OTHER TECH

Day 4

Kevin tried powering up the Accurian speakers in his kitchen, but they didn't work. "I think it's because the first floor runs off a subpanel," the contractor says in electro-speak. "Since the audio source is plugged into the house's main panel while the speakers were plugged into the secondary panel, I couldn't get a signal."

So the Accurians wind up sitting in Kevin's basement theater - where he already has plenty of speakers. But at least they're working ... sort of. "The biggest audio problem is there's a little popping - despite the fact that these speakers are for sure plugged into the same panel," Kevin says.

"But ... no, you know what? Let me see where I plugged this into."

He crouches down to see how he'd connected the Accurian digital audio transmitter, which takes the audio signal from his satellite box (currently tuned to a music channel) and sends it through home wiring to the speakers. "You know what? I broke the cardinal rule of this stuff. I went into the surge suppressor, and you're supposed to only plug it directly into the outlet." This is, in fact, something the instructions demand. "I was close to putting in a whole-house surge protector," Kevin recalls. "If I'd done that, I don't know if this system would work or what." And so, Mr. Post reconnects the transmitter - and the popping ceases.

So, might the speakers work upstairs now? He carries them up into the living room, connects them to an outlet, and sure enough, there's sound. Soon, a Partridge Family song starts playing. (This is not a defect.)