Tag Archives: cheap

Teardown: Generic Wall-Mountable Passive PoE Midspan Injector

Posted on May 10, 2018 by lui_gough

For a lot of modern networked devices, Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a big convenience, allowing the one cable to power a remote device (be it an access point, camera, etc.) and supply the data connectivity to it. While there … Continue reading →

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Project: Unbranded Generic NE555+CD4017 SMD LED Chaser Kit (YL-117)

Posted on May 10, 2018 by lui_gough

I had a little time this evening, so I thought, why not crack open a kit? After all, I did buy a stack of cheap eBay kits to keep me amused and give me something to write about … so … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Project: EQKit HBL-22 Breathing Green LED Heart Kit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by lui_gough

I just can’t help myself, so I grabbed another kit off the pile and decided to build it. This is yet another “cheap” kit from eBay intended for educational use. This particular kit is an EQKit HBL-22 “breathing” LED heart … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Project: Unbranded 38 x 5mm LED DIY Lamp Kit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by lui_gough

Trawling eBay listings for some more cheap kits to build resulted in some rather interesting discoveries. The kit in question was a 38 LED do-it-yourself LED lamp kit for AU$1.47. At that price, I thought I’d jump on it despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Repair: Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Power Button

Posted on May 8, 2018 by lui_gough

I bought my Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 back at the beginning of 2016 and it’s served as both my data-phone (browsing, data SIM) for a year and as a phone-phone (calls, SMS) for the remainder. It was good value when … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Review, Teardown: Unbranded 4-port USB 3.0 Type-C Hub (T-511C/K-UH301)

Posted on March 31, 2018 by lui_gough

There comes a time when, if you’re like me, you run out of USB ports on your main computer. Like it or not, almost everything connects via USB – for example, I have a webcam, keyboard, mouse, printer (or two), … Continue reading →

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Review, Teardown: Unbranded AC1200 Dual-Band USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter

Posted on March 15, 2018 by lui_gough

In the short span of about two decades, Wi-Fi went from being a luxury that you would consider a limited alternative to a cabled Ethernet connection, useful for mobile devices only, to something resembling a near-replacement for the cabled Ethernet … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Radio, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Repair, Teardown: Edimax IC-1520DP Network Camera

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lui_gough

A long time ago … maybe even eight years ago in 2009 … a computer shop I was shopping at had a network camera on sale for the low low price of AU$30 and I decided to buy it just … Continue reading →

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Review, Teardown: Lightway 17W Dimmable LED Bulb (43287 & 43288)

Posted on June 2, 2017 by lui_gough

It seems that LED lighting has become mainstream, with CFLs slowly starting to disappear from shelves. It’s a good thing, both from an environmental perspective and from an economic perspective, as it seems that LED globes have fallen in price … Continue reading →

Posted in Lighting | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Repair: Click Surge-Protected & Sansai Switched 4-Outlet Powerboards

Posted on January 11, 2017 by lui_gough

Powerboards are very simple and inexpensive devices used to convert one socket into multiple sockets on a (supposedly) temporary basis. Every house has a number of these devices, with basic devices simply bussing together the pins and more complex devices … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Hack: Customize the LED Shake-Stick Images

Posted on November 22, 2016 by lui_gough

As I managed to construct the LED shake-stick kit just yesterday evening, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with its operation. For one, the images weren’t particularly inspiring. I mentioned that it should be possible to replace the images in the ROM … Continue reading →

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Project: AT89S52-based LED Shake-Stick Kit

Posted on November 21, 2016 by lui_gough

Just recently, I built an AT89S52-based LED Heart and an LED Clock Kit, so I wondered just what else is out there that is AT89S52-based. Searching around on eBay led me to a “shake stick” kit for AU$4.37. It looked … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Project: AT89S52+DS1302-based LED Clock Kit (EC1204B-Equivalent)

Posted on November 9, 2016 by lui_gough

Since I started along the line of garish LED-adorned kits, I thought I’d order a few other kits built around the AT89S52. In this case, it was a clock based around the AT89S52 80C51 microcontroller and a DS1302 real-time clock. … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Project: AT89S52-based Multi-Coloured LED Heart Kit

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lui_gough

As my radio kit-building adventures have reached the “bottom” of the eBay well, with most of the kits available being built, I decided to branch out into other “low cost” kits to see what they are like. Most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Review, Teardown: “Generic” BT-168 Battery Tester

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lui_gough

A short while back, I posted about this generic battery tester, which was a cheap and nasty clone of a model which was quite popular, which I used frequently as a child. In my quest to buy it, I came … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review, Teardown: Crest USB 2.0 All in 1 Mini Card Reader (CZUSBCR)

Posted on October 1, 2016 by lui_gough

This particular review and teardown is a little different. In fact, this card reader was not one that I had purchased, since I normally swear by my Transcend RDF8‘s as being a decent performing, reliable and compatible reader at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review, Teardown, Reverse Eng: Generic Battery Tester

Posted on September 27, 2016 by lui_gough

As a kid growing up in the 90’s, one fond memory I had was sorting through piles of batteries to see which ones were good and which ones needed to be discarded or recharged. With many toys and appliances using … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review, Tested: Generic USB FM Transmitter (FM_MIC_V5.0.9)

Posted on September 27, 2016 by lui_gough

It wasn’t too long ago that I purchased a generic pocket radio kit on eBay and built it. But as anyone knows, when it comes to shopping online for cheap Chinese goods, there are often lots of things that can … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Project: Paeansonic CF210SP CD9088+CD7642 AM/FM Radio Kit

Posted on September 7, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s been a bit quiet around here lately – I’m just swamped with work, and it never quite goes away, but neither does the desire to do something for my own enrichment and enjoyment … and the desire to blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Review, Teardown: Keweisi KWS-V20 USB Tester

Posted on August 20, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s almost been one year since I’ve looked at “USB charger doctor” style devices, but having reverse engineered, tested and modified one, I didn’t think I’d ever bother with them again. That was, until I saw the Keweisi KWS-V20 USB … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Tablet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Failed: Cheap and Nasty SMA Right-Angle Adapter (& Site Update)

Posted on May 27, 2016 by lui_gough

If you’re a bit of a radio equipment user like myself, you’ll find that you’ve always got an amazing array of different connector needs. For example, you might have some older TV tuners with a “PAL” connector, some satellite equipment … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Teardown: Sienoc Active Mini-DisplayPort to DVI Adapter

Posted on January 24, 2016 by lui_gough

For those who don’t upgrade their displays very often, slowly, they can find that their displays fall behind in terms of connectivity options. More modern graphic cards offer an array of multi-monitor output options, but mostly using DisplayPort (DP) or … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Review, Teardown: Seatay SBOX02503 2.5″ SATA III to USB 3.0 External Enclosure

Posted on January 15, 2016 by lui_gough

What happens when you have a few 2.5″ SSDs lying around after an upgrade? One option is to convert them into external SSDs for fast work usage. Not having any enclosures to use, I decided to consult online for some … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Review, Teardown: Sandisk Cruzer Facet 8Gb USB 2.0 Flash Drive

Posted on January 15, 2016 by lui_gough

Readers familiar with my penchant for exotic storage would probably stare at me in confusion as to why I would be reviewing such a plain product such as this one? Interestingly enough, as with most things that I do, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Flash Memory | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Review, Teardown: Unbranded “Generic” vs WiNRADiO WR-LWA-0130 Longwire Adapters

Posted on October 2, 2015 by lui_gough

Anyone who wants to listen to shortwave radio, or monitor high frequency transmissions, would have met the dilemma of trying to get a decently performing antenna. As it stands, most smaller radios with inbuilt telescopic antennas rarely reach more than … Continue reading →

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Salvage, Teardown: Extron DVI-RGB 150, iLuv USB Charger, Nvidia 9600GT (OEM)

Posted on July 12, 2015 by lui_gough

Around here, the salvages don’t stop. Continuing on from my salvages from an undisclosed location, here are some more items that I had managed to rescue from certain destruction for a chance at a second life. Extron DVI-RGB 150 The … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Electronics, Salvage | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Review, Teardown: Astone ISO DOC-130 2.5″ & 3.5″ SATA II to USB 3.0 Dock

Posted on July 5, 2015 by lui_gough

When you have a pile of small bare hard drives to use, giving them all a SATA port to use or an individual enclosure is prohibitively expensive. Maybe you have a hard drive to quickly test, or an occasional back-up … Continue reading →

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Review: Emtec Click 3.0 32Gb (ECMMD32GB103) USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Posted on June 21, 2015 by lui_gough

The other day, when collecting a parcel from the post office, I came across a $10 or less “bargain bin” clearance. Within the bin, I managed to grab a Logitech K400r for $10, a Logitech m353 for $5 and this … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Flash Memory | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Teardown, Analysis: Unbranded Plastic Case HDMI 2-Port Splitter

Posted on May 5, 2015 by lui_gough

A short while ago, I did an analysis of an unbranded metal cased HDMI splitter, to discover that it has been designed in such a way to be non-compliant with HDCP requirements. At the time, I had ordered another model, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Teardown, Analysis: Unbranded Metal Case HDMI 2-Port Splitter

Posted on April 27, 2015 by lui_gough

The introduction of HDMI into the home has been a rather problematic one. Unlike the analog forebears that came before it, DRM came baked into the interface in the form of HDCP, and demands on the quality of the cable … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments