Toolgasm » Electronics

LED Headlamp

admin — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:21:16 +0000

I don’t care how stupid they look, LED headlamps are some of the most useful things you can have. Whether your camping, working on a computer, soldering, you name it. Having a bright light pointed exactly where you are looking at all times is indispensable. Now that LEDs are cheaper and brighter than they ever have been before, it makes it a lot more practical than having a huge battery strapped to your dome. 1 or 2 AAA’s are all you need with one of these.

Believe it or not, you can also hold one of these in your hand! So you can skip the whole “Im not putting that dorky thing on my head” excuse , and use it like a regular flashlight. While reserving the coal miner look for when nobody is looking. I completely understand the feeling too, I don’t even own one myself, but my roommate does, and I’m sure I use it as much or more than him. So this post is just as much a reminder to get my own, as it is a prod for you to get one.

[tags]LED, flashlight, headlamp[/tags]

JVC Pocket Mini Speakers

admin — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:16:14 +0000

Music pretty much runs my world, and gadgets, and bikes, well damn, you get the point. Having that music with me is very important, and being able to do it in a convenient way just takes the cake. These little JVC pocket speakers are great. With a plastic cover that folds back and turns into a stand, and a standard miniplug, they can be taken anywhere and work with almost anything. There is an active and passive mode. In passive mode, you don’t even need batteries, your players headphone amp will power them. When you need some more umph, then throw in a couple of AAA batteries and flip the switch.

I just got mine this last weekend, and could not wait to write about them. Your not gonna be blown away by the sound quality, but for the price and convenience your not gonna be picky either. We were on a beach in 20mph winds, and never had a problem hearing them in active mode. The sound is a little tinny, but I feel that could be solved with a little EQ’ing on the MP3 player side.

[tags]ipod, speakers[/tags]

Toshiba Gigabeat

admin — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:03:48 +0000

This would be one of those “get it while you can” items. The F series of the Toshiba Gigabeat was the first in the line of these great MP3 players. The Gigabeat eventually evolved into what is now the Microsoft Zune, but in this one of its earlier incarnations you can replace the firmware. The firmware of choice is Rockbox and there are great instructions on the website to help you thru the steps if you choose to go this route (read them all the way thru first).

I wish I could tell you how much better the Rockbox firmware is compared to the original, but mine didn’t get much past the initial charge before I hacked it. As far as I’m concerned, people would’nt take the time to write alternative firmwares unless there was something lacking from the original. The cross fade feature in Rockbox by its self is plenty enough reason to switch; It’s like having your own personal Dj with you where ever you go.

With the new 4-8 gig MP3 players in the 100$+ range it just seems silly not to get one. At 40 gigs (they don’t make the 40 gig size anymore) You will be hard pressed to even fill it up. I have been using mine for over a month and am not even close to hearing a song twice. I’m a little peeved too, cause I thought I got a bang up deal, and it appears you can get them even cheaper than what I paid You can check out the products history over at

Wikipedia

[tags]ipod, zune, mp3 player, music[/tags]

Smart Strip

admin — Wed, 30 May 2007 03:53:50 +0000

Sometimes things just make you wonder “what took them so long?”. This is one of those products that made me think that. You plug your main component into the designated slot, and when the component (ie. your computer) is turned off, all the peripherals turn of with it. In an age where energy consumption is becoming more and more of an issue, this seems like a no brain-er for what is a good surge protector to boot. There are other people who agree with me at

Tree Hugger

[tags]power strip, surge protector[/tags]