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…
Node-Red-Contrib-Timeout
This is a quick update to my node-red-contrib-timeout node for Node-Red. This is as always, available at https://flows.nodered.org also at https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-red-contrib-timeout The current version then is 1.1.5 which puts out the SAFE message at start-up and starts the default count-down. Interested viewers will find that as well as the normal msg.payload…
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 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 box with…
Rechargeable Cordless Air Duster – Heaven for Engineers?
Banggood just sent me a 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 well as cheap hotdogs…
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 “”, 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 later model using a newer APP. The QF260 comes complete with two bright white LEDs and two infra-red…
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…
The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 Revisited
I have had a Mi Band 4, a pair of Mi Band 5s and at the end of April 2021 I received the brand new . I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. In April 2022 the price seems to have gone up and it is out of…
Blitzwolf BW-GC8 Gaming Chair with RGB Lighting
This 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 not until I’d finished…
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 certainly ticks the right boxes – as usual I’ll let you (if you are…
Blitzwolf BW-SHC3 PTZ 1080P Outdoor Camera
To give this camera its full title, it is the . 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 being smaller and looking different to this…