I know we had this discussion here before but could not find in archives what is a good radio for the job site is the Bosch any good.
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Best of all is the radio that is left at HOME!!!
Copy that!!!! You want music, go to the Disco! I'm half deaf and can't hear sh*t with radio's blaring. Why am I half deaf? ITS THE POWER TOOLS.
I can barely hear you ... ;-)
I also suffer from extensive hearing loss.
Just to stubborn as a stupid young guy to wear the proper safety equipment, listened to all the old timers tell me only wimps wear that stuff.
Now I regret it.
But radios .. they are a PITA and banned unless I am by myself and need something to quiet the racket between my own ears.
SPEAK UP, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!
Yea, same story. Never wore safety glasses either, but thankfully never had an accident. There was some disscusion about me being the safety rep. on site. After I started to undress and relate the horrific story that went with each scar, the idea was nixed. Now that I'm just a supervisor, I'm hoping to stay in one piece.
I will admit listening to a few ballgames on the radio, but I was alone and its better than talking to yourself.
ditto..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Listening to Great Music at work...all day...is one of the best perks of being self-employed!I thoroughly enjoy jammin' the day away to an eclectic mix of Jazz, Blues, and Rock.Tunes infuse my carpentry with creativity and passion!I think you NO RADIOS people are culturally and spiritually bankrupt!
I think you NO RADIOS people are culturally and spiritually bankrupt!
but more atuned to what is going on around us...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
yep, like my Dad used to say:..." become one with what you are doing ..."
--"more atuned to what is going on around us..."I contend otherwise. It is easy people to daydream or be lost in their thoughts or generally distracted by conversation or any number of things. Music can minimize those and keep people alert and focused on their work (it works that way for me).Music certainly improves my productivity and I would add quality and creativity are enhanced as well. I have a music filled jobsite and I would not have it any other way.I pity you and your sonicly barren, dreary little world.
Edited 3/14/2007 8:52 pm ET by basswood
dreary and baren it isn't...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Music certainly improves my productivity and I would add quality and creativity are enhanced as well. I have a music filled jobsite and I would not have it any other way.
I couldn't agree more with you. It's like anything else in life... moderation is key. You can't be a jackazz and crank Howard Stern in a client's kitchen, but there's plenty of stations of good inspiring music that can be played at moderate levels on a jobsite. I know for a fact that music can often improve morale and increase production with my crew. I too, wouldn't have it any other way.
Every single time, without fail, that someone asks about job-radios, the discussion inevitably digresses into this one instead. A guy asks which radio to buy and 25 people use the opportunity to tell fish tales about all the radio's they've destroyed in their attempts to keep their job site 'professional'. LOL... yeah nothing says "I'm a pro" like throwing a temper tantrum and throwing a radio off the roof or stomping it into freshly poured concrete. Gimme a break. Lotsa big talk on the internet.
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>>>>>>>>>Lotsa big talk on the internet.Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. If I had a quarter for every asswipe I've heard claim he's cut the cord off of somebody's jobsite radio I could buy the internet. Don't recall ever seeing a radio with the cord cut off of it, either.http://logancustomcopper.com
http://grantlogan.net/
"We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?"
The internet is for sale? I'll go halfers with you.
They won't sell you a gun if you are crying.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
>>>>>>>I'll go halfers with you.It's not for sale. But if we each got a quarter for every time somebody claimed they cut the cord off somebody else's radio we could still buy it.Year's ago, when I was a foreman for the company Dale, Josh, and I used to work for, I had a summer laborer who quit one day after I sent him to the dump for the third time that day (he had to hand unload- we didn't have a dump truck at the time). He came to me and said he thought maybe he could find a better summer job and thanked me for the opportunity. I said I didn't blame him, but since he had no tools or skills, that was all I had for him to do.Several years latter, I was at the races at Keeneland with the carpentry foreman who was on that job and we ran into the kid (I can't think of his name) who had just passed his bar exam. He bought me a beer and said after that day, he'd studied 10x as hard as before. After we parted company, Fred, the carpentry foreman, who hadn't heard the discussion I'd had with the guy, blurted out, "Yeah, I remember that guy. Had to fire him when he wouldn't unload the trash truck". He never had anything to do with the kid's departure. Funny how people get to be a badass after the fact.http://logancustomcopper.com
http://grantlogan.net/
"We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?"
Oh yea. Everybody's a tough guy when they aren't having to stare down the barrel.
They won't sell you a gun if you are crying.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
>>>>Everybody's a tough guy when they aren't having to stare down the barrel.Yeah, but they scream like little girls when you're shoving them into a woodchipper................http://logancustomcopper.com
http://grantlogan.net/
"We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?"
True Dat.
They won't sell you a gun if you are crying.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
that last paragraph says it all!
Christ whats with some of these guys, they claim that there are 6 different radios going on at the same time with 6 different stations. I've never seen anything like that and I've been around as many worksites as anybody else.
Try working around mature people, if you come to work and someone already has a radio station on try listining to it, you might here something you like, even Rush says something right by accident!
I dont believe I have ever seen anybody break a radio on a site, ever! I think a lot of dreaming/wishful thinking going on around here.
A person can be anything they want on the net!!!
Doug
yeah nothing says "I'm a pro" like throwing a temper tantrum and throwing a radio off the roof or stomping it into freshly poured concrete. Gimme a break. Lotsa big talk on the internet....................... Gee just when i was gonna come up with a big story how i smashed a radio, I wuz gonna sound real macho and tough to;)
Moderation is definitely key- if there's important communications going on at the site, the radio should get turned way down.
Worth noting that the homeowners where I'm working have on a couple occasions commented favorably upon my choice of music/radio station. I think it makes them comfortable to have someone listening to jazz and bluegrass and news working on their house.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Well,
I concede the correctness of your statement about the change of direction of the thread....The thread was not titled " Should Radios be allowed on job sites?"
BUT... Often Music lovers are like a lot of smokers , never willing to concede that what they like could ever possibly offend anybody else.
Nothing says "I am a pro" quite like repeatedly turning the volume up on the radio so "you" can hear it over the sound of the concrete truck that is inside the pole barn you are pouring concrete in and this inspite of having your boss tell you to turn it down so you can hear his instructions.
That " Pro " behaviour is exactly what prompted me to stomp one into the concrete, and as I told in the story , it was my own radio.
I would venture you have never worked on a commercial job with seven or eight trades all under one roof and each crew trying to listen to their "tunes" and "talk " on their ghetto blasters and each in turn raising the volume so that they can hear "their Music" over the others. FWIW , I am tone deaf, have been for as long as I have been alive. I cannot differentiate one musical note from another, can't identify tunes, or carry one, can't remember melodies I have heard over and over. I could care less about music as a result, it is all just white noise and an aggrevation to me with rare exceptions. I do, for whatever reason, find classical music soothing when I am doing trim work.
On the other hand I can listen to a tool being used and tell you if it is being abused, pushed or is running at it's "happy Point", doesn't matter if it is a saw, drill or lawn mower or tiller but have noticed that a lot of radio freaks wouldn't be able to tell if their saw or whatever was about to blow up from the sound of it.
Ok. You win. Music sucks and stomping radios into concrete is a very mature and professional thing to do. Sorry about that..... don't know what came over me.
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Nope, It was a very childish response to childish behaviour.
Whatever lets you sleep at night dude.View Image
Nothing says "I am a pro" quite like repeatedly turning the volume up on the radio so "you" can hear it over the sound of the concrete truck that is inside the pole barn you are pouring concrete in and this inspite of having your boss tell you to turn it down so you can hear his instructions.That " Pro " behaviour is exactly what prompted me to stomp one into the concrete
BTW, the problem wasn't the radio. The problem was "the boss" not getting a handle on that moron of an employee who kept turning it up.... getting a handle on him BEFORE you got pushed to the point where you lost your composure. And you did lose your composure.
There is absolutely nothing unprofessional or unsafe about listening to a radio on a jobsite. That of course presumes that the parties involved are capable of exercising a little bit of common sense and/or discretion.
So you're tone deaf. Big deal. Get over it. Whaddya want a handicap sticker on your windshield so you can get the good parking spaces? If you don't want or allow radios on your jobsite then that's fine. That's your decision to make and you have every right to make it (assuming you're in charge). And if you're making that decision because of your tone deafness then I'd say you've got a decent reason... that's one of the nice things about being the boss. But if you're doing it because of that "pole barn" incident I'd say the problem runs a bit deeper than just the radio.View Image
Deisil ,
I don't want this to get personal , it is just my opinion and rule and I enforce it on my sites. Yes,
I lost my composure, I lost a lot more than that.
I lost respect in the eyes of the crew and the owner and everybody else present.
I lost MY $60 radio when this occured back in 1983.
The worker who was pulling that stunt got fired, he was deliberatly jerking my chain with the radio volume because he was to immature to work without his music blaring loud enough to be heard over the noise of the truck. You are right about the employee and boss issue.
As Boss I make the rules.. no radios.
Yes, I am tone deaf, but that has nothing to do with banning radios, just a statement of fact, No use tryin to explain what music does for you to those who can't even make sense of it is my point. Explain colors to the color blind ? No , I don't ban radios on my sites because of the pole barn incident I used that as an example of radio playing being carried to excess and my own excessive reaction to that. I ban radios because I see them as a distraction, a time waster, a safety hazard, a cause of conflict between workers/trades on a jobsite.
Many posters here have delineated problems with radios on sites, and a lot of those posters expressed that they listen to radios on the site.
Different rules from different posters were posted in way of explaining how they attempt to solve the issues of too much volume , station selection, # of radios etc.
So the problems do exist , especially for those who work in enviroments with more than one crew or individual. But in the end , you are correct.
This thread was about the best jobsite radio, I should have kept my opinion on whether radios belong on sites to myself.
Edited 3/15/2007 5:16 pm by dovetail97128
It's all good. Certainly nothing worth getting upset over. I'd imagine that clown must have really got your goat that day. You seem level headed enough around here anyway. My 'handicap sticker' comment didn't even get a rise out of you. And that was good humor man. Glad you didn't come over here and toss my computer into the mud or something. :)View Image
"We built this city on rock and roll" He He He. Actually that is a classic cheesy tune. I was a Jazz trombone dude in a former life...along the lines of what Zak said, people are generally glad they hired an artist, when they see the work and hear the music, my customers dig it. Sometimes I even play music from the period of the house during historic renovation (Scott Joplin Ragtime in a Victorian, Big Band Jazz while working on a 1930 bugalow. The customers and I both have a good time with it.You are right about moderation:1. Keep it at a conversational level.
2. Turn it down or off for serious discussion about the peoject (The Bosch remote with a mute button is handy).
3. On multi-crew jobs...first to tune a radio to a station gets their music for the day. Or you just take turns and play nice.
4. Save the shock jock for the commute.Yesterday I did some great work with B.B. King, Etta James, Bob James, and some funky Latin Salsa.Rock On
I like your taste. I can't find good jazz here during the day, so it's either NPR talk or classical. I keep it low, but find that when classical is on there is a better spirit about the site and production climbs a wee bit. Wish there was a good blues show on during the day.When somebody else is there first with the tunes I bow out, but if they have "HEY!!!! THIS IS W-O-L-D WITH THE CLASSIC HITS COMIN' ATCHYA ALL DAY AN' INTO TH' NIIIIIIGHT!!!!!"...
on, out come the earplugs.If I never hear 'Midnight Rider' or 'Sweet Home Alabama' ever ever again, it won't be too soon.Seems that all I've ever had is POS radios. May just have to treat myself & get the Milwaukee.
Jer,I often listen to Classical in the early morning, then Jazz and Blues around mid-morning and Rock in the afternoon (when I need to get amped up).Today I listened to Natalie Cole, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and The Shins.I have the Bosch, mostly since I use Bosch cordless. Reception is limited, it ain't loud (fine with me), and it is heavy...but the CD player is nice, remote with mute function is cool, 4-way GFI is handy, 12v output is nice for charging a cell phone or plugging in a Satelite radio reciever.Overall, the Bosch has the best combination of features for me.
Well maybe we are finally getting somewhere hear I guess my question was what was a good jobsite radio, maybe I should have been more specific Milwaukee, Bosch, Dewalt, or a Makita
If you ever have the opportunity to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy live, jump all over it. I saw them last summer, I think it was. They came to a local winery, so small venue. THey were amazing.
I assume the Bosch Cd is sealed for dust? I've been thinking about putting one in my shop, since my cheapo is struggling with all the sawdust floating around.
Edited 3/21/2007 1:41 am by SBerruezo
The Bosch must be well sealed, it gets blasted with dust on my jobs and still works fine.Thanks for the concert tip...that must have been a fantastic show.I just found a live recording of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, when they played here in MN, but I missed it! Doh!http://www.archive.org/details/ddbb2005-05-28.mbho.flac16
Brian,
I used my MP3 player hooked up to the Milwaukee and we trade off who gets to choose. I have turned Kyle into a rabid Dave Matthews Band fan by playing tons of live DMB :-)
If we are having a bad day, we just turn on some "feel good" music and dance away. Yesterday we spent the day cutting rafters and enjoying music. The neighbors get a kick out of us dancing and we haven't been told to turn it down since before I got married, so I think that was like 98 or 99.
Even the plumber likes our music. The roof stockers one day asked what station we listened too because they liked it so much, it was my MP3 player and we were listening to The John Mayer Trio, which was a live blues concert.
It kills me when a designer or a customer shows up and I have to go shut off the radio because I can't communicate with them.
On a hill by the harbour
Amen and thank you!
dovetail is right, leave the damn things home!
For radio only, Milwaukee, hands down best sound and durability...buic
Dovetail-what a prude! wink wink.
Doesn't he/she know that all we do is listen to left-wing talk radio?
Here's my two cents. A radio is necessary for me--whether it's talk radio, good background punk music on the college station, news or whatever. I got the dewalt because I have dewalt cordless tools.
Basically the sound SUCKS... and I wish had I had the bosch which sounds great, but is big...and then I'd have to get rid of all my 18v dw tools... a good excuse maybe... and I recently saw a little makita that is tiny and really sounds good. I assume it's not just a radio.
and that's that. Happy hunting.
Waters,
I once stomped a radio into 8" of wet concrete after trying to yell instructions over the racket from it , then discovered it was my personal radio that the crew had taken out of MY truck!!
Honestly I just find that they become too much to talk over, and on a job with more than two subs then everybody wants to listen to their own favorites .. so it becomes the battle of radios.
I ban them from my sites. You want to listen to music, get a walk man , but if I am talking to you and you can't hear me then it is too dangerous for a jobsite. I have been known to listen to "right wing air america " when doing demo work.. kinda helps get the blood flowing . ;-)
I have taken a hammer to jobsite radios and it was not pretty.........
On a hill by the harbour
nowc that is the proper way to care for a jobsite radio...
launching them off of a high rise to the dumpster has interesting results..
sure tones them down a notch or two...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I like the highrise launch but there is a certain elagance to the hammer approach.
On a hill by the harbour
I have taken a hammer and a saw to guys who have taken hammers to jobsite radios and it was not pretty.........
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Jerrald,
I don,t know why you wanted to make this personal?
Without going into a lot of stories...... Yes I have taken a hammer to my own radio that was being abused. That being said my head carp now is a percussionist and loves music. There is music on my jobs but it is moderated. When it interferes with communication it is gone.
The end
On a hill by the harbour
Novy, I can assure you there was nothing personal in what I wrote. I really don't know you but I thought the statement I read in your post there; " I have taken a hammer to jobsite radios and it was not pretty........." was immature and asinine so using a play on words I drew it out and extended on that theme saying something I thought was equally immature and asinine; "I have taken a hammer and a saw to guys who have taken hammers to jobsite radios and it was not pretty........." You obviously missed the parody and irony in what I was saying.
I can remember back in my early twenties taking a scaffolding pole and smashing a radio that was annoying me on a load in for a show back while I was still in college. It certainly succeeded in getting every one who saw or heard the story about me doing it that day in thinking I was some kind of hot headed psychopath and that error in judgment on my part I still regret and I am deeply embarrassed about still today some twenty-five to thirty years later.
A couple of years ago on one of our jobs our tile man losing his composure took a hammer and smashed his son's radio who was there working with that day. I told him to take the rest of the day off and come back on Monday when he had his head back together and he really started to melt down in front of all of us. I don't recall exactly but that was either his last job or one of the last jobs he would ever do for us.
There's nothing personal in anything I said. I think that kind of immature violent display in inexcusable no matter who does it and I was ridiculing it. Aren't there at least a hundred better ways to handle the problem with an offensive radio playing?
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Couple of things about "losing it" on a jobsite:
About 7 years ago I was up on the attic ceiling frame of a house we were framing. My boss and I were relocating a pull-down stair case opening. We had a sledge up there to nudge the joists into position. He got a phone call and learned that one of the other guys got a DUI in a company truck the night before and he was locked up and the truck was impounded. My boss got off the phone and I could tell he was fuming. I told him "I got it" and that he should go take care of business. He was too pizzed to speak. He then whacked the header he was standing on with the sledge. I broke free and dumped him 32' to the concrete footer below. He had a concussion, a ruptured spleen, and a bunch of broken ribs. He spent two weeks in the hospital and missed 4 weeks of work. But we all knew that he was just lucky to be alive.
Two summers ago my roofer was working on my own house after we added a 2nd floor. He scampered up the roof to "redirect" one of his guys who had been screwing up all day long. While talking to the kid, out of frustration he unconciously flung a scrap of shingle off the roof. It skimmed about 50' through the air and the corner of it put a nice ding and scratch in the door of my service body truck that I had yet to even make the first payment on. Now two of us were less than pleased. He looked like a jackazz and ended up probably not turning a profit on the job and paying to fix my truck.
I've got more, but I'm betting everybody gets the point. I save yelling and carrying on at a jobsite for a time when it actually means something. Like when someone is about to back up a truck over a pile of equipment or lumber or something. Or someone unconciously walking under a loaded boom or something. And even then it's just to get their attention and never to relieve my own frustration at my own lack of management skills.
This isn't the first time I've heard guys brag here about throwing what amounts to a temper-tantrum. I remember a guy a few years back bragging about causing a huge stink in a crowded store because Sears would honor a return policy on a screwdriver or something. I really don't get it.
Jeez... if nothing else.... what's your dignity worth?View Image
I agree..keep it cool at work. When Dale is fighting w/ his sweetie. or I am angey at my wife, we talk each other back to Earth, when on a roof or scaffold, you need 100% of you mind on where you are. Not home life.Inmate # 40735 At Taunton Federal Penitentiary.
diesel, You make an excellent point.
I have learned that what I was modeled as a child showed up in my behaviour way too often as a (younger) adult, not everything, but in some areas enough that I had to "grow" and learn. I had to question my "Map of Life" that I was taught as a child before I could change. Instant , angry reaction was one of those things I had to learn and outgrow. My ex partner had a very calm demeanor at all times... but he had his own behaviours (like sleeping with everything that wore a skirt, married or not , friends wife or not ) that caused him (and I ) problems too.
Immature and asinine ? You are a wordsmith.
That particular case had been going on for about 6 months and I had repeatedly asked my apprentice to keep it down............ I let him go very soon after that.
BTW When you say you don't know me I have been on this site pretty much since it started. I just don't post alot.
Also it was my radio and my jobsite so I smashed it because it was really irritating.
Like I said before "The End"
On a hill by the harbour
Exchanging a few lines in a post here and there over the years doesn't really mean you know someone. There's a difference between recognizing a name online and "knowing someone" but regardless like I said before its nothing personal. If my brother took a hammer to his radio because he lost his rationality I would tell him he was being immature and asinine. Just what does it accomplish?
If someone was consistently violating rules I had prescribed regarding playing a radio I think the financial punishment and sheer inconvenience you get from a: "I talked to you about this many times before so since you can't listen or are choosing to ignore me, you're fired" is a lot more potent and rational than smashing a radio regardless of whether its yours or anyone else's.
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I hear that!
It's just me so If I can't hear MYSELF think, then I'd better turn it down!
That #### Ed Schultz guy really does get you fired up don't he!
Cheers,
Pat
I worked in a manufacturing facility once where we each had a slot to place our own preferred CD for the day. Then all employees' music got listened to. Still lots of groaning and fights...
I recently saw a little makita that is tiny and really sounds good. I assume it's not just a radio.
If it's the same one I got 'cause they threw it in when I bought the LiOn kit, it's just a radio.
If a jobsite radio doesn't have a jack for your mp3 player or CD player or whatever, it's obsolete.
This one lacks that. It's obso. However, it has all sorts of alarm features, including snooze alarm. Handy if the crew wants a few extra minutes of nap time.
My favorite jobsite radio is my Sansa mp3 player, which has a radio in it.
The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
I'm with you. Too many radios and too loud. Where some guys think this is a rite on a job site is beyond me. I was in crawl space with some turkey's who had a radio on full blast and couldn't understand that the people who were living in the house right above might not appreciate the noise. Or how about inbetween occupied houses early in the morning.
I like music so I hummmm or whistle. Which brings up another thing is that very few guys can whistle anymore. Mind you, they probably think they can whistle.
roger
have to get rid of all my 18v dw tools...
now that is a plan...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Bosch is garbage, DeWalt sounds ok and we are testing the new Makita and it isn't loud enough.
The Milwaukee is the way to go. Bring and MP3 player and plug in and you are set. Even with earplugs this thing cranks :-)
Tim
How do you plug your MP3 player into the Milwaukee?
Also does anybody know if can easily hook my Sirius into the same radio.
Damn talk radio shows in the morn are killing me, we try not to have them on because you see guys stoping to listen to whats being said instead of working.
Doug
You plug into the aux input. Same size jack as the head phone jack, works great.
Thanks
Simple rule for radios.
First one plugged in and tuned is the station for the day. All my subs know this. I chose volume, period. It is not uncommon to have six radios going softly in the background, all on the same station, caude loud from one end to the other I can't and won't handle.
This is not a company rule, it is my jobsite rule. I have the authority to remove people from my site, and I have done it for the reason of "noncompliant" radios, and I would do it again.
Firm but fair, works in many things. headphones are dangerous in my opinion and I wont allow them. My guys can't even wear earbuds for their phones on my site.
jeremyThe bad news is you've done exactly the right things to be exactly where you are today.
"IdahoDon 1/31/07"
Hey Doug!
I stuck my XM reciever in my Dewalt radio battery charger cavity. It took some modification, but now I can listen to whatever I want all day long. And at night, I pull the reciever out and put it in my van for X-Country all the way home. I don't have any Dewalt tools so I didn't need the charger anyway. Email me and you can check it out some time.
BTW, where you working these days? Still in the Fjords?
Ben (still looking for my first SIP build, but it's getting closer every day)
Ben
No to the Fjords. We've moved on to an even bigger and better house!
Give me a call someday and I'll give you the fifty cent tour, pretty impressive. Were up on the north side of I-80 off of Dubuque. Turn off on Linder, hang a left at the T and go about 1/2 mile until you see the big house under construction. Mark Smith is building it.
I'll e-mail ya with my cell #.
I gotta figure this radio thing out, damn man Bob and Tom are getting tired and all I want is some good tunes to listen to.
Doug
Edited 3/13/2007 6:58 am ET by DougU
Um Doug..... Isn't Linder road on the north side of I-80 ?
I agree about the serious lack of anything resembling a radio station in that area.
That's why I finally settled into just listening to 89.7 krui... At least you seldom hear the same song twice in any given week.
The radio stations down here aren't any better, but at least there's more of 'em!
Getting back to the discussion, I'm on board with buying the old garage sale/rummage sale radio. Most older radios have a much better tuner than what they put into the newer ones so you can actually tune in a station that's more than 6 blocks away. Also there's the added benefit of not getting too heartbroken when it suffers it's inevitable terminal jobsite accident." If I were a carpenter"
Um Doug..... Isn't Linder road on the north side of I-80 ?
Depends on which way your facing!
Yea, I had to go back and change that before Ben sees it.
Who among all the BT'ers could have pointed that one out?
And we should both be in Austin Tx this week! You making the trip this year?
Doug
Of course I'm going to Austin!!!
I couldn't possibly miss my annual pilgrimage.
How's the weather up there these days?
You guys are coming up on one of the things I miss about that area. Springtime in Iowa is a true treasure! I'm especially going to miss morel mushrooms." If I were a carpenter"
Go to Ironworks and have some ribs for me. I sure miss 'em.
Hey Mark,
I see you posted to Doug about radios and wanted to let you know Don and I have finished 2 jobs and are lining up more. (one bathroom remodel, and some energy sleuth work on a super drafty mansion north of C.R.) Still waiting for the first house to come along, but we had lots of interest at the Home and Builder's show last weekend, so I'm hoping it's just a matter of time.
Radio stations? These are advertising outlets allowed to repeat a 22 song playlist in between commercials. I gave up and got XM, and now there's !@#$$$ advertising on it too!
Iowa's warm again. 70 today. Mud to my knees.Ben
Hey Ben!
I'm glad things are working out with you and Don. And to think, I don't even charge for my matchmaker services...lol
So, did I read that right? you guys had a booth at the home show? That's way cool!! Was that Iowa City, or Cedar Rapids?
By the way... I don't wanna be one of those "I told ya so" guys, but when they first came out with satelite radio, I predicted that once they had full subscribership they would start having commercials. There's just too much potential money to be made there for them to not succumb to the temptation. It sure sux for the end user though, doesn't it?" If I were a carpenter"
I predicted that once they had full subscribership they would start having commercials
Sometimes the commercials are the best part of the program. At home here I tune to 107.1 KGSR Austin TX! Thank God for the internet.
I dont mind the commericals but I dont want to hear anymore local DJ's stupid humor and everyday at dinner time you can count on Billy Joel singing Piano Man, Christ Billy sang some other pretty good songs, cant we hear just one of them!
Now that Sirius and XM are positioned to join up we'll get the best of both.
But........ the weather has been beautiful!
Doug
By the way... I don't wanna be one of those "I told ya so" guys, but when they first came out with satelite radio, I predicted that once they had full subscribership they would start having commercials.
They've always had commercials on certain stations......XM has over 100 commercial free music stations though.
They're not anywhere near "full subscribership" however. XM and Sirius and attempting a merge because they're hurting. Might be the perfect time to sign up. Fees are supposed to go down and channels are supposed to be added.
Either way....worth every dime of the $12/month.
These pretzels, are making me thirsty.
I agree..but you already know that : )
but thats not why I'm here...lol
So the doorbell rings today as I'm tiling a new shower stall.
The postmans at my door with three boxes for me.
Three DeWalt boxes...I'm like...HUH?
Then I remembered a DW rep contacted me about a bad review I did of DW...complained about their batteries cause I was pizzed my DW jig saw broken for the second time (took my rant out on their batteries). So after I "spoke" with the rep..he said he'd send me two free batteries.
So today in the mail was a new DW RADIO/charger...new DW jig saw and two new batteries : )
xmas in March : )
Maybe I should complain about Bosch next...lol....kidding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
That's some damned good PR!
Where'd you give the "review"? Here?
I had Stanley take care of me similarly some years back. Unfortunately I was only giving a bad review of a chalk box. LOL. They did go above and beyond to make good though.
These pretzels, are making me thirsty.
amazon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I stuck my XM reciever in my Dewalt radio battery charger cavity. It took some modification, but now I can listen to whatever I want all day long<<<How the helll did you do THAT??? Don't you need the sat antenea?
I have two Sirius boomboxes I scored offa Ebay for $30 each...the sound is real good just not really loud enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I second what Tim said. I have a double ended plug (wire with male headset plug on each end-Radio Shack) I got to plug my cd player into the Milwaukee. It works fine for ipod. I bought the Belkin cig adapter/charger/fm transmitter for the car and it works great for the Mil. 12v plug. No worries about charging the ipod.
Paid 49 for Belkin at Office Max. Found many cheap ones on ebay that looked good for next to nothing.
Living here in radio he11 I have no problem finding blank frequencies.
Go to Radio Shack.You want a mini to mini. I believe they come in 12" and 4' lengths.I listen to my Ipod all day on my Milwaukee. It's awesome.
I'm with BUIC and Tim. If you just want a radio, you can't beat the Milwaukee. I've literally owned all of them I think... the new Makita, the Milwaukee, old and new Dewalts, and a Bosch Power Box. The Milwaukee sounds the best and is ridiculously durable. We do horrible things to that thing and it still sounds great. Pulls in tons of stations and they're relatively inexpensive too.
If you just want a radio, you can't beat the Milwaukee
I second that. Bought one used from my SIL for $30 (he got the new makita), kicker is that I don't even own any Milwaukee cordless tools, so can't use the battery option.
But hey, the sound is great, and you can use that darn thing as a step ladder.....it's tough.
I have had the Bosch now for two years and use it every day. Love the GFI outlets, love the fact that I can charge my batteries. I love the CD player because the music I listen to I can't find on the radio (hardcore bluegrass). From a radio standpoint, the thing stinks. They have gone through a couple of antenna designs and none seem to work. I have trouble picking up stations which are broadcast less than five miles away. Like everything in life, there are trade offs. Over all, if this one fell off the scaffold, I'd buy another.
Brian....Bayview Renovations
I'm with Brian on the Bosch radio. I know it gets a bad rep out there but I love it. When I'm working outside I plug my tools into the GFI outlet. I sit on it to eat lunch. I stand on it when I don't have a step stool right next to me. I never need to crank it up too loud, but if I did, it's got good enough sound that I think it would handle it. I leave an old Bosch battery in there all the time so that if I have to turn the power off wherever I'm working, I'm still listening to music. And when I get in the truck in the morning I just turn it on and skip all the talk radio in the morning which would just bum me out for the rest of the day.
I even broke down and got the iPod case that plugs into it and keeps the iPod protected from dust and debris, etc. As hokey as it sounds I look forward to work every day if only because I get to listen to all the good music I've got on there. I put the iPod on shuffle, press play, and don't have to touch it all day.
My tool rep told me when the Bosch rep came in with it the first time, he stuck a battery in it, put a CD in, pressed play, and hucked the thing across the concrete floor without skipping a beat.
I've had it a couple years now and I'd get another one the day this one broke.
Paul
I have the Milwaukee...got it several years ago when I bought the 18v kit. I don't have an Ipod thing, so I'm stuck with the radio, but I may be one of the few at this point. Crew I was on had the same radio, and it is durable. We had it wedged in the trusses when working on the roof or skylights, and it dropped 12' or so, bounced, yet sounded good the whole way down, back up, then down again.
I have a cheapo Emerson I picked up at target for my shop, but I don't think it is made for that environment. The CD player doesn't keep out dust, so I was thinking about the Bosch for the shop, with the assumption that the Bosch is sealed somehow.
>>>>>>>>I sit on it to eat lunch. I stand on it when I don't have a step stool right next to me.I got a drywall bucket for free that'll do those chores for me and the bucket gets better radio reception.http://logancustomcopper.com
http://grantlogan.net/
"We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?"
Is the cd player affected by dust from sheet rock and such or is it sealed quite well.Also I listened to one at HD today and the Dewalt was louder.
It's pretty protected from sheetrock dust. If I'm sanding sheetrock, or sanding a lot of wood right next to it, I'll usually throw a sheet over it so I don't have to think about it. But I've never had a problem with any dust or anything even when I don't cover it.
I don't think the Bosch is by far the loudest, I don't even know if it has the "best" sound, but I'm usually working by myself so I don't need to crank it up that often to compete with anything other than a table saw or compressor.
Edited 3/13/2007 11:25 pm ET by hipaul
All you guys crack me up...................I had the same pos radio for ten years that I bought at the church thrift shop for a dollar.
Beat that!
[email protected]
WHICH content will be free, of course; WHICH content will require registration; but WHICH content will be available only to members of FineHomebuilding.com.???
All you guys crack me up...................
Oh no......a radio with quality sound is a must for any jobsite.
BWAAAAAAHAHA!
These pretzels, are making me thirsty.
Forget about cheap...a contractor that can't afford a good radio? And you know what I'm sayin' brutha...no satallite radio? Why bother? Every fifteen minutes and another commercial? Thems the old daze! Why bother with power tools as well...lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
You beat me. I paid $4 at a church rummage sale for mine. It's got an aux. input though, so I usually plug a small, cheap mp3 player in and listen to tunes. NPR for the first hour of the day and the last, tunes in between.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
picked up about a dozen "left" behind radios at the end of the job(s).....
all free....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I'm in the NO RADIOS camp....but if your are going to buy something..get what ever you want and run the thing off of whatever 12V rechargeable you have for your tools using some alligator clips from RadioShack
.......get power all day long from a battery you probably already have
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, wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
For anyone who hasn't drank the blue or red or yellow Kool-Aid yet...
Try the blue and yellow flavor!
Talking about the Ryobi 18v series. They just added a small radio late last year. Rubber flexible antenna, the base is the battery to it says in one place. Just one speaker, which is better for radio as mono comes in stronger that stereo for tuning in distant stations. Reception is decent as far as I can tell.
Durability? Well, the first day I had it I forgot about it and left it outside all night, through a light rain. Swapped the battery and it hasn't missed a beat.
It's good to power this with one of your nearly dead batteries too, since it doesn't draw much power.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
what did you pay for the radio?
I want to say it was something like $30, I don't remember for sure.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Agree with some of the other posts, radios should not be on the job! I'm sure that most state and fed. regs. do not allow them. How would you like to be on a job with a hundred workers and half of them had a different idea of what station to tune into?, sorry for the negitive.
iPod with headsets only, preferably Bose noise canceling headsets. I've never been to a job site where everyone's happy with the same tunes or volume.
Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
when im by myself i use a radio, i can trust myself to keep it low, if i have a crew, no radios allowed, I have had the police show up and the crew gave my name for being to loud, I have the yellow dewalt but i get no stations where i live or cant tune them in, I use the 60 dollar radio shack radio that works good, Or i go to garage sales and load up on 2 to 5 buck radios and leave them in the rain or watch them fall off the roof,If they work well i cover them. My boy lent me his xm which i like the 50s 60s but theres 200 channels of junk
I used to keep an old Emerson in the truck, it lasted about 4 years. First week on site, the antenna was busted off. After a month or so, the cassette door was shattered, but the player still worked. Until it got loaded with drywall dust. Speakers had to be duct-taped to the main part.
I came out one morning and realized the radio was in the open bed, and it had POURED rain the night before. Got it to the site, poured out what looked like 6 gallons of water, and let it dry for a day.
It worked!! Not too long after that, it got to the point where I'd hear the volume go WAY down for no good reason. Once I figured out just where to hit it with my hand, the sound went back to normal.
Finally got tired of fooling with it, but I still felt bad about tossing it into the dump. It was a trooper!
If the crew has to have a radio i have a cheap alarm one that can only play so loud to be heard in one room, But then i make everyone listen to RUSH with me, It only makes it a day or 2 till someone breaks it;)
ROFLMAO....
Thats what you get for working with a bunch of liberals!
True story years ago i was doing a roof and the police showed up, The neighbor complaned about the radio but it did travel far as it was on the roof, The cop told me they were mad it was rush but at that time larryKing came on at 1,OO but Mr king was alright but not rush, The cop laughed and told her she could not pick the shows but i had to turn it off We only got one station then clear so i had no choice anyway but i always thought that was funny
FWIW I hooked up a "home" style 900 Mhz wireless headphone unit into my van and plug the sirius into the tranciever - It's the best ever!
I work mostly alone and in occupied jobsites so years ago I started wearing radio headsets so the HOs didn't need to deal with my music. I can listen at any level of whatever I want and noone is affected.
It's just as easy to swap an iPod for the sirius - just pull one cable and plug in the other.
The wireless unit was simple to install. I had the idea years ago but the thing holding me back was how to power the unit that was set up for 110v. Then I did some checking and voila, The unit was actually 110v to.................12 dc through a transformer. So, throw out the transformer hook it to the cig lighter and away we go.
The volume control is on the headset so I can turn it down, or off, at anytime, and back on, or up to a level that would bring the house down if it were a stereo.
And there's no set up, I pull up to the jobsite, put on my headset and go to work. Still listening to whatever I was on my way there. And it follows me around all day, if I go on the roof- down inthe basement - into the crawl - out to the garage, it's stil 100% quality instead of the radio in the other room.
He77, the other day, at a rather religous person's jobsite I listened to Playboy radio all day! I just chuckle at the irony - she was listening to a local christian radio ( her thing ) and I was listening to mine.
Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
The Playboy channel? Oh do tell. Since Playboy built their entire empire on visual stimulation, what are the contents of their radio broadcasts?
Guess you never read the articles.
It's alot like the mag without pictures - PB advisor, call in shows, Playmates, Humor, Game shows, Morning show, realllly funny.
You never know what's going to be said next - some of it is ove rthe top.
I think you can check out the line up at sirius.comRemodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
"Guess you never read the articles."Uh, yes I did. It's the only reason I ever bought a Playboy, or a Penthouse even.
the best radio is no radio . I have a rule no radio on the job site .
if new trades bring them in I tell them to take them out .if I have to talk to trades and home owners etc and the radio is blairing it is embarrassing and not very professional imho but any way that is just my rule but I do like it loud on the way home
But if I ever become just a trade and can listen to the radio I would buy the Bosch can crank it up and play cd's woo hoo Michel Jackson beat it beat it beat it beat it