gadgets Archives

Gadgets, devices or small electronic tools designed to perform specific tasks, functions or processes. Novelty items, or novelty gadgets

January 14, 2023September 24, 2024

NOCO Jump Box

NOCO Boost Plus

NOCO 12-V Jump Starter Box

Gear – NOCO

Recommended: NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp 12-Volt UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter Box, Car Battery Booster Pack, that also functions as a Portable Power Bank Charger, and Jumper Cables and is suitable for use with up to 6-Liter Gasoline and 3-Liter Diesel Engines.

When you need a jump start because your battery is dead, I can’t recommend the NOCO Boost jump box enough. It has helped me over 5 times now in the span of a year. Once with my new SUV, and the others times with my JEEP. After swapping the battery as shown below, we were good to go. However, it was the jump box that kept us going during troubleshooting and testing. This has happened more than 5 times in year, which is more than most people experience in 10 or more years I highly recommend keeping a jump box in your car. The NOCO Boost GB40 is a safe and accessible booster pack with jumper cables and an ancillary charger for gasoline and diesel engines*. We recently used the NOCO jump box to start up the ’06 Wrangler after a radio and headlamp update. Of course this doesn’t come without it’s own issues, hence the need for a jump.

Battery Boost

NOCO Jump Box

NOCO Unboxing

Dead Battery

Charging

Clean Up

Fully Charged

Find this battery jump box and other recommendations on the shop page. Or, just a few suggestions here before you take off. The NOCO has saved our trips a few times now. Older vehicles get less use of them later in life, especially our off-road vehicles. That said, if you can pick up a NOCO jumpstart, do. They vary in price, so be wise. Two, the Schumacher 100 amp charger/start was our old go to. This charger/jump start does require an outlet… so you can see why we opted for the NOCO for now. No time to waste when we have dogs ‘in tow’ i.e. Ruby and Zeus.

We will be sharing the latest radio upgrades soon. Just know that we are no longer use the factory lamps, head unit, and speakers – we now use brands like Pioneer, Kicker, Bazooka, and more…

There are a few items I recommend in a pinch, this NOCO jump box, the blast match, a charging source (generator, 9v hack, batter backup pack) and some way to fashion some clean water – for drinking, cleaning, cooking, wound care, and more. Obviously food is another, but these few items can keep you safe and sound in most cases in everyday life, hiking on the trail, driving in the car (short/long distance). A pocket knife or all-in-one EDC tool works as well, for general maintenance, tool and/or application.

October 20, 2022October 1, 2024

Lockpick NES Video

Pick This!

The LockPicking Lawyer Picks The NES Lock

Tech | Tools – Lockpick NES Video – Latest From the LockPicking Lawyer

The LockPicking Lawyer continues to be one of the top content creators. For all intense and purposes, the LockPicking Lawyer is awesome. see more…

With great content, a shop called Covert Instruments and now on Rumble, @lockpickinglawyers has gained 18k subs. He is fetching 4.5M on YouTube! That is crazy sub numbers. Honestly, this is a great channel, this makes learning fun. Learning how this LockPicking Lawyer unlocks all kinds of locks including locks on an ’80s NES console, is fascinating. The more interesting lockpicks are for car locks, bike locks, gadget locks (like the one featured in the NES Console Lock video), and simple unlocks. Some of the cylinder locks, the name brand “master” kind of locks, and the videos of locks being gutted… might be the best, giving an insiders look at how locks work. That is very cool.

This is a fantastic channel. It’s very interesting to understand that locks provide more piece of mind or act as a deterrent rather than actually keeping someone out of whatever is locked. Honestly, it’s crazy to think about how simple locks are, and how easily they can be unlocked with the right tools. It’s dastardly, and creepy!

Watch this video and others like it on YouTube or check out our other videos found under the video category on our website.

August 30, 2022September 26, 2024

Sous Vide Smorgasbord

We Have A Sous Vide Smorgasbord

Sous Vide Success

Gear – Anova Sous Vide

Hungry? Prep, cook and serve using an Anova Precision Cooker. Work up an appetite while you prepare, cook and serve for an all day picnic. Fish, poultry, beef… Anova does it all

Put the Anova Sous Vide precision cooker to the test with fish, shrimp, lamb, beef, chicken, pork… even pork butt; a Sous Vide Smorgasbord. In just one day, prepare a feast for the masses or an all day picnic. Cook up 2+ pounds or more of our honey-glazed, thick-cut bacon, a BBQ-inspired beef brisket, Italian sweet sausage with all the fixins’… chil-i-lime, lime and garlic chicken, peppered beef burgers, and simple beef hot dogs.

Smorgasbord

Full Meat Plate

Sous Vide

Bacon, Dogs, Sausage

Burgers, Chicken Patties

Although time is irrelevant when you’re having fun, are you new to precision cooking? Start early early enough for the beef to cook and the chicken to be prepped for a final sear. Have everything ready before ‘game time’.

Typically a safe window is four to five hours, but those with experience may opt for a tighter window. With more experience and times, the window becomes more refined. Regardless of duration, the options are limitless.

Try it all reduce cooking times on the grill. No need to stick to just the grill or stove top. Whichever you have, be prepared. A precision cooker ensures perfection. When finished on a hot griddle or grill you become the chef at home. More on the griddle will be discussed later.

For now, the feast is prepared, with smorgasbord after smorgasbord being churned out around the 130 degree mark. With a few modifications and trial test runs, you’ll quickly learn how temperature and duration affect the outcome of your choice of protein or veg alternatives. See what works best for you. The most important thing to remember is to seal your bags appropriately. Season your entrees with the freshest ingredients you can find, including herbs and all the fixings. This is a great way to switch up how, where, and with whom you cook. As for dessert, what’s on the menu?change up how, where and with whom you cook. What’s for dessert?

Just a quick side-note, if you have not tried to sous vide or have not thought about the usage of a precision cooker via a food water bath… I use it around the holidays to prep for meals. have a look around, some of the best food on the market has been sous vide, stored and seared at time of consumption. Now, I’m not saying I’m obverse to the process of using the cooking method in mass, I’m advocating for showing you that even your local, regional and global coffee shops, bars and gastropubs use the sous vide cooking method. The point, the method of cooking helps prep, heat, and serve at a very precise temperatures. Precision is key, we recently cooked a beef brisket for 3 days plus just to put this logic to test. Cheers

June 2, 2022September 27, 2024

Sous Vide

Cook Perfect Entrees Meals and More with a Sous Vide

Do You Sous Vide?

Gear – Anova Sous Vide

Anova Precision® Series Sous Vide – Have you ever tried using a sous vide machine? Let’s talk about the Anova Precision® Series Sous Vide. Wait, what’s a sous vide? Interested in trying out the Anova Sous Vide? We decided to go with the Anova Precision® brand sous vide cooker. Specifically the 16-liter Anova Sous vide.

@IHR, we received a recommendation from a local restaurateur (awesome guy, with amazing dishes coming out of his kitchen) that the precision cooker is a great tool to enhance your cooking skills. You can find these Anova cookers at your local store. There are days when we all need a little boost in the kitchen, a special touch or magic sauce to create something extraordinary, especially for those of us who wish we had more culinary skills. The precise temperatures provided by the Anova cooker might just be the secret ingredient you need.

Cook At The Perfect Temps

Sous Vide

Precision Cooker

Proteins? What kind Do You Prefer

Taco proteins – Beef, Chicken, Pork, Fish, Shrimp etc., Briskets, Duck, Corned Beef, you name it, this machine can handle it all. The only catch is time. If you can set aside time for prep, create your entrees and sides, vacuum seal the pouches and you’re done. Generally, we set aside 30-60 minutes for prep, and 2-10 hours for cooking. This of course depends on the type of beef, we’ve tried the toughest, most unfriendly cuts and this precision cooker machine surpasses expectations. Regardless of how long the meat bathes, the result is consistently excellent.

Vacuum Sealed, Perfect Cooking Temps

We say kick the tires, have at it. The sous vide makes it easy to prep both sides and entrees, and heat and cook dishes at an exact temperature. If you want, you can control the temperature at home or away with the Anova app (although we don’t use it now), which is helpful when starting down the path of bathwater cooking. Whatever meat, veggies, protein etc. are submerged will be kept at the temperature you want.

This beast does it all. If you have the time and patience to learn how this thing works, you can try a few cuts of beef or chicken, some cleaned/de-veined shrimp or a breast of duck. Just follow 3 easy steps, let the machine do it’s thing, and you’ll be upping your kitchen game from zero skills to an arbiter of food stardom. This machine does require sealed packaging, from zipper bags to vacuum sealed bags – check out Anova’s Vacuum Sealer or Amazon for an Anova Sealer.

It has been world changing for us. Listen, there are many kitchen gadgets, gimmicks, tricks, secrets, family recipes etc. that can spice up your game. We believe this sous vide machine is a long-term investment, and thought you might want to give it a try too. It makes a world of difference, and here are some photos of our setup, prep gear, finishing and clean up.

*Don’t beat us up in the comments, we are simply stating ‘we’ wanted to be better in and around the kitchen; we needed serious help LOL. So we found some!

December 20, 2021September 23, 2024

UST BlastMatch

Emergency? Get Your UST BlastMatch

Who needs matches or a lighter, when you got a UST BLASTMATCH

Tech | Tools – Camp Gadgets

EDC Camping Accessories – (UST) Ultimate Survival Technologies BlastMatch Fire Starter – Take a look and choose your favorite; we certainly recommend the – UST BLASTMATCH. Need a last-minute gift idea? We have used the Blastmatch for time to time, even while sharing a beverage around the campfire. Although campfires have been on hold during a winter hiatus, these blast matches are fantastic to have on hand for emergencies or leisurely use. There are plenty of videos and product reviews, available, so we won’t bore you with another product plug, but we strongly encourage you to have one handy. There’s nothing like promoting a product that actually works.

Get your EDC – UST BlastMatch today. Take your time with the device; the rod may shift side-to-side when striking the intended surface, causing a shower of sparks. Sticks with it as it is certainly more practical than a fire bow or an empty lighter. For the records, we always carry a few Bic lighters in various pockets of our camping pack and clothing. Typically, there is a lighter on my person as part of my everyday carry. Some people carry a lighter, cotton balls, an EDC knife, or a camp knife. The key is to be prepared if you are camping, trekking, on-the-trail, or stuck in a situation where you might need a light. Good luck.

Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you’re thinking!

December 13, 2021September 27, 2024

Light Phone2

Buy The Light Phone2 For Yourself

We Test, We Analyze and Use The Light Phone 2

Gear – Light Phone 2

Light Phone2 – Barebones Smart Phone, Simplified, Refined; No nonsense

Here’s a sneak peek, the Light Phone2 unboxing. Check out the new Light Phone 2 – ready to help you de-sanitize your digital life? It may take several weeks, or even months, before you receive your very own via the parent site.

Light Phone Unboxing

Unboxing

Phone

Case

Power On

Packaging

There are other sites of course, like secondhand via eBay, or specialty shops like Huckberry which might have an extremely limited quantity and we haven’t seen it for awhile on the site. Upgrade your life, by limiting connectivity; what a concept? TT (Tiny Tech) Certified technology, running Android in a small, easy-to-use case, with a clear text screen. Logic boards are out of stock for this particular model, battery… second go-around.

Received this back (LightPhone2 below) in Nov ’21, just unboxing it here in mid Dec ’21. Service is going to be an issue, but all the pieces work, turns on/off etc. Simple UI, simplified Android OS. Once we get ‘service’ for this thing, look for an update. Update coming mid 1st quarter ’22.

As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?

June 15, 2021September 27, 2024

iRobot Roomba 900 Series Teardown

iRobot Refurb Process

iRobot Roomba 900 Series Teardown

Lab Work – iRobot Back At It

Got a broken robot? We can help! Some might say that’s the worst, but fear not – the iRobot – 900 Series is here to save the day.

Let’s start by fixing this thing with an iRobot Roomba 900 Series Teardown. The great thing about iRobot/Roomba products is that they are easy to fix! Unless the board is fried, the main housing is smashed, or the plastics are destroyed. Even in those cases, parts are fairly easy to find. The key is to source, clean, install, and maintain what you have. Most, if not all, of this particular Roomba was fine. A good cleaning at the end of the repair was worth its weight in gold.

Robot Teardown and Repair

Teardown

Battery

Cleaning Bars

Bin

Repaired

Test Run

For those of you who don’t regularly electronics, robots etc. weekly, monthly or ‘NEVER’… friendly reminder, whatever the electronic device may be, they do yeoman’s work if you take care of them after every one or two uses. Additionally, the more you maintain them, the less you will have to throw. Remember, no pain, no gain.

A few tools to mention below, reiterating the previous comment, these are fairly simple to fix… for now. Learn the art of robot care, become a ROOMBA master sensei. This is a huge advantage for iRobot:

iRobot Home App
Philips Screwdriver (Rechargeable Drill* DeWalt 20v)
iRobot – Brushes, collector rollers, caster wheel and filter
Cleaner – Windex
Cleaner – Sprayway
Compressed Air

Links, Conclusion and More Repairs

In closing, I’d like to share some other articles, more recent articles on robot repair, 3D printer upgrades RC (radio controlled) and robot repairs, check out these articles.

Moreover, let’s look at a Bench Power Supply – Matrix Bench Supply, the need to power on electronics when the damaged robot or device is on the bench in pieces. Next, and one of my favorites, the Maytronics Dolphin On repair, explore water intrusion and effects of water intrusion, water damage and power unit swap. How about the Ender Direct Drive Upgrades – TPU Post Processing Update, a 5 part series on filament types, application of filaments, upgrades, troubleshooting and more.

Final link, check out the EMAX TinyHawk Repairs… more fixing, soldering, and flying. There are more articles in the TinyHawk series, approximately 6 or 7. Be sure to check those out, as well as the iRobot series continues. More recent work, but it helps tie in ‘process’ and troubleshooting unknown errors and testing. As usual, please leave a comment below and let us know what you’re thinking!

May 14, 2021September 27, 2024

D90 Firmware 1.1

D90 Maintenance and Firmware Updates

Update – Firmware v2.0

Materials – D90

D90 Archived Update

First, it’s time for an update. It has been a few years since I last updated the software on my Nikon D90, so the time has come to do do. Since the camera itself has been archived by Nikon, we will treat this article as a reference materials as well. While the D90 is a cool piece of gear, we also want to assist those who are looking to preserve their cameras. Therefore, the focus of this article has shifted a bit. It is now centered on firmware, where to find the downloadable content, and how to continue maintaining the D90. Let’s make sure we update the D90 firmware from version 1.1 to version 2.0.

The D90 has been archived by Nikon, and you can find more details on the Nikon D90 Website. Check out the archival pages for more information. I am sharing a few photos of the D90 a.k.a “Dub9” DSLR. Can I call it a “Workhorse” still? It may not have been at the top of the market in its day, but with a little love, care and a few minutes, you can bring your D90 up-to-date with the D90 Firmware version 1.1 update. When updating, make sure to use the correct SD cards to protect your memory cards and camera equipment.

D90 Update

Update Camera”

Covers On

Updated

Don’t forget to leave a comment! Also, be aware of a few “gotchas” during the process. Backup all photos and video before starting. It’s best to back up before beginning. Remove any add-ons and modifications where applicable, especially any aftermarket parts and accessories that are attached. We want to have a common baseline before the firmware update. Reinstall aftermarket parts and accessories after the update process is complete. Test out anything you think might need a few extra minutes. Otherwise, after the firmware update, you should be good to go!

As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?

September 1, 2020September 23, 2024

Multimeter PDF

Learn To Use Your Multimeter

Download the Innova 3320 Multimeter Manual

Materials – Innova Multimeter Manual PDF*

Archive – Innova 3320 Multimeter Manual

Click the Innova 3320 Multimeter PDF link below. For those of you who own an Innova 3320 Multimeter tool here is the link from Innova – form 3320. (( LOUD NOISES )) I don’t believe the manual was ever included in the original packaging. Buzz kill. PUN INTENDED. Not a huge fan of barcodes, nor the exclusion of manuals when purchasing tools. So, let’s work with what we have, again, a workaround for the time being.

However, QR codes help if you misplace your copy or Innova manual, not my preference. One improvement from my perspective Innova… kindly provide a manual with purchase. Provide a QR code for lost manuals or backup. While I’m on the topic, the barcode route requires a smartphone, tablet or smart device to capture the images, process the code (website link) and a web browser to view the document. Adobe Acrobat is required here for the Multimeter PDF Manual, for those of you who don’t have Adobe Reader handy. Again, not trying to belabor the point, a simple, newsprint weight or style, 8″x11″ (stapled or unstapled, doesn’t matter, bonus if it is in order) works as well.

Finally, when purchasing tools to evaluate electrical output, it probably should have directions. Again, sensitive subject. So, for the sake of simplicity, the Innova Multimeter archive has been written. As usual leave a comment below, share your thoughts on the use of barcodes to replace printed manuals, let us know what you’re thinking?

August 31, 2020September 23, 2024

Tool Needs

Measure Precisely, Calipers

Tool Needs – Neiko and Mitutoyo Calipers

Tech | Tools – Calipers

Archive – Tool Needs, the Neiko or the Mitutoyo Calipers

A handy gadget to have in and around the shop is a set of calipers. Make Neiko brand calipers your go to for precision measurements. If you already have a set of calipers and looking to replace current stainless calipers, consider the Mitutoyo Digimatic Caliper.

Regardless of which maker or brand you might choose, both are useful to have around the shop. We use one set for ‘more rugged’ measurements, such as automotive, outdoor or in not-so-clean environment. The other set stays indoors, ideally in a clean environment free of debris and contaminants. The main difference, in my opinion, is the metal-to-plastic ratio. I find it more accurate to use metal parts (Mitutoyo) compared to the metal and plastic hybrid (Neiko). Both function as mid-range calipers and are not terribly expensive. However, they are necessary for taking accurate measurements.

Check out these tools for yourself and see which one fits your needs best. Let us know what you find!

Comparison

Neiko Caliper

Mitutoyo Caliper

Question to all: Do you have a better caliper? Please let me know by sharing via email. I would also appreciate the use of comments for back-and-forth communication, especially when looking for a specific part, such as the calipers mentioned in the article or something else.

As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?