Saturday night of Thanksgiving break I got to hook up my GFs HTIB system.

I brought two items:
- New 18 AWG speaker wire (biggest that fits in the spring clips, same as what came with it)
- My trusty Ideal strippers.

PITA FACTOR HIGH:
1) TV stand with the equipment location 6 inches off the floor, prepare to lay down to do this.

2) TV stand door does not come off, so good luck reaching around to pass cables to yourself from front to rear.

3) Masonite back panel with small oblong passthrough for cabling, lined up to be of use to absolutely nothing.

4) Cabinet is so shallow that the door still hit the front panel knobs when its as far back as it can go on the test fitting (the system was setup in this cabinet, somehow, before I helped her move.

5) So take it all out, cut an access in the rear panel, reassemble the whole damn thing and terminate the cabling.

6) Once it's in the cabinet and the door closes (the door is glass panels in a frame) the frame of the door blocks the IR pickup on the HTIB receiver. I don't have ANYTHING with me for repeating IR, so I just propped the whole unit up on an inverted dinner plate so the remote can see the unit.

7) The access hole that I cut into the rear panel is now too short, so the back panel is hitting the fragile spring clip speaker terminations and the little RF dongle for the remotely located surround speaker amp. So I modified the rear panel AGAIN.

8) I mentioned the remote rear speaker amp thing, it's causing the whole system to shut off intermittently... "Oh, our old dog chewed on the wire. Double check that for me." Yes, and some 'helpful' person twisted and taped the wires back together (leaving the splices right next to each other). The tape job was sloppy and loose, and the pos and neg splices were TOUCHING under the tape. I don't have any crimp caps, butt splices, solder, or heat shrink. All I can do is move the twist and tape splice of the positive up the cable a few inches, and leave the neg where it is. At least it can't physically touch to short out anymore until I can get back to make it right.

9) I used the TV do manage the HDMI switching, and used the Toslink audio out to feed signal to the HTIB. "It's not the way it was before." she said. I labeled the inputs on the TV and made it as simple as I could.

When it was all done, she made me some pie and we settled in on the couch for some blu-rays and Netflix. It was all worth it.

You are SOOOO a Trunk Slammer.... Welcome to the club....LOL





Me, I drove to the beach once again. A cool 45 at home, and a warm 65 at the beach. Had to take my coat off. I'm loving it.

The kids call it "Netflix and chill".

I quit being the AV guy for family and friends a long time ago. I was home last week for thanksgiving. I was supposed to go pick up a credenza to replace the sanus rack in my family room. I didn't go because i knew it meant i had to rewire everything. I put the surround system in storage and at this point i am hoping to make it until the end of the lease without installing it so i don't have to uninstall it.

I did however finally mount the payphone i picked up from craigslist. I routed a phone line from the Xfinity cable modem but couldn't get it to work. I am sure i need to reprogram something or add a wall wart for power somewhere but i just didn't have it in me to continue so for now its just wall art.

Mac, I just installed one of those phones for a client. He did not have the hardware so I ended up lugging the whole thing into home Depot to get the proper parts. Luckily, it worked when plugged into standard land line. :)

Pay phone in the den, what a great idea! Mr. Phillips will love it for his teenagers!

thats awesome. It makes me want to get a landline again just for that

Momma's new ride! 2016 Explorer Platinum

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WOW is all i can say! Motortrend said the Platinum had the nicest interior Ford has ever put in a vehicle and they weren't lying. That ecoboost twin turbo runs like a damn scalded dog!!! I never even saw it other than some online stuff she showed me. When she arrived from picking it up in Birmingham I was pretty floored. She is over the moon and now i REALLY want a new vehicle!!!!! LOL

The explorer is an awesome vehicle. What are you getting for yourself ? :)

nothing soon. i have a 2005 Toyota 4Runner that still runs like a top. If I were to buy a new vehicle, probably a new 4Runner. I like that it is the last mid size SUV on a frame. They are pretty damn tough. I do venture off road and it does snow so i like the extra ground clearance and bona fide 4WD not fancy AWD.

Im not a truck guy, unless you constantly haul big shit in the bed, I find them annoying. shit is always flying around the bed, toneau covers SUCK, the back seat of (most) 4 door trucks sit erect because they cant recline, etc. not to mention I have an old truck for hauling shit for work. BUT, if I did, it would be a new F150

IF I could shell out and get ANY vehicle under $100k as a daily driver it would have to be an Escalade. Those mothers are absolutely incredible. Client has a brand new 2016 he let me take around the block Friday. Been a fan since the '08 and up.

As a second car, 2016 CTS-V is literally the sickest ride under $100k you can buy!! Same client has one and did NOT let me take it around the block, but took me around the block and to say it has vicious power is an under statement. Luxurious and fierce. Go to a black tie dinner Friday night and a race track on Saturday.

Cadillac has definitely found their way back to the luxury market. I dont think there will be any buyers remorse for anyone who takes home the CTS-V.

Good luck. I've had two explorers in the past (granted it was when they actually built them on truck frames). While I really liked them, they were a maintanace nightmare. My wife said she would divorce me if I even considered another one the last time I traded. If the new ones have anything in common with the old ones, go ahead and save up for a set of new rotors and pads. Every brake job meant I was buying new rotors.

L
My parents had two escalades and they were great vehicles. This year though when they decided to trade, they went with the Buick. It has more leg room and cargo space that the escalades built on the 1500 platforms. And it's not as much car to fit in a parking space. Plus, I think those 2016 escapades with all the chrome look like a hearse. Especially the black ones. Every time I see one on the road, mt instinct is to pull over and wait for the procession pass.

The CTS though is a corvette with class. I saw it reviewed on one show and its performance was amazing.

We already had a 2013 for three years and put 70,000 miles without even a hint of trouble. Put brakes on it one time. 2 sets of tires. Not even a light bulb went out. This one is basically the same vehicle but with a minor cosmetic refresh on the front and rear end with a new for 2016 Platinum trim package.

Platinum had two options when building, dvd headrest, 2nd row buckets, and console for said buckets. Everything else is standard.

Heated steering wheel, heated cooled front seats, heated rear sets, power fold 3rd row, power fold 2nd row for access to 3rd, panoramic glass roof, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise, nirvana leather on everything, remote start with climate control to heat steering wheel seats etc if below certain temp A/C if above, front and rear cameras with power washers, twin turbo 365hp AWD, and other shit we are still discovering!
By far the nicest vehicle we have owned. If it holds up as well as the other one we will be good to go. You know both Ford and GM are t building the same cars they built 10 years ago, hell even 5 years ago.

edit: massaging front seats, auto parallel and perpendicular parking, after just watching a review the platinum got extra insulation and is the quietest ford in the lineup.

I spent 0 time researching this purchase butt I told my wife to go look at Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, and even Range Rover although I would have forbidden the last one. You just simply get half the vehicle with the other brands she looked at...........

All that said, most importantly, she is happy!!!

[Link: google.com]

That ain't no hearse my friend!!!!!!

very nice. Don't forget the completed pictures.