January 4, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 7:42 p.m. by President Chuck Horner. See Lola Hunter at the ticket table, for raffle tickets, door prize tickets, and 3” x 5” cards to write questions for discussion/answers at the end of the Meeting. Get at least one $5 raffle ticket for this month’s raffle prize, an 8” GiiNii GH-8DNM True Video Digital Picture Fram with 800 x 600 Resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio, real wood frame.
Sally Holt distributed a questionnaire soliciting input from attendees regarding the kind(s) of door prizes they’d like her to look for. She will send a copy to Elsie Smith to put into the Newsletter.
Presentation:
Fun new toys we got:
Chuck made a hands-free car holder for his smart phone. He took a Crystal Lite clear plastic container, and cut out the face, glued the lid on and added a couple of small bungee cords to attach it to his sun visor. He now has a hands-free holder for his phone that attaches to the sun
visor in front of his face, close to his mouth. He reports excellent reception.
Chuck made another device to enhance mobile communication: He found a small plastic box slightly larger than his GPS at Tap Plastics. He cut it to hold the GPS at a good viewing angle. Using sticky dots, he attaches it to his dashboard in his front view field. It looks like a business card holder and he keeps cards there so that the dashboard of his parked card does not look the home of electronic gear. Using a Gigaware expandable USB cable Chuck is able to connect his GPS to his car charger (formerly known as cigarette lighter), charging the GPS as he uses it instead of draining it. The charger has a dual USB port so at the same time he can charge up his Ray-O-Vac rechargable battery that has both iPhone and Android connectors. He’s never out of juice.
Bayle showed off her Fujifilm Finepix HS 30 EXR camera. The 30X zoom and 16 MP resolution help improve picture quality. Then members explored various features. It was noted that 30 X provides excellent zoom, but the focus is slow.
Sally Holt showed off her battery-operated Pelouze L01 letter opener. Using 2 AA batteries, it zips the edge off an envelope. Careful, or you can disassemble the contents of your mail while opening it. Sally reported that she uses her phone to download audio books. Using an SD card adapter she won at a PCC meeting, she transfers books to her phone from her computer.
Andrew Tews suggested downloading to an SD card in your computer, rather than a cabled USB download, which is much slower.
Several members reported on the incompatibility of magnets and digital gear. Keep your stuff away from magnets.
Andrew reported several Canon cameras repaired at no cost due to defective sensors.
Yorkman Lowe asked how to avoid getting a bad USB drive. Sandisk was reported to be a good brand. Verbatim also has a good design. Don Odle warned against defragging USB drives since that causes the drive to wear out.
Inexpensive SD cards may have a slow transfer speed, slowing down the time between pictures.
Yorkman has a Comcast internet account. He would like to replace their rented modem with one that he buys and owns outright. Comcast referred him to a model that he cannot find in local stores, but found another that the salesman said would work. Note that Comcast has updated its Docsis format in the past year and modems need to be compatible. Don suggested reading Amazon product reviews to get input about user experience regarding a specific piece of equipment.
Don reported buying telephoto and macro lenses for cell phone cameras. These clip-ons improve the effective range of these fixed cameras.
Chuck reported on a cool piece of technology that can recognize the sound of a spray can. The purpose is to abate graffiti.
Yorkman reported that GreenCitizen will buy back used Apple products. The address is 1971 Shattuck in Berkeley, phone 510-981-1900.
Drawings took place after the break. Congratulations to our winners.
Thank you to George Kornbluth for taking care of refreshments.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bayle Emlein, Secretary
