Some time ago, I noted a company called Elecrow in connection with a kit to turn a Raspberry Pi into a laptop (it’s all on their website in the link above and check out their Indiegogo link). But the RPi is NOT what this blog entry is about. I’m not…
Category: General
Huawei Honor Band 6 v Xiaomi Mi Band 6
When I wrote the first part of this back in April 15, 2021- it seemed that AliExpress would have the new Huawei Band 6 (GLOBAL) that week to I guessed that meant we outside of China would not be able to actually get one for maybe another 3 weeks –…
Eleksmaker A3 Pro 3500mW Laser Engraver
The A3 Pro is proving to be a MARVELOUS engraver. Some of you may recall back in 2018 I wrote about the original Eleksmaker Pro engraver – it came with a 400mW laser module which was rapidly replaced with a 2300mW laser and very nice too. I left that with…
Perfect Prime IR202 Thermal Camera
Having just recently written up the Perfect Prime IR281 thermal camera (not cheap) I thought it might be useful to take a look at the less expensive add-on for mobile phones version IR202 from the same company. I’m showing photos of all three variations of this mobile phone add-in camera,…
Broadlink Bestcon MCB1 Smart Home WiFi Switch
I just received one of these MCB1 units from Banggood – and I’m struggling to see what’s special about them, apart from the price that is. Depending where you live these could be as low as €7.38 + €1.68 shipping (price given here in Euros). Ok, it’s a neat, small…
Athom pre-Tasmota’d Smart Socket and Smart Lights
I’m so excited about this so I’ll dive straight in. The company is called ATHOM and they make smart sockets and lights pro-programmed with TASMOTA. I took the smartsocket out of the box, plugged it into the mains, told my phone to look for access points and it found “tasmota_D3F950-6480”.…
Rechargeable Cordless Air Duster – Heaven for Engineers?
Banggod just sent me a rechargeable Cordless Air Duster and I LOVE it. After a lifetime in electronics, I can’t begin to tell you how many cans of compressed air I’ve bought over the years. Back in the UK, being a business, we would shop at Costco – and as…
The saga of Raspberry Pi 4 Power Control and Dual Sata (SSD)
Like other Raspberry Pi 4 owners I’ve been wrestling with which is the best power option – can I use 2 SSDs – how do I ensure which SSD will start first – what case to use and related questions – well, I’m at an interesting peak with this right…
Comparing Various Disk Device Speeds Updated)
As I have several disk devices sitting in-between jobs, I thought it might be nice to run a speed comparison between them using CrystalDiskMark, my new favourite PC tool for speed-testing disks. Before I start I should sake it clear that I did one test each in identical conditions (USB3-based…
Perfect Prime IR281 Thermal Imaging Camera
Interested subscribers may remember my write-up about the Perfect Prime IR005 camera back in June 2020. Infra-red resolution was 220×160 and visible resolution was 640×480. Well, the New IR281 Camera has similar resolution while having a somewhat (IMHO) better feel to it – but that doesn’t really cover the improvements…
GL S1300 Convexa-S Smart Home Gateway
At one time or another I’ve covered many of the GL-iNET range of routers with more to come (Remember the little MANGO travel router?). I’ve been using a home setup comprising a TP-LINK W9980 VDSL2 main router attached to the local Internet provider’s modem for some time, following a lightning…
Ranger 2C Indoor Smart Security Camera
You may recall some time ago I did a review of the Bullet 2C camera from Imou. Well, it has taken some time but I finally have my hands on the new Ranger 2C Smart Security Camera. They’ve given me some info – links etc (see below) but first, why…
ESCAM QF260 WiFi Solar Camera
Described on Banggood’s website as the “ESCAM QF260 WIFI HD 1080P 2.0MP Wireless IP67 Outdoor Solar Battery Power Low Power Consumption PIR Surveillance Security Camera“, this looks remarkably like my original YN88-WIFI-130W described here. Well, THIS new WiFi camera also has the term “Watchmen” on the box but is a…
Astrolux VC04 Versatile Charger
Don’t you love it “Astrolux 4-solt Li-ion Battery Charger” – I think we can safely assume that should be “4-slot”. Inside the manual, the company refers to the inputs which are USB-C, micro-USB and “Lighting” – well, as a non-Apple user that kept me going for a minute – they…
Today’s Postbag – the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 – a WINNER
I have had a Mi Band 4, a pair of Mi Band 5s and at the end of April 2021 I got the brand new Xiaomi Mi Band 6 from Banggood. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. I opened the box – instructions in Chinese, partly charged…
Blitzwolf BW-GC8 Gaming Chair with RGB Lighting
This Blitzwolf BW-GC8 gaming chair from Banggood is a far cry from the first chair I reviewed, the BW-GC1. Opening the box it was immediately obvious that this chair was taller (I was not going to need the supplied headrest) and generally the chair looked upmarket – but it was…
Instar IN-9008 Full HD MQTT Wired/WIFI IP Camera
In February 2020 I received a very nice IP camera from INSTAR Deutschland (Germany) GmbH – the IN-9008 Full HD camera (1920×1080 HD) has turned out to be a winner. I’ve had several emails with support and comments from Mike Polinowski of Instar about the “first ever” MQTT IP Camera.…
18650 Lithium Rechargeable Battery Lengths
I won’t bore you with the usual warning about Lithium battery safety and as for capacity – that’s a whole other issue – we all know that some suppliers make ridiculous claims for 18650 capacity (if you see a capacity rating of over 3500maH, there’s a good chance you’ve been…
Worx WX240 4V USB Mini Screwdriver
What’s exciting about a Lithium screwdriver? Basically not a lot, but if Banggood had simply wanted to send me the bits – I’d have had them… you can never have too many screwdriver bits. Anyway, the Worx WX240 4V USB Mini Screwdriver certainly ticks the right boxes – as usual…
Blitzwolf BW-SHC3 PTZ 1080P Outdoor Camera
To give this camera its full title, it is the Blitzwolf BW-SHC3 PTZ 1080P Outdoor IP Security Camera. And yes, that’s a link to Banggood – full technical spec therein 🙂 If you are interested, you may have just read my short review of the Imou outdoor camera, which while…