Doing a search it look like this specific subject hasn’t been discussed in at least a year or more. So, currently what job site radio is the best as far as reception and sound? I’ve had 2 Dewalts and the reception on both sucked…
What about the Milwaukee? Is that still the one with the best ability to pick up stations and produce good sound? I don’t have any Milwaulkee cordless tools, but not really sure that matters – except that a battery costs as much as the radio… par for the course… In one review I read it oly goes at half power when on AC power… sounds like a bummer…
Has the Bosch Powerbox been improved significantly? It’s got all the features but is kinda pricey, and like I say – radio reception is one of my main concerns. I read reviews that say it sux in that department. The CD player might get used occasionally, but generally when I’m working I’m not interested in fiddling around with a CD player.
What about the Mikita radio? I could see myself changing to Mikita battery tools….
Replies
Matt,
What about a yard sale or flea market boom box.
I paid $2 for my last one and that was over a year ago.
Great reception, good sound.
If it gets wrecked I go find another.
Best part of the system is the price.
Russell
"Member of the Jewish Carpenters Union"
none....
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 have a dewalt and the reception is great. Plus I can charge batteries too. Only complaint is that it loses the channel every time I turn it off!
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
I've had two DeWalts, one with analog tuning and the one with digital tuning. The analog tuner had TERRIBLE reception but the digital picks up stations as well as any radio I've ever seen. I live in a mountainous area where reception is generally poor, and regularly listen to stations 100 miles away. As far as losing your station presets when you turn it off, you can install 2 AA batteries that will preserve them. My batteries have been in since I bought it almost a year ago and haven't required changing yet. I don't know if I would go so far as to change tool brands solely to be able to use the battery charging capabilities of a certain brand of radio. I would go the flea market/yard sale route before I would do that.Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters. ~ Abrahan Lincoln
you can install 2 AA batteries that will preserve them
Boy do I feel stupid - now everyone knows I don't read directions! (thanks for the info).View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Instructions are for sissies anyway. View Image
mine too.. but I think it's b/c the batter in the back compartment has died. Orig. it kept presets and stations???"Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing..."
There is a compartment inside your battery charging port for another battery. I can't remember if it is 2 aa's or a 9 volt. Put a new one in and yer good for another year
Have a good day
Cliffy
What about the Milwaukee? Is that still the one with the best ability to pick up stations and produce good sound?
Yes and yes. I have the Milwaukee. Three years old, bought it used for $35. Built like a tank, and sounds great. I also do not have any Milwaukee battery tools.
My son has the new Bosch. He likes the CD player, and ipod input. Neither the reception nor the sound is as good as the Milwaukee. It does however have four handy outlets in the side, but costs $179.00.
Personally, I do not carry a radio to charge batteries, run cd's, play ipods, or use as power strips (lots of them in the truck already). I use it to play the radio, and play it with decent sound......... period.
I have the makita radio and it works well. A little heavy on base sound.
Digital Tuning and holds stations, built in clock with back up via AA batts. Uses almost any makita battery, not a charger, later white unit has a socket for an ipod type unit.
Comes with plug in power supply which can be stored in the back with a little fiddling.
I have the Bosch power box. Got it as a mark down at HD with a meet and beat pricing thing.
Love it. The CD player and the radio sound great. Extra feature to charge the bosch batteries is great.
Haven't regretted it at all.
Thanks
Barney
Thanks all for your comments. BTW - I do have the DW with the digital tuner but am looking for something better. I'm especially looking for comments from people who have owned more than one brand.
Brian: What are your thoughts on currently available job site radios?
PS: sorry if I spelled your name wrong - I do know there are 2 ways to spell it - can't remember which you use.
Edited 3/30/2008 11:35 pm ET by Matt
I have had three Bosch CD powerboxes through the years.The lastest is the newest one with the remote and the flex antenna.Reception is only OK - the whip antenna does nothing regardless of position. If you plug a battery charger in the side, the radio gets staticy.The power cord is stiff as heck in cold.The ipod "dock" is handy as heck (extra Bosch accessory that quick connects right onto the side.)It's too damn large, and I never play CD's. Handy to have to charge a battery here and there.The Milwaukee and the Makita can both be had for close to $50 very ofter on Amazon and I've been seeing deals on $42 Milwaukee 18 volt batts for a long time now.I had a Milwaukee radio for a while - sounded great.J
"$42 Milwaukee 18 volt batts for a long time now."Where? Amazon?
I've seen them that low on Amazon, HDT, maybe elsewhere.You can always find new batts on Ebay for pretty low cause folks are selling parted out combo kits.Milwaukee stuff goes for cheaper than the other brands for whatever reason.Here you go - $39 at Amazon, free shipping:http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-48-11-2230-18-Volt-NiCad-Battery/dp/B00008Z9YM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1206969145&sr=8-1JT
The iPod is the all-around best. No one else has to listen to your music, and if you keep your volume low enough, you can hear your boss shouting at you.Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
The iPod is the all-around best. No one else has to listen to your music, and if you keep your volume low enough, you can hear your boss shouting at you.Or not if you turn it up LOLI am with you I just hate headphones or ear buds. I hate the wire it gets caught I also feel even with it turned down or with only one earbud in that I am only partly tuned in to what is going on and for jobs I need to communicate with others I just can not use a iPod and head phones. Now plug it in to my power box and then I have hours of commercial free music or podcasts (I love CarTalk) with out having to touch it and I can still talk to someone standing next to me without feeling I need to yell or they have to yell to communicate.PS if you select music every one on the job likes every one gets to hear it and enjoy not just you.
Edited 4/4/2008 12:08 pm ET by MFournier
Yeah, but have you ever been on a job site listening to music that everyone likes?
BTW, there are some great, wireless bluetooth headsets availableGary W
gwwoodworking.com
"Yeah, but have you ever been on a job site listening to music that everyone likes?"Yes all the time when doing stair work. LOL
(only time you can work on stairs without being in the way of everyone else is after everyone leaves for the day so I am the only one there.)Most of the time it is fine I have such a diverse selection of music that everyone may not like every song but there will be a song each person likes. If you can't listen to one song you don't care for for 3 min then you need counseling or it is one really bad song and I won't have it on my iPod. LOL
I have a comfy pair of noise canceling headphones that are great for listening to tunes while running the planer or belt sander etc. Very Nice.
That's great. I use a pair of Bose with my iPod, both in the shop, on the job site, and when traveling by air. Sound quality is the best, and they cancel about 90% of the decibels of jet enjines, even when I'm not playing music.Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
I got my noise canceling headphones when my MIL moved in. ;o)
Is that, "Most important lady?"Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
She thinks so, but I meant Mother-in Law.
Bass, which set of headphones do you have?
Do they have something I could pick up my satelite signal too, as well as an ipod?
Thanks, Lou
I have an inexpensive muff style set by RCA, but the noise canceling works well, they are comfortable and the sound is good. I did not find them online with a quick search, but here is a similar product by Sony (70% noise reduction):http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-NC6-Noise-Canceling-Headphones/dp/B000629GES/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_pop_tFor more a higher quality set (85% noise reduction), these get better reviews than the Bose (for less $):http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-ANC7-QuietPoint-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones/dp/B000OMKR8E/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_iIf I had the $$$ I would get these bluetooth headphones. Cordless with a 30' range from your iPod or bluetooth phone. It does noise canceling and automatically puts your music on hold and answers your phone for you. You can control your iPod or phone from the headset too.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FFTVSC/ref=dp_cp_ob_title_3
Go on ebay and get a set of motorola S9 head phones. work great with blue tooth. I use my motorola razr phone with the built in music player, love the no wires!
The Motorola S9's look good, but I like to have the noise canceling feature for woodshop use.
Bluetooth headset for a Sony cd Walkman? Where can I get one?
I don't know about wireless headphones for a Walkman, but I know they exist for mp3 players, like iPods. I think you'll find them if you Google "wireless headphones."Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
Most people don't fool around with the settings for importing the music in itunes, and thusly have no damn idea what bit rate they encode at.Most folks agree that encoding, or ripping at 192 bit rate is the best compromise between sound quality and size.That's two clicks up from the 128 that Apple sells them at, but if you are going to take the time to rip all your cds, might as well do em with a high quality setting.In itunes, goto prefs>importing>bit rate>192kbsThese days, HD's are cheap as dirt, so who cares how much space they take up.My Library is at 151GB and that consists of 29,500 songs. (approx.)Julian
we often split job sites, so we have two Bosch
we have lots of 18 v bosch tools, so the charger is great
the outlets are heavy duty
the reception is good
the cd player gets a lot of use from me... but the guys like the radio
i like the clock
i paid full price for the first one but picked up the 2d one on a closeout for $129i think the charger is a key part.... so , if you have Milwaulkee tools / milwaukee radiomakita tools / makita radioetcMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I have the new slightly improved Bosch and the White Makita.I have new Bosch, because I had the original Bosch with crappy reception and returned it to the store when the better one came out (they just swapped them out for me). New one has mediocre reception, but lots of other nice features at the expense of being big and heavy.I like the MP3 input, the 9v port (for cellphone cig lighter charger, etc.) the battery charger and the outlets. sound is decent. When I used the Bosch cordless tools every day, that was the radio for me. Now my Bosch cordless stuff is my shop set and the Bosch radio makes a great shop radio.I switched to Makita 18v Li-Ion cordless and found the Makita radio on clearance at Menards so I nabbed it. Decent, but not great reception, surprisingly good sound, MP3 input, very compact and pretty light.
I also have the Bosch power box but I got it as a thank you from my home depot pro desk rep when I placed a big order. I do not recommend all Orange box stores but the Reps at my local store are pretty good. It is great when I plug my iPod in to it but Radio Reception is not as good as the radio in my van which I find frustrating if the station comes in on the truck radio clear as day I would expect a radio as expensive as the Bosch would pick it up just fine without fading out every time someone walked buy it.P.S. as a rule I prefer local lumber yards and their service.
I find the whole box store concept flawed. Why load lumber in a cart then your truck then unload it on site when I can pickup my cell phone call the local lumber yard and have lumber on site without having to touch it at all until I need to use it.
And If you have ever needed something at the box store that is up in those racks you know the hassle that is can't drive that fork lift with all those customers walking through the warehouse. It takes 3 guys to do what it would take one guy and a fork lift to do just so no one gets a stack of lumber dropped on them. And don't get me started on plumbing fixtures with all those customers pawing over the boxes you can never be sure you will get all the parts.What was wrong with the plumbing supply with the showroom to see the fixtures and the stock in the back where only the workers could touch it. And for replacement parts they guy behind the counter can find the part you need in about a min. at the box store even if they have it you will waste 20 min looking for it since every time they do a reset they change the location of the parts.Another one suppose you want to pick up a cast iron tub or a load of windows now at the local supplier you would go to the loading dock to have them load it in your truck right? Not at the box store the loading dock is only for in coming stock all customer loads must go out the front doors good luck finding someone to do it. You need more then one guy he has to get two others for spotters set up safety barriers and if the item was a special order item guess what it was already sitting at the loading dock area the one area of the store they can actually drive fork lifts with out spotters so you would think they would just load your truck from there were the item came it to begin with. Not.. it must go out the front where all those customers are walking around.In fact I am not sure why I shop these stores at all there are so many reasons I hate them.
Edited 4/4/2008 11:54 am ET by MFournier
Matt,
Gotta run for work, but the short version is.... the Milwaukee... all day long. Best sound, very durable, and great price. More tonight. :)
BTW, you spelled my name right.View Image
There you have it - everything from: - get a yard-sale boom box, - music sux, - make your own, - get a real stereo, - experienced opinions on standard solutions (from tool companies)....
Gotta love this place :-)
I'm gonna start checking out deals for the Milwaukee. I'll do Amazon if I need to. I'll take a basic unit that just works right over one with lackluster performance and extra gadgetry any day.
After years of yard sale boom boxes with coat hanger antennas I finally bought the Milwaukee and love it. Great reception and sound and built like a tank. Since most of my tools are Milwaukee it was a no brainer. I especially like the auxiliary jack for my Ipod or whatever else.
What Milwaukee battery tools do you thing are stand-outs and why? Not sure I could make sense out of buying a battery just for the radio - especially since I'd then have to get a charger from somewhere...
The 18v drill with the hammer action on it is a really great tool. I have 2 of them. I also like the sawzall and have the circular saw. The circ saw is really handy for quick cut offs. The sawzall is good, but seems to really use the juice.
The drill is the outstanding thing. Lots of power, and ergonomically balanced and I use the hammer acion quite a lot.. The new 18 lith ion is lighter and nice too.
Hi Matt,
Ok, as promised, here's the longer version: To qualify myself :) I own or have owned the Bosch PB w/ CD, the Milwaukee, and both old and new versions of the Dewalt. If you're just looking for a great jobsite radio, then the Milwaukee is the best of those choices by far. Even when you don't consider the great price, it's still the one I'd choose.
The sound is great. Not just good, but really great for a radio of it's size. And they take a royal azz whipping too. I had one get left in the back of my truck over night during the winter... speakers up.... and it rained all night. The next morning it was encased in ice and wouldn't work. I need a radio at work because it helps cover the sound of the generator and gas compressor which wears on me. So I bought another. Fast forward to spring time and I was cleaning out the bed of the truck. On a whim I plugged the radio in and low and behold it had come back to life. None the worse for it all. It spent about two months of winter and early spring in the bed of my truck unprotected and came through just fine. Crazy, right?
Anyway, the 'new' Dewalt is nice enough, but the sound isn't nearly as good as the Milwaukee. And I also found the the screws on the roll cage would constantly vibrate loose and fall out in the back of the trailer. This could be fixed easily enough with some Loc-Tite and if I used Dewalt battery tools frequently I might consider it for the convenience of having another charger or having one less tool to pull out in the morning. But I rarely use cordless stuff and don't own any Dewalt cordless anyway.
I never much liked the Bosch although I think it's a great concept. I didn't think the sound was very good at all and if you turned it up loud enough to hear then the bass would make the CD's skip. Personally, I think CD's and jobsites are a bad mix. Too much of a pain to swap CD's while you're working and too easy to damage them. That's just me though. I do like using an IPOD at work though. I thought the 4-way outlet on the Bosch was ingenious but then realized that we were constantly popping it's breaker so that didn't last very long. The deal breaker was the sound quality though... I just don't think it's that good.
When the Makita came out I considered it for a minute. But closer inspection showed me some things I didn't like. It's got one of those wall-warts for a power cord and it wouldn't charge batteries. (Maybe they've changed the charger part?) Anyway, the fact that I have Makita cordless stuff is really why I considered it. I have no idea on the sound quality though because I never ended up buying one because of the charger.
I guess I just decided that I like radios that play music and don't do much else. Like most "multi-use" tools I've found that there's always a trade-off. The Milwaukee is realtively cheap, sounds great, and is made to hold up to being on a jobsite. That's all I need. And at the price that BUIC posted, you just can't do any better. I just ordered my third off his link because that $49 price was just irresistable to me. :) Even at the usual price of $99 it's a good deal IMO.View Image
Drywaller onsite liked my $20 "real stereo" so much, he paid me $100 for it today.Spent $7 and replaced it, got a nice Philips 5 disc CD changer and a 60 watt JVC this time.
I need something that is very portable and durable. Even if it doesn't fall off a roof, it will suffer a lot of other abues and I'm sure it will get rained on a bit too. I ordered the Milwaukee off Amazon... Hasn't arrived yet.
My goal is to build one. I just bought a "Dual" AM-FM CD HD MP3 car stereo. It was on sale for $99 at Fry's, $129 reg. It will play a MP3 CD that hold 120 songs or 8 hours worth. Lots of radio stations on FM now broadcast High Definition. It will power 4 speakers. Has a graphic and loudness control for extra bass. There is a plug in the front for an Ipod.
It will be powered by a used computer power supply 'cause it has a fan for heat removal and are usually free. I have a solar panel that might power it or a set of rechargeable batteries.
The question now is what do I install it in? Leave it in the truck and open the doors or install it in a tailgate. Build a wooden boombox. Install it in a Stanley toolbox or in rolling ice chest. Do I use 12" detachable speakers or 4" car speakers.
I move on-site for extended periods and like my music too much to use one of the tool company branded radios.
Currently using an old bass heavy 60 wpc Heathkit AR 1500A receiver, a Yamaha CDX-2 CD player and a set of homebuilt fullrange BD Pipes for speakers. Package (excluding speakers) is about the same size as jobsite radios and a folded dipole antenna strung up on site gives me excellent reception.
I've got $20 and a couple of hours into it, sounds better than most home stereos.
I have the Makita radio now, I switched over all my cordless from Dewalt last year.
I am already on my second Mickey Mouse cord, and the antenna is falling apart. It's not built as well as I had first thought.
The radio sounds good, I carry a 1' piece of 1/2" copper pipe to aid in station reception.
It doesn't charge batteries like the Dewalt does either.
Woods favorite carpenter
I have a DeWalt and a Bosch Powerbox. I got the DeWalt 'cause I have a ton of DeWalt tools. I figured I could use the radio/charger. Then I got the Bosch -- my next tools will be Bosch -- the PB is that good. Much better reception, has a clock, a nice CD player and an aux input for my mp3 player. Worth the $$. I gave the DeWalt to the dog to keep him company when we're out.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Mike:
Can you (or someone) give me a rough guesstimate - how many minutes of music per GB on an MP3 player? I'm trying to figure out how many GBs I need if I'm gonna get one of these.
All: Another really nice feature about the digital tuner Dewalt radio/charger is that if you leave a battery in it while you are not using it and the unit is unplugged it will totally discharge the battery - just sitting in the truck... I contacted DW tech support about this and they said that my unit was not malfunctioning - that is the way it is made... Maybe that is why a few of my DW 18v batteries just up and died lately. sweet!!! :-(
The first generation of Bosch radios drained batteries like your DeWalt does. Bosch did fix that problem with the newer version. Not that you want a Bosch...just thought I would throw it out there.
I had a late night so bear with me.
I have 509 songs loaded at the moment
that's 1:13:00:45 of music
that equals 2.27 GB
Wikka pedia Say's it depends but around 250 songs=a gig.
Thanks guys...
Amount of songs depends on how "detailed" the recording is. Its called the sampling rate and its anywhere from 64 to 400. The higher the number the more room it takes up But the better it sounds. I have 93 songs stored in 500mb (half GB) all recorded at 128. Most are around 3.5 minutes long.
milwaukee, changed from dewault because of reception and sound.
It's built like a tank. and the price has come down.
They stay out in rain, snow, heat, extreem cold.
I have the Milwaukee. Indestructible. Has the input jack for CD players, iPods, etc. Great sound, reception. The weather stations work.
On AC you do get full power. The half-power problem comes from playing it with the 18v battery.
The only complaint I have (besides the fact that it is heavy--but then again it does not blow over and the weight helps with the bass), is that I do get a power hum (which I only hear when nothing is playing or when I have the volume down real low).
There's a new Ridgid radio available for $150. I don't know how good it is. I already have a Milwaukee and a Bosch, so I don't see myself buying another one.
I used to use my Milwaukee at the jobsite. I picked up the Bosch in a special sale where I got the 12 V drill, a flashlight, two batteries, the radio, and a bag for $199. It is one of my favorite drills.
As of noon monday, at amazon- $49.95
Hard to pass up at this price for a good sounding radio...
$162.00$49.95Edited 3/31/2008 12:46 pm ET by BUIC
I'm tempted to buy another one at that price. i waited for months last time to snag one at 50.00 No question, the Milwaulk is the best radio.
Thanks for the tip BUIC.
Radio is on it's way to a new spot in the van thanks to you!
Eric[email protected]
If this keeps up I'm gonna' call amazon and ask for a cut! (g)
If you watch their prices, it seems like 3 or 4 times a year they drop it to $50.
Well worth it, at that price especially! buic
funny U bring this up.
just last week I was assessing the job site radio situation.
looked around at all the tool brand options.
took a second look at all the prices.
I'm gonna be in the "build your own" camp.
not a car radio though ... I'll pick up a half decent sony or such CD / radio.
thinking building a wood box ... haven't started the design yet.
small as possible ... hold the radio / cd player on top.
it'll have a gfci quad built in ... maybe more.
and also have a shelf somewhere to hold the makita cordless battery charger.
it'll be "all in one" design .... with a cd player ... that charges my makita batteries.
U know ... all the stuff I want but can't find in one.
small and square so it fits on the truck shelves.
my kid has a nice / cheap round radio / cd player ... looks to be a good size to build "around" ... I'll probably pick up a second for $25 and go from there.
also thinking an extension cord wrap around the very bottom.
might just hard wire it in ... or leave it at the ready just in case.
and I'll keep the old Dewalt which still works just fine for the snow and heavy rain outside stuff.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Milwaukee... takes a beating, sounds ok, takes an ipod, takes a beating... the 1/2 power on ac is news to me, it would even be nice with some of the stuff my guys play... and contrary to popular belief, running it on 220 doesn't make it play twice as loud, for too long<G>arrrgh. Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy,
Winterlude by the telephone wire,
Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy,
Come on, sit by the logs in the fire.
The moonlight reflects from the window
Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand.
Come out tonight, ev'rything will be tight,
Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand.
Maybe I'm wrong about the 1/2 power on AC.... I thought that was what I read on one of the reviews on Amazon... Or maybe he was wrong...
now that you got that Kreg technique down that box should look great.
"What's an Arkansas flush?......It's a small revolver and any five cards."
My Milwaukee must be getting ready to take a dump. It's about time too, it started on this course the day I opened the box. It's never gotten great reception but even with good reception it will graduate to static within a half hour. Turn it off, wait for the "pop", turn it back on and it's good for another half hour. Must be a fluke though, every other one that I've heard has sounded great. Next one will be the 'lil Makita or back to a Sony or something.
Just waiting for the right person to toss it at from a second story...
Send it back. You must have a bad one. We have dumped it out a second floor and like a timex it keeps on ticking....
It should have a 5 yr warranty. The one I just got does....
FYI, Milwaukee radios only have a one year warranty not five. Per their web site:
*The warranty period for Hoists (lever, hand chain, & electric chain hoists) all Ni-CD battery packs, Work Lights (cordless flashlights), Job Site Radios, and Trade Titanâ„¢ Industrial Work Carts is one (1) year from the date of purchase.
Edited 4/15/2008 9:47 pm ET by pobrecito
I got a certificate with the radio I just bought that says 5 years. Not sure why the discrepancy, but I was happy to see the 5 yrs.
Milwaukee - everybody else told you why
Doug
Shoot, you can get a milwaukee battery for less than $40 - so even if you didn't have the system, you could run with it.Do they charge em too?J
OK! OK! OK! I just bought the Milwaukee radio. Oh and I just had to add the drill and the impact driver. I had too.....I didn't have any Milwaukee cordless tools. I couldn't buy the radio w/o the batteries. And I can't buy the batts w/o the tools. Ohh, it's a vicious cycle!!
"It is what it is."
Good.Now you're in.Some Men In Black will be by in the coming days to give & show you a few things (decoder rings, the 'handshake', the password etc). So hang in there. It's the first step....Brother.
I can't wait! I am so excited!
"It is what it is."
I use Milwukee drills so the batteries work in the radio as a power source but the radio does not charge batteries.
Doug
And you can buy the mongo charger that looks like the radio and does three batteries.
View Image
Tool King is/was selling those big azz chargers for $30 today.View Image
I got the Milwaukee 18V Lithium dril/ impact driver combo today!!! YIPPIE! Then I read the instructions and it says to charge each batt overnight before use. DARN!! Radio is supposed to come tomorrow. At least I was able to hide it before the DW saw it.
"It is what it is."
Real Men don't hide their tools!!! <g>
Yeah yeah yeah......I know, I just hate explaining what it's for and why I need it. I got the radio today and it works on the cord but not from a battery. So dissapointed! Looks like I have to ship it back.
"It is what it is."
Had the Milwaukee- great sound, fine reception, and tough as nails. Has weather band. Currently have the blue Makita- good sound; to these old ears the bass isn't as powerful as the Milwaukee but the sound seems more "balanced". Haven't been taking any siestas lately but the Makita can be used as a clock radio. No weather band and no input for MP3's etc; the newer white radio has an input jack. Tough as nails and it will run almost all day on a single 2.6AH 14.4v NiMH battery. I'd be happy with either.
I use a millwaukee most of the time and never use the radio, I live in Bangor Maine and there are only 2 or 3 good radio stations and for that reason I stopped listening to radio, but I have an mp3 player that I play in it through the audio input I have about 100,000 songs on my computer so I have enough music for a small radio station and load my own playlist in it, most of my playlist that ive put together are around 10 hours so I push play and forget it , no cds no commercials no nothing but all the music I like.
Carpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
OK - call me a DA - but what is the (functional) difference between an MP3 player and an I-pod - besides the obvious like one stores audio in MP3 format and the I-pod in something else, and one is made by Apple and the other by whoever.... Also - how do they price out (roughly)?
Getting older by the minute,Matt
Well you already said it.
Ipod is Mac. Means you need to run Itunes. That's OK it's a
great program anyhow.
MP3 is everyone else. Therefore a bit cheaper, with more choices.
I'm on a PC but found Itunes the easiest to use. I can load and
find my music simply. I mean it-simply. The Ipods tend to be the nicest and most expensive machines. There you have it the low down from a know nothing.PS
Realized I didn't answer you directly.
They operate basically the same. The new Ipod is different with it's
touch screen, but that aside same basic toy.
I think the Zune is the current competition to the Ipod. It is
a good bit cheaper, but not so fancy. It seams like once you load your music into the hard drive
you're pretty well stuck with one or the other so think long
term.
Edited 4/4/2008 7:49 pm ET by Henley
Matt, they both function in more or less the same manner. What's nice about an Ipod is that you're buying a whole system with I Tunes and the I Tunes store etc. The Ipods, IMO are nicely made and a pleasure to use with intuituve commands.... much like a quality power tool. Support is easy to find for them too. They're also the 'biggest name' in this sort of device which makes it cross compatible with so many other systems.
For instance, I have an Ipod dock on my home system. I drop the Ipod in and turn on my home entertainment system. My Ipod screen is now displayed on my TV and I can use my remote control to access all the feature of my Ipod and play music, video's, etc right on my surround sound system.
And in Alpine stereo in my Wrangler has an outlet in my glove compartment where I just plug in the Ipod and can again access all my music from my in-dash receiver/cd player.
It's great because I've got about literally 30 days worth of music stored in a device the smaller than a cassette tape. I can take it to work and plug it in and play it through my jobsite radio. Or I can plug it into the truck and listen to it on the way to work. Or in the Jeep on the weekend. Or in the docking station at home while I'm working out. Or I can just plug in headphones and listen while I workout.
They're a pretty sweet little thing. And they've come down significantly in price now too. You can spend just as much on an MP3 player and not have half the benefits of an Ipod. If you were to buy and Iphone, you'd have all of the above plus phone, internet, email access, and PDA functions in a nice little package.
And it's not just music that's nice to have so close at hand. I've got audiobooks and multiple Podcast downloads on mine at any given time as well. Many Podcasts are free. I've got two astronomy ones that come out monthly as well as Podrunner which is a mix to workout to. That one comes out every couple weeks which is nice because I get bored with listening to the same workout mix over and over. You can just sign up for them and you can set it up so that when a new one is available your Ipod downloads it automatically the next time it is plugged into your computer.View Image
the only difference is the cost and repairs that are typical with Ipods, the other mp3 players use some of there own programs and some dont need to use a program. I use a rio 8 gig thats drop and play thats sweet I make playlist on my computer and drag folder in player like a mini hard drive and they just play in the order I set them up. I use a 40 gig toshiba that has its own version of program and its easy to run it and again its just simple and as far as ITunes I have never payed for any music on line its all out there for free, I use soulseek = slsk.com to get music and again I have 101,837 songs all in full cds form, that is I download full cds on that site , it equals about 6000 cds at least. Jazz rock R&B folk blues country Celtic etc etc. I bought my toshiba 40 gig last year new with warranty for 115.00 thats almost half of an Ipod. after all none of them last much more then 3 years. they build them to all die after a certain amount of hours used in them. at least thats what I believe. just like Milwaukee Batteries 5 years even if you almost never use them.........Carpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
That kinda sums it up - doesn't it...
For me, having a rather expensive piece of delicate electronics sitting around on the job site would be nothing but a source of worry. Since my job is to be there from the day the first shovel hits the ground to the day I hand the keys to the HO (and actually longer), I'm around all kinds of people. Yes I often let them use my radio. Just one little way I can make my jobsite someplace that they don't want to get away from as fast as possible... But still, people don't treat other peoples stuff like they would their own - or sometimes they do - which can be even worse... :-). looking at Amazon I see MP3s start at $20...
BTW - make a guess - how many of minutes of music per GB?
I have the opposite philosophy. I have one of the most expensive iPods, the Touch, on my jobsites. I have a screen protector on it and a nice leather case for it. If exposure to dust or weather is a risk, I keep it in a small, heavy duty, zip lock bag. It also fits inside the sealed battery compartment in the back of the Makita, which has MP3 inputs inside the battery compartment and on the front of the radio.The Touch has turned into a fantastic marketing tool. It is so fun to use, people have fun scrolling through the portfolio of my work. The interface is wondefully intuitive. The screen is bright and the photos look very crisp.I keep photos of work sequences and techniques in there too...as they say..."A picture is worth 1000 words."I have about 200 photos in my iPod now and they are generating new projects every week.The touch is also my PDA containing Calender, Contacts, and is my calculator...nice to always have that stuff with me...oh, and it plays music too.
I like your approach, the ipod touch doesn't have a big enough hd right now for me. Chances are when I arrive on a jobsite the music playing is not what I like and is playing at full volume on a past its prime radio. I used to use the boise ipod player which has good sound for a portable player but most of the other guys didn't like my music selections. Now I wear headphones. I really like the Shure se530. Also went to a audiologist and had custom inserts made. They work like earplugs for noise reduction and really improve the sound quality, also they really stay in your ears and are comfortable.
Right after I bought my 16GB iPod Touch, they introduced a 32GB version...look for even larger memory in future releases.I don't have the worlds largest music collection. All my CD's are loaded in and a couple hundred photos and my 16GB Touch is only half full...or half emptry (it depends on how positive your outlook is I guess). ;o)If you have not played with one yet, they are super slick. It really does get people entranced and interested in my work too. If people ask what I do...I don't tell them, I show them. Having a killer portfolio in your pocket, at all times, is a smart business move.I bought mine with my business account.
mathewson,
You had inserts made for the Shure in-ear phones? To replace the flanged seals they come with?
Did you have a hole installed in your inserts that allows air pressure equalization for installation and removal and for when a wire gets hooked on something?
What did the inserts run you? How about the se530's? those things are pricey!
How are the wires on the se530's holding up? Ever break one? Is there a way to replace one? I have etymotic research and had a wire go t/u. Just too thin. What were they thinking? - r
Ruination,I went to a hearing center after seeing an news show on Ipods and hearing loss where they talked about these custom inserts. They cost about $125 for the inserts which replace the ones which come with the earphones. The Shure's cost about $500 and for me they were worth it, I listen mostly to classical music. I had a pair of the lower priced Shure ones, about $300- don't remember the number and the wire to the Ipod broke. It was too thin. The 530's have a thicker wire and a break-away connection if the wire gets caught. Which is really nice if you catch the line on something. I've had them several months now and they are holding up well. I use them as earplugs at times if I don't feel like putting on the big ear muffs.
Thanks, M.
This dust making stuff is often crushingly boring and having good music to work by is like 10W-40 in the crank case. I have muffs too, which are ok if it's cold but not the other half of the year or if I'm taking a helmet on and off.
Was there anything special about your Shures that the ear specialist had to work with or knew about or was what they did applicable to any in-ear phones? Did you try out the es530's before you bought or was that on faith? Was there something in the show where they showed an ear specialist put the custom plugs on a set of phones?
Sorry for all the questions but this is just something I've been wrestling with for years and just haven't pulled the trigger on something in the bigger buck range. Something always comes up. Like right now, for example, my van has a shot injector. More $$.
I appreciate the information. You're like a pioneer! - r
The way the ear pieces work is that you take your earphones in with you so they can tell what the mating end of the ear insert needs to look like. Then they fill both your ears with a foam-like product which set-up in about a minute. This foam becomes a mold which they use to make an ear piece which is exactly like the inside of your ear. You put that on your ear phones instead of the factory rubber piece.
Hope that helps.Keith
It does, Keith. I'll give that a try. thanks again.
Have a great weekend! - r
Buy a cheap one- I tend to launch mine when I get ticked!!! Doesn't happen often but I seem to go after the radio ( I guess its because I'm always telling my guys to turn it down)
-Lou
I can't believe no one has mentioned satellite. Reception is never an issue , any music genre you could want is there, and the hardware has been as durable as any unit i've had. It's another monthly bill, but it's the best 12.99 a month I spend.
Amen! This radio sounds great! Good music, and plenty of it. It is the best thing since sliced bread.Blues, baby!! Blues all day long. Go Joe Bonamassa!!http://shop.sirius.com/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control/StoreItem.vm&ctl_nbr=2640&siId=1685911&catParentID=7882&scId=7882
Most areas I work in they are illeagal!!, the law dosen't care what brand they are!!
I have the Milwaukee and the Bosch.
Bosch for the office.
Milwaukee for the shop...dust plays heck wit the CD player.
"What's an Arkansas flush?......It's a small revolver and any five cards."
the bosch play off its own battery.12 -18 volt
good for the beach , car camping , it takes a good beating but it think the aux jack is wussy..
i like the sound quality but
id get the bose system if thats a big concern