Page 93 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

FEATURE

Christmas

Wishes

NAME: Dave Tutt
STATUS: Hands-on audio engineer

Dave Tutt is still settling in to his new house and wants to save a few bob. Here are his
budget suggestions for the Christmas tree.

WAVLINK N300 WI-FI ROUTER: £16.99 (www.amazon.co.uk)
In my new house I need to extend the Wi-Fi. So a simple device to plug into the
UTP at the router, extend this connection over the wiring in the house and then re-
broadcast the signal is all that’s required. There are any number of them out there
but I picked the WavLink N300 and just have to remember the security aspect which
may require some careful reconfiguration of the router settings. I have installed these
in several homes and they always work with a variety of internet service providers.
£16.99 at Amazon.

NEUTRIK 2 SPEAKON: £2.90 (www.cpc.farnell.com)
What better way to connect up the speakers than with some Neutrik 2 pole Speakon connectors – and at
only £2.90 each they are a bit of a bargain. Only need four of them so it won’t break the Santa bank. I have
been using Speakons for a long time in PA systems and find that they are reasonably reliable but benefit from
shorting protection if you disconnect whilst still powered up at the amp, so the protection is both during use
and when not. Perfect. And wiping contacts too. Price £2.90 each from www.cpc.farnell.com.

HANDSFREE EARPHONES WITH MIC & VOLUME CONTROL FOR
IPHONES & SMART PHONES: £2.69 (www.ebay.co.uk)
My phones get heavy use and generally last me around 6 months before they
start failing, due to charging or other issues. Currently, my Huawei has no
microphone as it just stopped one day after a software update. So I am using ear
buds with integral mic instead. These too last about a month but just £2.69 buys
me disposable eBay replacements. A nice, simple pressy. £2.69 www.ebay.co.uk.

REMAX RM-303 STEREO EARPHONE WITH MIC: £9.99 (www.ebay.co.uk)
OK, when I’m going somewhere posh the Remax RM-303 earphones with mic. are brought
out. Still not high fidelity I grant you – but people in the Savoy don't know that. Just £9.99
from www.ebay.com.

JACK ADAPTOR, STEREO: £1.27 (www.cpc.farnell.com)
My customers who have purchased headphones from me recently have all needed
and expected freebie adaptors – and they are so cheap I should really buy them in
bulk. Of course you need both types: big to small and small to big – and no matter
what the headphone lead I will always need the opposite!
These little adaptors are just £1.27 each in either version. Price £1.27 from
www.cpc.farnell.com.

www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 93