Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions (2024)
Female-to-female RJ45 couplers ("join adapters" as described by the article) have been very handy in my experience. They're cheap enough that I don't mind leaving one now and again. It's so handy to be able to unplug something, splice in my laptop / tap / etc, and quickly return things they way I found them without rerouting the original cable. It's also handy when you don't have a long enough patch cable with you but you do have a couple shorter ones.
Agreed, they are great for messing around. I didn't want to bother with a proper patch panel so I just attached a bunch of them to my minilab and it's the best thing ever.
I love having so many little daptery-doos. My best hack is storing them though. I have a two tier desk, 24" deep main surface, and 10" monitor 'shelf'. I keep a half dozen tiny adhesive drawers under the shelf so they're always at hand.
One for flash storage + usb dongles, another with every usb adapter + short cables, audio things + usb power meters, pens, and other stuff. It is so nice being able to quickly use almost any device without a scavenger hunt first.
I have been using stackable hardware/diy organiser compartment boxes for this purpose. It's great
I wouldn't trust a USBC cable or converter from AliExpress..
Organization:
I got a storage organizer with 24 drawers. One for each type of cable I use. So instead of one big box that I have to hunt through, I have instant, labeled access to all my usb cables, and a few other cables and items.
Beware: most USB-to-SATA adapters do not work with HDDs, only SSDs
One USB A-to-C adapter I particularly like is a cable with adapters tied to each end, so you can use it for any combination of (A or C host) to (C or micro device).
FM transmitters you have to be slightly careful - they need to get power somehow; think about how that will happen.
If you want to be sure that a USB to SATA adapter will work with anything, get the style that has the power on a completely separate cable that plugs into the wall.
A lot of cars without Bluetooth have a USB-A port for charging or plugging in a USB drive with music on it, you can use that port to power the FM transmitter
If you use the various Ethernet adapters make sure you run some speed tests when you get it.. Those cheap dongles/converters ect are notorious for Working but cutting your speed and reliability of the connection.
My current favorite is a 1 meter retractable USB C to C cable. Combined with the smaller GaN charger and the lower power requirement of newer MacBooks, I can pack really light, and that's great for bike and motorcycle travel.
I also have a set of USB adapters that plug into each other and let me charge anything with the same cable. Again, less stuff to pack.
RE: "Boom Microphone Cable"
I wanted headphones for FPS games with a good soundstage. Generally, gaming headsets are not known for price-to-quality value.
After researching, bought Sennheiser HD560S, but I needed a mic.
V-MODA makes a $20 attachment called a "BoomPro Mic", which uses standard 3.5mm audio jack and gives you not only a mic, but also a volume dial.
It turns out that having an easily-accessible volume dial is the best thing since sliced bread.
Can't believe I never got a cable with this feature before, they ought to put them on all headphone audio cables.
Not tiny, but I have a corner desk, and I mounted big long 16 port power strips under each “wing”: Tripp Lite 16 Outlet Bench &... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000051174
Roll of very sticky Velcro tape To mount things under desk.
A “toaster” style sata adapter: I treat it like a tape drive, clunk in a “tape” (sata or spinning disk) to back up to.
Add to this list: small portable HDMI/VGA monitor for checking on headless machines.
I use an iPad (that I have with me anyway) + cheap USB HDMI capture dongle for this.
It is nice but I wish there would be just a dongles of some kind that is like a network monitor, you i.e. VNC into from another place to see what error machine is spewing.
When we attain that technology we can call it RS232.
Like this one? https://github.com/sipeed/NanoKVM
Yes, although NanoKVM is probably a product with most caveats out of competing ones to recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plJGZQ35Q6I. I'd recommend JetKVM instead, but unfortunately it is still only available to obtain through late pledges on Kickstarter.
Seems interesting. To bad you cant buy it yet.
This is incorrect, I am currently using both nanoKVM USB and PCI models today
Website says 'preorder'. Is it available or not then? Preorder usually means it is not ready. Where did you buy it?
I got one of these which does the job pretty well
https://www.crowdsupply.com/techxartisan/openterface-mini-kv...
Nice. Was going to mention TinyPilot but this seems even more portable.
A couple of my favorites:
15- and 25-foot power cables to eliminate outlet strips and extension cords in some installations.
Outlet strips with super long cords -- especially useful for avoiding the need to chain outlet strips in settings where doing so is considered to be a safety violation.
Then use the over-under coil technique to keep those long cables from getting twisted up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cazjyJ52CoM
Yup, I'm also a musician. My cords last for decades. But nobody outside of music and perhaps theater knows about taking care of cords.
90 degree rotated RJ-45 male-male connectors would allow very easy RPi-like clusters.
Lightning to usb-c seems interesting… it can turn somewhat late model i devices into full fledge computers on the go, at least iirc, or you can use a nvme in an enclosure as extra storage easily.
This is assuming you don’t have one of the newer i devices that has a usb c connector, then…
People are seriously going to plug $1-$5 USB devices from AliExpress into their computers? Seriously?
All the endless efforts and dollars spent on cybersecurity is just lol I guess.
Basicallly angled adaptors for everything.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away my apple magnetic charger was right angled. Unfortunately the technology was forgotten and eventually lost with the passage of time.