A Visitor From Another Planet, or Just a Helpful Tool?

Homedics PA-200H Programmable Percussion Massager

"Take me to your leader," a scratchy whisper interrupted my nap. "Whaa?" I mumbled to my dream. "PA phone home?" came the querulous reply. "Whaa?" I repeated. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when three-quarters asleep. "Awake, foolish earthling!"

OK, that got my attention. But when I did awaken, there was no evil, ray-gun toting alien at my bedside; just a Homedics PA-200H massager that I'd left lying on the night stand. Oh, sure, with that gray triangular "head," the long skinny "neck," and those pupil-less black "eyes" at the corners of its "face," the PA-200H could easily be mistaken for an escapee from a Whitley Streiber novel as brought to life by Industrial Light and Magic. But on second glance, there are no long, bony fingers and no stereotypical lipless mouth; just an array of teeth, err, buttons and a long, dangling cord. So, my bedroom safe from alien invasion, at least for the moment, I went back to sleep.

Besides, my lower back was feeling so much better!

Features 

The PA-200H may look like something out of an episode of "The X-Files," but it sure doesn't act like a marauding interstellar visitor. It's well behaved; even well trained. It's an impact massager, with twin heads (on the opposite side from its face) that pound your sore spots like tiny fists, only lots faster. You can use any of three black rubber heads of varying hardness to give yourself a good thumping, or use plastic heads that can be heated. Those nice alien wranglers at Homedics taught the little guy some additional tricks, too, including:

Five Intensities: when used with the manual massager setting these simply change the speed (although there seems to be very little difference between numbers 4 and 5).

Three Programs: in which the thumping frequency sweeps from minimum intensity to maximum and back; the different programs have different rates of change and stay at the extremes for different lengths of time.

Three Intervals: allows you to speed up the whole cycle on any of those programs.

Heat: either on or off, and usable only with the supplied heatable pads. It appears to raise the temperature to about 10-15 degrees (F) above body heat. Soothing...

Auto Width Adjustment: hold down a button and the heads slowly move apart, keep depressing it and they come back together again. Maximum spread is about 4 inches, minimum is about 3 inches; the gap between heads ranges from about 1-3/4 inch down to 3/4 inch.

Usage 

The PA-200H is hand-held and corded with a 12-foot line, there's a Velcro loop on the line to help stow the cord neatly. All controls except the width adjustment are on the face, where they can be operated with a thumb or the other hand. These controls are the soft-touch type often seen on calculators and cash registers, which helps keep dust and dirt out of the works. The auto-width adjustment button is on the other side, adjacent to the vibrating heads.

Recommendations  Extra contact pads screw on and off fairly easily, though they don't look all that well made to me. The threads for screwing them on do not go all the way around, and it's easy to accidentally cross-thread them. There's also no way to store the accessory heads that aren't in use except for the crumbly styrofoam block from the original packaging. The unit weighs about six to eight pounds, most of which is concentrated out at the business end. It's awkward to use if you're trying to support its weight (e.g., using it on your hamstrings while sitting). The massager works best when held horizontal so that its entire weight is on the vibrating pads, so why not get someone else to do your back for you! Since it's apparently sturdy and possessed of plenty of features, we're happy to have our PA-200H hiding in that little nest in the master bath. As of this date, it doesn't seem to have made contact with the mother ship, although there are some suspicious "signs" shaved into the back yard grass. I'm keeping an eye on the little guy, just in case!

Summary

PLUS: versatile thumper, heated

MINUS: awkward weight distribution, "face" may frighten small children

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Though it might look like a Close Encounter of the Third Kind, the Homedics PA-200H is actually a handy device for soothing aching muscles.

copyright © 2018-2021 scmrak

Another Great Mouse from Logitech

Logitech M325 Wireless Optical Mouse

All good things must come to an end. Considering the amount of abuse my Logitech V450 Nano wireless mouse suffered week in and week out, it’s not surprising that it eventually stopped working. On the other hand, it did last more than 4½ years – longer than a lot of laptops these days. They were not easy years, either, entailing heavy work with precision 3D modeling software and also an owner who regularly eats lunch at his desk. Messily.

So when it did come time to replace that V450, I didn’t bother looking at Kensington or Microsoft or any of the others: I headed straight for Logitech’s catalog to see what had replaced the V450. The answer is a Logitech M325 Wireless Mouse, and it’s (pretty much) just like my old friend.

Here are some basic specs for the M325:

The mouse operates on two AA batteries; not included. Logitech claims “up to” 18 months' battery life, but we all know that’s just a guess. On the other hand, I only remember changing the V450 batteries a time or two, so more than a year sounds reasonable. It operates under (almost) any flavor or Windows or iOs, as well as Chrome and Linux.You’ll need a USB 2.0 or 3.0 port for the receiver (in case you don’t know, a USB 3.0 port [usually] has a blue plastic insert and a 2.0 has black).The body's about 3¾” x 2¼” x 1½”, slightly smaller than my old V450. It’s ergonomically shaped to fit the hand with a rubber grip notched on both sides for the thumb, and can be used either right- or left-handed. Logitech calls the scrolling "micro-precise," and I have no argument there. The 2.4GHz wireless signal is highly reliable: I’ve never experienced a dropout or delay, even from across the room.The eensy-beansy nano receiver is called a “unifying receiver” because you can run as many as six USB devices on a single receiver… assuming they’re Logitech devices, I think.

Like its little predecessor, the M325 is a two-button mouse with a scroll wheel that can be programmed to act as a third button (for Linux fans, among others). For everyone else, the wheel operates as a forward/backward switch for web browsers; just tilt the wheel to the right or left, respectively. You can download Logitech drivers to enable an extended set of mouse features, but I prefer to use it as a standard “dumb” mouse with the Windows default mouse driver. If you want to run multiple devices on the unifying receiver, you also have to download the unifying software. Haven’t tried it…

That receiver is one of Logitech’s Nano receivers, so called because it’s a tiny (about ½” x ¼” x ¼”) chunk of plastic sitting on a USB plug.  It’s so small I never bother to unplug it, even when stowing the laptop for travel – it sticks out perhaps a quarter of an inch. If I do you want to disconnect and store it, the receiver tucks into a dedicated slot in the battery compartment, which also turns the mouse off. You could also leave it plugged in and turn the mouse off with its bottom-mounted switch. There’s a tiny green LED on the top to show the power’s on, which turns red when the battery’s low – aat which time the mouse seems to have another week or two of battery life.

Special programming features: If you download SetPoint, the M525 will end up with additional functions. By default, the wheel’s programmed to scroll the current window right-left with a wheel “tilt.” If you press and hold the wheel, you get software zoom to enlarge/reduce the current window. Tilt and press functions can be re-assigned to several other actions, like volume control for yout speakers.

Life with a Logitech M325:

Installation is easy, since it's plug-n-play. My laptop runs Windows 7 64-bit,, and the mouse worked immediately upon installation.
Download: The download software is massive, which is the  reason I didn’t bother with it – I’ve used it on other machines and don’t find that it adds that much to my experience. I have no need for the unifying software, so ditto on the no-download.
Physical stuff: The receiver only projects about 0.25" out from the USB port so you really can plug it in and forget (though maybe not so much if it’s on the side that rests on the bottom of your laptop bag).
Range: It's a minimum of ten or twelve feet from the receiver, at least with fresh batteries. I always like that for presentations, because I’m a bit of a roamer.
Surface Sensitivity: It works fine on a plain countertop, rubber mousepad, magazine surface, newspaper, cloth, and wooden desk without any tracking problems. Like other mice (mouses?) it's pretty useless on shiny or monochrome surfaces.
Portability: Though decidedly compact, it’s also pretty dense. It’s probably worth the extra ounce, though.
Buttons: Some aftermarket mice have extra programmable buttons under the thumb and ring finger for additional controls; if you're used to them, you'll not find them here. If you're not, you probably won't care. I find that the mousewheel is super-sensitive, allowing me to scroll line by line instead of the noticeable jump of some cruder mice.

Is it really Ergonomic? Well, that might depends on your tastes: the M325 is kinda chunky, but it’s still a little small for large hands. If portability isn’t your driving need, a larger mouse might fit your hand somewhat better.

Overall: A nice little mouse with few shortcomings. Logitech sells sexier mice, but they cost more than this one’s $30 price tag . I’d recommend the M325 for medium to heavy use, though not for cursor-intensive pastimes like CAD or gaming; and I especially recommend it for travelling, where its small size and Nano Receiver will be a blessing. Oh – and replacement receivers are available from Logitech, so you can literally forget the receiver as well! Summary PLUS: tiny and tough even while it's sensitive MINUS: some of the software downloads are a little "much" WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: I liked my last couple of Logitech mice so much that when the latest one died I didn't bother to look at anything but the Logitech M325 Wireless Mouse.

copyright © 2018 scmrak

A Complete Waste of $1300

NordicTrack Elite 13.1 Elliptical

NordicTrack Elite 13.1

After we wore out a cheap elliptical machine a couple of years ago, we dithered for a while about buying a new one. Having survived a frozen winter or two when we couldn’t get outside to exercise, we broke down and went looking. Sadly, the only consumer-grade ellipticals we could lay hands on we found at Sears – Dick’s sells the Sole brand, but has none on display – so we picked out a NordicTrack Elite 13.1 Elliptical (their model 24055.0). To be frank, it’s the worst $1300 we ever spent.

White Noise Without the Fan

Marpac Dohm-DS Sound Machine

Because she's had a case of chronic tinnitus for several years, the woman of the house often finds it difficult to sleep without a low-to-medium level of background “white noise” in the room. Years ago, we tried some of those “sound machines” that have settings that are supposed to mimic waves or rain, but they seemed intrusive and the variations in pitch and volume seemed to make it harder to get to sleep, not easier. For years, she’s used a fan on a low setting. That’s no big deal in summer or during what Houston calls “winter,” but when the Midwestern temperatures drop below 0°F you don’t want a fan running in the bedroom at night!