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May 31, 2022

The Voice of Baseball’s Play by Play – by Jessica Crotty

Watching youth baseball and softball has reminded me how much love there is for this game. I’ve seen the girls on my daughter’s team practicing with their parents, learning the game, and having fun. It feels great to be in person again.

One thing I would love but have noticed isn’t present, is play-by-play for youth sports. One of the fondest memories many of you have shared is the announcers for baseball games that you’ve listened to on the radio. I started to wonder at what age play-by-play announcing starts. I know when my son played youth football, there were announcers. It also made me wonder how many announcers in the pros started out this way.

October 7, 2021

“Words From Bob” from our 2021 Catalog

From Bob

After the past year in various stages of lockdown, we’re excited to see some light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and get out and explore some more. It kind of feels like the dawn of travel again, which is what inspired this year’s cover. The 1869 Mark Twain quote has been a favorite of mine since reading The Innocents Abroad.

May 28, 2021

Quest for Great Audio Using the CC WiFi 3 – By Bob Crane

I remember laying down in the perfect position with my head in front of a large Packard Bell Console with a brand-new vinyl Jimi Hendrix album to take in all the audio subtleties. The position was a bit awkward, but the audio was superb. I also noticed a slight degradation of audio quality with vinyl after only three plays. I was so lucky to see Hendrix “live” a few times including his Rainbow Maui visit with 300 other people. I also saw performances by the Beatles, Stones, Grateful Dead and a few other lesser known, groups but equally good. It is interesting these groups have a smaller but clear following of a younger audience too. Edward Bulwer Lytton once said, “Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies.”

To me a musical reproduction goal is to sound like the original live performance. Audio systems can run well past $100,000 but this does not guarantee you will like the results. Quality is important but some of my chosen music was never recorded in high quality, like Cat Stevens. Normal differences in recordings means you could adjust the audio settings for each song . . . the song itself is more important. I prefer diverse and well-crafted music by talented musicians. For example, the CC WiFi 3 Internet Radio makes it easy to search for African classic music compared to your cell phone.

March 24, 2021

For the Love of the Game – Play Ball

There may not be another time in history where baseball has been looked forward to more than this year. When something terrible happens, many of us turn to sports to provide some level of comfort, some normalcy. I think back to the first game in New York after 9/11 and what that meant to so many. We continue to watch sports because there is no guarantee on the outcome of the game. The championship team can lose to the team with the worst record. Upsets are the drama that keep us on the edge of our seats.

February 8, 2021

Top Tips For The Next Winter Storm

During winter storms, staying warm and safe can be difficult. Winter storms can bring cold temperatures, power failures, loss of communication services, and icy roads. To keep yourself and your loved ones safe, you should know how to prepare before, during, and after a storm.

Here are some helpful tips that will keep you and your family safe during a winter storm:

July 15, 2020

Systems That Will Extend & Boost Your WiFi Range

WiFi has integrated into our lives to an unforeseen level as a tool for knowledge and entertainment but it doesn’t travel very far. All of our CC Vector systems must have a “line-of-site” view to the host router to work.

CC Vector Extended Long Range WiFi Receiver System

If you have a remote garage, greenhouse or guesthouse you may be faced with the cost of a new Internet service. The CC Vector Extended Long Range WiFi System can connect to your home host router up to ½ mile away and save you the cost and trouble of setting up a new router or digging a trench. Typically you would mount the parabolic antenna on an outbuilding wall pointed towards your home router. It is powerful enough to pick up your home signal from several hundred feet away or much more if your router is near a window facing the outbuilding. The narrow beam of the parabolic antenna ignores other interfering WiFi systems that might be in the area. Best of all our CC Vector models work with all WiFi devices!

April 27, 2020

Top Gardening Tips from Bob Crane

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

April 9, 2020

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.

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

October 30, 2019

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 […]

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