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Month: October 2019

Xanes X1 Waterproof Smart Band

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral, Xanes X12 Comments on Xanes X1 Waterproof Smart Band
Xanes X1 Band

The X1 is a low-cost bracelet but easy to use, could be a winner. Here’s the full title – . Banggood sent this to me along with a Heija B1800 which I’m struggling with (“location fail” is all I could get out of the app for the latter which also…

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ZemiSmart Discount Day at AliExpress

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019 Peter ScargillZemiSmart8 Comments on ZemiSmart Discount Day at AliExpress
ZmiSmart

Regular readers will know I go out of my way to avoid anything remotely approaching outright advertising – after all I do this absolutely for fun, not profit. But read on, I feel obliged to help out ZemiSmart. Firstly they sent me some kit not knowing me from Adam (as…

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Node Red 1.0.2 is OUT

October 21, 2019October 30, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral4 Comments on Node Red 1.0.2 is OUT
Node-Red

Not only is there a new release of Node-Red i.e. 1.0.2 – I also noted there is some new video material to go with it. Congratulations to Nick O’Leary, Dave Conway Jones and others. If you’re interested, I suggest a look here… Much more later when I figure out how…

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Huawei Honor 5 Smart Band

October 20, 2019July 9, 2020 Peter ScargillGeneral

Here we have the Huawei – as you may know I’ve had dozens of these Smart bracelets and watches in the last couple of years – and my favourite up to now remains the , however a friend of ours started me off on the Huawei bands and Maureen likes…

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Pocophone F1 with Pixel 4 Camera

October 20, 2019July 30, 2020 Peter ScargillGoogle Camera, Pixel 3, Pocophone F1 Long-Term16 Comments on Pocophone F1 with Pixel 4 Camera

I’ve had (and used constantly) my Xiaomi Pocophone F1 for many, many months now and hence I can speak with much authority on the subject. For those unaware of this smartphone, it comes from Xiaomi who produce a range of phones as well as smart bands and other tech gadgets…

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A9 Mini WIFI HD 1080P Wireless IP Camera

October 18, 2019December 5, 2021 Peter ScargillGeneral32 Comments on A9 Mini WIFI HD 1080P Wireless IP Camera

Update April 2020: the APP for this camera is no longer available on the Android Playstore and the QR Code takes you to a dead website – another nail in the coffin for cloud-based cameras? I don’t think the camera is ONVIF compatible, the picture quality is variable and it…

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ijoou Smart Moxibustion Device

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral4 Comments on ijoou Smart Moxibustion Device

The ijoou-B02 is a USB-powered (5v-1amp) pearly white “Smart Moxibustion Device” made in China by Shenzen Baichuanai Technology – here’s their website… In short, two round heating units on which you fix replaceable adhesive pads (moxa patches) so you can stick the two units on your arms, back etc at…

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A Blitzwolf Week including the SS1

October 16, 2019October 29, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral6 Comments on A Blitzwolf Week including the SS1

Not a company I’ve ever associated with home control, Blitzwolf do some decent battery packs – but now they have a neat little IOT mains relay controller of their own. not to mention their own mains relay control board just like Sonoff (well, not really). So, first off the bat,…

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Besiter 20,000maH Power Pack

October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral2 Comments on Besiter 20,000maH Power Pack

This on’e a little more beefy than previous power packs I’ve recently looked at (I did sayI had a backlog). The is a solid-looking and only JUST pocket-sized battery pack able to handle type-C, micro-usb and full USB-S connections as well as being a Quick-Charge compatible battery pack. The highest…

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A95X Android 9 TV Box

October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral, Media box, TV24 Comments on A95X Android 9 TV Box
A95X

Ok, that’s done. I am more grateful than you might imagine for a speedy delivery from China – Banggood sent me the latest A95X TV box which is around £37 inc post right now. But perhaps the main reason I’m grateful is we just arrived back in the UK from…

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The life of a solar panel

October 12, 2019October 12, 2019 Peter Scargillsolar garden light8 Comments on The life of a solar panel
Solar light

Here’s something you don’t see in the garden solar light adverts.. what you’re seeing in the frosty photo below is not untypical weather for the Northeast of England from November through February. When I  originally wrote this blog entry I’d had it up to here with cheap garden lights and…

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Uninterruptible Power Field Day

October 11, 2019October 18, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral2 Comments on Uninterruptible Power Field Day

I’ve been messing with uninterruptible power supply issues for years and with Raspberry Pi and similar needing (only at leak of course) 3A 5v power, I’ve looked at various alternatives. Here’s a thought for motorists who are IOT enthusiasts as well.. I just solved the issue of ninterruptible power for…

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Cheap Water/flood Sensor

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 Peter ScargillFlood/overflow sensing10 Comments on Cheap Water/flood Sensor
Water Sensor

Most DIY type will at one time or another have pondered water sensing – I wasted lots of time with cheap resistive garden sensors a few years go before realising that galvanic current would eventually kill them, then I hit on the capacitive sensors – and even one controlled by…

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Blitzwolf BW-PF2 Type C Power Bank

October 7, 2019October 9, 2019 Peter ScargillPower Banks11 Comments on Blitzwolf BW-PF2 Type C Power Bank

And what is this you might ask? Well, I’m a great believer that you can’t have too many QC3.0 power banks (i.e. FAST charging). I use them all the time for our various Smartphones in the UK and in Spain. This model is the and it has a single type…

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Bakeey Glass for Pocophone F1

October 7, 2019October 7, 2019 Peter ScargillGeneral

IMHO the most important thing next to having a sparkly SmartPhone is to have sparkly screen protectors to keep the phone looking new. If you follow the blog you’ll know I’m particularly proud of my Pocophone F1 and want to keep it in the best possible condition. To that end…

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Rechargeable Desk Cooling Fan with Light

October 3, 2019August 7, 2020 Peter ScargillGeneral1 Comment on Rechargeable Desk Cooling Fan with Light

To give this lovely fan its proper title…  Or: I love it: “Little Sunny Baldness Fan”. And here’s the fan itself… Smashing job, 3 speeds and a white light inside. Lowest speed almost silent, overall quiet and it has no visible blades, just like an obscenely expensive Dyson. The device…

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As I have no idea of your level of technical skill or the requirements of your country laws in terms of electricity supply etc, I accept no responsibility for any damage attributed to following advice in these pages.

When dealing with wall outlet (high) voltages you should satisfy yourself that whatever you are doing is safe and if unsure, seek advice from someone who is sure.

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