A Tip of The Hat To Heil

Posted on by Jeff Posted in microphones & mic stands, Other News, Pro Sound — No Comments ↓

mike2 The online newsletter from Pro Sound News is a great source of news for the pro audio industry. It is avialble through a an online subscripton and there is always an item I find interesting.

Heil Sound, a company that made a name for itself in the 1970’s (they came up with the voice box sound heard on “Frampton Comes Alive“) is now a high end microphone manufacturer. Their special Pink Pearl Mirophone , a large diaphragm vocal mic, is being offered in a pearl pink finish in a fund raising effort for breast cancer awareness. This mic has a really flat response cure and an extremely linear cardiod pattern.

Working with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Heil will donate a portion of every sale of this mic to the Komen Foundation. They’ve pledged a least $6800.00 to the cause.

The Heil PR20 (pink and other colors available) has a special linux structure that handles very high sound pressure levels and is claimed to be immune from overload.

Here’s a link to the PSN story, and another link to the Heil announcement.

If you want to know more about the Heil Mic, click here.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 many other products sound pros need.

How low will you go?

Posted on by Jeff Posted in extension cords, Pro lighting — No Comments ↓

fred looks right When you have a domain like buyextensioncord.com and it includes a toll free telephone number, you get a lot of questions. Taking the time to research customer queries has been a great way to grow our business.

Today, we got a call from someone who needed extension cords to use in large walk-in freezers. The cables he was using were freezing and could no longer be coiled. It was easy to understand his problem, but not quite so easy to find the solution.

If you have ever taken the time to look closely at an extension cord, you’ll see that there is a lot of difficult-to-decipher information printed on or embossed into the cable. This information tells you what environments the cable is designed to be used in and the amount of current that it is safely rated to carry.

Putting this info directly on the cable is required if Underwriters Laboratory is going to give the item its blessing as something safe for consumers to use. Here’s a useful link to safety info from UL about extension cords and how they are rated.

In doing a little research for this customer I came across a very nice diagram of how extension cords are made and the characteristics that give each type of cable its unique rating. Here’s a link.

It turns out that the info our customer needed is included in a 3-5 digit code found on all extension cords. The code is assigned by the National Electrical Code and the data in question usually starts with the letter “S”.

If you want to know a little more, click here.

Anyway, it turns out our customer is going to need a cable with a jacket specification of SJEOW. The “O” in this code means that the cable has a thermoplastic jacket (flexible at low temperatures) and the “W” means that it is rated for outdoor use. Extension cords with this rating will remain flexible down to -45 degrees F.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful supplies for temporary power distribution.

Customer Service From The Top

Posted on by Jeff Posted in gaffers tape, microphones & mic stands, Pro lighting, Pro Sound — No Comments ↓

Tex Talks There’s an interesting feature on NPR these days, about once a week, called “This I Believe”. It’s a modern take on a broadcast feature from the 1950’s started by Edward R. Murrow. This weeks essay features Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig’s List. A couple of things really resonated with me regarding Mr. Newmark’s essay.

Craig Newmark has consistently refused to sell his website, even though it is estimated that it would fetch tens of millions of dollars. He enjoys the community he has built and he doesnt’ want to turn it over to someone else whose motives might be very different from his own. Instead of being the CEO directing a staff who manages a huge domain in cyberspace, he spends his days in customer service. It’s what he really enjoys.

As our business grows, I find that I am constantly being drawn away from what I enjoy most-talking to customers about solving their problems. I like to think that thirty-some years in the special events business has given me some unique insights into subjects like taping down cables and choosing the correct microphone stand. Answering the phone and responding to customers’ email inquiries is the only way to know if the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years is of any real value to anyone else. Using what we learn from our customers can then be incorporated into our websites and the information is available whenever anyone needs it.

The other observation in Craig Newmark’s “This I Believe” is his continuing affirmation that most people are honest and have good intentions. I have to make decisions every day regarding whether or not it is a good idea to extend credit to a new customer. Our experience with customers defaulting on their obligations is amazing. Everyone pays their bills. The default rate is less the 1/10 of 1% and this number has been consistent for years. Having our decisions about credit constantly reaffirmed makes us feel really good about the customers who want to work with us.

I doubt if I’ll ever get around to recording a “This I Believe” essay of my own, but it is good to know I share some beliefs with a cyberhero like Craig Newmark.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful supplies for entertainment production.

At The Bottom of The Food Chain

Posted on by Jeff Posted in batteries, gaffers tape, tape — No Comments ↓

Tex Talks I always enjoy seeing synergy between our customers, even when they might not know that they all have a common relationship with us. When you sell an item everybody uses over and over (we call it “being at the bottom of the food chain”) then you can become a common link among lots of different customers.

One example of this synergy is coming together later this month in Greensboro. The Carolina Theatre (a long time customer of ours) is hosting the debut of Spiritual Cake, a film made as a collaboration between UNC Greensboro and Piedmont Community College. Both of these NC schools have film making curriculums and provide technicians for the North Carolina film and television industries.

Both film programs buy expendables from us and we are pleased to see their collaboration. It is a good sign that the money that the people of North Carolina have invested in education is going to the right place. The idea that there will be jobs in our state for these student film makers may be the only real reason to support the tax breaks that this industry has been given by the NC Legislature.

The debut of Spiritual Cake takes place at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro on April 20 at 7:30 pm and is open to the public. Your ticket is good for the film screening as well as a reception featuring blues and gospel music by Roy Roberts. The cost is only $10.00.

Here’s a great opportunity to support the NC arts community. See you there!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful products for audio production.

Can Something Be “Smart” If It Doesn’t Exist

Posted on by Jeff Posted in batteries, microphones & mic stands, Other News — No Comments ↓

battery bob If you check by here periodically, you know that I have written several times about the proposed change in wireless mic frequency allocation and how it might impact the pro sound industry. The plot thickens.

On the positive side, US Rep. Bobby Rush (D Illinois) has introduced a bill that would go a long way towards protecting the frequencies currently in use by UHF wireless mics. Rep Rush’s bill (HR 1320) would require that unlicensed consumer electrnonics would require “smart” technology which would detect the presence of other frequency users like wireless mics that were in use in the proximity of the unlicensed device. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, on the negative side of this argument, such “smart” technology doesn’t exist. Even if such technology can be brought to market at a reasonable price by the February 2009 date proposed by Rep. Rush, the intermittent nature of the use of wireless mics would probably make “smart” technology designed to locate “in use” frequencies of little value. Either way, the problem of battery life is going to pale, compared to the problems this changeover will bring.

While its good to know that someone in Congress is taking this potential train wreck for the pro sound industry seriously, it is more than a little discouraging that his solution is based on phantom technology. The companies that want to bring all these new wireless devices using UHF channels to market are powerful consumer goods manufacturers and they are sure to fight against any technology that increases the price for their products.

There are two bright spots in HR 132o. One requires that unlicensed devices must provide “adequate safeuards” to not interfere with other devices operating on these UHF television channels. The other sets a date of Feb. 17, 2009 as the earliest date these new devices could be brought into use.

If nothing else, his proposed date gives our industry a little breathing room.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful products for audio production.

Should We Sell Wireless Mics

Posted on by Jeff Posted in microphones & mic stands, Pro Sound — No Comments ↓

mike2 A lot of my time is spent in evaluating new products and deciding how they might meet our customers needs. We have always focused on expendables, but lately we have added some other products because they seemed like a logical extension of our product line.

Now a new challenge is on my desk. Periodically, I write about the good work of our web developer, Dale. He works tirelessly to build good web sites and get our pages highly ranked with the most important search engines.

Soon after he began working with us, we started a number of design projects as a way to see how we might best collaborate. One of these was wirelessmic.net. We did a lot of work on this site and then put it on the shelf while we moved on to something else. We learned a lot about web design and about collaborating. Building this site was a lot of fun.

Well, now that site has climbed to the top of the ladder for non-paid search for Google, Yahoo, and MSN for the search term “wireless mic”. Dale believes that building information-only sites like this can be used to bring traffic to our e-commerce sites. Buywirelessmic.net will bring customers to buybattery.com, or so the theory goes. Our customers prove the value of Dale’s theory every day.

Having such great search engine results for a very valuable search term makes it very tempting to begin selling wireless microphones. There have been lots of new developments in this field, and every new product generation seems to bring lower prices and greater features.

Still, the idea of tying up a lot of money in this sort of inventory is a difficult decision and would require that we reconsider how products are marketed to our customers.

Is it time to roll out buywirelessmic.com? We’ll let you know.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful products for audio production.

The Rise and Fall of Tax Breaks

Posted on by Jeff Posted in duct tape — No Comments ↓

Tex Talks I’ve lived in North Carolina my entire life and have been in some aspect of the entertainment business since the mid 1970’s. North Carolina is a healthy business environment and I have been at this long enough to have survived a number of economic cycles. Sunrise, sunset!

One of the most interesting rise and fall stories of our state’s economy has been the film industry. The area around Wilmington has been the host to the film and television production industry for over 20 years and there have been a number of boom and bust cycles. Major motion pictures like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and television series like Matlock and Dawson’s Creek have called Wilmington home.

I get an online news letter from the NC Film Office and if their newsletter is a true indication of what is going on in our state, then this industry is pretty healthy.

Unfortunately, one reason for the increase in in-state productions is the continued efforts by our state government to favor certain industries with tax breaks. It seems that a production company can accumulate as much as $7.5 million in tax breaks on sales tax, payroll taxes and services taxes. All because they are willing to set up business in NC long enough to make a movie.

I’ve written about similar tax advantages provided when Google decided to locate a server farm in western North Carolina earlier this year. While I understand the importance of bringing jobs to the state (even temporary ones) it is difficult to see how this is so much more important than giving tax breaks to the businesses that have been providing jobs for North Carolinians for years. These are businesses that don’t immediately pick up and move on when some other state (or country) lures them with a better tax incentive. NC has seen major film and television productions move to other states or abroad based solely on who would give the producer the most tax advantages.

Maybe its time to add long term loyalty to the requirements for getting a tax break.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful products for film and television production.

Maybe We Should Sell Car Batteries

Posted on by Jeff Posted in batteries, extension cords, flashlights, Other News — No Comments ↓

battery bob You don’t usually think of car batteries as expendables, but it looks like that is changing. An interesting article in this weeks Wall Street Journal talks about how the demands of today’s electronic-laden cars are taking a real toll on their batteries. A car battery has traditionally lasted 3-5 years but the addition of power sapping devices like DVD players, GPS systems, heated cup holders and security systems has radically altered the life of these batteries.

The design of the auto battery is little changed in decades and what we ask these batteries to do was never imagined 10 years ago. It used to be that about the only thing that used power when the car was shut off was the clock. Now all sorts of items from the cooling fan to your cell phone charger continue to use power long after the car has been parked.

Experts in battery maintenance recommend that the battery be disconnected when the vehicle is parked for more than a couple of weeks. Better yet, use a device called a “trickle charger” to keep the battery charged up even when the car is not being used. These same experts warn that the biggest threats to battery life, extreme weather and harsh vibtration,can’t be avoided.

With the cost of a replacement battery sometimes exceeding $200.oo a little thought given to battery mainteance can go a long way.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful maintenance supplies

The Best Thing About Daylight Savings Time

Posted on by Jeff Posted in duct tape, tape — No Comments ↓

fred looks right Daylight savings time began yesterday, and the best part of an extra hour of daylight is the chance to get into the garden after work. Yesterday was a beautiful early spring day and the extra hour was put to good use getting things ready for early spring planting.

I regulary haul home various samples of products we sell or consider offering to customers, as lots of them have applications in non-production uses. If you’re an avid gardener, you might find these are useful things to have on your garden workbench.

Cotton tie line is the best thing I have ever found for tying plants to stakes. It’s soft so it doesn’t damage the plant and it is easy to tie and untie over and over.

I keep a roll of paper label tape and a Sharpie Marker handy for quick labels. The Sharpie is waterproof and the adhesive on Permacel 724 label tape allows it to be removed and replaced.

Tool hands can be repaired or padded with a quick turn of gaffers tape.

Need to do some color coding? Electrical tape comes in lots of colors and it is waterproof.

My fences are getting pretty old since I have been gardening the same space for a long time. A quick and strong fence repair is easy with a nylon wire tie. Black ties with UV protection will hold up outdoors for years.

A quick waterproof repair to a boot or a glove can be made with a strip of duct tape.

Happy gardening!

Goodbuyguys.com is a collection of web sites (including buytape.com, buybattery.com, buyextensioncord.com, buyaflashlight.com and buywireties.com) designed to deliver a great selection of hard to find products for use around the home.

Time To Change That Smoke Detector Battery

Posted on by Jeff Posted in batteries, extension cords, flashlights — No Comments ↓

Tex Talks Daylight savings time starts this weekend. The clock is being set forward three weeks earlier this year and some confusion is probably in order.

One thing you don’t want to be confused about is the need to change your smoke detector battery. Using the time change as a reminder to change these batteries twice a year is a great idea, and the date change doesn’t diminish the need to attend to this important task. It takes just a minute and its easy to do.

Lots of new residential construction uses hard wired smoke detectors and some homeowners don’t realize that these detectors need battery changes too! The battery provides a backup in case there is a power failure. Quite often an electrical fire can lead to a quick shutdown of your electrical service, leaving the smoke detector without a fresh battery useless. Just because the LED indicator on the smoke detector is glowing doesn’t mean that the battery is good.

A battery that is no longer adequate for your smoke detector may still have enough power to use in other non-critical applications. Try it in some other device before throwing it away.

Goodbuyguys.com is a collection of web sites (including buytape.com, buybattery.com, buymicstand.com, buyextensioncord.com, buyaflashlight.com and buywireties.com) designed to deliver a great selection of hard to find products.

Top