Car Katespade Outlets

Car Valeting – Decent Way To Make Money Without Formal Training.

Car valeting means, mainly, the job of cleaning and polishing both the inside and the outside of cars. Private car owners as well as garages and car rental companies are the most common clients of car valets.

While the chief business is cleaning, a car valet is required to have great marketing skills too. A car valet should talk about the details with a customer, and offer his recommendations, before he begins work. He should examine the car thoroughly after finishing.

A car valet needs to look at the windscreen, the bodywork and the paintwork, and the wheels and tyres. Small parts such as mud flaps might need to be changed. Inside, the engine as well as the windows and the upholstery require cleaning.

If you want to join car valeting, you can be self-employed or work with a company. It’s possible to work part-time as well as full-time. To be a mobile car valet you will need to possess your own car and driving license along with the required equipment to carry.

You need to learn how to use your tools well. You need to know something about the different kinds of paint used on cars. How to cleanse a car and with which cleaning product depends on this. Several chemicals used in the cleaning compounds are poisonous. So be attentive of safety issues and use protective gear when necessary.

It takes around three hours to spruce up a car. The work is fatiguing. Your strength level should be high and you should be available to work outdoors in the heat or rain. Good focus and attention to detail are important. You shouldn’t miss the smallest speck of mud or the littlest scratch. So is communication skill. You need to work out what your client’s requirements are and provide him all the advice you can.

It is not essential for you to have a formal certificate in order to get a job as a car valet. However, if you think you could do with some training, then you could sign up for an apprentice course. Such courses are available at different levels. Much the best training, though, can be got from watching and learning from proficient car valets at work.

How much money you earn will depend on many factors. Salaries fluctuate country-wise. The demand for car valeting in your business area, how many hours you put in, whether you are self-employed or work for a company, and last but not least your experience- all these are key factors. But wherever and however you are positioned, don’t join the profession if cars do not charm you.

Car Audio Speakers

Speakers Overview:
The car speakers you use will have the absolute say in how your system will sound. There are many different types of speakers available. A single speaker can be used to reproduce the full range of sounds but it is not ideal. If the speaker is too great it will have problems reproducing high frequencies which require rapid movement of the speaker. If it is too diminutive it will have problems reproducing low frequencies which require large amounts of air to be moved. Because a single speaker cannot reproduce all sounds accurately multiple speakers are used each of which imitates sound in the frequency range it was designed for. A speaker called a tweeter reproduces high frequencies generally above 2 kHz.

Tweeters are small and lightweight so they can respond fast. Very little power is required for powering tweeters because they are very efficient. Woofers are the exact opposite because they usually require considerable amounts of power to really move air. Woofers are meant to produce sound at frequencies below 250 Hz and often just below 100 Hz (in the case of subwoofers). Because a woofer must move considerable amounts of air they are usually large with typical sizes of 10″, 12″, 15″ and even 18″! On the other hand tweeters are usually very small ranging in size from 1/2″ to 2″ in size. Typically, tweeters larger than 1″ in size cannot respond fast enough to sound good and are too directional. In between are midrange speakers which handle the frequencies between the woofers and tweeters. Further separation can be done but is usually unrequired and just complicates the crossover which must separate the full audio signal into multiple parts for each speaker.

Things to look for:
Power Handling: Just as with amplifiers, RMS or continuous power is pivotal here. Some manufacturers will assert very high power handling figures but they are usually for very short peaks only. Granted music is not continuous but the continuous power handling gives you a much better impression of how much power a speaker can really handle. For tweeters and midranges, power handling is not as critical since it does not take much power for them to play loudly. For woofers though a rough match should be made between the woofer and the amp driving it.

Sensitivity: This is a very important specification for a speaker. It gives you an idea of how loud a speaker will play given a certain input power. If a speaker is insensitive then it will require greater power to play at the same volume level than a speaker that is more sensitive. Figures between 85 dB and 95 dB at 1 watt RMS at 1 meter are regular. If you use anything outside of this range you may have trouble matching the output levels of the speakers relative to each other. .

Physical Size: You must pay attention to the size of the speakers you choose. Tweeters are very small but need to mounted where they fire nearly directly at you or they may not be heard correctly. Some tweeters have better off axis response than others. If you will not be on axis with the tweeter when you audition tweeters in a store listen to how their sound variates as you move around them to see if they will work in your car. Midranges should fit in the door or dash spaces provided or you will have to do some cutting or fabrication. In general the greater the woofer the larger the enclosure required to hold it. Some woofers are better optimized for modest enclosures than others (Kicker Solobaric, JL Audio W6 for example). Make sure you have enough room in your trunk or hatchback for the woofer. Kickpanels for midranges and tweeters or coaxials typically offer better imaging than locations in the door however the soundstage is sometimes lower than when you have the tweeters mounted high in the doors or on the A pillars.

How Do Speakers Work?
Moving Speaker Speakers are air pistons that move back (on the negative cycle of the signal) and forth (on the positive cycle), creating varied degrees of air pressure at different frequencies. The amplifier (either separate or built-in your radio), produces electrical impulses that change from positive and negative voltages (AC). This current reaches the voice coil inside the speaker, forming an electro-magnet that will either be repelled, or attracted by the fixed magnet at the bottom of the speaker. The voice coil is attached to the cone, moving it back and forth, creating sound. The surround (rubbery circle that joins top of the cone and metal basket) and the spider (usually yellow corrugated circle joining bottom of cone to magnet) make the cone return to its original position.

Speaker Sensitivity, measured in dB, is how loud a speaker plays (usually 1 Watt, 1 meter). A higher Sensitivity rating means that the speaker will play louder using the same power as a speaker with a lower rating.

The back and front parts of the speaker should be separated from each other. When the front of the cone is pushing air, the bottom is pulling air, creating a cancelling effect. Ideally each speaker should be in an enclosure. If you are mounting a speaker in a big hole, make certain you build a panel to isolate the front and back of the speaker (baffle).

Imaging, Staging and Directivity
Imaging – is being able to pick certain sounds from different places. The singer would usually be located towards the middle of the car, guitars, trumpets, and other instruments towards the sides of the car. If you scatter speakers all around the car your imaging would be very bad, since you would be producing the same sound at different places. If you have a system with flawless imaging, the sound should seem to come from different instruments and voices, not speakers.

Staging – is the ability of a system to “fool you” into feeling that everything (including bass) is in front of you. The sound should be identical to a stage in a concert, where the singer would be in the front center, and the rest of the instruments and background vocalists would be located to the left and right (but always on the front).

Good staging and imaging are not so easy to implement. It takes a lot experimenting with speaker location and direction.

Directivity – of sound is related to frequency. At higher frequencies it is simpler to pinpoint where the sound is coming from than lower frequencies. This can be used to our advantage in car stereo. Tweeters are the most important part of getting good staging. They should be aimed towards the middle of the car. A way to “bring” the bass to the front of the car is to fool our ears by overlapping frequencies played by midbases and subs, so that your midbases actually “pull” the bass to the front, since lower bass in not too directional. You should crossover your midbases as low as you can (without getting distortion). Then cut your subs at a bit higher frequency (preferably 60 HZ or less). This will mix the bass coming from the front and rear, making the bass seem to come from the front. Adding a center channel also improves staging, if it is set up correctly.

Types of Speakers
Coaxials – Coaxial speakers (or three-ways) are two (or more) speakers built-in the same frame. They are cheaper than separate woofer and tweeters and also easier to install. There is no need to worry about crossovers, since they are already built-in (you might still need to add a crossover to block bass if you are using high-power amplifiers). A disadvantage of coaxials is the lack of flexibility. For example, if the coaxial is all the way in the kick panel, or door panel aiming at your feet, you will not have good staging or imaging. You should usually consider coaxial speakers for the back and the front of the car, unless you only have one speaker hole and don’t plan to cut any more holes in the car.

Separates – Separates consist of a tweeter and woofer, and [most of the time] come with an external crossover. The woofer is usually mounted in the factory hole in the door or kick panel. The tweeters can be mounted in different places. Typically they are installed towards the top front corner of the door panel, in the dash or the in the blank plastic piece on the top front side of the doors (where the mirror is on the outside). You would have to experiment with angle and location to achieve the best possible imaging and staging.

Horns – Horns are very good at directing sound and have high efficiencies. Horns are typically mounted under the dash. By doing this, difference in distance from left and right speakers are greatly reduced over conventional mounting locations. Since horns play mids and highs, tweeters are not needed. Horns cost more than conventional speakers and require customization. Horns are not for everyone though. It is not easy to properly setup a set of horns.

Midbases – Midbases are usually 5, 6 or 8 inch speakers that are designed to go lower in frequency and are part of a three way system with a mid and tweeter. Midbases are usually mounted in the doors.

Subwoofers – Subwoofers add lower frequencies to the system. They have to be enclosed in a box, with the exception of free air subwoofers, which use the trunk as an enclosure. There are many different types of boxes and implementations discussed in the “subwoofers” section.

Car Speaker Mounting Locations
Front Speakers – The best place to mount speakers in the front, in custom kick panels. If this is impossible, try to point the speakers towards the center of the car, and try to minimize the distance between the right and left speakers to your ears. Custom kick panels are usually built from fiberglass or molded plastic, and are available from some manufacturers .

Rear Speakers – Rear speakers should give a sense of space to the music, but not overpower the front speakers. You should be able to barely hear the rear speakers. Most high end systems don’t have rear speakers. Tweeters are not essential for the rear, a set of coaxials will work well for rear fill.

Center Channels – Center channels consist of a midrange speaker (3 or 4 inch) mounted in the middle of the dash (usually) on the top. Center channels play a mono (Left + Right) signal between 350 – 500 and 3500 Hertz (voice range). The need of the center channel is to raise the sound stage, by causing the sensation of the singers “being” in the front of the car, and not in the door panels. Center channels are hard to implement.

Sizes and Shapes
There are many speaker sizes ranging from 1-inch tweeters to 18-inch (or bigger) subwoofers. A smaller speaker will reproduce higher frequencies better than a bigger one.

Do round speakers sound superior than oval-shaped speakers (i.e. 6×9’s)? The answer is yes for most practical purposes. A round cone is more rigid than an oval-shaped one, so at higher levels, an oval-shaped speaker will distort more. The reason why there are oval-shaped speakers is because of rear deck space considerations by manufacturers. An advantage of a 6×9 speaker over a 6-inch speaker is that it has a bigger area, so it will move higher air volume, producing more bass.

Power Considerations
Most people think that if they use a 50 watt per channel amplifier on their factory speakers, the speakers will be damaged. This may be true if the speakers do not have crossovers blocking off frequencies speakers were not designed to play. What destroys speakers is distortion. A high power amplifier allows the volume in the system to be higher, while the volume control on the radio is down in the range where no distortion is present. It is better to have more power than what you need to get cleaner sound.

Car Lease Australia – How To Find The Best Car Lease Deals

Do you want a car lease or a car purchase? This is the most important question, which needs answering, once you have decided to have a car. The biggest catch in the car industry is to be at the right place at the right time and get the best bargain. Some of the hottest automobiles are available at fabulously low prices for the right buyer. Try to be selective and trendy. Carry out some research on your own. The most important thing is to understand whether you need to purchase a car or not. If you want a car for keeps, then go for a purchase. If you have decided to keep a car only for a short period then it is better to opt for a car lease.

The first thing you need to understand is exactly what a car lease is. When you lease a car, it does not mean that you own the car. Rather, it is more like renting the car, although there are still many very important differences. For example, you still need to pay for the insurance on the car. This is critical because you need to carry full coverage on the car, including collision insurance, which serves to protect the risk of the owner of the car while you have it out on lease. This insurance is typically more than what you might normally have if you had purchased the car outright, so be sure to figure the cost of insurance into your overall cost of driving the car.

Like in every department of sale and purchase, there are some important details to look out for when you decide to take a car on lease. A car lease allows you to use a car for a given period; you do not become the owner of the automobile. You have to pay regularly for its use and maintain the automobile in top condition. The first thing to do is take a survey of the market and study the position of car loans, new car loan rates, the used car market and its prices. You can make use of the car loan calculator to find out the best choice for you.

Before entering a car lease, check for the upfront payment or down payment, if any. You pay this amount from your pocket as upfront payment when you sign for a car lease and pick up your car. You should think twice before signing a car lease with a down payment, because you forfeit this payment at the end of the lease. Therefore, look for a car lease without any down payment.

Personal Loan vs. Payday Advance Which is Better

So youve found yourself in a bit of a financial bind, and need a little help to get through it. Dont be embarrassed; its happened to just about everyone at some point or another. What you need to do now is figure out how to deal with it in the best way.

And if your credit cards are maxed out, and your family members or friends cant help, there are only a couple of real options: 1) a personal unsecured loan, or 2) a payday advance.

Both Personal Loans and Payday Advances may help get you out of a short term financial jam. So now comes the very valid question: Which is better? Well, that can depend a lot on your personal situation, and what you hope to get out of the situation (besides the obvious cash). So lets take a quick look at both.

PAYDAY ADVANCE (LOAN): Its a cash advance, not a loan!
Many people refer to this option as a payday loan. However, the more accurate description is “payday advance.” It is not a loan. It is a cash advance with a large fee. You write a check to the Payday Advance company. They typically give you 80% of the check amount in cash, and then they hold the check until your “payday” which is typically when the money to cover the full amount of the check will be in your checking account. The Payday Advance company then deposits the check and keeps the 20% as their fee for the cash advance.

Odds are youve seen the brightly lit signs of a Payday Advance shop next to some liquor store or in a strip mall, or you have seen them advertised on TV, in e-mails or in banner ads online. The amount of money Payday Advance companies can provide is limited by state law and is typically a maximum of about $500. In California, the maximum advance is $300.

So, the advance may be enough to get you through small cash emergencies when youre between paychecks. If you need a quick couple of hundred bucks for groceries, if your cars alternator goes out, you chip a tooth, etc a Payday Advance might be a viable, but very expensive, option.

However, very often a Payday Advance is only enough to delay the cash emergency for a few weeks, and not enough to get you totally out of it. As a result many people find themselves getting multiple Payday Advances, which can be extremely expensive when each advance costs you a 20% fee. Ten payday advances over the course of year would equal an effective interest rate of over 200%! A very expensive way to go.

And, since a payday advance is not an actual loan, it can do nothing to help your credit status.

PERSONAL LOANS: Get much more money at a much lower cost.
A personal loan is actually a loan that you repay over time via affordable monthly payments. You can get much more cash than you get from those payday advance places – and you dont pay a 20% fee over two weeks!

Of course, if your credit isnt perfect, your bank will turn you down very quickly. However, CashCall makes personal unsecured loans, up to $5,000, to people in a cash jam, who have less than perfect credit! This is the kind of money that can really help if youre facing major car repairs, medical issues, looming bills, etc. The loan money is placed directly into your checking account in about a day, and there are no limitations on how you can use your cash. Its up to you.

A personal unsecured loan from a company like CashCall doesnt require any collateral or security. You dont need to be a homeowner, you dont need to turn over the title to your car you dont need to do anything except apply, and provide some simple paperwork. The cash can be in your checking account the next day.

You use the money to get out of the jam youre in. And then, you can either make the affordable monthly payments or repay the loan when you can. There are never any fees or penalties for repaying the loan early, and you will minimize the interest you pay by repaying the loan sooner rather than later.

Another benefit of a personal loan from CashCall is that you can actually improve your credit score by making your monthly payments on time. Thats right, you can rebuild your credit because CashCall provides all three credit agencies (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax) with your payment information because it is an actual loan, not a cash advance! And in the long term, thats the kind of thing that can truly get you back on your feet.

CashCall Personal Loans offers high-interest-bearing, unsecured term loans to qualified borrowers who typically use the loans for one-time purchases and debt consolidation. These loans of up to $5,000 are processed entirely over the Internet, phone and fax, and funds are wired into the borrowers checking account typically within 24 hours. CashCall Personal Loans are a good alternative to Payday Loans for borrowers. While interest rates are high, they are typically much lower than those of payday lenders, and CashCall Personal Loans have the potential to help customers rebuild their credit score by making payments on time.

The Options Of Car Stereo Systems Available In The Market Today

Car stereo systems are the most important components of any car audio. In the recent days, more and more people are realizing that a car stereo system is not good enough when it does not please your liking. With many upgrades from the first car stereo system in 1930, the options available to choose from today are amazing. You might have a system that is flat and without an extra spark that can pull you into the pleasures of good music. You are probably used to having a system that does not even do a job good enough decorating your car. New age car stereo systems have been designed to ensure that dull reception of audio is a thing of the past. You therefore need to think seriously about what you need to do to upgrade your system.

If you need to improve your sound, speakers are stocked in varieties. They are affordable and usually upgraded every now and then. Just by replacing them, you will improve the sound of your car stereo system drastically. If you use broken speakers, you definitely need replacements. Your system may be perfectly in the right functioning capacity and your replacements will enhance the sounds. If you want to improve on the quality of your sound with increased volumes, you need to get amplifiers. They make sure sound is delivered without being distorted on high volumes. They are widely available and affordable. Amplifiers come in many ranges and they are there for your asking and convenience.

Vibration damping materials make sure your noise levels do not get out of control. You can view some of the noise reducers on sites that have the information. They are affordable and will go a long way in ensuring your interior sounds are controlled. Subwoofers come in handy to make sure you feel the beat. They work to enhance sounds and produce great bass balances that will leave you asking for more music. They can be mounted under seats and in your cargo area. Therefore it will be good to ask for vehicle specific subwoofers. They also come in various varieties one being, component subwoofers which are very easy to install. You really have so much storage space even after installing them. So go ahead and get them.

You must put into consideration your music style because it determines the kind of car stereo systems you will get. The systems can be bought from legal audio stores and online stores. They come with so much product information and you do not have to wonder about a product you wish to get. Sites of online stores provide forums for discussions about products and also share consumer reviews to gain credibility. They also deal with a variety of brands. A quick search for the brands history will empower you to know which brands are more trusted. They must come with high quality and features that will please you. Finally, you need to consider the price. The bottom line is to get a car stereo system that will be fair and fitting to your budget. There is so much to learn about car stereo systems and when the process is over you know you will take to your car a much better system.