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Atwood Rope MFG Micro Cord Dispenser and Tactical Rope Dispenser

Hand holding Mini TRD to show scale

NEWS – Atwood Rope MFG of Winchester, Ohio has recently introduced a Micro Cord Dispenser (Mini TRD) to compliment their Tactical Rope Dispenser (TRD). The Tactical Rope Dispenser hold standard 550 paracord, while the Micro Cord Dispenser holds 3/64″ (1.18 mm) cord. Both of the dispensers come loaded with a full spool of appropriately-sized cord and are refillable with your choice of cord. Both allow you to carry and easily dispense and cut cord using built-in cutters.

Atwood Micro Cord Dispenser

The Micro Cord Dispenser checks in 3.25″ long by 2.35″ high by 1.5″ thick and will hold a spool of either Atwood Rope’s micro or nano cord.

If you elect for the micro cord, you will have up to 125′ of cord at your disposal while you can carry up to 300′ of the nano cord. Atwood Rope offers over 15 different patterns and types of cord for the Micro Cord Dispenser including glow-in-the-dark, reflective, and Aramid / Kevlar (r) and can be reloaded in seconds. A built-in cord holder and cutter allow you to dispense and cut the small cord as easily as using a tape dispenser. The cord holder prevents the cord from unspooling during and between uses. The Mini TRD also sports a molded loop which may be used to secure your dispenser. The Mini TRD comes in black and has an MSRP of $12.99

The larger Tactical Rope Dispenser comes fully loaded with 50′ of 550 paracord. The TRD has a heavy-duty belt loop on the back and a loop for securing it to your gear using a piece of cording. The TRD is approximately 4.2″ long by 4″ high by 2.7″ thick.

Atwood Rope MFG Tactical Rope Dispenser in Flat Dark Earth
Atwood Rope MFG Tactical Rope Dispenser in Flat Dark Earth
Clear shell version of Atwood Rope MFG Tactical Rope Dispenser
Atwood Tactical Rope Dispenser Clear showing paracord spool
FDE Tactical Rope Dispenser showing belt clip
FDE Tactical Rope Dispenser showing belt clip

Like its smaller brother, the TRD has a cord management clip and built-in cutter to allow for easy dispensing. If the TRD is worn using the belt clip, dispensing and cutting paracord can be performed one-handed. A handy viewing window on the front of the case allows you to check how much cord is left on the spool.

Close up of TRD cord clip and integrated cutting blade
Close-up of TRD cord clip and integrated cutting blade

The Tactical Rope Dispenser will hold 50′ of 550 paracord and may be reloaded. The process of loading the TRD is much more involved than that of the Mini TRD and will take minutes rather than seconds. The Tactical Rope Dispenser is available in 12 color choices, including black, safety orange, red, flat dark earth, glow-in-the-dark, and multiple camouflage options. Prices for the TRD range from $19.95 to $29.95 depending on the type of shell.

The TRD and Mini TRD are available at retailers nationwide like Amazon and from Atwood Rope MFG’s website at atwoodrope.com.

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Atwood Rope MFG Micro Cord Dispenser and Tactical Rope Dispenser originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 8, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Look brighter in your video chats or vlogs with Lume Cube AIR VC

NEWS – Have you ever tried to video chat with someone, post live on Facebook or shoot a vlog, only to find that the video is muddy and dull because there simply wasn’t enough ambient light? Lume Cube, a provider of lightweight, portable lighting solutions has a solution with the Lume Cube AIR VC lighting kit for video conferencing.

The kit comes with a suction cup mount that allows you to attach the light to phones, laptops, desktop monitors, tablets – essentially anything with a smooth surface.  Beyond the suction cup mount, it can also be mounted to any standard tripod mount or attached to any magnetic surface.

It comes with two different diffusers.  The first, a white diffuser, softens the harshness of the light and provides bright white light.  The second, a yellowish warming diffuser, provides more flattering light for faces. The light is daylight balanced at 5600K, provides a 60-degree beam angle and 400 lux brightness at 100% power. For reference, 300-500 lux is typical for assembly halls and retail space, so at 400 lux, this light will provide sufficient light for a well-lit video call.

The difference between using ambient room light and adding supplemental lighting makes a dramatic difference in the quality of your video.  This is important for vloggers trying to build an audience, remote workers making a video call to the office and parents trying to provide a quality experience when the grandkids are FaceTiming with grandparents.

At 1.6″ x 1.6″ x 1.1″ and two ounces, the light is small and easy to carry.  Its non-replaceable lith-ion polymer battery has a claimed runtime of 2.5 hours at 50% brightness and 30-45 minutes at full brightness.  Controls for power and the four lighting levels are handled via a single button or via Bluetooth through the Lume-X app. A micro USB cable is included, but you have to use your own charger or simply use your laptop or PC USB port to recharge the light.

Lume Cube AIR VC is available directly from Lume Cube or Apple for $79.95.

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Look brighter in your video chats or vlogs with Lume Cube AIR VC originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 8, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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The Grovemade Apple Watch Dock is tech that doesn’t look like tech

NEWS – Most charging docks available today for the Apple Watch are either too gadgety or too techy looking. The new Grovemade Apple Watch Dock is a fresh, elegant option for charging your Apple Watch. This disk-shaped charger forgoes the plastic that many chargers use for more elegant materials. The top of the dock is made of a soft and smooth natural cork. While the base is made from 1/4-inch brushed steel, giving the dock some heft, so it stays put. The design also does a great job of cleverly hiding that ugly bright white charging puck. When laid flat the Apple Watch magnetically snaps into charging position when placed on the center of the dock.

Each Grovemade dock is made one at a time by a single person who takes the product from start to finish.

The dock comes in either Light or Dark and is currently available at the introductory pricing of $50 and $60 respectively.

The black cork (Dark model) is actually hand-stained with Japanese calligraphy ink which accounts for it being $10 more in price.

For more info or to purchase the Grovemade Apple Watch Dock head over to their website. 

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The Grovemade Apple Watch Dock is tech that doesn’t look like tech originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 7, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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Vroom-vroom becomes shhh-shhh with Harley-Davidson’s Livewire all-electric motorcycle

NEWS – Harley-Davidson is jumping into the electric vehicle fray with their new Livewire, all-electric motorcycle. Offering stomach-into-your-spine acceleration of a claimed 0-60 MPH under 3.5 seconds, the Livewire is expected to offer great, albeit nearly silent performance. With an estimated range of 110 miles on a full change, this bike is more of a whisper-quiet city cruiser than a roaring open highway tourer. One benefit of electric vehicles is that 100% of their torque is available instantly.  Rather than having to wait for an engine to spin up to get your go-fast-now feeling, you get it with a flick of the wrist, now, now, now. After driving a Chevrolet Volt for over four years, I can tell you that electric vehicle acceleration is something you need to experience to understand. Couple that with a new lightweight frame and the Livewire should feel like a performance motorcycle. It will also offer a new 4.3″ touchscreen display for vehicle status, music and navigation. Of course, you will be able to add on lots of Harley-Davidson accessories to personalize everything.

Harley-Davidson provides multiple charging methods.  The Livewire has a built-in Level 1 charger, allowing you to plug in to any 110V socket to recharge. You should get about 13 miles charge per hour, or a full charge in about 8.5 hours. You can also plug into any publically available Level 3 DC Fast Charge station. Level 3 charges much faster at 192 miles of charge per hour, so a full charge should take about 35 minutes or less.  The Livewire can also be charged on the more widely available public Level 2 charging network, although it will only charge at the slower Level 1 rate.

The Livewire will offer a very connected experience via the Harley-Davidson app.  The app will report location, battery status and alert the user if the bike is bumped or moved. The service is free for the first year with a subscription fee after that.

Purchasers will have three color choices, vivid black (above), yellow fuse or orange fuse.

The Livewire is available now for pre-order starting at $29,799 with anticipated deliveries in August 2019.  For more information check out the Livewire page at Harley-Davidson.com.

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Vroom-vroom becomes shhh-shhh with Harley-Davidson’s Livewire all-electric motorcycle originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 7, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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The wandrd Travel Journal is packed with useful features for travelers

NEWS – We’ve been very blessed to have taken some nice family vacation of varying duration and in different parts of the world.  Two aspects of these trips that would have been nice to have a good place to record information are the planning prior to the trip and journaling during the trip itself.  I wish I’d known about the wandrd Travel Journal a few years back, because I’d have certainly used one.  It’a an 8″ x 5″ book with a soft-touch, hardbound cover, 240 pages of 100 GSM paper, three bookmark ribbons, an integrated pen slot, elastic strap closure, and a pocket for keepsakes.  But those are just the tip of the iceberg.  It also has space for 12 trips of varying durations (3 long, 3 medium, 6 short), and each trip’s allotted space includes pages for planning, itineraries, pre-trip checklists, maps and travel logs.  There is also a fold-out world map, universal communications symbols section, and tear-out notecards.  The wandrd Travel Journal is available in Black and Yellow for $35 each.  Note that wandrd also has a blank, grid-page Notebook version in the same two cover colors for $25.  Wander over to wandrd.com for more info or to order.

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The wandrd Travel Journal is packed with useful features for travelers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 6, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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