Headphone Project/Mod Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
Noah wanted Dre Beat Solo HD from monster for his birthday – First they are expensive and second the sound quality isn’t as good as the Sennheiser HD 280 Pros. The Beats are close to 200 and the Sennheiser are only 79 bones on Amazon.com. The only issue is that they come with a 10 foot ‘old school’ coiled chord, which is nice if you’re plugged-in in the basement pulling tubes, but isn’t very convenient if you plan to be mobile with them. Hence this mod.
I wanted to replace the coiled chord with a shorter straight chord that also detaches (similar to Beats and Bose AE2).
First I had to figure out the wiring and this page was helpful http://blog.njoubert.com/2009/04/repair-rewiring-your-sennheiser-hd-280-pro.html
Which had this critical information
White – LEFT, GROUND
Black – LEFT, SIGNAL
Blue – RIGHT, GROUND
Red – RIGHT, SIGNAL
As follows:
Then you need to score the jack from Radio shack, tin the wires and mini jack and solder it all together. Here are some pictures -
If you check out how the propiatary cable is connected you’ll find there are four wire (I ordered a new one as a backup in case this mod didn’t work)
Before you attach the cables to the mini-jack you should tin the wires and the mini jack (there is resin on the cables that tinning removes). I also used a little shrink wrap once finished instead of the cheap plastic that came with the mini-jack from radio shack.
Here is the finished mod – looks sleek and will help prevent the cable being yanked out of the headphone by a 12 year old boy (or I hope) – sound quality is the same.
This is what happens when you drop the soldering iron and try to grab it before it lands in your crotch.
SchH I Rules
I’m pretty sure that this violates some copyright law somewhere, but since the rules are out of date and since it’s only for SchH I (not II or III) I’m going to post them. For those non-schutzhund people out there this is what it takes to pass the Schutzhund I test (all 3 phases Tracking, Obedience, & Protection). For the people out there already involved in the sport order a copy of the rule book here.
Click here to read SchH I rules
Noah’s and Isaac are progressing me not so much
Noah spent two days observing and working as a helper for a total of 3 dogs. Isaac got some time on the sleeve, barked from the car, and you can see after 3 years the light bulb has come on! Read more
Little more progress
Isaac got to see the helper 3 times this weekend and has moved past just sitting there staring (he’s 3+ years old). Some of the quotes were
- “If you believe”
- “Get your ass out and train that dog”
- “Quit your bitching and come to training”
I also parked him where he could see the field and the helper working other dogs, he started actually barking and going insane in the crate – used to just sit and stair out the crate watching the grass blow. I’ve kept on his OB, but stopped tracking him in the spring – and stopped working on the dumbbell, guess I need to decide if I’m going to put on my big boy pants and jump in the deep end of the pool or stay at the sprinkler park.
On a side note – Noah is progressing at lightening speed with his helper work! I’m for sure getting a paternity test now….
Noah sparring for the first time
Kerry wanted me to send this to non-facebook friends and this was the easiest way.
Isaac and the helper
Isaac is making a little progress in the bite work – he’s a little over 3 yrs old. He’s a slow learner and the learning curve is pretty steep for Marmaduke!
Homemade Zamboni
This isn’t dog related – other than Isaac likes thieving and chasing hockey pucks on the ice. Might be useful for those of you out there who are interested in resurfacing their ice
It’s my homemade Zamboni – there are a couple better examples out there, but this was made from stuff laying around the house – only had to buy the rope. Just need to figure out how to get 100 gallons of hot water to the pond – fire pit and metal trash can may do the trick
This one is pretty nice and there is some good info in the comments
Here is another example
The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture By V Stephanitz
I’ve got the hardcover version of this book and recommend it!
The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture
By V Stephanitz
Noah is working on becoming a helper
Noah went out to Indian Creek Schutzhund Club on Saturday to work with Bill Kulla and Jennifer Acevedo with his new sleeve. We purchased the sleeve from Sound Canine Services ebay store and it fits him very well (Noah’s 11). I would recommend it for young or soft dogs that might be struggling with a trial sleeve, though the surface isn’t as good as jute, it’s also easier to carry. Again if you’ve got a good dog it might not be needed, but if your dog struggles like Isaac in the third phase it’s a definite option. I would also recommend Sound Canine Services as a vendor on ebay.
Prior to going out to Bill and Jen’s Noah got Isaac barking and biting during three different sessions here at the house (two thumbs up). Noah has always been convinced that if he had a sleeve Isaac would bark and bite for him and it turns out he was right. I’ll admit a real helper might just shut him down, but only time will tell. Isaac is biting full, carrying well, and barking (not as good when he’s told to sit and bark for soccer ball). So we’ll see how it progresses. Here is some video of Noah and Isaac (it’s password protected so good luck if I don’t want you to view it)
With Bill and Jen Noah worked Isaac: did a couple escapes and was able to slid the sleeve on as Isaac came around while carrying. He did well – Once we got done with Isaac because my fat ass couldn’t run in circles any longer, Jen brought SG IRMHILD VON DER STAATSMACHT SchH3 “Hilde” and let Noah work her.
Noah started in the blind with the bark and hold and gave some good grips (maybe a little early), he then did 3 escape bites with her, and did a shorter modified long bite (fell over in the snow once), and then did some outs and regrips. Hilde seemed to really enjoy herself and once all the official stuff was over let Noah tug her around the field (they both ended up quite tired). Noah tried to drive both Isaac and Hilde and needs a little work – Isaac is a tard and doesn’t know what to do, and though Hilde cooperated it’s a definite art-form that Noah will need to work on.
Bill commented on Noah’s speed and athleticism, Noah was pretty excited to learn from someone who actually knows what their doing (as opposed to me). Hopefully as Noah gets bigger, stronger, and faster (if that’s possible) he’ll continue to enjoy doing helper work – would be quite handy to have a live in helper 
On the way home I asked if Noah was nervous and he said “no, because I didn’t know what I was doing so I just figured I’d stand there and do what they told me”. As someone who has actually worn the sleeve (only twice) I know what he means, there’s a lot going on when you’ve got a dog barking or running at you, your holding a stick, covering your wiener, focusing on not falling, listening to instructions, and focusing on not hurting a dog. All in all he held up well and seemed to enjoy himself – He really liked Bill’s new dog Jackson – and Jackson enjoyed Noah’s hat, coat sleeves, ears, and snow pants.
2010 USA Nationals
ON THE FLIGHT BACK FROM 2010 NATIONALS. WAS A GOOD TIME AND WILL POST A FEW PICTURES WHEN I GET HOME.
Well I’m home and have looked at the few pictures and video I took and will share what I have. First and foremost I’m new to the sport and everything here is my opinion and does not represent or reflect the United Schutzhund Clubs of America, Indian Creek Schutzhund Club, or the North Central Region. It seems it’s very easy to drum up controversy amongst certain dog people and that is not the intent of this post or this blog for that matter, just sharing the experience I had.
Let’s start with a little video that was posted of Henk vom Hufeisenberg and Andrea Hashimoto Protection 98 pronounced. High protection. Andrea is 16, finished 3rd overall, took high protection and trained her dog herself! For those who don’t know much about Schutzhund this is a full Schutzhund 3 protection routine. Blind search, Front Half (bark and hold, escape, re-attack, rear transport, side transport) and back half, long bite/courage test, re-attack, and side transport. I’ll try and find video of the obedience phase of one of the competitors so you can see that.
Here are the results from the event – Sean O’Kane won with 97/95/97 289
I showed up on Wednesday afternoon to watch the helper selection process and show support for Steve and Don. There are videos of all the helpers out there so posting it here would be redundant, let’s just say that helper work at the event was safe and solid in my opinion and if you disagree you can kiss my hiney bright and shinny!
On Thursday I attended the event as a delegate from Indian Creek Schutzhund Club and as a member of the newly formed Technology Committee, this means I sat through the GBM on Thursday and voted with a purple card and/or secret ballot – I felt so powerful! It was long and at times a little passionate, but was an overall good experience. During the meeting I found out why I own a Droid and not an iPhone, check out the battery the iPhone uses – cumbersome is an understatement.
During the GBM lunch break Jen and I headed over to the stadium to hang out with Steve Romard (front half helper), this is when I first met Olaf Frankemöller. Other than being knowledgeable in the area of dog sport Olaf is one of the funniest people I have ever met in my life! Spent the majority of the next couple days and nights listening to Olaf’s commentary on everything from ‘tails’ to overweight humans
Here are some shots of the venue, I found the sign at the entrance to the stadium quite entertaining -
 What? "No Animals allowed" |
 Shot of the flags at the end of the field |
We enjoyed some good food at the Rum Jungle Buffet at the Casino Fandango, it was so good we ate there two nights in a row. The atmosphere was quaint and quiet!
Cropped Steve out, claims it wasn't taken from his good side
I gambled one night and won 3 cents high roller
Will go through the photos and video from the stadium and will post shortly…….
Found video of the OB phase, this Henk vom Hufeisenberg and Andrea Hashimoto 94 point routine
The following videos are of Maya vom Gilbach and Katie Gillies – fun to watch plus Katie bought me a shot Saturday night! Actually she bought everyone around the blackjack table a shot, she had no idea who I was. Tossed up awesome points and handed out alcohol, what more could one ask for?
Isaac and the future –> SchH 1 anyone?
Now that Isaac has passed his BH and seems to be barking a little bit for the sleeve it seems we’ll be moving forward with bite work towards a SchH 1. It seems apparent that we’ll have to do everything through prey drive and he’ll have to be barking for the sleeve as a toy – at this point it seems obvious he’s not going to work for the man. In fact in my estimation at this point the man is just going to shut him down – he’s too soft. He’ll bark for the soccer ball, strike the soccer ball, and even take drive and stick hits from me. Now would he do it for someone else? Also the soccer ball is a lot softer and more pliable than a trial sleeve (but it’s progress).
He’s got a solid bark for the ball and is also barking when people who don’t belong around are around – for example when the ComEd guy showed up at the meter he had a very solid bark, not backing down and would have been interesting if he had gotten out of the kennel. Here is a picture of Isaac and Noah doing some bite work It’s Noah’s version of the escape combined with the courage test – the bad part is that he’s not wearing a sleeve (though it hasn’t seemed to curtain this activity – Noah is kind of thick).
So moving forward here’s what needs to occur (in no particular order)
- Clean up his obedience – begin applying more pressure – automatic corrections (i.e., sit)
- Make more OB when not doing official obedience (needs to have OB when checking in and receiving critique) did this while at the park on Sunday with kids and Kerry’s friends (on lead entire time)
- Work on retrieve – start with dowel rod (eventually on flat and over obstacles)
- Add in the jump and wall (I know he can jump because on walks I have him jump a fence onto a picnic table at pavilion at the park – it’s a meter high)
- Start doing more longer tracks (these were going well for awhile, but I stopped in the heat of the summer and was too focused on the BH) – of all the phases this is the one Isaac seems to excel the most at
- Bite work (need to figure out schedule with soccer and training days at ICSC so I can actually do protection work on a regular basis or else it’s going to go nowhere)
The items that will be totally new to Isaac are the retrieve and the wall – he’s had exposure to everything else.
The real challenge is going to be fitting in time to do protection work at the club with the soccer schedule, total nightmare! Need to just get Noah and dog and quick soccer….
Isaac vom Geistwasser BH H.O.T
Isaac is now Isaac vom Geistwasser BH H.O.T – for those non-schutzhund people below in BLUE is the skinny on the BH.
Isaac and I attended the North Central Region Championships hosted by Fox Valley Police & Schutzhund Club which was judged by Frank Phillips, USA. Isaac and I were very late entries due to unforeseen circumstances and I was a little (understatement) nervous showing at a regional event - FVPSC members and spectators were gracious and supportive, they even had to bring out a dummy dog because there were only 3 BH entries and I drew 3rd.
Below is an article that was posted where our performance got a mention -
Chris Duffey also handled a German Shepherd that was feeling spunky but remembered his manners to successfully complete the routine, doing a nice job of it.
Chris Duffey, Isaac vom Geistwasser BH H.O.T and USA Judge Frank Philips
Isaac got a nice medallion for passing the test -
Noah attended the event – though he had to hide during the OB portion of the test because Isaac likes him better than me. Once Noah stepped to the fence to listen to the critique Isaac got a little “spunky” which is code for acted like Marmaduke! I suppose that’s better than biting the judge when he checks a tattoo (which I had memorized, but didn’t need to rattle off).
Here is video of the Obedience portion of the BH – If you’re interested in comparing Isaac and me to what a 97 Point SchH3 OB Phase at last years Regionals looked like click here.
It’s Been awhile
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted updates with regards to training – so here we go. I will be going to Wisconsin this weekend to attend the North Central Regional Championships where I hope to get Isaac his BH. I had hoped to do his BH at the ICSC trial a couple of weeks ago, but Kerry getting labyrinthitis kind of hosed that plan. Though I’m thankful they are doing BHs at Regionals and I’ll have the opportunity to get it out of the way – It really wasn’t my venue of choice to be showcasing our skills! Maybe all the attendees will be busy with other things as I walk down the field like a drunken sailor.
Took a link out of the pinch today – When I worked Isaac at lunch today it seemed a lot better than last night which was encouraging, but isn’t quite this yet.
Steve Romard’s Leaked workout routine
Lenny and Erik van Gogh – since the video is kind of busting Steve’s balls I figured I give him props by posting a good pick of his son and his dog enjoying a bike ride.
Scary
How scary is it that when you search google for schutzhund usa magazine in Belgium my dogs blog shows up as the 4th result.
Click here for results
Just glad I could help our partners in sport from Europe with my insane knowledge and advice about Schutzhund. I’m not sure what this says for schutzhund usa magazine – they may want to consider developing their brand
Today’s Bike ride with Isaac
Took Isaac while Marissa showed me the back way to sneak into Elburn Woods from town.
Isaac’s trip to St Louis
During Isaac’s trip to St Louis he got to meet 4 little dogs (American Eskimo, Cocker Spaniel, white cotton ball, and some little terrier). He also got to meet to minature ponies on one of our walks.
They came trotting up to the fence and he ran over to investigate. Sniffs were shared – and all was fine until they made a horse noise and Isaac realized they weren’t just big dogs. He didn’t bark, but he did puff up and give them the hairy eyeball. Wish I had my phone or a camera.
Also have NO idea how anyone trains their SchH dogs in down there. At 1:00 AM it was still 95 with 100% humidity! Can’t even imagine when you’d track.
Obedience Progress
Here is a little video of our progress towards the BH (in August) – added the about turn last night and need to work on the front. Sit in motion is coming along, but still worries me a little.
I need to work on my coordination so that I can use a longer lead and still reward him the ball while keeping him ‘tethered’ to me.
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