A few weeks ago, I ordered a Daniel Defense Omega free float rail for my midlength 14.5″ AR-15.  I didn’t like the stock handguards because they heat up too quickly, and because I wanted to mount accessories to the rails (vertical foregrip, flashlight, etc).

After doing my research and looking at free float rails from Troy, YHM, LaRue, and Knights Armament, and Daniel Defense, I came to the conclusion that Daniel Defense had the rail for me.  This was because of the price, ease of installation, and good reviews that I had read.  Most free float rails from the other manufacturers required that the delta nut assembly be removed.  To remove the assembly, you’ll probably have to use a dremel and cut it off, which is something that I did not want to do.  Also, while the other manufacturers come close in price, they are not as easy to install nor are they proven to perform as well as the Daniel Defense Omega.

Installation of the Omega rails was a breeze which took me all of 5 minutes, literally.  All you have to do is take off your stock handguards, attach the Omega rails in the handguard’s place, and tighten a few screws and allen set screws.  The flat head set screws attach the two parts of the rail to each other and the allen head set screws attaches the rail to the delta ring (far left in the picture).

The way the Omega rail attaches to the rifle had me worried until I took it to the range.  This is because the only thing attaching the rail to the rifle are 4 allen head set screws at the base of the delta ring (far left in the picture above).  This gives support to the lower portion of the rail, but there is nothing holding the rail to the upper part of the delta ring (far right in the picture above).  You would think that you could shove the rail around at the upper base, but the rail stays installed firmly.  It doesn’t move unless you give it some strong force.

After going to the range and firing a few hundred rounds, I can finally say that I strongly approve of the Daniel Defense Omega rail.  It held up great and didn’t rotate or come loose.  The rail also dissapated heat much faster and much better than the stock handguards.  I should also mention that the finish on the rail is top notch and did not scratch or mar after mounting and unmounting various accessories.

After using a bluetooth TomTom GPS receiver for months on end, I got fed up with the slow satellite acquisition and slow bluetooth pairing every time I turned the device on.  I mainly used the bluetooth GPS receiver with my carputer and iGuidance 4 for GPS navigation.  However, it gets annoying when the receiver only connects half the time and waiting for satellites can take minutes, not seconds.

It was time to look for a new receiver that could acquire satellites quickly and require no user intervention to turn the receiver on and off.  A USB GPS receiver was the solution for me since it’s A) powered by the computer, B) turns on/off based on if the carputer is on/off, C) SiRF III chipset, D) waterproof.  I ordered a Globsat BU-353 USB receiver and I was wondering why I didn’t purchase one from the start.

Installation was extremely easy and iGuidance 4 reconized the receiver right away.  Being waterproof, the Globsat BU-353 can be externally mounted.  This is a plus because if externally mounted, the receiver has a better line of sight to the sky, which results in faster satellite acquisitions.  It also has a magnetic base so you could attach it to anything metal on your car (roof, door, hood, etc).  I chose to mount it externally, right outside the windshield where it meets the hood.

Globalsat BU-353 @ Amazon.com

The performance of the receiver is simply amazing.  By the time my carputer boots into Windows and iGuidance is launched, the receiver already has a lock of at least 8 satellites.  So far, I’ve never had to wait for the receiver to lock onto satellites, it is always instant.  I’ve never had it lose it’s lock on the satellites and I haven’t had any problems with it thus far.  Simply said, this is an amazing GPS receiver that I’d be happy to recommend to anybody.  The downside is that the receiver is USB, so it can only be used with a computer, not cell phones.

I bought my receiver at Amazon.com for $36.95, which is the best price I could find; even better than eBay.

I recently had the pleasure of using Amazon Prime free for one month.  Amazon Prime is a new feature, original, and  exclusive to Amazon.com.  With Amazon Prime, anything you buy from Amazon will receive free 2-day shipping. You can also elect to upgrade to next-day shipping for only $3.99.  The items include only merchandise sold by Amazon.com, not by their 3rd party merchants who have their own shipping charges.  Also, there is no minimum order .  You get free 2-day shipping on anything whether it costs 10 cents or 10 dollars.

Amazon Prime Link

I snagged the free trial last month and it’s been fantastic.  Free 2-day shipping makes shopping online even better than ever.  If I ever needed little items that local stores mark up, like HDMI cables or certain electronics, I first check Amazon because I love the free 2-day shipping.  Part of the downside to shopping online is the wait between when your order is placed and when it arrives at your door.  Amazon Prime virtually eliminates that wait.

Just last week, Hurricane Ike winds came through Louisville, KY and left over 300,000 people without electricity, including me.  After 3 days, I got fed up with no electricity and looked for a solution.  I ended up ordering an 800 watt power inverter that I could hook up to my car and power the basic entertainment needs (LCD monitor, laptop, Xbox 360, etc).  Knowing that I had Amazon Prime at my disposal, I chose the upgraded next-day shipping for $3.99.  The next day, I came home and found the inverter at my doorstep.  Having Prime was a godsend because there were no local places with generators, and every local electronics store had power inverters which were massively marked up.  The Prime membership saved my sanity!

Use the link below to sign up for a free 1 month trial. The deadline to grab your free trial is October 31st .  Also, make sure to disable the auto-renew if you don’t want to continue your Prime membership after the trial period has ended.  This keeps you from being billed the $79 annual fee.

Amazon Prime Link