Andy Chen

Former electronics technician for the FBI, current Fire Prevention Officer. Background in electronics, trained EMT, Eagle Scout/Assistant Scoutmaster and dad.

Lukas LK-7500 FHD CUTY Dash Cam review

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I’ve been experimenting with different car dash cams since I discovered that the GoPro cameras don’t feature an auto-record-upon-power-up function.  The last dash cam I reviewed was the Pittasoft BlackVue DR5000GW-HD, and before that, the DashCam Dually in 2010 (see related links for reviews of these products).  I thought the BlackVue DR5000GW-HD did a pretty

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Lantronix xPrintServer Home Edition review

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“Now when you hit ‘print’, it actually prints” says the Lantronix website.  I’ve heard of methods to print from iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, but I never cared about it… until I needed to print something and I was too lazy/unable to get to my desktop iMac.  Would the xPrintServer Home Edition from Lantronix deliver

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Stash the power of the sun with SunStash

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Since I reviewed the Gomadic SunVolt Solar Power Station and Solar Cache High Capacity Battery Pack, I’ve often wondered what would happen if I needed to charge something more demanding, such as a laptop? Now there’s a new Kickstarter project for a neat “upgrade”:  A thin, light and powerful battery companion called the SunStash.

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Eton FRX3 American Red Cross Emergency Radio review

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Unless I’m in the car, I don’t listen to terrestrial, broadcast radio anymore.  At work I have satellite radio, and at home it’s an iPod in a dock.  I haven’t had a dedicated “AM/FM” radio in ages, but since I live in earthquake country (San Francisco Bay Area), I’m overdue.  Thank goodness the Eton FRX3

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Aluminyze Photo Printing review

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“If a picture speaks a thousand words… Aluminyze leaves you speechless!” announced the Aluminyze website.  It is precisely what you think:  your photos are printed on a sheet of aluminum.  Huh?  Why?  Aluminyze says that their aluminum prints are durable, beautiful, and make great gifts.  I had a corner of my office that needed some

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Gomadic SunVolt Solar Power Station and Solar Cache High Capacity Battery Pack review

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As a child of the 70’s energy crisis, I’ve always been fascinated with alternative energy, such as solar power.  The SunVolt Power Station from Gomadic caught my eye as a possible solution to a modern problem:  How do you charge up your gadgets if you don’t have an outlet?  When Gomadic sent the Sun Volt Power

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Tom Bihn Ristretto Bag for iPad (new version) review

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Back in 2010, I reviewed my first Tom Bihn Ristretto for iPad bag.  It was fantastic.  I liked it because you could carry your tablet computing device and a handful of other things, without a bulky bag.  I expected the Ristretto for iPad to last a long time.  I certainly didn’t expect what happened next.  We’ll

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Phosphor E-Ink Digital Hour Watch with Black Polyurethane Band review

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Phosphor has released quite a few watches over the past few years, including the recently reviewed World Time Sport Watch.  Today we’re going to look at one of the original fully-digital models, the Phosphor E-Ink Digital Hour Watch with Black Polyurethane Band.  Functionally, it’s identical to the stainless steel version but with a flexible, sporty strap.

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