Bookfest Malaysia 2014 @ KLCC

During this Hari Raya holidays, I have visited to Bookfest Malaysia 2014 held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, which is crowded by overwhelming people.

There are a few parking places nearby KLCC with a parking rate of RM5 per entry, including Wisma Central, and an open car park beside Avenue K shopping complex.

Venue: Hall 1-5, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.
Date: 23 July - 3 August 2014
Time: 10am - 10pm
Entrance fee: RM2.50. Free for children and elderly person.

I feel the arrangement for ticket counter, entrance and exit for this Bookfest very awkward. The ticket counter is located far away from the entrance, and the exit is located at the center in between the English section (Hall 4 & 5) and Chinese section (Hall 1 & 2).

You really can get very good discount for the books in this Bookfest, which has attracted a lot of book lovers going there. There are also lots of activities and talks ongoing everyday, which you can find the detail schedule here: http://www.bookfestmalaysia.com/event-schedule.php

This event is a good chance for you to buy some books. Remember to keep the receipt for income tax relief to be declared in April next year :)

Converting your handphone / MP3 player to mini radio station with FM Transmitter

If your car CD player is capable of replaying MP3 music, you'll need to burn the MP3 files into a finalized CDR disc, which has a capacity of up to 680MB only.

If your car audio system has a USB port to play MP3 music, you'll need to copy the MP3 files to a USB thumb drive and plug it into the USB port of the car audio system.

What if your car audio system doesn't support the above 2 ways of playing MP3 music?

Well, you can convert and burn your MP3 files into an audio CD, which can store about 10 songs, and play it with your car CD player.

There also exist a kind of FM Transmitter that plug into your car's cigarette lighter socket, which you need to copy your MP3 files to an SD card and slot it into the FM Transmitter. Then, you can tune your car radio to the same frequency with the FM Transmitter in order to listen to the music.

But I have a better choice. I use the kind of FM Transmitter as shown below which can turn your handphone, MP3 player, or any kind of gadgets that support audio output to a universal 3.5mm headphone jack.

This FM Transmitter turns your gadget into a mini radio station with broadcast range of about 15 meters only. It supports devices with the 3.5mm headphone jack including handphone, MP3 player, voice recorder, tablet, laptop, etc.

The audio transmitted out can then be received and played by any radio device within the range. This could be your car radio, a normal radio, a Hi-Fi, a handphone with FM radio function, etc.

This FM Transmitter is able to transmit high-fidelity stereo sound with the digital PLL (phase locked loop) technology. It supports full range of FM transmitting frequency (87.5MHz-108.0MHz). It has stereo isolation of >= 38dB.

You can use it to output any kind of audio from the connected device, with audio frequency range of 100Hz-15,000Hz.

It has its own built-in 120mAh Li-ion battery, which can be recharged with its micro-USB port.

Its usage is similar to the cigarette lighter FM Transmitter. Just tune your car radio to the same frequency with this FM Transmitter in order to listen to the music.

Pretty cool isn't it?

HSC YC-401 Car 1-to-3 Cigarette Lighter Sockets with 2 USB ports

Nowadays most of us make use of our car's cigarette lighter socket as a kind of in-car power source for our gadgets rather than its original purpose (to heat up and light a cigarette).

When we carry more and more gadgets, we might find that one power source is not enough, and we find ways to extend it.

I make use of HSC (英才星) YC-401 Car 1-to-3 Cigarette Lighter Sockets with 2 USB ports to obtain up to 5 power sources in my car.

With this gadget, now I get:

• 3x 12V/24V 5A DC cigarette lighter sockets (which can plug in car chargers of gadgets)
• 1x 5V/1A USB charging port (suitable for most handphones or GPS)
• 1x 5V/2.1A USB charging port (suitable for most tablets)

This HSC YC-401 cost me RM3x. It has some prominent claims on quality, including:

• Dual power control IC (instead of one)
• Output power of 120W supporting all kinds of gadgets including car vacuum cleaner
• Stainless steel metal contacts that won't rust
• 10A/250V fuse (the package comes with 2 fuses, one for use and one for spare)
• Power cord of 85cm long with 82 copper wires