Is Banggood trolling?

[chartle]

Under new arrivals

http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Prototype-PCB-Board-Simple-Electronic-Mini-Clock-Kit-p-1010866.html 

Maybe if it had more wires.

[EEVblog]

As an aside, I've had countless people from Banggood want to send me stuff for review. A new name every week it seems...

[Macbeth]

Under new arrivals

http://www.banggood.com/DIY-Prototype-PCB-Board-Simple-Electronic-Mini-Clock-Kit-p-1010866.html 

Maybe if it had more wires.

Plenty of wires - all the bridges under the proto board.

I can't see the problem - it costs pocket money and is considerably more than the tat we used to get pasted to the cover of Everyday Electronics with a tiny piece of veroboard in the '80s. (This is in the old dart - 'strayans apparently got proper PCBs with their mags)

Why this one even looks like it could have a "towers of hanoi" minigame with the LED display it comes with! 

Having said that, I would be surprised if it even comes with some assembly instructions, even in chinese!

ETA: I just looked and it has plenty of documentation including source code. 

[Radio Tech]

Interesting. I just ordered a kit from them this week.


http://www.banggood.com/DIY-M12864-Graphics-Version-Transistor-Tester-Kit-LCR-ESR-PWM-p-986954.html

[Dongulus]

Avoid bringing this to school if you live in Texas. 

[crispy_tofu]

According to the list, it has 'several wire', which should be enough... 

I wonder why they're using a 4-pin header when only 2 of them are being used for power, is it cheaper?

[chartle]

Avoid bringing this to school if you live in Texas. 

Glad someone else got the joke.

Just seems too coincidental.

[chartle]

As an aside, I've had countless people from Banggood want to send me stuff for review. A new name every week it seems...

I was thinking of sending one to you but without being able to add a note to the package not sure you would get the connection and wasn't going order one, have it sent to the US of A and then send it back over the Pacific.

[Stonent]

Avoid bringing this to school if you live in Texas. 

Well his parents refused to let the police release the information to the public and then they moved to Qatar so I guess we'll never know what happened.

[Ian.M]

Hmmm . . . . .
A 24x10 matrix board, a 8051 based MCU that supports serial programming with a simple TTL level cable, a 4 digit LED with a few extra indicators, three switches, a beeper and a 4 way header, all for about $5   Mount the display off the board edge to free up some space and you've got the basic student hardware for an introduction to microcontrollers course.

[FrankBuss]

ETA: I just looked and it has plenty of documentation including source code. 

Right, and the source code has even comments. Ok, is is in Chinese, but should be no problem, it is an interesting language that everyone should learn

A 24x10 matrix board, a 8051 based MCU that supports serial programming with a simple TTL level cable

The MCU might be interesting for other projects. But I can only find it on discontinued parts seller websites and on Aliexpress, for $1 for one piece. A similar PIC can do the same and is cheaper, but then you need a programmer.

[coppice]

ETA: I just looked and it has plenty of documentation including source code. 

Right, and the source code has even comments. Ok, is is in Chinese, but should be no problem, it is an interesting language that everyone should learn

Chinese comments are no problem, but using GB2312 encoding for them? In 2015? This really isn't acceptable.

[chickenHeadKnob]

According to the list, it has 'several wire', which should be enough... 

I wonder why they're using a 4-pin header when only 2 of them are being used for power, is it cheaper?

If you route power/ground to pin 1 and 3 then you apply a reversed cable dave jones style  all you get  is a no-connect, for safety no bombe smoke surprise!

[Ian.M]

There are many better MCUs , but academia still seems to be very fond of the 8051.  Add a budget USB <=> TTL serial board, a few extra components  and a small box (maybe a modded VHS tape case), and you've got a very portable $10 per head student kit. 

[Simon]

Interesting name.

[FrankBuss]

There are many better MCUs , but academia still seems to be very fond of the 8051.  Add a budget USB <=> TTL serial board, a few extra components  and a small box (maybe a modded VHS tape case), and you've got a very portable $10 per head student kit.

For students a more modern system would be better, with an ARM CPU. There are many dev kits for less than $10, like the STM32F0308DISCOVERY, that are much more powerful than a 8051. But a single MCU which can be programmed with TTL serial might be still useful. I like PICs, because I can program it and use it in a breadboard, without the need for an additional external dev kit.

[Stonent]

Interesting name.

Sounds like a place in Thailand to pick up a companion for the evening.