I just wanted to say that "you get what you pay for" . Again!
So I own a pair of Eliminator E139 barrel roller DMX controlled lights. I also just got a pair of Martin SCX500 scanners. The Eliminators are 250Watt bulbs and Martin are 150watt. The Martins look 3 times brighter than the eliminator. The optical path on the Martin is simple and efficient. The eliminator is not designed as well.
The Martin uses a front side coated mirror as the eliminator uses regular rear coated mirror. The Martin uses a bulb that has the reflector integrated as one piece. Where the Eliminator has a separate reflector and bulb that has to be aligned right or the light will not be focused properly. The Martin does nice smooth sweeping motion as slow speeds where the eliminator is gittery.
So when buying equipment always remember that you get what you pay for! In all fairness Martin has be developing high end stage lighting since they began and has always chased the industry leaders in concert lighting (High End & Vari light) but has always dominated the lower end DJ and night club market. In this case their experience in getting maximum light out of a fixture is apparent!! I'd like some 250 watt discharge models someday!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Amazon.com : Amazon associates program a fraud?
[ How to set up new Amazon associates store: tricks and tips, get huge sales, make $100,000 dollars in one season! NOT!]
Have you had items you sold through Amazon associates disappear off your reports and not get compensated for the sale? have you noticed or been paying attention?
Have you had items you sold through Amazon associates disappear off your reports and not get compensated for the sale? have you noticed or been paying attention?
That's exactly what happened to me in the holiday season of 2011. I just wonder how many other people are busting their hump promoting Amazon.com brand and getting screwed!!?
Here's my story.
Amazon screwed me out of $650 worth of commissions. Why? Because my parents and sister ordered xmas presents and sent them to my parents address. I had an Amazon associates account registared to that address when I lived with my parents in 1997. Jump to 2011, because I once lived there they said all the orders that went to that address were "personal" and that the associates program was not a discount program. I said that they were not my orders, not ordered on my credit card and didn't go to my address. They then told me I set up this elaborate scheme to have other people buy things for me to get a 5% discount. I couldn't believe that they would say that and essentially tell me I was a liar and scamming them. I told them I would never waste all that time, ask other people to pay with their credit card to get a lousy 5% discount!!! They said yes I did. I told them that next holiday season I would not be pushing their brand. I sold $5,000 worth of goods for them and they ruined the relationship FOREVER for $150. There policies are open ended and their customer service is short sighted. People are far better off setting up their own portal vs. relying on Amazon. Also, they pay 60 days after the sale. Because their reports are so ambiguous it's hard to identify the dropped items. SHADY ASS COMPANY. Stay away from Amazon associates, for the effort, time and money you associates are putting in you are being poorly compensated for your effort. Start your own thing.. being an associate with an Amazon store is hardly being in business for yourself.
When my family found out I did not get paid by Amazon.com they were pissed! They said that they went out of their way to order almost all their Christmas gifts on Amazon and could have just went to the mall. Guess who won't be buying on Amazon next Christmas.
P.S. Amazon, if you were smart you would give associates the 5% on person sales just like if you work at Mc Donalds you get a discounted lunch. It's totally feasible to set a threshold of minimum outside sales to receive a discount on personal orders.
When my family found out I did not get paid by Amazon.com they were pissed! They said that they went out of their way to order almost all their Christmas gifts on Amazon and could have just went to the mall. Guess who won't be buying on Amazon next Christmas.
P.S. Amazon, if you were smart you would give associates the 5% on person sales just like if you work at Mc Donalds you get a discounted lunch. It's totally feasible to set a threshold of minimum outside sales to receive a discount on personal orders.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Why Craigslist!? Why do you block multi-posts in different cities?
Why do you consider the same post in a different city 2000 miles away a duplicate post? It's not like someone in Nashville is going see the same post in Los Angeles. You don't offer a nationwide search so why block multiple city posts? I like to sell things in multiple cities and you make me have to slightly modify my message so that your filter doesn't block the post. Please limit this blocking feature to single a geographic area like a major city or county. Thank you.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Google Adwords - No real fraud protection at all.. Use at your own risk as long as your budget will allow!
Google doesn't protect small and large advertisers from fake or fraudulent clicks!
So I've explored Google Adwords recently with a few businesses I'm promoting. I watch the clicks very closely as the bid amounts are in the $12 to $15 per click range. My beef with Google is that it says that they will credit you for double clicks and fraudulent clicks that are not real potential customers. I've found that Google does not protect you and will not credit you even though their marketing material suggests that they will! Specifically I had two clicks totally $28 from the same source. The two clicks were one minute a part and using Google's very own Analytics system I could tell that this particular person did not spend more than 10 seconds on the site. Basically this was a meaningless click that cost $28.
So under the "double click" policy of Google I contacted them to alert them of this situation. They requested the server log of the activity. Luckly for me I have a hosting service that makes those available to me in raw form. I'm not sure if you were using a Wordpress hosted site if you could get that data. So after reviewing the raw data log I confirmed what Analytics had shown that it was the same IP address and within 1 minute with zero activity beyond the click.
Here is Google's response to the actual raw data proof of the situation.
"Greetings, Steve,
Thank you for contacting Google. Per our conversation regarding the
clicks on March 9 in your AdWords account, I had forwarded the issue to a
specialist team.
Our team received your report regarding suspicious clicks on your AdWords
ads. Thank you for your patience while we researched this issue.
After thoroughly reviewing your account, we did not find any evidence
suggesting that invalid clicks have been charged to your account. The
clicks your ads received appear to fit a pattern of normal user behavior.
If the click activity that doesn't fit your usual patterns, please keep
invalid click activity, please visit
http://www.google.com/ads/
So I've explored Google Adwords recently with a few businesses I'm promoting. I watch the clicks very closely as the bid amounts are in the $12 to $15 per click range. My beef with Google is that it says that they will credit you for double clicks and fraudulent clicks that are not real potential customers. I've found that Google does not protect you and will not credit you even though their marketing material suggests that they will! Specifically I had two clicks totally $28 from the same source. The two clicks were one minute a part and using Google's very own Analytics system I could tell that this particular person did not spend more than 10 seconds on the site. Basically this was a meaningless click that cost $28.
So under the "double click" policy of Google I contacted them to alert them of this situation. They requested the server log of the activity. Luckly for me I have a hosting service that makes those available to me in raw form. I'm not sure if you were using a Wordpress hosted site if you could get that data. So after reviewing the raw data log I confirmed what Analytics had shown that it was the same IP address and within 1 minute with zero activity beyond the click.
Here is Google's response to the actual raw data proof of the situation.
"Greetings, Steve,
Thank you for contacting Google. Per our conversation regarding the
clicks on March 9 in your AdWords account, I had forwarded the issue to a
specialist team.
Our team received your report regarding suspicious clicks on your AdWords
ads. Thank you for your patience while we researched this issue.
After thoroughly reviewing your account, we did not find any evidence
suggesting that invalid clicks have been charged to your account. The
clicks your ads received appear to fit a pattern of normal user behavior.
If the click activity that doesn't fit your usual patterns, please keep
the following factors in mind:
- Return visits: Individual users may legitimately click on your ad more
than one time when comparison shopping or returning to your site for more
information.
- Shared IPs: Multiple clicks from a single source may be due to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigning identical IP addresses to
multiple users. Certain ISPs, such as AOL, distribute a relatively small
number of shared, rotating IP addresses to a large number of users. As a
result, multiple visitors may access your site from identical IP
addresses, giving the impression of repeated clicks from a single visitor.
The security of AdWords advertisers is a top priority for Google. Please- Return visits: Individual users may legitimately click on your ad more
than one time when comparison shopping or returning to your site for more
information.
- Shared IPs: Multiple clicks from a single source may be due to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigning identical IP addresses to
multiple users. Certain ISPs, such as AOL, distribute a relatively small
number of shared, rotating IP addresses to a large number of users. As a
result, multiple visitors may access your site from identical IP
addresses, giving the impression of repeated clicks from a single visitor.
be assured that we will continue to monitor all clicks on your ads to
prevent abuse. For more information about the steps we take to combatinvalid click activity, please visit
http://www.google.com/ads/
If you read that response you should be quick to realize that under almost all circumstances and even with a server log which many Google customers may not even have access to, Google calls it "normal use".
If that's not a red flag for your marketing budget than be prepared to pay for useless clicks under the Google business model. If you're in high cost keywords than that will add up to thousands of dollars.
I don't trust Google and that my budget isn't being eaten up by some room of "clickers" or my competition!
After all Google has to make tons of cash to support that stock price for the street!
A better model for advertisers is a pay per click with a minimum interaction time on the site and true double click protection. It's easy to do but I suspect that Google is racking in a lot of money from illegitimate clicks so why would they want to change a thing.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Native Instruments NI S4 vs. Denon DN-MC6000
I do a lot of paid mobile DJ work so reliability and a backup plan is essential for me. I also DJ a clubs and special dance events from time to time.
I use a 6 year old Fujitsu laptop with 500GB harddrive, 4GB ram running Vista.
I went with the Denon DN-MC6000 and here's why:
1. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 is an actual analog mixer and if my computer fails I can immediately jump to alternative sources, CDJs, Turntables or Ipods if I want. On the S4 it's dead in the water without a functioning computer. A rebooting computer in the middle of a packed dance floor is the worst thing that can happen to you, especially if you're getting paid good money to be there.
2. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because a large number of people experience audio drop outs and crackling on the S4 unless they spend days extensively modifying settings and disabling wifi. I tested the S4 running Traktor Pro 2 on my computer and it could not handle it at all, simply not useable. As a matter of fact my friend who loaned the S4 to me had a 2 year old laptop that could not handle the S4 sound card so he bought a NEW LAPTOP and even the fastest laptop he could get STILL has audio issues. My understanding is the NI audio drivers not being compatible with other drivers on the system. As I looked at what I'd needed to upgrade to something reliable I was thinking I'd need to buy a mac book pro for $1,300 to run the S4 without audio issues and greater reliability. I was wrong!!! And good thing because buying an expensive laptop isn't really in the budget. When I hooked up the Denon MC6000 and installed the Denon ASIO drivers I was blown away. The controller was working on my 6 year old PC laptop with perfect audio and midi control!!! I was not impressed with NI's audio card products based on my own experience and lots of others on the forums, especially considering my old Numark controller's sound card worked great with no audio issues. It's important to understand that my laptop is fully functioning with WIFI running and NO ISSUES! This is key at private parties because I can download requested songs I don't have. The Denon product was true plug and play, took less than 10 minutes to be mixing on Traktor.
3. I bought the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 has a 3 band EQ on the microphone inputs and ducking. This allows me to notch out feedback during presentations if someone walks too close to the speakers. (always happens)
4. The MC6000 has a smaller foot print and a solid all metal case as well as booth output with controls if needed. Using the standard 19" rackmount gives me unlimited mounting options when it comes to road cases. With the S4 you are limited to custom cases.
Performance:
Well I'm extremely excited about this controller. Mixing house music is easy and any controller can do it. What's harder is mixing hiphop or club tracks. I started on turntables in 87 so it's typical to scratch in the next track. With this controller you can scratch mix into the next track and it's very accurate on jog wheel release. It's even fun to adjust the slope of the crossfader and do some scratching... the jog wheels are so accurate you can get very very close to the sound of vinyl scratching. I don't know how the denon does it's touch sensitivity but it doesn't appear to be a mechanical switch like the S4.. If my hunch is true then their is no switch to wear out on the Denon.
The sound is great and the build is strong. I believe this is the best controller option for any DJ that needs high reliability, quality sound, and analog pass thru backup mixing. I like the option to go 100% digital mixing of 4 tracks/samplers or go analog mixer.
http://www.DJ-Service-San-Diego.com
Even though the traktor pro 2 CPU meter hits the red all the time there are no audio or midi drop outs on a 6 year old laptop using the Denon hardware! This fact gives me great confidence that I can buy a new high powered, quad core, laptop PC with a 17" screen for $700 range and it will work great vs. committing to a $1300 Macbook with a 13" screen. Don't get me wrong I would like to have Mac Book but that's almost double the cost for a lot less screen and hardware.
Hope this helps anyone who might be looking at these two options. I can see this unit becoming an industry standard.
Have fun!
http://www.rentphotoboothsandiego.com
I use a 6 year old Fujitsu laptop with 500GB harddrive, 4GB ram running Vista.
I went with the Denon DN-MC6000 and here's why:
1. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 is an actual analog mixer and if my computer fails I can immediately jump to alternative sources, CDJs, Turntables or Ipods if I want. On the S4 it's dead in the water without a functioning computer. A rebooting computer in the middle of a packed dance floor is the worst thing that can happen to you, especially if you're getting paid good money to be there.
2. I picked the MC6000 over the S4 because a large number of people experience audio drop outs and crackling on the S4 unless they spend days extensively modifying settings and disabling wifi. I tested the S4 running Traktor Pro 2 on my computer and it could not handle it at all, simply not useable. As a matter of fact my friend who loaned the S4 to me had a 2 year old laptop that could not handle the S4 sound card so he bought a NEW LAPTOP and even the fastest laptop he could get STILL has audio issues. My understanding is the NI audio drivers not being compatible with other drivers on the system. As I looked at what I'd needed to upgrade to something reliable I was thinking I'd need to buy a mac book pro for $1,300 to run the S4 without audio issues and greater reliability. I was wrong!!! And good thing because buying an expensive laptop isn't really in the budget. When I hooked up the Denon MC6000 and installed the Denon ASIO drivers I was blown away. The controller was working on my 6 year old PC laptop with perfect audio and midi control!!! I was not impressed with NI's audio card products based on my own experience and lots of others on the forums, especially considering my old Numark controller's sound card worked great with no audio issues. It's important to understand that my laptop is fully functioning with WIFI running and NO ISSUES! This is key at private parties because I can download requested songs I don't have. The Denon product was true plug and play, took less than 10 minutes to be mixing on Traktor.
3. I bought the MC6000 over the S4 because the MC6000 has a 3 band EQ on the microphone inputs and ducking. This allows me to notch out feedback during presentations if someone walks too close to the speakers. (always happens)
4. The MC6000 has a smaller foot print and a solid all metal case as well as booth output with controls if needed. Using the standard 19" rackmount gives me unlimited mounting options when it comes to road cases. With the S4 you are limited to custom cases.
Performance:
Well I'm extremely excited about this controller. Mixing house music is easy and any controller can do it. What's harder is mixing hiphop or club tracks. I started on turntables in 87 so it's typical to scratch in the next track. With this controller you can scratch mix into the next track and it's very accurate on jog wheel release. It's even fun to adjust the slope of the crossfader and do some scratching... the jog wheels are so accurate you can get very very close to the sound of vinyl scratching. I don't know how the denon does it's touch sensitivity but it doesn't appear to be a mechanical switch like the S4.. If my hunch is true then their is no switch to wear out on the Denon.
The sound is great and the build is strong. I believe this is the best controller option for any DJ that needs high reliability, quality sound, and analog pass thru backup mixing. I like the option to go 100% digital mixing of 4 tracks/samplers or go analog mixer.
http://www.DJ-Service-San-Diego.com
Even though the traktor pro 2 CPU meter hits the red all the time there are no audio or midi drop outs on a 6 year old laptop using the Denon hardware! This fact gives me great confidence that I can buy a new high powered, quad core, laptop PC with a 17" screen for $700 range and it will work great vs. committing to a $1300 Macbook with a 13" screen. Don't get me wrong I would like to have Mac Book but that's almost double the cost for a lot less screen and hardware.
Hope this helps anyone who might be looking at these two options. I can see this unit becoming an industry standard.
Have fun!
http://www.rentphotoboothsandiego.com
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Warning Chauvet Fog machine 5 pin din with Elation DMX Programmer
Do not connect your Non DMX Chauvet Fog machine using the 5 pin DIN connector on the back to the 5 pin DIN fog machine port of an Elation DMX controller using a 5 pin midi din cable.
It put the Elation controller in a strange non working mode, the USB light went out, and after turning on and off the USB light would shut down the unit. the controller was displaying a "5" on the screen and wouldn't do anything. After a few minutes it seems to have returned to normal but I though the Elation was toast!
I can not find any info on the pin outs of the Chauvet or the 5 pin din connector on the Elation. Obviously the ADJ fog machine 5 pin din connectors use different wiring than the Chauvet. Obviously the Chavet Obey controllers can connect to Chauvet fog machines.
Don't mistake the 5 pin Din connector for a 5 pin DMX. DMX is digital communication system and the 5 pin din is just a 5 pin analog connector that passes voltage for LEDs and switched voltage pulses for activating fog.
Note that the MIDI standard used on instruments also uses this 5 pin din connector but is a different digital system for control vs. DMX.
___________________________
http://www.DJ-Service-San-Diego.com - Special Events and Rental http://www.RentPhotoBoothSanDiego.com
It put the Elation controller in a strange non working mode, the USB light went out, and after turning on and off the USB light would shut down the unit. the controller was displaying a "5" on the screen and wouldn't do anything. After a few minutes it seems to have returned to normal but I though the Elation was toast!
I can not find any info on the pin outs of the Chauvet or the 5 pin din connector on the Elation. Obviously the ADJ fog machine 5 pin din connectors use different wiring than the Chauvet. Obviously the Chavet Obey controllers can connect to Chauvet fog machines.
Don't mistake the 5 pin Din connector for a 5 pin DMX. DMX is digital communication system and the 5 pin din is just a 5 pin analog connector that passes voltage for LEDs and switched voltage pulses for activating fog.
Note that the MIDI standard used on instruments also uses this 5 pin din connector but is a different digital system for control vs. DMX.
___________________________
http://www.DJ-Service-San-Diego.com - Special Events and Rental http://www.RentPhotoBoothSanDiego.com
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