As the title suggests, it’s about good and bad China gadgets. We all often order something from the Chinese stores, Ali Express and Banggood to name two of them. What kind of experiences have you made with your supposed “bargains”?
Today, for my 40th birthday, a friend from the Sequencer Forum gave me a multitester. So I unpacked it this morning around 3 a.m. and wanted to test it. I pushed the button but nothing happened. So I plugged it into the USB charger and it went on briefly. So I left it on until 11 this morning and just wanted to try it again - again nothing happened. Well, since I’m a hobbyist, I unscrewed the little box right away and I didn’t notice anything strange. Only when I wanted to hang it on the charger again did I notice … there is no battery inside that could be charged: O
They just forgot the battery !! Well, luckily I still have small lipos from the model building, so I hope there should be a suitable one. So for around 10 € including shipping and no battery compartment for replaceable batteries, I already expect that a battery is installed, or that at least it is checked whether the device works …
I have had good experiences with 3.5mm patch cables from Ali, they are very soft (compared to the cables that came with the Beatstep Pro, they are very stiff) the only small disadvantage is that they are only 1m long there, I would have liked something smaller, but that’s really only a high level of complaint. The plugs are also not as thick as some others, I like that very much and the price is also really good at 64 cents.
How are your experiences, what were really good snappers and what not at all? It is best to include the links.
Oh, almost forgot, what are the average delivery times from these shops to you? For me it ALWAYS takes at least 6 weeks, rather longer, I got a package on Friday that I ordered from Ali in April …
the multi tester looks like an early version of an LCR-T4 useful and available very cheaply.
not had any problems with anything from china/etc when looking at the cost. generally the its the same stuff available localy for a fraction of the cost.
Stopped buying components though as its just too long a wait
I used to buy all kinds of FPV quadcopter gear from BangGood. (havent been out flying in ages [God i need a good rip on the sitcks])
My most used thing is a Taranis X9D (radio control transmitter) since its basically a ‘steering wheel’ for all of my quads and for PC FPV simulators like LiftOff and Velocidrone =D
I should really update my Gimbal sticks to the M9 hall sensors so i can use the stock gimbals for a synth controller. like some kind of X/Y filter thing. like a low pass and attenuator
As for delivery times id usually get things in about 2-3 weeks to the UK, but i imagine post times are all messed up still due to C-19.
I have to say I’ve always been lucky with FPV Gear, my Taranis QX7 is great too. But I already had a few Omnibus F3 AIOs where either the button or the USB port was defective or loose. You can tell by the F3 how long I haven’t flown in a while :). The last plane I bought was the Nano Talon when it was brand new. And before that the last copter. So it’s been a while … by the way saw you in Sams livestream today …have to change my name there…its HughMan
I picked up a cheap usb powered soldering iron from wish with some credit I had. I got it because it was super tiny and only $8 CAD (after shipping). I got it after 3 months. It would have been super cool, but the tip didn’t heat up enough to melt solder, so it tossed it. On the bright side, I didn’t lose any money, but I was kinda bummed. Perfect size for an EDC.
If you want a nice lil soldering iron try the TS100 from BG. it can be powered via the wall OR off a LiPo but use a voltage beeper with it, since it will drain the battery to below a safe minimum charge (20% total Mah) and damage a cell or worse.
The Lipo just makes it a handy little field iron =]
Im going to give you some advice that actually i would have loved 10 years ago.
Back then i was deadass poor and could only work with a cheap shitty soldering iron i found. It had no temp regulation.
It was so amazingly difficult to solder. I made messes of even really simple projects. I got so frustrated, i just stopped and didnt try anymore after a while.
After LMNC i got emboldened to try again, but this time i bought a serviceable iron.
Soldering isnt hard, its something that requires a little learning, but holy hell it was like wrangling cats before and now its just sheep.
My original good welder was (in ~2001) stolen and the insurance replaced it. The replacement was and is still not great. But we have just bought a new mask and although the old one was light sensetive, it was poor… Now we have a new mask the welder is just about controllable.
It’s on my list to get a new welder as I think I am more skilled than the present tool allows…
As for Sheep, well, I am living in the county that is the home of the best sheep dog in the world, the Border Collie … Bas…ds can’t solder though!
This is a weird thread to me. I thought it was well known that a large proportion of the world’s electronic gadgets, including premium items like my iPad Pro, are manufactured in China.
Think the kind of cheap stuff that Big Clive takes apart, not the kind of expensive stuff that’s labelled “designed in california” and sold in carefully designed stores in high-profile locations.
It’s all Chinese. I don’t know how China came to be associated with low end gear. Even if you buy something from an American or European supplier the odds are a substantial proportion came from China.
I would 100% lose my mind. In Akihabara, there are smaller places like this, but nothing at the scale of Shenzhen’s Futian district. I particularly liked the IC gashapon machines (little plastic eggs that normally have toys in them).
, but they don’t have this one anymore.