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I get why you’re asking, but I’d flip the question around a bit. Instead of whether it lasts a whole day, think about whether you actually need live tracking the entire hike. I leave mine on standby most of the walk and only check the app when my dog disappears into brush, and it’s still got plenty left after a long afternoon. Constant live updates are the part that eats the charge. If you’re glued to the map the whole time, no collar in this range is going to give you a full day. For me the middle ground works fine, tracking when I need it and letting it rest otherwise.
I went bigger on the panel for my own shed setup and it was the right call for me. The difference was noticeable within a few days, the batteries actually got topped up rather than just sitting there slowly losing charge. I get that a controller is cheaper but if the panel is too small you are basically trying to fill a bucket with a dripping tap. For occasional use it might be fine, but I found the bigger panel meant I stopped thinking about it entirely, which was worth it. My setup is nothing fancy, just the panel and a cheap controller together, and that combo has been solid for months now.
Mine dropped to around three days once I started getting call notifications on it, so the extra stuff clearly adds up. For steps and time only, you’ll likely land closer to the top end.
Since the soundbar is already working off that other port, the stick shouldn’t change anything on its end. The TV just keeps sending audio out the way it does now, the stick is only feeding video and sound into the TV. The one thing I’d do before ordering is plug something into that free port and see if the TV still plays through the soundbar. If it does now, the BitBip won’t behave any differently.
Two HDMI ports is tight, so I get the concern. A friend of mine had the same setup with a retro stick and a soundbar, and what tripped him up was where the sound actually comes from. If the stick is plugged straight into the TV, the TV handles the handoff to the soundbar, and in his case it worked right away. What he did have to check was the TV’s audio output setting, because it defaulted to the internal speakers and he thought the soundbar was broken for a day or two. Once he set it to the soundbar output, it stayed put. The other thing worth knowing is that these little retro sticks usually don’t send audio through anything except the HDMI cable, so as long as your soundbar is connected to the TV and the TV is set to pass audio along, you’re fine. No cable swapping. I’d just poke around the TV’s sound menu before you assume it’s not working, since that was his whole issue. What soundbar model do you have?
Warm tap water is fine for regular maintenance. I’ve been using it that way for a few months on my kitchen sink, and it still foams up and clears the slow drainage. The really hot water seems to help more when there’s a proper clog, but for keeping things fresh, I don’t think it’s wasting a dose. Boiling a pot every time sounds like a hassle for no real gain.
I set mine up without one and the water still seemed fine for the plants. The barrel does get a bit of grit at the bottom over time, so I just rinse it out once in a while. For basic garden watering I don’t think it’s a must have.
A standard power bank should keep it running on low speed, but the runtime is going to depend way more on the power bank than on the Glacier Breeze itself. I looked into this a while back because I wanted something similar for camping, and the thing that kept coming up is that these little coolers don’t pull a ton of power, but they pull enough that a cheap 5,000 mAh bank drains faster than you’d expect. A bigger one, like 20,000 mAh, is usually the safer bet if you actually want a couple hours.
What changed my mind was realizing how much the low speed setting matters here. At low it’s pretty efficient, so a decent bank can get you a few hours, but the moment you bump it up to medium or high the drain jumps and the bank empties a lot quicker. So if your plan is strictly low speed on the patio, it’s doable. If you think you’ll want more airflow, you’ll probably be disappointed.
I ended up deciding the built-in battery was the more reliable option for outdoor use, and treating a power bank as a backup rather than the main plan. Not saying it won’t work, just that the numbers on paper look better than the real world sometimes. Worth checking what output your bank actually delivers too, since some of the older ones are slower than people assume.
I don’t think adding a second one is as harmless as people make it sound. When I put a second antenna in another room, the channel scan on that TV kept dropping a couple of channels that came in fine before. Could just be my setup, but I’d test one before committing.
I look at the resting heart rate more than the activity numbers. Mine sat around 55 for months, then crept up to 70 for a week before she got a bit off her food. Vet said it was a mild bug. The step count never changed at all.
Skimming for “sell” is a waste of time. Most of these apps bury it under “service providers” or “affiliates” and you’ll never spot it that way. I’ve stopped reading the full thing and just look at whether the app even needs sleep data to function. If a meditation app wants my sleep history, that’s my answer.
I just write the date I opened the bag on a piece of tape and stick it on the side. That way I actually know how long it’s been sitting instead of guessing.
Depends what you’re comparing it to. For a backup hotspot, the price might be hard to justify if you already have phone tethering sitting there unused. The roaming is irrelevant either way, but that doesn’t automatically make it the right pick.
179 is just a number I’d ignore. What actually matters for side seats is the projector, not the screen. A cheap projector will wash out at an angle no matter what surface you hang. For movie nights, the screen is the last thing I’d base the decision on.
I only want the dog’s location on my phone, not a shared feed with constant pings. If I’m out walking and my partner keeps checking the same app, it just becomes background noise for me. So I’d rather keep it on one device and text if something looks off.
I leave mine in most of the time and just charge it when needed. For a shed, I would probably pop it out and keep it somewhere drier if it gets cold. The battery clicks in fine, not fiddly at all.
I’d look at your building’s water first. Chlorine smell can vary a lot by unit or day, so a showerhead filter may only make a small dent. Mine didn’t fully remove it, just made it less obvious.
I’ve been using whatever USB port is closest for a few months now and it’s been fine. If the car port is slow I just leave it charging longer. Not really a wall adapter person for this thing.
Still trying to figure out if I even want to buy one, but this thread is helpful. Good to know it’s not something you’re swapping every few months.
Still deciding myself, so I don’t have a firm answer. But the fact that it’s USB-C means you can just plug it in while you’re unloading groceries and it’ll probably have enough to get going.
I actually think the 5 minute thing is overblown. Mine never felt warm that fast, more like 20 minutes before the room temperature moved at all. It still works fine, just not as quick as the box suggests.
I went back and forth on this before ordering mine. My first thought was that a rechargeable device sitting on a shelf for who knows how long would probably arrive dead, so I almost bought a separate charger setup in advance. Then I read enough mixed experiences that I figured I would just deal with whatever showed up.
What changed my mind was thinking about how I’d actually use it. This isn’t something you wear for eight hours straight. If it needs a top-up before the first session, that’s a minor inconvenience, not a dealbreaker. I was treating it like a phone where a dead battery ruins your day.
The part I’m still unsure about is how much the shipping and storage time varies. Two units from the same listing could sit in different warehouses for different lengths. So asking “does it come charged” is almost like asking “how long was it in the box.” There’s no single answer.
If I do order one, my plan is to plug it in while I figure out the controls and read through the modes. That way I’m not just staring at it waiting. If it turns on immediately, great, I use it. If not, I’ve already started the process.
The question makes sense though. Nobody wants to unbox something and then wait around.
I’d push back a little on the idea that you need the manual at all. When I first looked into the Omnihear, my expectation was that a device with multiple modes and no app would be a button puzzle. That was the main thing holding me back. But I’ve handled one a few times now, and the basic volume part is genuinely simple. You press up or down, you hear the change, done. No menu, no confirmation beep that sounds like a secret code, no needing to remember some combo.
The mode switching is where I’d say it’s less obvious, but even that isn’t really manual territory. There are only a few modes, and after you cycle through them once or twice you get a feel for the order. It’s more like learning which way to turn a familiar key than studying instructions. I can see how someone might mix up a mode now and then, but mixing up a mode isn’t the same as being unable to use the thing. You just keep pressing until it sounds right for where you are.
What surprised me was how much the automatic adjustment does on its own. I expected to be fiddling constantly, and in practice the device handles a lot of the everyday shifting. So the buttons end up being more of a nudge than a control panel. If your main worry is having to pull out a manual every time you want it louder, I don’t think that’s the reality here. The bigger unknown for me is whether the mode order feels natural to you personally, since that’s the part people seem to differ on.
Mine actually holds fine on the helmet with the curved mount. I just pressed it down hard on the front and it hasn’t moved in a couple of weeks. Maybe my helmet shape happens to match it.
I’m still deciding whether to buy one, so this is useful. The six hour cycle sounds like it adds up if you charge it often. I’d probably just run it once in the morning and leave it at that.
The wire is only for charging, not for wearing. Mine runs about 4 sessions before it needs a top-up, so I usually just plug it in while I’m doing something else. You can definitely walk around with it on.
