Beware Of Chinese Knockoffs! Frienda Dog Trainer-Bark Stopper.

February 20, 2020

#359

Gentle reader,

If you have dogs, you know they will bark. If you yell at them, the theory goes, they think you are joining the barking frenzy.

Official Frienda photograph.

My wife bought one of these Frienda brand bark control devices and they WORK!

Until they don't. I used it one morning and had no response from Gretchen. Hmm. I swapped the battery, no help. Checked the voltage of both batteries, both good.

I attached my multimeter leads to the nine volt snap connectors of the device and it read open circuits. 

Okay, on to eBay I went and found Frienda brand models were between twenty and thirty dollars. But, look, here are some marked as Frienda for less than eight dollars.

 It was a USA seller, free shipping, so I bit.

As you can see, it looks identical, except there is no Frienda name on the box or the unit. Hmm.

One thing I do with dead electronics is take them apart, recycle the metals and plastics and set the electronic boards and such in the hazmat box for later transport to the hazmat facility at our local landfill.

So, that is why I don't have the old case to show you. Trust me, aside from the missing name, the cases are identical. The Frienda one was held together by two screws, however. 

NOTE: If you click on any photo, it will open larger. If you wish to hurt your brain by trying to read these, feel free.

I attempted to high...make that low-light the symbols on the case with a new Sharpie. 
Left one is lights only. Center is for the sound for training. Right is the sound to repel a barking dog.

No screw holes on the fake case.

Above and below are both sides of the circuit boards. Genuine Frienda components are the bottom ones. Knockoff ones are the top ones.

HUGE difference in the number and types of components of the two as well as the build quality.

Both are Chinese, one does what it is advertised to do, the other does not.

For instance, that black and purple thing is a transformer. They raise or lower voltages. There is none on the BING board.

Here is what I determined: IF the BING makes any sound with the speaker, it had NO effect on the dogs. The only difference in what it does is the LEDs flash.

With the Frienda, you set it to REPEL and press the button and the dogs visibly flinch and cease all activity.

There are COUNTLESS genuine looking products made in China which are in fact counterfeit and depending upon what they are, may be dangerous to the user or whatever they might be used in conjunction with.

While China leads the world in manufacturing and infrastructure, they also lead the world in knockoffs.

Above are six Rolex watches. The entire top row shows a Presidential on the left, and four Daytona chronographs. 

The lower right one is a Submariner. All six are fakes. I knew they were when I bought them. Well the Presidential was bought by a friend of mine and because the date numbers were slightly off center in the window, he gave it to me.

I bought all but one of the "Fauxlex" watches via eBay. One of them I bought from a fellow who saw I was buying them on eBay and contacted me to tell me he had this fake HEUER chronograph and another fake Daytona if I was interested. I was.

As I said, the Chinese are EXPERTS at copying things EXACTLY. Hong Kong is rife with watch stores FILLED with fake watches for amazing prices.

Before TAG merged with HEUER, their watches, like this one simply had HEUER on their faces and backs. 

Note how the back reads TAG HEUER.  

eBay, due to pressure from luxury makers, has cracked down on fakes. 

Because I was an experienced seller on eBay, my buddy asked me to sell his "Fauxari" (my term) Ferrari F40 kit car for him.

He built it on a Pontiac Fiero and did an awesome job. Ferrari cracked down on selling emblems and things unless one can prove they have a Ferrari. This was built prior to then.

My point is, when I tried to sell the fake Rolex watches, they cancelled the auctions. Same with this car.

So, buyer beware! I'm glad I'm only out eight bucks. 

Scott
February 20, 2020
#359

Sneakerheads: My Wife is Buying Adidas And MORE New Adidas Join the Unintended Collection.

February 18, 2020

#358

Gentle reader,

This is the forth article I've written about my unintended sneakers collection. I am starting the article with my wife's budding collection. 

Be forewarned, there will be DIRT seen on some of the shoes. Because they are shoes and worn outside. So, dirt.

I bought her a pair of black with white stripes Adidas Sambas a few years ago, but they must have been donated. Having a lot of shoes runs in our marriage. She gravitates towards black ones and I give her a token hard time about that.

Sneakerheads: My Collection has Grown and Changed. Adidas, Puma, Geox, Sketchers and More! 

The article linked above, from two years ago has links in it to the two previous articles. To get caught up, you may wish to start at the beginning.

We have looked at hundreds of photos of Adidas trying to identify the ones front and center, which she found recently.

The dark pink ones in the left rear she also found at the same store and day. 
They are Adidas Traxion Kanadia tr7 trail running shoes. Spell check does NOT like their spelling. 
Similar models sell for well over $100 new. Each pair she found were $7.99 and both were barely worn.

Red and black in the middle above we thought were Adidas because there are three stripes above the logo: RBX. Well Adidas sued RBX about that. And won. They and the tr7 (left front, above) Adidas are very light running shoes. 

The pink with white stripes are Adidas Gazelle which run eighty to one hundred dollars depending upon design.

The black with white stripes with pink edges are Adidas TEAM ADIDAS driving shoes, with soles made by Goodyear. Yes, THAT Goodyear. I have a pair and recently sold another.

The white with black stripes are Adidas Samba indoor soccer shoes. I have some of them too.

Getting back to the white with pink stripes, we found ones that were very similar, but not exactly the same. Their design is very 1960's Adidas, but the label has a build date of January, 2012. Which is nothing new, Adidas has lots of classic models still made decades after their introduction.

One would think that Adidas MUST have a database with photos of EVERY shoe they have ever made. It IS a German company and they often are very good at organization and record keeping. 

To make room for more sneakers, I removed the tree pairs of boots that took up the entire top shelf previously and put them in the closet. That lightened the look of the rack as well as freeing space.

Below is the rack as I have just reorganized it. Near the bottom of the article will be some photos of the shoes "in situ", but from an angle. Some will not be in the order seen below.

The article from two years ago identifies all twenty-six pairs I had then, so I won't tell you about them again. 

Below are the first three shelves. I tried to arrange them with a descending and turning rainbow colors theme. 

ALL of the ones that have joined the unintended collection since 2018 will be shown further down the article individually.

Next three rows below.

Last three rows below which include non-sneakers and even slippers.

Since I have been retired, I've been remodeling the house inside which involves painting. Thus the spots of white on the warmer weather slippers at the extreme right.

My wife surprised me with the large shoe rack which holds them all. I'm out of room. So, if I find new ones, some I already have will have to go.

We tend to find most of the shoes in thrift stores. We are not alone in this, I often see many guys looking through all the sneakers.

My wife came home with these Adidas running shoes one day. I'm not keen on their looks, but I would never refuse NOR return a gift.

According to the label, they were made in October, 2008.

This is one of many pairs of NEW Adidas she came home with for me. These are Americana running shoes with huge heels. Were I wont to pursue such activity, I suspect they would be a welcome cushioning while running.

Another pair of NEW Adidas running shoes she bought for me. They are Adituff Bounce runners.

Remember I warned you about DIRT? Well, these recent acquisitions have white soles and well, dirt. 
They are "adizero adios boost endless energy" runners. I kid you not, that is their entire name. 
Incredibly light and cool, so running in the the rain is not a good idea. They are SO bright and have reflective stripes for safety, I could not resist buying them. NO sign they were ever worn, before I bought them.

Minor DIRT here. These  are unique Adidas in that the stripes are only on the outside.

I believe these and others with similar sole style/design are skaters shoes. Skate boarders to the uninitiated.

Another pair of Adidas running shoes she bought me are these which like several others are made with mesh bodies for lightness and cooling. The lightness does not make for stiff shoe construction.

I spotted these first thing, that same day she found her two new pair of Adidas. They are also Adidas Duramo 7 running shoes. 

See the little green label sewn to the right stripe? HEMP is what it reads. I doubt any hemp was used in their creation.

They too look like skater's shoes.

I simply could NOT resist these multi-color models. They are Adidas ZXZ+ (plus) Oddity running shoes. This particular color combination is extremely rare. 

Even their soles have many colors.

The latest NEW Adidas running shoes (see a theme here?) she bought me, retail was $90, but she got them on closeout for much less. I stuffed them and others with paper to make these shots.

Another pair of skating Adidas and the only ones with no stripes. I bought them via eBay because they are olive green.

The inside of the tongues are camouflage.

The first pair of bright orange Adidas I bought. Runners for sure, extremely light and cool. Adidas Climacool, in fact.

I confirmed that one should not wear them in the rain.

I saw these khaki colored GEOX Respira suede driving shoes and freaked! I wear khaki pants and shorts a lot.

They are the second pair of GEOX driving shoes I have found. Most retail for well over $100 new. The others are red and black and took over driving duties when I simulation race. 

The Piloti driving shoes she bought me YEARS ago fell apart from repeatedly stabbing the brake pedal. Hard braking makes for fast cornering. 

Octopus inspired soles.

These are the third pair of PUMA shoes I have found. Pumas were invented by Adidas founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler's BROTHER: Rudolph Dassler. 

My wife, (man I LOVE her!) bought me a book titled: SNEAKER WARS by Barbara Smit. It is THE history of Adidas and Puma and of course tells the long story of sport shoes from the very earliest.

Someone donated them brand new! I snatched them up. I love their look.

I had not previously heard of SAUCONY shoes. They are a smaller maker. These are Bullet models of retro running shoes.

These shots I made the other day. After pulling all the pairs of shoes for this article, I rearranged them some.

Top row on the right are the most money (to my knowledge) she paid for new Adidas for me. Almost $100. Those Gazelle shoes are the closest she could find that mimic the ROM indoor soccer shoes which were my very first pair as a kid in the 1960's.
Right next to the white/blue Gazelles are a pair of ROM with red stripes and another with gray ones. I also have a pair that are dark blue with red stripes. 

Blue/red ROM are seen above, next to the blue with white stripes Adidas. Which are also a pair she bought for me new. What can I say? She likes spoiling me.

The one remaining pair of Goodyear Adidas driving shoes are the dark brown suede ones seen above.

That should cover it. You, if you have read the previous three articles, are all caught up. 

To close, a photo of me at 18 in 1975. I weighed 155 pounds into my thirties. I look fine to me, check out that muscle definition. Sigh. I miss that body and head full of hair.

Photo was made by my younger brother, Jim. That is a 1941 Plymouth Coupe converted to a hot rod with all Chevrolet driveline.

Had I finished it, it would have looked like the blue model above. I made IT just like the real one with all Chevrolet driveline.

Thanks for taking the time to read my humble blog. It is your kind words below or on Facebook, that keep me writing.

Scott
February 18, 2020
#358