Ay Up Lights up your Mountain Bike tracks

Getting out and about this winter is a great way to stay fit and fresh. There is nothing like buring off the Christmas turkey with an off-road ride. With the days very short, we wake up in the dark and before we even finish our evening meal it is pitch black again. Lighting up not only keeps you safe from other bikers and traffic, but is essential for anything off-road. There is a lot to choose from, with bike specific lights and torches like the Fenix we looked at last week. However, AyUp Lights offer the ultimate solution which they kindly sent to me for review.
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Univega Alpina HT-550 Mountain Bike gets you onto the rough stuff

After many years of absence from the UK market, Univega have come back with a slew of new offerings. One of these include the Alpina HT-550 and I was lucky enough to be sent one for our Christmas reviews. This particular mountain bike sits somewhere in the middle of the company's range and offers you the opportunity to get hold of something that looks a little bit special for just over £500. Again, as in my previous MTB review, the HT-550 offers a lot more than those cheap off-the-shelf bikes. With its Shimano component mix, including an XT drivetrain and SLX shifters, when you catch your first glimpse of the bike you will know you have something special. This is a hardtail, so no rear suspension, but up front you get a Rock Shox Tora-SL fork with 100mm of travel. The Rock Shox really does eat up the bumps and is very responsive. The Concept SL saddle, seatpost, stem and handlebar are a nice match and feel very well made. They are not that heavy either, all adding up to a pretty decent weight bike. Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brakes serve up your stopping power and in my rides out on the HT-550 they performed very well. They provide a no fuss solution really and provide more than adequate braking ability.
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Trek 6700 Mountain Bike Review

Another of my Christmas reviews and before anyone emails me, I know that a lot of people are struggling with their finances, but imagine this, if you treat yourself to the Trek 6700 I am reviewing here, you would save absolutely tonnes of money on expensive fuel bills, tax and insurance. On top of the great savings you will have a load of fun and get fit at the same time.

The purpose of this review is to really show you that there are worthwhile alternatives to those cheap bikes. You know the sort, the ones that come in a box, like flat-pack furniture and you spend an age putting them together, never really knowing if you have missed an important part. With mountain bikes, you really do get what you pay for. In the Trek 6000 range, you can get a really decent ride starting at £550 for the 6000, going all the way up to £950 for the 6700 that I have the pleasure of riding.

You get the same Alpha Black Aluminum frame, but you get massive component upgrades that make the bike lighter and more responsive. On the front the RockShox Recon Race Solo Air suspension forks offer up 100mm of travel, that can be adjusted to vary the amount of rebound as well as locking them completely (which you make well do for road use). The gear shifters, crank, brakes, front and rear derailleur are all Shimano SLX. This really makes sense and is what drew me toward the 6700. Rather than a mix and match affair, Trek did this model right. Although SLX is meant to be one step under their XT offerings, I think it is not that far behind. It is light, gear changes are very smooth and the hydraulic disc brakes are awesome. Those disc brakes offer up a 160mm rotor on the back and 180mm on the front. In my tests, both dry and wet, they have given me wicked stopping power. They are also my first experience of disc brakes, so it was really nice that I could easily adjust the reach of my brake levers without messing around as much as I would with V-Brakes.

The tyres on the 6700 are really chunky. The Bontrager Jones XR, 26x2.2/2.25" really offer superb amounts of grip. However, I have spent a bit of time on the road and they do not roll that well, so I may well change them for my road use. The saddle, seatpost, handlebars and stem are also Bontrager branded. Again, this makes sense as they are pretty high quality and also make the bike look very nice. Bontrager welded rims finish off the superb look, with a very nice paint job carried out by Trek. The white frame with red and black decals really does look the part. The weight of the complete bike is very light indeed and makes it a joy to use, very manageable. This is another area that you will find it hard to compete in at this level. Certainly cheaper bikes are a LOT heavier.

It is the quality of components and superb finish to the frame that really makes the Trek 6700 stand out from the crowd. It is quite lively to ride, with the saddle being the only thing I would really like to change (just a little too hard for me). On road it is plush, but struggles because of the tyres. Offroad it is a real pleasure to ride, it just eats up all the mud and handles inclines with ease. The power you can get down through the pedals and into the drivechain simply rockets the 6700 ahead of the pack. If you can afford it, go for one, if not then look at a little lower down the range. Please don't buy one of these cheaper supermarket bikes with big suspension, just because it looks good. With the Trek 6700 you are investing just as much in a superb frame, it just so happens you get superb components too.

Product: Trek 6700 Mountain Bike
Price: £950
Supplied by: Activ
Contact: +44 (0)1303 240110

Garmin Oregon 400t Handheld SatNav Review

It is the season to be jolly... well almost and in true Christmas spirit I am really excited to kick of our alternative reviews section with something very special. If you have a loved one (and that includes yourself), that loves getting out and about, this will be of interest to you. Maybe hiking or walking is your thing, or a bit of geocaching, or maybe you like to get out on your mountain bike for a good cross country hack. The Garmin Oregon 400t that I have in my grubby mitts can handle all this and a lot more, so please read on...

In the run up to Christmas, Geekanoids will be bringing you a series of reviews on products that get you out and about. Our very next review is on the Trek 6700 mountain bike, which is where the Oregon 400t got its second outing, the first outing found it on our Specialized steed. This tiny handheld satellite navigation system is beautifully made. Its compact size allows it to fit your hand like a glove, measuring just 5.8 x 11.4 x 3.5 cm. Even with batteries installed, it only just goes over the 200g mark (192.7g without). Whilst out biking I would recommend you have both hands planted firmly on your handlebars. So, Garmin kindly made a really simple, yet effective, bike mount for the device. Once attached to your bike, it is a simple matter of turning on, waiting about 15-20 seconds for it to lock onto a signal and a couple of touches on the screen has it recording your route. The touch screen is wonderfully easy to use and a good resolution too at 240x400 pixels. The screen is a little difficult to read in bright sunlight, so could do with a bit better backlight or maybe a different coating to the screen, but it was certainly not a deal breaker. Finding your way around the device is really easy and if you have ever used a Garmin in-car satnav you will feel instantly at ease. So, whilst concentrating on the riding, the 400t was left to do its thing, constantly updating our speed and elevation. I had a TOPO Great Britain map memory card installed into the device. This is an extra cost (£100) and adds a lot more detail onto the device. I think without it, the 400t is fine for on-road use where the basemap detail is fine, but if you are going for long hikes or off-road biking, then the TOPO is great value and recommended.

Back home and the route was plotted. We have done just over 17 miles and it gave us an insight into our maximum speed, moving time, average, stopped time and overall average speed. We also had access to loads more information such as an Elevation Plot and even a 3D view. If we had a chum with another Oregon we could even wirelessly share the route. At the base of the device you have a rubber flap that reveals a USB connection. So, onto my trusty Mac and I downloaded the relevant drivers. It was a little confusing as to what I needed, but 30 minutes saw me a happy camper. I started with Route Buddy, which showed my route on-screen, albeit on a rather basic map. To get a more detailed map into Route Buddy I would have to buy a TOPO map DVD, so I looked for another solution. Garmin suggested MapMyRide, which is a cool website and free to register and use. I transferred my route to the website and overlayed the Google Hybrid Satellite view and voila, this is what I needed (see screenshot). What I could do from here is save my route and/or edit it, or even create a new route and then push it back onto the 400t. I could also use the web-based workout calculator, which sort of turns my mapping oriented 400t into a fitness device too.

With a route planned and back on the 400t, it was out on the road again. Touching the GO button, I was guided around my route. There are no turn-by-turn voice prompts, but then this is not a car based device, it is really for walking with. It got rained upon with a few showers and a bit muddy, but worked flawlessly. A quick wipe down with a damp cloth brought the Oregon 400t back to its former glory. Having been used for about eight hours constantly, the battery level had not even moved, so I imagine 20/25 hours of use will be easily achievable. The fact that this unit runs on two standard AA batteries makes it very easy to pick up new ones if you are on holiday. I will update this review once the device runs out of juice. The screenshot to the left shows the main screen that appears when you first turn the unit on. Lovely large icons mean that it is easy to use, even with gloves on. You can clearly see the battery meter, along with the satellite signal strength just below.

The Garmin Oregon 400t is not a cheap device, though there are other models further down the range. What it does offer though is a wealth of very useful features. Other than those already mentioned, you get a compass, image viewer, dedicated geocaches function, route planner (actually on the 400t), area calculation, calculator, alarm clock, stopwatch and some other features that would make this list just too extensive. It really is the ultimate handheld satellite navigation system. It is waterproof, rugged and so well made and thought out, that it is worth every penny.

In a couple of weeks we will be bringing you a review of the Garmin Edge 705, which is bike specific, so keep an eye on Geekanoids for this exciting review.

Thanks to Rob for his invaluable input in this review, it was very helpful and important to have the views of an experienced rider.

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Product: Garmin Oregon 400t
Price: £399.99 (400t) : £69.99 (TOPO SE England & Wales microSD) : £12.99 (Bike Mount)
Supplied by: Garmin UK
Contact: +44 (0)870 8501242

Creative Zen X-Fi Leather Case Review

Having used the Creative Zen X-Fi (16GB) for almost a month now, I wanted to let you know about the leather case that is available for the unit. The video review of the Zen X-Fi MP3 player is in production right now, so should be on the website in the next couple of weeks.

I want to kick this review off on a very positive note, that this case is a lot better than the silicone case that is also for sale. It is slightly more expensive at £14.99 but is made from a nice quality black leather. It just feels so much more worthy of the price tag.

Open the case up and simply slot your en X-Fi in via the opening on the left side. There are cut-outs in the case so that the main controls remain accessible. Of note, the SD card slot has no cut-out, so to access this you have to remove the X-Fi from the case. This is not much of a problem, as in my opinion the SD card does not get changed all that often. The screen and all of the main control buttons are not covered when the case is open. Yet again, as with Creative's silicone case, no film type screen protector is provided.

The front flap is nice, no padding, but it is hardened with card inside. The inside of this flap has a nice soft finish, with a logo embedded into it it. The outside of the front has nine little circles on it, just a styling touch, they have no actual function. This flap snaps shut with a magnetic closure and provides nice protection to the X-Fi when it is not in use. This is a very nice case and will serve you very well to protect your little gem.

Product: Creative Zen X-Fi Leather Case
Price: £15.99 MSRP (£14.99 average)
Supplied by: Creative Europe
Contact: 0800 376 7954

Ring RAC600 Automatic Digital Air Compressor Review

From time to time we bring you alternative reviews, and whilst this one is far out wide to the left, it is worth covering. Over the next month, we will also bring you reviews of two other great products from the same company, that cross over nicely into the tech world, so stay tuned.

The Ring Automotive RAC600 is a automatic digital air compressor. You can use it to pump up all your inflatable toys (footballs, swimming pools etc), guest beds and much more. Where it really excels is the units accuracy when used for car tyres. Plug it into a 12V accessory socket in your vehicle, predial the psi/bar setting, press the big yellow button and the RAC600 springs into action. Whilst it is doing its inflation the noise is a bit of an eye opener, but it it no noisier than other units on the market. Once inflated, the unit stops, and upon checking the results the RAC600 was spot on in ten out of the ten tests I performed. So top marks there.

The 12V (cigarette lighter) plug is fitted with a 3.3m cable, plus the air hose length is pretty good. This means that even on larger vehicles you should have no problem in reaching the four corners. There is also a white directional torch light and a red light that could be used if you find yourself stranded at the roadside. When your finished, the power cable and air house wind up and pack neatly inside the main unit. The whole thing then packs nicely into the supplied zip case.

For around £25 the RAC600 is very good value, and will certainly save you a lot of time and effort. Great for motorists and equally as useful for those holiday beach trips with the rubber dingy.

Product: Ring Automotive RAC600 Digital Air Compressor
Price: £25 average
Supplied by: Ring Automotive
Contact: +44 (0)113 213 7389

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Review - Get All Steamy !

Christmas comes but once a year, but a cappuccino needs to be enjoyed all year through... Most of us lead hectic lives, either in physical jobs, or mentally demanding desk based jobs, so getting that all important wake-me-up drink, or something to set you going at the start of the day, or even winding down in the evening is very important. Popping down to the local coffee shop is an option, but hardly friendly on the pocket. Making a nice, proper tasting drink, with the numerous drinks machines out there, is again an option, but often a chore. So we often settle for a plain cup of coffee or tea, which does the trick, but is a bit boring day in, day out. This is where the Nescafé Dolce Gusto steps up to the block, promising a delicious coffee every time, fast, fresh and instant. The question is, does it deliver? and is it worth your hard earned cash?

Personally, I am not a big coffee fan, but I do love Cappuccino and Hot Chocolate, so I was very keen to get this baby set up. Out of the box, it was a simple matter of a few minutes reading the instructions. These are particularly good, in full colour, with nice photos and a step-by-step walk through of how to set up, make a drink and take care of your machine. Setting up was easy, plug in, switch on, top up the container with water and I was almost there. Topping up was really easy, the container lifts easily from the main body of the Dolce Gusto and the fill up cap reveals a really large hole. Once topped up, there is no snapping or awkward alignment needed, you just sit it back onto the base and it slides into place. Now I was ready to make my first drink, which was a cappuccino. The cup holder/drip tray needs to be adjusted in height manually, so I did this for my particular drink.

Most drinks seems to be a two stage affair, so I put the milk capsule into the holder, pushed the piercing pin into it, and slotted it back into the machine. Then the lever on the front is slid over to the red position, and piping hot frothy milk is pumped into the supplied white cappuccino cup. Once you have enough in the cup, you slide that lever back across to the middle position and wait about four seconds for the green LED to stop flashing. Then I popped the used capsule out and trashed it in the supplied tub. The second capsule contains the coffee, so I put this in place, repeated the motions and voila, I had a wonderful cup of frothy cappuccino. The taste was spot on, and I was surprised on two separate counts. Firstly how silky smooth and perfect the drink tasted, and secondly, how stunningly fast I had prepared my FIRST drink. It was just so easy, to say I was totally impressed in an understatement.

Taking care of the machine is really easy to, there is really not much cleaning involved. The drip tray will need rinsing every now and again. Plus, if you switch to a different type of drink, it is recommended that you run some plain water through, with the supplied rinsing tool in place. This was really easy to do. You can also purchase a descaling kit, which is probably wise if you live in a hard water area.

Choice... is a good thing. The Dolce Gusto does not disappoint here either. Apart from the cappuccino and hot chocolate mentioned earlier, you also have Latte Macchiato, Caffé Lungo, Espresso and a cold option with Cappuccino Ice.
For your £80 you get a choice of base colours on the machine (black, red or ivory), plus you get a starter kit to get you going. This includes a white cappuccino cup, a saucer, a taller glass cup, plus a selection of ten drinks. Ongoing costs are really pretty good too, with packs of capsules costing just under £3 for between eight and sixteen drinks (depending on the variety you choose). Shopping around, I found some on special offer at £2 which is even better.
Another option to make things even more appealing is to register on the manufacturers website, where you can then add points to your account for every box of capsules you buy. These can then be redeemed against accessories, like cups, spoons, or even more drink capsules. For example, every box purchase you register gets you 10 points, and to redeem these for a box of capsules would cost you 150 points.

In summary, the Dolce Gusto is the best drink machines I have ever experienced. It is super easy to use, mess free, and most importantly delivers delicious drinks. The quality of the drink can be put down to a combination of the Arabica beans used in the capsules, coupled with the high 14 bar pressure delivered. This really is a serious offering, and it is built to a very high quality. It’ll save you a lot of time and really guarantee you a great tasting drink every time.

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Product: Nescafé Dolce Gusto Drinks Machine
Price: £89.99
Supplied by: Nescafé
Contact: 0800 707 6066

John Adams Chemistry Set Review

In the run up to Christmas (only 19 days left) we will be bringing you lots of alternative reviews. Last year, our festive reviews went down very well, helped along by some Christmas turkey, so sit back and enjoy our look at John Adams Chemistry Set. We looked at the same manufacturer's Hot Wires a while back, so I was certainly expecting good things from this one.

Years ago I had a chemistry set, it had loads of glass tubes and was very exciting. My parents would look very worried when I was using it, and looking back, it did contain some quite potent chemicals. Then for about the last five years or so, I cannot remember seeing any in the shops. They seem to disappear of the face of the planet. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but now with the John Adams Chemistry Set the gap has been filled.

This very well presented box comes with loads of goodies. Safety goggles, a beaker, test tubes complete with stand, tongs and a burner. There is a lot more besides what I have mentioned, you can check out their website for a full list. You also get 11 chemical substances; these are Copper Sulphate, Ammonium Chloride, Calcium Hydroxide, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, Aluminium Potassium Sulphate, Zinc, Calcium Carbonate, Ammonium Hydrogen Sulphate, Iron Sulphate and Sodium Thiosulphate. I should also point out (before the fun begins) that this set it aimed at ages 10 and over.

The lovely 24-page booklet walks you through each experiment and there certainly is a lot on offer... you get the chance to learn about chemical reactions for a starter. You get to create gases, test for indicators (acid, alkali, neutral), even grow some crystals. With the small burner you get to test for chemicals in everyday objects, like wood shavings and glossy magazines, followed by some heat reactions. There really is too much to cover here, but the booklet explains things so well, that it is hard to fault. You are not just tied to using what is included in the box, it makes suggestions of other items, like sugar, cold tea, and old tin lid, to further expand the experiments you can do. This is really great and adds to the value of the whole package.

The John Adams Chemistry Set really impressed me. The build quality and items included are really fab. It certainly took me back to my childhood, and will certainly make a fantastic present for your children this year. Hours of fun for such a small price is hard to find, plus they will be learning at the same time. This is one of the wisest purchases you will make.

Product: John Adams Chemistry Set
Price: £21.99 (average)
Supplied by: John Adams Trading Co. Ltd.
Contact: 01235 833066

John Adams Hot Wires Review - Exciting Stuff!

In a world where the news reports that children play too many video games and watch too much television, I tend to agree, though I do succumb to the virtues of the electronic world myself. What is missing today, is toys that the kids can interact with, so when a John Adams Hot Wires set landed on my desk, it felt like my Christmas had come early.

The John Adams Hot Wires set is a big bumper sized box, so straight away, if this was under your Christmas tree this year for your son (or daughter), they will be blown away by the size and exciting design on the box. Delving inside reveals an awesome electronics set, consisting of a base board and stacks of components. You get fuses, connectors, battery units, transistors, a bulb, microphone, buzzer, recording IC, the list goes on. Where the Hot Wires set is very clever is that all of the components simply snap together. No fiddling with tiny screws and no hot soldering, which would ultimately mean adult supervision and put the excitement out of the reach of many kids. It is aimed ate ages from 8 upwards, which I feel is about right, though some technically minded 6 & 7 year olds could also have a great time.

There are over 100 experiments, or things to build, including an FM radio, lie detector, burglar alarm and even a voice recorder. The instruction books really shows how things should be done. It is large in size and illustrated with full colour photographs of each and every experiment. Having such a wonderful and easy to follow book included makes this really stand out from the crowd.

For my test I chose to build the ‘Sound Activated Burglar Alarm’. All of the components are colour coded, so selecting the correct ones was really easy. The book shows where everything needs to be connected, and in under 10 minutes I had an alarm that went off every time the tiny microphone picked up a sound. Changing a few components allowed me to alter this to a ‘Light Activated Burglar Alarm’. With most reviews, by this point I am always aware that I need to get some writing done, but I just couldn’t put the Hot Wires set down. I went on to build a ‘3 Note Electronic Organ’, followed by a ‘Morse Code Generator’ and last but not least a ‘Lie Detector’. This was great and I used it to ask my kids some questions about their homework... the results were quite revealing.

I then handed this over to my two children (8 and 10 years old), and they loved it. Without any help they built some of the other projects, only calling for attention to show me the results. In all, I had whittled away with Hot Wires for almost 4 hours and the kids were in their 3rd hour without wanting to stop. I think it kept their attention because the results of each project once complete were intriguing. It added something back into their activities that had been missed for many years... that all important interaction that I mentioned at the start of this review!

The John Adams Hot Wires set costs just £39 and in my opinion offers great value for money. Don’t just buy the kids another computer game this Christmas and stick them in front the TV. Get them something they can get stuck into. This comes highly recommended, I cannot really put into words just how great Hot Wires really is. You will not be disappointed.

Product: John Adams Hot Wires
Price: £39.99
Supplied by: John Adams Trading Co. Ltd.
Contact: 01235 833066

Dahon D7 Vitesse Bike - Ease your Fatigue

Sitting at your desk all day? Tapping away at your keyboard 'til your wrists hurt? If this sounds familiar you need to break away from your computer for a while and get some fresh air. With winter drawing nearer, now is a good time to get out early morning and go for a cycle. Or, perhaps you want to reduce your carbon footprint, so that short drive to work could be done in about the same time, whilst creating less pollution... oh, and did I mention you can get fitter at the same time!
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Protect your iPod or iPhone with a GeekPouch

Head on over to this new section is the Geekanoids Shop to take a look at our GeekPouches. Put simply, they are a cotton corduroy pouch to slip your iPod or iPhone into, protecting it from those nasty little scratches. The pouch is not going to break the technology barrier, but it makes a lot of sense to keep your Apple kit in good condition. Not only does it look good, but also increases resale value, should you choose to upgrade in the future.

The GeekPouch is available for the iPod touch, 3rd gen iPod Nano, iPod Classic, 5th gen iPod Video and the iPhone. Prices across the board are £5.99 including UK delivery or £10.99 including international delivery.
Check out the video footage below.

Traps Drums - Big Sound… Small Package

When I was given the task of finding an alternative product to interest our valued readers, one that would take them outside the norm, that would ease the RSI, and offer some fun and exercise at the same time… I must admit that I was stumped. It is a foregone conclusion that a lot of the population surf the net, and when they are not surfing they are watching TV. On top of this, for maybe eight hours of the day they are staring at a computer screen.

Then I stumbled upon a website by Traps Drums, offering a portable drum kit, with a full-size sound. I am not sure why, but it caught my attention, probably because I had always wanted a drum kit as a kid, but never got one. So, a few phone calls later and the kind guys at Alchemy Engineering (the manufacturers) sent me an A400 kit to play with.

The whole kit was delivered in one compact box, and my initial reaction was that there was no way this was going to deliver on its promises. The A400 kit consists of tubular frames, that fit together with plastic sleeve clamps. Everything looks a bit confusing, as there are so many parts, and the instructions are a bit hard to see, due to having black and white illustrations. This is something that Traps are working on, so new kits should come with clearer instructions from mid-July.
That said, putting the kit together is pretty straightforward, if you take things one step at a time, there is only a certain way that the parts can fit together.
Once the frame is up and the kick bass drum in place, the remaining toms and cymbals all clamp firmly in place. As standard the kit comes with a 12-inch snare drum, 10, 12 & 14-inch Toms, a 20-inch kick (bass) drum, 13-inch hi hat cymbals, 14-inch crash cymbal, 18-inch crash ride cymbal, two pedals, a stool and drum sticks. It is pretty conclusive that you do not need anything else to get started.

Before I move onto the performance, I must emphasize that the A400 kit is of a very high build quality. Everything fits together perfectly and oozes a perfect finish. The stool is a little flimsy, with the mount nut needing to be tightened every now and again, but apart from that you couldn't ask for much more. You also get Remo heads on this kit, with the traditional multi screw tuning system, just like on full size kits. This is superb, as it allows you to individually tune each drum for that perfect sound. It also allows for new heads should you need to replace them in the future.

Now, I have played around on a Yamaha HipGig kit (around £700) before and I thought that there was no way that the A400 Traps would sound anything like them, after all, they take up half the space and cost almost half the price. To say I was astounded is really an understatement, the sound was full, accurate, and the responsiveness of the heads was great. Close your eyes and listen to the Traps and you really could not tell the difference… well maybe a little, but it is certainly not a worse or better sound in comparison to a full size kit.
Traps also supply bags for the A400, allowing you to easily transport the A400 to a gig, which is really useful. No need for a small transit with this kit ! You can also customise and add to the A400 with an extra 8-inch Tom, and move things around on the rack to get everything perfectly positioned for your individual style.

My suggestion to you all… get away from that screen for a while and use your creativity to learn to play the drums, you will love it. To all you budding musicians, the A400 kit is very compact and sounds great, so put it at the top of your list. Finally, to any readers who currently play the drums… if you need something compact, that still sounds great, either for gigging or for practicing at home, then the A400 will deliver all you could want, plus much more. The attention to detail, the build quality and sound, not to mention to superb aftersales support, all adds up to a stunningly good package.

Product: Traps A400 Drum Kit
Price: £299-£325
Supplied by: Alchemy Engineering Design Ltd
Contact: +44 (0)1202 476027
Email: support@trapsdrums.com

Uniden UBC3500XLT Review

We are complete gadget heads at Geekanoids, with around 95% of our time spent in front of some sort of screen, so getting away from all that LCD brightness is a good thing, if somewhat scary. However, it is important to still bring you something that fits it with the geek flavour and the guys at Radioscan kindly agreed to lend us a Uniden radio scanner.

The Uniden UBC3500XLT conjured up thoughts of listening in to robberies in progress, that boeing 747 having to make a landing at an alternative airport, and maybe even the odd ship having to avoid an iceberg (or two). So with great excitement we cracked open the box, plugged in to start charging the unit and turned it on.

Before we share what came next, a little bit about the UBC3500XLT. This is one of Uniden's latest scanners, with its full title being the Uniden Bearcat UBC3500XLT, from herein we will call it the 3500 for ease. It covers a very wide range of frequencies from 25MHz all the way up to 1.3GHz. This promises to cover the citizen band (CB's, breaker breaker, that's a big 10-4), air band (for listening to aircraft), land mobile, analogue phone, and other amateur bands. This should give you the scope to pick up the various local emergency services, for some interesting listening. The 3500 also features Unidens Close Call RF capture technology, which listens for nearby transmissions, and depending on your settings, switches to the signal and lets you listen in. This should be great for airshows, racing events, and perhaps local security transmissions. Supplied in the package is the radio unit itself, some rechargeable batteries, a mains adapter, wrist strap, belt clip, BNC/SMA adaptor (for attaching bigger and more powerful antenna) and the all important owners manual.

The 3500 handset feels very well built and it has a nice size screen, keypad and speaker, all well proportioned on the front. On the left side are some rubberized buttons for the menu and functions of the scanner. The top has a headphone socket and a three-way control that has you pushing for selecting something, and turning for volume and squelch. The back of the handset has meaty connection for the supplied belt clip, but this also puts the unit at a nice angle if you sit it on the table in front of you. The 3500 will work of rechargeable or normal AA batteries, of the mains power (adapter supplied), and can also charge the batts whilst inside the unit.

Being used to the Mac, we were surprised at how complicated the menu system was. It was very difficult to get from one feature to the next and you will find that a lot of button presses are needed to achieve anything. That said, the 3500 has so many features, it would be a mammoth task to do things any different way. Once we had found our way around the menus we could pick up some of the local services, and a lot of aircraft. Sometimes you only get one side of the conversation, other times you can hear the whole thing. We then headed outside and on top of some local hills, which proved to be a good move. The reception was much better and with great excitement we listened in to a coast guard announcement of an unexploded mine along the Dover to Calais Straight. This was fantastic, within hours of cracking the box open, we were enjoying the experience.

We think that this is a great way to get out of the house and away from your computer. It is a quick fix and if you pick up something interesting, it is really exciting. There are a lot of accessories available for these units, and the first purchase should really be a larger antenna. This will allow you to pick up a lot more and enhance your listening experience no end. The UBC3500XLT is very well built, can be used out and about, and just as effectively as a base scanner when attached to a meaty antenna. If you fancy giving radio scanning a try, head on over to the Radioscan website and check out the vast range of units. If you want to be sure you buy the best, then plump up the cash for the 3500, you will not be disappointed.

Product: Uniden Bearcat UBC3500XLT
Price: £144.99
Supplied by: Radioscan
Contact: contact@radioscan.co.uk

Roland HPD-10 - Music Goodness

Today we are taking a look at the Roland HPD-10, something to bring out that creativity in you and get you away from those RSI induced aches.

We love the fact that technology has progressed enough to bring with it the possibilities of cramming so much goodness into such a neat product. The HPD-10 is a fantastic instrument from Roland's hand percussion range. It is a little larger than a ream of A3 paper, measuring 323x427x75mm. It comes supplied with instructions and a power supply, but high up on the options list should be a PDS-10 stand, which makes the unit a lot easier to use and adjust to a comfortable height.

The best description of the HPD-10 is a really modern drum machine. It doesn't have any built-in recording functions, so it certainly could replace a drum machine if that is your requirement, but you can attach it to an external recording machine. It offer 400 built-in sounds, a metronome function (for keeping the rhythm spot on) and ten individual pressure sensitive pads. There is also a D-Beam controller, which is great fun, you simply wave your hand over the sensor at varying heights to achieve the required sound effect. Before I move on to how great the HPD-10 is, I should also mention the rhythm coach feature. This is great for adults and children alike, and shows an LED duplicate of the ten pads. It gets you to listen to a beat, whilst it shows you which pads to strike, then you have to repeat things at the correct rhythm to progress. This is a great training aid and makes learning fun.

Onto the sounds, and they really are fantastic. There are a lot of futuristic samples in there, with stunning special effects. You also get congas, bongos, tabla, cajon and steel drums, to name just a few. The fact that the pads are pressure sensitive adds to the realism and creativity. The harder you strike a pad, the louder the sound.

You can also turn the HPD-10 into a mini drum kit. Adding two external triggers allows you to add a cymbal and a kick trigger for that bass drum. There are also MIDI in and out sockets, so you can add extra functionality here too. For silent use and practice there is a headphone socket. But for rocking the house you need to connect either a single amp, or two powered speakers for stereo output. We used Roland's PM-10 personal monitor amplifier, which delivered stunning sound and clarity. Every small detail of the percussion instrument or effect was spot on, and when you hit those low bass drums, you really feel them. We also tried the HPD-10 with a Marshall MB30 bass amplifier. It was comparable to the PM-10, not quite as detailed, but certainly an option if you need to save a little on your budget.

Altogether I would put the HPD-10 into two camps, where it scores very highly indeed. If you are a pro musician and need to add percussion to your set-up, then look no further, you will not be disappointed. If like me, you love music, spend all day doing the same thing, and need some creative release at the end of the day, then spend you hard earned cash now. The HPD-10 has given me and my family hours of fun and I am very sad to have to send it back.

Product: Roland HPD-10
Price: £449.00
Supplied by: Roland UK
Contact: www.roland.co.uk/buy.asp

Product: Roland PM-10
Price: £199.00
Supplied by: Roland UK
Contact: www.roland.co.uk/buy.asp

Product: Marshall MB30 Amplifier
Price: £105.00
Supplied by: Marshall Amplification plc
Contact: +44 (0)1908 375411

Marshall Amps - Get that bass pumping

Here at Geekanoids we will be bringing you some alternative reviews over the coming months. Something to get you away from that screen, maybe a little different creativity, or something for the weekend. Hot on the heels of this review will be some excellent percussion instruments, the RMP-5 drum practice pad and the HPD-10 hand percussion pad. We also have Marshall's excellent AS50D amplifier, and a Yamaha APX500 electro-acoustic guitar.

To kick things off the kind people at Marshall Amplification lent us their MB30 bass amp, which we wanted to test with the Roland RMP-5 drum practice pad. Before I continue with my impressions here is a little about the MB series. There are ten different models in the range, starting with the MB15, which delivers 15 watts of amplification, right up to the MB4050H, a two box affair capable of up to 450 watts. All have similar styling, being black with white accents and controls.

The MB30 which we have on test, yes, you guessed it, delivers 30 watts of amplification via a single 10-inch speaker. It is a two channel amp, measuring 438mm x 400mm x 260mm, and weighing in at 13.6kg, so is pretty easy to move around. The front sports one input jack for your bass guitar (or in this case drum unit), plus there is also an input for a CD player or other suitable line-in device, like an MP3 player. There is also a headphone out socket, which when used mutes the internal speaker. The rotary dials from left to right control the volume, compressor control, classic gain and volume, bass, voice shift, voice and treble equalisation. There are also push buttons for turning the compressor on and off, and for switching between the MB30's two channels (modern or classic).
Around the back you will find sockets for connecting a footswitch, a send socket that could go to an external effects processor, return input for completing the loop between that external effects processor and a line out that can go to a recording device.

So, as you can see, the MB30 is very well endowed in socketry and controls, but how well does it perform? Well, when used with the RMP-5 this little amp really kicks ass. I was expecting things to sound a little muddy, as this amp really is not designed for the drum pad. At first things did sound a little flat, but upping the treble and moving the voice shift to position 3 to boost the mids and things seemed to fall into place. The low thumps of some of the RMP-5 effects were shuddering, whilst the MB30 still managed to deliver the intricacies of a cymbal almost to perfection.
It would have been unfair to bring you this review without testing an instrument that the MB30 was designed for, so we ran a Yamaha RBX774 bass through it. Again, the sound was very full, with plenty of authority and well controlled.

The features and control that the MB30 delivers at this price point and fantastic, and although 30 watts may seem at the low end, it goes plenty loud enough. For home practice it is ideal, for the percussion we tested it was surprisingly very capable, and with the RBX774 it performed way above its asking price. If you need a bass oriented amp then look no further than the MB30 or another model from the series.

Product: Marshall MB30 Amplifier
Price: £105.00
Supplied by: Marshall Amplification plc
Contact: +44 (0)1908 375411
Email: contactus@marshallamps.com

Total Training - Learn Adobe Acrobat Effectively

Learning a new application can sometimes be a pretty daunting experience, well it was for me anyway. That was until I stumbled across Total Training, who publish a series of DVD's with a difference. So, I decided to brush up on my Acrobat skills courtesy of "Total Training for Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional".

Now, what I thought I would receive and what I got was a nice surprise. Not one to read the instructions first, I popped the first of the two DVD's supplied into my MacBook. When Apple DVD Player didn't launch I decided to take a quick squizz at the instructions to reveal that I had to install an application called Launchpad, which incidentally works on both Mac and PC platforms. Once this is installed I could get things underway.

Just to explain what Launchpad does… apart from the regular video playback controls, it allows you to easily bookmark sections. This allows you to easily revisit sections at a later time. There is also a Bonus Button that unlocks special features throughout the training session. Plus, a Get More Training button allows you to view additional tutorials and to see the entire catalogue of DVD's available. You can also alter the size of the training video as well as access a contents and help section.

Once the training gets underway, you will soon see that the way features are explained is really invaluable. The first sections gives you an excellent overview of Adobe Acrobat, followed by creating PDF files, linking, commenting and security within your files. The more advanced second DVD gives you details of how to create forms, preparing PDF files for prepress, presentations and how to work with layers. There is a lot more covered besides what I have mentioned here, so it is important that I emphasize just how thorough this training package is. I came away from this experience with a much better knowledge of Acrobat, along with things that I did not even know were possible. The beauty of training like this, is that you can do it at your own pace, take breaks when you want to, and of course you can go over sections as many times as you need to grasp the particular subject. The Total Training for Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional package is worth every penny.

Product: Total Training for Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional
Price: £120 +VAT.
Supplied by: Ceritec (UK)
Contact: 0870 766 9826

Herman Miller Mirra Chair Review - Sit Correctly

It gives me great pleasure to bring you a review of the Herman Miller Mirra chair, an ergonomic solution for all those people like me (in fact, probably most of the population) who either sit in front of a computer, or at a desk as part of their job, or when they finish a hard days work for some internet surfing in the evening. I am not in a position to quote hard facts and figures, but I find myself sitting at a desk for around 8 hours per day, and I would guess that this is quite normal for a lot of people. We all have aches and pains, so during my research it was interesting to learn that a lot of these can be put down to bad posture and unnecessary fatigue by sitting in the same position for extended periods of time.

Herman Miller offer well design chairs that provide the correct support and sitting positions, but in a form that does not look out of place in the modern office or home working situation. Design is often given priority by many people when choosing this type of product, so I was happy to see that the Mirra chair I am reviewing here really does look the part. Nice sleek lines, a very modern looking back and seat, and some nice colour combinations.

The company that supplied this chair to me was Home Working Solutions, a UK based company and authorised Herman Miller supplier. As well as the Mirra chair reviewed here, they also supply a wide range of ergonomic products and accessories including mice and keyboards.
For the Herman Miller range of chairs they offer a "Fast" service, which includes delivery at your home or office. The service has added value too, you don't just get a box dumped on your doorstep, you get the full lowdown on how the chair works, all the adjustments and benefits explained, and help with obtaining the correct settings for you.

On first sight, the Mirra chairs back looks kind of weird, but the varying size and shapes of the holes in the TriFlex back allows it to flex in different places. This really ensures that when you move it is both comfortable and offers the correct support. Taking a look around the back, there is also an easy to adjust lumbar support, which can be raised and lowered, and depth adjusted very easily. Even at this stage of setting up my Mirra chair, I was both hooked and impressed.

The seat height adjusts with gas assisted lift, the seat depth can be changed by rolling the front of the seat up and down, plus the leather padded arms can be height adjusted and angled accordingly. The adjustments don't end there, they continue with a very clever tilt lever. You can tilt the chair back, but also limit the amount the chair tilts, plus depending on your weight/strength, you can also adjust the force needed to tilt the chair by turning a tilt tension knob.
I had seen chairs that tilted before, but when tilting back with other chairs I found that the whole chair moved, so the seat angled back and my legs ended up in the air. The Mirra is different in this respect, as the seat and back moved independently, so your seat stays flat, this is an awesome design feature.

Prior to using the Mirra chair I often found myself perched on the edge of my seat, mainly because I was leaning forward to read something, or to carry out some intricate on-screen editing. The forward tilt option on the Mirra cures this bad habit, as the chair back tilts forward with your movement. This meant that I could now lean forward, but still have my back fully supported.

For a long time, I have got into many bad sitting habits, and I suspect that what I describe here is familiar to a lot of people. Making sure you sit correctly, have the correct posture, and frequently move and take breaks whilst working really is important. It keeps you feeling fresh and more productive. Now, the Mirra chair is not the most expensive in the Herman Miller range, but to some it may still seem quite expensive. At £499 it is a serious investment for most, but look at it another way and you are investing in your future and into increasing productivity. There is nothing worse than suffering with back ache, and a chair like this can certainly help a great deal. The Mirra comes with a 12 year warranty, with five years for the suspension seat part of the chair, with this in mind suddenly £499 for 12 years of use doesn't look so bad.

In conclusion, I would never have considered spending this much on a chair before trying one. Previous purchases for me would have been a visit to Argos or Ikea with a £60 or £70 budget. I have been there, done that, and found myself replacing my purchase year after year. Having had the privilege of using a Mirra chair, I would not hesitate in purchasing one. There are other chairs from Herman Miller, the more expensive Aeron and the lower priced Celle, As a start point the mid-range Mirra was very impressive and come highly recommended.

Product: Herman Miller Mirra Chair
Price: £495 (as tested)
Supplied by: Home Working Solutions
Fast Service Telephone: 0800 043 3278
General Enquiries: 020 8956 2880