Midland LXT600VP3 36-Channel GMRS with 30-Mile Range, NOAA Weather Alert, Rechargeable Batteries and Charger

Midland LXT600VP3 36-Channel GMRS with 30-Mile Range, NOAA Weather Alert, Rechargeable Batteries and Charger..

Grab Now Midland LXT600VP3 36-Channel GMRS with 30-Mile Range, NOAA Weather Alert, Rechargeable Batteries and Charger By Midland

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87 of 89 people found the following review helpful.
Terrific for Event Mgmt - Buying More
By Susan
We purchased two pairs of these radios so four of us could stay in touch during a large event on two levels of the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. The radios worked flawlessly. A BIG bonus is that they are small and lightweight. We are buying two more pairs today, for a total of eight radios.

We charged for 24 hours before first use, used them all day/12 hours, and batteries are still at full power. We were advised by a Midland rep NOT to leave the radios on the charger as a matter of course, but only to charge the radios when they actually needed it. It is on our checklist now to check radio battery life two days before event.

When you buy: They need a 24-hr charge before first use; and if you are running a large event, buy enough to give one of your radios to the venue rep for the duration of your event. It will save you a lot of running around looking for that person when you need them to act.

Love these radios.

77 of 82 people found the following review helpful.
Paintball/WoodsBall Approved (was 4 stars, but now 5 stars)
By R. Liebespach
I decided to buy a pair of these.
I tried them out 11/03/2012 ref'ing a paintball game on a 2 1/2 acre field (mostly trees - about 10% open space - about .2 miles from one end to the other) with no difficulty on a FRS channel (Channel 9, CTCSS Sub-Channel 11). They also communicated well with my uniden radios.
The real test was yesterday (11/17/2012 [...]) when I was be ref'ing a much bigger event on a field that is almost 20 acres (mostly trees - about 5% open space - over 1/2 of a mile from one corner to the opposite corner)

They worked great! On the field they reached cleanly from one side of the field to the other (on channel 9, no sub-channel)... the longest line of sight thru dense wood that I had a chance to test was over a 1/3 mile... but better than that i had to run an errand and on the way back i used one from inside the car on the way back... they worked great from inside the car across about 1/2 mile from the responder at our registration area. About 1/2 that distance was woods and a large church building line of sight between us (That is much better than the uniden I have). I have no doubt I would get at least a mile thru dense wood. I probably won't get a chance to try them on a larger field until January. (If I don't post an update by Feb. 2013, ask for an update) (If I remember, I'll post a video of part of our field.)

Yes, I would buy another set.
The reason for only 4 stars is I haven't tried them at a really long distance yet. The largest field I've played on is Wayne's World (about 1/2mile x 1/3mile)([...])

Review Update:
January 19, 2013
I did order more radios.
We liked them so much we ordered 2 more radios. They went into use today.
I HUGE motivator for getting more of these radios is their battery life!
When we use them they are on continuously from just before 9am until about 2pm
The charge is lasting us 4 - 5 game days before they run out of a charge.

If I could bump my rating up to 4.5 stars, I would.
The reason for only 4 stars is still the same... I haven't tried them at a really long distance yet.

Review Update:
February 17, 2013
I now have 6 of these.
I tested them for distance yesterday (2/16/2013). On channel 11 (no sub-channel this time), I got 1.2 miles away in a mostly open area with some trees, and a hill preventing line of sight. There was an elevation difference too... about 100 feet. from the downhill radio the hill went up 100 feet over a distance of a 1/2 mile. I traveled level for a distance of almost 3/4 of a mile beyond that. At that distance the communication had a lot of static, but it was still very usable.
There's a picture of the test location (Fishhawk, Florida)in my facebook photos (facebook dot com /RickLiebespach)... The album titled "WFC Fields)
(There is a thin blue line from radio to radio, so you can see what was between us at our most distant conversation)

I suspect I could have gotten 1.5 miles, but I think my partner turned off his radio. This was using channel 11 (no sub-channel this time). This will serve my needs very well. (I play and referee paintball games on large fields)
As a result of this test, I am now upping my rating to 5 stars.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
Love These Radios! Highly Reccomend
By J. Evans Jr.
I originally purchased one pair to stay in contact with my lead man on our shift in a manufacturing facility. Our department is extremely noisy, as we have numerous machines stamping out metal parts, forklifts beeping and driving by. I use the AVPH3 surveillance headset because my job entails that I use both hands working with pneumatic tools to set the dies to stamp the parts. When my Lead calls, I have no trouble hearing him, and answer him with the push-to-talk button clipped to my shirt.

After we used the 1st pair for a few days, we realized just how much more efficient we were working, so I ordered a second pair to give to operators so that we can be in constant contact with each other. Now, if there is a problem with one of the machines, I can ask them what the problem is, and avoid wasted time walking the 50 to 75 yards to survey the problem, and then walk back to get the necessary tools to fix the problem.

The in-ear headset also doubles as a sound-reducing ear plug, but still allows me to communicate with the crew. However, the clear plastic behind-the-ear spiral looks rather CIA/Secret Service, and I have had to put up with some ribbing from some of the other workers in the plant. If they only knew just how comfortable, and, convenient this headset is, they wouldn't rib for long.

Midland Radios has long been a leader in radio manufacturing, and that was one big selling point for my purchase. These are NOT cheap little toys, but, well-constructed, solid radios.

I would suggest to follow the instructions to give the units a 24 hour initial charge, and then to charge them only as needed, every 2 days or so.

All in all, I am very pleased with the quality, the performance, and the range that these radios provide. We may even decide to purchase a third set.

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Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX7K 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Optical zoom and 3.0-inch LCD - Black

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX7K 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Optical zoom and 3.0-inch LCD - Black..

Grab Now Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX7K 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Optical zoom and 3.0-inch LCD - Black By Panasonic

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557 of 576 people found the following review helpful.
PANA keeps improving on the LX3, but still not "perfect..."
By Nathaniel Allen
Wow, this was a tough upgrade decision. Sony's RX100 is superb competition, and I was certain *IT* would be the camera that pulled me out of the Panasonic camp (I also own an old Panasonic DMC-FX50 "bridge camera" in addition to an LX5, which replaced my LX3 -- plus my wife kept a Pana FX35 in her purse before she switched to Sony's slim TX9.

Despite keeping these few cameras around (really just the 3: the FX50, the TX9 and now the LX7), I'm just your Joe Average photographer, shooting mainly the kids, family/friend gatherings, special events, and some home construction-type projects, and other hobby interests.

And what I've ever really wanted out of the LX series is a compact, low light-capable camera with a respectable set of manual controls. Exactly what the SONY RX100 is with its huge sensor, and of the two, it is unquestionably the better performer for indoor shooting situations of fast moving kids, compared to the LX3 and LX5.

If that were my only criteria, I'd have never ordered the LX7, and might be typing up my thoughts on the RX100 instead. But maybe my four years of familiarity with the LX3/5 got the better of me. Maybe I'm just a sheep with a Panasonic logo branded on my flank. But there were a couple of sore points with the Sony that just plain made me unsatisfied. Rather than trash the RX100 (not my intention), here's my list:

- There's no escaping the benefit of the wide 24mm lens on the LX series. Not to mention the handy aspect ratio mode switching right on the bezel. And I use the 1:1 aspect ratio more than I care to admit.
- The Panasonic's hot shoe is a hot commodity when I need it. I have a Metz 36-AF4O (since replaced by the Metz 36 AF-5, I believe) which is about as big as the camera itself, but provides more than adequate light with bounce capabilities.
- Two of my gripes with the LX3 and LX5 were the difficulty of adjusting manual settings via push-button & thumb dial inputs. The LX7's aperture ring and dedicated manual focus lever have addressed this, with varying degrees of satisfaction.
- I get to keep my LX5 spare battery, which isn't such a huge deal, but just know that its shelf life is spectacular. Although my predicted number of shots between charges has decreased, per the manual. Nothing drastic; still great battery life.
- Most importantly, the Panasonic LX7 has a certain ease and quickness about it -- probably due in part to my use of its predecessors -- and combined with the newly added manual controls, it feels to me the design is finally at a point where I can set up various shooting solutions with a minimum of fuss and button pressing, nearly (but not quite) like my SLR days many years ago. The "user experience" of the Sony, by comparison, felt a little too menu driven and sticky.

Where did Panasonic fall short with this new model?

- For one, the image quality really hasn't changed. My thoughts are that the LX3 was excellent, but the LX5 tended to focus a little soft -- although nothing that stood out horribly amiss; maybe within the normal manufacturing variations? I don't want to speculate on sensor sizes or type playing a role, but I can attest Sony's RX100 shoots a "cleaner" or "crisper" portrait-style photo -- although that difference disappears once the image is downsized for printing/sharing.
- There's still no remote. Or cable release. Or Bulb mode. Can't tell you how much I enjoy those features on other cameras. For the LX5, I have a cable release adapter that slides into the hot shoe and extends an arm over the shutter release for a cable release to activate, but the hot shoe has been realigned on the LX7 so it no longer works.
- I continue to have trouble reading the silver-on-silver symbols etched onto the 4-way keys.
- If you're one to complain about the lens cap (I'm not, but I know a lot of LX users HATE the thing)... well, it's still here, and it's smaller than before, making it a little more difficult to clip on/clip off.
- I once committed to never buying a camera without a tiltable display, but that's just not an option. All things considered, the LX7 display is not as bright at the RX100, but is very visible in all but direct daylight, and viewable from off angles without the colors inverting.

What did Panasonic get right with the LX7 update?

- The redesigned lens is noteworthy. It's a definite improvement over the LX5 for indoor shooting, and that extends through the entire zoom range (still only 90mm, which was an improvement over the LX3). I find that I take the vast majority of my photos on the wide end of this lens, but in low light settings, I've been forced to if I'm trying to avoid using the flash. With the lens redesign, I've got a little more flexibility in my zoom before resorting to higher ISOs.
- IC? Firmware? Who knows! The camera is snappier than its predecessor, in all aspects: start up, menu navigation, auto focus delay, and shot to shot. It gets shots off near instantaneously. And the kicker is a burst mode!
- I can't say I was disappointed by the 720p video of the LX5, but full HD video is a treat -- especially with memory prices as cheap as they are compared to two years ago.
- Finally, a dedicated white balance button on the 4-way controller! (Panasonic eliminated the "Focus" key featured on the LX5, and also added burst mode selection to the shutter self timer key.)
- I'm very excited about the inclusion of a time lapse feature. This was overdue.
- The clickable, dedicated aperture ring, especially, and the manual focus lever, sort of (light applause -- needs something more "ring like")
- The mode wheel is substantially firmer, preventing inadvertent turns while in the pocket.

Some random thoughts on the Sony RX100: It feels a little "rough" at startup (i.e. not-so-smooth lens extension, kind of rough feel & sound), and starts up about a second slower than the Panasonic, but not having to remove a lens cap negates that. Zoom time from full wide to full tele is about one second snappier on the Sony. I felt that the Sony's auto white balance "got it right" more often than the LX, but the custom white balance is at minimum one level deep into the menu (if set to the Fn key). Shutdown immediately after snapping a pic is an agonizingly slow 5-6 seconds for full lens retraction; 3-4 seconds if the camera is already at idle. And not so much a dig at Sony as a kudos to Panasonic, but with the 28mm constraint on the wide end, switching from 4:3 to 16:9 simply crops the top and bottom of the frame, whereas on all the LX cameras with their unique sensor usage, I actually gain extra pixels on the sensor to help compose the shot I want.

Panasonic's history of product support HAS to be a consideration. They released mid-cycle firmware updates for both the LX3 and the LX5, and with the unexpected LX3 update in particular, added new features -- not just bug fixes. (Wish I could say the same about the FX50, but that's a story for another day...)

I wouldn't be so bold as to recommend the LX7 over the RX100, but only want to give a little insight via some of the features I hold in high regard. They both definitely have their strong suits. If you're at all familiar with the previous LX cameras, you have a solid basis for understanding the LX7 improvements, as well as its shortcomings. That certainly didn't stop me from happily purchasing the RX100 before giving the LX7 a chance to hit the streets, but by doing so I immediately proved to myself that there is still no "perfect camera," and with the compromises that I had to accept, my preferences fell mainly back to the LX line.

191 of 200 people found the following review helpful.
Best compact camera for the price
By Bob
I feel bad for this camera because it got overshadowed by the Sony RX100, which everyone thinks is so amazing because it has a sensor that's midway in size between a compact camera and an APS-C DSLR.

Leaving aside the RX100, the LX7 is the best compact camera I have ever owned with respect to image quality and useability and features.

Some of the wonderful attributes of this camera are:

1. It focuses as fast as an entry-level DSLR.
2. Built-in level.
3. "Step-zoom" allows you to select focal-length-equivalents of 24, 28, 35, 50, 70 and 90mm.
4. Manual focus gives you an electronic depth of field chart which changes as you change the aperture. This makes it great for either zone focusing or for finding the hyperfocal distance. There's also an "MF Resume" option which will return the lens to where you last manually focused.
5. Lens is really sharp, only minimal corner softness at F4, and very useable wide open, more so than the Sony RX100.
6. I also see nearly zero purple fringing with this camera--I'm not sure if its the amazing lens or Panasonic post-processing tricks, but it's nevertheless impressive.
7. Lens is so fast that this camera is actually a BETTER low-light camera than any entry-level DSLR if you are only going to be using that DSLR with the kit lens. The lens is also faster than the RX100, so you need to take that into account when you compare the two cameras. The lens is fast enough to give you a little bit of blurred background, something I've never seen before on a compact camera.
8. Widest angle is 24mm (equivalent), which is a premium feature that you don't get on basic DSLR kit lenses and you don't get on the Sony RX100.
9. For a sensor if its size it's probably best-of-class, with better DR and less noise than sensors from a few years ago.

The negatives of this camera are:

1. Not as small as a Sony RX100. It is not a pants pocket camera, but fits fine in a coat pocket. The LX7 is slightly more pocketable than an Olympus E-PM1 with the Panasonic 14mm pancake lens.
2. The LCD is nice, but not as nice as the one on the Sony RX100.
3. Has a lens cap you need to remove before using the camera. The camera comes with a little cord you can use to attach the lens cap to the camera so you don't lose it, but I tried it and hated having a lens cap dangling around. So far I've only lost one lens cap in the last ten years, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
4. Even at base ISO, the sensor is a good distance behind top-quality larger sensors, like the one in the Nikon 3200, so if your photographic goal is to make really huge prints, I recommend a Nikon 3200 with a sharp lens like the Nikon 16-85mm DX VR lens. But you would probably not notice this sensor's shortcomings in anything smaller than a 13 x 19" print.

Bottom line:

If you are going to buy an entry-level DSLR or micro-four-thirds or NEX camera, and are only going to use that camera with the kit lens, then you are probably better off buying an LX7 instead. This camera even has a flash shoe and can be used with a real flash, so there's nothing you can't do with this camera just as well or better that you can do with a DSLR+kit lens.

185 of 198 people found the following review helpful.
Best hiking/climbing camera ever
By Monty VanderBilt
My primary requirement for a camera is that it be compact, but still take great pictures under the conditions I run into often. I hike and climb a lot and do not want the bulk of a DSLR hanging in front of me, and the camera must be accessible so I don't delay the group while digging my camera out of the pack. So I gravitate toward the compact camera that gives me as much of the DLSR feature set as possible.

I chose the LX7 primarily because it has a very fast lens. For me that means handheld shots under a thick forest canopy are not blurred because of slow shutter speeds. My previous camera was the DMC-LX5, the predecessor to this model and it was great. I'm replacing it because I made the mistake of taking movies in a sandstorm during a hike down Buckskin gulch in Utah. Ever since that the camera has been complaining when sand grains stick in the lens mechanism and get inside the camera on the sensor. So don't do that!

When the LX7 arrived I downloaded the PDF manual (much easier to read than the small one in the box) and went through the new features to familiarize myself with how to use them. I kept being delighted with the improvements over the LX5 that make this the best camera I've ever owned for hiking/climbing shots. In brief, they are:

1) Fast lens - good for hand held shots in dim lighting situations (forests, twilight, ...). You don't hold up your companions setting up a tripod shot.
2) Wide angle - no need for a panorama when the wide angle lens can get it all
3) Compact - light and small enough to hand around your neck all day without being uncomfortable
4) Raw - Most of the time I take jpeg simply to document the hike. But when dramatic lighting or scenes call for it I can kick in the Raw for a killer result.
5) Bracketing - many outdoor shots with snow or sun/shadow scenes have huge contrast. Exposure bracketed shots combined in post solve this.
6) New! Auto HDR - LX7 will do the bracketing and merging in camera. Haven't tested enough to see if it beats (4) for quality though.
7) New! Auto Pano - I take a lot of panorama shots from viewpoints, and it's time consuming to stitch them in post. The LX7 will do them in camera.
8) New! 3D - I know, 3D is overrated, but for that shot hanging over the cliff nothing else works as well. LX7 has a 3D photo mode.
9) New! Time Lapse - I don't do time lapse much because I couldn't, but I hope to capture progressive alpenglow from camp, and a time lapse of 3 shots 1-minute apart also works as a long self-timer. I've nearly fallen scrambling on steep summit rocks to get in the picture withing 10 seconds.
10) White body - I bushwhack a lot and twice my camera has "sneaked" out of my case when I forgot to close the zipper. White cameras are easier to find!

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USB Programming Cable for Baofeng UV-5R UV-3R+ Two way Radio With Driver CD

USB Programming Cable for Baofeng UV-5R UV-3R+ Two way Radio With Driver CD..

Buy USB Programming Cable for Baofeng UV-5R UV-3R+ Two way Radio With Driver CD By Baofeng

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85 of 92 people found the following review helpful.
Fast shipping, and cable works BUT
By Gudloki
Placed an order and was quickly informed there was a stocking issue and a resolution date, and within a week the product shipped and received on the day they stated. Very pleased I was informed of the problem before I started wondering what happened. After I got the cable I plugged it into the computer and attempted to use the software that came with it but was unable due to file errors on the CD. No problem as there are plenty of other options available for free (legally) that I had intended on using anyway. I ended up using the software called CHIRP, use your favorite search engine and search "CHIRP radio programming" ensure you download the daily builds as the stable doesn't include support for the UV-5R. Last issue is the driver, there are some sources of chips in these cables that need an older revision of the driver to function. I was able to install the driver off the CD. However if you cant for whatever reason then you need to find and use that driver instead of the one that is auto-installed.

Another source of information is the y**oo group baofeng_uv5r

For Linux:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:dansmith/chirp-snapshots
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install chirp-daily

make sure you have read/write privileges to the USB port too
chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0

Then run as su
sudo chirpw

If you have the UV-5R, get this cable...your fingers and sanity will thank you!

73

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
THIS CABLE DOES WORK WITH WINDOWS 7 X64
By Matt
This cable works great...(even though its probably a knock off from china) With a little bit of searching Google you will find that this cable uses a chipset that prolific has decided to blacklist along with any updates of there newest drivers. So the driver that you have to use in order for your Windows 7 64 bit OS to recognize it is the Win7Vista_64bit_ProlificUSB_v3200.exe driver, do a quick Google search and you will find it just as easily as I did. Read the rest of this web page for more info on the install [...]

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Possible counterfeit chipset
By N. Lee
Edited by Me: This cable just did not work. I have tried multiple drivers and all the tricks listed on various websites. The chipset appears to be the issue. The manufacturer has actually discontinued this chipset due to Chinese counterfeits that flooded the market. They have even gone as far as to have the Windows OS update disable their driver on devices with the counterfeit chipset, forcing users to use an outdated driver- IF they can get it to work. I finally used the tester program from the chip manufacturer and it appears to be a counterfeit controller chip.

That being said, after spending 4 hours yesterday trying to get it to work I went to bed a bit peeved. Today, on a whim, I tried to install this item on another computer running the exact same OS. Now, it works.

It forced me to speed up my timetable to update my laptop to Win8. It now also works on the original computer, but only with a specific driver set for my UV5RA. Apparently, the UV5RA is a bit more finicky than earlier editions. I have the 295 software version. If you run into the same issues do a search for universal radio UV5RA. I gave it a 3 rating because it is still a pain in the rear due to the drivers. The software they send has very bad instructions and are outdated. The newer drivers and installation software work for Software version 291 and higher.

-73's

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GoPro Camera AHDBT-302 Rechargeable BatteryVideo Camera (Black)

GoPro Camera AHDBT-302 Rechargeable BatteryVideo Camera (Black)..

Special Price GoPro Camera AHDBT-302 Rechargeable BatteryVideo Camera (Black) By GoPro

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
GoPro Battery Good to Go!
By Christian Vedder
The GoPro Battery gets the job done! See your manual for recording times based on the format you are shooting, but these do fairly nice job, but have not compare them to other aftermarket batteries. They charge fairly quick, and again just a good idea to have extra one standing by on ready.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Worked perfect. Always nice to have a backup
By Adam
I ended up using it on a caving trip after the original battery was about to die. Worked perfect. Always nice to have a backup.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
GoPro Hero 3 Battery
By GR
As with all equipment that requires a battery i always like to have a spare. this is the first spare i've purchased but will most likely buy another one. it's a little tighter fit than the battery that came with my Hero 3 but it works fine.

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Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 with Designed-For-Web Scrolling - Light Silver

Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 with Designed-For-Web Scrolling - Light Silver..

GET Logitech Wireless Mouse M325 with Designed-For-Web Scrolling - Light Silver By Logitech

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81 of 89 people found the following review helpful.
Works fine with Chrome book
By Joebizz
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2TD9JEVH8ZOPF Could not get a Bluetooth mouse to work with my 11.6 inch Samsung Chromebook even though it
has Bluetooth built in to it. Thought I would just go with a wireless one and chose this one, glad
to say it works fine just plugged in the nano receiver and in 2 seconds it was working fine. Smooth
scroll wheel and the buttons work fine..It came with a double A battery installed so it was ready to
go right out of the box..I ordered the light silver one because it matches the color of the 11.6" Chromebook.
It's the perfect size for my large hands plus the wife says it's the right size for her also..Video
shows the Logitech mouse next to a full size Microsoft wireless 5000 to get a size comparison.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
Great Small, Portable Mouse
By JP
I bought this for my chromebook, and am very satisfied. Love the scrolling action and the plug and play ease of use. Spend the extra $10 it will be worth it for the quality!

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
A very well-designed mouse!
By Margaret Picky
The Logitech M325 wireless mouse is both very attractive and functional. You don't need directions to set it up or use it--just plug in the USB receiver, pull the battery protector strip out, and turn it on. It has nice rubber sides and grip on the scrolling wheel. The scrolling and clicking functions are very smooth and accurate.

A nice touch is the battery compartment door that opens effortlessly but fastens securely and inside the compartment is a secret slot to store the USB receiver! An alkaline AA is pre-installed.

This mouse is very compact. It is really not quite as chubby as it appears in the photos. The shape and texture are very pleasant and I keep catching myself fondling it! The weight is well-balanced and it is designed to be used with either hand.

Two very minor complaints: the USB receiver looks very much like the one that came with my Logitech wireless keyboard K360 but it doesn't work with it, and vice versa. Also, the non-recyclable clamshell packaging is wasteful--although it has perforations in the back so opening it was easier than opening a beverage can. I understand that it is important to be able to see the product in brick & mortar stores but for online sales, Logitech should package it in cardboard only.

This is definitely a five-star mouse, nice quality, attractive design, very portable. If you are using a wired mouse or have a sore forefinger from using a touchpad, you will really enjoy it. I am using it for reading while still using the touchpad when typing.

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Chamberlain CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert System (Black)

Chamberlain CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert System (Black)..

Special Price Chamberlain CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert System (Black) By Chamberlain

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398 of 405 people found the following review helpful.
works fine !!
By Brunswick Rich
I have read several negative reviews about the Chamberlain CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert system... many of which compared it to its predecessor. I have used the former version with success for 3 years and I was disappointed that it had been discontinued and replaced with this model and that it was not compatible with my old sensors.
Despite the negative reviews -mostly about the low volume of the base station - I decided to purchase one anyhow because the price is so attractive. I figured I would send it back if I wasn't satisfied. It works fine! The old model allowed the base station to be put on mute for one hour. That feature no longer exists - but the sound can be raised or lowered which helps compensate if someone will be working in one of my remote buildings - tripping the sensor repeatedly - which is when we would use the mute feature. Another new feature that I haven't tested yet is that this new version can handle 8 sensors, each with a unique signal [1 beep - 8 beeps]. Its predecessor could only be trained for 4.
I live in a heavily wooded & hilly location with a very long driveway and several outbuildings that need to be protected. This unit will work for 300-400+ yards dependably. The volume is adjustable and is certainly audible all over my house. The earlier units may have been "fixed" because the base station makes plenty of noise now. I suggest buying several base stations and training them all to the same codes [1 beep for driveway, 2 beeps for shed, 3 beeps for outside the garage, 4 beeps for inside the garage, etc.]. I also strongly recommend that you use lithium batteries for the sensors if they are to be used in a location where the temperature goes below 20degrees F. Alkaline batteries freeze around 15 degrees F; lithium's are good to 20 below zero F. Another trick I use is to put two sensors on my driveway just in case the first one misses. It's my "fail safe". Try these and have some patience in deciding where you will place the sensors. Don't point them towards the sun or prevailing snow storms winds. Use lithium's and expect 10+ months out of each set of AA batteries.

131 of 135 people found the following review helpful.
Best investment
By Suzanne Trautman
I don't normally write reviews, but have to stick up for this product. I bought it along with 2 additional sensors 1 1/2 years ago. It's the best investment I've made in a long time. I've been monitoring my driveway, deck, and basement door. I installed the unit in my master bedroom so it wakes us up if triggered. However, we can easily hear it downstairs as long as we don't have really loud music on. There is one beep for sensor 1, two beeps for sensor 2 and so on. Some people might miss the "one beep" from a very far away or excessive external noise, but I installed my most active sensor (driveway) to be sensor 3 (3 beeps) and never miss hearing it. The 4 AA batteries I originally installed are still working! Yes, it will take 4-5 minutes to open up the units and change them, but you'll only need to do it ever 1-2 years and there protected from weather inside the sensor. I highly recommended if you value knowing when something is on certain parts of your property and don't mind being woken up occasionally if you have deer, cats, or other animals that wander at night. I live in a suburban neighborhood and already caught one person walking up my driveway at 4AM trying to break into our cars. I've also enjoyed hearing the beeps knowing when someone is coming up the driveway during the day.

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful.
CWA2000-New Circuit Boards, Finally!
By Jon D. Andreas
I have owned/installed 7 of these systems at my childrens/my home over the last 15 years, all the way back to the original "Reporter" models.

The original Reporter had circuit boards made in the USA (printed on the boards). They all worked great at far distances. I could easily get a full 1300 feet(unobstructed view)of reception even though they only claimed they were good for 1000'.

About 4-5 years ago Chamberlain company bought Reporter. Unfortunatly this is the same time I had to replace my old/original units (from weather/sun fatigue) of approx 10 years usage. The new units I ordered had the same transmitter (field unit) case cover and a slightly differnt receiver (house unit) cover, but the circuit bords were all made in China (printed right on the boards). These units were terrible. I tested 6 of these transmitters, each with an unobstructed view. The maximum reception I could get was 400' on one and only 150'/200' on all the other transmitters. All new fresh/expensive Li-Ion batteries here too, so no low voltage excuses. Quality control of these circuit boars is the big issue here!!!! So I ended up moving them very close to my house. I have lived with those for several years (not good).

I just received 2 new sets of this new CWA2000 model on 8-24-2012. I tested both systems side by side on the exact same spot I have used for the last 15 years. These work even better than the original Reporter units. Upon inspection I see the units were assembled in Mexico on 7-25-21012 (yes, just 1 month ago!), so they are the latest/freshest you can get. No made in stamp on the boards, just on the outer plastic receiver case. With only a 1 month duration between assembly and delivery, it is very likely these circuit boards are made in the USA or Mexico. If they came from China there would be at least a 3 month delay.

So bottom line, these new units work excellent! I just orderd several more sets for my kids homes (Christmas presents for all).

To Note: New base unit in the house is smaller (nicer than old unit). Buzzer sound has changed. It is now more of a long, high pitched squeal (O.K.) rather than the old loud buzzzzzzzzzz, but plenty of volume to hear anywhere thru my large 3600 sq.ft. single level home. No relay outputs for a relay connection to an external bell or light, but with the Head units being so low in price now, just buy two systems if you want an additional Alarm sound elsewhere in your house/garage/shop. You can program the transmitters to more than 1 Head unit. That is what I did, so I hear when I'm out working in my detached shop.

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Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive with Mobile Device Backup USB 3.0 (Red) STDR1000103

Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive with Mobile Device Backup USB 3.0 (Red) STDR1000103..

GET Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive with Mobile Device Backup USB 3.0 (Red) STDR1000103 By Seagate

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170 of 199 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent very slim, light, fairly fast 500-GB hard drive; the Windows version works on Mac and the Mac version works on Windows
By ƒůŽźŸ ωŬ≥ζŷ ♥☮♭♩♪♫♬♮☯☺♡✈
இ Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
ѾѾѾѾѾ Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

փ Positives:

փ This hard drive is indeed very slim, with its 9.5mm thickness being comparable to an internal laptop hard drive.
փ The read/write transfer speeds are pretty fast for a 5400-RPM hard drive (but performance will feel slower if you are accustomed to using 7200-RPM drives).
փ By installing a Windows or Mac driver, you can use either the Windows or Mac version of this drive on both Windows and Mac computers, which is great for transferring files in between both platforms.
փ This drive comes in 500-GB, 1-TB, and 2-TB capacities with five different color options for the top metal panel.

ჯ Negatives:

ჯ While the Seagate Dashboard software that is pre-loaded on the hard drive includes very useful and flexible backup software, the other two parts of the software to share files to social media sites and save files from social media sites are limited in their usefulness and flexibility.

With a thickness of 9.5mm for the 500-GB drive, this very portable little drive is only slightly thicker than an iPhone or pencil, and its thickness is comparable to many internal laptop/notebook drives. But while 9.5mm-thick internal laptop drives do not have an external case covering them, this drive is housed inside an attractive anodized aluminum metal case, with a plastic bottom base, that gives it a solidly rigid feel to the drive. The hard drive that is housed inside the case may even be thinner than a 7mm internal hard drive. So this external hard drive is actually thinner than most internal laptop/ultrabook hard drives. And the 500-GB drive weighs only 5 ounces, making this an extremely portable drive to carry around. With a thickness of 12.0mm, the 1-TB and 2-TB versions of this drive are 2.5mm thicker and slightly heavier than the 500-GB version. But a 12.0mm-thick drive casing is still tiny for a 2-TB external drive. There are some 15mm-thick 2-TB internal drives that are thicker than this, and they do not have an external case.

This hard drive comes with an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable. While this cable length is adequate for plugging into a laptop, I wish that the supplied cable was just a little longer in length (24 inches would be ideal) to allow more flexibility when connecting the hard drive to a desktop computer. My desktop computers are connected to USB hubs located on my desk so the cable is not too short for me, but many people will plug this hard drive directly into their desktop computer's USB port.

This drive is whisper quiet and when it is plugged into the USB port, a thin sliver of light glows near one corner of the top of the case to show that it is operational. While this drive is either reading or writing data, the glowing light pulsates, slowly shifting between dim and bright, instead of just blinking like most hard drive status lights. The pulsating hard drive status light looks more unique than the usual blinking light used by other external hard drives, as if the hard drive is breathing in and out while it works. My one minor quibble is that I wish the light would pulsate at a quicker pace. With a blinking hard drive activity LED, I can quickly glance over at the light and see if it is blinking. With this slowly pulsating light, I have to stare at the sliver of light for several seconds to see if the drive is reading/writing. As with all non-SSD hard drives, when I hold this drive in my hand, I can feel its body vibrating due to the spinning platter that is inside, and if I press my ear right up to the case while the drive is reading or writing data, I can just barely hear the read/write head moving around inside. So this hard drive is as quiet as the quietest of internal drives designed for notebooks.

I have seen various reviews erroneously mention that this Seagate Slim drive is either a 7200-RPM drive or a SSD drive, but both of those descriptions are incorrect. While Seagate previously used 7200-RPM drives in their GoFlex Slim drives, this Slim drive uses a 5400-RPM drive. For a 5400-RPM hard drive though, its transfer speeds are pretty good. This hard drive connects through a USB 3.0 cable, and as with all USB 3.0 devices being backwardly compatible with USB 2.0, you will only get the faster USB 3.0 speeds if you connect this drive to a USB 3.0 port. Connecting this drive to a USB 2.0 port will result in slower transfer speeds. When tested using the "HD Tune" hard drive performance benchmarking tool on an older laptop with USB 2.0 ports, I get an average read speed of 28 MB/s and an average write speed of 21 MB/s. Connecting this drive to a newer laptop having USB 3.0 ports, I get an average read speed of 92 MB/s (with maximum peaks of around 112 MB/s) and an average write speed of 86 MB/s. Even though most 7200-RPM notebook-sized hard drives will be faster, these speeds are pretty fast for a 5400-RPM hard drive. If you want the fastest speeds using this Seagate Slim drive, you need to plug it into a USB 3.0 port. This rule applies to any external storage device that uses a USB 3.0 cable. Perhaps Seagate chose to not include a faster 7200-RPM hard drive inside this tiny thin enclosure because of potential heat and reliability issues?

If I read or write hundreds of megabytes of data, the exterior of the drive does get warm over time since there is no internal cooling fan or ventilation holes in this drive's casing, but it usually does not get too hot. On one occasion, however, I was copying many very large HD video files onto this drive, and after twenty minutes of transferring HD videos back and forth where this hard drive was reading and writing non-stop, the drive's enclosure felt very hot when I touched it, so I undocked and unplugged the drive to let it cool down because I was worried about adversely affecting the drive's long-term reliability by continuing to operate it with the temperature inside its enclosure being so hot. The drive enclosure's metal top surface cooled down after about fifteen minutes, and I then plugged the drive back into my laptop and proceeded to edit the HD videos that were now loaded onto the drive. Because this tiny hard drive is housed in such a small totally-sealed enclosure, you should let it cool down sometimes if feels too hot after extended periods of reading/writing data. Avoiding repetitive overheating is a good idea for any external hard drive that lacks a cooling fan or ventilation holes in the hard drive's enclosure since heat can degrade a hard drive's performance and reliability over time. With most electronic components, repeatedly overheating the electronics can cause hardware failures and overheating is the primary cause of hard drive failure. Also avoid bumping, jarring, or dropping this hard drive, especially when it is plugged in.

About 800 MB of this drive's space is used up by the pre-loaded Seagate Dashboard software and brief tutorial videos on using the Seagate Dashboard software to protect and back up your files, save social media files, and conveniently share image and video files that are stored on this drive to Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. If you are certain that you do not ever want to use this Dashboard software, you can delete the 'Seagate Dashboard Installer.dmg' Mac software file, the 'Seagate Dashboard Installer.exe' Windows software file, and the 'Video' folder to free up hundreds of megabytes of disk space. A 'Seagate' folder that is in the root directory contains a 'SerialNumber.xml' file that has the model number and serial number of the drive. The model number and serial number are also printed on the bottom panel of the drive however. In the Windows version of this drive, the 'Seagate' folder has a 'Seagate-Release.exe' program that you can run to register the drive with Seagate. After you finish registering the drive, you can delete the 'Seagate' folder.

If you want to leave the software and tutorial videos on the drive, you can still delete either the 135-MB 'Seagate Dashboard Installer.dmg' Mac software file or the 156-MB 'Seagate Dashboard Installer.exe' Windows software file if you only exclusively use Mac or Windows computers. In the 'Video' folder, there are eight folders - 'en-US', 'fr-FR', 'it-IT', 'ko-KR', 'ru-RU', 'sv-SE', 'zh-CN', and 'zh-TW' - that each contain the same set of four tutorial videos: 'Introducing Seagate Backup Plus', 'Protecting Your Files With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial', 'Saving Social Media Files With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial', and 'Sharing To Social Media Sites With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial'. These eight sets of videos are identical in the video and audio, and only differ in the subtitle language used: English (no subtitles), French, Italian, Korean, Russian, Swedish, Chinese, and Taiwanese. If you keep the 'en-US' English video that has no subtitles and delete the other seven folders, you free up almost 350 MB of space.

Of the three components in the Seagate Dashboard software, the "Protect" function offers the most usefulness and flexibility, while the "Share" and "Save" functions for sharing/uploading to and saving from social media sites are limited in their capabilities. With the Dashboard's "Protect" function, you can schedule backups of your files based on a regular hourly/daily/weekly/monthly schedule, or have your files backed up whenever they are added or modified, or make backups on an as-needed basis by manually initiating a "snapshot" backup of your files. I am always surprised by how many people never back up the files on their computers, either their work-related files or their personal files, including documents, email and Microsoft Outlook files, photo/music/media files, or other files that are often irreplaceable if their computer's hard drive suddenly fails. If your computer has years of files accumulated on it that you have never backed up to another disk, to a CD/DVD, or to an online cloud-based backup service, this Seagate Slim hard drive can be used as your backup device where you can store a duplicate copy of all your important files. If you have already been using a backup process, as mentioned, you do not have to install the Dashboard software and you can just completely delete all the pre-loaded software from this hard drive if you want.

Important: If you do use the pre-loaded Seagate "Protect" software to back up your files, or if you use other kinds of automated backup software, you should randomly spot-check some of the duplicated backup files and folders every one or two months to verify that the files are correctly being copied and that they can be read correctly. Spot-check the backup files more frequently if they are important and you really value their integrity. Backup software is still a software application and, just like firmware and other software, and also taking into account that a hard drive may start to slowly fail with read/write errors after years of usage, there may be a software or hardware glitch that causes a file to either not be backed up by the backup software, or to be backed up but unreadable. By occasionally spot-checking the integrity of your backup files, you reduce the possibility of having an unpleasant surprise if you really need to recover the files from the backup copy. A data error can happen with any electronic storage media. For example, if you back up files by burning data to a CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc, you should spot-check their integrity by accessing some of their files at least once a year. The same rule applies if your backup files are stored by a cloud-based backup/storage service. There are also integrity-checking software that will automatically verify the integrity of hard disks or optical media. I am an avid photographer, and with terabytes of hard disk space becoming more inexpensive each year, my favorite way to back up files is by manually copying files and folders to two separate hard drives in a "manual RAID 1" setup where I manually back up and mirror the photo and HD-video files between both drives, instead of relying on backup software to perform the function. I previously used a dual-hard-drive RAID 1 storage unit, but I like being able to directly access either drive and I also do not like how RAID 1 simultaneously deletes files from both drives if I ever type or click too fast and have an "oops" accidental file deletion.

The Dashboard software's "Share" function lets you share files that are stored on the hard drive by uploading to either Facebook, Flickr, or YouTube. And the "Save" function lets you save photos from Facebook or Flickr. Unlike the "Share" function, "Save" does not let you save videos from YouTube. But there are many freeware software and online sites that can convert and save YouTube videos already. I really did not care for how either these "Share" or "Save" functions worked because they are quite limited in their flexibility, and it is very easy to perform the same functions directly using the Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube sites without having to go through an intermediate step of using the Dashboard software to upload files. Perhaps Seagate added the "Share" and "Save" options for computer newbies or social media newcomers. But the irony is that even though this Dashboard software "dumbs down" the uploading of files to Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube, the computer newbies who would most benefit from using the "Share" and "Save" options may not even have an account on Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube.

This pocket-sized drive is quite small and light: 4.5"x3.0"x0.4" and 5.3 ounces (including the USB cable) for the 500-GB version, with the 1-TB and 2-TB versions being slightly thicker and heavier. You can use this portable drive to shuttle files back and forth between Windows and Mac computers, dragging and dropping folders and files to transfer them between the computer and this external hard drive. Note that there are two versions of this Seagate Slim external hard drive: a Windows version formatted for NTFS and a Mac version formatted for HFS+. You should get the version for the platform that you work on the most. If you mainly use a Mac and you use Time Machine for your backups, you should definitely get the Mac version of this drive. If you mainly work on Windows and Mac is more of a secondary computer, you should get the Windows version of this drive.

Since Windows NTFS and Mac HFS+ file systems do not automatically play well together, use of this hard drive on both Windows and Mac computers does require the download and installation of a driver. If you get the Windows version of this drive, when you plug the drive into a Mac, it will download from the Internet a necessary Mac driver (NTFS_for_Mac_with_restart.dmg) that lets the Windows-NTFS-formatted drive work with Macs. NTFS drives are normally read-only on Mac OS, and this driver lets Macs both read and write on the NTFS-formatted version of this hard drive. Note that because Mac's Time Machine requires a Mac-HFS-formatted drive, when you use the Windows version of this drive with the Mac driver, this setup cannot work with Time Machine unless you reformat the drive to be a HFS+journaled file system... in which case you might as well just get the Mac version of this drive if you intend to also use it with Time Machine. If you get the Mac version of this drive, when you plug the drive into a Windows PC, it will download a necessary Windows driver (HFS4Win.exe) that lets the Mac-HFS+formatted drive work with Windows. You can also download both the Mac-driver-for-Windows-NTFS and Windows-driver-for-Mac-HFS+ drivers directly from Seagate's Web site. See the 'Comments' section of my review for the URL locations. Seagate should have pre-loaded both of these Windows/Mac drivers on the hard drive just like how they pre-loaded both the Windows and Mac versions of their Dashboard software.

Overall, this is a great little drive that is sized for maximum portability. It includes a 2-year limited warranty. And at the time of this review's writing, Amazon is offering this hard drive at a great price of less than $70 for the 500-GB size. It was not that long ago when a 500-GB portable hard drive costed hundreds of dollars and was at least three times larger in size. I rely both on my own research and the opinions of others to help me make informed buying decisions. I hope that this review helped you to be a wise shopper! :)

107 of 127 people found the following review helpful.
Fast little drive - Dashboard software not perfect
By Roberta V. Russo
Here are the impressions of a non-techy about the Seagate Slim 500 gig external hard drive. This drive is amazingly small - about 3 by 4 inches and 1/4 inch thick. Nice - because it doesn't take up much shelf or desk space and is easy to carry around. I like to take a backup drive with me whenever I travel with my computer and this drive is the perfect size for that. The USB cord that it comes with is approximately 18 inches long (give or take). It also comes packed with a small instruction pamphlet describing how install the backup software called the Seagate Dashboard that comes pre-loaded on the drive. Its a pretty simple and straightforward process so there is not a lot to the instructions. There are also 4 short instruction videos pre-loaded on the drive: "Introducing Seagate Backup Plus Video"; "Protecting Your Files With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial"; "Saving Social Media Files With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial"; and "Sharing To Social Media Sites With Seagate Dashboard Tutorial". If you watch them they give a pretty good overview of the features available with the Dashboard software.

I usually don't load the software that comes with hard drives, but I decided to give the Seagate Dashboard a try. I am using a laptop with Windows 8 operating system. Basically you just plug in the drive, navigate to the installation file and double click it. That brings up the registration screen, the software loads, and then you must re-start the computer to finish the install. It took maybe 5 minutes and installed with no problems.

Once the software is installed you open it by double clicking its desktop icon. From the home screen you get 3 choices: Protect (backup and restore your data); Share (upload your pictures and videos to your Facebook, Flickr and YouTube accounts); and Save (Download pictures and videos from your Facebook and Flickr accounts).

Protect:
You can schedule backups at specific intervals like hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Or you can select continuous backup which basically creates backups in real time as you add or change files. If you don't want to set a regular schedule you can instead click the "snapshot" button to start a backup whenever you want. By default the backup includes anything that is not a system or program file but you get the option to pick the files you want to include. The first time you run backup takes a little longer because it is backing up all the files, after the first time its faster because its only backing up new or changed files. I have the drive connected to a USB 3 port and the first time I ran backup it took about 20 - 30 minutes to backup roughly 100 gig of data files. I selected "continuous" and keep the drive connected all the time. I haven't really noticed any lag time or slow down using the continuous backup feature.

The drive comes with a free one-year subscription to the Nero "cloud" drive which you can also select as a backup location. You get 4 gig free for 12 months - after that you have to pay for the subscription. You can also buy extra space. You have to create an account and set a password. I did set up the account, but haven't used this feature and don't really plan to in the future.

Share:
You can use the Dashboard to upload pictures and video to social media sites: Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. I don't use Facebook or Flickr (hard to believe in this day and age, I know) but I do use YouTube, so I gave it a try. From Dashboard click the Facebook, Flick, or YouTube icon. The first time you access one of these sites you have to enter your account log-in information and give the software permission to access your account. Here is how it worked for YouTube. Once logged in it brought up a file manager screen where I could browse to and select a video on either my Seagate external hard drive or my computer hard drive. Once the file is selected you choose one of the standard YouTube categories for it. Then the file uploads. After uploading the video using the Seagate Dashboard, I deleted it from YouTube and uploaded it again using the standard upload directly from the YouTube site - just to see the difference.

First of all the video took longer to upload using the Seagate Dashboard than it did directly from the YouTube website. I suppose that might not be the fault of the software - maybe the internet was just running slower when I used the Dashboard, but I did upload them within 1/2 hour of each other. The biggest fault I found using the Seagate Dashboard to upload videos is that you don't get any of the options that you do when you upload directly from the YouTube site. When you upload a video directly from the YouTube site you get a lot of options. You can enter a Title for the video, you can enter a description, and enter tags (e.g. Chicago, dogs) so that the video comes up in searches, you can pick a thumbnail to use for the video, select a privacy setting (public or private) and select a category for the video. When you use the Dashboard, it automatically uses the name of the file as the title of the video (you don't get to choose). The only choice the Seagate Dashboard gives you is to select a category for the video - that's it. It also automatically posts it as a public video. You don't get any other choices or options. Once you have uploaded a video using the Dashboard you can always log on to your YouTube account directly from the YouTube website and edit these choices, but why bother with 2 steps if you can just do all this directly on YouTube in the first place? Given the results of this test, I would not use the Seagate Dashboard to upload videos to YouTube. I can't speak for how Facebook or Flickr uploads work because I don't use Facebook or Flick.

Save:
You can use this to save files from your social media sites (for example, save the pictures you posted on Facebook). The only 2 social media sites you can do this for with the Seagate Dashboard are Facebook and Flickr. YouTube is not an option. I don't use Facebook or Flickr, so I couldn't test this. I am disappointed that saving files posted to my YouTube account was not an option.

Overall I would give the drive 3 stars. What I liked most was the size and speed - its small and very fast. I give the Dashboard software mixed reviews. The backup function seems to work great but the Share and Save options left something to be desired. I would have rated the drive higher if it hadn't been for the software. I just got the drive, so I can't speak for durability, but it seems like well built little drive.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Contains standard SATA version of Samsung M9T
By Chris Burston
I ordered one of these in the hope that it would contain the long anticipated 2TB 2.5" 9.5mm Samsung M9T hard disk. I'm happy to report that it does and that said drive has a standard SATA interface.

My MacBook Pro is now sitting pretty with 2TB of internal storage. Happy Days!

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