Im curious as I usually use the site very occasionally to get certain electronic parts or order from PCBway like I just picked up some cheap but infinitely better than stock gps antennas for my LoRa T beams and im about to get a set of also still cheap but much better than stock 915mhz antennas but i kinda wanna throw some other projects or weird thing in the cart with it. It doesent have to be hobby electronics with soldering and all that but bonus points if it is.

  • HakFoo@lemmy.sdf.org
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    10 months ago

    Every sort of microcontroller/breakout board imaginable. I’m fond of the nanoCH32V305 (144MHz RISC-V CPU, 32k RAM/128k flash, and GPIOs for days)

    Soldering project kits. I bought a NTP capable clock kit to learn SMD techniques, then discovered that the Chinese market has no need for time zone support, but I had little need for the time in Beijing.

    There’s a surprising amount of miniature stuff there-- terrain parts for model railways, or dioramas or wargaming. The actual model railway stuff seems sort of thin on the ground, mostly resold and expensive foreign brands or toy grade stuff.

    I got one of those ominous looking wire-stripper-cutter-tools and rather like it.

  • Starayo@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I got some nice keycaps when I was building my first mechanical keyboard. Aside from that… Soldering gear, 3D printer parts… Cat toys, preflashed smart bulbs (so I can use them completely locally with home assistant), magnets… And generally any time I see something on Amazon that clearly is just rebranded Chinese stuff, and I don’t need it quickly, I can find it on there for a fraction of the price.

  • FireTower@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If you 3D print, heat inserts. You can use them to insert metal threads into a printed object with a soldering iron to allow you to use standard machine screws in projects.

  • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    All kinds of small electronics and components, thermal putty, thermal tapes, heatsinks, antennas, plastic cases, replacement customized cases for specific electronics (handheld consoles, etc.)

  • Cringe2793@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Cheap disposable tools that you need for some project that you only need a couple times a year (if that).

    • Nindelofocho@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      I actually have some cheap tweezers i got from there for soldering and theyve been extremely decent at what they do

      • azimir@lemmy.ml
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        10 months ago

        I scored a pair of small wire cutters for a couple of bucks years back and they keep doing a solid job. I worried at the $3 price tag, but it’s been a solid investment.

        That said, don’t buy solder on Aliexpress. It’s barely made of solder. Make sure to invest in a good iron and solder it’ll be a life changer for electronics work.

  • wjrii@kbin.social
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    10 months ago

    Tons of good mechanical keyboard stuff on AE. Not the absolute top of the line customs boards or keycaps, but almost everything else is hiding in there somewhere.

    • zatanas@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I am intrigued. Any more info about what to look for on AE regarding mechanical keyboards?

      • wjrii@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        A pretty large portion of the kits, components, and pre-built boards are from “obscure” Chinese companies already, so much of what you’d want is just sort of… there. As a single example, get a GMK67 for $35, 70 Milky Yellow switches (if you’re into linears. I am not.) for $20, and maybe a YMDK set of keycaps for $30-$50, and you’ve got a very presentable budget build under a hundred bucks. If you go hunting, you can probably find stuff you’d like just as much for even cheaper.

    • Nindelofocho@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      Oh yea great place for kit boards and stuff. My first non g8mer board was a MagicForce 68 from there

  • 12bitmisfit@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    Pc atx 24 pin breakout board

    Cheap esc for bldc ( but those yellow extra cheap ones have a tendency to burn up on high duty cycle loads )

    Cheap bldc too, I use one plus a 3d printed fan + shroud to cool nvidia tesla gpus and another two to vent in/out garage door windows in summer

    So many sensors

    E ink screens plus esp32 or other mcu / sbc

    Small touchscreens plus sbc for diy smart stuff

    Cheap aluminum extrusion and fixings ( ryobi scroll saw is a relatively quiet and controlled way to deal with smaller stuff like 2020)

    Cheap bms and mppt solar bois

    Cheap rgb led stuff, I’m partial to the water proof silicone stuff, easy to pair with an esp32

    A lot of tat is similarly priced on Amazon and the likes. Always worth a double check before defaulting to ali

  • moody@lemmings.world
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    10 months ago

    I recently bought a Pinecil soldering iron from AliExpress, which is one of the main official ways of getting them. Very nice product.

      • EeeDawg101@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Thanks I was kinda shocked when I saw the link it gave me lol. I have no intention of earning referral money or anything. I wasn’t even logged into Ali express when I copied the link.

    • simple@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Was just about to say, Aliexpress is weirdly known for having all sorts of retro or knockoff consoles. Many of them are really cool, too.

  • thenewred@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Diamond sharpening stones. Still waiting on mine but they were cheap and I got the grits I wanted. Somehow I keep ending up putting new edges on knives, chisels, and other blades. I hear diamond stones remove material faster.

  • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.org
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    10 months ago

    Probably the best thing I got there was clone of RSP1 with selectable band pass filters for €20. 10kHz - 2GHz range with up to 10MHz of bandwidth in Zero IF mode, although it seems it’s more like 8MHz that’s actually usable. It’s not sold where I bought it anymore, but maybe you could still find it.
    It’s this one:

    The only problem is compatibility, and the fact that I had to install some proprietary API from SDRPlay on my laptop as a SystemD service.

    • Pyro@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I’ve heard many people rave about the Moondrop Chu’s. Even Crinacle likes them! Also I’ve ordered myself a pair for ~£15 as an early Christmas present :)