Sirius S50 Portable Satellite Radio Receiver with Car Pack

• Portable Sirius satellite radio receiver with belt clip, ear buds, and car kit
• 1 GB flash memory saves up to 50 hours of Sirius programming or other digital content
• Supports MP3 and WMA files; built-in FM transmitter for plug-and-play use in car
• Voice-assisted channel navigation announces the channel; USB interface for PC transfers
• 176 x 220 TFT color display; measures 1.9 x 3.8 x 0.67 inches (W x H x D); 1-year warranty

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.

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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...

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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.

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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

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?

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AmazonBasics Universal Travel Case for Small Electronics and Accessories -Black

• Interior offers secure storage space and prevents scratches
• Universal travel case stores and protects small electronics, power adapters and memory cards
• Molded EVA-plastic exterior; interior stretch-mesh pockets. Outer dimensions 9.5 x 5.25 x 1.88 inches (241.30mm x 133.35mm x 47.75mm)
• Distributed by Amazon.com; backed by one-year Amazon Basics warranty
• Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging

I normally tote around a backpack between home and work with different gadgets, components and accessories spread across different pockets in my jeans, backpack or just carrying lose in my hand. This travel container helps put it all in one place with enough variety of sized spots to meet most needs.

Hopefully you find this video review (my 2nd, ack!) helpful.

UPDATE: I remembered after the video I could have thrown in my GPS, my fLIP and a 5inch camera/video tripod. Very cool case!

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The case is a semi-hard shell case with multiple dividers and pockets inside for every variety of add-ons and accoutrements you need for your electronic gear. Think, rubber pull tabs make opening and closing extremely easy. The width may be a bit thick for some briefcases, but it fits fine in my Booq EXO XL case.

I'm an IT professional and occasional writer, so no matter what I am doing that day to make a living, I have to carry a variety of electronics with me. My standard load includes: iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro 13", card readers, a variety of SD cards, flash drives and two 2.5" portable hard drives. That means I have a lot of stuff to plug in and charge, be it at a client's office or at a cafe. And this travel case holds the power chargers for the MacBook Pro, the iPad, the iPhone, all the variety of cables for the hard drives, all the SD cards and readers and a stack of business cards. I can fit one of the 2.5" hard drives in it as well if I need to, but usually I leave those in pockets in my briefcase.

After years of electonica ruling or at least enabling the world, it's like someone finally put some thought into the cases those devices need. I'm surprised it took so long. The pockets and layers and pouches inside are all well thought out, solid but not intractable so they can adapt to any device, be it the huge ugly brick of a Toshiba laptop or the rounded compact Apple wall chargers. The zipper pickets perfectly fit everything from memory cards to iPod cables. And you can see though the mesh so there is no fumbling around.

I have only had this about 10 days but it's standing up to pretty rigorous use. It's MUCH studier and better-made than any Case Logic or other brand cases. Those usually last me about three months each, cost the same, but those seem outright primitive in details and product design compared to this case.

I have been impressed with the whole AmazonBasic line they are exclusively the cabling and blank media I buy now. For a line Amazon seems to be paralleling with "generic" goods, AmazonBasic as a line is superior to to the "name" brands. I can only wonder what and hope for what a "AmazonAdvanced" line will give us.

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I was offered the opportunity to review this new, Amazon-branded case, and I have to say that my first impression was "Wow". I was very impressed by the non-cheapness of this case, when compared to others in the

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AC Adapter Charger For Uniden Bearcat Radio Scanners Shown In List Below. DOES NOT FIT ANY OTHER MOD

• AC Adapter charger only for radio scanner models listed. DOES NOT work with any other models.

Works well. Old one that came with scanner died. Did not need to get a battery like I thought I did.

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its not the exact amp. it originally called for but it does work. Takes a little longer to charge than the original one.

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My nephew had cut my original charger to my bearcat scanner when showing off his new wire cutters to his friend. I fixed the wires but also decided to jumped online and order a new charger for back up. It was diffently worth it.

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BikeMaster ChargeMaster 365TD - --

• Triple mode, 7 stage charger
• Assesses battery connection polarity
• Analyzes and diagnoses battery condition
• Recovers mildly andor heavily discharged batteries
• Bulk charges batteries quickly

I recently purchased a Moto Guzzi California. The dealer installed a pig tail for easy recharging, without removing the seat. He recommended a charger. After a bit of on-line research, I focused on the Bikemaster Chargemaster. It has extra cables, just in case, and it worked first time, every time. My Guzzi is happy, I'm happy, and my battery is always charged and ready. Great product, good service....

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Works Great I hooked it up and everything is working great, the lines that hook to the batt. are fused. would buy again!

easy to use and setup.

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This bikemaster product is a very slick piece of gadget. It worked exactly as specified and took me

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USB Mini-5 Pin Charging Cable for Garmin Nuvi 270 / 275T / 300 / 310 / 360 / 370 / 465T / 500 / 550

• Can be used to charge your digital camera
• Transfer pictures and video from your camera
• Perfect for travel or presentations
• Connectors: 1 x USB, 1 x Mini USB Type B (5 Pin)
• Length: 1.2m / 3.94 ft

I bought this to connect to my usb car charger.... I don't think that's what it is for. It does a little funky thing when it first gets plugged up like I just connected it to my computer but then it gets passed that and works perfectly, just takes a little extra patience. It is also the perfect length in my Nissan Versa to go from my USB charger to the middle of the dash.

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This is a great mini-5 Pin cable for my Garmin Nuvi 270. I used it to connect my Garmin GPS to my Mac in order to transfer maps of Japan (that I downloaded to my computer 1st) from my computer to my Garmin. It worked great.

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2nd Generation Audio FM Transmitter and Car Vehicle Charger for the Sandisk Sansa Fuze - Uses Gomadi

• Full FM frequency spectrum is available and is user selectable in 0.1MHz increments from 88.1 to 107.9 MHz. Advanced Digital PLL sound coding maintains stable and high quality sound.
• Transmitters emit a powerful FM signal that is the maximum allowed by FCC regulation. Advanced signal isolation provides crystal clear sound quality.
• Smart technology circuit architecture provides precision voltage and resistor regulation specific to the Sandisk Sansa Fuze. Protects the internal battery longevity by modulating the charge in a safe and efficient manner.
• Non-coiled cable design allows for easy routing around your vehicle trim for a more professional look. Durable construction is built to last.
• Sophisticated power protection mechanisms keep your Sansa Fuze safe from power surges, overcharging and short-circuiting.

I have been using this for about a month and a half and am very happy with it. I have not experienced any problems with interference at all. The only thing I did discover which is not pointed out in the instructions is, if you connect the wide connector for charging the player will not play. Only connect the ear phone out jack.

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Battery Tender Quick Disconnect Harness - --

Battery tender quick disconnect awesome for boat battery's in which I have in my jet boat and drift boat . Perfect for the charging of the battery's in hard to get places. LARRY

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Battery Tender 022-0150-AAA Waterproof 800 Charger/Maintainer

• Waterproof charging for lead acid batteries
• Can actually work when fully submerged
• Prolongs the life of the battery for 2-4 times normal life
• Easy to install and can be mounted on or in the vehicle
• Vibration resistant

It took an overnight charge but the tender did finallly toggle the indicator light to green. The packaging is marked with "Deltrane Corporation from Deland Florida" so its the same as the others that you'll see on-line from them. Seems to me that the one from triple A (AAA) cost less than those other offerings. I've only had it for a few weeks and only used it for 12 hours, but so far so good. The only thing I didn't like is that the LED indicator colors are YELLOW and GREEN and all of the information I've found on-lind said that the LED colors would be RED and GREEN. Not a biggy, just something to be aware of.

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We have purchased one of these for all our vehicles, snow blowers, tractors, boats etc. anything with electric start. [All from Amazon I might add.] They are great! We live near the Canadian border in COLD country and, especially in winter, need batteries that are always at full charge. If the snow is blowing a gale, you do not want to have the tractor or snow blower fail to start! With the Battery Tenders, we plug them in when not in use and have never had a failure in starting cold engines. Without any reservation, I recommend this product as easy to use and reliable even for a woman to use.

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great price, easy to hook up. Have it on a mustang and keeping the battery fully charged. Only had it a few months. If it fails prematurely I will post an update.

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TMS Ytx9l Ytx9-bs Ytx9bs Gtx9-bs Ctx9-bs Utx9 Motorcycle Atv Gel Maintance Free Battery for Honda Fo

• YTX9-BS(GEL) is a GEL sealed (Non-Spillable) requires no addition of water during the life of the battery.
• Battery is TRUE DEEP CYCLE can be mounted in any position, requires no maintenance and may be transported by Air or Ground without any special handling regulations.
• When a Gel Cell battery is charged no hazardous fumes escape the battery case, gases are processed within the battery itself.
• Sealed configuration, colloid electrolyte, and leak-proof.; No acid mist and pollution to the environment when charging and discharging. It is the environment-friendly products recommended forcefully by our country.
• Low self-discharging and durable for storage; Dimensions(mm) : 150mm (6") x 87mm (3.3475") x 105mm (4.1875")

the price for this battery is unbeilvable.very cheap.and the battery is a 5 star.do not hesatate to order it.i have ordered mant items from this dealer.all are exellent.and what they say they are.very well made.

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smaller than I thought but works great so far. I will buy another when needed. I would recommend.

Thanks for the bargain.

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Got the battery in a timely manner, installed it and so far it works great. Only had the battery in one day so far, but it started right up, did not have to pre-charge it.

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I'd charge it and check the voltage and when I put it on my scooter or my gsxr it would just make it click... The battery would loose voltage after 20 or 30 minutes of just sitting there after it was on the charger. It would got from 14 right off the charger to only 8 in that short amount of time. Im guessing that the battery's are hit and miss...

I bought a new AGM from Napa and it works great!

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Excellent product, I needed 3 batteries for 3 atv's that I let the old batteries get to weak on. So I ordered these based on the reviews and couldn't be happier plus the cost of all 3 was cheaper then buying 2 at the store !!! They come charged and ready to go, perfect fit in my 2000 and 2007 honda 400 quads. Highly recomend these batteries !!!

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Black & Decker PI800BB Inverter

• Max continuous power is 800 watts
• Powers up to 6.67 amperes
• Converts vehicle DC power into 120 volts AC power
• Low battery shutdown to prevent total battery drain
• Output voltage is 120 volts

I saw there is 1 other review giving this power inverter 1 star but I had a very different experience with it. Washington state got hit with an ice storm. In the greater Seattle area, 460,000 people lost their power (and we are still in the middle of it right now). Every home improvement, costco, Lowes, Home Depot stores were out of generators. We are going on our 4th day without power and not expected to get it back for another 3. I was desperate to get a light going, a tv going, something to entertain our 2 yr old at night time in the dark.

I went and got this inverter at home depot (btw, I paid $75 there so it is cheaper on Amazon), hooked it onto one of our cars, plugged in a 50 foot extension cord and ran it inside our home then plugged that into a 6 plug power strip. We can now power our TV, 2 laptops, modem, router, a light (with a halogen bulb) and 2 cell phones (via the computers usb port). We could probably power more but only have 6 slots on the power strip.

No this is not a generator. I would not plug in a refrigerator, washer / dryer or anything like that but given the fact we had no power at all, this thing is amazing. We have a gas fireplace, gas hot water heater and gas stove range so we are warm, clean and can cook but now we can see without using candles and stream shows onto our tv for some entertainment.

I recommend this item! It helped us when we needed some help during a hard winter storm.

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We were looking for something light weight and easy to hook up for our tailgate. This worked perfectly and was very simple to setup. My friend was worried about draining his battery with this, but the device comes with a light indicator that gives you a status on your battery. We were running a TV and a computer off of this, and it worked perfectly. I'm sure it could have handled more, but this is all we needed.

I would definitely recommend this for a small to medium size tailgate where you a running a few items. It sure beats lugging around a huge generator and you don't have to break the bank.

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Our power went out for 4 days recently. My wife reminded me we owned the inverter. I conneced it to the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then the freezer and the food survived just fine. I also had enough power to run a fan and a few lights. We tried a few other appliances like the iron (it was her 30th reunion weekend and she wanted to look her best)but was too much.

Bottom line: Its as good as its gonna get for less than 40.00, as long as the wattages are realtively low your good to go. Just leave the car in the garage and run an a couple of extensions to what hurts the most.

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My LCD TV buzzed like it was going explode plugged into this...

My laptop power supply started charging, but within 30 seconds stopped and would not re-start

My line-interactive UPS would not accept power from it

The plugs on the front feel cheap and are difficult to actually plug into, when you do plug in you hear very worrisome sounding "POP"s and other electrical type noises... doesn't instill any confidence

It DID generate power, so I suppose if you're running a regular light bulb or something it would be fine... but if you think you'll be able to run a small modern TV, laptop or other electronic devices--look elsewhere.

I can see why it's discontinued on the B&D site (something I learned afterwards)... I'll be returning it.

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this one is to be used with a 12 volt battery to charge cell phones or other small equipment in case of a power failure. Have not had to use it yet. It is a Be Prepared item/

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CTEK 56-865 Battery Charger

• Water-resistant so that the solution could be taken to the problem even if it rains or snows
• Patented maintenance charge for a unique combination of maximized life and performance
• Patented desulphation that extends the battery life
• Designed for safety! No sparks, short-circuit proof and reverse-polarity protected for untroubled usage

Best charger out there and pricey, works great

a a a a a a a a a a a a

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I have purchased several different chargers for multiple vehicles and this is one of the better chargers out on the market. Nice quality, cool design, and vary simple to use. The LEDS take some time to get use to and the manual lacks content, but overall, this charger performs well.

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This is CTEK's smaller charger for charging 12V batteries from 1.2Ah to 32 Ah and maintaining batteries up to 100Ah. This is a true smart charger with "six" stages. Truth be known, it's really three but I'll say that the others are nice to have. It's a sealed unit about 8" end to end including the strain releif on the permantly affixed leads. If features mounting holes on the main body which are nice (fitting #8 screws, 10's might fit.) The unit gets warm, not overly hot but noticably warm. If this unit is perminantly mounted as in my case, use nylon spacers behind to give it a little air between the unit and the wall. Despite being sealed (and assumed by many to be weather proof) the instructions clearly say this unit is not be used in the elements. It has a sturdy two prong cord that might be a bit short for many applications but a 16ga extension cord should be safe to use as long as all other safe considerations are made. It ships with two types of leads (both fused with ATC style fuses). An aligator style clip with large jaws suitable for full sized car batteries. It also ships with 1/4" ring terminals that can be quick detached from the charger without disconnecting from the battery terminals.

The stages are...

1) Desulfation removes build-up on lead plates inside the battery.

2) Bulk Charge Brings the battery voltage up to 14.4V and about 80% of maximum capacity.

3) Absorption Allows the battery voltage and current to declline to complete the charge.

4) Analyse Stops charging and sees if battery voltage free-falls (happens if battery has reached the end of its life cycle.)

5) Float Applies roughly 13.6V at a small current to maintain the battery voltage.

6) Pulse Not entirely sure but sounds a lot like float, it switches off and on to maintain maximum charge.

According to the literature batteries may take as much as 1 hour per Ah to reach 80%. After 80% times are hard to find but it sounds like this is also where you can maintain larger capacity batteries (32-100Ah.) For my use, I'm charging a 22Ah sealed lead acid battery as part of a power supply for a DC powered radio / alarm clock. So far it's doing well. Just make sure to follow the safety practices listed and always inspect your batteries regularly. Also, this may boil water off a NON-maintenance free battery so be aware of that if thats what your application uses.

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I use this charger in my Hi-Fi set up. I have a Dodd preamp that runs on 12V battery power, nothing like getting off of the grid, and I use this charger to maintain the battery in this system. The charger does it's job with out any noise and very little heat and adds nothing to the sound of the preamp which speaks volumes about the quality of this charger.

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Easy to use and charges/conditions my car batteries (3 cars) in about 8-10 hours. After one week of use, my mother accidentally drove off in my car while its battery was still charging. When she came back and I told her what happened, we were horrified and so afraid of permanent damage to the brand-new charger, but we were pleasantly surprised. The CTEK's charging wires simply disconnected at the point where the two wires were designed to plug together with a latch that gave way when pulled too hard, so there was no damage at all. CTEK had the potential problem of driving off while still charging in mind, and designed a safe disconnect into their chargers.

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Brunton Solaris 14 Watt Flexible Solar Module

really cool, stuck this thing out my window at work, showed 16.75 volts. Says on the box is can output almost an Amp of current (900mA) ! I'm planning on using it for a long kayaking/camping/hiking trip

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PowerLine PowerCup 200/400 Watt Mobile Inverter with USB Power Port 90309

• Unique Coffee Cup Design
• 200 Watt Continuous, 400 Watt Peak
• Safety provides 120V AC power from any auto 12V power socket
• AC Outlet, 1 USB Power Port

I was really excited about the concept and creativity of this device. It does what it says it will do and successfully charges whatever items you insert into it. Items plug into the USB port fine, however, you really have to apply pressure to put plugs in and pull them out, same for when you insert the device in your lighter outlet. I am worried that eventually something is going to get jammed or break off. So handle with care when using.

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The PowerCup kept my Kindle, phone and then laptop fully charged. Very Cool. Only disadvantage was that the cord is on the short side.

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I was recently on a 10 hour road trip and used the Power Cup, it worked great. Both my wife and my laptops were connected to the Power Cup and we didn't have any issues. The fan does get a little loud, but not loud enough not return the Power Cup. I would strongly recommend this product.

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Bought this unit and ran it 24 hours right away on 2x 12 hour trips where it ran an 85W Apple Macbook and a Acer 17" laptop (not together) with nary a hitch, glitch or problem. Also used the USB port simultaneously. This unit has a loud fan which comes on as required and seems to be a single speed fan high or nothing. It is audible even at highway speeds. However that is the price you pay for heat dissipation with this small size the alternative being a giant heat sink housing and a brick sized clump I'll take the fan thank you. The case stayed cool, the air coming out was never hot it seemed to handle the load without effort. It has visible and audible alarms, cool touch case and a perfect size box for use in a car. The 12V plug is adjustable for fit in different sized sockets. The case has plenty of openings for air flow. I wish the fan were not as prominent but otherwise I cannot fault this unit whatsoever and it ran perfectly for 24 hours straight. 1 year warranty. By using this unit with a tethered Droid phone we had constant internet on the road via laptop and 3G wireless. How cool is that.

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I LOVE my POWERCUP!! I spend a lot of time on the road so I try to have everything I'll need in the car. My car is like my moving apartment lol. The POWERCUP supports constant 200W and peek 400W which is more than enough for most of the small electronics you might bring in the car. My car only allows Max 120W (12V 10A) so no worries as long as I don't plug too many things at the same time. The POWERCUP has no problem charging my 14" laptop and I-pod at the same time. Some inverter can only charge or supply power for a laptop but not simultaneously. This product can do BOTH. I bought this two months ago and it's been working great!

To make it easier to read:

Pros:

-Very quiet(Compared with the bulky, square type of inverter)

-Cute cup design (sits right in the cup holder, easy to reach and plug)

-Continuous 200W output (enough to charge a laptop, cell phone and I-pod)

-Exterior cord (freedom to put your inverter anywhere within the cord length)

-Two outlets and a USB port(allows charging multiple device at a time)

-Auto shot down when engine is turned off(protect car battery from being drained out)

-Tight fit into the car DC socket(no shaky/on and off output, also adjustable to fit different cars)

Cons:

-The two AC outlets are horizontally placed so with most charger that has a adapter(such as cell phone charger), can't charge two at the same time.

-Inverter fan vents from the bottom(I worry about overheat because the vent is being covered in the cup holder but so far mine seems to work just fine)

Overall great product, absolutely love it! Can't imaging being without it! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE MY POWERCUP!!

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Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Red)

• Hand crank power generator is ideal for emergencies
• Provides you with an emergency siren, water resistant radio, LED lights, and a cell phone charger so you can contact help
• Built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery that takes charge from the dynamo crank and an AC adapter; 3 "AA" batteries
• Gives you access to NOAA weather channels so you can check the weather or hear important news updates
• Dimensions: 8.6 x 4.5 x 2.0 inches (WxHxD); weighs 1.5 pounds

After noting some less than satisfactory reviews by others on similar Eaton products , I decided to go ahead and buy this product. I found that the FR400 meets all my criteria in a weather radio. First, the crank system covers our communications need should we have an extended power outage.This past week, over 100,000 people were without power in our area. The crank generating system works excellent. It actually works easier than I thought that it would. I also find the Alert function very important. You simple turn a Selector Knob to Alert, and when the National Weather Service issues an alert, the radio comes on automatically. This alert gives you advance warning of dangerous weather, and can save your life in case a tornado is about to happen near you.It also warns you of other bad weather conditions such as extreme straight line winds and hail. Flood Warnings are also covered in these alerts.

Yes we have tornado sirens for impending tornados. Since we have satellite TV reception, we usually lose our TV signal just as the bad storms get close to us. With the FR400, we easily can slide the selection bar and tune in any of several TV stations, and pick up the sound portion of the broadcast. We can also access our local FM and AM radio channels.The reception is excellent on both AM and FM bands. I have mine set to Channel ll the CBS TV affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth. The tuning bar reads TV2. Channel 5, a lower number would be set on TV1. We consider this product an excellent value, and recommend this model due to the included AC Adapter. The included cell phone adapters fit both my wife's cell phone and my own. Hers is an ancient Motorola and mine is a recent LG. There are excellent set up instructions should you need them from the Eton website. It's actually very simple to set up. Lights, Sirens, Radio, Crank and Auto settings are clearly marked. Dialing is no problem, and the TV and Weather Service reception is excellent. This product has it all, and is a must for having a dependable weather warning or disaster communication radio.

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This radio is reviewed on Amazon several times, but most are under the Red Cross version's listing, even though this is exactly the same radio. I read several negative reviews prior to buying this item. Well, as it turns out I think this is a nice little unit. I would describe the sound overall as good. Maybe I'll amend this review in the future, but I'm happy with the features, design & performance.

Opening the battery cover and connecting the battery was just that simple, and it has remained securely closed. Maybe the design has been modified because that procedure has gotten a lot of negative feedback, but I can't see any reason there would be a problem. The cellphone charging cord & several connectors (let's be honest...we're never going to use this) were included, and my Sanyo phone is covered.

This is a light, inexpensive case. The tuner seems fine. Here in NYC I've had no trouble tuning in the various AM & FM stations that I like. This is not a high-end indestructable radio. I think this is a good, relatively solidly built & designed radio that can be used every day. I charged it over night with the included adapter. It's brought me a few ballgames over the past few days without needing a charge (I'm just going to let it drain completely once to complete a battery cycle). I like this little radio very much.

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I needed more info on this radio and others so I called Amazon tech support. I was given the Eton customer service number: 1-800-872-2228.

The Eton FR400 has TV capabilities that will become obsolete in 2009 as the signals will all be switched to digital for the TV portion of this radio. All other functions will work. The updated model, Eton FR405, is the same as this radio only without the TV signal capability. The FR405 is only available at Best Buy at this time. For my money, the FR400 with TV capabilities, while the TV signals last, is a better buy.

This radio is water resistant. A waterproof model would be perfect. We've lost a couple of cell phones in the river and water kills them fast. Sun dried cell phones are never the same if they even flicker with life at all. So, now I look for waterproof when buying anything that might get wet or fall overboard. An emergency radio is in that class.

Another newer model coming on the scene soon will be the Eton FR1000--no TV capability, but it will come with a walkie talkie. This is being tested now and should be the next model you will see on the market.

Eton does not make a GPS system combined with NOAA radio capabilities. They also do not have a unit with both shortwave and NOAA combined--apparently the circuitry on the two things are not compatable. No one has this.

I want something that will be equally useful on land, at sea or in a vehicle. I want an "emergency" unit that packages many of the things I may need for "survival" communication. Okay, I really meant everything I might need. :) I haven't found the perfect NOAA radio yet.

The other thing that is not available is an NOAA radio with digital TV. Apparently, the digital components are too expensive at this time to add this feature to these radios and maintain a decent price point. So, companies are simply deleting TV from the mix.

This model, Eton FR400, will charge a cell phone battery. None of the connections come with the unit. You send in for them. The first cell phone adapter connector is free, additional ones cost $5 each. Eton tries to keep a number of cell phone battery charger adaptors in stock, but you may want to see if they have your specific adaptor before making a purchase because they don't carry them all.

Amazon has inflated the retail price on this unit. It sells for $60 directly from Eton, plus $10 shipping.

The unit is larger than I expected. This is okay, but wouldn't a cell phone sized unit be wonderful! Waterproof of course.

UPDATE 2-7-2008: The Eton FR1000 has been released this month. I haven't seen it on Amazon yet, but it is available at some other retailers. Check online. The retail price is $150.

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The radio has one very annoying feature. When set to receive NOAA Weather alerts it will receive them but then continue playing NOAA weather reports for a wide area. When I purchased this radio I did not know about SAME technology which limits the alerts to a much smaller area in your vacinity. If you live in an area with a lot of alerts as I do in Florida then getting a radio with SAME technology will keep you from being unnecessarily awakened in the night. Go to the NOAA web site for a description of SAME. All other functions of the radio seem to work as advertised.

The inexpensive Eton FR400 is a nice little radio as well as a potential lifesaver. For its size it has a surprisingly good balanced tone (not adjustable), and very clear reception on NOAA, AM, FM, and TV bands alike. The power crank/dynamo doubles as an exercise machine...not the easiest thing to crank (especially if you follow the recommendation to crank at 2 revolutions per second for 90 seconds to acheive maximum power charge), but you get up to an hour and a half to rest up before you need to recharge. I wish the case had a compartment for the power and cell phone adapters though, to keep all parts in one place. I gave mine to my electronically picky and critical sattelite-TV field manager brother-in-law (to keep at his home in the US Virgin Islands for hurricane use), and immediately bought another for our own tornado, thunderstorm, icestorm and power vagary usage here in beautiful rural West Michigan. I'll take it camping and its light weight and weather resistant design may even cause it to join me in my treestands this deer season (I wish an earphone was included as well, but as I seem to be the last living man without an iPod I can't blame Eton for my not having my own headphones, I suppose...). By the way, the available metallic colors offered on these are "way cool"! You won't regret buying the FR400, regardless of the weather in your part of the world. BTW: after sending in the registration info I received cell phone power charger adapters for two (2) different phones within 10 days' time. Murphy's law being immutable, our cell plan replaced our phones with a new model in the interim. One call to the eton toll-free customer service line sent another adapter out the same day to accomodate our upgrade...free of charge!

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Gomadic Portable AA Battery Pack for the Cowon iAudio A2 Portable Media Player - Powered by 4 X AA B

• Specification: Input Voltage (4 X AA Batteries), Cable length (6 inches), Dimensions (5.0 X 1.5 X 0.75 inches), Circuit Design (Cowon iAudio A2 Portable Media Player specific), TipExchange enabled (Yes)
• Integrated circuitry regulates output voltage specific to the Cowon iAudio A2 Portable Media Player. Advanced logic maximizes overall charger efficiency.
• Built using the unique Gomadic TipExchange Technology that protects your investment by providing the ability to upgrade charging ports by simply swapping physical connectors.
• Safely engineered with reverse polarity protection, in the event batteries are accidentally put in incorrectly.
• The rugged composite design is built to last. This product is backed by our comprehensive Gomadic Lifetime Warranty.

Maximum I got using 4 fresh AA batteries on the Cowon A2. I only bought this device because I can't get the screws out of the device to remove the battery. Next step is to drill them out and replace battery and permanently seal device it won't be getting another battery replacement. This device has worked flawlessly for 7 years and only the battery has tired out the Cowon is great product well worth the money wish I completely understood their current products so I could buy another

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Use this product while camping. It didn't hold a charge as long as I'd like, but did allow me to enjoy my Cowon a little longer.

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Unique Gomadic Portable Rechargeable Battery Pack for the Magellan Roadmate 800 - High Capacity Goma

• Specification: Internal Battery (3400mAh lithium polymer), Input port (miniUSB), Output Port (Standard USB), Onboard Circuit Design (Magellan Roadmate 800 Specific), Dimensions (4.0 X 2.0 X 0.5 inches), TipExchange enabled (Yes)
• Very easy to operate. Simply connect Magellan Roadmate 800, press activation button on pack, and charging begins. Quick start guide included.
• Integrated circuitry tailors output voltage and charging current to exact specification of the Magellan Roadmate 800 (accurate to 0.1v).
• Built using unique Gomadic TipExchange Technology that protects your investment by providing the ability to upgrade charging ports by simply swapping the physical connector.
• Designed with a series of front facing LED indicators that clearly display the current battery capacity at the touch of a button

This product is a very good spare source of power for my FPS unit. I really like the LED lights to indicate how much charge is left (and when it is fully charged). The item was delivered promptly, in good condition and I would buy from them again.

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Windmax HY1000-5 1,000 Watt Max 24-Volt 5-Blade Residential Wind Generator Kit

I purchased the 1200 watt 5 blade wind turbine Windmax and it arrived today so I have not yet installed but will report on that when I do.

The package did not come with a packing slip. The plastic envelope on the outside of the box where the slip is often located was empty and it was not inside the box. It was packed well, but the screws were out of the plastic package and were lose within a compartment. The equipment appeared to come from China because of the English and Chinese symbols on the turbine housing. Visually, the equipment looked good with a nice white painted finish. The wind tail rudder was larger than the picture showed and it appeared very effective. I noticed the unit was heavier than I expected, and it had a rugged quality about it.

There were no installation instructions per say, but they did include a "Wind Turbine Guidebook," which covered five of the HYenerty models. Their Turbine Guidebook was photo copied or they ran it off on a printer that was losing ink because the last four pages were poor quality....some of the words were badly faded and it is difficult to read.

What they didn't tell you in the online sales pitch was that they do not warranty the turbine if you install it yourself. In fact, they specify that you should not even purchase it unless you have someone professionally install it for you. And they must approve the installer, which is never stated in their on-line written sales pitch. They include a four page document with all the reasons why they won't give you a warranty, and all the hoops you have to jump through to have them consider replacing a defective unit. The vendor especially insists that you even have to find an installer who must first contact them for approval before purchase and installation.

I read their Wind Turbine Guidebook, and the assembly/installation process is not difficult and its pretty straight forward.

We got the turbine up and running in just a few hours! It fit easily onto a standard 2" steel pipe. It only weighed

about 50 pounds so it wasn't too difficult to mount. It came with a charge controller included which was nice. The controller has it's own dump load and has 3 led lights indicating what it's doing. Later we will add solar panels to the unit. Once the wind picked up the turbine started spinning wonderfully. The output was better than expected and quickly charged 8 12-volt deep cycle batteries. We had the batteries running into an outback off-grid inverter which handled the output of the turbine quite easily. So far I am very pleased with this purchase!

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The wind mill functions but has some serious design flaws. Rated to 60mph the wind gen burned out the load shedding resistor grid once the battery bank was fully charged, and wind speed exceeded 26mhp. I fixed it and it burned out the new resistors as well. I replaced the resistors with 1kw of heat lamps and it seems be working ok. secondly the charge controller has a dynamic break attached to a manual shutoff switch for shutting the wind gen down in high wind situations. Unfortunately it overpowered the break at40mph wind speed and burned up the associated wiring. I repaired this and installed a light switch shorting two phase of the gen which serves to shut the gen down manually when needed. In all, it is working nicely after my modifications, but if you dont have solid electrical skills stay away from this gen.

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I bought this turbine a year ago and it has been working perfectly.

I checked several sites and found this to be the best priced.

I am planing to get another one in about 3 months.

Highly recommended.

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I mounted this unit last spring and assumed it was working but didn't need it in the summer because solar panels were working well. this fall with the drop in solar production i tested it; no power being produced. when the wind is blowing its hardest it may exceed 12 volts and start pushing a small amount of current through the line, but the problem with its power production is not an electrical fluke or malfunction. it simply doesn't spin fast enough because of poor design.

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UL SOLAR 85 Watt 12 VDC RV Solar Kit with Charger and Mounts

For a kit, you still have to buy other things. Once setup and connected this panel produces power in the shade. Can not attest to the amperage, but 4 days dry camping without using the generator, heater working all night and direct light for only 5 hours and my batteries maintained their charge.

The intial expense out weights any savings on your energy bill. My guess is your battery bank and solar panels will be totally worn out and outta warrantly before they would pay for themselves-what a rip-off

The rich can get richer and the poor can get poorer purchasing these-forget the savings pipe dream.

I paid near 3 dollars a watt even w/ the so called extras. I may have saved 10 dollars in cost in the last 3 months

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Unique Gomadic FM Transmitter with an integrated DC Auto Charger for the Sony Walkman NWZ-S618F - Li

• Smart technology circuit architecture provides precision voltage and resistor regulation specific to the Sony Walkman NWZ-S618F. Protects the internal battery longevity by modulating the charge in a safe and efficient manner.
• Full FM frequency spectrum is available and is user selectable in 0.1MHz increments from 88.1 to 107.9 MHz. Advanced Digital PLL sound coding maintains stable and high quality sound.
• Transmitters emit a powerful FM signal that is the maximum allowed by FCC regulation. Advanced signal isolation provides crystal clear sound quality.
• Product is designed to last and is backed by our Gomadic Lifetime Warranty. Buy with confidence!
• Sophisticated power protection mechanisms keep your Walkman NWZ-S618F safe from power surges, overcharging and short-circuiting.

For those of us that don't have the newest and greatest stereo system this FM Transmitter for the Sony Walkman is a perfect buy. Though all the wiring can be a little cumbersome it works great with the sound system I do have and makes my songs sound just like they were coming off the radio!

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