Zealot B5 Wireless Headphones : consumer review

Zealot B5 Headphones : a quick review.
Version/Model : doesn't say, but think it may be 2015 model.

Quick verdict :
Seems a good standard. Clear but bass bias. Thin earpads. Nice try by Zealot  but could be improved.


Note :
Quite hard to find spec on this headphone knowing which version it refers to. One major gripe in reviews is that it has a proprietry port for charging, but in this newer model it uses a micro-usb port (an improvement).  

VicTsing Fullsize Bluetooth Headset/Headphones with mic (my review)

Model # : 515
VicTsing Bluetooth Fullsize Headphones with mic
As seen on Amazon/Ebay
At time, around $25/£16

My verdict :
For the price, very good sound and build quality but (for me) it can't handle powerful audio such as high watts hifi, but good for phones, youtube, low-power sources. Nice bass and crisp treble. Lasts for hours. A good buy but not for power sources.

Spec :

Review : Philips Airfryer (model HD9220/20) : A quick look

Review : Philips Airfryer model HD9220/20
Bought : Autumn 2013
Price (for me) : £80
My cooking skills : Almost zero
My use : cooking fatty foods, usually from frozen

Quick verdict :
Good idea and cooks well but needs improvement and is way overpriced. I can't recommend at that price unless you really want it. I keep having fat smoke incidents but I am reducing these with strategies.

Amazon USA  search 'Philips Airfryer'
Amazon UK  search 'Philips Airfryer'

Good points :
Seems a sound idea. It looks better at intense convection cooking than other fat-free alternatives I have seen
Very simple to understand and use
Very intense heat
Not too noisy
Certainly cooks things thorough if you can get the settings right
Should be especially decent for making things crispy outside but well cooked inside, such as breaded meats or 'oven' chips. I would say moreso for things with 'bulk' inside.
Fat-free cooking. Quite a lot of fat drips down to the bottom of the tray.

Philips SHC1300 Wireless Headphones review

Review : Philips SHC1300 Wireless (infrared) Headphones

Good :
Work well in line of sight of transmitter (says up to 7m)
The neighbours can't 'tune in'
Can use more than one headphone set with the same transmitter
Light and comfy enough
Decent enough sound.
Very decent power length (maybe 20-30 hours with rechargeable ?)
On/off and volume control on phones 
Uses AA batteries meaning no 'downtime' while recharging
Works fine with my rechargeable AA batteries

Bad :
Sound is tinny/thin (but still decent for non-quality listening)

Review : Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System

Review : Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System
Review based on connecting them to my computer for about 5 minutes (I returned them)
Price : £20/$33
Verdict : Not enough power to judge them for sound quality (which on first impression didn't sound too good). Don't buy.

Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System specifications :
Subwoofer and 2 satellite speakers
Wired control device (volume, headphone input, on/off)
Suibwoofer has bass control knob.
Mains powered
3.5mm input plug to connect to your chosen device
Subwoofer power : 4 RMS
Satellite speakers power : 1 RMS
Total peak power : 14W 

Review based on using for computer for 5 minutes :

Main dislikes :
There's hardly any power/volume. The maximum volume on my computer was about 1/3 of the computer master volume. Headphone was the same. I have read that someone said if you connect the headphone direct to the PC rather than via the speaker control device you might get more volume (I never tried that)

Sound didn't seem too good. The subwoofer too bassy, and the tweeters too tinny.  

Wires everywhere :
As well as all the wires for the speakers, you have more wires for the 'remote wired device'. It says the tweeters have cable management but it's basically a plastic loop at the back of each tweeter to wind your cable around. Don't forget you have the mains plug too. The 2 tweeters connect to the subwoofer with a 3.5mm connector. Then you have the 3.5mm device connector too. What a mess.

Other negative comments I have read :
A lot of people seem to be happy with the speakers (Amazon reviews etc). Of the negative reviews that are to do with sound quality or non-faulty comments, some have said you can hear humming as if the speakers aren't shielded. I didn't use them long enough to notice.

Likes :
I can't think of any. Perhaps they are a cheap option for something like a mobile phone to give you a bit of oomph. But even at a cheap price I took them back.

Verdict :
Very cheap but still not worth it. Avoid. I'm surprised because I thought Logitech would always be good products.

Kind of speakers I would like :
A 2.1 speaker set that used bluetooth. Preferably not mains powered (or optional).

Amazon USA search : Computer Speakers
Amazon UK search : Computer Speakers

Battle of the mini eco-torches : wind-up versus solar

'green' torches seem to be getting more popular (happily), and many are very cheap and meant for a small amount of light (no idea of the amount of lumens. They never usually say, but not much).

In this case I tested an inexpensive Rolson 3 led wind-up torch against a cheap solar 'keyring' 3 led torch available on Amazon or Ebay.

Update Feb 2014
The solar torch bought on ebay/amazon seems to be unable to recharge decently, to the point of being useless now. Either the battery and/or solar panel is not good enough.

I have since bought a solar torch out of Poundworld (UK) which seems to retain power ok. Perhaps they have better Quality Control.  

Conclusion : For me the Solar is the easy winner for brightness and size and practicality and it's cheap.

Update after 2 months : The Solar torch doesn't seem to recharge well. The light is pretty dim. I hope I can sort this out by putting it in strong light for a while    

The details of the 2 torches :

Rolson wind-up torch (comes with wrist strap which I removed):
cost £2/$3.20 (from a shop)

Review of 35w 4700k CFL bulb (and comparing to a 20w bulb)

Review : 35w CFL spiral bulb from Long Life Lamp Company (color temp 4700k)
Cost  : around £6/$10 on amazon

Conclusion : Any CFL under 30w is probably pointless in my opinion. Not enough lumens/brightness (which would seem to most often be the most important thing). For a CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) I would go only for 35w or above. This is a 'cool white' at 4700k color temp, which is a nice 'white' light. Instant start. Quite big but the 'starting point' when choosing a CFL bulb in my opinion. A good buy

Marks : 8/10
Marks per value : 9/10

Review : Owl micro wireless electricity energy monitor

Review :  Wireless micro electricity energy monitor (an Owl energy monitor)
Cost : £25 at the time (about 5 years ago)
Marks out of 10 for value (this model and my price) : 10
Marks out of 10 for this model (an older model) : 10
Marks out of ten for the concept of wireless electricity energy monitors : 10

Note : Every home should have an electricity energy monitor of some sort. Preferably wireless with it's own monitor (i.e. you don't need a computer). I think a gas energy monitor would be good too, but I don't know if these exist or are practical for home use.


What you get (if it's a 'micro' energy monitor) :
The monitor (mine requires 2 AAA batteries)
Transmitter (mine requires 2 AAA batteries) with connecting clip (which you clip around the live cable on the home electricity supply unit.)

bendy mini tripod : demo

cheap generic bendy mini tripod
score for price : 9/10
score overall : 6/10

I bought a bendy mini tripod for my camera. There are more expensive more 'solid' looking ones (such as the gorillapod)  but for my needs (taking photos on a flat surface) this cheap generic tripod seems ideal at the price. For under £2 I got 2 of them !! They are flimsy but for my need and to complement a bigger tripod (if you need one), this was ideal for me. I'm hoping they don't break easily or something. Probably every household should have one of these at the price. Fits standard screw-in for cameras (1/4 inch I think), so it should fit almost all cameras.

demo : Wahl Clipper : Cordless Minipro

Wahl Cordless Minpro Clipper
Inexpensive small 'travel' clipper
Good : Seems to cut ok and is cordless (uses 1 ordinary AA battery)
Bad : Too noisy and needs oiled.
Score : 5/10
Score per cost : 6.5/10
Buy again ? probably not

Amazon USA : Wahl 9307-1301 Cordless Mini Pro 14 Piece Touch-up and Trim Haircutting Kit


Full review below :

Review : Homedics Shiatsu Massager SBM-300HA

Bought this from Asda in January for £40 (presumably overstock from Christmas)
Overall score : 7.5/10
Score per value (£40) : 9/10

Features :
Wide and comfy
Folds up
Professional handheld control panel

Buying a Yamaha portable keyboard

my old Yamaha PSR-225

About to buy a new keyboard to replace my old Yamaha PSR225. I always stick with Yamaha.

It seems the more 'luxurious' models in the Yamaha series start with a 4 or 3, and 2 is the basic models. The 4 and 3's seem to have 'touch sensitive' keys, and presumably 4 is the best but seem slightly 'deeper' in size than the 3 and 2 series (only by 4cm).

The current models, and some discontinued models can be seen here
Latest models of Yamaha portable digital keyboards

At the moment, adding some recent discontinued models, I am looking at
PSR-E423, PSR-E413, PSR-E403
and from the 3 series : PSR-E333, 323, 313, 303

UK : 8 CR202 lithium batteries for 99p

8 CR202 lithium batteries for 99p out of Poundstretcher

I haven’t looked for CR202 batteries online recently, but they always seemed to be expensive. I got 8 CR202 batteries out of POUNDSTRETCHER for 99p but I’m not sure if it will be their regular price. The normal price looked to be £1.99
Still, it’s good they seem to have finally dropped in price.

It used to be you could get a big collection of mixed lithium button batteries out of poundstretcher cheap, but it had all the ones possible apart from CR202 which were the only ones you wanted.

Review : Philips DAB portable radio (model AE5200/05)

Philips DAB Portable Radio model AE5200/05
Price : £25 (£34 on Oct 11)
From Asda
Summary : Good, cheap, but eats up batteries
Score per value : 9.5/10
Overall score : 7.5/10

A great DAB radio for the price but eats up 6 batteries at a time. Probably only get 9 hours out of them. Can be plugged in too. Nice sound (bassy) from the sole speaker. Nice design (stand is a bit flimsy). Reception seems to work well for me. Can save 10 presets. FM too. Overall great, but I would probably now go for the Sony 4 battery comparable portable available.

Lidl wireless keyboard and mouse set (Silvercrest STMS 2017 A1)

Silvercrest STMS 2017 A1

Lidl wireless keyboard and mouse set :
Bought : Lidl
Cost : £20
Conclusion : imperfectly great
Score : 9/10 (if no mouse-battery problem)

Lidl occasionally have a wireless keyboard and mouse set available. As long as it is secure (can't be intercepted), I am delighted with it...

Update : After about a year I am having a problem with the mouse. One of the batteries was a very tight fit but now that area has become looser and the battery doesn't always connect. It means it keeps interrupting the current. I mentioned this battery compartment problem in the original review and it seems to have come home to roost.

Video in post >>>

Review : DAB personal radio from Asda (own brand : model E80210)

DAB personal radio (Asda own brand)
Cost : £25
Conclusion : Fantastic
Rating per value : 10/10
Overall rating : 9/10

List of comments :
No speaker, audio through earphones only
Fantastic sound quality
Easy to use, intuitive navigation
Slightly big but 'skinny' too
Uses 2 AAA batteries, so far power time seems reasonable
Press 2 buttons to lock the buttons
Has FM too
Scans channels on power on
Has 'lock buttons' function

Video below >>