Cars Trucks

Two of the most notable 5.1 multimedia speakers currently out there are the highly competing Klipsch’s Promedia Ultra 5.1 and Logitech’s Z-5500. I know that a lot of prospective buyers find themselves contemplating between the two (I did, for one). Now that I have had them both, I think I’ll write a little something of my own experience to help others decide (note: in this guide, Logitech has the last laugh).Promedia was my first buy. After weeks of online research and reading countless reviews, I decided to get one of these babies. With four 2-way satellites (meaning it has two drivers) and dual side-firing 8″ subwoofer (weighing app. 48 lbs), they promised great sound indeed. Using the help of Yahoo! Shopping search, I managed to get one for just under $300 (otherwise, they usually sell for $350-400; see if u could eBay it and get a better deal). The main deciding factor was the almost unanimous excellent reviews on their sound quality, which I proved to be true. Upon receiveng them and getting them properly connected, i instantly understood what everyone was talking about. The bass is tight and not muddy, the treble is crisp but not shrill/piercing, and boy, they are POWERFUL (the first night I had them, I also got my first noise complaints from the neighbors - and the volume was set to only 50%).

Check HERE for tips on buying, selling, and collecting vintage 8-track music tapes.

Hi, Folks!

I’m Catherine from 4-a-little-lady, an active eBay 8-track store. Are you confused about the mysteries of the 8-track? If so, perhaps I can help.

To comply with eBay size requirements this guide will be posted in sections. You are reading:

Part One: Introduction and Buying Tips.

Introduction

WARNING: 8-track music tapes are a fragile music source. Tapes malfunctioned easily 40-years ago; tapes malfunction today. The design of the 8-track tape creates this problem.

How 8-Tracks Work:

8-track music tapes are made of 1/4″ tape that is connected into a loop by a metal tape tab called, “splicing foil”. Along the length of this loop, the tape is divided into 8 stripes called “tracks”. This is where the name, ‘ 8-Track Tape’ comes from.

A plastic cartridge box holds the loop of tape around a removable wheel near the center of the container. The tape is wound in a manner that allows it to feed over the outside of the case, where your player reads two of the tracks at a time to make music.

Your player has a rounded metal part called a “head” that pushes against the exposed length of tape on the cartridge. As your machine head pushes against the tape, there is one foam pad (or two fuzzy pads) under the tape that assure a tight fit between the tape and your player head. It is like a sandwich: player head music tape pad.

Your player plays the loop of tape, reading two of the eight tracks at a time until it reaches the metal “splicing foil” tab holding the loop of tape together. This foil connector tells the machine to switch to the next two tracks (called “program of music”) as it goes by.

The Parts To Ponder

Your Areas Of Concern Include:

SPLICING FOIL

Splicing foil is a small metal tab that holds your loop of 1/4″ tape together in a circle. The metal foil tells your machine what tracks to play. If your splicing foil is loose, overly scratched, or dirty your tape will malfunction. When splicing foil falls off while your tape is playing, the tape will often wrap around the inside working parts of your machine. Your splicing foil is an important part of your 8-track tape to check often, and replace as necessary.

The good news about splicing foil is that you can buy new foil on eBay!

NOTE: Back in the days when 8-tracks were new, Wriggleys brand gum-wrappers were my splicing foil of choice. If you can’t find real splicing foil, you can always experiment with light-weight aluminum paper until you find one that triggers your machine to change tracks.

(See future upgrades for information on 8-track repair. )

PADS

The pad (or pads) on an 8-track tape act to make a tight connection between player head music tape pad. Look at your cartridge where the tape is showing; you will see either one long foam pad, or two small square fuzzy pads on a piece of metal that looks like a wing. These are important! If pads are missing, or in bad shape, your tape will malfunction.

To test your foam pad, lightly touch the pad to assure that it is still tall and firm. If the pad sinks permanently at your touch, or leaves a pile of sand-sized particles where it used to be, your tape will not play. For the most part, fuzzy pads are fine if they are still both attached to the metal wing bar.

The good news about pads is that they are easy to make, and are replaceable.

ROLLER

Hold your tape so that the cover is facing you. Look into the top of the tape on the far right for the roller. This roller can visually appear to be fine, while it is actually a sticky mess of tar-like goo. Touch the roller before playing any newly acquired tape. It should feel like dry, hard rubber.

If your tape is stuck to the roller, it is trash unless you enjoy advanced tape repair. If you play a tape with a gooey roller by accident, it will coat the inside working parts of your player. You must manually clean the parts of your player before it will work properly again. Your machine when coated in goo will eat your head cleaning tape, don’t try it.

(Laughing… Yep, I’ve learned my gooey roller experience the hard way over the years. Always check your rollers on newly acquired tapes!)

PLAYER HEAD

Your 8-track player head must be cleaned often. To do this you simply run a cleaning tape after every 25 or 30 hours of play time. If you have acquired a new 8-track player, always run one of these head cleaning tapes before trying your tape collection in the machine.

Good News! Head cleaning tapes are available on eBay!

Tape Buying Tips

CONTACT SELLER FOR CONDITIONS

If you are new to 8-track music collecting, it is best to contact your seller to ask if your roller, splicing foil, and pads are in working order BEFORE buying. Most eBay stores that specialize in 8-tracks enjoy pre-sale questions.

ASK FOR “MEDIA MAIL” SHIPPING

~~~ 8-track tapes qualify for US Post Office “Media Mail” shipping rates. If saving money is a concern, look for sellers using Media Mail shipping.

COMMON MAILING PROBLEMS

~~~ Sometimes during shipping, an 8-track that your seller sends out in one piece will shake apart while traveling. Be kind to your seller when contacting them about the mishap, we all know it happens; 8-tracks are a fragile music source.

DETERMINE SELLER POLICY

~~~ Communicate with your seller about what their refund (or replacement tape) policy is before having your tapes sent. If no policy exists, you are allowed to ask for postal insurance while paying if you would like to protect your investment.

REQUEST TAPE PACKAGING

~~~ Request that your seller pack your tapes into a plastic bag before packing them into their shipping box. This keeps packing-peanut crumbs out of your tapes, and helps to keep the tiny fuzzy pads that might fall off where you can find them easily.

NEW TAPES: A MUST!

~~~ When bringing new tapes into your collection, wipe the plastic case (and label) gently with a disinfectant to prevent any microscopic infestation from being introduced into your existing collection. Many sellers are unaware that they need to disinfect the case for you before shipping. I keep a container of commercially pre-dampened kitchen wipes around for this job. One wipe does about 15 tapes. Do not wipe near the exposed music tape.

(Buying tips continue at guide: Part Two “Buy”)

This Guide (Part 1) Is Under Construction

Please Check Back Again

(This guide is being produced by a cheery, non-professional, slightly-graying, 8-track collector who just loves her hobby. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments of encouragement. )

Everybody have a great day! Catherine from 4-a-little-lady

The Next-Gen High Definition 1080p and What It Means

With all the new talk about HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, and higher resolution, advantages to the XBOX 360 and the Playstation 3, it is a good time to explain what 1080p really means, and how it will affect your viewing and gaming habits.

TerminologyTo interject, let?? talk a little about the terminology. High definition has a number with a letter following it. The first term, interlaced (i) high definition shows every other line of information, wile progressive (p) high definition doubles the resolution, thus improving your viewing of the image two times.

Different Levels of Veiwing DefinitionThe first high definition signal that was received and determined was DVD 480i. What this means is there is 480 lines of resolution interlaced. Since then, we have progressed to 480p (meaning there are 480 lines of progressive resolution) and display units have matched this resolution. Televisions (TV??) that were able to show high definition pictures are Plasma, LCD flat panels, updated rear projection TV??, DLP, and standard televisions. These TV?? process the signals by progressively showing every line of information.

A plasma TV, LCD or other display is now named an EDTV (enhanced definition TV) if it displays a native 480 progressive lines of resolution or usually a total resolution of 853 X480. EDTVs will down convert an HD signal and show it in the displays native pixel resolution. The term ??DTV??was invented to distinguish 480p resolution TV?? from the newer and updated HDTV??.

Recently, the FCC mandated that digital broadcasts replace analog signals. HDTV broadcasts are 1080 interlaced lines of resolution or 1080i, and some are 720 progressive lines of resolution or 720p. Which is better, 1080i or 720p, is a matter of opinion and depends somewhat on what type of TV you have and your HD input or signal.

Display resolutions vary greatly depending upon the size of the display. In order to truly show all of the 1080i or 720p information an HDTV must have at least 1280 X 720 lines of resolution. A much more common true high definition resolution is 1366 X 768. Most 50??plasma TVs and most all sizes of LCD flat panel TVs have this resolution. Most HDTV 42 plasma TVs only contains 1024 X768 lines of resolution. They will have to down convert 1080i HD signals slightly to display the signal, though this does not affect quality dramatically.

Hitting the 1080p HD MarkThe next and most current development in HDTV resolutions is the introduction of HD DVD players both Blu-Ray by Sony and High Definition DVD by Toshiba. These DVD players will display a new stratospheric HDTV resolution of 1920 X 1080 lines or 1080p. These machines will accomplish this through the use of a blue-violet laser, which will read DVDs with much larger storage capacity. Due to the increased storage capability, these manufactures are able to put more data for images, video, and gaming on these discs to create these ehanced images. Video gaming will also enjoy the benefits of the super high-resolution displays that take advantage of the increased resolution and increased space for games. A question you may be asking yourself is Will an HDTV show HD-DVDs, Blu-Ray, or HD video gaming if you don?? have a 1080p TV? The answer is yes, but they will down-convert the 1080p signal to 720p to display it.

Is There an Advantage?How much of an advantage will a person get from a 1080p display? It depends partially on the persons and their viewing and use habits. In the last couple of years, there has been an increase of HDTV’s with 1080p native resolution, especially with the new developments in the video formats of HD-DVD and Blu -Ray, which typically cost a good deal more than their lower-resolution DVD counterparts, but produce the higher image quality. As you move up in definitions, it becomes very difficult to tell and value the differences, especially when looking at the same source material, as opposed to when DVD’s replaced VHS, which was a very noticeable difference in the video formats.

1080p HDTV’s deliver more detail, which can enhance the viewing experience for more attentive visual persons, but it takes the right distance from the TV and a fine eye to truly appreciate it. The most important factor is to view the color, how the TV handles black coloring, the contrast, and most importantly, what you will mainly use the TV for before you make a judgment. Unless you buy a TV that is 50 inches or more and at the right distance, it will be difficult to distinguish a difference in quality between 1080p, 1080i, and 720p, but you will be able to distinguish it in price.

Metal Detecting is extremely easy to get into as a hobby, but at the same time it is an art as well. Any one can read a manuel and take their detector into the field and find normal clad coins and junk, but it takes a person with knowledge and patience to find the valuable things in life that leave you breathless as you pull it out of the ground. I have detected for years and I have learned several things that will hopefully aide you in your quest for treasures! First and foremost is the machine you use to detect. Their are several companies out there who have awesome machines, but I’m a die hard Whites detector user to say the least. I own three different machines by them and I am impressed with all of them and their capabilities. I know no one wants to hear this, but in order to find the deeper, more hidden treasure,you have to unfortunately dig a little deeper into your pockets for a worthwhile detector. I have a Whites 6000 DI Pro, A Surf Master underwater detector, and DFX detector. You might ask me why I have three? I shall explain. There are detectors that are great for searching all different types of soils, like the DFX, but certain detectors are specialized for certain areas, giving you the max depth you need to find a target. The 6000 DI Pro is great for Cache and relic hunting when in good soil conditions. The Surfmaster specializes solely for the purpose of underwater detecting.

Secondly when it comes to metal detecting you need the proper and necessary tools for retrieval. Depending on what you’re searching for, different tools will be necessary. A little shovel, a pinpointer, and a belt are all I need when detecting. If you are familiar with retrieval methods then you might only need a probe with a dull end so as not to scratch your retrievals. I have become an expert using my little shovel to dig a hole,(a plug that is), and filling in it without there being any trace. When I have found a target I dig a plug, use my pinpointer to search the hole for me, and then I place the item into my belt and I fill in the hole. Now all you tough guys out there may be wondering why the need for a belt. I don’t like it myself but I wear it out of respect for the hobby. In one section I place good items, while in the other section I place trash so that it can get thrown away.(You will be surprised how many people will let you detect their lawns when you show them the respect to throw out trash so that their kids won’t play with it and hurt themselves!) When it comes to the pinpointer, only a few companies sell them. Once again, I have a Whites Bullseye 2 which vibrates when I’m near metal, and lights up the hole for me when it is hard for me to see.

Last, but not least, is doing your history homework to find the older, better stuff. Ballfields, and schools are great if you need a quick few dollars, but to find the really old stuff takes time and patience. It’s not always easy, trust me, especially when all you want to do is go out and use your detector to find stuff. Doing your homework on the history of your town really does payoff in the end though. After hours of researching and then detecting, and you find that one old coin that is to die for is all worth it. Especially silver and gold objects, because they come up out of the ground like brand new. It’s also wise to put a little time into the science aspect of mettalurgy and chemical reactions. Different soil types, have different effects on items. For example: I could find a wheat cent in a field three inches down and it could be in pretty decent condition. But if I found one at the beach where the air and salt from the water corrode, it may not be in that great condition.

All in all, do the math and take your time when getting into this hobby. It is an art and sometimes it can be frustrating. If it was easy though everyone would be doing it, wouldn’t they? Detecting is great for the body and the soul. Nothing is better than going detecting and having quiet time to yourself while getting rich!

There?are?many?fake?headphones and?earphones?on?eBay,?most?often?from?Chinese?sellers,?this?includes?the?wonderful?PX100?from?Sennheiser.?Check?out?my?review?where?I?compare?the?FAKE?with?a?GENUINE?PX100,?both?in?terms?of?looks?and?sound.?Then?decide?which?you?want!So… Caveat Emptor! Buyer beware!?(Because God knows, eBay & Paypal won’t cover you, if you get ripped off. They’re too busy laughing all the way to the bank from all the profits they make off of Chinese & other scammers).High chances of it being a fake are:* Seller is in China* Seller is registered in a country other than China, but is really in CHINA* Seller sells the phones in a plastic bag (not original box)* Price is significantly lower than sellers that show the original box in their ad* Seller’s record is riddled with feedbacks complaining about FAKE headphonesDIFFERENCES BETWEEN FAKE SENNHEISER PX100 AND REAL: ?LOOKS: ===== REAL: * headband is a duller, matte black * logo is stamped on a glossy black inset plastic * earcups click into place when folded out * “CE” logo on inside of headband (on one side) * screws are black * Sennheiser logo on headband is grey, & larger * Braille markings on outside of headband (indicating channel) * Length from separator on wire where it forks into a Y to the earcup is 12″ * total cord length is .5″ longer * cord a bit more flexible * foam pads are more cushiony, better material FAKE: * PX100 logo stamped in white direclty on band and upside down! * Closed, headband is larger and wider * Cushioning under headband is harder and thinner * Earcups have a smell of moulded plastic * R/L etching on headband is larger, deeper etching * Hinge is larger * logo is brown, and smaller * Length from separator on wire where it forks into a Y to the earcup is 15″ * total cord length is 40.5″ Top one is REAL, bottom one is FAKE. REAL has larger logo in grey. FAKE has smaller logo on brown. REAL is on left, it has PX100 logo on glossy black plastic inset. FAKE is on right, it has PX100 logo in white, directly stamped on headband. ?(This one’s harder to make out, bad camera!). The top is REAL, bottom is FAKE. REAL has a “CE” logo engraved in the inside of the headband. FAKE has nothing. SOUND: ===== The moment I heard the PX100’s from the store it was clear that they were different. What was less clear, was whether they were better! It was evident that the sonic picture was smaller with the real Senn’s, things were less separated, and more further away (on the fake senn’s, bass, mids and highs were more “in view”). REAL Sennheiser PX100 (as compared with FAKE)————————————————————— * Better, tighter, slightly more comfy fit (probably helps sound quality) * More refined sound * “Whiter” tonal quality (even icy white) * Faster, “zippier” transients (leading edge of notes) * EVERYTHING is less prominent; vocals, bass, jazz horns… * Less separation (between instruments, etc) * Sound is more “in your head” * Musicality more mentally engaging * More neutral FAKE Sennheiser PX100 (as compared with REAL) ————————————————————— * Slightly looser fit * Reversed left / right channel! * Bass less well defined but more prominent, as with everything * Singer sounds more “in the room” than in your head * Gives less music in some ways (less accurate?musical information), but more music in others (ie. has larger soundstage, greater body) * More tonal coloration across the band * Musicality more physically engaging * Lyrics clearer, probably easier to sing to music (because of more up-front & clearer vocals)DON’T FORGET to vote “helpful” if you found this guide helpful, and if you are in the market for a Chinese unbranded mp4 player to go with your fake Chinese PX100’s, check out one of my other Guides. Thanks for reading!