Remote-Outlet

Tag Archive: handy

Performs Exactly As Promised

I use mine every day. Only two cons that I’ve come across:

1. the plugs are MASSIVE. and 2. the battery is not a standard size so when it comes time to replace it, that might be a challenge. Also getting the battery into the remote was quite a challenge but not a huge deal. I couldn’t do it properly so the cover doesn’t fit back on.

Again. for the money this is good solution. If I had paid any more than $15 then I probably wouldn’t give it four stars.

i did not want have to run down the stairs every time i wanted to switch the cameras on or off (i need to reboot them like once a week, sigh i know……) and the other ones i have till now (i think from x10) used to stop working on occasions, the reason they didn’t work is not because of the “distance” because the basement is just a few feet under where im standing in the kitchen its just that all the concrete and insulation seemed to make the signal fain every so often so i went for this unit. this unit work flawlessly! so this review is not targeted at the distance of the product but rather about the fact that it seems to send its signal through walls and floors pretty well. for me that was a plus.

it saves me so many steps, I can’t believe it. I bought it pretty much on a lark. But am I glad. I can control so many things from one spot. Lights in other rooms on at dusk, off at bedtime. Various Entertainment components easily controlled without moving to each of them. Considering more of these for my office.

They simply work. I’m sure that maybe a few out there don’t, because some bad reviewers have noted some lemons. But, also look at the high reviews… they all worked for me, and I bought about $200 worth for different houses/ rooms. I added fluorescent under-cabinet lights all over my house… 4 underneath my bed, 3 behind each television, etc. These remote outlet switches allow me to have accent lighting galore.

These worked instantly and very well. They are pretty big, so don’t plan on using the other plug unless you run an extension (probably ill advised). The remote is curved, so I can’t hang it on the wall like I did the last one. Now I have to walk one whole step into the room. I think I’ll live.

First off, the socket switches are much larger than I expected and limit your ability to use the other socket in the outlet (if you have 2 like most outlets). For example, I could plug in another lamp below the switch, but my Ipad charger will not fit due to switch bulkiness. Second, the 3 button control is not flat on the back, its concave. To most this is not a big deal but I wanted to attach it to the wall with Velcro. I was still able to do so but it doesn’t stick nearly as well as a flat back remote would have with less Velcro space to hold it.

November 25, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Very Glad to Have This Product

It is very easy to install and use. Only one negative I think it has is, no local switch on module. I would recommend to consider this point. Because if you do not have access to remote, you will end up switching the power off to the module. Instead, if it had a local switch on it, it would have been better.

This is not an issue with this set, one press of the remote and the module turns on / off my devises, good range, easy to use, better current rating, 10 amp / 1200 watts verses my other set which was 5 amp / 600 watts. Two remotes add convience, if I forget to turn off a light, she can turn it off with her own remote.

I’m surprised at how quickly the unit showed up [2 days] since I only picked standard delivery. I’m using two of the outlets for the string lights and the other for my LED projector. I was tired of reaching up to push the power button to turn it on and off. I’d order this again to use for seasonal lighting, but I might end up controlling my existing set! I will at least recommend the product.

I’m visually handicapped, and I have three plug-in lights in various corners of the room that I call my office at home. One light is a long stretch to turn on, one has the switch lying on the floor (in-cord switch), and one is one the back corner of my desk and I have to reach over my sound speakers and control to get at the in-cord switch.

At first I was upset since I couldn’t find the battery, but my wife spied it in a corner of the box. Very small, an odd battery type, I’m very glad I bought the 3-pack WITH the battery included. The remote has a small door (typical for battery-operated devices) that we couldn’t find at first and was very hard to open, but once I managed to slide it open it worked smoothly after that.

So now I have a little (about the size of one of those big packs of chewing gum) control sitting on a corner of my desk. The 3 outlet controls are numbered, so all I have to do is remember 1 is the corner, 2 is the floor lamp, 3 is my desk lamp … and voila!

A few drawbacks that keep me from rating this as a five.

#1: The instructions should state exactly what the battery is. When I need to replace this battery I plan to bring the entire remote along to one of those battery stores and just show it to them. But I’d appreciate more info about it.

#2: The battery cover was VERY hard to slide off (and I have huge strong hands).

#3: The three remote boxes (in my opinion unnecessarily) cover BOTH of the outlets when plugged in. It would be much nicer if the prongs were on one end of the box, so I could plug something else into another outlet. In one case I needed to use a small extension cord to make everything work.

#4: My obsessive tidiness doesn’t like having the remote just floating around. I really wish it came with a holder or something I could have screwed into the wall near the door to the room.

HOWEVER … it does exactly what I wanted it to. I’m already thinking I’d like to get another one for another area of the house, and I’m wondering if they operate on different frequencies or something so they wouldn’t interfere with each other.

November 23, 2013 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >

I Wish I Had Known These Existed Earlier

The switch itself runs on a battery and can be attached with screws, but I used Command adhesive strips so I could remove it easily from the wall of my apartment when it was time to go. Each set of switch and receiver runs on a different frequency (I received an A and an E, but I don’t know how many different ones there are), so you can have more than one right next to each other without them interfering. The receiver can be a bit bulky if you’re trying to fit it on a power strip, but it’s not hard to work around that.

I bought two and they are fantastic! I hook them up to power strips and connect lights through out the room. Works way better than even built in lights. Long batter life too. Great product, love it.

Very responsive and consistent where as the one I purchased before that was from another company had a lag time from when I flipped the switch on and when the light came on. The only thing I dont like about this one is the fact that the switch is not a flip on, its a push up and push down one. Not convenient if you are used to always walking into a room and flipping on a switch. Otherwise great product.

It maybe looks a little on the cheap side with the fake front screws but hardly noticeable. Just FYI, it is activated by on/off rotation only, so it makes no difference which up/down direction is pushed, it only makes it do the opposite either way it’s pushed. Could just as well been made with a single in-out push button rather than a rocker. But the rocker does look more “authentic” I guess.

We have a high-tech young adult son who has set up and maintains an array of devices for us in his former bedroom, now converted to a “movie room” but also housing our wireless router, cable modem, our son’s “satellite” workstation, and God knows what else. Since most of those devices draw their power from the switched outlet, our son removed the switch and replaced it with a plain covering, so we would not accidentally cut the power by reflexively flipping the switch to turn on the room light. Minor problem: If the room was dark, you had to grope around for the lamp itself, or remember to bring a flashlight, to get the light on. This bugged my wife enough that I finally put it at the top of my priority list, and she hasn’t stopped thanking me yet.

I use it for a standing lamp on the other side of the room, I mounted the switch with the included screws and I was done in minutes. The plug is a little big, but it only uses the one plug, so it leaves the other plug unobstructed so you can use it

November 18, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Perfect For An Energy-Saver Like Me

Well, I was looking for something I didn’t think was possible to find:

- slim design

- always on outlets along with the ability to truly power some off

- reasonable length cord

- decent remote control (both looks and function)

I got all of the above with this product. It is tucked away in a cabinet where I don’t have to see it (and I don’t have mikes of cord taking up the rest of the cabinet area), with my laptop in one of the “always on” outlets. BlackBerry, iPad, and my husband’s phone charger are in the remote-controlled outlets. Every morning after I read the news on my iPad, I plug it in and use the remote. When our devices are charged, off go the outlets. The remote is slim and unobtrusive. I also can’t complain about the price.

Personally, I don’t like paying more than $50 a month in electricity, especially when there are things I can do to reduce “phantom” energy usage. I bought the 8 plug model over 2 years ago and am still loving it. I actually bought a 2nd 10 plug one a few months ago and thought I’d send out a review for both.

6 of the plugs are connected to the remote switch with 2 being available for always on performance. I connected my DVR and TV to the always on plugs with my router, cable modem, PS3 and receiver on the remote.

I keep the remote upstairs by my desktop computer (also on the a conserve switch) so I can turn on the internet whenever I use the desktop. There is also a switch on the surge protector so you can turn the remote-controlled plugs on and off without the remote. Since I have two Conserve units, I set both of them to the same frequency and they both work off the same remote. I use the upstairs desktop sparingly and it helps eliminate the phantom power draw from the power supply of the desktop when it is off. I used the handy to figure it cut 90% of energy usage for my desktop when off.

I did the math and it easily saves me 2-5 dollars a month in energy consumption on my router and modem alone vs. being on 24/7. I turn the router and modem off while I am at work or am not using the devices. It really pays for itself over the course of a year or two.

Eliminate power consumption on low use items that consume electricity even while off. Will pay for itself over the course of a few years. Multiple units can be controlled from same remote. At least 30 foot radius for the RF remote, no line of sight needed (I haven’t tried longer but that’s about how far mine is from the downstairs unit)

November 13, 2013 Outlet, , , , 0 Read more >

Solution to a Real Problem

This surge protector allows for up to 8 devices to be plugged in with sufficient room for the wider DC adapters to fit and it will protect them against power surges. What makes it ‘special’ is, of course, the remote control that will completely shut off all but 2 of the outlets so nothing, not even stand-by power is consumed. This is good because it saves some energy and I suspect that the devices for which the power was completely shut down are better protected in the event of a spike. With the remote on my desk, I found that I almost always remember to shut things down when I’m done.

More details

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The following are noteworthy, in my view.

Positives:

+ Simple remote control with a 60 ft. range and no line of sight requirement to turn off all but 2 of the outlets – it’s what makes this device special.

+ On-Off switch could be mounted on a wall (mounting screws not provided) or simply glued to the wall or the side of your desk (adhesive tape provided).

+ 8-outlet capacity with a lot of room for the wider AC adapters.

+ ‘Always on’ light shows that power is present.

+ ‘Not grounded’ red light (must be off) will warn you when there’s something wrong. Its warranty won’t apply if the light was on when your devices got fried. I don’t know if for a fact but I assume they have a way of telling if that was the case.

+ ‘Remote-Switched Outlets’ light shows when switched outlets are active.

+ Manual override button allows for direct control of switched outlets. A must have when the remote’s battery needs replacing.

+ Clip for cable management. If you don’t need it – and I didn’t – you can simply pull it and it comes out easily.

+ Thin (one inch) and flat shape. Sits well on any flat surface, usually the floor.

+ It’s possible to control several similar devices with one remote control or have each respond to its own on-off remote – the manual shows you how to set them up.

+ 4 foot long cord.

The only negative I can think of is the overhyped up to $100,000 protection promised if your equipment is destroyed by a power surge. Once you read the fine print you realize that by the way it’s worded, it would probably cost you more to fulfill the requirements and prove your case than whatever you are likely to get IF you are successful.

Rating

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I like its opting for simplicity – click ‘off’ and you’re done – over the more complex semi-intelligent energy saving power strips that many will find difficult to set up and don’t always perform the way one expects. With me in control, at least I won’t be blaming someone else if something goes wrong. The outlets that I can turn off when not using them should probably not waste 25-35W each hour for 12+ hours every day plus weekends. Not bad and it should probably pay for itself after about a year of use.

I am awarding 5 stars to this item that addresses real issues by providing a realistic solution. It’s possible that the power strips of the future are going to be a lot more intelligent than today’s but, until then, this is the optimal solution for me.

November 12, 2013 Outlet, , , 0 Read more >

Remote Station: A Tale Of Discovery, Confusion, And Abject Laziness. Or, The American Dream

It’s become part of the overall scheme I have to slowly reduce my electricity consumption, and I plan to purchase a few more over the next few months.

While this surge protector is much larger than any of the standard power strips I own, and thus is harder to hide away behind a cabinet, the extra size makes it easy to utilize all of the outlets. I don’t actually understand why it’s so large, and the extra plastic on the end, designed for keeping cords wrapped around it and, presumably, organized, is fairly useless and annoying. But, the remote control is very convenient, and I used the included double-sided tape to stick it next to my light switch. This makes it easier to remember to turn it off when I’m not using it.

The two always-on outlets are great, because I can keep my clock powered while turning off my cable box, my PS3 and all my various chargers when I leave the house. In general, it’s hard to compare surge protectors, but the always-on outlets definitely make this one stand out from the crowd.

I was pleased to discover that one could set the devices on different channels. I had not known this and was initially frustrated that the remote was turning off both surge protectors on two different floors. This means the remote has good range. Now I set the individual surge protectors to different channels and I can turn off one set of devices without effecting the others. I have one for my home entertainment system and lights, one for upstairs tv, cable box and light, the third for my computer/home office. For the home entertainment system I leave the DVR plugged in all the time to record my programs and the TV and other plugs are plugged in the remote controlled outlets that I turn off when not in use. For those that do not know, the TVs even when idle drain a lot of electricity, and so do other electrical devices, so this saves power. The remote I put on the wall by the entrance which is also convenient to turn on lamps that are not connected to convenient light switches. The other surge protector I have upstairs for another TV as well. That cable box is not DVR so I turn it off when not in use and yes it takes time to boot up but not very long. The Fios box,and the battery backup are plugged in the plugs that are always on. The third is set up for my computer with my modem and router plugged into the outlets that are always on and the other devices for my computer are plugged in the remote controlled ones. This is useful when you go away or when you do not want to waste electricity. I put the remote switch on my desk.

I should add that one important feature which made me buy this particular surge protector is the spacing of the outlets. The outlets are spaced apart to allow plugs and chargers that normally do not fit next to each other to fit. On other power strips and surge protectors I have I cannot fit the plugs and chargers together which is an annoyance. Being able to utilize all the plugs of a surge protector is to me is a big plus! Many of my plugs are bulky and this allows one to put them side by side.

I have been pleased thus far with this product and am planning on buying a fourth one.

November 11, 2013 Outlet, , , , , 0 Read more >