Cathedral, is this the one you are talking about?



Just noticed not a Ryobi

Actually it looks like mine is no longer available. I just looked at Amazon, Lowes, and Home Depot. Mine looks kind of like the Ryobi "gun-handle" ones except it has a universal slide-clip thing to hold a cell phone on it in the same position as the screens. It has software to pair it through WiFi. It'* a little clumsy to get the WiFi set up but once completed it works great. I can imagine a lot of less-technical folks who bought these got frustrated with the setup clumsiness and moved to something else, so it doesn't surprise me that it'* gone.

hmm, I was just getting ready to see what is on the market. I believe wireless frequencies are being regulated by new laws. Maybe the Ryobi fell prey to that. Anything new-ish on the market should be in compliance.

Nah, FTC "unlicensed bands" are still just as unregulated as they have always been. That'* what these things run on. Unlicensed bands are sort of like CB radio. They are several ranges of spectrum that they've set aside for us to play in while staying within certain limits of transmitted and received output etc. Everyone uses it in the same unregulated fashion with 99.5% of all outputs permanently limited and antenna sizes fixed. Like CB radio, it'* established, and we can use it essentially however we want, and they'd have a heck of a time taking it away for various regulatory, political, and practical reasons.

I think my Ryobi fell prey to not having some kind of display built-in, therefore requiring being paired with a smart device, all while pairing is cumbersome at best, and slow to initiate in practice. It'* great once it figures itself out though.

Actually, the law has been passed. Granted it won't affect everything, but a lot of devices will become illegal to operate and must be replaced with compliant devices. New devices will be crowded into other frequencies:



Reallocated frequencies will be auctioned off to manufacturers. Wireless systems operating in the red bands of frequencies shown above will need to be replaced/retired within the next 39 months or sooner depending on the purchaser’* transition rate, to be in compliance with the law.

Agree, however 614-698MHz is a reallocation of UHF bands formerly used by television broadcast channels (found above VHF channel 13 on old TVs) in the olden days, and currently used primarily by professional-grade near-range microphone and audio equipment. Unlicensed ISM bands of 902-928MHz, 2.4-2.5GHz, and 5.725-5.875GHz remain unregulated. If the FCC decided to change any of these out it would cost billions for everyone to replace everything from microwave ovens to WiFi access points, anything that talks to WiFi access points like laptops and cell phones and tablets, and Bluetooth anything. Primarily this would be the 2.4-2.5GHz stuff, however, a lot of this type of equipment has crept into the 5.725-5.875GHz band as congestion and the the need for speed have increased. My Ryobi only lives in 2.4-2.5GHz so it is safe.

I couldn't remember what freqs. were affected the other day, but knew the wireless microphones were being targeted due to broadcasting companies taking more. Everything being rerouted would be crowded into other auctioned parts of the spectrum.

I was thinking this morning after I looked it up, that those hand-held devices were probably in the 2 GHz range. Still a lot of people lost a good chunk of change that invested in wireless mic systems. Although some manufacturers are offering rebates to defer some of the cost toward reinvestment.

Glad to hear that your device isn't affected...

My exhaust manifold has a crack. Can anyone recommend an aftermarket manifold for the 4.2L inline 6? Not really looking for a performance manifold, just something that has proved itself from other owners.

Probably worthy of a new thread, especially since we never heard how the other issue turned out. :O

Either way I googled around for a minute and found this one:
It says "w/ Gasket Improved Web Design" which I take to possibly mean:
1. [improved web design of gasket]
2. [Exhaust Manifold Assembly with gasket, improved web design of manifold]
3. [improved design for use on the web]
4. [designed with improvements from input from the web]
5. [designed with improvements for web purchases only]
6. [when your car is parked for a few days, the designs of the spider webs created on this improved manifold will be improved versus the webs on the old manifold]

The seller refuses to use punctuation other than a forward slash. I have to assume the multiple savings of three 1'* and three 0'* in the binary that would have created the commas on the page are put toward additional improvements to the design of the part. Based on this, my guess is number 2 above is most likely.

Then I clicked for more details and found:

"The original manifold on these vehicles has a tendency to crack. This new aftermarket manifold has extra material added to offer more support and a much longer lifespan. Replace your cracked exhaust manifold for the last time with this premium upgraded design."

. . . so it looks like my guess might be correct. I say, "Go for it B-1, let us know how those extra 1'* and 0'* work out for you."

I'm going to pull the engine. Been a little covered up with other stuff lately. This will be a project vehicle, so several things related to it may be discussed.

Not good reviews on that manifold, but it kicked off the search