Coast to Coast AM Review

In 1995(due to financial reasons) I decided to take a few semesters off from college.

During that time off I would often stay up late at night. I didn't have a schedule and I would sometimes have insomnia. But, it was during that time that I discovered a late-night talk radio show called Coast to Coast AM.

I found this show by scanning AM radio stations on my walkman style radio/cassette player. At the time the show had its original host, Art Bell. This was also a time before the internet became popular. It was a time that very few households had the internet. But, if they did it was usually a simple dial-up connection.

After listening to the show the first night I decided to listen again, the next night. After the second night, I continued to listen for many years. I still listen today. Whenever possible, I will tune in and I will usually listen to the whole show.

These are the walkman style radio/cassette players that I used to listen to the show. The one on the left is the oldest and the one on the right is the last one I used before switching to online radio. The headphones didn't last.

What can I expect to hear on Coast to Coast AM?

Currently, Coast to Coast AM is hosted by George Noory. On the show, you will hear a variety of interesting topics. It's a show about the paranormal, conspiracy theories, and other mysterious things.

I have heard about ufo's, bigfoot, ghost, prophecies, near-death experiences, new years predictions, paranormal related testimonials, current events, and a variety of other topics.

My opinion of Coast to Coast AM

As I have mentioned, Coast to Coast AM is a very interesting talk show. So far, I have liked the majority of the things that I have heard. Sometimes when I am listening I feel like I am hearing top-secret information. The things that I have heard are probably not known by the average person. But, their are also nights when I have no interest in the topic of the show.

I am also not a believer in every single thing being discussed. But, I still find Coast to Coast AM very interesting. To me, this show is a good form of entertainment. I have also found that it can be informative at times.

Finding Coast to Coast AM

In the past, I have used typical portable radios and walkman style radio/cassette players. Currently, I listen through online radio stations. I have a few that I will switch between.

When I am away from my PC I will switch between apps on my smartphone. I will either use my iHeart radio app or my Top Paranormal Radio app.

Top Paranormal Radio app on my smartphone

When I use my iHeart radio app I will listen to the show through an app of a local radio station. I will use my Top Paranormal Radio app when I want to listen to Coast to Coast AM or similar radio talk shows. Both apps can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.

             iHeart radio app on my smartphone.

The show is available to listen to only at night. It usually starts between 12 and 1 am and will usually end at 4 am. It is available to listen every night of the week.

If you choose to use your PC to listen to Coast to Coast AM, there are a few links to start out with. I will usually use WTAW-AM 1620 or TuneIn.

If there are technical problems on any of those websites, I will usually go to the Coast to Coast AM website for a larger list of online radio stations.

Overall
 

If you like hearing about the paranormal, Coast to Coast AM is one of the best sources of information. You will hear about a variety of interesting paranormal topics, including current events that are (or could be) related to the paranormal. I have been listening for years and I highly recommend this show.

Coast to Coast AM along with similar talk radio stations.

 Station within iHeart radio app used to listen to the show.

Example of a Coast to Coast radio broadcast on Youtube.

Alternative to the Slime rechargeable tire inflator

I have found a tire inflator that is just as effective as the one made by Slime. It's called the Goodyear i8000 tire inflator. This tire inflator is basic compared to the one offered by Slime but, it will inflate just as well as the Slime tire inflator.

Inside the box

Inside the box, you will get the Goodyear i8000 ( 9 1/8” long, 6 5/8” tall including the handle, 3 3/8” wide) and adapters for sporting goods and rafts.

Unlike the Slime tire inflator, it's powered by your 120-volt electrical outlet and is 150 PSI. The PVC air hose has a screw-on valve and is 17' long. The power cord is 6' long. It also has an analog gauge.

My experience with the Goodyear i8000

I have found that this inflator works just as well as the Slime tire inflator. I have inflated bike tires and a variety of other things around the house, including various sizes of automobile tires. The maximum time that it took me to inflate a tire on one of my biggest automobiles was 6 minutes. This was for a 2002 Chevy Suburban that had a tire that was completely flat. It's no comparison (like the Slime tire inflator) to the inflators at gas stations but, it does the job in a decent amount of time.

I have also found that this inflator is not as convenient as the Slime tire inflator. This tire inflator is not convenient for two reasons. The first reason (as I mentioned earlier) is that it has to be plugged into an electrical outlet. The second reason is that I will occasionally have to carry an extension cord for certain situations. But, having to do these things has also been an advantage to me.

The Slime Tire inflator has to be charged on a regular basis. If it is neglected the battery will discharge and it will become increasingly difficult to recharge the battery. With the Goodyear i8000, I have more peace of mind. I can let it sit for long periods of time without worrying about a battery that is discharging.

Durability

So far, I have been happy with the Goodyear i8000. I bought it in 2013 and it's still performing well.

I have completely stopped using the Slime tire inflator. I made the mistake of letting the battery discharge too many times. As a result, the inflator never functioned well again.

At one point(even though it was never recommended by Slime) I tried to fix the Slime tire inflator. In an attempt to make it work again, I opened it up and replaced the battery. I found that this was possible after researching online.

In total, I bought two batteries. The first battery allowed me to use the inflator for a short period of time. It worked well but, it malfunctioned again. I bought the second battery assuming that the first one was a defect. But, I got a similar performance from the second battery.

After these failed attempts I decided that it wouldn't be wise to continue with any more attempts. I also decided that it wouldn't be wise to purchase this model of Slime tire inflator again. I liked the Slime tire inflator but, I didn't want to deal with the possibility of any more battery issues.

Overall

If you have bought the Slime rechargeable tire inflator or have one on the way, there should be no need to panic. It lasted a decent amount of time before the battery issued developed. It also did a good job of inflating tires etc, before the problems developed.

But, if you have been undecided or looking for an alternative, the Goodyear i8000 would be a good choice. It's a simple alternative that will give you peace of mind and you will be satisfied by the way that this inflator performs.

DIRECTV Review

Due to various circumstances, my house had to be demolished. It was done in January of 2015. The good part was that a new one was built in its place. But, just after we learned that it would be demolished we realized that we had a decision to make. My family and I had to find an affordable place to stay while we waited for the new one to be built. But, this problem was solved when we later decided that renting a house would be the best option.

As you may have guessed part of the moving process involves a variety of things including transferring mail and disconnecting various services. The decision to transfer the mail was decided weeks before the move. But we were still undecided on whether we would transfer our phone, internet, and TV service. We were told that the wait wouldn't be long and we knew that we could probably go without these services if we needed to. But, just before the move was complete we decided to only transfer our phone and internet service. To save money we dropped cable TV. While renting we relied upon over the air TV(rabbit ears) for watching television.

In April of 2015, the house was completed and we moved in. A short time after, the services that we took with us were transferred back. For TV service we continued to rely on over the air TV. Over the air TV was decent but it was no comparison to cable. But we used that time to decide whether or not we still wanted cable. We were saving money but we were missing our favorite shows.

So, I researched and compared various TV services. In the end we decided on DirecTV. But, we left cable as an option just in case we were not satisfied. Years ago I heard a few bad things about DirecTV and satellite TV in general.

What we received from DirecTV

We used AT&T(before the merger) to get our DirecTV service. We were already getting internet and phone service from AT&T and we wanted to eventually bundle these services.

We chose the choice package and selected four HD (genie) receivers with DVR service. We have one regular size receiver (13” wide and 9 ½ long) for the living room, three smaller receivers (5 7/8” wide and 3 5/8 “ long) for the bedrooms, four remotes, and one dish installed in the back on the roof.

My experience with DirecTV

So far I am very pleased with DirecTV. It is a big leap from basic cable and an even bigger leap from over the air TV. I have been very surprised by the capabilities of DirecTV.

In the past, I relied upon either searching online for a TV guide or channel surfing to find programs. I have never found any of these methods difficult but, I have found this new method to be much more efficient. I now have an on-screen TV guide. With this on-screen TV guide, I have no need to use any other methods for finding a program. The on-screen guide has everything I would need to find TV shows. With the press of a button, I am able to see what is available to watch. Unlike online TV guides, it's in real-time. There is no need to enter information about my location, TV provider, etc like online TV guides require. It has information about each show and how long each show will last. In addition to these things, the on-screen guide has more capabilities.

A few years ago I replaced my broken DVD recorder with a new one. I really liked my new DVD recorder but it lacked a built-in tuner. The lack of a built-in tuner made recording my favorite shows inconvenient and slightly difficult. But, with DirecTV, I don't have this problem.

With DirecTV, I have an HD DVR (as I mentioned earlier) for each TV. The HD DVR gives more capabilities to the on-screen TV guide and makes recording simple and convenient.

I now am able to record my favorite shows with the press of one button. With the press of two buttons, I can record a whole season of any program. I no longer have to go into any menus or enter the time or date etc when I want to record a show. Plus I have the added bonus of being able to record up to 5 programs at the same time, from any room.

The largest receiver has a slight advantage over the smaller receivers. It's the only one capable of picture-in-picture. There are a total of 5 screen positions for picture-in-picture. I can choose upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left, and side by side. I use this feature occasionally.

The remote controls are well designed. I have had a variety of remotes over the years but I feel that these are one of the best. If you choose DirecTV you won't be disappointed with the remotes. They have a variety of features and are very responsive. These remotes don't have to be pointed directly at the receiver when changing a channel, turning up the volume, etc.

As I mentioned, I use the on-screen programming guide to find channels. The on-screen programming guide has an extra feature that I really like. It gives me the capability to keep watching my current program while I search for something new. Whatever I am watching first is always visible in the upper left corner of the on-screen guide. If I choose not to use the on-screen guide I can channel surf like I did with basic cable. But, channel surfing is something I rarely do. I have many more channels available to me than I did with basic cable.

On-screen guide

Picture Quality

I have been very pleased with the picture quality that DirecTV provides. The picture quality is very good. Because we have the latest equipment we are able to receive a majority of our channels in high definition. When we had cable I had to get two drop amplifiers to eliminate the problems I had with poor picture quality.

What if it rains?

Before my family and I made the decision to sign up with DirecTV we were worried. We have always heard that when it rains you can't watch satellite TV. But, after having satellite TV I know how it actually is.

When it rains it does disrupt the service. But, it's not as bad as you might think. The service is only disrupted by heavy extreme rain. In my experience light or mild rains won't disrupt service. I have also found that on very rare occasions some channels will still be available during heavy extreme rain. But, overall these types of disruptions rarely occur and I have never been annoyed by it.

In addition to being disrupted by heavy extreme rain, service can also be disrupted by heavy winds. But it is usually fairly brief and it rarely happens.

Will I get my local channels?

Wondering whether are not we would get our local channels was also a concern. But, with this service local channels are available.

In the beginning, I had one complaint about my local channels. My complaint was that it took too long for the picture to appear once the channel was selected. Early on it took about a minute are two for the picture to appear once I selected any of the local channels. Now things are improving. The picture now appears in seconds after selecting any of the local channels.

These are a few of my local channels.

Like the early days of cable

When my family and I first got cable we would occasionally get free previews of premium channels. As time went on these free previews were offered less and less. But, with DirecTV I am able to experience this more often. So far, watching these free previews have been an advantage to me. I have been able to occasionally save on movie rental fees. A few of the movies that I have been planning to rent were shown during a few previews that were offered.

Extra Features

The features that I mentioned earlier are just a few of the features that are offered by DirecTV. There are many more features available including some basic features. Some of these basic features can be used by pressing the info button on the remote. When I press the info button I have the ability to view messages (similar to email) that are sent by DirecTV, select closed captioning, add/adjust parental controls, and the ability to adjust the audio/video settings.

Channel lineup

This is a list of channels that are available through various packages such as the Select (145+), Entertainment (150+), Choice (175+), Xtra (220+), Ultimate (240+), and Premier (315+) packages:

• DirecTV Cinema Information
• DirecTV Cinema HD
• DirecTV PPV Adult
• DirecTV PPV Events HD
• DirecTV Sportsmix HD
• Local Channels HD
• A&E HD
• ABC Family HD
• Al Jazeera America HD
• AMC HD
• Animal Planet HD
• Audience HD
• AXS TV HD
• Baby First TV
• Back 9 Network
• BBC America HD
• BET HD
• Bloomberg TV HD
• Boomerang
• Bravo HD
• BTN HD
• BYUTV
• Cartoon Network HD (East)
• Cartoon Network (West)
• Centric
• Chiller
• Church Channel
• Cloo
• CMT HD
• CNBC HD
• CNBC World
• CNN HD
• Comedy Central HD
• Cooking Channel HD
• C-Span
• C-span 2
• CTN
• Daystar
• Destination America HD
• Discovery Family Channel
• Discovery Life
• Disney Channel HD (East)
• Disney Channel (West)
• Disney Junior HD
• Disney XD HD
• DIY Network HD
• E! HD
• El Rey
• Enlace HD
• ESPN HD
• ESPN 2 HD
• ESPNEWS HD
• ESPN U HD
• Esquire Network
• EWTN
• Food Network HD
• Fox Business Network HD
• Fox News Channel HD
• Fox Sports 1 HD
• Fox Sports 2 HD
• Free Speech TV
• Fuse
• FX HD
• FX Movie Channel
• FXX HD
• FYI HD
• Galavision HD
• GEB America
• Gem Shopping Network
• GOD TV
• Golf Channel HD
• Great American Country
• GSN
• H2 HD
• Hallmark Channel HD
• Hallmark Movies and Mysteries HD
• HGTV HD
• History HD
• HLN HD
• Hope Channel
• HSN
• IFC HD
• INSP
• Investigation Discovery HD
• ION Television HD (East)
• ION Television (West)
• Jewelry Television
• Jewish Life Television
• Lifetime HD
• Link TV
• LMN HD
• LOGO
• MAVTV
• MLB Network HD
• MSNBC HD
• MTV HD
• MTV 2 HD
• NASA TV
• Nat Geo Wild HD
• National Geographic Channel HD
• NBA TV HD
• NBA Sports Network HD
• NBC Universo
• Newsmax
• NFL TV HD
• NHL Network HD
• Nick Jr.
• Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite HD (East)
• Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite (West)
• Nicktoons
• NRB
• Outdoor Channel
• Ovation HD
• OWN HD
• Oxygen
• Pivot
• POP
• Pursuit Channel
• QVC HD
• QVC Plus
• Reelz Channel HD
• Regional Sports Network HD
• RFD-TV
• Science HD
• SEC Network
• Shop HQ
• Spike HD
• Sprout
• Syfy HD
• TBS HD
• TCM HD
• TCT Network
• TeenNick
• Tennis Channel HD
• TLC HD
• TNT HD
• Travel Channel HD
• Trinity Broadcasting Network
• TruTV HD
• TV Land HD
• TV One
• TVG
• Univision Deportes Network HD
• Univision HD (East)
• UP
• USA Network HD
• Velocity HD
• VH1 HD
• VH1 Classic
• We TV
• The Weather Channel HD
• WeatherNation HD
• WGN America HD
• The Word Network
• World Harvest Television
• Sonic Tap Music Channels

DirecTV HD Extra Pack:

• Crime & Investigation HD
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries HD
• HDNET Movies HD
• MGM HD
• Palladia HD
• ShortsHD
• Smithsonian Channel HD
• Sony Movie Channel HD
• Universal HD

HBO:

• HBO HD (East)
• HBO HD (West)
• HBO 2 HD (East)
• HBO Comedy HD
• HBO Family HD (East)
• HBO Family (West)
• HBO Latino HD
• HBO Signature HD
• HBO Zone HD

Starz Super Pack:

• Encore HD (East)
• Encore (West)
• Encore Action HD
• Encore Black
• Encore Classic
• Encore Family
• Encore Suspense
• Encore Westerns
• Starz HD (East)
• Starz Cinema HD
• Starz Comedy HD
• Starz Edge HD
• Starz in Black HD
• Starz Kids & Family HD

Showtime Unlimited:

• Flix
• The Movie Channel HD (East)
• The Movie Channel (West)
• The Movie Channel Xtra HD (East)
• Showtime HD (East)
• Showtime HD (West)
• Showtime 2 HD
• Showtime Beyond HD
• Showtime Extreme HD
• Showtime Next HD
• Showtime Showcase HD
• Showtime Women HD
• Sundance TV

Cinemax:

• 5StarMax HD (East)
• Action Max HD (East)
• Cinemax HD
• Cinemax HD (East)
• Cinemax HD (West)
• MoreMax HD
• MovieMax HD (East)
• Thriller Max HD

A La Carte Programming:

• Adult Programming
• DOG TV
• ESPN Full Court
• ESPN GamePlan
• Fox Soccer Plus HD
• International Channels
• MLB Extra Innings HD
• MLS Direct Kick HD
• NBA League Pass HD
• NFL Sunday Ticket HD
• NHL Center Ice HD

Sports Pack:

• Altitude Sports HD
• BeIN Sports HD
• CBS Sports Network HD
• Comcast SportsNet Bay Area HD
• Comcast SportsNet California HD
• Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD
• Comcast SportsNet Mid- Atlantic HD
• Comcast SportsNet New England HD
• ESPN Classic
• Fox Deportes
• FSN Arizona HD
• FSN Cincinnati HD
• FSN Detroit HD
• FSN Florida HD
• FSN Mid West HD
• FSN North HD
• FSN Ohio HD
• FSN San Diego HD
• FSN South HD
• FSN Southwest HD
• FSN West HD
• MASN HD
• MSG HD
• MSG + HD
• NESN
• Prime Ticket HD
• Root Sports Northwest HD
• Root Sports Pittsburgh HD
• Root Sports Rocky Mountain HD
• Root Sports Southwest HD
• SNY HD
• Sports South HD
• Sportsman Channel
• SportsTime Ohio HD
• SUN Sports HD
• Time Warner Cable Deportes HD
• Time Warner Cable SportsNet HD
• Unimas HD
• Universal Sports
• YES Network HD

Overall

I think that DirecTV is a good choice. Everything has been going well and I haven't had the problems that I thought I would with this service. I also feel that I am getting more for my money. I have no regrets about choosing DirecTV. Overall, DirecTV may be the solution for those who are not satisfied with there current TV provider.