How Good is the Burton Infinite Channel System (ICS)?

I have been riding the Burton ICS since the start of the season. I have tried it on a range of Burton snowboards with both EST and 3D bindings and in many varied conditions. I will not be going back.

Using a channel system to attach bindings to a snowboard is not a brand new idea. But the way Burton has implemented it is and that is what I think makes the Burton ICS worth a very good look.

Before you go ahead and purchase a Burton ICS board there are a few things you should know.

1. If you have Burton 3D bindings you can attach them to your board with new binding plates which are free from Burton
2. If you do not have Burton bindings check with your dealer to see if new binding plates are available from your binding company. At the time of writing there were no alternative plates available for most of the better known brands.
3. The future is ICS so if you are going to purchase a new board don't compromise because your old bindings don't fit.

ICS stands for 'Infinite Channel System' and when it comes to setting up your board the key word here is infinite. With traditional systems you are bound by fixed positions on the board and on the plates. With ICS you can move the bindings fractionally in all directions to achieve your perfect stance width and foot position. Angles and widths are easily set by the new angle / reference viewing window. If you carry a tool when riding it is very easy to make changes by loosening the two screws on each binding. You do not need to lift the binding off the board to adjust the plate position or angles... this is a major plus point.

To accompany the channel system Burton have produced a new range of bindings which are referred to as EST. In addition to the two point fixings Burton have improved the foot bed and the most obvious difference to me is the comfort of the cushioning.

If you already have Burton 3D bindings you can fix them to the new ICS system but you do not get the same level of flexibility when setting up. If you have any concerns with regards to using your old Burton bindings let me allay them... they work and they work well... but my advice is to go all the way and get a EST bindings.

Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5-1 Channel Speaker System

The Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5.1 Channel Speaker System is a complete channel speaker system that has a lot of solid features. It comes with a video-shielded dual 3 drivers and 3/4 dual dome. It is powered by 200 watts of amplifier power, 8-ohm nominal impedance and 10 woofer bass reflex exposure.

The Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5.1 Channel speaker System is very versatile and can be easily used with other home theater components. First and foremost the speakers sound great and have a solid bass. The tops of the satellite speakers are made out of metal giving it an impressive build. The base speaker is very big and can be used as a side or coffee table. This time around Harman Kardon's HKTS has greatly improved the sound balance between its speakers where the dynamic range, dispersion and frequency response are equally matched so that the speakers blend quite well with each other.

The Harman Kardon HKTS-18 5.1 Channel Speaker System comes with a number of advanced features like the multi coloured LED power indicator. When it shows yellow, it means the system is on but the signal strength is too low while when it shows blue it means the system is on. It also has an audio-sense or external-trigger on/off and a line-level Sub/LFE input. Also included is a wall-mount bracket for the center and satellite speakers. This is an outstanding product and works well with other home theater systems. It usually takes a lot to please me but it was pretty difficult to find any fault with this new model.

Channel Trading System

Prices often move in channels, when prices rally, they often seem to stop at an invisible ceiling. Also, when they fall, they often seem to hit an invisible floor as well. Traders can use channels to identify buying and selling opportunities and avoid bad trades.

Channels help traders because their boundaries show where to expect support or resistance to come into the market.

Support is where buyers buy with greater intensity than sellers sell. Resistance is, in vice versa, where sellers sell with greater intensity than buyers buy. Channels show where to expect support and resistance in the future.

Construct a channel

There are several ways to construct a channel. Here, let's see the four simply ways.

1. By drawing a channel line parallel to a trendline. The channels parallel to trendlines are useful for long-term analysis, especially on the weekly charts.

2. By drawing two lines parallel to a moving average, one above it and another below. The channels around moving averages are useful for short-term analysis, especially on daily and intraday charts.

3. By drawing two lines parallel to a moving average just the same as above, only the distance between each line and the moving average changes depending on the market's volatility. This kind of channel is well-known as Bollinger bands.

The channels whose width depends on volatility are good for catching early stages of major new trends.

4. By drawing a moving average of the high price of bars and another of the low prices of bars.

Besides the boundaries of a channel, its slope can be used to identify a market's trend. When a channel lies flat, you may trade all swings within its walls. When a channel rises, you should trade only from the long side, buying at the lower bound and selling at the upper bound. When a channel declines, you should trade only from the short side, shorting at the upper bound and covering at the lower bound.

In some kinds of channel, the width of channel depends on the coefficient selected by traders.

For example, a moving average channel can be drawn as follow.

Upper Channel Line = EMA + Channel Coefficient EMA
Lower Channel Line = EMA - Channel Coefficient EMA

However, you need to adjust channel coefficients until a channel contains 90 percent to 95 percent of the price action. As the normal prices should be inside a channel and only unusual events push them outside.

Adjust channel coefficients at least once every three months to make a channel contain 90 percent to 95 percent of prices.

If prices keep bleaching out of a channel and staying outside for more than a few bars, that channel should be widened.

Also, if there are too many reversals within the channel without reaching its boundaries, that channel should be tightened.