Saturday, 30 July 2011

Remote Controls - canon, time-lapse


It's a shame that camera makers like Canon and Nikon don't just bake this kind of functionality right into these new DSLR camera bodies so that they can sell you their over-priced accessories. It's fortunate that these aftermarket solutions are around to help fill the void left in the DSLRs! Canon doesn't even make (that I could find) a remote shutter release for their rebel products that also can do a timed trigger. I've found ones that let you do BULB exposures and wireless remotes. But neither will do a programmable timer based trigger ideal for doing timelapses, etc..

Buy this. Totally worth it. A few minutes and you'll have it all figured out. You can program in a delay (how long to wait before starting the program-ideal for setting up something that you want to start shooting a few hours before you go to sleep!), how long for each exposure (in BULB mode), how frequent to shoot a frame, and how many pictures to shoot in the sequence. This is the only downside. It can only do 399 exposures unless you leave it unselected and then it will just keep going on perpetually until you run out of battery or memory! Overall exceptional value. Timer Remote Control RS-60E3 For Canon XS XSi T1i XT XTi

Works well as an intervalometer, I've let it run overnight with my camera for time-lapse photography and it works great. Easy to configure and use. Build quality overall seems good, however there was a problem with the one I received. The shutter button will not stay in the locked position. After pressing the shutter and pushing it forward to lock it, it pops right back out. Can not get that feature to work. It works well for operating the shutter, and works well for focusing on a half-press, but it just will not lock. So if I wanted to set the shutter speed to bulb, I'd have to hold the button for the whole exposure without letting it go. Not a big deal for me, as I own the Canon RS-60 E3 if I need that feature. I bought this just for doing time-lapse, and it works well for that purpose.

Since Canon didn't make a timer-Remote for the T1i I had to find an aftermaket item.



I found this one and love it. I use it for taking night Sky images (astrophotography) and would cerrtainly recommend it to anyone.



Rick

Every amateur photographer is going to wish they had a remote shutter release at some point. This one combines a remote release and a photo timer for long exposures all into one extremely handy unit.



The LCD display has a nice backlight which will come in handy when taking long bulb exposures of the night sky, and the timer function can control Delay, Long exposure time, and Time Interval between shots, and number of timed shots.



The build quality seems to be very good, maybe not up to "Pro" grade, but still very good. Uses 2 AAA batteries for its power source, which is nice since you can find them almost anywhere. There is no power switch, but the batteries should last for YEARS in this application, since all they do is power the LCD display and timer. You can remove them if you like for storage, but I see no need. The cord could be just a foot or 2 longer, but it's still adequately long for most uses. There is also a bi-color LED that shows green for metering and autofocus, and red for shutter release... a nice feature. This timer is a bit large, and eats up a good bit of room in my camera bag pocket, but then again, that same vice makes it feel very good in the hand as well. Can't have your cake and eat it too.



This is a very versatile piece of kit that everyone should have in their camera bag!

This is an excellent product for anyone looking to take time lapse photos. Feels kind of cheap, but it also doesn't seem like it needs to feel any higher quality for the kind of work it does. It is very simple to use. The only major con is that the instruction manual it comes with was very poorly translated into English. I figured out how to work it on my own before I opened the manual, but looking through the manual I realized I did the right thing by figuring it out by trial and error instead. It is very simple though, as there isn't much to it. Overall, I give it 5 stars because considering you can pay upwards of $200 on something like this, $17 is an incredible price!



I use the remote with my Canon T2i, and here is an example of what I've gotten out of it: []

I bought this timer remote so I can perform time lapses and long exposure shots. The build quality is decent and the screen is easily readable. There is no off switch but you can either take out the batteries or leave the thing on (so far the batteries I've first put in have lasted 6 months). The screen also lights up for easy viewing in dark environments. I have left my camera on for 30 hours to do a time lapse and the timer remote did not fail on me. It's definitely not a name brand but it costs about 1/10 price of a Canon remote so I can live with that. - Time-lapse - Canon - Camera Remote - Timer'


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Remote Controls - canon, time-lapse camera remote Remote Controls - canon, time-lapse

Ipad Leather Case - ipad accessories, ipad cases


We bought a different case when we purchased the iPad. The case wouldn't hold the iPad in securely and didn't allow for a stand. The Bear Motion case is a little less expensive than the first case we had and a hundred times better. It holds the iPad securely, protects it and the stand feature is wonderful -- holding it at just the right angle for use. I would highly recommend the case to iPad owners. Bear Motion (Trademark) Genuine Leather Case for Apple Ipad 1 (first generation) - Black

The ipad fits well into the pocket. The cutouts are where they need to be and allow plenty of room for effective operation.



The case itself looks good and the stitching has held up to my frequent use. My pocket has loosened up a bit, but that's only because I accidentally stretched it while putting another item into the bag where my ipad was already stored.



The magnetic lock is a nice touch. It's not too firm or too light.



This case is a bit cheaper than others out there. If you're looking to pay a little less and get good quality then go for this one.

This folio cover smells, feels, looks, and responds like genuine leather. I use to work with leather as a hobby, and if this isn't real leather then my hat is off to them. It fit the Apple Ipad like a tight glove without blocking any of the controls, plugs, speakers, mic,or earphone connector. I did see the review about the person being disappointed with the crease in the cover, but that is required to make it a 3 in 1 built-in stand. It meets our needs for using the Ipad not only as a 3-way stand, but additional ways. I doubt the quality of this product can be beat for this price of $28.99. My wife and I are very happy with this Bear Motion Genuine Leather Case Folio 3-in-1 built-in Stand for Apple Ipad. There are cheaper covers, but they likely synthetic leather or plastic. Good Luck in your selection.

I hesitated based upon a couple of reviews critiquing it not for having the ability to hold the top, thus creating worries of the iPad slpping out.

I received mine and slipped in the iPad: perfect fit. I was concerned about no security on the top and then noticed a small corner strap on the upper right of the back of the case. Pulled it over the corner of the iPad and now all worries are gone. Holds just fine and can turn upside down and shake with no movement of iPad, plus is easy to remove for apps that require iPad to be out of a case to use (measurement apps).

I would suggest those who downrate thiers take a closer look: the strap they complain about wanting is there.

Price, utility and construction A+



Thanks for reading my review.

Son got iPAD in April and bought the Apple case for $40.

It wasn't very rigid and the material was so difficult to clean. It's kind of a dull grey color anyway.



Bought this one for him for Christmas and wondered if it might be synthetic leather (plastic!) but it's good quality,hard wearing,nobbly leather and is very rigid.

Even smells of leather too!



Definitely recommend it- great value for money IMO.

I needed to buy a dozen of these for my company users so I wanted to be sure about this product and I ordered one to evaluate. I am a very picky person, yes been called anal more than once. There were other reviewers who complained about the open top - there is nothing that holds the ipad in place when unit is held upside down. Then another reviewer said there was something holding the top in place. I contacted the seller and they told me that they have redesigned it and have since put a velcro(?) strip to strap in from the top. However since there are many first gen models still in inventory, they couldn't tell me which I would be getting. However I saw that video demo here that shows the unit firmly in place when shook upside down...so I ordered one.



I received the original without the top tab.



I tried the shake test and it does hold it in place in place for the first couple shakes then starts slipping. That was not my biggest gripe. #1 is that when the ipad is in place, the top edge of the ipad lines up with the top edge of the case so that there is NO PROTECTION if it got banged from the top. #2 is that the stiff back part of the cover stands away from the curvature of the back of the ipad and there is a gap (1/4" ?) when looking at it from the top. I found this to be too big a flaw to overlook thus I did not order the additional units. I ended up ordering the AYL case for a few more dollars and it is a much better case.

I looked at the cases at Best Buy. I looked at the pictures and read the reviews of dozens of cases online. I bought the apple rubber case to hold me over till I found a case that would stand for typing and viewing without a lot of bulk. This one fits the bill. It is not bulky! Who wants to bulk up the slim iPad? Yet that's what many of the cases do. Crazy. This case is slim, has a quality look and feel, holds the iPad well, gives access to all the controls, has a magnetic cover for a solid close, and stands firmly in three positions! What more could you want?



The stand works by inserting the edge of the cover into a leather tab sewn onto the back of the cover. It is easy to lock in place and stands firmly in both the landscape positions (type, and view) it also stands firmly in portrait position.



I'm pretty picky, but I'm fully satisfied. . - Ipad Cases - Ipad Cover - Ipad Accessories - Leather Case'


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Printer Cartridge - cyan, printer cartridge


I do feel the message was an error caused by the printer no recognizing that I replaced the cartridge. Unfortunately, an additional message was displayed on the printer indicatinig that usiing expired ink could nullify the warrenty. So, ALWAYS CHECK EXPIRATION DATE ON PACKAGING BEFORE OPENING HP 02 Cyan Ink Cartridge

I have a C7280 Photosmart printer and it utilizes 6 of these cartridges. While the print quality is incredible so is the price. I wish the cartridges were bigger and less expensive. It seems like an extraordinary waste of resources to pack such a tiny amount of ink into this package. It seems quite obvious that HP cares more about ridiculous profits than the environment.

I can't say enough positive things about the Photosmart 6280 w/ Vivera (HP02) inks. Yes, the inks are smaller, but since they are half the price of other inks, I don't find myself spending that much more, and the print quality is unparalleled! I've tried the rest, and I've come back to the best - HP printers and inks.

i ordered this cyan HP catridge from Databazaar. i ordered it on Dec 14 in pm with free standard shipping. I received it on Dec 15 in the am. My printer recognised it as a genuine HP cartridge it is off & running

Works great as always. I found out the hard way that the ink in the package deals do not have as much in them as the individually packaged ones do, so I believe it is actually cheaper in the end to get the single packs.

I ordered 3 ink cartridges through Amazon from a third party vendor (Infinite-Surplus). I have not yet tried any of the cartridges but the packaging leaves a lot to be desired and is not as represented in the photo. Rather than each cartrdige being shipped in a Hewlett Packard box as shown in the photo, the three were shipped in an envelope with only their inner packaging, as if they were broken out of the combo pack. On top of that, the packaging containing the magenta cartridge was open, which could indicate a returned cartridge or just poor packaging. - Cartridge - Printer Cartridge - Cyan - Ink'


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Memory - pro duo, 8gb


I ordered this from [...] through Amazon for my SONY HDR CX100, worrying if it will provide enough speed for the 1080i HD. When I received the card, it actually has the MARK2 on it which means it is certified for the full HD 1080i!! (The Amazon product image does not have MARK2 on it)

I put it into the CX100 and it has not any problem in recording at HD FH (16M). For this price much lower than SONY's own card, you can't go wrong with it. Lexar Platinum II 8 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo Flash Memory Card LMSPD8GBBSBNA

I purchased the Lexar 8 GB Pro Stick Duo for my first-gen PSP, upgrading from a 1 GB Sony stick that I bought the year before. I paid the same price for both, which gives you an idea of what kind of price range you can expect from Sony to Lexar. I was just out today at an electronics store and saw 8 GB from Sandisk at nearly triple the price.



The Lexar Pro Stick Duo works precisely as you'd expect and want and there are no problems with it. It is a Magic Gate stick which supposedly means it transfers data faster; when I copied over my gig of data from the old stick to this new one it transferred in about two minutes.



Overall this is a great price for a stick with a lot of space, especially for a PSP. To give you an idea of how much space you might need, so far I've purchased Final Fantasy VII and VIII from the Playstation Network, which on the PSOne covered 7 discs, and it takes up around 3.5 GB. Most other PSOne games available for purchase run around 300-500 MB at a maximum, and many PSP games for download run under a gig. If you pick and choose the right games you could fit around 10 downloaded full games on this stick.

I recently bought this for my sony cybershot camera because we were going to Hawaii and I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of room for pics. We took over 1500 pictures at the highest quality and a couple hours of video and still had plenty of room! Great card.

I bought this memory card so that I could download more games for my PSP, which came with a 1GB card, and it offers the storage I need. It seems to load my saves fairly quickly, but whenever I write to it or save my games, it takes much longer than my Sony 1GB stick did. Not sure if the Sony 8GB card would have been better, but I'm happy with the storage capacity and can live with slow saves. Best budget memory solution for PSP owners.

I mean, not sure how to rate a memory card. I popped that little beezy in and it worked. Simple, easy, and data transfer was pretty quick. I upgraded from a 1gb card to a 8gb card. I was constantly having to take a game off and put one on, which was a hassle, but this big daddy can support the family that which is known as my psp collection. Its a win.



Gave it 5 stars. Nothing is wrong with it. Only had it a month... so we'll see how its long term life is.

I like this product, it works well with my Camera. The only thing I was hoping for and got a bit disapppointed with is that the speed of saving or accessing pictures did not increase from the normal SD card I was previously using.

Even with necessary space reserved for important data, the total contents of this memory card never total up to more than 7.55 GB or so. Obviously not a dealbreaker to most people, and it is still the more HD-capable Mark 2 model, but it is something to remain aware of. It remains a very good value compared to others of similar capactiy. - Psp - Memory Stick - 8gb - Pro Duo'


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Wireless Routers - wi-fi, wrt54g


The Linksys WRT54G and WRT54GS routers have been the number one most popular wireless router devices available for the past few years. So this begs the question why Cisco would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by needlessly changing an almost perfect product. The fact is that versions 1 -4 of the G and the GS (with Speedboost) versions of this router were fantastic. Those earlier routers run a flexible and powerful Linux based firmware that has been perfected for the past few years a numerous updates and tweaks. However, the earlier WRT54G product has now been replaced with a less powerful wireless product (version 5) that has had its onboard flash RAM chopped in half from 4MB to 2MB and its system RAM cut from 16MB to 8MB. Instead of the flexible, reliable and powerful Linux firmware the new WRT54G version 5 routers run the licensed VxWorks firmware instead. There is nothing wrong with using VxWorks and over time Cisco will probably work out the bugs but for now the newest wireless routers are not reliable.



Why would Cisco do this to its most popular Linksys brand of wireless routers ? Apparently it might be a case where the first four versions were too flexible for their own good. The open source Linux firmware with the large amount of flash and system memory was attractive to many third party independent software developers that were turning the WRT54G and GS routers into powerhouse micro Linux wireless computers with a functionality approaching and often surpassing the $600+ wireless routers that Cisco sells. There might also have been an excess number of product warranty returns for the WRT54G routers due to so many people flashing them with non-Linksys third party firmware that sometimes can "brick" a router or make it unusable.



Your solution is to either look for a previous version of the "WRT54G" router before version 5 or purchase the "WRT54GS" (SpeedBooster) version 4 which as of the posting of this review is still available in the stores and it still uses the popular Linux firmware. You will pay $20 more for the GS model but compared to the version 5 of the G model it is worth the extra money. The GS models 1 - 4 are all good with GS version 3.0 and 3.1 reportedly being the most flexible of the bunch and GS 4.0 being the latest. If you want to use third party firmware you may want the GS versions 2.0 - 3.0/3.1 since they have the most flash RAM while still having newer Broadcom based processors. Finally, if you do plan to flash your WRT54G with third party firmware the ones before version 4 of the WRT54G wireless routers are supposed to be easier to work with.



How do you find which version you are looking for? Look on the bottom of the box near the scan tag for the serial number of the router. For the WRT54G wireless routers look for CDFA or a CDF9 or lower (CDF8, CDF7, 6, etc.) Any serial number with CDF5 (v2.0) through CDF9 (v3.1) are the most flexible for use with third party firmware. Unless you want to use a more risky third party firmware I recommend that you read the manual instructions on how to carefully flash these older router models with a newer Linksys firmware which is designed for that specific router version. The latest official Linksys firmware for each specific version of router can be obtained from the Linksys support site. Completely avoid the WRT54G routers with the "CDFB" (v5.0) serial numbers since those are the buggy VxWorks versions. You could also simply purchase the WRT54GS (v4.0) routers that say Speedboost on the box. You will see the "CGN6" serial numbers on the box and as of this review these were still using Linux firmware with software based SpeedBoost enhancements but the RAM and hardware inside seems to be essentially the same as the older WRT54G (v4.0) version 4. The WRT54GS v2.0 (CGN3) through v3.0 (CGN5) are also good and will have more flash RAM available if you want use the wireless router with third party firmware. I would like to note that flashing the router with firmware other than an official Linksys releases obtained from the Linksys support web site will void the warranty and can result in a "bricked" or damaged router.



PROS: The most popular, flexible, reliable and highly rated wireless router on the market before the WRT54G version 5. Previous versions could be flashed with powerful third party firmware. The latest WRT54GS v4.0 routers can still be purchased and except for the SpeedBoost software enhancement (including a different version of Linux based firmware) they are essentially the same as older WRT54G v4.0 routers.



CONS: The latest version 5 has less Flash and System RAM and uses a buggy non-Linux based firmware. There is no rumor of this yet but in the near future Cisco might also release a newer WRT54GS router non-Linux based router (WRT54GS v5.0 ???)



CONCLUSION: With all the changes to the memory and the firmware this latest G model is really a very different product and Cisco should have changed the model number altogether. Neverless, I hope that Cisco works out the bugs in their current version so that the G version can at least partially return to its glory days. There are rumors that a still newer model popular Linux based router might be re-released with the model name of WRT54GL but until that happens we can still purchase a very good WRT54GS v4.0 Speedbooster model.



THE BOTTOM LINE: I give five stars to the older WRT54G models and five stars to the latest WRT54GS model. But I give only one star for the newest WRT54G version 5 which averages the score to only 2.5 stars (rounded down to 2 stars since v5.0 is the newest and most abundant WRT54G model that you can find in the stores). Cisco-Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router - Linksys - Wrt54g - Wi-fi - Router'


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Garmin 305 - heart rate monitor, gps watch


I've been training with the Garmin 405 for a year now and love it. Given the mixed reviews here, I was apprehensive about getting it, but it really is a great training device.



Out of the box, it's quite good. After configuring it and just getting used to the way it works, it's much better. For example, mine is set to auto lap every kilometer and I mostly use a custom view with lap pace, heart rate and total distance. Interval Workouts are also very handy and easy to set up. The possibilities are endless.



The bezel takes some getting used to, but once you have configured the views, you simply leave it alone while running or tap with the middle of your finger (works better than the fingertip for whatever reason) to change views. You can lock the view by pushing both side buttons at the same time. This keeps it from switching views and beeping madly when wet or from bumping your shirt sleeve.



As I've progressed as a runner - first marathon in 2008, 3:52 at 41 years old - I've tried a variety of watches. First, a Timex Ironman, which I loved, but no Heart Monitor. Then a Timex Heart Monitor which I used with the Ironman (for the 100 lap memory). The Timex watches were stolen so next, a Nike Heart Monitor with the Nike+ Sports Band and Foot Pod, which looks cool but is not very accurate, even calibrated. Changes in speed, hills, etc. will affect the accuracy of any foot pod system. Once calibrated, it tended to be about 3-5% off.



Now, the Garmin 405. Likes:



1. Normal size - Unlike the 305, which I would not wear, the 405 is a regular watch. I wear it all the time.



2. Everything in one device - HR, pace, distance, elevation, laps.



3. Pace - I thought the whole GPS thing might be a bit too high-tech for a guy who loves the simplicity of running, but it is very, very nice to know your pace as you run. I use Hal Higdon's training plans, which call for all kinds of runs, with warm-ups, intervals, tempo intervals, pace segments, etc. The pace feature makes doing these workouts possible without having a coach at your side.



4. GPS frees you from mapping out your route. You just run until it shows your distance is done. The Garmin Connect site then shows your map. This doesn't sound so amazing, but it is very liberating. You just run wherever you want, explore your neighborhood, whatever. It transforms city running.



5. Auto laps. Great feature. Records all your details (time, HR, pace) for each lap automatically. You can review on the watch or on Garmin Connect.



6. The Garmin Connect website is very good and continually improving, with new features every couple of months.



7. The data seems pretty accurate, based on a track workout. In a recent 10K race, it recorded 10.2K, but some of that variation is certainly due to my weaving among the crowd. All GPS devices have a margin of error.



Dislikes:



1. Battery life - with GPS enabled, it needs a charge every couple of days to avoid the dreaded "low battery" warning in the middle of a workout.



2. The USB stick for wireless transfer. It works, but Nike does it better. The Nike+ pop-out USB stick is a much simpler way to transfer data to the computer and a much better way to keep from losing the USB part.



3. It can take a couple of minutes to find satellites and loses accuracy in bad weather. This is probably true of any GPS device.



4. You need the foot pod to record distance indoors. One more piece of gear (and not cheap). I didn't buy it. It would be great to be able to manually add the distance to a workout on Garmin Connect.



All in all, the Garmin 405 is an incredible training device. It is the best choice in the market. Nothing comes close to it. 5 stars.



I hope you find this helpful. Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sports Watch with USB ANT Stick and Heart Rate Monitor (Green)

As a long-time user and fan of the Garmin 305, the Garmin 405 was a product I was looking forward to for months as I was excited to see the next generation of the 305 I have enjoyed so much.



I could not be more disappointed with the result.



The Garmin 405 is a classic example of a good product concept and clever design gone horribly wrong as the Garmin team focused on form (looks) clearly beat out the folks worried about function. The watch looks fine (great for a HRM/GPS watch, so so for an everyday watch) but in terms of actual purpose-built functionality, it is terrible. There are multiple reasons for this which I will outline below.



(1) Useless when wet (yes, that includes sweat). The fact that you cannot toggle between screens or do anything with the bezel while the device is wet should have caused the designers to toss out this novel touch sensitive concept and stick with what works. Instead, they decided to go with a neat design concept that works great when the salesperson is showing it to you at the store, but will provide endless hours of frustration when you are out running and just want to see your heart rate. This is my first bullet point because it is the best example of the type of design failures that make this a terrible device.



(2) Use of built in functions/screens - The makers carried over the capabilites of the Garmin 305 and added a virtual training partner functionality, but the display can only show three fields at once and the fields themselves are too small for good viewing while in motion (ie running). Cycling between the displays is easy to do while sitting on a couch, even fun when you run your finger along the bezel, but when you are out running you quickly realize that it is very difficult to accomplish anything with the device. With the 305, if you wanted to change fields on the fly, you could manage to do it while keeping a reasonable pace. With the 405, you need to press buttons and run your finger along the bezel to switch fields - again, great on a couch, nearly impossible on a run.



(3) GPS Accuracy. I have traded messages with people who disagree, and I will say that I sometimes have great accuracy, but have also had multiple experiences where the accuracy of this device is off by so much as to make the pace and distance benefits of a GPS useless. The best example is running a measured mile with typical neighborhood street tree coverage and having the device show I went a total of 0.70 miles (the 305 on the same stretch showed 1.01). I have had this happen multiple times in various locations and therefore have stopped using the watch in races when I want to know my true pace and distance (I am using the 305 again).



(4) Silly things that might (or might not) drive you crazy - There are two buttons on the Garmin 405 - both on the right side of the face as you look at it. These buttons perform some useful functions, including locking the bezel so that you can wear the device in a non-GPS mode and avoid running down the battery needlessly while still using the device as a watch. The problem is that if, like me, you actually own a daily wear watch and when you travel you prefer to put the 405 in your bag or suitcase, having the two buttons on the same side means that if they press against anything they will unlock the bezel and the GPS will start running (or try to). The result will be a dead battery when you pull it out of your bag. It may seem minor, but pulling the 405 out of your bag after you arrive and want to go for a run, only to see it is dead, again and again, is annoying. The positive offset is that the watch actually charges at a pretty decent speed. Oh yes, and when the battery does, in fact, die, you will need to go through all of the intro screens again to get it going which will sometimes freeze on you (check message boards for solution to this as some people have posted them).



Overall, this is a terrible product and if you really want to get a GPS enabled running device, I would highly recommend you buy the Garmin 305. It is much cheaper and while it does not look as good, the size will not bother you after a couple of wears and it will work flawlessy for you. I suspect they will eventually correct the failings of the Garmin 405 but until they do it is not a good use of your money. - Heart Rate Monitor - Garmin - Gps - Gps Watch'


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Battery Backup - smokedetector, smoke detectors


I didn't know about replacing smoke alarms every decade until very recently. The units in my home were two decades old, hardwired AC with no battery backup. They tested fine but after twenty years it is certainly time to replace them by any standard. There are three in my home, one on each floor.



After doing a bit of research and being a smart consumer, I decided the PI2010 was the best choice out there. I purchased them up at a local big box home center because the price was highly competitive with Amazon and I didn't have to wait for shipping (even free super saver shipping).



In the box was a mounting bracket, three-wire harness, instructions, screws, and the smoke alarm.



Installation was a breeze - shut off the power at the circuit breaker first, removed the old alarms and harnesses next. The instructions with the PI2010 made it clear to not pull out the battery shipping tab until the units all had AC power applied. The mounting bracket was able to use the existing screws so I didn't have to even remove them from the ceiling box. The harness wired up easily and after plugging it into the alarm it only took a small twist to secure it to the mounting mounting bracket. After turning the power back on, I pulled the battery tabs out of each alarm. I tested each one, and had a friend make sure the units on the other floors sounded also.



The alarms in this model are about twice as loud as my old smoke alarms, almost ear splitting loud so I believe there's no chance to sleep through it. A green LED tells you it has AC power and there is a red LED that flashes every so often to say it's working. I may find the 'hush' feature useful for my occasional kitchen disaster, but fanning a cookie sheet is my usual move when I burn something too crispy.



The fact that the battery compartment is on the backside does not detract from the alarm. just a simple quarter twist and the unit comes off the bracket. On that note, it does have an anti-tamper feature that if you choose to activate, removing it from the bracket requires a read through the instructions and a lot more effort.



All in all, it was a breeze to install, it looks and feels professional, it is the loudest alarm I've ever heard, and the hush feature is great.



I plan on extending the wiring and installing these in each of the bedrooms, above and beyond minimum code. Kidde PI2010 Smoke Alarm Dual Sensor with Battery Backup, White

Just bought a house and the smoke detector was over 20 years old. After looking at the various smoke detectors on the web, realized that I needed a dual alarm with both photoelectric and ionization sensors for best coverage. Most of the cheaper alarms are only ionization. This unit met my needs perfectly...



Dual sensor

Hard Wired (previous detector was hard wired)

Battery Backup

Hush button (for false alarms)



Got the alarm a few days before the estimated arrival date. Pulled the pieces out of the box (instructions, bracket, unit, and wiring harness), did a quick look through the instructions and went to work. It really only took me about fifteen minutes to install...most of that time taking the old units bracket down and putting up the new one. The wiring harness has three wires...black, white and red...but the red one has a plastic cover over the end in case you don't need to wire multiple alarms together.



After attaching the needed wires to the house electric with wirenuts and electrical tape, just attach the bracket to the wall, make the sure the included battery is isntalled in the unit, plug the wiring harness into the back of the unit and attach to bracket. Piece o' cake.



If your home already has a certain wiring harness, and you don't want to mess with electrical, I believe there are adaptors available for the back of this unit as well that can accept other shaped harnesses. Very convenient, if you need them. For me, it was pretty simple to cut the power and hook it up myself.

The battery replacement is not nearly as bad as others have described. Just twist the unit off from the mounting bracket, pull off the wired plug, and flip open the battery case. I was also happy to learn that if your house has the red wire, all the smoke alarms are interconnected. That is, if one smoke alarm detects smoke, all the alarms in the house will signal an alert. HOWEVER, all the smoke alarms must be the same! That is, when I initially installed my first PI2010, it kept beeping 3 times every few seconds. I later found it's because I hadn't disconnected my old smoke alarm in the second area. Once I installed both PI2010s in my house, everything worked fine.

I purchased 7 of this item because the smoke alarms in my home needed to be replaced (> 10 years old). This item is a replacement of the highly rated (Consumer Reports) Kidde model PI2000.



I can't rate the performance of this smoke alarm yet, but I wanted to warn other prospective buyers about what I consider a poorly placed battery compartment. The battery compartment for this item is located on the underside of the unit. To replace the battery, you have to unscrew the unit from the base plate.



I was considering returning my order, but read in the owner's manual that the unit will operate using 9-volt lithium batteries for backup. I did a little research on 9-volt lithium batteries and they supposedly will last longer than 9-volt alkaline batteries. I purchased 9-volt lithium batteries today and hopefully they will last at least 5 years. If not, replacing the batteries in these smoke alarms will become a pain.

I have 7 detectors in my home, the units provided by the builder 7 years were junk and malfucntioned at 2 years, numerous false alarms at 3:00AM (not Kidde). I realized i had disconected all but one of the crappy builder supplied units. A few months ago i installed 7 new units from Kidde. I used 5 dual sensor units, 1 with dual smoke and Carbon Monoxide, and one single unit photo electric on the main level close to the kitchen, some say the photo electric is better if it's closer to a kitchen range/stove. After 6 months, not one false alarm, they look nice, they are interconnected. I emailed Kidde prior to purchase to verify that these 3 units can be used together and are compatible when interconnected. I highly recommend Kidde, the dual sensor unit is a little pricey but worth it. - Battery Backup - Smoke Alarm - Smoke Detectors - Smokedetector'


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