Author Archives: John Hagensieker

NIIMBOT Label Maker Review – M3 and B4

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NIIMBOT Label Maker Review – M3 and B4

It looks like the folks at NIIMBOT have hit a couple more home runs with their latest offerings. I was sent the NIIMBOT Label Maker M3 and B4 along with a whole bunch of labels to review.

I have had the pleasure of reviewing many NIIMBOT label maker machines and I have to say they keep getting better and better with new, and interesting feature additions.

The pic above showcases the M3 which is a COLOR printer for shipping labels (and others). Below is the B4.

The NIIMBOT B4 is a black and white label maker for shipping labels.

I, for one, am excited that there is a bluetooth, battery powered label printer capable of 4×6″ (100 x 150 mm) shipping labels. This is going to replace a couple of label printers that I currently use.

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Sainlogic Hydroponic Kit Review

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Sainlogic Hydroponic Kit Review

Sainlogic Hydroponic

This is going to be one of my favorite blogs ever. Sainlogic reached out to me and asked me to review their Sainlogic Hydroponic Kit. ($54.99 currently).

Let me provide a little background here before I take on the kit review. Growing up in Indiana my mother could grow anything. Green thumb.

That gene skipped a generation though.

I semi pleaded with Sainlogic NOT TO SEND ME the kit and told them that anything I try to grow dies. They assured me that I would be okay. Actually, I did fail with my very first attempt. I bought some bargain seeds at a local store and they were way old and super cheap. After planting them it was sort of apparent that my seeds were old and moldy.

I’ll just say this now. Your success relies on the quality of the seeds you use. Go to a decent lawn center and buy some good quality seed.

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XHDATA D-219 Radio Review

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XHDATA D-219 Radio Review

First off let me say that I love radios. The correct amount of radios to own is “one more”. I was ecstatic when XHDATA reached out and asked me to review the US version of their D-219 radio.

Current price is $12.99 – $16.99 (depending on color) which is almost impossible to pass up. My readers can get an additional discount by using the code D2191KNEW.

There are a couple of versions of the radio. The green radio on the left in the photo above is the 9K (Asia, Europe) version and the white one is the 1K (US) version. You can get either radio in either color. And if I am not mistaken I have seen some gray ones on Amazon as well.

I purchased the green one and soon after XHDATA contacted me and asked if I wanted to review the US version. Yes, please.

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Benfei HDMI Adapters

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Benfei HDMI Adapters

Benfei HDMI Adapters

I think that Benfei has sent me just about every thing in their catalog to review. And it is my strong belief that as a MacBookAir user that only has a couple of USB-C ports, that adapters really expand your capabilities. In this blog I have several more Benfei HDMI adapters to test.

Let’s get to it!

HDMI adapter are in strong rotation here at my house. I use HDMI cables on every TV, and Raspberry Pi’s galore. I also use them with a KVM, and we use them at my Mother In Laws house to be able to connect a computer easily to her TV to stream church for her on Sunday mornings.

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PCBWay Printed Circuit Board Prototype Review

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PCBWay Printed Circuit Board Prototype Review

pcbway printed circuit board

If you stumble across my site chances are you were looking for something technical. And if you were looking for something technical you may have had a need to put that technical idea onto a printed circuit board. This is where PCBWay can help

There are just so many times that I have used the venerable old breadboard to lay out my projects. And then sometimes those projects just stay like that.

pcbway printed circuit board

So suppose you’d like to translate that simple circuit into something a lot more polished. Why not sketch out your idea and make a proper printed circuit board (PCB)?

There are a ton of PCB software design solutions out there. For years I have used a program called “Fritzing”. But PCBWay can help with prototype design as well.

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Ultimate Guide To Using A Raspberry Pi 5 In A Photography Studio

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Ultimate Guide To Using A Raspberry Pi 5 In A Photography Studio

Raspberry Pi 5 Photography Studio

Yep. I said it. You can use the Raspberry Pi 5 in your Photography Studio.

Imagine connecting a high end studio camera to a Raspberry Pi 5 and taking some studio quality pictures by tethering your camera to your Pi 5.

Then you can control it via VNC from a nearby computer or laptop. Or of course you could hook the Pi to a KVM or plain old Keyboard, Mouse, and Monitor.

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More Camera Tethering

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More Camera Tethering

Camera Tethering

I’ve spent a full week or two going through my old collection of cameras to see if they still can connect to a computer. My camera tethering experiment has been a mixed bag so far.

I’ve come to some unusual conclusions. Read on.

My first conclusion is that camera manufacturers only support a camera for so long. Most cameras, provided that you don’t toss them around, will last for decades. So the only reason to stop supporting them is so that you’ll buy a new one. By the way here is the photo from the “studio” shot above.

This needs to be stated: For every camera I mention below they still function perfectly as a stand alone camera. Pick them up, push that shutter release and they will copy your vision to its memory card. I am only talking about the tethering function not being supported. The cameras are still good and viable.

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Choyong Voyager Internet Radio Review

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Choyong Voyager Internet Radio Review

Choyong Voyager Internet Radio

I currently own the Choyong LC-90, and the A8W. While I currently don’t NEED another streaming radio the Choyong Voyager Internet Radio looked too tempting to pass up.

They actually call it the ChoYong Voyager G2 Smart BT Radio. And it also identifies as a BlueTooth speaker.

And yet on their website, when you add the radio it shows up as an A9EN. Then go to Amazon and you’ll see this:

“Choyong Voyager Bluetooth Speaker Wireless Internet Radio with WIFI/4G,World Radio Station,BT5.3, Electronics for Home/Travel/Outdoor mini Portable Speaker“

So during this review I’m just going to call it the Choyong Voyager.

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Canon Powershot A640 Review

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Canon Powershot A640 Review

Canon Powershot A640

You might be asking yourself why I’m reviewing the Canon Powershot A640 which was released to consumers in 2006. By my estimation that makes it nearly 20 years old.

And you really might be wondering why I’m writing about it 19 years after I bought mine.

By today’s standards it has features that a lot of cameras today should have at the same price point.

I am not referring to sensor size or megapixels although it has a respectable 1 1/8″ CCD sensor with 10 Mega Pixels. And DPReview.com gave it a pretty decent review in late 2006.

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Camera Tethering

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Camera Tethering

Camera Tethering

I have written several articles on camera tethering over the years. And here I go again. I am FAR from any kind of professional photographer but I do have this blog and I do sell the occasional item on Facebook.

So allow me to discuss why I believe tethering is important.

Let’s dissect the photo just above for a moment. I am using a Canon A640, circa. 2006 tethered via a USB-B Mini 5 pin connector to a USB-A cable on the computer end. The laptop cost a whopping $75 and the white background cost around $35.

This is neither the best camera or laptop that I own. Far from it. I’m just making a point here. I’m using this setup to show how great results can be obtained without spending a ton of money. Additionally, there are pros that use tethering way more successfully than I ever will. I’m just a guy who stumbled across this great method of getting better results with the tools that I have. To this day I will not buy a camera that cannot be tethered to a computer.

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