Product review: La Crosse Technology BC-700 Alpha Power Battery Charger

I purchased this La Cross battery charger in January 2014. It has been in daily use since the day I bought it. It is holding up well and continues to work well after this constant long term use. I like that it can charge an odd number of batteries, charging different types of batteries at the same time (e.g. AA and AAA).



The display for each battery shows the mAh of each battery so you can see when the battery is aging. It has a "refresh" feature that will bring dead rechargeable batteries back to life. Batteries without this feature just no longer charge them. This feature alone made the charger pay for itself as I was able to bring rejuvenate batteries back to life rather replace them. Refresh is a fairy long process (as needs to fully discharge the batteries and then re-charge them multiple times).



Summary: reliable over many years, clear display for each battery, very useful refresh function.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Pawtec Retractable Micro USB 2.0 A Male to Micro B Cable Extends to 3 Feet

This charging cable works well charging my Android phone at an optimal rate (based on current monitor measurements).  The retractable mechanism works well - I have been using the two cables I have since 2015 and both still retract and expand reliably.  Both cables are in daily use for this entire period.



The retractability of the cord is handy especially for my MP3 player with external speaker which I have permanently plugged into a power bank. This cord helped me got rid of the dangling wire. When the cord is extended to its back it is 36" long. To retract it from that position you need to yank on both end to trigger the retracting mechanism.



Current monitor results:

black cord: 1.02A / 5.05V (excellent)

white cord: 1.02A / 5.09V (excellent)

(for comparison this is on par with the best charging monitor result for this phone 1.00A/5V)





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Etekcity 1x2 HDMI Splitter / 2 Port Audio Video Amplifier HDCP Ver 1.3 Support 3D 1080P PS3 Xbox DVD Blu-ray

This splitter works fine with one cable connected to the TV and another connected to a projector. My only concern is that the splitter does get very warm when in use which is a concern for its longevity.



Note that this is a splitter, i.e. it takes one input (say a cable broadcast) and displays the image on two displays. If your TV has one HDMI port (input) and you want the TV display to show either a cable broadcast or an output from another device such as ROKU you want a switch not a splitter.

This splitter works fine with one cable connected to the TV and another connected to a projector. My only concern is that the splitter does get very warm when in use which is a concern for its longevity.



Note that this is a splitter, i.e. it takes one input (say a cable broadcast) and displays the image on two displays. If your TV has one HDMI port (input) and you want the TV display to show either a cable broadcast or an output from another device such as ROKU you want a switch not a splitter.



Ali Julia review



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: TelPal Call Blocker Display for Landline Phone with 1500 Number Capacity Block Robocalls , Telemarketing Calls, Junk Faxes and All Spam Calls

This call blocker works - i.e. once you block the number it is disconnected after one ring - but its user interface is difficult to use because it is not intuitive. Someone older or not computer savvy is not the right audience for this device. I tried showing my mother how to use this blocker as she complains about getting marketing calls every day and she got totally confused. The blocker's feedback on the display is numeric, not words. The manual is written in a broken English, not very detailed, so it does not provide clear instruction when someone is confused.



The second issue is that depending on how you hook up the blocker, you could lose caller id on your phone. There are two options for hook up - you can plug the call blocker into the wall, and hook up the phone to the blocker. Alternatively, you can put a splitter in the wall and have the phone and the blocker hooked up in parallel. I am using the parallel hook up because in this configuration I still get the caller id on the phone.



The unit displays the wrong time and day. The manual said that it will be set automatically, but I have not seen this happen. However, this information is not relevant to the blocker operation so I did not bother setting it manually. Setting it manually is cumbersome, you need to put the blocker into setting mode and then use the phone's key pad to do the setting of values.



TelPal documentation states that the blocker can block 1000 numbers.



On the positive side, the blocking does work. I recruited a friend to help me test the blocker. I was able to block the number and the next call disconnected after 1 ring. The caller was not told anything, it was just a hang up. After blocking the number I was able to see it listed on the blocked phone numbers list. Then I was able to delete it from the list. I show these three operations in attached video.



There are two ways to block calls. One is to push Blacklist button as the marking call is coming in another one is to enter the phone number by hand and save it. The number displayed on the unit does not show the caller id, so it is not easy to identify a marking call without picking up the phone or looking at another phone which shows the caller id.



Blocking a marketing calls gives me a lot of satisfaction. Just the fact that I am not helpless and can take some action has a great mental benefit.



This call blocking device is provided by TelPal for testing and review. This is not the best call blocker out there because of the difficult to use interface, but it does block calls.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Movo Photo MicRig

This is a review of Movo MicRig "Sevenoak".



The first thing you need to know is that to take advantage of this microphone your video camera should have an audio jack for an external microphone.  The grip comes with cables for two options audio jack or micro USB with audio.   My Canon Rebel SLR, SONY NEX5 (a mid size digital camera), and a GoPro clone do not have a port for an external mike.  My smartphone has a audio jack and I am using it in the videos I am included in this review.

The microphone runs on one AA battery, which is not included in the package.  The grip has 1/4-20 male screw. It has a large easy to tighten knob at the bottom.  The phone holder is probably the best phone holder I own, it holds tightly, adjusts easiy, and has very nice rubbery texture on the inside that grabs well to the phone case shell.



The controls for the microphone are on the grip.  It also has a cold shoe if one wanted to mount lights or other accessories.

The microphone grip is made out of sturdy plastic. It feels sturdy but is quite light weight, it  weighs 19 oz.



I thought it did a fairly good job,  The only issue I see there is a tiny, very tiny shift in an audio.  It is not always obvious but sometimes it is - you can see the lips of the singer being slightly out of sync with the sound (the sound is behind).



I let you be the judge by listening to two videos I shot using it. One video features a street percussion instruments, the other one a singer with a guitar.



Ali Julia review

Product review: Cat7 Shielded Ethernet Patch Cable 100ft Black

I am using this cable to run the connection from the server room on the second floor to the lower level in the house. Cat 7 cable is best for such long distances.



Before running the cable through the wall I ran several tests to test cable's reliability. I ran iPerf which is a Linux utility that measures TCP/IP bandwidth. I ran it in bidirectional mode for 60 seconds between two Linux systems via a 24 port switch. I used ethtool, which is the Linux Ethernet adapter configuration tool, to determine if any errors occurred and the test showed no errors. The cable works reliably. At the end of the review I am including the details from the tests for those who are interested in the details.



Some of my non-techie friends sometimes ask me if the length of the cable matters. In general CAT7 cables are rated for Gigabit Ethernet for over 100 meters, CAT6 is rated for 100 meters, CAT5E is fine for shorter distances such as 35 feet. However the longer the cable the higher are the chances of errors. TCP/IP protocol used over the Ethernet connection is written in such a way that it expects errors and corrects them so as an end user you are likely not to see any problems but correcting errors takes extra time. The general rule is that you want the shortest cable that will work for you.



CAT7 is designed for as a standard for Gigabit Ethernet over 100m. It is considered more durable and provides better shielding for its twisted pairs than CAT6.



One other thing I look for is the construction of the clip on the end of the cable. I like the clips with a catch to prevent snagging the clip and to reduce the chances of it being broken off accidentally. This cable has a nice catch, firm but not too firm that it is difficult to operate.



The package also includes four Velco strips and some hanging hardware.



This cable was provided for me for evaluation and running some Ethernet reliability tests. If this makes you skeptical about what I say examine my record and you will see that I have a long history leaving critical reviews when products deserve it. The bottom line is that the cable performed well in my tests.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★★★



Technical details from the cable reliability tests:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

iperf -t 60 -c servername -d

------------------------------------------------------------

Server listening on TCP port 5001

TCP window size: 85.3 KByte (default)

------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------

Client connecting to servername, TCP port 5001

TCP window size: 289 KByte (default)

------------------------------------------------------------

[ 5] local 192.168.1.6 port 47070 connected with 192.168.1.73 port 5001

[ 4] local 192.168.1.6 port 5001 connected with 192.168.1.73 port 51212

[ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth

[ 5] 0.0-60.0 sec 6.51 GBytes 931 Mbits/sec

[ 4] 0.0-60.0 sec 6.48 GBytes 928 Mbits/sec



On the Scientific Linux 6.8 system that is connected directly to the test cable,



ethtool -S eth1

NIC statistics:

tx_packets: 6197000

rx_packets: 5957289

tx_errors: 0

rx_errors: 0

rx_missed: 0

align_errors: 0

tx_single_collisions: 0

tx_multi_collisions: 0

unicast: 5956399

broadcast: 219

multicast: 671

tx_aborted: 0

tx_underrun: 0



On the Fedora 24 system that connects via the switch,



ethtool -S enp0s31f6

NIC statistics:

rx_packets: 6190843

tx_packets: 5947836

rx_bytes: 8560555338

tx_bytes: 8564916288

rx_broadcast: 407

tx_broadcast: 8

rx_multicast: 167

tx_multicast: 63

rx_errors: 0

tx_errors: 0

tx_dropped: 0

multicast: 167

collisions: 0

rx_length_errors: 0

rx_over_errors: 0

rx_crc_errors: 0

rx_frame_errors: 0

rx_no_buffer_count: 0

rx_missed_errors: 0

tx_aborted_errors: 0

tx_carrier_errors: 0

tx_fifo_errors: 0

tx_heartbeat_errors: 0

tx_window_errors: 0

tx_abort_late_coll: 0

tx_deferred_ok: 0

tx_single_coll_ok: 0

tx_multi_coll_ok: 0

tx_timeout_count: 0

tx_restart_queue: 0

rx_long_length_errors: 0

rx_short_length_errors: 0

rx_align_errors: 0

tx_tcp_seg_good: 125498

tx_tcp_seg_failed: 0

rx_flow_control_xon: 0

rx_flow_control_xoff: 0

tx_flow_control_xon: 0

tx_flow_control_xoff: 0

rx_csum_offload_good: 6190756

rx_csum_offload_errors: 0

rx_header_split: 0

alloc_rx_buff_failed: 0

tx_smbus: 0

rx_smbus: 0

dropped_smbus: 0

rx_dma_failed: 0

tx_dma_failed: 0

rx_hwtstamp_cleared: 0

uncorr_ecc_errors: 0

corr_ecc_errors: 0

tx_hwtstamp_timeouts: 0

Product review: Aluminum External DVD Drive USB 3.0 Ultra Slim Portable CD Player Burner CD/DVD-ROM by Smallcar

This a nice looking slim external DVD drive. It comes with a power cord and a data port, both plug in to separate USB port of the computer. Documentation states that you should not run it from a USB hub, which means you have to make sure you have two free USB port on the computer or laptop.



I tested the DVD speed by doing a copy the same DVD using a built in DVD reader and Smallcar external DVD reader.  The external DVD was significantly slower.  The copy on internal DVD took 15 minutes, the copy on external DVD took 45 minutes.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: SoundPEATS Bluetooth Speaker Portable

In the Bluetooth mode this speaker will not blast you out your seat but it produces good sound at a normal listening volume. The sound is clean and clear, each instrument is distinguishable, the sound is not muddy, and handles base reasonably well for a speaker of this size. 



The speaker works both a Bluetooth speaker as well as connected with an audio cable. I thought it was somewhat louder when it was in a Bluetooth mode using the maximum volume setting on both the speaker and the phone.

To test various speakers I use Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I like using because it has several passages in the beginning of the fugue which many speakers cannot handle - some speakers crackles others generate distortions, but this speaker handled it very well. In my video I included a short snippet of music so you can get a better idea of how it sounds.



The speaker is 6.5" tall and 2.5" wide. Its weight is 1 pounds 0.5 oz.





Pretty nice speaker overall.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★★

Product review: LAPA key finder

There are things about LAPA key finder that I like, but also it has some shortcomings.



On the positive side it is small, thin, and light. You make it beep by using an app on your phone. I have other finders that beep when you press a button their special remote.  They are bigger and are more cumbersome to carry on the key chain.



On the negative side I have doubts about the experience level of LAPA engineers in web security. I am a software engineer with a lot of experience in security. There were several things that I did not like.  First, the documentation told the user to load an app not from Google Play but from their web site.  This is unsafe. I would never load any application that has not gone through the scan by Google Play store or Amazon app store.  To my surprise, the app to control LAPA is in Google Play store, so the fact that instruction do not lead the end user to Google Play is even more surprising.  I loaded the app from Google Play.



The second thing that concerned me that when I created my password with letters, numbers, and special characters (i.e. a good strong password) I received an error that only letters and numbers can be used.  This is bad! A company with engineers that have experience in security would never put such restrictions on passwords.  Usually the restrictions are the other way - you can't create a password without adding at least one special character.  In the world where every site is constantly under attack from hackers the users are not as well protected as they should be.  Make sure you don't use real words as passwords, use gibberish that would make it more difficult to attack with a dictionary style guessing.

I hoped I could use the key finder as a GPS tracker for my car. I hid LAPA in my car and then tried to see if I can display its location on the map when it was far away from me.  Unfortunately that did not work unless I was within 100 feet from the car.  Within 100 feet from the car it does show the location of the car on the map. Unfortunately, the map is shown in a small circle so it is hard to identify.  the map cannot be zoomed in our zoomed out to get a better idea of where it is or zoomed it to get more details of the area.  So it is only marginally useful.



Bottom line?  I think LAPA has a lot of potential, but in the current implementation it has shortcomings.  I am giving it a 3 star rating with several asterix - do not load app from any site other than GooglePlay, overcome password shortcoming by using complex random string of letters and numbers that does not form any real words.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Surge Protector, Firstbuy 3200 Joules SurgePlus Power Strip Power Socket

This strip has 6 tightly packed outlets and one outlet that is spaced out so I can plug in a large plug or charger.  In attached photos I show how several different plugs fit on this power strip to give you a better idea of the spacing. The strip is 9 3/4" long, 4" wide and 1 1/4" high. It has holes on the back for hanging (both vertically and horizontally).



In addition to AC outlets it also has 5 USB outlets.  I measured each of them with USB power meter and both my Android and Apple devices had good reading. Android phone charged at its optimal rate, the iPadMini was not optimal but pretty decent.  Attached photos show the actual readings for those who are interested in the details.



This power strip offers surge protection. In order to tell the difference between a power strip and a surge protector, you have to look for an electric rating.  A surge protector will have a rating in Joules of energy, as well as the maximum voltage it can take from a power spike.   These numbers can appear either on the box or the strip itself.  I prefer them to be on the strip but this this strip has on the box.  If  you get a power surge the strip should be replaced, it can only protect one time.



This power strip is not UL listed.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Rii K18 Wireless Keyboard With build-in Large Size Touchpad Mouse

This is a compact wireless keyboard from Rii.  Its size is 12.75" long x 4.75" wide x 5/8" thick.

It weighs only 10.8 oz.  I tested it with my Android TV, Windows laptop, and Linux desktop.  All three worked right out of the box, no special drivers were needed.

The keys have a very low profile. I am a touch typist and found that I make a few more mistakes than my regular keyboard.  The spacing of the keys is comfortable, but something about their height makes me miss the right character every now and then.  Not of often but enough to notice it.  The touch pad works very well, it is sensitive and accurate.  The keyboard is solidly built, I accidently dropped it on the wood floor and the keyboard survived without any issues.

The keyboard is rechargeable. It has a 6.5" built in cable micro USB cable and a separate cable for 17" extension.  I do not like this because both of them are short. I would have preferred to use my own long micro USB cable. It would have been nice if the build-in cable would be removable, so I can use it or replace it with a long cable of my own.

The on/off label is on the top of the keyboard, but the switch itself is on the side.  It took me a few minutes to find it, because even the documentation show the top of the keyboard when it indicates where the switch is.

Overall, this keyboard has pluses and minuses which I highlighted in this review. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆