember my classmates joking about the fact that whatever the instructor said was written down. Though I could write fairly fast to keep pace with the lecture, it was often quite hard to think about the lecture topics and write them down at the same time.

Even today, when I attend official meetings or conferences, I still feel the same. I considered carrying a tape recorder along, but due to the short record time and poor quality it is just not an option, and the biggest disadvantage is that I can't load the recording onto my PC. That is why I now use a digital voice recorder. Here are just some of the great features:

* The first is that with a portable digital voice recorder you can completely concentrate on the lecture or meeting without having to worry about taking down notes.

* You can download your recording directly to your computer. The ability of having it in a digital format opens up a lot of possibilities.

* There are many models of digital voice recorders, like the Olympus WS-100, which are capable of storing any type of file. In fact this particular model can even double up as a standard USB drive to transfer files from one computer to another.

* You get to choose from different recording quality modes.

* You can even adjust the playback speed, so that you can playback a recording faster to finish it in half the time and still understand it.

* Organizing the recordings using the highest quality digital voice recorder is easy with the different folders available.

* Setting up index marks, which act like bookmarks and help you return to a specific point in the recording, is also possible.

Driving the car in heavy traffic is a grueling task. The most annoying thing, at least for me, is to watch my stuff on the dash sliding from one end to the other every time I make a turn. Ok, I admit that I am not a very organized person. I leave my mobile phone, sunglasses, house keys, and even loose change on the dashboard. So, you can imagine everything goes topsy-turvy inside the car.

I am sure only a hapless person like me could have thought of a product like the Cell Mate Dash Pad. It keeps anything and everything in place. The other day, a dog ran right in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes hard but even then my Cell Mate Dash Pad didn't budge and more importantly neither did the things on top of it. The best part is that this non-slip dash pad doesn't use any sticky adhesives, so it leaves no residue. You can easily move it from one place to another on your dashboard. It is compatible with any vehicle, even those with painted dashboards. You can also wash the Cell Mate Dash Pad when it gets dirty.

Have you always hated the sight of your radar detector mounted on the windshield? You don't have to do that anymore. You can easily rest your detector on the dashboard and the Cell Mate Dash Pad will keep it in place. Only make sure that nothing obstructs it, because that can lower the performance of your detector.

So readers, keep yourself from flying off the handle with this non-adhesive Cell Mate.