As of this yr, EDN has consecutively revealed (deliberately forward of Black Friday, by the best way, when you hadn’t already deduced that non-coincidence) my odes to holiday-excused consumerism for greater than a half-decade straight, nearing ten editions in complete. Listed here are the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 variations; I skipped a number of years between 2014 and its successors. As prior to now, I’ve included up-front hyperlinks to the prior-year variations as a result of I’ve carried out my greatest right here to not reiterate any previous class suggestions; the stuff I’ve beforehand urged largely stays legitimate, in any case. That stated, it will get more durable and more durable every year to not repeat myself!

With none additional ado, and as ordinary ordered solely within the order through which they initially got here out of my skull…

A conveyable soldering iron

Being tethered in a single place, or at greatest capable of roam solely a brief distance from an influence outlet, is a pet peeve of mine. It’s why, for instance, I barely ever use a desktop laptop anymore; not solely are laptops and the like performance-adequate for many duties these days, in addition they run for hours on batteries (regardless of that mine’s nonetheless most occasions plugged right into a wall outlet). It’s why I way back changed a legacy AC “weed whacker” with a battery-operated successor, accompanied by a suite of rechargeable lithium cells (and chargers) that additionally work with different transportable instruments.

Equally, I’d generally favor to take my soldering iron to the place I want to make use of it versus at all times needing to pull no matter widget wants soldering right down to my workbench and its AC outlet-fed conventional soldering iron set. That’s the place the brand new FixHub |Energy Sequence from my long-time buddies at iFixit is available in. The baseline is the $79.99 USB-C PD-based Good Soldering Iron:

As much as 100 W of energy (a 35-W minimal energy supply is critical). Heats up in round 5 seconds. An illuminated ring for warmth indication, together with security options like auto standby and fall safety. Interchangeable soldering suggestions and a factory-preset default tip temperature of 350°C (660°F), subsequently user-adjustable between 100°C and 420°C. How, you would possibly ask, since there’s no temperature dial proven within the image? One setting-customization possibility is a Internet Interface (at present not supporting Mozilla Firefox, alas, I’ve simply discovered), consider it or not.

The opposite possibility, which additionally neatly addresses the “what about that portability you had been touting earlier” question a few of you could be having proper now, is a smartphone-sized 55 watt-hour transportable battery-plus-control field, which iFixit optionally bundles with the soldering iron to provide you with the $249.95 Transportable Soldering Station. It delivers an estimated 8-hour runtime between prices and offers a second USB-C PD output for (amongst different issues) gadgets comparable to what I’ll speak about subsequent:

Cheap lab gear

How’s that saying go: champagne style on a beer finances? Or, when you favor a visible definition:

That’s me, a minimum of a number of the time, and with some issues (cameras apart, for instance, though in self-defense right here, just about every little thing photo-related I purchase is already gently used). Which explains, partially, my burgeoning fascination with low-priced lab gear. One other key motivation is to see, as time goes on and bill-of-materials value reductions mix with buyer demand will increase, simply how a lot (measured in each feature-set amount and per-feature high quality) I can get at a selected value level. Kinda like photo voltaic panel tendencies, I suppose…

Anyway, listed below are a number of of my buy examples in your consideration. First up is Jesverty’s WPS-3005 0-30 V and 0-5 A adjustable switching DC regulated bench energy provide (different choices with totally different output voltage and present ranges and case and show colours are additionally obtainable), which I purchased on sale at Amazon in October 2022 for $22.49:

Then there was the FNIRSI DSO-TC3, a 3-in-1 digital oscilloscope, digital element tester, and performance sign generator, the superior (translation: extra check probes included) model of which I snagged again in Could of this yr from Banggood for $39.99:

Critical testing gear? Are you severe? However hey, the scope’s 10 MS/s sampling charge and 500-kHz bandwidth are nothing to sneeze at. It integrates a 2.4” coloration TFT show. Sign waveform generator choices embody sine, sq., pulse stroke, triangle, ramp and DC. The DSO-TC3’s transistor and different element testing capabilities are notable, particularly contemplating the value tag. A bunch of different obtainable gadget useful modes are additionally listed on the product web page, together with temperature and humidity sensor measurement assist. To my earlier level about roaming to the place the (testing and measurement, on this case) “motion” is versus forcing relocation to the gear-tethered workbench, it’s powered by an embedded lithium battery which, sure, will be recharged by (amongst different sources) the second USB-C PD port on the iFixit FixHub |Energy field, as I foreshadowed earlier. And did I point out that it value me lower than $40?

Snazzy Raspberry Pi peripherals

Final yr, I lined the not too long ago launched Raspberry Pi 5, which is now obtainable in an entry-level $50 variant with 2 GBytes of RAM along with the initially launched 4 GByte and eight GByte flavors (two instance of the latter which I personal). This yr, I’d prefer to concentrate on a number of “RasPi” peripherals I’ve additionally not too long ago acquired (and in one other case, nonetheless have on my want record). Focusing first on HAT+ add-in playing cards, the Raspberry Pi Basis belatedly lastly rolled out its personal M.2 board, some time after third-party companions had carried out so. In contrast to a few of these others, nonetheless, it may be fitted to a Raspberry Pi 5 with the Raspberry Pi Lively Cooler additionally in place…which is sweet.

It additionally, not like some third-party counterparts, and quoting from the product web page, “is autodetected by the most recent Raspberry Pi software program/firmware.” That is the important thing motive why I at all times are likely to go for “official” peripherals versus third-party alternate options, regardless of how tempted I could be by these others’ specs. Do a little bit of analysis, for instance, into some third-party digicam modules whose drivers don’t hold tempo with base board firmware and O/S updates, inevitably ending up prematurely dropped from their suppliers’ assist lists, and also you’ll see what I imply.

Talking of spectacular specs, whereas the M.2 HAT+ board’s assist for “quick (as much as 500 MB/s) information switch to and from NVMe drives” would possibly sound spectacular, realistically the Raspberry Pi 5’s microSD interface is a lot speedy sufficient for just about any present utility; the most important profit to the M.2 different could be as a (cost-effective) high-capacity storage possibility. However be aware, too, the “and different PCIe equipment” qualifier within the initially revealed model of that earlier quote. What would possibly these “different PCIe equipment” be, you ask? They embody, for instance, Hailo’s M.2 2242 module based mostly on the Hailo-8L deep studying inference processor, which Raspberry PI bundles with the M.2 HAT+ because the $70 Raspberry Pi AI Equipment:

Talking of digicam modules, what’s new within the Raspberry Pi Basis’s steady? Properly, there’s…

• A model of the Digital camera Module 2 absent the IR filter
• The HQ Digital camera, which bumps up the decision to 12.3 Mpixels and, though absent a lens of its personal (due to this fact absent the phrase “Module” within the product identify), helps each C/CS and M12 mount interchangeable lenses
• The World Shutter Digital camera, with “solely” 1.6 Mpixel decision however which “can seize speedy movement with out introducing artifacts typical of rolling shutter cameras” and is due to this fact “Excellent for quick movement pictures and machine imaginative and prescient functions” (once more, there’s no built-in lens, due to this fact no “Module” within the product identify, however a C/CS interchangeable lens mount is included)
• The Digital camera Module 3 collection, which provides autofocus assist
• And final however not least (and, in actual fact, most not too long ago) the $70 AI Digital camera, based mostly on Sony’s IMX500 Clever Imaginative and prescient Sensor and likewise integrating a Raspberry Pi RP2040 IC for neural community firmware administration.

An influence financial institution (or few)

I’ve conceptually mentioned energy banks earlier than:

And even tore one down a number of years again:

However except I’m mistaken (at all times a chance), I don’t suppose they’ve but made considered one of my vacation present lists. Let’s rectify that oversight, as a result of they’re helpful, {powerful}, totable and more and more cost-effective gadgets. They generally combine Qi wi-fi charging pads, as a complement to their varied wired energy outputs, which some energy banks additional increase by way of MagSafe (Qi2, extra broadly) assist for handy attachment to a drained-internal-battery cellphone:

And because of USB’s (particularly, USB-C’s) combo of accelerating ubiquity and useful range, manufactures are even starting to bundle lithium batteries with solid-state storage:

multi-port hub connectivity:

and in different multi-function single-device mixtures, which admittedly is sort of intelligent from a diversification-and-competitive isolation standpoint, when you consider it. Simply keep in mind, when you take one or a number of on an airplane, that as with exterior batteries for videography, every will must be in your carry-on baggage, not checked, and smaller than 100 watt-hours in capability.

Energy stations

Beef up the inner battery capability, together with the array of charging-input and power-output choices, and also you’ve bought a transportable energy station in your palms, able to fueling an equipment or few and even (if it’s sufficiently big and your home is sufficiently small) a complete room-to-residence for a notable period of time within the absence of utility-sourced premises “juice”. Common readers might recall that a number of months in the past, I lined the Phase2 Power PowerSource 660Wh 1800-Watt Energy Station I’d not too long ago acquired:

“Transportable” is admittedly debatable right here, given its dimension and particularly weight, because of its SLA (sealed lead acid) AGM (absorbed glass mat, though I haven’t but definitively decided this latter variation) battery basis. Nevertheless it does the job and was comparatively inexpensive. And because of the transportable (an unarguable use of the time period, this time) photo voltaic panel I additionally bought for it:

I’m not even depending on the presence of utility-sourced premises “juice” to recharge it.

That each one stated, as I additionally talked about again in August, an growing quantity and variety of transportable energy stations at the moment are showing based mostly on lighter weight and extra compact, to not point out extra powerful-per-pound and per-cubic-inch, lithium-variant battery applied sciences. As a sneak peek of extra in-depth protection to return, I’ll share that not too long ago I’ve personally acquired two EcoFlow models. The smaller one, a RIVER 2:

is satisfactory for in a single day tenting journeys within the van, for instance. Or a day’s price of drone flying. Or for powering my CPAP machine and oxygen concentrator in a single day. And I can use the aforementioned 100-W transportable photo voltaic panel to additionally recharge it through the day (albeit not similtaneously the Phase2), at the side of an Anderson-to-XT60i connector adapter cable.

The opposite, beefier (however nonetheless transportable) EcoFlow energy station I not too long ago purchased is a DELTA 2:

which I’ve supplemented with two 220-W second-generation transportable photo voltaic panels at the side of a parallel panel output-combiner cable:

That stated, as I discussed a number of months in the past, the variety of credible (i.e., not no-name, fly-by-night) suppliers is steadily rising, in the mean time additionally together with corporations comparable to (however not restricted to) Anker, Bluetti, Jackery and, consider it or not, even DJI (to my earlier drone-flying feedback). Whoever’s product(s) you find yourself shopping for, I encourage you to maintain a key foundational differentiator in thoughts as you choose among the many choices. LiFePO₄ (lithium iron phosphate), generally as a substitute referred to by the LFP (lithium ferrophosphate) acronym, is one widespread lithium-based battery strategy. One other standard battery expertise, which looking back I notice I uncared for to say again in August, is NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt), which is additionally lithium-based though “lithium” is nowhere to be discovered within the identify.

NMC batteries have the next vitality density, due to this fact delivering extra energy for a given cell quantity, and function extra stably throughout temperature extremes. Conversely, LiFePO₄/LFP batteries are able to considerably larger recharge cycle counts with out degrading, are less expensive because of each quickly rising manufacturing provide and booming buyer demand and are extra thermally steady. Which expertise is inside a given energy station will be arduous to find out; the Energizer one I beforehand talked about (after which briefly owned, which you’ll learn extra about later), for instance, was solely listed as utilizing a “lithium-ion battery”, and solely after doing a bunch of analysis did I be taught that it was NMC. The trouble’s worthwhile.

A conveyable SSD

The opposite day, in preparation for re-creation with larger capability, I backed up a 20 GByte sparse bundle-based digital disk to my 128 GByte Samsung S1 mini exterior storage gadget, based mostly on a Spinpoint SPU 1.8” 3600 rpm HDD, over USB 2. It took about half-hour for the copy to finish. Then, performing out of curiosity, I additionally backed up that very same 20 GByte file to my 1 TByte SK Hynix “Beetle” X31 transportable SSD over USB-C-based USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps). This time, it took lower than 30 seconds. And no, the distinction wasn’t (simply) because of the extra trendy interface. I feel it’s time to retire the Samsung Si mini, with gratitude for its lengthy, dependable service ;-).

In order for you one thing with a USB “stick” or “thumb drive” reminiscent (albeit “thicker”) kind issue as a substitute, there’s at all times additionally the SK Hynix “Tube” T31, a 1 GByte variant of which I additionally personal and which leverages USB-A-based USB 3.2 Gen2 (5 Gbps, this time):

The maybe apparent key differentiation in these (and different: SK Hynix isn’t the only provider) circumstances, versus with a typical USB flash “stick”, is the inclusion of a real NVMe SSD module inside, coupled to a quick interface to the surface world. And versus the standard 2.5” exterior HDD-reminiscent kind components of the Samsung T5 and T7 transportable SSDs I additionally personal:

the SK Hynix T31 and X31 are extra diminutive, albeit extra peak capacity-limited.

Wi-fi…err…”analysis” help

This final one is a minimum of mildly controversial, a minimum of in Canada, the place a ban was thought of albeit in the end paused, and Brazil, the place imports had been seized. It’s the $169 Flipper Zero:

described on the producer’s web site as (amongst different issues) a “Multi-tool System for Geeks” and, extra extensively:

A flexible device for {hardware} exploration, firmware flashing, debugging, and fuzzing [editor note: testing various protocols and signals]. It may be related to any piece of {hardware} utilizing GPIO to regulate it with buttons, run your personal code and print debug messages to the LCD. It may also be used as a daily USB adapter for UART, SPI, I2C, and so on.

Flipper Zero helps a range of wi-fi RF schemes—125 kHz RFID, NFC, Bluetooth Low Power, and so on.—together with infrared, and built-in microSD assist additional expands its information and utility storage (and execution, within the latter case) capabilities. So, what’s the controversy? Merely said, {hardware} “exploration” can in a minimum of some circumstances rework into “exploitation”. Canadian officers have controversially claimed, for instance, that Flipper Zero gadgets can be utilized to steal autos by cloning the alerts used for distant keyless entry. So, assuming you’re taking my bait and purchase one, the Christmas-themed query then is “will you be naughty or good”?

Much more for past 2024

I’ve bought loads of extra presents-to-others-and/or-self concepts, however the level isn’t to jot down a e-book, so I’ll shut right here, having simply handed by 2,500 phrases. Upside: I’ve already bought subjects for subsequent yr’s version! Till then, pontificate within the feedback, and completely happy holidays!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Imaginative and prescient Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the corporate’s on-line publication.

Associated Content material

• A vacation procuring information for engineers: 2023 version
• A vacation procuring information for engineers: 2022 version
• A vacation procuring information for engineers: 2021 version
• A vacation present want record for 2020
• A vacation procuring information for client tech
• 10 vacation presents for tech lovers

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The submit A vacation procuring information for engineers: 2024 version appeared first on EDN.