Main board of the VFD

Different angle of main board of VFD

Main board of the VFD side by side with the capacitor board (which is still installed in the chassis)

Peek under the insulation to see the back of the capacitor board.

Here's the main power circuit board. There's a quite hard conformal coating. Bit messy: Flux residue and a few scraps of loose solder visible around the through hole parts, I'll try to clean off if it hasn't been coated onto the board.

The DC rail storage is […]

[Original post on aus.social]

Extremely simple single PSU with some regulators.

A handy mains (IEC socket) to 12xUSB charger, with differently marked port power capability.

Want 60 watts down one USB type A socket? This board may delivered (pictured, four amps; I took it way higher buy my hands were shaking and the photo was blurry)

Oh my, all the USB sockets are just connected in parallel.

#RejectOfTheDay This 12-port USB charging station has three banks of regulated ports, with a capacity totalling 30A. It can deliver about 4A total before it starts to sag. It will put all its power down one port if you're not careful. I took one port up to 8A […]

[Original post on aus.social]

Photo of an AliExpress product, described as Nail Silicone Keyboard Protective Film For Laptop Nail Long Nail Button Cap Dust Proof Scratch Proof Nail Typing Artifact. The keys are attached to a mat that is placed atop a laptop keyboard, made of rubber, raised by at least 1cm, and are coloured white and shaped like stars and clouds.

Check out this #StraightOuttaShenzen special - raised keyboard mat for laptops, to help women with long nails type: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009149342358.html

How many times has someone closed the lid, and damaged their screen…

#StraightOutOfShenzen

Screenshot of Chinese language ad for a 290-1.5G2 1.5kW VFD. Key spec is that it takes single phase input 220V-240V and outputs three phase 0-440V.

So, was somewhat surprised to see this cheap model with an integrated boost converter.

This seems to be the English language factory site: https://www.hars-vfd.com/vfd-290-1.5.html

This boosty boy VFD is a little over $100AUD on Taobao, or $90USD on Alibaba. I […]

[Original post on aus.social]

An LED pencil torch that is sized to have room for 2xAAA-sized cells in fact contains a single 50mAh LiPo, as you would find in an earbud.

I found the problem with the battery life.

Photo of some uncooked French fry potato pieces on a paper towel

Photo of the box the cutter came in. It shows a picture of French fries and then some words promoting the product. Potato And Vegetable cutter • Delyxe frebcg fry cutter. • Washable • Powerful stainless steel blads. • Easy grip handle.

Picked up a chip maker that makes french fries from a potato in on (very hard) pull. I splashed out for the “Delyxe frebcg” version because it had the stainless steel blads. You really shouldn’t settle for less.
#straightouttashenzen

Hagibis 2230 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure USB 3.2 Gen 2 to PCI-E M.2 SSD Case 2242 External SSD Floppy Disk for iPhone 17 Pro Laptops - AliExpress 44 Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

Finally, a floppy disk that can transfer data at 10Gb/s!
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010665313986.html
Cute, retro-style, and so deeply cursed.
#StraightOutOfShenzhen

decryption (@decryption@aus.social) Attached: 1 image some funny stickers on aliexpress - could get up to some real hijinx with these! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009655447788.html

#straightouttashenzen
https://aus.social/@decryption/115734099594475842

A product listing for a wart removal too that appears to be a blue laser. It’s illustrated by what appears to be a frame from an Anime, showing a male-presenting person lasering alarmingly close to their own eye.

What could possibly go wrong? #StraightOuttaShenzen

A medical implement listed as for Anorectal, Ear, Nose and Throat use. It looks like a slide projector designed by Jony Ive.

“Doctor Nick’s Endoscopy. Ears, Noses Assholes. Not same probe.”. #StraightOuttaShenzen

A grey bi-metal bandsaw blade is held lightly in a vise to allow the printing on the side of the blade to be see . Among other details it is proudly emblazoned with the words “MADE IN GERAMAY”

Lovely place, a small town in Dongguan renowned for its dumplings and bandsaw blades.

Screenshot of a product listing from TapBao of a blank tool blade. Image is captioned by the seller “Note: this baby is not edged”

She’s perfect the way she is. #StraightOuttaShenzen

A tube of silicone grease whose brand is SUPER LUBE in extremely bold capital letters. It is sitting on a computer keyboard showing that this hefty product is about 7cm long.

#StraightOuttaShenzen #IAmTwelve

Related, but a distinctly different problem:

Can I get this beloved legacy PCI sound card (M-Audio Delta 1010) working on my fully PCI Express desktop?

They make adapters. Most of them are really cheap and obviously #straightouttashenzen . Are any of them trustworthy? Has anyone used one?

Screenshot of a product listing for a nose-hair ciipper that has the trust-engendering text "Only clip nose hair" and "No meat"

No meat. #StraightOuttaShenzen

A chunky plastic-pellet firing revolver handgun listed as suitable for occasions such as “gender reveal”

What’s my gender? That’s between me, Smith and Wesson. #StraightOuttaShenzen

A glue named “LOOLIFL” in a packaging that imitates well known “LOCTITE” brand.

𝕃𝕆𝕆𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙇 sounds like a bowel-purging cult.

Promo photo of a DL- 03S USB powered spot welder

Sometimes I get stuck browsing Shenzhen electronics shops on Taobao and marvelling at very low cost computer/phone repair tools.

An example: https://shop292982631.world.taobao.com/

Highlights include:

This portable spot welder for batteries that's powered from […]

[Original post on aus.social]

AU$2.06 | Unique Cat Style Metal Brooch Unisex Novelty Personality Accessory for Men and Women AU$2.06 | Unique Cat Style Metal Brooch Unisex Novelty Personality Accessory for Men and Women

Mismo, Gato. #StraightOuttaShenzen

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_m0ts9sX

A petite cordless soldering iron sits on the deck of a macbook. It's handle is about the size of 2xAA cells, it has a silver button, no screen and a replaceable tip.

Tuesday #ToolOfTheDay #StraightOuttaShenzen - this sub-$10 battery soldering iron. Now I have a TS80 and two or three other portable irons, and this iron is no TS80. BUT BUT it is cordless and when you need to do a quick touch up or a couple of joints, it does the […]

[Original post on aus.social]

@futurebird drop in on #StraightOuttaShenzen for some finds. My strangest is the six-figure-price neurosurgery microscope.

So retro! #StraightOuttaShenzen
(It’s a 100mm right-angle cathode ray tube display). I should get one to add to the geiger counters i’m testing!

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLWwFML