Author: 12VoltNews

CES 2021 Digital Venue Revealed

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ARLINGTON, VA (12.18.2020) – Leaders from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has made major show announcements including keynote speakers, Innovation Award honorees and conference program updates. In addition, a preview was shared of what audiences can experience on the CES 2021 digital venue. CES 2021 kicks off January 11-14, 2021.

“CES 2021 will be making history, with our first all-digital show,” said Gary Shapiro , president and CEO, CTA. “This new experience will feature more than 1000 exhibitors from around the world, showcasing the latest trends and innovation in artificial intelligence, 5G, digital health, smart cities, vehicle tech and beyond . Technology will move us forward and CES 2021 will illustrate how innovation paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.”

Preview the CES 2021 digital venue

Keynotes and Conference Sessions
CTA announced that Best Buy CEO, Corie Barry will be joining the keynote line-up for a conversation with Fortune CEO, Alan Murray. Barry will discuss her vision for the future of tech, leading through the pandemic and why diversity and inclusion is good for business.

Barry joins other confirmed CES keynote speakers, including: Verizon’s Hans Vestberg, General Motors’ Mary Barra, AMD’s Dr. Lisa Su and WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff. View the featured speakers page to see the full line-up of visionary speakers at CES 2021.

Preview the CES 2021 digital venue

In addition to the keynote program, CES 2021 will offer over 100 conference sessions. CTA also announced the conference session “Privacy and Trust with Amazon, Google and Twitter”:

Keith Enright, Chief Privacy Officer, Google
Damien Kieran, Chief Privacy Officer, Twitter
Anne Toth, Director, Alexa Trust, Amazon Alexa

CES Digital Venue
Audiences will experience the all-digital CES through the digital venue, the online platform created with technology partner Microsoft. CTA has released a video preview of the digital venue to provide a closer look at the experience which will foster collaboration, engagement and connections.

Preview the CES 2021 digital venue.

Live Anchors
To help navigate the show, CTA announced a live anchor desk will be part of CES 2021 – featuring familiar faces from the tech media world. This “central command” will help attendees navigate the digital experience, hear the latest news and view interviews on critical tech topics. Featured anchors:

  • Justine Ezarik (iJustine) – Host + Tech Content Creator
  • Rich DeMuro – Tech reporter for KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles
  • Naomi Kyle – Actress, Producer and host of Star Trek’s The Ready Room on CBS
  • Brian Tong – Tech Host & Content Creator
Preview the CES 2021 digital venue

“CES 2021 will be a collaborative experience, encouraging connections between audiences and exhibitors from around the world,” said Karen Chupka, EVP, CES, CTA. “We threw out the playbook and decided to not just recreate CES online– but to reimagine it. The digital transformation of our industry has given us opportunity to reach an even larger, global audience and create new experiences for this year and beyond.”

Exhibitors for CES 2021 include tech giants such as Canon, Hisense, Intel, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Samsung Electronics, TCL and Voxx, as well as non-traditional tech companies including Bridgestone, Caterpillar, Indy Autonomous Challenge, John Deere, L’Oréal and Procter & Gamble.

Visit www.ces.tech for more.

DS18 Hosts 3rd Annual Loud for Tots Event

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MIAMI GARDENS, FL (12.18.2020) – Loud for Tots was the place to be on Saturday night December 12th at the DS18 HQ in Miami Gardens FL. The 3rd Annual Loud for Tots event was designed as a community minded event to gather toys for children in need during the Christmas Season.

The DS18 Big Bad Wolf was spotlighted at the Loud for Tots event.

As dozens of vehicles filled the DS18 parking lot local police arrived on the scene. Masks were a requirement and social distancing was encouraged for all. The ‘rub’ with police was the ‘Loud’ aspect of the Loud for Tots. Apparently the local authorities did not know what people around the world know…. at DS18 “We Like It Loud”.

Vehicles on the lot at DS18 HQ.
A wide variety of vehicles were in the DS18 parking lot for the event.

Rob Ferro, Mr DS18, was on site with the Big Bad Wolf. “The Loud for Tots event was a success despite the 12 officers on site. The Sargent agreed to let us continue the event but without the LOUD part. During the event we were able to collect over 20 boxes of toys on Saturday night… and I was not arrested for being too nice” Ferro stated.

During days after the event people from charity organizations picked up toys from the Loud for Tots event.

Continuing, days after the event, Ferro related “First of the week we started to deliver the toys to diverse foundations. One of the organizations was for children with Autism. Putting smiles on the faces of many children is very rewarding to all of us at DS18.”

Visit DS18.com for more.

CRUX Releases a New Mini-Camera Line with 3 Models

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CHATSWORTH, CA (12.18.2020) – The 3 new CRUX mini-cameras are designed to fit in tight spaces. The cameras can be used both for aftermarket and OEM install needs.

The new CRUX Mini-Camera Line models are so small.

Each of the 3 models provide parking guidelines that can be turned off and on. Each of the 3 cameras provides 100 degree horizontal viewing angle. Push-in type mounting options provide installation flexibility.

These cameras provide the option for dealers to find the best possible camera solution no matter how tight the space may be.

Visit cruxinterfacing.com for more.

Mad Mark’s Creates the WOW Factor with Customers

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BRADENTON, FL (12.17.2020) – Mad Mark’s Stereo has been “Disturbing the peace since 1988” in Bradenton FL. For more than 30 years Mark Turk and his Team have also been creating a legion of happy customers. A Mad Mark’s Instagram post on Tuesday December 15th, highlighting new exterior signage on the building, led to this article. A Kicker logo,15’ high and 6’ wide, was painted on one side of the building that is located on a very busy street in Bradenton.

This is the recent Instagram post that grabbed 12volt News eyeballs. The KICKER logo freshly painted on the building and so much more for people driving down the street to see.

The comment with that post read “We are off to a great start this Monday morning with our new signage and our new boat Tee Top out front. Ohh, let’s not forget WE also do GOLF CART customization and upgrades. Stop in or call to make an appointment to speak with our Golf Cart expert and see how far we can go with your golf cart! “ Being based in Florida Mad Mark’s does a lot of marine and golf cart business along with audio, automotive aftermarket, performance and Powersports. These words in the comments, from a very passionate owner, certainly connect with consumers and followers.

Mark Turk behind the sales counter. Check out the impressive Mad Mark’s inlay.

“I have a passion for my business that is virtually 24/7. I’m up at 5 AM and at the at the store for a full day by 6AM many days. We continually work to draw attention from the street and provide people an exciting experience when they enter the store” Turk related to The12volt News.

Product neatly stacked on the showroom floor.

There is definitely a WOW Factor when people enter Mad Mark’s. The showroom walls are covered with large graphics spotlighting Wheels, Tires, Lifts and Motorcycle Upgrades. The showroom floor features stacks of audio products, a marine cockpit display and stacks of wheels. The Kayak, loaded with an amazing system with multiple amps and speaker pods, is also on display. Bear in mind a Kayak is less than 10 feet long.

Signage of the wall highlights product categories.

Turk continued “When customers come into Mad Mark’s they look both ways to see the wide selection of categories and products we offer. We also change things in the area out front frequently with demos that include bikes, Golf carts, Slingshots and vehicles as well. We also change the signage on our large street sign. The 6’x8’ panels are backlit with LEDs and we change the graphic frequently.”

Slingshots out front grab attention and generate big ticket sales.

Business in 2020 has been very strong at Mad Mark’s in 2020 as it has been with many 12volt retailers across the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This decked out Kayak will create sound waves on the water!

“Our Team of 9 continues to be aware of social distancing and making provisions to keep all safe. We are focused on the long term and being a forward thinking member of the community. We frequently receive positive comments. I recently had a very positive comment from my doctor who noticed how we continue make the Mad Mark’s building eye catching as people drive along our busy street. We definitely plan to continue to do more at Mad Mark’s” Turk concluded.

Visit madmarks.com for more.

Alpine Names the 2020 Rep Firm of the Year

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AUBURN HILLS, MI (12.17.2020) – Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. named their 2020 Rep Firm of the Year for the Brand (aftermarket) Business Unit during the virtual Brand Summit held on Dec. 10, 2020. The Rep Firm of the Year awards recognizes independent and direct reps who have shown a strong commitment to the Alpine brand, providing exceptional sales and marketing growth.

 Mike Anderson, Alpine Vice President and General Manager-Business Unit, with Dennis Montgomery, Mark Barber, Richie Holtzman and Steve Paul from Tech Marketing (L to R) pictured at a previous Alpine event.

“During this unprecedented time, our independent and direct reps have remained consistent in providing support to our Alpine Authorized Retailers,” said Mike Anderson, Vice President and General Manager, Brand Business Unit, Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. “We recognize their commitment to Alpine’s business strategy and commend them for their contribution to growing the brand in 2020.”

The Santa Fe Team members Jeff Henshaw, Eric Balzer, Anthony Rawlings and Matt Macias (pictured from top left) in social distanced settings.

During the ceremony, Santa Fe and Tech Marketing were named the 2020 Co-Independent Rep of the Year. The team from Santa Fe, Jeff Henshaw, Eric Baltzer, Matt Macias, and Anthony Rawlings, was recognized for their strong sales growth in the sound system category and a focus on driving sales initiatives and loading effective sound system displays and products at their dealerships.

The team from Tech Marketing, Richie Holtzman, Mark Barber, Steve Paul, and Dennis Montgomery, were also recognized for their growth in sound system sales that contributed to Alpine’s overall growth in the category. They also maintained consistent communication with their dealers and drove Alpine sales and marketing initiatives and content.

Colette Beaudoin the 2020 Alpine Direct Rep of the Year

Colette Beaudoin was named the 2020 Direct Rep of the Year for her tremendous sales growth in the sound system category. Colette was also praised for her consistent communication with her dealers, embracing a new way of promoting the brand through social media. Colette recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with Alpine.

Award recipients were chosen by Alpine senior leadership based on an evaluation of their sales, marketing, customer service, and communication for 2020.

Visit alpine-usa.com for more.

DS18’s High Excursion ZXI12.4D Is Being Heard Worldwide

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MIAMI GARDENS, FL (12.17.2020) – Do you want more excursion, more thumping power, and to shake everyone’s mirrors around you? DS18 has the perfect subwoofer to satisfy all your bass head needs in the newly designed for 2021 ZXI12.4D high excursion subwoofer. This monster sub packs a 3-inch coil made to withstand high amounts of power with the utmost efficiency while producing thunderous distortion free bass.

This sub has a low FS so it can be used in large boxes with lower than normal tuning. Not only will this subwoofer slay the lows, it is versatile enough to also play higher frequencies in the bass zone of sub frequencies. Most subs that produce this much bass have very deep mounting depths which limit the applications in which they can be used.

The ZXI12.4D has a mounting depth of only 7.5 inches so It can be used in most instances where you need a lot of bass but not you don’t have to worry about the setup taking up all the real estate in your vehicle. The ZXI12.4D has been conservatively rated at 1000w rms and 2000w peak power so this makes it the sub that can handle any task put to fruition.

Visit DS18.com for more.

Mobile Solutions Presents “Up Front Fab” Training

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TEMPE, AZ (12.16.2020) – Join Mobile Solutions’ founder and CEO Bryan Schmitt along with Sage Weir from ORCA Design and Manufacturing for UP FRONT FAB; a 90-minute web-based training on Friday December 18, 2020 at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern. The fabrication-centric training session focuses on speaker placement for premium sound quality builds, including addressing creation of speaker locations and finishing techniques required for custom A-pillars, dash grilles and tweeter pods and more.

Speaker placement is the key and the challenge to achieve a sound experience with depth and realism. This training demonstrates how to overcome acoustic challenges, how to utilize fabrication tricks and participants will discover the top three upholstery techniques that elevate the finished quality of the installation.

UP FRONT FAB Online Training Session Highlights:

  • Optimization of front high frequency speaker placement, using dash and A-pillar examples
  • Creating rings with Mobile Solutions’ new SFS Shape Kit
  • Using profile router bits to save time, add style and facilitate ease of upholstery
  • Advanced 3D router techniques to elevate fabrication work
  • Painting, faux wood and texturing techniques
  • Texturing and finishing techniques for a factory-like dashboard appearance 
  • Learn how to bond to OEM and dissimilar plastics
  • Upholstery techniques with materials like vinyl, suede and leather
  • Aluminum routing and forming
  • Machining without a CNC (Live Demonstration)
  • Polishing and finishing (Live Demonstration)

Throughout the training, Bryan and Sage share tricks and tips for building A-pillars, dash grilles and tweeter pods using step-by-step techniques proven over multiple installs to deliver results for the incredible sound while observing integrated cosmetics. It’s the intersection of the right tools, materials and using efficient processes. The training aims to help attendees build amazing sound systems with OEM styling, quickly and efficiently.

The Friday December 18 UP FRONT FAB training (10am Pacific/1pm Eastern) streams live from the Mobile Solutions training facility in Tempe, AZ and will be broadcast via Zoom. It’s free to attend online for anyone, whether or not they are a dealer of the ORCA or Mobile Solutions products.

To register directly click here.

For more information, visit the Mobile Solutions social media sites at Facebook or Instagram, or visit ORCA Design Family of Products on Facebook. Registration is required to attend.

AudioControl Wins 2020 MEA Vendor of the Year Award at KnowledgeFest

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SEATTLE, WA (12.16.2020) – AudioControl (audiocontrol.com) has been recognized by the Mobile Electronics Association (MEA) as their 2020 Vendor of the Year. The prestigious MEA award “recognizes the vendor that best exemplifies the characteristics of professionalism, service and expertise, as voted by peers, staff and judges throughout the Industry Awards process.”

Matthew Palumbo and Chris Bennett from AudioControl providing virtual training to 2020 KnowledgeFest attendees, where AudioControl was named Vendor of the Year.

“Everyone here at AudioControl is excited and proud to be recognized by the MEA with this award,” stated AudioControl CEO Alex Camara. “We would like to thank everyone who voted for AudioControl as well as our very dedicated, hardworking dealer and rep network for their support. I also want to strongly express my appreciation to the team here at AudioControl who, each and every day, take enormous pride in the work we do. We have all found a way to thrive as a community through a challenging year, and AudioControl will continue to be here, strongly supporting our amazing dealers with innovative solutions as well as award-winning support and training.”

In 2020, AudioControl launched several new products that provided dealers with critical opportunities in the Car Audio, Marine and Powersports market segments while remaining out in front of supply chain and manufacturing challenges associated with a global pandemic. Additionally, AudioControl’s engineering team forged ahead with the development of new solutions, while technical support and training initiatives continued, delivering an unmatched level of service to dealers throughout the channel.

Visit audiocontrol.com for more.

Oracle Lighting Debuts White Underbody Wheel Well Rock Light Kit

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METAIRE, LA, (12.16.2020) – Oracle Lighting has announced the debut of its new White Underbody Wheel Well Rock Light Kit (p/n 5875-001). Now available with an MSRP of $99.95, these new highly durable and intensely bright white LED rock lights easily install for applications on trucks, Jeeps, trailers, powersport vehicles, and more.

“Featuring more than 2,400 Lumens of output making them brighter than most headlights, you can drive with confidence using these white rock lights with high quality components that withstand any terrain you put them through on the streets or off-road,” explained Justin Hartenstein, Oracle Lighting director of development. “With multiple options on the market, you want the best quality for a good price when choosing white rock lights.”

Using quality Cree XQ-E chips and expertly-engineered components, Oracle Lighting offers four intensely bright white rock lights in an easy-to-install kit for a fraction of what some other brands charge.

The kit includes everything needed for installation, including:

  • (4) white LED rock lights
  • (4) mounting gasket sets
  • (4) sets of mounting hardware
  • (1) 4-to-1 easy wiring hub  

Additional specifications include:

  • Kelvin Color Temperature : 6000K
  • Lumens (each): 600LM/PCS
  • Watts (each): 6W/PCS
  • Amps (each): 12V*0.14A/PCS
  • Ingress Protection: IP67
  • Operating Temperature: 65 Degree
  • Input Voltage: 9V-18
  • High temperature Protection: Yes

Having celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2019, Metairie, LA-based Oracle Lighting has been designing innovative lighting products and technologies for the automotive/12Volt, powersports, motorcycle, and marine markets since 1999. Oracle’s philosophy is this: in today’s world of fly-by-night vendors, we think it is important to partner with businesses that you can trust to be there for you today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

For more information on Oracle Lighting and its full product line, visit www.oraclelights.com, call (800) 407-5776, or email info@oraclelights.com.

SiriusXM’s New SXM-7 Satellite Performing Properly After SpaceX Launch

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NEW YORK NY (12.15.2020) – Maxar Technologies, SiriusXM, and SpaceX have announced that the SXM-7 satellite was successfully launched and is performing properly.

SXM-7, a high-powered digital audio radio satellite, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida earlier today. Shortly afterward, SXM-7 deployed its solar arrays and began receiving and sending signals. Next, SXM-7 will begin firing its thrusters to commence its journey to its final geostationary orbit.

SiriusXM’s SXM-7 ready for launch. Credit: SpaceX

SXM-7 will provide continuous, reliable delivery of SiriusXM’s audio entertainment and information services to consumers in the United States, and will expand SiriusXM’s coverage area in Canada and the Caribbean, for years to come. SXM-7 will deliver the highest power density of any commercial satellite on-orbit, sending more than 8,000 watts of content to the continental U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, increasing the power and reach of the signal for SiriusXM.

This rendering shows what SiriusXM’s SXM-7 will look like when fully deployed on orbit. Credit: Maxar Technologies

“Maxar and SiriusXM have worked together for more than two decades to build world-class digital audio radio satellites that bring entertainment to almost every new car in America,” said Megan Fitzgerald, Maxar’s Senior Vice President of Space Programs Delivery. “We are proud to have built the latest addition to the SiriusXM constellation and look forward to the launch of their next Maxar-built satellite, SXM-8, next year.”

“SXM-7 plays an important role in bolstering the continuity and reliable delivery of SiriusXM’s audio entertainment, as well as our traffic, weather, data and information services for years to come,” said Bridget Neville, SiriusXM’s Senior Vice President of Satellite and Repeater Systems Engineering and Operations. “With the addition of SXM-7, our satellite-delivered service coverage area in North America is larger and more powerful than ever before. We congratulate our engineering team, Maxar and SpaceX on a successful launch.”

“We had a beautiful Falcon 9 launch today, safely delivering SXM-7 to orbit,” said Lee Rosen, SpaceX’s Vice President of Customer Operations and Integration. “This was the seventh flight for this rocket’s first stage booster, and we are grateful SiriusXM chose our flight-proven hardware to help broaden its coverage area.”

SXM-7 weighs almost 7,000 kg and is built on Maxar’s 1300-class platform, the world’s most prevalent geosynchronous spacecraft platform. The satellite is designed to provide service for greater than 15 years. Maxar has previously built a total of seven satellites for SiriusXM, including its first-generation Sirius satellites that launched in 2000 and its second-generation Sirius satellites that launched in 2009 and 2013.

SXM-7 joins XM-3, XM-4, XM-5, FM-5, and FM-6 in SiriusXM’s active satellite fleet. SXM-7 and SXM-8 together will replace XM-3 and XM-4, extending SiriusXM’s satellite delivered services through at least 2036.

Visit siriusxm.com for more.