A Tale of Two Headsets

This post probably won’t be interesting unless you’re a Ham Radio operator, or really bored.

Heil ProsetThis is a story about two headsets – headphones with a boom microphone. Ham Radio operators use these for contesting and DXing or any time you’re using the radio while active and you don’t want to be stuck in front of a “normal” microphone. Because the microphone is mounted on the boom, it’s always near your mouth no matter how you move.

I first bought the Heil Proset many years ago for contest use. It has a special microphone that is tailored to voice frequencies and is supposed to increase intelligibility over SSB radio transmissions. It’s something that Bob Heil developed and has been one of his most successful products.

I used these all the time, preferring them to a desk microphone, but over the years, they got so they were showing their age. Continue Reading…

Pack it in

Google PackI mentioned Ninite a few posts ago as a useful site for setting up a newly installed operating system.

Google has a similar offering in it’s Google Pack. I was aware of it, but had never really looked at it. For some reason, I did today.

It’s similar in a lot of ways to Ninite, and offers a number of Google applications. But, since many of my favorite free applications do come from Google, it’s not a bad starting point. Continue Reading…

Lost in the Supermarket

cartYou said hello to me in the supermarket. It wasn’t just hello, it was more like you were just that close to running up and hugging me.

I hope I didn’t offend you. I circled back around hoping to find you again and apologize for not being able to place you, but it was too late, I didn’t see you again.

Was it a case of mistaken identity? Were you someone I should have known? Now, it’s 4am and I’m posting this on the internet instead of sleeping. I guess I’ll never know who you were…

[dewplayer:http://gritzmacher.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/The-Clash-Lost-In-The-Supermarket.mp3]

Artsy-fartsy speakers

Well, it wouldn’t be the holidays without a review of some over-hyped, excessively expensive stereo gear. I came across these speakers via a Twitter post from Patrick Norton, of Tekzilla-fame.

ceramicJoey Roth Ceramic Speakers

They sure are beautiful. I have to admit, they’re a work of art, but are they any good as speakers? Nothing I saw gave me any assurance – other than the spectacular looks – that they were out of the ordinary sound-wise.

So I dug into it. I wasn’t going to spend $495 to buy a set and see, so I looked for a review on the net. I found one at Boing-Boing. They didn’t exactly pan them, but they weren’t too enthusiastic either. They pretty much said what I suspected.

To be blunt, if you’re concerned about the existence of equally good-sounding gear at lower prices, you’re probably not the intended audience. The Ceramic Speakers are about marrying distinctive minimalist design with good quality and an open-minded approach to where in the home you stick them.

These are the perfect companion for your iPod. More style over substance at a premium price. The ignorance tax is in effect…

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