GoodBuyGuys Blog

Are We Living In The Clouds?

Jeff — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:07:40 +0000

I listen to a lot of tech-centric podcasts, and recently have been regularly hearing a computer phrase called “cloud computing“. It sounded interesting but I kept forgetting to find out what it was really all about.

Turns our we have been “in the cloud” for several years. In beginnig the training for a new employee, I realized that I was causing some confusion with my explanation that sometimes she would be accessing files on our own in house server, sometimes at Fedex.com, sometimes at Goodbuyguys.com, etc., etc. In reality, it didn’t make any difference in how she would do her job, but not understanding the difference between running local and online applications could be pretty confusing.

Apparently, cloud computing simply means that the applications you are using on your own computer or workstation reside not on your computer or network, but somewhere on the internet.

When someone enters an order in our office, the information is downloaded “from the cloud“. That is, the order was entered in an online shopping cart that we developed, but is hosted by our partner, Pair Networks. Once the order is entered, our employee goes to Authorizenet.com (back into the cloud) to get the credit card verification, then returns to our inhouse computer system to print out the order for our shipping department.

Once the order is ready to ship, its “back into the cloud” at Fedex.com so that a label can be printed and the package information uploaded to Fedex. They can begin to schedule their planes and trucks long before the packages are picked up at our loading dock.

Then it’s back “out of the cloud” to make sure that the customer’s payment is credited to their account. That information resides on a server in our own offices.

Finally, there is one more trip “into the cloud” in order to send a tracking number to our customer so that they can know that their order has shipped and when it will arrive.

It didn’t take us long to get over our initial fears of having so much data crucial to our operation residing on someone else’s computer. It is incredibly efficient and plays a large part in our growth.

Still, its a good idea to know where you’re really working!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords , OnStage Stand mic stands and “value added” customer service.

I Guess We Just Thought We Were Through With EBAY!

Jeff — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:49:52 +0000

I wrote back in February regarding our unhappiness with EBAY and the decision to close our store, BuyMicStand. We sold a lot of stuff, but the fee structure was so complicated and weighted against the merchant, it was almost impossible to make any money. We waved goodbye to EBAY.

We might have been finished with them, but they aren’t finished with us. EBAY’s solution to the defection of merchants and the closing of stores is to simply keep charging our credit card even though the account is closed.

We went through a complicated and time consuming process of closing our account, which EBAY acknowledged, but we must now go through another complicated process with American Express in order to get our money back and (hopefully) prevent EBAY from charging us again.

We really have not missed the sales that we made through our EBAY store, and we look forward to not missing dealing with these unauthorized charges.

Maybe Digital TV Is A Good Idea Afterall

Jeff — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:07:46 +0000

I must admit that I have been a skeptic about digital television. From the beginning, this looked like a bandwidth grab by the telcom industry, engineered by the FCC, and insuring that the rich got richer. Between the reallocation of broadcast frequencies and the making obsolete millions of televisons, it was hard to see how this was in the interest of the American people.

I have to admit, I am beginning to come around. It is easy to acknowledge that the quality of digital broadcasts in high definition is pretty amazing. I find myself watching things on TV that I would have never considered before. Still, as great as this is, the price point for having a high definition TV is still really steep. Lots of American viewers may never get much from this aspect of broadcasting going digital.

Two other things really have changed my mind.

The willingness of the federal government to underwrite the cost of providing two digital converters to every home that requests them means that you don’t have to abandon your television set if you are not ready. I admit that this will be complicated for some folks and there is sure to be an outcry next February 17 when millions of viewers who have not kept track of impending changes in broadcasting will be surprised to discover that there televisions no longer work. Its hard to predict how this may shake out. Those who understand and implement these converter boxes will receive lots more programming options than they have now.

My real willingness to embrace this change is the unbelievable increase in the amount of available content when you receive your broadcast televion digitally.

We live in a broadcast-rich area of the country, and by simply using a set of rabbit ears in my family room I am able to receive over 30 digital broadcasts.

Of particular interest is the wealth of programming now delivered by our local PBS affiliate, WUNC. Rather than just receiving a single broadcast channel, we now receive five different program streams from the same source. It is great to be able to get regular PBS programming, high definition programming, kids shows, archived tv programs and more. I still have satellite tv programming, but spend more and more time watching free digital broadcasts.

Every local channel now broadcasts in digital, providing multiple programs including always available weather, news and special programming in addition to their regular shows.

Reluctantly, I have to admit that this is a change for the better.

These Guys Really Get It

Jeff — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:43:46 +0000

One of the unexpected benefits of running a web based business is the ability to find out a lot about your customers in a hurry. Most of our customers have web sites and we always take a look at how they present their businesses on the web as part of processing their orders.

A large number of our customers are entertainment production and audiovisual presentation companies. I rarely see anything of real interest at these sites and I remain surprised that industries with such a high level of technical knowledge miss the opportunity to put their best foot forward.

These sites are usually “black box” pictures-pictures of the equipment the company owns- and lists of technical specifications that may impress their competition but rarely mean anything to a potential customer.

That brings me to the point of this posting. When we were in the “hands on” sound and lighting business one of our good friends and competitors was Carey Sound in Greensboro, NC. I have been friends with the company owner, Ken Carey, for over 25 years and he generously sub-contracted shows to us more than once. I guess the term “competitor” doesn’t really fit here.

The web site he has put together for his company is breathtaking in its depth and quality. Any production company seeking to create a real presence on the web would be hard pressed to put together anything better than what Ken has created.

The type of information he so carefully presents is a lesson in how to use the web to gain new customers and hang onto the ones you already have. His “how to” videos are great information and a powerful sales tool. No doubt, they have deflected lots of last minute panic calls from his rental customers.

Ken’s extensive News section is well laid out and makes for lots of good reading if you are in the sound business.

Carey’s Rental section answers lots of the questions that a potential rental customer might have in a good humored and honest manner that lets the renter know exactly what to expect.

The photography is beautiful (lots of smiling faces), the layout is logical and easy to navigate, and details regarding the services and equipment Carey offers are presented with the clients point of view considered on every page.

I’ve spent a well over an hour browsing this site in the last week, and still have not seen it all.

If you are ready to move your company’s web presence into the big leagues, don’t miss this site.

p.s. Congrats to Carey Sound on their new building and their 30 year anniversary.

How Much Longer Will We Need This Analog Link?

Jeff — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:31:04 +0000

When asked about the invention of the automobile, Henry Ford said “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse.” Ford realized early on that a potential purchaser of his invention had no way to conceive of what an automobile was. They were thinking about how to make their current reality better.

Digital audio is quickly bringing live sound to the point where Ford stepped beyond his customer’s reality.

Up to now, the design theory behind bringing digital audio to live sound has been to make the sound person’s reality better. Give them more powerful tools while keeping them in charge of deciding how something should sound.

Now that digital mixing consoles have come way down in price and complication, they are being embraced at every level of the live sound industry. It’s common to see them in churches and schools. Digital microphones are next. When this new mic technology is embraced (sooner rather than later) by the live sound community, the digital signal chain will be almost complete.

I say almost, because there is one giant analog bump in what is otherwise soon to be a complete digital signal path. If you mix sound, that bump is YOU!

How far are we away from the digital live sound reality that doesn’t include the sound guy?

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Take the latest Dave Matthews Band album. It’s recorded digitally and everything on the album can be reproduced and analyzed in the digital domain. Stick with me here. I’m not talking about how a song is actually played, but rather the volume, tonal quality and relationship of all the sounds on the album to each other.

If the band wants to closely reproduce the sound of the record (the “mix” if you will) in a live performance, then why not have the person who used to mix the sound be replaced by a computer that knows what the song is supposed to sound like. Every instrument on stage will soon be introduced into the live sound system either by a digital direct box or a digital microphone. Instead of a human moving faders and twisting knobs, the computer doing the mix will maintain the tonal integrity, relative volumes and dozens of other parameters analyzed from the recorded sound. There will be no problem if the arrangement on stage changes from night to night, because the mixing computer doesn’t really care about how the song is played, only about how it sounds.

It wasn’t long ago that most of us believed that cost, reliability and user-complication would keep digital mixers from ever being accepted in the live sound world. We’re over that.

Look for this to happen with spoken word first.

A presenter will simply read a couple of sentences into a digital recorder that interfaces with a digital mixer. When the speaker steps up the podium, the sound system will already know what he or she is supposed to sound like. When this info is combined with the digital analysis of the output of the sound system (we’ve had this software in common use for years) then the true sound of the presenter’s voice can be delivered directly to every seat in the house.

Will the future of live digital sound need us at all? Let me know what you think.

So Long, Ebay

Jeff — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:05:33 +0000

After a year of swimming upstream in a effort to sell our products on ebay, we’ve decided to hang it up. Thru an ebay store called buy mic stand, we have been selling microphone stands using their “buy it now” auction process. The actual selling went pretty well, but dealing with constantly changing ebay policies and pricing was just way too complicated. The harder ebay tried to improve their seller interface, the worse things got. Between listing fees, monthly fees, selling fees, relisting fees, and PayPal charges, there was not much left for the seller at the end of the tranasction.

The final straw for us came because a change in the ebay policy for posting feedback about customers. There is a lot of scamming going on by ebay buyers, and sellers have been able to use a system for posting feedback about difficult transactions. This lets sellers warn merchants about problem customers. Feedback is one of the most important things keeping ebay transactions on track, as neither sellers nor buyers want negative feedback.

We are mystified about ebay’s decision to stop allowing sellers to post negative feedback about customers who cause problems. It seems like ebay would welcome input from sellers (ebay’s customers) about members of the ebay community that make things more difficult for everybody. Apparently, protecting sellers is of no real interest to ebay. Posting in lots of ebay-oriented forums would seem to indicate that we are not the only merchants jumping ship.

While we were trying to make ebay work for us, our search results for mic stand and microphone stand in major search engines have risen to solid page one returns (thank you, Dale), so ebay doesn’t really fit in with our plans anymore anyway.

Meanwhile, everything we offered in our ebay store (and a lot more) continues to be available at buymicstand.com. See you there!

Now That’s Some Cool Tape

Jeff — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:06:50 +0000

After being in the tape business for twenty years, it’s not every day that learn something new. When a customer shares a new tip with us, I enjoy passing it along to you.

We’ve been working with the US Volleyball Assoc. over the last year to help develop some new floor marking products. Volleyball matches are often played on basketball gym floors and this means that a temporary playing court must be laid out over the existing basketball lines. Its a lot of work!

Gym floors require a tape that won’t damage the floor finish when its removed and we have been supplying Shurtape 724 to a number of college programs for their floor.

Laying out a playing surface on a synthetic floor requires a different product. Vinyl tape works better and this is where a really clever technique comes in.

Our friends at USA Volleyball put their vinyl tape in the refrigerator. They learned that when the tape is cold it doesn’t stretch, meaning that the lines are straighter and the tape is less likely to contract and pull up from the floor. It’s a great idea and it really works.

Need some tape to put temporary markings on the floor? Check in the refrigerator!

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Is This The “BandAid” Of The Tape World

Jeff — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:03:36 +0000

I got a call this morning from a stage designer who had been asked to finish temporary stage with a “Marley” floor. We don’t sell portable dance floors, but we do score well with Google Search for the term “Marley floor tape” so he gave us a call. I tried to help him out and then did a little digging to try to find out why he was unable to come up with any info on this flooring product.

“Marley” has become the generic name for portable vinyl flooring, even though there are lots other companies that make similar products. Almost any stage manager or lighting designer will refer to the “Marley” when talking about a stage surface to dance on.

It took me a while to come up with any info on “Marley” but I eventually was able to learn that Marley was a German manufacturer who has been out of business for at least 20 years. Even though there are probably very few genuine Marley floors still in use, their brand name is still the generic term for portable vinyl dance floors. Today’s versions of this dancing surface works much better than Marley’s product but none of the current manufacturers have been able to change the term used when talking about dance floors.

I guess we will continue to call our dance floor tape “Marley Tape” as long as this is the term the dance industry uses. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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School’s Not Out Forever After All!

Jeff — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 21:45:37 +0000

My first job in the entertainment industry was as a stagehand, helping produce concerts at UNC, my alma mater. I was hooked after my first show.

One of my earliest experiences was working on an Alice Cooper show. Building a gallows, and then watching one of the best known rock stars of the day (remember “School’s Out “) “hang” himself was pretty heady stuff for an 18 year old in 1970.

Who would have thought that 37 years later Cooper would have become a dedicated Christian and a key player making a real difference in the lives of troubled teenagers. Cooper and Chuck Savale have begun the Solid Rock Foundation, a not-for-profit Christian-based sactuary for kids in Phoenix, AZ.

As part of the process for raising over $7 millions dollors for the Foundation, Cooper is involved in producing concerts as as a fund rasing effort. In addition to supporting their capital campaign, the concerts provide an opportunity to teach real world job skills to kids who might well go on to work in the entertainment industry.

I have written before about the lack of interest among young people in pursuing career opportunites in concert production. It is an industry that is graying quickly and it’s good to see such noble efforts to create a new source for technicians.

This effort has garnered lots of support from major equipment manufacturers and local Arizona venues. They will help equip the Foundation’s center to be built on donated land at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Solid Rock Foundation, click here.

Are You Sure Its Shure?

Jeff — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:15:40 +0000

I’ve written a couple of posts about counterfeit batteries. They continue to be a big problem for legitimate battery sellers.

Prosoundnews.com has an article today about a new counterfeit issue that the pro sound and audio visual production community needs to know about. Counterfeit Shure Microphones. The popular line of Shure Beta mics is apparently a new target for Asian counterfeit manufacturers. Anybody who purchases mics from small, unknown online dealers or any source they have no background on is at risk of being taken.

If you’re not particularly concerned about an industry giant like Shure losing sales or revenue, you might want to reconsider. If you buy a counterfiet mic, you may be a loser as well.

You may save some money on the purchase price, but there are several ways that your savings could evaporate in a hurry:

Use of substandard materials-Shure makes some of the most durable mics in the business. Counterfeiters do not.

Mics that do not perform up to spec-When miking a stage, you count on specs like “polar pattern” to get the best sound quality. It does not matter what you do if the mic doesn’t match the specs that Shure intended.

No warranty- You may not find out that you have a counterfeit mic until you return it to Shure for warranty repair. Don’t expect them to fix something they didn’t sell.

Not sure of the reliability of your dealer? Use this Shure Dealer Locator.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Look to us first to meet your microphone accessory and battery needs.

Looking For “Value Added”

Jeff — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:46:57 +0000

When your business is primarily distribution of products, it can be difficult to add easily perceived value to what you sell. I grew up in the printing business where a publisher was able to apply ink to paper and create something of much greater value than either of the two raw materials. In the case of our family business, it was greeting cards-adding a clever idea and high quality art is what added real value to ink on paper.

When the basis of your business model is taking items out of a large box and putting them into a series of smaller boxes, it is a real challenge to add additional worth that the customer will value.

We’re always on the lookout for how others do it.

A recent online purchase of a pair of shoes for my daughter led me to a pretty incredible experience with an online retailer called “Zappos“. Their motto: “We are a service company that happens to sell.”

It is hard to imagine a product more challenging for online sales than shoes. Not only does every manufacturer have a different idea of what a size 7 is (or any other size for that matter) but the selection of shoes is incredibly subjective. Not only do you care what the shoe looks like on the page, you also care about what it looks like on your foot.

Zappos not only offers “free” overnight shipping (obviously built into the price) but, if you are unhappy with your selection, they offer free return shipping as well. Full refund with no questions asked if you choose to return the shoes.

My daughter wanted something different than the Christmas present I gave her-no surprise there. She was able to pick out a new choice and have them the next day, and I was able to return the original purchase with no hassle at Zappo’s expense.

Obviously, if too many customers were unhappy, Zappos’ free return service would not work. It’s essential that they achieve customer satisfaction the first time around on most purchases. With the overall commitment to service they showed us, my guess is that the percentage of returns is not too high.

Regardless, we’ll shop at Zappos again.

Got a good “value added” idea ? Share it with us.

Now, That’s One Tough Mic Stand

Jeff — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:50:05 +0000

We’re considering producing some “how to” videos to add to goodbuyguys.com, so I did a Youtube search to get a sense of what might be out there. Not a lot really, so I am hoping that we can put together some simple, but informative instructional videos for those interested in building their production skills.

I did, however, come across one microphone stand-realted video that you really ought to see.

Blacklie Lawless, the guitar player for W.A.S.P. has a mic stand that might qualify as a state fair ride. Take a look at this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tJbNLu3QDrU

Overall, I’m not a big fan of heavy metal, but you’ve gotta admit that no musical genre does a better job of turning a simple piece of sound equipment into a prop. Something as simple as Jon Bonjovi’s white mic stand or Korn’s female figure stand add a lot of visual interest to the set.

W.A.S.P. ’s combination mic stand, motorcycle & pogo stick somehow manages to make the microphone stand a part of the show. It even takes a bow at the end!

They Won’t Lose This Cord Anytime Soon!

Jeff — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:33:10 +0000

A newspaper article headline in the business section of yesterdays Raleigh, NC News & Observer caught my eye.

“Losing The Cords On Flat TVs”

Thinking this AP article might be about extension cords, I read a little before realizing that the author, Peter Svensson was actually talking about the ability to send television data to a large screen TV wirelessly using technology similar to the WIFI signals now found distributing computer data in so many homes.

Three different wireless protocols for delivering data to flat panel televisions will be featured at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It uses recently allocated spectrum that is not supposed to interfere with WIFI and it has a range that reportedly will limit it from spilling into your neighbor’s apartment. This has the potential to make the home theatre installer’s life a lot easier.

Unfortunately, no where in the article did the writer even mention the most important cord of all. THE POWER CABLE! That certainly isn’t going to be lost anytime soon.

One of the most popular locations for large flat panel televisions is over the mantle. How many houses are built with an electrical outlet in the middle of the wall over the fireplace? Not many.

More importantly, while the installation of low voltage cabling for video and data can be safely installed by a hobbyist or homeowner, the installation of a 110volt electrical outlet needs to be done by a licensed electrician. Doing this installation in a space adjacent to a fireplace flue requires special cable and a lot a care to prevent creating a fire hazard.

LCD and plasma display video monitors use a lot of power, and ideally, the electrical outlets they are plugged into also need special surge protection to protect the TV from electrical surges. Providing power for such an expensive item shouldn’t be done as an afterthought.

Now, when flat TVs can lose the power cord, that’s an article I look forward to reading.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Count on us to meet your power distribution needs.

Who Has Time To Write This Stuff?

Jeff — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:44:59 +0000

When I got back from taking a few days off at Christmas I had over 5000 email messages in my inbox. I have had my email address on hundreds of web pages for over ten years, so I’ve become some sort of spam magnet. Even with lots of filters, I still have to wade through several hundred messages on any given day. Believe it or not, I don’t really mind.

Sure, I’m bombarded with a lot of stuff that is a total waste of time, but a lot of it is pretty entertaining.

Who has the time to create subject lines like “real bored astronauts” or “tire round go wheel“? I realize that this is must an attempt to fool my spam filters in order to sell me something, but somebody actuallly has to write this stuff. Is this actually their job?

Maybe I have too much time on my hands, but when I see something like “Sailing Boat Waters Rainbow” it’s hard not to take a look.

Fortunately, on our latest web site, goodbuyguys.com, we were able to implement a “contact us” form based method for customer inquiries that does not allow spammers to find my address. It means that you can get real questions and comments to me but spammers can’t lift email addresses from our pages. Hope I’m not helping to put some really creative writers out of business.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Got questions about audio visual and production supplies? Contact Us!

Give ‘Em An Inch, They’ll Take A Mil!

Jeff — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:18:25 +0000

No, that’s not a misprint. I really did mean “mil“.

I recently came across an online ad for duct tape that listed this information under “roll length”.

60 Yds.-180 Ft.-55 Meters

Yes, a standard roll of duct tape or gaffers tape is 60 yards, or 180 feet, but that is not the same as 55 meters. 55 meters is longer than 60yds. Just a little longer, but nonetheless, it helps me make a point.

Tape manufacturers seem to constantly mix standard and metric measurements at will, usually to serve their own purposes.

The width of a roll of gaffers tape was two inches for decades. Simple, easy to remember, and true. About ten years ago, all the major manufacturers of this and other cloth tapes changed to a metric standard for width, and reduced the width of a roll of tape to 48 millimeters. The change was hardly noticable on a single roll of tape but when you spread that size reduction over literally millions of rolls made by a major manufacturer in a single year, the difference was huge. It adds up to almost a full roll of actual tape in a case of 24 rolls.

By using the metric standard for width they reduced the roll size by 4%, but by not adopting the metric measure of 55 meters for length, they didn’t have to increase the roll length.

To confuse things further, the thickness of tape is measured in “mils” with “mil” meaning a thousandth of an inch. Here the mix standard (inches) and metric (thousandths).

If you’ve got any good ideas on how to standardize this system, let me know.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. We’re your first choice for “Satisfaction Guaranteed” tape products.

Can Some Well Placed Gaffers Tape Help You Get What’s Coming To You?

Jeff — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:10:09 +0000

I don’t watch much television, and if I do, its usually “late night”. I’m always surprised to see how prominently musical equipment manufacturers logos are displayed when you see bands on programs like Late Night With David Letterman or The Tonight Show. While its true that some of these players have endorsement deals with the equipment makers, others don’t. More importantly, in most cases companies like Yamaha and Tama aren’t paying the networks directly for this tremendous exposure. Meanwhile companies like Ford and GM are paying millions for advertising on the same shows that might be nearly as effective.

Its a lot easier to get video exposure for your band than it was a few years ago. You Tube, cable and satellite TV, and other online channels mean that performers using musical equipment have tons of opportunities to be seen. If you are interested in the possibility of getting some sort of endorsement deal, try using a little well placed gaffers tape to cover up the logos of any equipment that might appear in your video.

You can be sure that if someone from Marshall or Fender sees you using their equipment with the logo obscured they will realize that they are missing an opportunity to put their name in front of lots of eyeballs. With a popular YouTube video getting millions of views, this type of exposure can rival that of a 3 minute performance by a popular artist on a network program.

Equipment manufacturers pay lots of money to popular performers to use and be seen with their gear. There’s no reason that you should miss out.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. We’ve got gaffers tape in 13 colors!

Why Does This Device Stay Trapped In The 1950’s?

Jeff — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:47:04 +0000

I was adding some components to our office alarm system yesterday and had to plug in a new outboard power supply (wall wart) to power it. While there was a spare outlet (two, actually) available, the two power supplies already plugged into two of the four available outlets rendered the last two useless.

Whether you are dealing with duplex (two outlets) or quad (four outlets) the spacing of your wall outlets has not changed for decades. The space above or below (as well as side-to-side for quads) is still spaced like it was when houses and offices were built in the 1950’s. There are lots of devices designed to get around the problem, but they require additional components, complication and expense.

Since no single connector would ever plug into multiple outlets at the same time, there is absolutely no reason to continue to adhere to this standard. Why don’t wall outlets built into new buildings reflect the need to plug power supplies directly into the wall without covering adjacent outlets? It wouldn’t prevent any devices currently in use from being plugged in, but would accomodate all the devices we now use that require wall warts.

This is a great opportunity for those who market residential and commercial installed wiring devices to solve a problem, create added convenience for the end user, make a safer environment (fewer overload and trip hazards) and maybe even make a little more money themselves.

Let me know what you think.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Count on us to meet your power distribution needs.

We Never Saw This One Coming

Jeff — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:53:16 +0000

For the last couple of weeks we’ve seen a huge spike in microphone stand sales at buymicstand.com and our ebay store “buy mic stand“. We had no idea why. I should have asked my kids!

It seems the must-have item for this year’s Christmas is an XBox 360 game called Rock Band. Growing on the popularity of Guitar Hero, Harmonix has released a game that includes not only a guitar, but a drum set and a microphone as well. What it doesn’t include is a microphone stand.

Suddenly, every gadget and gift giving blog I come across talks about Rock Band and about the accessories you’ll need to play the game correctly. A mic stand is one of the accessories that the game maker doesn’t offer.

I hadn’t checked our Google search ratings lately, but currently we are number 1 for the search term “microphone stand” and number 2 for the term “mic stand“.

Maybe we’ll sell enough stands for me to be able to put Rock Band under our Christmas Tree.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Count on us to meet your mic stand needs.

Computer Guy, Meet Sound Guy

Jeff — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:17:38 +0000

My experience with using personal computers goes back to the early 1980’s, so I’ve had more than my share of opportunities to set up, take down, reconfigure, and generally wander around computer peripheral cabling. The more I handle this stuff, the more mystified I get.

I began my career as a an audio techncian, and spent many years building, setting up, configuring, and repairing concert sound systems. People who design computer peripheral wiring could learn a lot from the audio industry.

While the performance and compatibility of computer peripherals continues to improve, the interconnections between these devices never catches up. I can’t think of a single data-type connector that comes close to matching the performance of the lowly audio XLR connector, a design that is well into its second half-century of use.

I just spent 15 frustrating minutes trying to replace a computer monitor in the office, only to be reminded that there are at least three (if not more) different pin configurations for a D-sub connector, even though they all have the same physical shell. Maybe, it’s just me, but I almost always have to try to plug in a USB connector at least two times, as there is nothing visible on the outside of the connector to indicate which end is up. I guess there are savings involved in making ethernet connectors with with almost useless plastic locking pins, but the savings quickly evaporate when you spend a half-hour trying to pry one out of a computer port after the release tab snaps off. The list goes on and on.

Audio connectors, on the other hand, are designed to be patched in the dark, repaired (when necessary) in the field, and to be common to hundreds and hundreds of different manufacturers equipment. The Shure SM57 microphone ( probably the most popular and common in the world) uses the same connector now as when it came to market in 1965. A 40 year old SM57 works with a brand new Chinese-made microphone cable right out of the box.

We’re depending more and more on computer-based devices all the time, and the portability designed into these items means that they are constantly having to be cabled and uncabled. Hopefully, manufacturers will consider adopting some connector standards that are up to the task.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Count on us to meet your cable needs.

This Experiment Didn’t Take Long

Jeff — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:30:37 +0000

As the raw material in batteries continues to increase in price, we feel real pressure to try and save customers some money. We’ve steadily watched the cost of alkaline batteries increase, so I like to test non-name brand competition whenever I can.

I’m sitting and staring at two glowing flashlights on my desk as I write this blog-one flashlight is using a couple of Duracell Procell AA batteries and an identical light contains a fresh pair of AA from a company called Permalife.

Unfortunately,it looks like the “Permalife” is going to be considerably less than “Permanent”. It’s already starting to dim.

We were excited when we got pricing information about the Permalife brand, as these batteries had real potential to save our customers some money. The savings evaporate in a hurry if it takes three or four batteries to match the performance of one ProCell.

It’s bad when a flashlight fails in use, but you usually get some warning. It gradually fades out rather than failing all at once. A wireless microphone is very different. Once its voltage in the transmitter falls below a certain point, the receiver becomes vulnerable to all sorts of outside interference. This can be disasterous or funny. Usually the former. Rarely the latter.

As the sun sets on this blog, the Permalife-equpped flashlight fades to black and our quest for a good no name battery continues. If we ever find one, I’ll let you know.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. We’re your source for honest battery information.

Is This The Future of Rechargeable Batteries?

Jeff — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:51:51 +0000

When whoever invented the USB interface (Universal Serial Buss) they probably had no idea how universal this connection protocol could become. The USB connector is starting to show up on all sorts of devices to serve a function that is no longer limited to data transfer.

We spend a lot of time watching trends in rechargeable batteries, and the use of the USB interface as a port for charging a battery powered device is really starting to become common. IPODs and other MP3 players, cameras, recorders and lots of other devices with onboard rechargables now use the USB connection for battery charging. You can use the battery charger supplied with the device is you want to, but the real value in this set up is that it gives your computer (laptop or otherwise) the dual purpose of being a universal battery charger. Best of all, the battery can be charged while you use the computer for its intened purpose with no slowdown in its performance.

Travelers who are tired of having to carry a battery charger for every device in their bag (think Martha Stewart facing down the CEO of Sony) can now look forward to having one powerful multipurpose device charge batteries in the background. You can forget about which computer platform you use as well. A device that charges off a USB port doesn’t care if you are a PC or Mac user. “Universal” really does mean “universal”.

Anybody considering a battery powered gadet purchase for a Christmas present (particulary for a road warrior) ought to be sure that the device is equipped with a USB connector that serves the dual purpose of charging the battery.

Perhaps this really is the beginning of the end for a different charger for every device.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.
Look to us for all your battery needs.

“It’s Alive….It’s Alive”

Jeff — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:58:40 +0000

In the rush to jump on the high definition television bandwagon, Honeywell has introduced an HDMI cable that they claim is “self healing”. According to Engadget, Honeywell’s CurexE cable has some sort of error coding built into it that uses inline LED’s to show whether the signal chain is transmitting the correct info to your HD device. It’s hard to understand how they can all the device “self healing” as it has no ability to address problems at either end of the the data transmission so it can’t really “heal” anything. At best, it can only diagnose what may be wrong with the components it connects. And that’s on a good day!

Frankly, this item looks like it was developed by the marketing department rather than engineering. Here’s how this product is described in Honeywell’s own press release:

“We’ve made this cable intelligent by integrating a chip into the connector that performs two major functions,” said David Coleman, Program Manager, CE Cable Products, Honeywell. “First, the chip’s line driver ‘cures’ corrupted HDCP and EDID data that can lead to serious audio and video artifacts. Second, we added ‘light’ in the form of LEDs embedded into the connector that let installers monitor the most critical elements of the HDMI interface for problems.”

The parentheses around “cure” are theirs and their description of the “cure” doesn’t really shed much light on this voodoo.

As the broadcast industry approaches the deadline of 2009’s conversion to digital television, a lot of consumers are going to be taken to the cleaners by televion accessory makers who bring very little value to the table. Honeywell’s CurexE cable looks like one of these offerings.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Great products for audio-visual production available on the internet everyday.

Aren’t We All Selling Something?

Jeff — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:35:05 +0000

I try spend part of every day visiting forums where there are discussions among hands-on users of the products we sell. You can get a lot of good information about how people use what we sell to solve problems and its possible to develop good theories about how trends will develop over the coming months and years.

Unfortunately, those who moderate these forums (a thankless task, I know) have become so concerned about members using their forums to sell products that they are denying their membership the chance to take advantage of some of the most expert opinions available in the marketplace.

We have a very large product user base of stagehands and theatre techs, and almost every problem they face is going to cost them something to solve. Why deny these hard working technicians access to information from those who know these problem solving products the best.

I tried for a while to post solutions and start legitimate discussion on some of these forums, but I was constantly being threatened with banishment because the moderators did not want any links in their forums to any commercial sites.

Here’s a couple of quick examples.:

A number of theatre techs were discussing how to best remove adhesive residue from cables. I’ve done a lot of this and we sell a product that does the job really well. A link to this product on one of our web sites might have saved somebody a lot of time. Not Allowed!

I came across a post from a church sound technician who was concerned about poor battery life in her wireless microphones. It turns out that the church was using old-style carbon batteries in an attempt to save money. A simple link to buybattery.com where we sell the most highly regarded wireless mic battery around at very competitive prices might have been of real use to this person. Not allowed!

I understand the need to control spam and prevent postings from people who are selling something completely irrelevant to the discussion, but as long as these forum moderators attempt to block information from those who have the most to offer, they are not serving their members the best they could.

Is Your ISP Giving You Your Money’s Worth?

Jeff — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:10:30 +0000

Has Duracell Solved the Rechargable Problem

Jeff — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:35:48 +0000

I’ve written many times about the problems with rechargable batteries, so I am anxious to try out Duracell’s newest attempt to make this concept work. Carrying the tongue twister name of Duracell Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries, these nickel metal hydride (NiMH) cells have a couple of features that should be viewed as an advantage.

Nickel metal hydride technology is a lot more stable than other rechargable technologies and it allows Duracell to sell this product pre-charged. You can use them right out of the package. Even if they are a year old. This ability to hold a charge (and hopefully not leak while doing so) means that the problem of the rechargables needing to be charged periodically even if they are not used may have been solved.

It has yet to be seen if these new batteries will have a constant and predictable discharge curve that will make them applicable for wireless microphones.

Unfortunately, there is at least one downside. the suggested retail price for a package of four AA is $12.99!

Duracell Continues Move Towards A Sale

Jeff — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:30:27 +0000

Proctor and Gamble has made a major move towards confirming rumors about the sale of its Duracell division with the announcement that The Blackstone Group has been retained to advise it on finding a buyer. The Duracell brand generates over $2 billion in annual battery sales, so this is a very big deal. The sale price may reach as high as $7 billion dollars.

While Duracell remains healthy, it apparently is not generating the sort of growth numbers that P&G expects to see. It has been clear from the point of view of distributors that P&G did not meet the same standards for dealer support that had been provided by Gillette when they owned the brand. It will be interesting to see if a new owner can improve product delivery.

P&G has owned the ProCell brand for well over a year, yet there is still no reference to the product on their own web site. Not even a link directly to the duracell.com/procell web site. A “brand” search at the P&G website doesn’t even acknowledge the Procell brand.

The Blackstone Group is an international leader in the area of mergers and acquisitions, so the public announcement that they are involved in this project means that a change is inevitable. Check back here regularly for updates.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. We’re a great source for entertainment industry news too!

I Can’t Believe There Isn’t A Better Way

Jeff — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:54:14 +0000

One of my favorite household products is WD-40. I probably use it everyday and you might find a dozen or more cans around my house and shop at any given time. There’s not much it won’t do. It’s sort of like duct tape, just in a spray version.

I bought a new can yesterday and was amazed to see that they still attach the nozzle to the side of the can with a piece of cellophane tape. The same as they have done for 40 or more years. Its not a good solution.

Believe me, I’m all for anything that uses tape, and the makers of WD-40 must use miles of the stuff, one inch at a time, to attach these removable nozzles. The nozzle (just a plastic straw, really) is necessary to get the lubricant/solvent/penetrant into hard-to-reach places but there’s no place to put it when you want to put the cap back on the can. So, you lose the nozzle long before you use up what is in the can.

Rumor has it that the WD-40 company is preparing to release a new type of can with a feature called “Smart Straw“. I hope it works as well as WD-40 does.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. We’re here with great supplies for work and home.

Growth of Adhesive Tape Industry

Jeff — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:40:20 +0000

My Google news alerts this morning pointed to a report about the anticipated growth of the pressure sensitive tape industry over the next several years. The report projects strong growth through 2010. Shurtape (the maker of 665 gaffers tape) sure thinks so.

Shurtape now has a new 130,000 square foot distribution facility in Hickory, NC . That’s room for a whole lot of tape. This new center has 45 foot ceilings, 33 loading docks, and there is room to grow. The Shurtape facility is the anchor tenant of the Catawba Industrial Business Park a 45 acre development in Catawba County.

Shurtape’s acquisition of the Arts & Entertainment division of Permacel, along with their strategic alliance with Pro Tapes and Specialties assures that they will be at the center of these rosy growth projections.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Count on us to meet your pressure sensitive tape needs.