TeckNet GH928 7.1 Channel Gaming Headset Review

Hey, everyone.

A tight budget means looking for inexpensive gadgets and accessories. Here we have the Tecknet GH928 7.1 Channel Gaming Headset. It usually runs for less than $30. Sometimes you get what you pay for but every now and then you'll be surprised. These aren't too bad. Overall they do perform well. The sound coming from each side is crisp and sharp. There's good bass and the highs are not too shabby. The microphone works well but not great. I think part of it is due to not being able to bring it closer to your mouth for it to do a better job at picking up your voice.

Tecknet GH928 7.1 Channel Gaming Headset: http://amzn.to/2wd2hwk

Shot with a Panasonic Lumix G85: http://amzn.to/2q1lIWK
SainSonic 50mm f/1.4 CCTV Cine Lens: http://amzn.to/2v9KF7O
Fotasy M3517 35MM F1.7 CCTV Lens: http://amzn.to/2vudXLs
Edited with Vegas Pro Edit: http://amzn.to/2pET4h3

Lightdow LD4000 Action Camera Review

Hey, everyone.

Action cameras and dash cams have dropped in price in the past few years. Instead of paying over $100 you can now get one for less than $50. A friend of mine, Shawn (from the Daily Dirt: https://www.youtube.com/user/mgkbull2), notified me of this Lightdow LD4000 which was on sale. Decided to grab one to see how it compares with my SJCAM SJ4000 and to also have it as a backup or secondary action camera.

Original music by: Alex Talavera

DIY Dashcam Dual Camera Rig Video: https://youtu.be/RC_5dOlS5cw

Lightdow LD4000 1080P HD Sports Action Camera Bundle: http://amzn.to/2twzKjo
SJCAM Original SJ4000 WiFi Version: http://amzn.to/2thuTaw

Shot with a Panasonic Lumix G85: http://amzn.to/2q1lIWK
Fotasy M3517 35MM F1.7 CCTV Lens: http://amzn.to/2vudXLs
Edited with Vegas Pro Edit: http://amzn.to/2pET4h3

CS:GO | My First ACE (but in Casual .....and still proud of it)

With the recent tournaments going on I started to play CS:GO again. I'm a casual gamer and play just for fun. Sometimes I'll get hooked and play for about a month or so but then I'll stop for about a year. You can tell I'm no pro since I still use the default crosshairs and sometimes I'm not the smartest player but I have fun. Here's my first ace on a round!

DIY Dashcam Dual Camera Rig

Hey, everyone.

Here's a quick DIY on how to build a fairly inexpensive dual dash cam rig. The primary purpose for this rig was to test and compare two different dash cams side by side. There are other options out there to accomplish this task and some which may be cheaper but I wanted to work items I already had at home.

Materials:
5" - 1-1/8 in. x 1-1/8 in. x 8 ft. PVC Composite White Outside Corner Moulding
2 - 20 tpi x 1-1/4 in. Stainless-Steel Socket Head Cap Screw
2 - Washers
2 - Rubber O-Rings
3 - 1/4" nuts
3 - Cannibalized parts from included dash cam accessory kit

Tools:
Hack saw
Electric Drill
1/4" Drill Bit
Sandpaper (optional)

Original music by: Alex Talavera

Lightdow LD4000 1080P HD Sports Action Camera Bundle: http://amzn.to/2twzKjo
SJCAM Original SJ4000 WiFi Version: http://amzn.to/2thuTaw

Shot with a Panasonic Lumix G85: http://amzn.to/2q1lIWK
Kamisafe KINGJOY KT-200 Tripod: http://amzn.to/2tZWiNm
Similar tripod under a different name: http://amzn.to/2uYu82I
Edited with Vegas Pro Edit: http://amzn.to/2pET4h3

Pixco 8mm Fish Eye f/3.8 CCTV Lens for MFT/M43

Hey, everyone.

I've been on the market for a wide angle lens for the Panasonic G85. Found this small lens and decided to give it a shot. Overall I'm satisfied with its performance and since there aren't too many reviews on it I've decided to make this video for you.

Original music by: Alex Talavera

Pixco 8mm F3.8 Fish-eye CCTV Lens: http://amzn.to/2tW307A and http://amzn.to/2uEMsyv
Here's a similar lens but under a different name: http://amzn.to/2sTHbFU

Shot with a Panasonic Lumix G85: http://amzn.to/2q1lIWK
Kamisafe KINGJOY KT-200 Tripod: http://amzn.to/2tZWiNm
Similar tripod under a different name: http://amzn.to/2uYu82I
Lighting with a LimoStudio Photography Softbox Light Lighting Kit http://amzn.to/2pEOlfk
Edited with Vegas Pro Edit: http://amzn.to/2pET4h3

Ethereum - The New Mining Craze

About a year ago everything was fine and dandy. If you wanted to build yourself a nice and powerful computer you could with ease. I am referring to the cost of parts. Prices do fluctuate from time to time but for the most part you know what to expect. A year ago a processor, a motherboard, and a graphics card were at what we would refer to as having a "normal price". The one component which has started to climb in price was the SSD hard drive. An increase in price started sometime last year. These types of drives have been on a roller coaster ride for the past few years where the price goes up and down. They've been up ever since last year. Nowadays many of us accept this price as being the "norm".

About a month ago or so a new mining craze has swept the globe. It's called Ethereum. A similar mining craze happened a few years ago when Bitcoin exploded. This caused the prices of AMD graphics cards to skyrocket. Fortunately I was able to get my R9 270 just as its price was climbing by paying about $30 over its retail price. Then the crash came. People were offloading their cards on sites like eBay for cheap. This was fantastic for those who wanted to upgrade from their older card. I even got another R9 270 to CrossFire it with my first card to improve my performance in some games.

Jumping back to the present we now have Ethereum. It started with the AMD RX series graphics cards. Last year I got an RX 480 8GB graphics card at the time of launch for the retail price of $239.99. Now these cards sell out as soon as retailers stock them. On eBay these cards are fetching over $100 of their retail price and these are not new cards these are for used cards. The RX 500 series are also included in this price hike. With this mining craze it did start with the AMD cards but slowly it began to spread towards the NVIDIA cards. The mid-range GTX 1000 series cards began to sell out and their prices have also jumped.

If someone is building themselves a new computer or are wanting to upgrade their old GPU their only option is for either a low tier card or a high tier card from NVIDIA. I don't mention AMD since they currently do not have anything to compete with the GTX 1080 or 1080 Ti and AMD's low tier cards do not perform as well as NVIDIA's low tier cards. That's just the plain and honest truth. We're waiting to see what RX Vega can do in terms of performance when it launches.

Why am I writing this? Well it is because I enjoy pricing budget gaming systems. It's one of the things I do for my YouTube channel. There are times when I'll consider using a pre-built computer from a generation or two ago like a Dell or HP computer. All it needs is just a budget friendly graphics card. The gaming rig would perform well at 1080p resolution with decent graphical settings for most games. It would be a system which could outperform a gaming console. About a year ago a system like this would go for about $300 - $400. Now it would cost about $100 - $200 more. This is not fair for those on a tight budget. Well, life isn't fair. What can we do? At this point all we can do is wait for the craze to die down. At least some manufacturers are helping to alleviate the scarcity. They are releasing graphics cards directed at miners. These cards lack most output ports.

There may not be a point to my story and there may not be a conclusion. I just felt I wanted to write something that's been on my mind recently. It is like having an itch that I have been wanting to scratch for a while. Writing about it helps take care of that itch. In the meantime thank you for reading. Take care and have a great day!

The Adventures of the Test Bench Shelf Upgrade

Hey, everyone.
Space was running low on the shelf where the test bench is located. More stuff was being added. Time to upgrade and get a bigger shelf. Fortunately one was on sale at a local hardware store for a decent price. Our dog, Rey, is going to accompany me during the process.

Music during voice narration provided by Alex Talavera
Music at the beginning and end of the video is from YouTube's Royalty Free Library
Audio recorded with a CAD U37 microphone http://amzn.to/29cFjt6
Shot with a Panasonic Lumix G85 http://amzn.to/2q1lIWK

Sample Test - Suction Cup Car Mount Camera Holder

Testing out the 6.5cm Diameter Double Suction Cup Car Mount Camera Holder for small cameras like GoPro's and similar type of cameras. This is the very first test and the first run. Will be testing it out some more in the next few days.

This footage has been sped up a little due to some shakiness with the footage. I'll need to see if something wasn't screwed on tight enough or if this is how the mount will perform. In the meantime, thanks for watching!

If interested this is the exact model:


Here's a similar one:
http://amzn.to/2tDfwJE