[HN Gopher] Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions
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Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions
Author : stacktrust
Score : 102 points
Date : 2024-03-21 09:08 UTC (13 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (vermaden.wordpress.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (vermaden.wordpress.com)
| aftbit wrote:
| Neat! I knew about the existence of all of these individual
| things, but I appreciate the article laying out the photos and
| use cases for each. By the way, I recommend against "RJ45 Join
| Adapters" and instead towards "RJ45 Keystone Connectors". They do
| the same thing, but they're intended for patch panels for full
| speed CAT-6 applications, so they're pretty high quality, and
| dirt cheap.
| robotnikman wrote:
| I have a bunch of those USB C to microUSB adapters since a lot of
| devices I have still use MicroUSB. They really come in handy
| jtbayly wrote:
| Do they work for more than just charging? The article only
| mentioned power/charging with them.
| mordechai9000 wrote:
| My old boss had a cable with an RS232 connector with configurable
| pins. Back in the 90s and 2000s, there was a lot of equipment
| using RS232 but there was no reliable standard pin configuration.
| That often meant building a cable specifically for a given
| device.
|
| By the time I came along in the 2010s, everything was Cisco or at
| compatible with the Cisco cables, so it wasn't needed much any
| more. It was such a neat idea, I almost regretted not being
| around to enjoy it when it was useful.
| ofrzeta wrote:
| "RS232 Jumper Box"
| https://www.radioparts.com.au/images/ProductImages/30577329....
|
| I also have another RS232 device in the attic that shows the
| signals as LEDs. https://m.media-
| amazon.com/images/I/41HVXpTp4wL._AC_SL1000_....
|
| Very useful back in the days.
| blt wrote:
| If you have an old car with no bluetooth, there are adapter kits
| for around $200 that allow you to splice bluetooth directly into
| the audio system. The audio quality will be much better than the
| FM transmitter and you won't have to constantly switch
| frequencies on long trips. Many also come with a microphone for
| phone calls.
|
| The install is easy, generally requiring only interior pry tools
| (< $10), screwdriver, and some adhesive/zipties to secure the
| module inside your dashboard.
| schwartzworld wrote:
| Similarly you can get Bluetooth receivers that plug into an aux
| input.
| lostmsu wrote:
| Yes, for $30. And they even have convenient control buttons.
| blt wrote:
| this is for systems that don't have an aux input.
| schwartzworld wrote:
| If you have a tape deck, that's another surgery-free way to
| patch in an external audio source. Those adapters are like
| 10 bucks.
| gia_ferrari wrote:
| They're also a cheap and easy source of tape heads for
| projects/replacements.
| tsss wrote:
| 200 dollars? For less than 30 bucks you can buy broken
| bluetooth headphones on ebay and a linear voltage regulator.
| Plug them into the barrel jack, done.
| daemonologist wrote:
| 30 bucks? You can buy an adapter for $1.50 with free shipping
| from the usual Chinese retailers.
|
| (I think they were talking about vehicles without a 3.5mm or
| similar audio input though. There's probably still analog
| audio in there somewhere which could be spliced into, but the
| kit might make it easier.)
| vermaden wrote:
| To be honest - I am not really interested in Bluetooth in my
| car - I just wanted a solution that would play my MP3's with
| random order and nothing more.
|
| The BLOW FM transmitter I use - besides having Bluetooth - also
| have a builtin microphone - so I may connect phone to it and
| even use it for loud phone talks ... but I really prefer
| current MP3's on USB and just play 'setup'.
|
| ... and I do not see any difference between CD quality or this
| FM transmitter quality ... but I am not an audiophile either -
| so maybe there will be some people that hear the difference.
| Having 40 years at my neck I will hear less and less
| frequencies so I believe that will not be a problem :)
|
| Regards,
|
| vermaden
| HeyLaughingBoy wrote:
| In my line of work, I can't go for long without a USB to Serial
| adapter.
| magicalhippo wrote:
| I initially read "hardware companies", which sounded like an
| interesting read as well.
| denton-scratch wrote:
| I used to own an "eight-inch coupler" (sounds rude). It was a
| short piece of cable, joining two 25-pin female RS232 connectors.
|
| Back when I acquired it, there were lots of computers, terminals
| and modems that used 25-pin RS232. You could use this thing to
| replace two modems and a telephone link. It was a handy thing to
| have in your bag on a field visit.
| yjftsjthsd-h wrote:
| Oh, this is delightful; so many things that I somehow never
| thought of and now I've got to go buy:) The only one that gives
| me pause - for all that I very much want it - is the power cable
| adapters; is that kind of "dumb" adapter quite safe? I wouldn't
| have necessarily expected ex. a thinkpad power cord to have the
| same volts/amps as a USB(-C) cable.
| ja27 wrote:
| I blame one for killing my RAVPower USB-C brick but otherwise
| it's worked for me.
| readingnews wrote:
| Of all the things on the list, the third item
| RJ45 Join Adapters
|
| Is one that has saved me (and others I work for) so many times.
| How many times have I been in some building/area without my
| network tool bag with two male RJ45s looking at one another and I
| am going, "hrmm I have to connect these".
|
| I _literally_ just used one this morning... cable too short, no
| network bag in sight, but my laptop bag always has an RJ45 join
| adapter (not sure if that is the real name).
| worik wrote:
| "Join Adapters"
|
| I always called them "Gender Benders". For all sorts of cables
| bonton89 wrote:
| I've always seen these called inline couplers but only in the
| context of RJ45 and RJ11 for some reason.
| EvanAnderson wrote:
| The term I've heard used frequently is "butt connector"
| (presumably because it allows you to "butt-up" two
| connections). I, too, always carry some of these with me.
| They're extremely handy.
| zwayhowder wrote:
| I used to work backstage at concerts assisting my dad who was a
| sound engineer. We had my favourite cable of all time, a 30cm
| extension cord that was affectionately known as the "you've got
| to be #&$@ing me" cord. You'd run a 40m extension cord up and
| around the stage and get to the light you needed to plug in and
| you'd always be just short.
|
| When I went into IT I quickly made myself some 30cm long
| Ethernet cables with a keystone on one end for just such an
| occasion.
| timnetworks wrote:
| wordpress site, aliexpress links, random active hardware plugged
| directly into your computer.... i dunno....
|
| ethernet couplers and angle adapters are the dew of the deities
| though.
| greggyb wrote:
| Vermaden is a fairly prolific and established author on matters
| Unix and FreeBSD.
|
| If you don't trust the author, there are images and search
| terms for each of these items. If they seem useful, go vet a
| source for yourself. They're available in many places other
| than aliexpress.
| vermaden wrote:
| This blog is my 3rd blog attempt.
|
| Earlier two ones are here:
|
| - http://strony.toya.net.pl/~vermaden/links.htm
|
| - http://vermaden.blogspot.com/
|
| This time I did not focused on the layout and things like that
| - I focused on the content - as now - after 6 years of 'doing'
| this - http://vermaden.wordpress.com/ - blog - the content is
| the thing that matters the most.
|
| I also tried other free platforms - but WordPress got me by one
| important thing - it was the only one from the free ones that
| allowed REALLY WIDE area for the content of blog posts (with
| this free theme I use) - that was really important for me for
| all these commands outputs - so they will not be wrapped - or
| require scroll everytime.
|
| I know WordPress is not the best platform - but its there and
| its free - I do not make money out of the things I post there -
| I just want to share what others may find useful. For that its
| more then enough for me.
|
| I also do not understand what is wrong with Aliexpress - I
| regularly buy some things there and they are always the ones
| that are in the photos/descriptions and they are delivered to
| the place I live ...
|
| Hope that helps.
|
| Regards, vermaden
| suprjami wrote:
| I have many boxes of different cables and adaptors like this.
| Nice to know I'm not the only one who likes collecting them.
|
| My favourite addition in recent years is really long USB cables,
| like 5 metres, and HDMI 90 degree adaptors in every orientation.
| ja27 wrote:
| I don't lug all of this day-to-day but keep it in a bag for
| hackathons, preso days, "can you fix my blah", etc.
|
| HDMI to mini + micro HDMI, HDMI to/from DVI, Display Port to HDMI
| (would like to find a HDMI to DP), HDMI to HDMI coupler. Cheap
| HDMI to USB capture lets your laptop act as a monitor for a Pi or
| whatever. Composite/RCA to HDMI for old console games.
|
| Of course "dongle town" of USB-C to almost everything like
| ethernet, DP, HDMI, VGA, USB-A, etc. (I also have Lightning and
| Mac/Thunderbolt 2 versions of some of those that I take to events
| as loaners.)
|
| A little USB power meter (USB-C, USB-A and I think micro USB but
| never tried that) is damn handy.
|
| I keep a little headphone case full of USB flash drives (mostly
| Sandisk Cruzer Fits) with different distros / installers / etc.
| including a couple installed Linux environments. I miss the
| really flat Verbatim ones.
|
| Lighting and USB-C to 1/8" headphone (and a good old pair of
| wired earbuds with mic).
|
| USB to 9-pin serial and even to 25-pin printer port.
|
| I keep a couple Anker cables that are USB-A to combo
| USB-C/microUSB/Lightning with a USB-C to USB-A adapter. Slow but
| they always work.
|
| Those adapters that adapt USB-C cables to fit USB-A ports can be
| hazardous if you end up creating a USB-A to USB-A cable.
| greggsy wrote:
| Why not just use a compact multi-port usb-c dock? Much harder
| to misplace, and you can put a 'stolen from $user' sticker on
| it.
| pcl wrote:
| I get a surprising amount of use out of a small $10 stamped-steel
| micrometer.
| greggsy wrote:
| Not mentioned are the magnetic charging connectors. I've found
| them useful for charging small appliances, like usb-c remotes and
| peripherals, and a micro-usb radio.
|
| Word of warning: most of these are charge only, but a few do
| support data transfer. _Do not_ use them for data. I am 79% sure
| that I bricked a USB-C monitor with one. I was well aware of the
| warnings, but did so anyway in a selfish pursuit of convenience.
| kkfx wrote:
| for me:
|
| - usb-ethernet adapters, since many craptops have no RJ45 port
| and many users have issues with their wifi crap setup... "Hey,
| plug the adapter, forget the rest"
|
| - NVME/M.2 SATA to usb case since allow good data storage in a
| small space (maybe with ventoy and a bunch of custom ISO)
|
| - USB serial adapter, rare to use these days, but sometimes very
| useful with kermit or gtkterm as a companion (I do dislike
| minicom)
|
| - for those who play with IoT, dupont lines/a breadboard might be
| handy
|
| - small USB/battery powered lights
|
| - RJ9 - 3.5mm audio ports and single to dual 3.5 jack adapter
| since sometimes audio need extras
|
| These are mine "most used, most cheap, generally not taken into
| account" tools.
| saagarjha wrote:
| These are great but I'm always concerned that these adapters
| violate some spec or might fry my hardware...
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(page generated 2024-03-21 23:01 UTC)