what have you bought lately that's cheap & cool?

[motocoder]

Unfortunately the state of Washington is in some sort of tiff with aliexpress, so no orders shipped here are allowed. Been waiting years for them to resolve it.

 
Really? What's behind that?

It has something to do with their payment escrow service being unregistered/unregulated/illegal according to Washington state law. I don't know all the details, but after being this way for years now, it seems unlikely to be resolved.

Apparently the cost of filing the required paperwork shouldn't be particularly high, $1200 filing fee + a tax depending on sales to WA residents that is capped. Google, PayPal, Amazon, and others don't find it too onerous, but I guess Alibaba does. Meanwhile, they actually have employees in the state, and are considering adding a lot more, but, presumably, they can't actually make purchases through the company's services.

Apparently the check on their site is, or has been, purely client-side, so some people have just deleted some javascript using debugging tools and successfully made orders with WA delivery addresses.

No, they check on the server side now. The info you saw on the Javascript hacks is out of date. However, what does work is to pick another state, enter your city as "City, WA", and then in instructions to seller ask them to correct the address on shipping. I'm not sure I would try this on a large ticket item, as there's some risk that they don't correct the address, and then you are probably screwed. OTOH, I wouldn't be ordering any large ticket items from some no-name seller on AliExpress.

[zapta]

Got this 5V geared bipolar stepper motor + driver. $2 shipped for a single unit. Works well with Arduino or any other MSU. This is a very popular model and is available from many sellers on ebay.  I am using it for a motorized solder paste dispenser discussed here in another thread.

http://robocraft.ru/files/datasheet/28BYJ-48.pdf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291175980196

[obiwanjacobi]

Was thinking about building a retro Z80 computer and ran into these. Have no idea if there's even a die in them but for that price I am willing to find out.

20MHz Z80 CPU
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271612621247

M.

[Richard Crowley]

Price:US $1.38
Shipping: $99.00 ePacket delivery from China

[obiwanjacobi]

Really!? I see free shipping (worldwide)?

[bitseeker]

Probably depends on the country you're in. The funny thing is that on the shipping tab, I see $99 for both US and outside US options.

[mtdoc]

Unfortunately the state of Washington is in some sort of tiff with aliexpress, so no orders shipped here are allowed. Been waiting years for them to resolve it.

 
Really? What's behind that?

It has something to do with their payment escrow service being unregistered/unregulated/illegal according to Washington state law. I don't know all the details, but after being this way for years now, it seems unlikely to be resolved.

AliExpress seems to be working for Washington state now.  I've ordered a few things in the last few weeks including this cheap ESP8266 development board

[ralphd]

Got some DS18B20 temperature sensors in stainless steel probes for about a buck each.  Tested the accuracy with an ice bath and they are well within the 0.5C spec.
http://nerdralph.blogspot.ca/2015/11/ds18b20-temperature-sensor-calibration.html

[NiHaoMike]

I managed to get some Ethernet over coax adapters for $1.25 each, and here's a teardown:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/teardown-directv-ethernet-over-coax-adapter/

I also recently ordered some Android smartphones for $5 each, a pair of "gigabit" Homeplug adapters for $10 each, a $10 4.3" composite LCD, and a $25 802.11ac Ethernet extender kit (includes router and a 802.11ac to Ethernet adapter). Look forward to some teardowns once I actually get them.

[cncjerry]

2.5Ghz VFD display 9 digit frequency counter module off ebay  Actually really well built with a beautiful display.  $15.47 shipped.  Still can't believe how well it is built.  I checked it with my GPSDO and it was right on the money at 10,000,000hz.   don't know why I bought it as I have more frequency counters than I can count. 

[Deathwish]

I forgot her name, but she had some good convo strangely enough, not that I care for Tarot cards and black magic, or her idea of waking me up with gargling.

[timb]

I forgot her name, but she had some good convo strangely enough, not that I care for Tarot cards and black magic, or her idea of waking me up with gargling.

Was she gargling on you?


Sent from my Tablet

[Deathwish]

No but horrible noises in my bathroom do not make me wake happy

[dannyf]

I checked it with my GPSDO and it was right on the money at 10,000,000hz. 

Likely by chance.

Its reference is a 2.5ppm tcxo -> most of the 2.5ppm tcxo I have used measured to be within 0.5ppm at room temperature.

[rqsall]

2.5Ghz VFD display 9 digit frequency counter module off ebay 

I searched ebay for "9 digit frequency counter" and found it quick enough (http://www.ebay.com/itm/171967974827?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT right?)

Interesting gadget, would his be useful to roll your own basic frequency counter? Is there any datasheet for it? Won't match a Fluke or HP for accuracy of course, but may give me a fighting chance to do basic adjustment of my analog oscilloscopes and function generator?

Any reason why you bought the VFD model and not the regular LED one which is about half the price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/0-1-60MHz-20MHz-2-4GHz-RF-Singal-Frequency-Counter-Meter-LED-display-module-RED-/331681032636?hash=item4d39bae9bc:g:8vYAAOSwNSxVZIUg

Thanks

[cncjerry]

I liked the VFD.  That is what makes this thing worth the money in my opinion.  I have lost about half my vision due to glaucoma and opt for bright or red LED where possible.  I don't remember seeing a data sheet on it.  But all you would need is a front end which you could steal from about any counter as they are so simple.  I didn't look at the master oscillator to see what frequency it is but I have a few OCXOs around that would be easy to integrate.  I bought it on a whim thinking I would hang it of my tracking generator as it has an aux rf output for frequency counting.  My HP spectrum analyzer has a frequency counter in it but both that and my Advantest slow down when you engage it.

[rqsall]

Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about the eye condition. VFD does look nicer, I agree. I was just wondering if there was maybe a more technical reason for it.

I guess I will be studying frequency counter front end circuits shortly...

Thanks again.

[brobbuilder]

don't know why I bought it as I have more frequency counters than I can count.

Time for frequency counter counter!

[brobbuilder]

If only I had reserved the one at the store that isn't 70 miles away

Will have to wait until next week. So sad.

[miguelvp]

A $5 RPi Zero.

I thought you bought the $29.95 RPi Zero Budget Pack. Then again $14.94 for the extra stuff is not a bad deal either.

[zapta]

Got today the iFixit Jimmy. Works much better than one ebay tools. It's strong, thin, flexible and has a great handle.  I use it mostly to open cell phones.

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Jimmy/IF145-259-1

[Bruce Abbott]

Was thinking about building a retro Z80 computer and ran into these. Have no idea if there's even a die in them but for that price I am willing to find out.

20MHz Z80 CPU
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271612621247

M.

I have two of those. Mine are definitely Z80's, but the 3.5V logic high level and 150mA static current draw are a worry... I tried running a simple test program at 8MHz and it seemed to work, so I suspect they are actually the Z80B or Z80H NMOS version.

Here's my collection of 'new good quality' (yeah right!) re-branded old chips. The HD63C09E is actually the non 'E' version (subtle but important difference, since one takes external E and Q clocks while the other has a built-in crystal oscillator). The MCM2114P20 1kx4 static RAMs are actually BU2114F 8 bit shift registers!

 

[obiwanjacobi]

So you power them with 5V and they only output 3.5V!? 

[Bruce Abbott]

So you power them with 5V and they only output 3.5V!? 

NMOS logic outputs have passive pullups made from N channel FETs, which increase resistance as the voltage approaches Vcc.  TTL logic high is >=2.0V. The Z80 doesn't have to pull its outputs up to +5V, so it doesn't!


 

[obiwanjacobi]

I bought some adapter PCBs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151916828644

But it seems the solder mask on the 0.5mm pitch side has come loose. The 0.8mm pitch side seems ok.
You have been warned.