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Last post Author Topic: Gadget WEEKENDS  (Read 640998 times)

tomos

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #375 on: December 14, 2015, 08:15 AM »
Sorry for my first post being landed in here. Pls remove if it's not appropriate.

Cheers.

I think the biggest worry was that it was spam,
welcome to the forums btw!
Tom

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #376 on: December 14, 2015, 06:40 PM »
Vibease smart remote control vibrator

I am still waiting for my someone to get it for me though.  :P

I think the OhMiBod blueMotion NEX/1 has a much better design  ;)

mouser

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #377 on: December 15, 2015, 01:17 PM »
I bought some of these window air conditioner "drip cushions" and they make a real difference in cutting down the annoying loud sounds when it rains on my window air conditioners.
They are just foam mounted on magnetic sheet; you just cut them to size and lay them on top.  No idea how long they will last, i'm guessing the sun will break down the foam over the course of a year or two..
Still, highly recommended if you have window air conditioners like me.

Screenshot - 12_15_2015 , 1_16_38 PM.png
http://www.amazon.co...p/product/B008BOXEXC

cranioscopical

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #378 on: December 15, 2015, 06:14 PM »
I think the OhMiBod blueMotion NEX/1 has a much better design
Didn't the Chinese just hack that? The thrill is gone!
 

Renegade

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #379 on: December 20, 2015, 12:46 AM »
Haven't posted in a while, so here's a bit of catch up for the electronics side of some of what I do...

I picked up 2 Fluke 8050As for $10 each. They're about 36 years old (or the model is), but they work. I only have 1 set up. The second is a spare as they are over 30 years old.

Fluke.JPG

And my $9 soldering iron was worth, um... I had to get a new one. I couldn't find a used one, so I ended up getting a Weller WLC100.

It's the bottom end, but it's a hell of a lot better than what I was using. So far I'm very happy with it.

Weller.JPG

And I kept running into situations where I needed to know more than my Fluke was telling me. I searched and searched and searched and could not find a used oscilloscope anywhere for a decent price. Ordering from the US was out of the question as I'm not paying $200 shipping for a cheap, old, used scope.

After searching for about 3 months and turning up nothing, I finally broke down and got a low-end oscilloscope the other day.

DS1054Z.JPG

The reviews for it are all very good, and I'm sure I'll be happy with it if better people than me are.

Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

nosh

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #380 on: December 23, 2015, 07:55 AM »


A butter grater to speed up the inevitable heart attack.  The best thing about not having this around is, it's too inconvenient to take tiny bits of butter with whatever, so you don't bother. No such luck now. It works really well with regular refrigerator temp. butter. Made in Japan, it has an excellent build quality. Makes an ideal stocking stuffer for your most hated relatives.

A better demo of the product:


http://www.amazon.co...f_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3
(Shop around for a better price.)
« Last Edit: December 23, 2015, 08:04 AM by nosh »

x16wda

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #381 on: December 23, 2015, 08:41 AM »
^ OMG, my Aunt Karen would kill for such a thing!!!  ;D ;D
vi vi vi - editor of the beast

Renegade

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #382 on: December 23, 2015, 11:38 PM »
Easy Butter?

FFS... Honestly, there's just no end to the bottomless fountain of innovation in Japan. I don't know what it is, but gadgets galore.

My favourite guitar pick I bought in Japan. Not sure where it is at the moment though...
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

mouser

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #383 on: April 29, 2016, 07:23 PM »
I recently installed a home security system and went with this GE Simon XTi system:
http://interlogix.he...on/product/simon-xti

Can be bought on ebay along with sensors and keyfobs fairly cheaply, is easy to hook up.
Screenshot - 4_29_2016 , 7_21_25 PM.png

Pros: price, good small accessories and sensors, ease of programming
Cons: no internet access -- can't alert you over email when tripped.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2016, 07:31 PM by mouser »

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #384 on: April 29, 2016, 10:56 PM »
New toys acquired in the past week or so  :D

P4293631.JPGGadget WEEKENDS

1) Flexible USB LED light (Amazon)
2) Xiaomi 10000 mAh Powerbank (Amazon)
3) ROMOSS 10400 mAh Sense 4 Powerbank w/ LCD capacity display (Amazon)
4) Tronsmart 5 port USB charger (1 x QuickCharge 2.0 + 4 x VoltIQ ports) (Amazon)
5) Xiaomi Mi Band 1S Activity tracker w/ HR sensing (Amazon)
6) Tronsmart 3 port USB car charger (1 x QuickCharge 2.0 + 2 x VoltIQ ports) (Amazon)
7) MEE Audio Touch Advanced Bluetooth Headphones (Amazon) (Were less than half RRP just under a week ago ... so ...)

Except for the MEE Audio Touch headphones (Amazon) all the items were bought via TinyDeal, GeekBuying, GearBest, or EverBuying as deals came up.

Ath

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #385 on: April 30, 2016, 02:59 AM »
Cons: no internet access -- can't alert you over email when tripped.
But you own a raspberry pi that can react on a switch closing, has internet capability, and can do both as a background thread, so... 8)

mouser

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #386 on: April 30, 2016, 05:35 AM »
But you own a raspberry pi..

Quite right -- i am considering hooking up a raspberry pi (or similar) and having it send an email on sensor trigger.  As there is an external siren signal outputted by the system, it would be easy to sense.

mouser

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #387 on: June 03, 2016, 12:25 PM »
I thought I'd post about a phone gadget, the panasonic Link2Cell functionality in their most recent line of cordless home phones.

Looks like cheapest model is about $60 (2 handsets), and most expensive is about $140 (5 handsets):
Screenshot - 6_3_2016 , 12_17_13 PM.png

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co...nabled/dp/B00BP7SW0C

What's special about this phone, the Link2Cell feature, is that it can use bluetooth to connect to your cell phone and basically let you use your home phone system as if it was on your cell phone plan.



Let me explain:

I very rarely use the phone, but I do need to use one at times.  I work from home, and but need a cell phone for those rare times when I travel. 

This presents me with a bit of a dilemma in terms of paying for phone service.  Even basic landline home phone service costs $40/month.  And mobile plans seem to start at about that much, with some pain-in-the-ass pay-per-day services available for significantly cheaper but with limitations.

What I've been doing for the last few years is paying for home landline service, which amounts to about $45/month and then I have a t-mobile pay-on-days-you-use-it plan for when i travel and so that i have a phone in the car for emergencies.

The pay-per-day thing is a hassle in terms of how it has to be constantly refilled and will expire if you're not careful.  And it's annoying to have to make sure the phone is turned off when not being used, and it means if anyone tries to send me a text message it will disappear into the aether if the phone is off for too long.  And it's not good having two phone numbers.



But up until now I've been very reluctant to get rid of my home phone, because I hate the idea of having to physically interact with the cell phone which just feels unnatural to me.  I also like having multiple handsets in different rooms, etc.



So that's where this new panasonic Link2Cell feature comes in.  It basically lets you pair your cell phone with this phone system and you can now make and receive phone calls using these standard home-phone handsets through your cell phone (and/or landline).  I've only had it for a few days now but it seems to work remarkably well and seamlessly.  The cellphone just stays plugged into a charger near by and you never have to deal with it.  Everything happens through the normal home phone handsets but routes through the mobile phone.  Pretty impressive feature.



So assuming I don't discover any showstoppers, I will soon be dropping my landline and moving to just one single mobile plan, and leaving the phone paired with this base unit when i'm in the house.



Video someone made of using it:

skwire

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #388 on: June 03, 2016, 05:08 PM »
We have the same phone system in our house but don't make use of the Link2Cell feature.  We do, however, use the built-in intercom feature a lot.  As an aside, for anybody wondering, the range on these phones in crazy good.  I was at the far side of my neighbour's backyard the other day and it was working without a hitch.

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #389 on: August 20, 2016, 09:15 PM »
New fitness tracker: Teclast H30 (you can get it cheaper)

P8214470.JPGGadget WEEKENDSP8214472.JPGGadget WEEKENDS
P8214473.JPGGadget WEEKENDSP8214474.JPGGadget WEEKENDS
P8214475.JPGGadget WEEKENDSP8214476.JPGGadget WEEKENDS
P8214477.JPGGadget WEEKENDSP8214479.JPGGadget WEEKENDS

Time, Date, Steps, Calories, Distance, Sleep, Anti-lost, Heart Rate.
Other displays are Sedentary reminder, (man sitting in chair icon), firmware version, Caller Line Ident (incoming calls), SMS, plus pushed notifications from a limited number of apps, (eg. QQ, Wechat, Twitter, Facebook, etc).
Gesture wake (turn wrist and display lights up, turn back and it turns off - or times out), anti-lost (select it then turn wrist over 180deg, if phone is within range it'll ring), camera remote.

The app needs some work, (eg. there's no syncing to Google Fit), but the basics are there (and unlike some devices an account with the manufacturer is not required to use it) and it can do continuous heart rate monitoring.

Battery life is ~30 days, I've had it on for 5 days and it is still showing ~80%+ on the display.

EDIT: The gesture wake is very sensitive, don't need a torch when I get up in the middle of the night  ;D
« Last Edit: August 20, 2016, 09:22 PM by 4wd »

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #390 on: September 12, 2016, 12:39 AM »
Another weekend, another toy technology purchase.

XIAOMI Mi Band 2 Fitness tracker, less screen space than the Teclast H30 above but you can at least specify what apps you want to see alerts for (using Mi Band Tools but there are others).

P9124804.JPGGadget WEEKENDS

It's being held up by a Roidmi Bluetooth car adapter w/ dual USB charger (3.1A capacity) and FM transmitter (so you can listen to your music through the car stereo).

mouser

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #391 on: October 09, 2016, 10:03 PM »
Recently bought some led "bias lights" for my tv.  Mostly just for a fun gimmick, but I have to admit it looks better than I hoped.  They say it reduces eye strain and improves contrast when you watch in the dark.  I thought it would be annoying, but I was surprised how much I like the look.  Definitely a fun gadget.  :up:

https://www.amazon.c...niture/dp/B01H579EIY

Screenshot - 10_9_2016 , 10_03_09 PM.png

Ath

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #392 on: October 10, 2016, 03:55 AM »
You'd get that for 'free' with the Philips Ambilight TV-models...

And there is even a way to apply that to any TV... Lightberry HD review

But I do like your much more 'billiger' solution :Thmbsup:

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #393 on: October 15, 2016, 02:26 AM »
Low tech gadget, my new minimalist wallet:

PA142991_edited.jpgGadget WEEKENDS
PA142989_edited.jpgGadget WEEKENDS
PA142990_edited.jpgGadget WEEKENDS
f5589cc9-41a6-4f6f-96be-f7f20462148f.gif

ewemoa

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #394 on: October 15, 2016, 02:46 AM »
The ones in the background give the impression that once one pulls the inner portion out, the inner portion will stay pulled out (i.e. not spring back).  Is that correct?

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #395 on: October 15, 2016, 02:56 AM »
The ones in the background give the impression that once one pulls the inner portion out, the inner portion will stay pulled out (i.e. not spring back).  Is that correct?

Yes, that's right, you have to push it back in.  There is a couple of other animgifs on the site that also show closing it.

I got a little bored with using the plastic card holders the bank provides for free ... who knows how long this will last but it is a bit more friendly on pocket linings :)

ewemoa

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #396 on: October 15, 2016, 08:32 AM »
Thanks for the clarification.

Took a closer look and I see there are actually 5 slots + one on the back.  Nice.

cranioscopical

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #397 on: October 15, 2016, 09:17 AM »
Low tech gadget, my new minimalist wallet
Mine is very similar... empty :(
 

4wd

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #398 on: March 01, 2017, 06:38 PM »
Yes, I know, it's not the weekend but this thread has been a little slow and it makes a change from the squabbling going on in the Silly Humour thread  :P

Anyway, I'm sure it's a weekend somewhere in the multiverse.

New laptop:
P3023965.JPGGadget WEEKENDS

Dell 11-3162: Pentium N3710 and 120GB SSD, I've upgraded it to 8GB RAM and Win10Pro ... makes a nice upgrade from my ageing Atom N270 powered netbook for approximately the same weight with the bonus of 10 hour battery life.

Also:
P3023967.JPGGadget WEEKENDS

A PortaPow (as was mentioned in this thread) and a YubiKey Fido (I probably should have gone for the more expensive versions that include OTP function but ... one day hopefully, PayPal will be pulled screaming into the 21st century).

The PortaPow isn't really for the security side of things, I was more interested in the smart charging side of it.

New toys for my upcoming multi-month lack of net access :-\
« Last Edit: March 01, 2017, 06:49 PM by 4wd »

cranioscopical

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Re: Gadget WEEKENDS
« Reply #399 on: March 02, 2017, 03:44 PM »
Nice work with the NetBook  :up: