I Love Strippers…
…but not so much the VISE-GRIP self-adjusting style. And especially not the cheap Chinese ripoff version.
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Category Archives: Reviews
$10 Credit Card Sized Cellphone (Matrix Relarded)
Here’s a tiny cellphone from Aiek (your top brand for cheap-ass mini phones, maybe). I got it for $10, and surprisingly it works pretty well!
I forgot to mention in the video, but it’s GSM and definitely compatible with AT&T’s network. (I tested it using H2O Wireless, but they’re just a virtutal provider on AT&T’s system.)
You can pick one up from Banggood, but unfortunately the price has jumped up twice since I bought it, and now it’s at an unfortunate $18.47 (October 8, 2016). I’m sure it’s sold elsewhere, so hopefully you can grab it for ten bucks from another source.
The free delivery option was surprisingly fast to me here in NY at just over a week.
This definitely won’t be replacing your iPhone 7 or Google Pixel, but as a backup/emergency phone to keep in a handbag or backpack it’s pretty cool.
Also, Matrix Something Something Relarded.
Etekcity “Outdoor” Collapsible “Camping” LED Lanterns of Doom
Here are some collapsible LED “camping” lanterns from Etekcity. The reason I put “camping” in quotes is because there is no sign of waterproofing on these things.
I suppose if you’re camping in the desert they’d be fine.
Wait, no they wouldn’t be. Because one out of the four didn’t work, and the soldering was abysmal. If you want to see details, I do a tear down in the video.
Putting a Line Voltage Multimeter in a Receptacle Box (VA4K vs Shogun Test)
I got a Volt/Amp/Watt/Wh Meter from Banggood and wanted to put it to some use. So I decided to stick it in the back of a receptacle box, making some kind of metered extension cord.
This video shows the process of doing that, but is also a test of the Blackmagic Video Assist 4K vs. the Atomos Shogun for a review I’m working on. It’s a literal side-by-side comparison of the two. Though there’s no difference in quality (there shouldn’t be — they were both recording in ProRes HQ via SDI), I recorded about an hour of footage and neither one showed dropped frames or sync issues during that time. So far so good.
More to come on that later..
Solved: Sneezing Directly on Your Remote Control
Hey you! Internet user! Are you tired of getting sneeze and other bodily fluids all over your remote controls? Well this Banggood seller has a solution just for you!
(Not a) Hipster Instant Camera? The Fuji Instax Share SP-2
I like the Fujifilm Instax Share SP-2, despite its wordy name. Sure, the film is expensive. But it’s a satisfying way to turn your digital photos into touchable items to give to elderly people that don’t understand the internets. Or even for yourself.
ecobee3 Smart Thermostat Install & Review
My old style programmable thermostat died last weekend, and so I rushed over to Home Depot to get a replacement. I wanted a smart thermostat mainly for its wifi connectivity, but also wanted to try out the truly “smart” aspect of it: Optimizing heating and cooling cycles to suit my needs.
They did an excellent job with the user interface, making setup really easy. And their app, though slow to connect at times, is overall well-designed and easy to use. So far I like the ecobee3, but my main concern is with reliability/longevity, and that of course remains to be seen.
NiMH Battery Roundup – Eneloop, EBL, Sunlabz, Amazon, and Other AA Cells Tested
This video goes ridiculously in-depth on the subject of 10 particular models and brands of popular NiMH cells. It covers my recommendations, as well as an extensive dive into my testing methodology. Downloads As promised, here’s the spreadsheet that I mentioned in the video. Both links are to the same document, just in two different formats. Google Docs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1fu729GXZJyY3RkX3ZNVlp5QjA/view Excel File: NiMH_Capacity_Analysis-Scott_Dotdot-20170908.xlsx My Recommendation Not to spoil the video, but if you’re here for a recommendation: At the current price of $21.99 for a sixteen pack, the EBL 2300mAh cells are the way to go. However, I’d also recommend the high capacity cells by Amazon and Sunlabz. I own a bunch of Panasonic Eneloop cells, and they are reliable, well … Continue reading
Let’s [Quickly] Open: AEDILYS Motorola Nexus 6 USB Dock
This is so close to being a good charging stand, except that the USB port is used to hold the phone in place!
Its design is quite simple, as it’s just a USB 2.0 pass-through from a micro-USB port on the back of the dock to a male micro-USB on the front.
There’s not much more to say about it in text, so check out the video to get a full look at it! And this does have the benefit of being one of my shortest videos, so you only need to invest about 2.5 minutes into it. :)
Lets Open: AgIC Circuit Marker – Can You Solder? (Kinda)
This video answers the age-new question: Can you solder to silver circuit trace ink?
The answer is yes, but it probably would take some practice, and it doesn’t work all that well.
Update: Overloading a Circuit
Because the impedance of the silver ink was so high, I decided to try and overload it with far too much current to see what would happen.
The video includes trying to power a 40W light bulb at 120 VAC through the paper circuit as well as a dead short at 30 VDC!
The upshot is that it did not start a fire, and the silver trace failed in a controlled manner. That’s bad for the drama of a YouTube video, but a good indication that this product won’t burst into flame in regular use!
Soldering Technique
I got a little more practice soldering onto the ink, and here’s the best technique as I could manage:
- With the soldering iron at a normal soldering temperature (I used ~380F), tin the leads of the wires or components. Contravening the proper technique, leave a good size blob of solder on there.
- With the soldering iron at a low temperature (~300F), “tin” the inked paper by flowing solder onto it with the tip just barely not touching the paper. The result should be a small blob of solder on the ink, without having melted the coating on the photo paper.
- Place the lead on top of the blob that’s on the ink. Heat the soldering iron back up to ~380F or higher, and place it on top of the lead, just long enough to flow the solder on the lead into the solder on the paper.
And that’s it! Using this technique, I was able to make three flawless joints out of my first four attempts. And that was to tack the heavy gauge wire of the 120V power cable to the paper. It was much more solid than I expected.