Automotive Reviews

If you are having a problem with your OBD 1 or OBD 2 car you should buy this.It will read your trouble codes and give you more info on sensors,fluid temperture and other engine data for your car.You can reset your Trouble codes.Its is easy to use but wish there was a way to print the info out or to store the data in the scanner.

This TV remote is fantastic for the person who refuses
to leave their sofa during the cold winter months.
Constructed and made in China, where quality products
have been fashioned for 100 years in labor camps, it
has all the right buttons to put you in a mood for
festive TV watching. Start off with the volume control
optimizer, silences out annoying screeching sounds
normally heard in cheap TVs, then move to the 3 in 1
picture zoom where you can spot goofs in films and bad
teeth in local news anchor people, and finally an
angler deflector which reduces glare from fading suns.
In all, a handy device for the constipated traveler.

The unit is very well built. Instructions are easy to read. The scanner is simply to use. I've used it on a 98' volvo xc70 and a Mazda Protege, very good purchase.

Was not worth the money range is very limited and very unclear to understand other party talking

Glad I didn't need this sooner. The radio moved on the Super Saver Shipping timeline even with mandatory $10 Standard Shipping. I could have walked to KY for pick-up in the time standard shipping took. The vehicle mount antenna ordered same day, standard shipping, from Cricket Ventures, AMZ reseller, arrived four days before the radio.

On the other hand, the radio and antenna are superb! An exceptional package of capabilities, size, and features. Midland would do well to copy this product architecture across their other families of HT/Mobile products: GMRS/MURS, business band.

Buy the radio. Just don't expect timely delivery.

Quite a few of the Southern Cruisers M/C riding club I am a member of have this radio and suggested it strongly and Amazon.com for the best purchase place. I am very pleased with it so far.

I'm not the most handy person around, but I decided to build a playground border consisting of two stacked 4x4s. I needed a drill that could drill through two 4x4s to create holes for the spikes.

The big orange box store said to stay away from cordless drills. I was told they do not have the power of a corded drill. After reading the specs of the Makita 18-Volt Cordless drill and understanding the reputation of Makita tools, I ordered the drill.

After a few hours, I had my swing set border complete. I was able to drill through two stacked 4x4s without problem. The spare battery was great. When one battery was running low, I put it in the chrager and used the second battery.

The convenience of the cordless model will allow me to use the drill all aorund the house. When I need a screwdriver, I can pick the drill up and go right to work. No need to worry about an extension cord just change the bit.

The drill comes with two batteries, battery charger, a carrying case and a few bits. I'd recommend purchasing the Makita UltraLoc kit so you have screwdriver attachments. The total cost less the Amazon discount and Makita (...)rebate was (...). Comparable drills are selling for (...)or more. Overall a great value for a product that completes the job. Highly recommended.

When I first saw the 18-volt powerhouse Makita 6347DWDE drill at this price (only $125 after a $50 manufacturer's rebate and another $25 off promotion from Amazon) I thought it was too good to be true and quite possibly a mistake. I had to read the description and the fine print a few times before making my order.

After owning this drill for six weeks and using it on a couple of projects, I couldn't be happier. The battery pack has proved more than adequate in delivering plenty of power over an extended time period and and it's great to have the backup available just in case. Charging is fast and easy, too.

Despite the size of this drill, it is surprisingly light and well-balanced, comfortable to use even at odd angles and at arms length. You absolutely can't go wrong here.

The benefits of owning quality power tools go without saying. And Makita is a name you can trust. This is not a toy ... it is the real deal. Don't settle for good when you can have the very best. It's definitely worth a few extra $$$.

Note: Take a look at the Makita 784874-A 15-Piece UltraLoc Set as a great accessory for this drill.

I dont know about this drill/driver in particular but just wanted to add my views here for those of you who arent real familiar with this brand. I used to be in apartment maintenance using it to fasten down underlayment... door, window, trim and moulding work, masonary and metal drilling as well as doing numerous household and hobby projects. I have been using my Makita cordless for over 17 years and it still is working like a champ! Have kept it in an unheated garage or truck/van in sometimes near zero degree weather here in Michigan and even this didnt kill the batteries.The original batteries and charger still work although the batteries dont hold a charge like they used to. The quality of the batteries themselves are amazing to me. I just purchased an 18 volt drill simply because I couldnt pass up the deal and wanted to jump on the big high voltage bandwagon. (For me 18 volt is big!). The battery life and power didnt impress me on my new purchase. (I wont mention the name because I havent had it long enough for a fair review). I also have a small cordless Makita reciprocating saw I also am a big fan of. My Dad has a cordless trim saw and we love it as well. I have Dewalt, Milwaukee, Bosch, Craftsman Stanley and other corded and cordless tools and I am not saying which is best or better because it all depends. Its hard to say what the quality of Makitas tools are today as compared to when I made my purchases but I would definately buy another Makita anything if the price was right. I have used my drill more in the last 17 years than most will in a lifetime. Driving screws until it would stall year in and year out and it never wore out, never needed brushes. Now... if you are a professional drywaller or window/door installer and are constantly driving screws untill the clutch slips then you will probably wear out the clutch/torque adjust in a year to a few years but that is my speculation. I have seen contractors using them for just such work. My point is... dont be afraid to try Makita. If mine was dead and I was shopping for a new cordless, it would be a Makita. If I didnt buy Makita it wouldnt be because I was worried about the power or quality but only the deal I was getting. Some of the other manufacturers I mentioned have decent tools as well but Makita can hold its own against all of them and then some against some of them. Bearing all this in mind.... if I saw that they were being made in China then I would have some serious reservations... otherwise.... go for it.

Purchased in February, has not worked out of the box. Unit will not charge. Unit has been under warranty repair for the past 2 months. It was junk, right out of the box. I will not purchase another tool or accessory from the above.

This item will not fully charge and/or the charging light does not work. I contacted the company and they sent me a new battery but the unit still does not fully charge.

This is a very useful item and a value for money. Compact and well constructed. Stands firm in the trunk. Just make sure that you cover it in a plastic or something so that any rainwater or snow does not fall on it causing any possible short circuit as two clips are always active.

Only complaint I have about most of jump starters is that their tongs/clips are not very easy connect. Many times some car battery terminals so different in shape than these tongs can effectively clamp to. Only if they could change the shape and specs of battery terminals and also the tongs on jump starters to match, it will be more convenient.

Good investment. Just make sure to charge from time to time (once in 3 weeks or so). Last thing you want is to need a jump start and see that battery of your jump starter is all drained.

after one year of light duty use pump bearing leaking oil and fly wheel belt won't ride true . unit now in shop waiting for parts, down time three to four weeks, had to borrow small compressor from family member. I would not recomend this compressor at all. A better compressor would be home depots huskey 60 gal a much better built unit at 399.00 pump is solid cast iron and the tubing is copper vs alumium that poter cable uses .I think poter cable should stick to building beltsanders, routers,& sawzalls

I've had this compressor for about a year and like it. It was ready to go after adding the oil which was included. I bought it when I switched to air tool sanding and it easily keeps up with that job.
The drain is a little hard access. The manual advises you to releive the air pressure though the quick relief valve, automatically down to about 10PSI, then opening the water drain and closing the valve before restarting.

you can get this at Lowes for 379........

Don't believe the last review. I had mine about a month before I tossed it out the window somewhere near Charlotte, NC. Nothing but problems, barely recieved or transmitted and was extremely weak when it did. I actually had truckers ask me to stop transmitting because all they could hear was squealing when I keyed. Tossed it, kept my K40 antenna, bought a Uniden Pro538W and have loved it! Much better radio! Don't buy anything Cobra makes!

I recently bought and installed this radio in my truck, and I have not had any problems yet!!! A few minor details are the noise blanker seems really sesitive (sometimes when it is on I do not receive any traffic) but that is about it. I enjoy Cobra products, this is my second radio (I just traded up from a 25NWXT), I have a Cobra HG2000 Antenna, and I am waiting on a Cobra Mic for my radio. So far no problems with any of it and I hope to have none down the road!!!!!

My is working good for over years now so Please buy one & try them & you will see that RedDog was wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This radio has good receiption, but display screen sucks, bright on both ends of display but dark in the middle,i sent it back to Cobra for this problem and they returned it saying their was nothing wrong with the display screen, can't beleive Cobra thinks the display looks ok.

bought one of these because i had a good experience with the older model (III). this is a good little radio, doesnt have some of the bells and whistles of more expensive models but works fine as a CB. if it had a channel scanning or built in SWR functions i would have given it 5 stars.

cb is an excellent value,it worked fine and has an adjustable rf gain.

I bought one of these about three years ago and bought two others when they were discontinued about two years ago. I'm surprised to see these still in stock, so perhaps the new batch is different from the one I'm reviewing.

The push-to-talk button will wear out after about a year of daily use. The buttons wear out in the strangest of ways. It appears to transmit but doesn't transmit the subcode unless you really press the button down. Not sure what was going on there.

I highly recommend the GMRS version of this base station. It's much better and has a "bonus" removable portable radio. We're replacing the FRS1000 with the new version as their push-to-talk buttons break.

The battery life is very decent on the FRS1000--it lasts two days which is excellent for any FRS with subcodes turned on.

The configuration sequence is horribly confusing and the icons don't seem to represent anything in real life, so the manual should be kept close by.

We are in a rather noisy environment, RF-wise, so passing aircraft and vehicles with business radios will cause the unit to break squelch and emit a loud 1/2-second long blast of static and white noise. This happens even if you set the subcodes. Some ranges of subcodes false break squelch more often than others.

Transmitting audio is accompanied by an AC hum. The newer GMRS version has a quieter hum but it's still there. The power supply appears to be the culprit, as I have used ferrite cores to try and clean up the interference a bit and it doesn't have much affect.

If it's cheap, like twenty-five dollars, grab it. FRS base stations are very rare products that are much more useful than the basic home intercom system.

I have several of these fantastic radios! It has everything I look for in a base station FRS radio.

The Audiovox FRS1000 comes with all the necessary features for FRS radios. 14-Channels, 38 CTCSS tones, speaker/mic connection, weather reception, VOX, call tones, etc.

The FRS1000 has the speaker/mic connection that is most useful. It is compatible with standard Radio Shack/Icom speaker/mics which means you will be able to find one easily and it will not cost you a fortune. Most people don't use speaker/mics, but with this unit, you can use it in your car and with a speaker/mic, it is extremely useful.

Powering the unit is done in several ways. First, the radio comes with a 12-volt power transformer that you plug into the wall. Not only does it power the unit, but it also charges the rechargable NiMH batteies (included) stored in the back of the radio. HOT TIP!!! This is VERY important...Before you use the radio, charge the batteries for at least 24-hours. If you try to use the radio when the batteries are completely drained, the transformer will not have enough power. It makes the radio "seem" non-functioning, but you will find if you follow my advice, everything will be fine. Also, if you use alkaline batteries, make SURE!!!! you switch the charging option to "alkaline", otherwise, you may FRY the batteries. BTW...Pickup a 12-volt "cigarette lighter" plug from Radio Shack and you can power it in the car. I would recommend that you turn the battery charging option "off" when using the cigarette lighter plug...I don't know for sure if it will damage that rechargable batteries (I suspect not), but why take the chance.

A wonderful feature of this radio is the weather channel reception. It picks-up all major weather channels in your area and will even alert you when a warning is sent out. This even works when you are using the FRS radio.

Of course, there is a scan feature. It scans all 14-channels. It doesn't display the CTCSS tone used during scan like the GE 38540 radios does (see my review of that radio), but most FRS radios don't do this either, so I will not deduct points for that.

One thing I will deduct a point for (this is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5) is that the VOX does not work well. I suspect that it doesn't work well on all of the FRS1000 radios because I have 5 and it works the same on all 5...Poorly!

All-in-all, it is a fantastic bargain if you want a base station or even a mobile FRS radio. Only fault I can see is the VOX problem I listed above. Go ahead and try one...You won't be sorry.

I just purchased the FRS-1000 Base station and I have to say I'm very pleased. It works fine with my BellSouth FRS Hand Held units. The station is small and compact, no larger than a standard intercom. The manual is a bit hard to figure out some of the functions but if you play with it, you'll get the hang of all it can do.
One function I especially love is it's ability to scan all 14 FRS channels, so I can monitor all channels for incoming signals. It also has a function whereby you can monitor two channels at once, if you have people using two different channels, you can hear conversations on both.

The NOAA weather function is a no-brainer, just press the button and you have instant weather information access. The unit also features a "Roger Beep", this is a short beep that is attached to the end of every transmission. (It can be turned off) I like it because it distinguishes when a transmission is coming from the base station. My hand held units do not have this beep so any transmission from base is clearly identified by this sound.

You can also sellect from 4 different "Call Tones". This allows you to define the type of call signal the unit emitts when signaling other units. If you have more than one base station this would be handy to differentiate them.
When they say "Two mile range" their not kidding, the unit belts out enough power to talk and listen somewhat beyond that. (a friend and I tested it, he on a bike with a hand held and me on the base!)
This unit could have many uses, I use it for camping and keeping up with friends hiking. It could be used in a factory too, or as a way to keep track of neighborhood kids. In fact, as I scan channels I often hear the neighborhood kids playing and talking. And with it's range, I hear other neighborhoods too.
I must admit it's fun to listen in on their play. Plus during the day I can hear workers who use FRS to talk to each other.
FRS is not as crowded as CB bandwiths, it's easy to find a clear quiet channel to use if you don't want distractions.
If you're looking for a unit to use for work or in a factory, I'd recommend you pick an odd channel like "3" or "6". Most units default to channel "1" when turned on and this is the channel that you'll hear the most chatter from the neighborhood.

The FRS-1000 is a great buy, it comes with rechargable batteries and they charge while the unit is on and plugged up with the supplied adapter. So you can use it portable or plugged in. It has a tall antenna that will swivel up or down depending on if you have it mounted on a wall or sitting on a table. The screen is backlit so you can easily read the display and you'll get used to the various display icons in no time. Look for other units like this to hit the market soon as FRS becomes more popular, this is really the way to go.

It comes with 35 electrical terminals and 100 fasteners as part of the kit. So it really comes with 99 tools and the box.

It was inexpensive and if you're not looking to do a lot of repair work on your car, it's probably a good buy for you. Something to keep in your trunk. I can tell already though from looking at this, that I'm going to want to get REAL set elsewhere. For basic maintenance work this set will do.

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I'm buying my first car and figured that I will need a tool kit. This has to be the best bang for the buck. Looks like it has everything for moderate engine tuneup job. A torque wrench would be nice though. Overall this is a good toolkit to have in your car should the unexpected happen. Besides you can never go wrong with having a toolkit in your car anyway.

What is the problem with these gauges? Naturally I peeled off the label first, and, on eight tires on two cars, it would only read 28.5 PSI. Then I did a Zero Reset several times; now it reads anywhere from 25 PSI to 29 PSI on tires I know to contain 34 PSI.

I make sure it is seated properly, and there are no air leaks.

Maybe that's why it is being sold for $6.49!

I bought two of these gauges, one for my air compressor accessory kit and one for my daughter's car. Calibration is extremely easy and the readings are in 0.5 psi increments. No more moving parts and messed up readings. There's no gasket on the stem where it touches the tire valve but that didn't seem to be a drawback at all. You don't even have to wait for the last reading to clear before taking another. Nothing fancy, just practical and handy.

As has been stated, ignore the 28.5 readings. Hold on, I can't stop laughing...

This gauge is easy to use and apparently lasts a lifetime. It seems to be very accurate as well. If you care about your tires and your safety, get yourself this maintenance free gauge to check your pressure often.

P.S. Read the instructions and don't forget to remove the "28.5" screen protector. lol