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Author / C. Crane

Top Gardening Tips from Bob Crane

A gardener's slice of heaven

A little slice of Bob’s heaven

Knowledge

I learned how to grow crops by taking a Master Gardner class and by looking online for information available from the great people and organization of the Cooperative Extension Services. If you like audio, search for “farmers podcast” and I am sure you will find something you like. I have made at least two failures for every gardening success I’ve had.

All my vegetables are in raised beds. I don’t make a living at farming so my focus is definitely not as intense or as well skilled as a full-time farmer. I do raise 90% of the vegetables, fruit, nuts, and eggs we eat and share the extra with friends.

What is the Cooperative Extension? In 1914, the U.S. Department of Agriculture partnered with a nationwide network of “land grant” universities to create a system of “extension” services. The goal of these services is to improve life across the country with advice from local experts regarding all things agriculture and farming and much more. A wonderful Master Gardener program class is available to gain knowledge and increase your ability to raise food. To get some idea of what is available online simply search your state.edu and your interest. There are usually tips and information about your county where you live. Example:  “iowa.edu growing peaches”. Pests are a big problem if you go organic and they have lots of research and tips on how to do it. Here is an easy way to find the nearest Cooperative Extension office near you:  http://npic.orst.edu/mlr.html

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How to use the C. Crane FM Transmitter 2 for church services, parking lot concerts, or other events

We’ve had some questions around our FM Transmitter and how exactly it works, especially for use for church services, a parking lot concert, or other events. Below we’re going to give you some ideas on how it might work for you. Scroll to the bottom of the blog post if you’d like to watch a video detailing the information below.

A couple of things to keep in mind, FM is line of sight, if you have walls or obstructions, it will limit the reception. If you live in a populous area with a lot of FM stations, this solution may not work well for you because there are no vacant frequencies or too much interference.

fmtransmitterwithconnectors

Our FM Transmitter 2 includes a 1/8″ stereo jack and an RCA to stereo female cable that allows you to plug into the line out or headphone jack of any device that you want to transmit audio from.

The transmitter doesn’t “care” what the source of the audio signal is, it just uses the FM frequency band to send that signal to other devices on that same frequency. It will accept a source of audio from about any line-out or headphone jack. Continue Reading

November Podcast Friday

We’ve mentioned that we LOVE to learn new things and to listen to shows that challenge our thinking and provide intelligent discussion. And you guys loved Big Picture Science. We’ve found another podcast that does exactly that. Overheard at National Geographic This podcast just might make you the most interesting guest at dinner. It’s a […]

October Podcast Friday!

We’ve been listening to Clark Howard on the radio for years, but now he also has a Podcast. He’s great for helping you save money, find good deals and avoid rip offs. He knows a tremendous amount about travel and has a ton of tips about that on his shows and his website. He also […]

September Podcast Friday

AT C. Crane, we LOVE to learn new things and to listen to shows that challenge our thinking and provide intelligent discussion. Big Picture Science does exactly that . . . as uncovered by our friend Thomas Witherspoon at SWling.com Some of the recent topics at Big Picture Science: Skeptic Check: Brain Gain – Separating […]

August Podcast Friday!

The first Friday of every month we will be featuring a new podcast that we’re listening to here at C. Crane. Our hopes are that we expose you to something new that you may have not heard of before and something you may enjoy.  What we’re listening to — as recommended by one of our customers […]

Pros and Cons of WiFi and Internet Radio

We’ve received a lot of emails and several comments about the confusion surrounding “internet radio”. What is it? How does it work? How do I pick the right radio? So we put together some of the pros and cons and then a few additional considerations. In this post, we aren’t recommending one particular radio over another but rather giving you some points to consider when making your decision so you can pick the right product for you.

First, let’s establish that there is a pre-requisite to using WiFi Internet radio –

  • You need to have a high-speed internet connection. Most internet radios will work on WiFi. Some have an option for a direct Ethernet connection (that network jack on the back of the radio that provides a connection to the router. Sometimes a USB to Ethernet adapter might be necessary.).

Let’s jump into the benefits for you as a listener – Continue Reading

Podcast Friday

What we’re listening to — well this time it’s not actually a show, it’s a tool to help you find shows to listen to

Listen Notes

The Best Podcast Search EngineTM. It’s like Google, but for podcasts.

This is THE BEST place to find any kind of podcast you want to listen to. No more scrolling through the internet trying to find something new or trying to navigate multiple apps an platforms to listen to a show or host.

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