This article was originally written when the RPi PICO came out. I was not impressed. But things change and the RPi Foundation have now (late June 2022) released the Raspberry Pi Pico W complete with 2.4Ghz WiFi and Bluetooth 5.2 while being a drop-in replacement for the RP2040 chip used…
Sonoff Monday – New Products
POWR320D Here we have the POW Elite (POWR32OD), handling 20A max non-inductive load. Both of the controllers in this blog entry support Bluetooth pairing with the Sonoff eWeLink APP and have detachable DIN RAIL mounts on the back. It is worth noting for better or worse that as usual we…
UGREEN Nexode Gan X Fast 65W Charger – Very Nice
You may have seen me blog about the UGREEN T3 HiTune Earbuds and before that, the UGREEN X6 Active HiTune buds – both excellent. And before anyone says “who on earth is UGREEN”… I’d not heard of them before the X6 and was suitably impressed so I’m expecting much out…
The CubeTouch X1 BLE 4.2 Button Presser
Remember this blog entry about Switchbot S1? (photo below right) Great little Bluetooth device, sent to me by ZBanx Marketing, for machines which have an on-off pushbuton but no ability to handle timers. Switchbot could even make use of the company’s SwitchBot Mini-Hub to allow WiFi control of the Switchbot…
Mustool MDS120M 120Mhz Oscilloscope
This neat pocket-size Oscilloscope is currently on sale at Banggood for €63.09 (inc VAT and Duty – plus post) and by all accounts, their customers love it. Smaller than a typical mobile phone yet with 120Mhz bandwith – the device is USB-chargeable and comes complete with USB and *1, *10…
BeeLink GTR5, WebP, AVIF and More
A busy couple of weeks it has been. I’m finally finished setting up my new PC, a Beelink GTR5 Mini-PC (update June 9, 2022). Ok, so what is that? I usually write about tech and review gadgets sent to be by various companies including Banggood but this week, after talking…
Sonoff DW2-Wi-Fi Door Sensor and Node-Red
Ok, first things first, the DW2-Wi-Wi door sensor is as it says, WiFi, not RF or Bluetooth (though it does use BT to setup with the eWeLink APP in the first place). I looked here on Amazon and read someone saying the device was almost impossible to pair – mine…
OBSBOT Tiny 4K Webcam – a winner and Now the REMOTE
This is an update to my latest original OBSBOT post – as you’ll see below the company Remotech. Co. Ltd (marketed as www.obsbot.com) sent me firstly their OBSBOT TINY webcam and then the OBSBOT Tiny 4K Webcam. They’re both so good that I immediately sold my Logitech webcam setup and…
The Wednesday Banggood Round-Up
I came home yesterday to more goodies from Banggood – the first being a new Blitzwolf smartplug. As it happens I’ve a need for a new one with power monitoring. If you’ve seen my blog about Spanish electricity and putting everything on “cheap” rate where practical, I recently put my…
UGREEN T3 HiTune Earbuds
Regular readers will recall I wrote about Ugreen X6 Hybrid Earbuds a while ago. Ok, so you have the link to the original article – you may recall me raving about them – then nothing. That’s because I just wear them every day – they simply work, sound good, charge…
Meross Home Control – Revisited – Again
In March 2020, just about the time the term “Covid” became a thing, I received several IOT units from a company called Meross (designed in California, made in China as I noted on one of the boxes) including the UK version of their MSS310 power-monitoring Smart Plug, their Smart Radiator…
Sculpfun S6 Pro High Precision Laser Engraver
Or how to assemble a new laser engraver when your only workbench is already full… Here’s Banggood’s link (no commission as usual – I do this for fun, not to run a business) and a variation on their description. SCULPFUN S6 Pro laser engraving machine, ultra-thin focus wood and acrylic…
UGOOS UT8 Pro Android TV Box – The Long Haul
I’ve had many TV boxes over the years and learned lots of things to watch for – like different versions of Android some of which have the full Play store, some don’t. Some last, others don’t. Some have hardwired Ethernet available, some don’t etc. I just discovered something early April…
More Mi – the Redmi Buds 3 Pro Earbuds
I’ve been impressed by and stuck with my UGREEN HiTune X6 Hybrid Active noise-cancelling earbuds for some time now – but yesterday, a set of Redmi Buds 3 Pro arrived in the post – so – firstly what do these Xiaomi Redmi Buds 3 Pro earbuds look and sound like?…
Mi for Me? Redme Smart Band Pro and Watch 2 Lite
I can see it’s going to be one of those weeks. Until recently, I’ve seen nothing of note in the watchband space (to use my least favourite marketing word) since My Mi Band 4, then 5, then 6 which in their time IMHO beat the competition hands down. I’m wearing…
The Monday Postbag – Mijia Electric Precision Screwdriver
Here’s the link and official description – XIAOMI Mijia 350mAh 200rpm Electric Precision Screwdriver Type-C Rechargeable – 2 Gears Repair Tool with Magnetic Storage Case & 24pcs S2 Steel Bits Sometime in April 2022 this USB-C rechargeable screwdriver and bits set is/were on special offer, that might be dead by…
Just a Quicky – Tasmota Remota
This is a quicky because normally I only post about stuff I’ve spent far too much time on – but in this case I’m going to talk about a new(ish) APP in the Android Play Store. While playing with Tasmota on my home IOT system I just HAPPENED to stumble…
ESP32 Pico D4 Development Kit
I just made a short video (see below) about this ESP32-based board from Banggood…. and off-the-shelf it runs a set of 25 serial RGB LEDs and is VERY pretty with it. Of course, being me I had to go to the next step and try to put TASMOTA32 on it.…
Sonoff SwitchMan R5 (using Mini R3 as a Gateway)
SwitchmanR5 is a battery-powered multi-function wireless wall switch which needs a “gateway” to talk to normal IOT WiFi. There are a limited number of devices which can act as these gateways so so firstly, I opened my handy the Sonoff MiniR3 and plugged it into live and neutral. Immediately it…
LEDYi 24V LED COB Strip (For All Your Lighting Requirements)
Sorry about that, I remember a famous (at least in the Northeast of England) AD for J.T. Doves – a Builder’s Merchant who’s catch-phrase (in a Northern accent) was (and probably still is) J.T. Doves – for all your household requirements. I couldn’t resist paraphrasing that for the blog title.…