Emergencies can- and do- come in many forms. A shoot-out, fire, a serious road accident are all examples of situations that require suitable response by trained professionals. So also emergencies created by heavy snow or rain or earthquakes, tornadoes, mudslides etc. For emergency response professional teams to be able to do their job well, they need powerful lighting at the site. But not all emergencies occur during bright sunlight or where there is adequate artificial light. That's why portable artificial light sources such as mini lightbars are becoming an indispensable part of an emergency response team's kit.
With LED technology becoming more affordable, it is not surprising that mini lightbars too use LEDs. Of course, you can also choose strobe or halogen based lightbars. Typically, LED based units consist of an array of around 50 LEDs, each consuming 1 Watt of power. But the combined light emitted by such an array of LEDs is very bright. Far brighter than what halogen lamps or even CFLs can produce.
While intensity of light produced is a major requirement of mini lightbars, there are other features too that a good unit must possess. These features are relevant given the kind of conditions in which the unit will be used. They must be relatively small and light-weight, so that they can be easily handled by the emergency response team. They must be waterproof, not just to protect the electronics and circuitry, but also because the unit may be used in rainy weather. Not all sites may have easy access to electricity. Indeed, some emergency situations may even knock out power lines, resulting in loss of electricity in the affected area. To be useful in such conditions, the unit must have the ability to work even when plugged into cigarette lighter plugs of cars at the scene. Of course, they must also have the option of being plugged into a switch box.
Some emergency situations may last for hours. In such cases, how long the mini lightbars can continue working is important. Therefore, the longevity of the LEDs is important. This is where LED-based units score over halogen units. There is also the larger question of energy-efficiency. Decision-makers will prefer a unit that is more energy efficient to one that is less so. How easily the unit can be mounted on a vehicle such as a car or excavator is also a factor to be considered. A car needs to travel quickly to the site.
If the lightbar unit adds to drag, response times can go up. A few minutes can well mean the difference between life and death. So the unit must be aerodynamic in design- which means a low profile. It must also have the option of magnetic mounts so that it can be quickly fixed on top of a car. If the unit is mounted on a vehicle such as an excavator, chances are it will experience lots of vibration. The ability to absorb vibrations is also an important feature. Lastly, factor in the warranty provided. Most manufacturers provide a five-year warranty for mini lightbars.
Extreme Tactical Dynamics is a one-stop shop for Mini Lightbars and many other items like Flashlights, Deck Lights, police lights, etc. Please visit the site for more details of various items available - http://www.extremetacticaldynamics.com/
http://EzineArticles.com/6496803
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Auto Glass Cleaning - Tips for Sparkling Clean Windows and Mirrors
The windows of your car take a beating from dirt, bugs, bird droppings and other debris. But with a few simple techniques and a little know-how, you can make even the dirtiest windows sparkle. Here's a list of helpful glass cleaning tips to get your windows brilliantly clean - and without leaving behind streaks, scratches, residue or lint.
1. The first step is to choose an auto glass cleaner. Make sure your glass cleaner does NOT contain ammonia, alcohol or any ingredient that could produce toxic fumes. Beyond the obvious health concerns of inhaling these fumes, consider the impact your automotive cleaning products have on the environment. There are car care products on the market that are 100% biodegradable, non-toxic and recyclable that have the same great cleaning power as traditional cleaning products.
2. Any product containing ammonia is a definite no-no when it comes to auto detailing. Ammonia and ammonia fumes cause plastic, rubber, vinyl and leather to dry out, and will damage any tint your windows may have. Do your homework and you won't end up destroying your vehicle's interior while you're trying to clean it!
3. The type of towel you choose to clean your windows with can make all the difference. Choose a high-quality, glass cleaning microfiber towel of at least 300 GSM. Microfiber towels can hold up to eight times their weight in water, are lint-free and will not cause scratches. An electrostatic charge causes dirt and debris to be lifted up and away from the surface, rather than dragged across it. Old t-shirts, towels, socks and newspaper are not the best choice when cleaning your car's glass, and will likely cause scratches, streaks and missed spots.
4. If you are cleaning the entire interior of your car, save your windows and rear-view mirror for last to avoid getting stray spray from other cleaning products on your freshly cleaned glass. You can also avoid stray spray by spraying your window cleaner (and other applicable interior auto detailing products) onto the microfiber towel - not directly on the surface.
5. Another factor to keep in mind is the motion you buff with your microfiber towel. While a circular motion may appear to be actively buffing away any streaks from your windows, a straight back-and-forth and then up-and-down motion will ensure that the entire surface has been cleaned and wiped down thoroughly.
6. Remember when cleaning your windows or mirrors to use one towel (or one side of a towel) to wipe the surface clean, and a second to buff the surface to a residue-free shine. Not only do you need two clean towel surfaces per swipe, but per window. The last thing you want to do is spread the dirt and dead bugs that you wiped off of your windshield onto the next window you clean. Make sure you have enough clean towels to avoid contaminating one window with the last one's mess.
7. Avoid cleaning your vehicle's windows in direct sunlight or very hot conditions, if possible. This is especially important if you are using a window cleaner containing harsh chemicals. When the liquid evaporates, the fumes left behind could easily be inhaled, posing a serious health risk. Even with non-toxic window cleaners, evaporation can also mean a spotty residue before your towel even hits the glass.
8. The easiest place to overlook when cleaning your vehicle's windows is the small edging area at the top of the window. Often, this area is especially dirty from build up in the rubber lip. Be sure you roll each window down several inches to clean this area on both the interior and exterior of the glass.
9. Ever get a build up on the edges of your windshield wipers that causes blurry areas on your windshield? Wipe down your blades with a damp cloth and a bit of white vinegar. The vinegar will remove the debris that's stuck on the blades and allow them to make full contact with the windshield again. If after a wipe down, your windshield wipers haven't improved any, you may be due for a new pair. And don't forget to clean out your wiper cowl once in a while! The wiper cowl is the area at the base of the windshield where your wipers lay when not in use. Keeping this area free of grime will greatly reduce the amount of debris on your wipers.
To learn more about high-performance, eco-friendly car care, visit http://ecotouch.net/.
http://EzineArticles.com/6465943
1. The first step is to choose an auto glass cleaner. Make sure your glass cleaner does NOT contain ammonia, alcohol or any ingredient that could produce toxic fumes. Beyond the obvious health concerns of inhaling these fumes, consider the impact your automotive cleaning products have on the environment. There are car care products on the market that are 100% biodegradable, non-toxic and recyclable that have the same great cleaning power as traditional cleaning products.
2. Any product containing ammonia is a definite no-no when it comes to auto detailing. Ammonia and ammonia fumes cause plastic, rubber, vinyl and leather to dry out, and will damage any tint your windows may have. Do your homework and you won't end up destroying your vehicle's interior while you're trying to clean it!
3. The type of towel you choose to clean your windows with can make all the difference. Choose a high-quality, glass cleaning microfiber towel of at least 300 GSM. Microfiber towels can hold up to eight times their weight in water, are lint-free and will not cause scratches. An electrostatic charge causes dirt and debris to be lifted up and away from the surface, rather than dragged across it. Old t-shirts, towels, socks and newspaper are not the best choice when cleaning your car's glass, and will likely cause scratches, streaks and missed spots.
4. If you are cleaning the entire interior of your car, save your windows and rear-view mirror for last to avoid getting stray spray from other cleaning products on your freshly cleaned glass. You can also avoid stray spray by spraying your window cleaner (and other applicable interior auto detailing products) onto the microfiber towel - not directly on the surface.
5. Another factor to keep in mind is the motion you buff with your microfiber towel. While a circular motion may appear to be actively buffing away any streaks from your windows, a straight back-and-forth and then up-and-down motion will ensure that the entire surface has been cleaned and wiped down thoroughly.
6. Remember when cleaning your windows or mirrors to use one towel (or one side of a towel) to wipe the surface clean, and a second to buff the surface to a residue-free shine. Not only do you need two clean towel surfaces per swipe, but per window. The last thing you want to do is spread the dirt and dead bugs that you wiped off of your windshield onto the next window you clean. Make sure you have enough clean towels to avoid contaminating one window with the last one's mess.
7. Avoid cleaning your vehicle's windows in direct sunlight or very hot conditions, if possible. This is especially important if you are using a window cleaner containing harsh chemicals. When the liquid evaporates, the fumes left behind could easily be inhaled, posing a serious health risk. Even with non-toxic window cleaners, evaporation can also mean a spotty residue before your towel even hits the glass.
8. The easiest place to overlook when cleaning your vehicle's windows is the small edging area at the top of the window. Often, this area is especially dirty from build up in the rubber lip. Be sure you roll each window down several inches to clean this area on both the interior and exterior of the glass.
9. Ever get a build up on the edges of your windshield wipers that causes blurry areas on your windshield? Wipe down your blades with a damp cloth and a bit of white vinegar. The vinegar will remove the debris that's stuck on the blades and allow them to make full contact with the windshield again. If after a wipe down, your windshield wipers haven't improved any, you may be due for a new pair. And don't forget to clean out your wiper cowl once in a while! The wiper cowl is the area at the base of the windshield where your wipers lay when not in use. Keeping this area free of grime will greatly reduce the amount of debris on your wipers.
To learn more about high-performance, eco-friendly car care, visit http://ecotouch.net/.
http://EzineArticles.com/6465943
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
How to Connect the Music on Your Phone to Your Car Stereo
One common ground of people who buy mobile phones is the desire to use their new gadget not only for communication but also for entertainment, especially playing music. Many are thrilled with the idea too that these mobile phones can be connected to the car stereo, giving the driver the chance to play music from the phone's memory through loud car speakers. There are three ways to do that: through an auxiliary audio cable, Bluetooth or via the FM transmitter.
Auxiliary Audio Cable
Of the three options given, this one is the cheapest, if the car already has an Aux outlet installed. To find out if your car is indeed configured to this specific purpose, locate the Aux outlet on your car's stereo. The outlet should look like a regular headphone or speaker banana jack (about 3.5 mm) and it should be labelled with either "Aux", "MP3" or "Audio". If this outlet is not available, you have to resort to other options given below. However, there is a good chance that two options will not work for you too since the use of Auxiliary audio cables in connecting phone and car stereos is the oldest of the three technologies. If your car does not have an "Aux" outlet, then there is a very high chance that your car does not have Bluetooth too. But don't worry; you can have the auxiliary in added into your car stereo at an affordable cost.
If you have everything ready, just plug one end of the auxiliary audio cable into the headphone jack of your and the other end to the outlet on your car stereo. The connection is virtually uninterrupted because of the direct cable connection.
Bluetooth
If your car is already Bluetooth-compatible, then using Bluetooth to connect your phone to your car would cost you nothing at all. Well, Bluetooth-ready car and phone are both expensive so connection cost is actually out of the question. However, to be able to use Bluetooth in audio streaming, your Bluetooth devices should be able to access the same "profile". Bluetooth profiles allow different Bluetooth devices to interact with each other despite their different functions. If you can make them access the same "profile", then the only thing left for you to do is to pair your devices and you will be able to start playing music. The downside of using Bluetooth lies in the fact that it is a wireless connection, thus audio quality is a little bit affected. It also consumes more battery so it is almost necessary to install a phone charger in your car.
FM Transmitter
This solution is only advisable when the other two options are impossible. The problem with the use of FM transmitter is that audio quality becomes highly dependent to the radio traffic in the area where you are at. In places where the radio traffic is jammed, different interferences can occur. Interferences like static sounds and bleed-overs can really make your listening experience suffer. But if you are left with no choice, all that you need to do is to check whether your car radio is working (please be aware that your radio may seem broken just because you have a damaged antenna).
You can always check the reviews concerning how to connect your own phone to your automobile stereo by visiting the Bluetooth sites.
http://EzineArticles.com/6462675
Auxiliary Audio Cable
Of the three options given, this one is the cheapest, if the car already has an Aux outlet installed. To find out if your car is indeed configured to this specific purpose, locate the Aux outlet on your car's stereo. The outlet should look like a regular headphone or speaker banana jack (about 3.5 mm) and it should be labelled with either "Aux", "MP3" or "Audio". If this outlet is not available, you have to resort to other options given below. However, there is a good chance that two options will not work for you too since the use of Auxiliary audio cables in connecting phone and car stereos is the oldest of the three technologies. If your car does not have an "Aux" outlet, then there is a very high chance that your car does not have Bluetooth too. But don't worry; you can have the auxiliary in added into your car stereo at an affordable cost.
If you have everything ready, just plug one end of the auxiliary audio cable into the headphone jack of your and the other end to the outlet on your car stereo. The connection is virtually uninterrupted because of the direct cable connection.
Bluetooth
If your car is already Bluetooth-compatible, then using Bluetooth to connect your phone to your car would cost you nothing at all. Well, Bluetooth-ready car and phone are both expensive so connection cost is actually out of the question. However, to be able to use Bluetooth in audio streaming, your Bluetooth devices should be able to access the same "profile". Bluetooth profiles allow different Bluetooth devices to interact with each other despite their different functions. If you can make them access the same "profile", then the only thing left for you to do is to pair your devices and you will be able to start playing music. The downside of using Bluetooth lies in the fact that it is a wireless connection, thus audio quality is a little bit affected. It also consumes more battery so it is almost necessary to install a phone charger in your car.
FM Transmitter
This solution is only advisable when the other two options are impossible. The problem with the use of FM transmitter is that audio quality becomes highly dependent to the radio traffic in the area where you are at. In places where the radio traffic is jammed, different interferences can occur. Interferences like static sounds and bleed-overs can really make your listening experience suffer. But if you are left with no choice, all that you need to do is to check whether your car radio is working (please be aware that your radio may seem broken just because you have a damaged antenna).
You can always check the reviews concerning how to connect your own phone to your automobile stereo by visiting the Bluetooth sites.
http://EzineArticles.com/6462675
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