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Airthings Radon detector, Wisenet Smartcam, Guardzilla 360 camera, and more – Review updates

REVIEW UPDATES – Do you ever wonder what happens after we post a product review? Do we immediately stop using the product because it breaks? Or do we continue to use it for years and even decades? To answer those questions, we periodically like to update our past reviews with new information. Check out our latest review updates by clicking on the review links below and then scrolling to the bottom of the page to read the newest dated updates.

Renogy 10,000mAh Solar Panel Water Resistant Power Bank review by Andy Jacobs

VentiFresh small space air purifier review by Julie Strietelmeier

Airthings Wave smart radon detector review by Julie Strietelmeier

Baseus Wireless Charging Gravity Car Mount review by Smythe Richbourg

PadMate PaMu wireless earphones review by Smythe Richbourg

FluidStance Bamboo Level balance board review by Smythe Richbourg

Wisenet SmartCam D1 video doorbell review by Smythe Richbourg

Master & Dynamic MW60 wireless and MW50 wireless headphones review By Bill Henderson

Guardzilla 360 Outdoor All-In-One HD Camera review by Mike Dixon

ANTOP AT-125B Indoor Antenna and AT-400BV Indoor/Outdoor Antenna review By Kathleen Chapman

Oittm Smart Touch Switch and Smart Plug Socket review By Kathleen Chapman

Expert Shield Screen Protector review By Kathleen Chapman

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Airthings Radon detector, Wisenet Smartcam, Guardzilla 360 camera, and more – Review updates originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 11, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker review

REVIEW – Here’s a neat one for you. Today we’re testing a combination immersion blender and smoothie maker from Gourmia, designed to make your life a wee bit easier. It’s hand held. It multitasks. It has a Turbo button (heh-heh!). How does it go? Let’s blend!

What is it?

It’s a combination handheld blender with two attachments: one for an immersion blender, and one that enables you to blend a smoothie directly in the supplied sports bottle.

Hardware specs

  • 3.5” by 2.5” by 18.5”
  • 1.5 pounds
  • 5 speed + turbo blending speeds
  • Stainless steel rod & blades
  • 3 foot long power chord
  • 120V-60Hz, 300 W
  • ETL Listed

What’s in the box?

The package includes the base handheld unit, the immersion blender attachment, the smoothie maker attachment, and a BPA-free sports bottle with a lid.

Design and features

The Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker is a two-in-one device that, as the name implies, performs two common kitchen tasks in one handheld package. The base unit contains the motor, while supplied attachments execute blending operations.

The blender has some nice heft to it and integrates rubberized grips for confident handling. You’ll find the power and turbo  (heh-heh!) buttons positioned on the barrel of the base with a speed setting dial on the end cap. Both the dial and buttons are big with soft-touch surfaces. It’s very easy to manage even if you have wet hands.

The immersion blender attachment is a one-piece stainless steel unit that snaps onto the base. Pop it in, and you’re ready to reap havoc upon your soups and sauces. A wave pattern in the blade cover allows you to slide the unit across the bottom of the bowl without damaging your pan or bowl while enabling the free flow of material when you crank it up.

I put this blender to work on a pasta sauce I made last weekend. I sautéed onions and garlic in the pot first, the threw in a heaping helping of rough-cut tomatoes with some fresh basil from the garden… seeds, skins and all. After a few minutes of simmering, I put the beast to work. It obliterated the contents to a nice purée in about 90 seconds.

The wave pattern on the base does enable the blender to generate some liquid flow in the pot, but you’ll need to plunge it a few times to get the bigger stuff churned up.

I was pretty impressed with the results. Everything was puréed to a nice even consistency, with no bits of tomato skin or partially-chewed basil leaves to be had. The placement of the dials at the top of the barrel makes it easy to adjust your controls in-flight. Nicely done.

Let’s talk about the Turbo mode (heh-heh!) for a moment. When you run into something that is a mite too tough to blend with the six normal speeds, you pop the Turbo button. It’s not just a little higher than the highest setting… it’s like turning it up to 11 (the dial only goes to six). It’s got mad power. I blasted it once or twice with the Turbo mode to eradicate offensive chunky bits. It does generate a lot of froth, but it’s wonderfully satisfying and effective.

Cleaning is a snap. The attachments click into the base, and are released by pressing these stubs on either side of the unit:

Because the immersion blender attachment is stainless steel, a quick rinse is pretty much all you’ll need to get the job done. You can submerge the whole piece, and leave it out to dry.

The smoothie attachment works kind of like a hand-held version of the Magic Bullet, if you’re familiar with that blender. The blades are in the cap. You’ll add your ingredients to the smoothie bottle, screw on the cap, then attach it to the blender base.

You’ll then invert the whole thing, holding it like a torch, and fire it up. It’s a bit tall and awkward, so you’ll want to use both hands to keep it stable (and vertical) during operation:

The Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker motor is rated at 300 watts. Not huge power, but the blades sit almost flush against the base and have good speed. This means you’ll get uniform blending for the most part. You’ll find ice chips in your smoothie and some larger chunks of frozen stuff, but it’s no worse than other blenders at this power level. Try the Turbo (heh-heh!) to zap those annoying bits.

The smoothie bottle comes with a cap (including a lanyard) so you can take your drink on the go. It’s a solid if basic, bottle combination. If you’re moving quickly to get out the door in the morning, you’ll find this handy.

One huge benefit of the smoothie design, like the Magic Bullet, is that the blade is completely accessible and easy to clean. It’s also easy to clean quickly, too, since you are blending into your to-go cup. Just rinse the cap and off you go. Nice convenience.

What I like

  • Immersion blender has good power and works smoothly
  • Simple operation
  • Easy to clean
  • Adjustable speeds plus Turbo mode obliterate most materials
  • Makes fine smoothies, even with ice cubes

What needs to be improved

  • Smoothie mode can be a bit awkward and requires both hands
  • Will leave some small chunks of ice or frozen fruit in your smoothie

Final thoughts

I think this is a smart multitasker. I’d buy it for the immersion blender alone, but you don’t use that every day in the kitchen. The added smoothie maker brings a nice daily use to the device. The smoothie making method may be a bit awkward, but easy cleaning and blending right into your to-go cup are great convenience features. Construction looks solid. I’m also seeing pricing on Amazon as low as $29.99. It looks like a winning combo to me!

Price: $29.99
Where to buy: Get it on Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Gourmia

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Gourmia Hand Held Immersion Blender and Smoothie Maker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 11, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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These lightbulbs are works of art

NEWS – Normally, I wouldn’t write about these lightbulbs because they have virtually no information with the listing.  However, they are so beautiful, I did it anyway.  The Speed Warp lightbulbs appear to fit normal lamp sockets.  They seem to have internal fibers that make the bulbs look like the special effects used for hyperspace in Star Wars movies.

The Speed Warp bulbs are available in five styles for $19.00 each at GiftTheGalaxy.

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These lightbulbs are works of art originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 11, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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ALC Wireless AWS3377 Full HD 1080p Surveillance System with 7″ Touch Screen Monitor and 2 Weatherproof Cameras review


REVIEW – When it comes to security around my home, I always like to have as many cameras as possible that cover as much of the immediate surroundings as possible. These days, most events criminal or not are captured by someone’s camera. It is even nicer when the cameras are capable fo really clear and crisp images/video, and include the ability to record locally as well as cloud-based. ThALC Wireless AWS3377 Full HD 1080p Surveillance System seems to offer similar features, so let’s see how things turned out.

What is it?

ALC Wireless AWS3377 Full HD 1080p Surveillance System with 7″ Touch Screen Monitor and 2 Weatherproof Cameras is exactly as this title states. It basically allows you to configure and view your cameras both locally via the included monitor or remotely via the app. Recording capabilities are included.

What’s in the box


1 x HD Monitor
2 x HD Cameras (AWS3377)
1 x Ethernet Cable
3 x AC Adapters
2 x Camera Brackets
3 x Antennas
2 x Screw/Anchor Kits
2 x Security Window Stickers
3 x Quick Setup Guides (English, French, Spanish)
1 x Warranty Leaflet
1 x 8GB micro SD card with SD adapter

Design and features

Overview of specs:

  • 65-ft Night Vision – 6 surface-mounted high-power Infrared LEDs allow you to view potential security risk to your family or business, even in the dark.
  • 4 Channel Full HD 1080p video to the 7” Touchscreen Monitor, Phone or Tablet.
  • Email Alerts and Push Notifications – the free Observer HD app sends alerts to your smartphone or tablet when your camera has detected an “event”.
  • On-Board Recording – Capture and record video to SD card so there is no need for expensive services to store your recordings. (8GB SD card included, maximum capacity up to 128GB)
  • USB port allows the connection of a portable hard drive for scheduled or continuous recordings.

ALC AWS3377 Observer HD Full HD 1080p 4-Channel 7” Touch Screen, Wireless Surveillance System with two Weatherproof Cameras is a security solution for your home or your business. Installation is very easy, and since the cameras arrive already paired with the monitor, it is a simple DIY project. The system is expandable to 4 cameras and offers Full HD 1080p live and recorded video. The system is completely wireless, so there are no cables to run in between the cameras and the monitor. Just plug your cameras into AC power and you are good to go. You can view your live cameras, playback, and recordings on the 7” touchscreen monitor. You can view your cameras remotely from anywhere in the world via the free ALC Observer App with your Android or Apple iOS device.

The front of the monitor has a 7″ touchscreen and an approximately 1/2″ bezel with a wireless signal indicator and a power indicator on the top front bezel. On the back of the monitor, there is a power button on the top left rear and an antenna jack on the top right rear. In the middle raised section, there is a network jack, a USB port, a speaker and the stand.


On one side of the monitor, there is the reset port, a micro SD card slot, and the power jack.

On the front of the camera, there is a light sensor and infrared LEDs behind a glass long with a power status LED and a link status LED. On the 2 opposite long sides of the camera body are 2 mounting holes, and on the back, there is the antenna jack, a pairing button, and the fixed power cable. There is also a built-in mic that is not very visible even to the naked eye.


The picture below on the left shows the monitor displaying one camera with the possibility of adding 3 additional cameras. On the right is the picture of the camera mounted on the wall.


Performance

Right out of the box, this system gives the impression of being a well-built system, and it does not disappoint. The cameras come already paired with the monitor and they immediately communicate with each other once powered on. I placed one camera in my home, and I plan to set up the second camera outdoors. I have not yet set up the outdoor camera because I live in a building on a higher floor and I need to take care of some additional logistics first. I have not experienced any connectivity or latency issues between the monitor and the camera, nor any with the DVR process and performance. The monitor includes a SD card slot that can take a card up to 128GB for recording and a USB port that can accommodate up to a 2TB hard drive for long-term recording. Here are some manufacturer recommendations:

  • It is recommended to use a 2TB HDD drive for long-term use.
  • The max USB power for an HDD/Flash drive is 5V/1000mA. Use an external power supply for the
    drive if it is more.
  • Format the drive/SD Card before using

The monitor is a touchscreen monitor and you can use the setup function by touching the screen or by plugging a mouse into the USB port at the back. (This is according to the manufacturer, but I used the touch screen method). The following is a stock photo of the monitor screen and the settings tab. As seen in the photo, settings include the ability to individually setup preferences for each of 4 possible cameras, the ability to change the view from single to double to quad, to change the audio preferences, to change the on-screen status display information, etc.

The camera has built-in infrared LEDs for viewing at night. The LEDs will automatically activate at night and the picture being viewed will turn to black and white. The night viewing range is up to 40 feet.
You can also set up motion detection, motion sensitivity and motion area to trigger recordings.

The monitor does require constant AC power for operation, and a wired Ethernet connection for remote access/viewing. While there are available devices from various manufacturers that can make the network connection wireless, the required power option makes this monitor one that has to be placed in a fixed position. I did reach out to ALC Support regarding the availability of a monitor with a rechargeable battery that would make the monitor mobile, and here was the response:

“the AWS3377 does not have a battery inside. We tried to fit a battery inside during development but it would only get about an hour of power – without the hard drive recording. If we hook up the hard drive to it, then it runs out even quicker. This product supports 1080p (1920×1080) so components tend to drain more power. In our previous version, the battery could hold about 3 hours of power, but it was only recording at VGA (640×480) and it does not have external hard drive support. ”

App

Once you download the ALC Observer HD app, you follow the on-screen instructions and scan the QR code on the back of the monitor. The camera is automatically added and you then just need to enter the admin password that you would have created during the initial setup process. Once the camera is added, you select it on your phone/tablet, and the following 2 screens give you access to the video stream for up to 4 cameras. The screen on the left is first, and once you touch the play button on the bottom toolbar, the screen on the right shows with your live cameras. ( Again, for this test I only have one camera installed.)


When in low light or darkness, the images are very clear but show in black and white. When there is adequate light, they show just as clear but in color.


What I like

  • The quality of the build of the cameras and monitor
  • The quality of the camera images even in the dark
  • The Wireless capability of the system

What can be improved

  • This monitor for this model does not have any capability to be mobile
  • This model does not allow integration with their security systems like their Connect Plus system.
  • There is no built-in or removable battery for portability
  • There is no chime or notification for the door and window sensors

Final thoughts

ALC Wireless AWS3377 Full HD 1080p Surveillance System with 7″ Touch Screen Monitor is a really nice surveillance system that offers very crisp and clear audio and video monitoring, along with good DVR functionality. The ability to add up to a 2TB USB drive for recording is absolutely great and provides for a nice look back period. The cameras are well built and the monitor is great for viewing. However, from my perspective, the limitations of not having mobility with the monitor even though the reasons have been explained by ALC, make this system specifically applicable to scenarios where the viewing location if fixed. While this is likely perfect for businesses, I would like to be able to take the monitor into my basement and have a live view of the cameras. I can do so with my phone or tablet, but I would prefer to do so with the included monitor. Since this is just a personal preference and not a dealbreaker, I definitely give this system a thumbs up!!

Price: $349.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ALC Wireless.

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ALC Wireless AWS3377 Full HD 1080p Surveillance System with 7″ Touch Screen Monitor and 2 Weatherproof Cameras review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 10, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Florence is headed this way, and my thoughts have turned to emergency preparedness

NEWS – Here in North Carolina, we’ve experienced way too many hurricanes coming ashore over the years.  Florence seems to headed our way right now, and it’s time to think about laying in supplies in case we experience power outages and disturbances in other services.  The SolarPuff light would be a good light to have on hand in case of such emergencies, or it would be great to use for camping and other outdoor activities.

The SolarPuff is made of water-resistant and recyclable PET, so it’s suitable for indoor or outdoor use.  The small cube weighs 2.6 ounces and folds down to only 0.25″ thick, and it can be hung on a backpack with the solar panel exposed to charge the batteries.  Opened up, the SolarPuff can light up a 100 ft² room.  It has three modes: low, high, and flashing emergency light.  You can expect up to 12 hours of light from batteries that have had 12 hours of charging time.

It’s available in a soft-white version or a bright white version.  Each is $29.99 at Amazon.

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Florence is headed this way, and my thoughts have turned to emergency preparedness originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 10, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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