U/W MP3 player - closeout deal from iRiver

[Dive-aholic]

Okay, just used mine for the first time. I don't know if I'll be able to dive without it again! There's nothing like listening to Dark Side of the Moon, the Doors, and Bob Marley while on a dive. It really sets the mood. Very relaxing. I think my SAC even went lower, too!

 

[justleesa]

I think my SAC even went lower, too!

Good to know I'm not crazy! lol

 

[eclipse785]

That housing is friggin' huge! And the speakers?! I'm begining to doubt my purchase. I mean,.. how can I go into the water with these things on? Everyone's gonna laugh at me! Heck,.. I'm gonna laugh at me. I suppose the picture on the site represents them well enough, but I thought that the picture of the speakers was enlarged. Now that I'm holding them in my hands, they're like earbuds for a giant.

 

[justleesa]

I clipped mine to my mask, but they say you could slide them under your hood....the housing slid into my pocket well and I let the cables run up under my BCD....wasn't a problem (just kinda big).

 

[Dive-aholic]

The boat crew in Mexico thought they were pretty cool. They liked the idea of music underwater. The headset is large, but it has to be to amplify underwater. I had to turn up the volume to max to hear it over my exhalations whenever I was below 20'. I clipped the housing on my right shoulder strap and tucked the cord under my waste strap to keep it streamlined. The one thing you want to remember is to turn it off before your head breaks the surface. I forgot...once! That thing is loud on max volume above water!!!

 

[tlawler]

Just received mine today...too cool. Can't wait to try it out. Does the fidelity of the speakers get better underwater? Not that great out of the water, but I'm guessing speakers designed for underwater use won't sound that great out of the water. Do you get any FM signal underwater or lose it in the first few feet? Now if they just made an underwater Mr. Microphone, we could talk!

 

[tlawler]

The light on the back of the amp would make a nice light to read gauges by...I wonder if it would qualify as a backup? Well, it is pretty bright!

 

[tlawler]

Oops...sold out. My wife saw mine, couldn't believe the price and had to have her own. Too late; went to order another one and now they are sold out. Must have had a real run on them after all of the SB'ers found out.

 

[ArcticDiver]

OK, here's the pieces I can answer.

There are converters that will take non-protected .AAC input files and export to .MP3 files. With iTunes 7, you can convert unprotected .AAC files to .MP3 files right from the library, its only dependent on your iTunes "Importing" preferences (Edit -> Preferences... -> Advanced -> Importing -> Import Using). No CD burning required except to de-protect the protected .AAC files, which isn't a problem for you.

One reason I keep my .MP3 files separately is it allows me to easily import them to other players, in my case that would be my old Rio. I can use the Rio software for this or Real player or even Windows Media Player. The beauty of .MP3 files is they play on any player (iPod, iPaq, Rio, iRiver) or any software (iTunes, Real player, Windows Media Player). I manage it all from iTunes, then rescan periodically from the other programs. The downside, if there is one, is that you have to rip .MP3 files at 160 kbps to get the same sound quality as 128 kbps .AAC files.

John

Well the job is esseentially done. The biggest challenge was reverting to Tech Think instead of User Think. iTues/iPod makes things so easy and uses such common language that the user doesn't need to understand the underlying details and choices. Also doesn't need to understand the language(iTunes "import" vs Others "rip" for example).

First of all, I decided that if I had to burn discs in iTunes to get from AAC to MP3 there was no advantage over just reloading the original CDs; which I have for all my songs. So, that was a non-starter.

So, I found a converter program to convert the music to MP3. It was a pain in a way as it would only do about 140 songs per cycle and I have a bit over 2000. But, while it was working I had time to do lots of other things. So, although elapsed time was high, hands on time was low.

I repointed iTunes to the new folder and removed the option for iTunes to manage the folder. Not sure what I'll use to manage the music over the long term. But I didn't want it all divided up in the various folders iTunes uses.

I used iTunes to reload my iPod with the MP3 files. But, I could have used Windows Media,or just the Drag&Drop method. I used Drag&Drop to load the SD card for my iPaq

Once the new player from iRiver gets here I'll decide what I'm going to use to manage the music over the long haul. Suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

 

[tlawler]

Finally got to use mine on an extended dive yesterday...it was GREAT! Don't know if I'll be able to dive again without tunes, either.

I had been frustrated several times previously by not being able to properly position the earpieces. Using the supplied mounting, they would just flop around and be uncomfortable...music quality was sporadic at best. So what I did was to take an old pair of earmuffs and modify them to hold the earpieces. I included pictures of how I did it, as I'm sure someone else is experiencing the same frustration as I was. The thread on the earpiece is a metric 3mm and of course you need to use stainless hardware. I had to use countersunk screws to get the sliding part over the headband, but depending on the style of the earmuffs you use, you can probably use pan head or flat head screws (much easier to find). Finding small stainless metric hardware wasn't too easy either. Home Depot and Lowes won't have it. It took me trips to three Ace hardware stores to find what I needed. If you have trouble finding what you need, PM me and I'll pick up what you need and send it to you. Screws run .25 to .35 each depending on length and type. Also make sure you get the proper length. You'll never be able to cut them to the proper length without really buggering up the threads and making them unusable. For the earmuffs, I found a pair at Home Depot for less than $12 that would serve the purpose. You just remove the muff part, cut off the nub that holds the muff in place and drill it out for the screw. Make sure you dont cut the nub off flush, leave about an eighth of an inch to strengthen the part where you will drill the hole. If you cut it off flush, I'm afraid that the screw will pull through after repeated uses.

Well, I hope this helps someone. If you have any questions about it, just ask. Happy rockin' and diving.