Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions | Hacker News Reader

Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions

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I don't lug all of this day-to-day but keep it in a bag for hackathons, preso days, "can you fix my blah", etc.

HDMI to mini + micro HDMI, HDMI to/from DVI, Display Port to HDMI (would like to find a HDMI to DP), HDMI to HDMI coupler. Cheap HDMI to USB capture lets your laptop act as a monitor for a Pi or whatever. Composite/RCA to HDMI for old console games.

Of course "dongle town" of USB-C to almost everything like ethernet, DP, HDMI, VGA, USB-A, etc. (I also have Lightning and Mac/Thunderbolt 2 versions of some of those that I take to events as loaners.)

A little USB power meter (USB-C, USB-A and I think micro USB but never tried that) is damn handy.

I keep a little headphone case full of USB flash drives (mostly Sandisk Cruzer Fits) with different distros / installers / etc. including a couple installed Linux environments. I miss the really flat Verbatim ones.

Lighting and USB-C to 1/8" headphone (and a good old pair of wired earbuds with mic).

USB to 9-pin serial and even to 25-pin printer port.

I keep a couple Anker cables that are USB-A to combo USB-C/microUSB/Lightning with a USB-C to USB-A adapter. Slow but they always work.

Those adapters that adapt USB-C cables to fit USB-A ports can be hazardous if you end up creating a USB-A to USB-A cable.

> I keep a little headphone case full of USB flash drives (mostly Sandisk Cruzer Fits) with different distros / installers / etc. including a couple installed Linux environments.

Ventoy[1] allows me to have one big-ish USB flash drive with multiple ISOs for various distros.

1. https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

Why not just use a compact multi-port usb-c dock? Much harder to misplace, and you can put a ‘stolen from $user’ sticker on it.

Can't believe no one is mentioned. A power brick yet/ external battery. You know like one of those 10,000 milliampere hour ones.

Mine integrates a flashlight.

Neat! I knew about the existence of all of these individual things, but I appreciate the article laying out the photos and use cases for each. By the way, I recommend against "RJ45 Join Adapters" and instead towards "RJ45 Keystone Connectors". They do the same thing, but they're intended for patch panels for full speed CAT-6 applications, so they're pretty high quality, and dirt cheap.

> By the way, I recommend against "RJ45 Join Adapters" and instead towards "RJ45 Keystone Connectors"

If you only see a couple of jacks while searching for "RJ45 Keystone Connectors", then you need to search for "RJ45 Keystone couplers"

Not a single mention of a few of the things I always keep in my bags:

* eyeglass screwdriver mini pen kit * 100w usb-c pps pd charger bag with out of spec 10ft cable and 10ft extension. lots of tips for laptops. it works since most things don't draw a ton of power and it's saved my butt a lot of times * 5 port switch is handy. unifi has a cheap USBC powered one I've moved to * tp link travel router * spare mini mouse and dongle

If you have an old car with no bluetooth, there are adapter kits for around $200 that allow you to splice bluetooth directly into the audio system. The audio quality will be much better than the FM transmitter and you won't have to constantly switch frequencies on long trips. Many also come with a microphone for phone calls.

The install is easy, generally requiring only interior pry tools (< $10), screwdriver, and some adhesive/zipties to secure the module inside your dashboard.

200 dollars? For less than 30 bucks you can buy broken bluetooth headphones on ebay and a linear voltage regulator. Plug them into the barrel jack, done.

30 bucks? You can buy an adapter for $1.50 with free shipping from the usual Chinese retailers.

(I think they were talking about vehicles without a 3.5mm or similar audio input though. There's probably still analog audio in there somewhere which could be spliced into, but the kit might make it easier.)

Similarly you can get Bluetooth receivers that plug into an aux input.

this is for systems that don't have an aux input.

If you have a tape deck, that's another surgery-free way to patch in an external audio source. Those adapters are like 10 bucks.

They're also a cheap and easy source of tape heads for projects/replacements.

audio quality on those is awful

Yes, for $30. And they even have convenient control buttons.

I bought one for $3 or so on AliExpress and to my ears it sounds fine, some audio enthusiasts might hear a difference to a $30 version though

To be honest - I am not really interested in Bluetooth in my car - I just wanted a solution that would play my MP3's with random order and nothing more.

The BLOW FM transmitter I use - besides having Bluetooth - also have a builtin microphone - so I may connect phone to it and even use it for loud phone talks ... but I really prefer current MP3's on USB and just play 'setup'.

... and I do not see any difference between CD quality or this FM transmitter quality ... but I am not an audiophile either - so maybe there will be some people that hear the difference. Having 40 years at my neck I will hear less and less frequencies so I believe that will not be a problem :)

Regards,

vermaden

My old boss had a cable with an RS232 connector with configurable pins. Back in the 90s and 2000s, there was a lot of equipment using RS232 but there was no reliable standard pin configuration. That often meant building a cable specifically for a given device.

By the time I came along in the 2010s, everything was Cisco or at compatible with the Cisco cables, so it wasn't needed much any more. It was such a neat idea, I almost regretted not being around to enjoy it when it was useful.

"RS232 Jumper Box" https://www.radioparts.com.au/images/ProductImages/30577329....

I also have another RS232 device in the attic that shows the signals as LEDs. https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41HVXpTp4wL._AC_SL1000_....

Very useful back in the days.

Oh, this is delightful; so many things that I somehow never thought of and now I've got to go buy:) The only one that gives me pause - for all that I very much want it - is the power cable adapters; is that kind of "dumb" adapter quite safe? I wouldn't have necessarily expected ex. a thinkpad power cord to have the same volts/amps as a USB(-C) cable.

I have similar-looking ones that have a chip in the connector, capable of negotiating USB PD. There is no UI on the cable — buy the cable “hardcoded” to the voltage you desire. (My personal use case is powering 12v barrel jack electronics from a USB powerbank.)

I blame one for killing my RAVPower USB-C brick but otherwise it's worked for me.

I occasionally refresh the various cables and adapters in my backpacks.

The addition the other day was this little tube that includes a short USB-C-to-USB-C plug cable, plus various USB-C-to-other-plug adapters, and a SIM extractor.

Also handy is a longer USB-A to USB-C cable that supports data (since my laptop and chargers are still USB-A), a reputable USB-A data blocker, a USB-A charger wallwart, and a very small USB power bank.

I love the idea of the USB-power-to-ThinkPad-barrel adapter in the article, and will have to find one that doesn't scare me. (Currently "rocking" X200, T520, and W520 that would be hard to replace if fried.)

Of all the things on the list, the third item

    RJ45 Join Adapters

Is one that has saved me (and others I work for) so many times. How many times have I been in some building/area without my network tool bag with two male RJ45s looking at one another and I am going, "hrmm I have to connect these".

I _literally_ just used one this morning... cable too short, no network bag in sight, but my laptop bag always has an RJ45 join adapter (not sure if that is the real name).

I used to work backstage at concerts assisting my dad who was a sound engineer. We had my favourite cable of all time, a 30cm extension cord that was affectionately known as the "you've got to be #&$@ing me" cord. You'd run a 40m extension cord up and around the stage and get to the light you needed to plug in and you'd always be just short.

When I went into IT I quickly made myself some 30cm long Ethernet cables with a keystone on one end for just such an occasion.

I always called them 'couplers'.

They have saved me a few times too. When I was in the thick of IT, I used to carry a little tool kit with push down-tools for patch panels, screwdrivers, and an rj45 crimper. I carried it for years but only used it a handful of time, mostly on network wall sockets that hadn't been pushed down fully.

My geekiest item was a zip up case with my usb flash drives, with the usual Linux distros + Kali, Windows installers and of course Hirens boot USB (and cd!). Hirens was mostly just for resetting local admin passwords, but the disk recovery stuff was useful too.

I think I would be viewed with some suspicion carrying that in my new workplace!

"Join Adapters"

I always called them "Gender Benders". For all sorts of cables

The term I've heard used frequently is "butt connector" (presumably because it allows you to "butt-up" two connections). I, too, always carry some of these with me. They're extremely handy.

I've always seen these called inline couplers but only in the context of RJ45 and RJ11 for some reason.

wordpress site, aliexpress links, random active hardware plugged directly into your computer.... i dunno....

ethernet couplers and angle adapters are the dew of the deities though.

This blog is my 3rd blog attempt.

Earlier two ones are here:

- http://strony.toya.net.pl/~vermaden/links.htm

- http://vermaden.blogspot.com/

This time I did not focused on the layout and things like that - I focused on the content - as now - after 6 years of 'doing' this - http://vermaden.wordpress.com/ - blog - the content is the thing that matters the most.

I also tried other free platforms - but WordPress got me by one important thing - it was the only one from the free ones that allowed REALLY WIDE area for the content of blog posts (with this free theme I use) - that was really important for me for all these commands outputs - so they will not be wrapped - or require scroll everytime.

I know WordPress is not the best platform - but its there and its free - I do not make money out of the things I post there - I just want to share what others may find useful. For that its more then enough for me.

I also do not understand what is wrong with Aliexpress - I regularly buy some things there and they are always the ones that are in the photos/descriptions and they are delivered to the place I live ...

Hope that helps.

Regards, vermaden

Vermaden is a fairly prolific and established author on matters Unix and FreeBSD.

If you don't trust the author, there are images and search terms for each of these items. If they seem useful, go vet a source for yourself. They're available in many places other than aliexpress.

Not mentioned are the magnetic charging connectors. I’ve found them useful for charging small appliances, like usb-c remotes and peripherals, and a micro-usb radio.

Word of warning: most of these are charge only, but a few do support data transfer. Do not use them for data. I am 79% sure that I bricked a USB-C monitor with one. I was well aware of the warnings, but did so anyway in a selfish pursuit of convenience.

I have tried to use them in the past - but somehow I never really 'attached' to them - so I stopped using them - but yes, definitely, they can be useful.

In my line of work, I can't go for long without a USB to Serial adapter.

I used to own an "eight-inch coupler" (sounds rude). It was a short piece of cable, joining two 25-pin female RS232 connectors.

Back when I acquired it, there were lots of computers, terminals and modems that used 25-pin RS232. You could use this thing to replace two modems and a telephone link. It was a handy thing to have in your bag on a field visit.

Null modem? For temporary use, you could also get those in a little adapter, and pair it with a normal DB25-to-DB25 cable with all pins straight through, for more flexibility (without carrying 2 cables).

I always have a 500 lumen Petzl headlamp with me. They take a rechargeable battery or three triple-As so are extremely flexible and you don't have to push and hold to get to the exact brightness like you do with Black Diamond lamps.

I have many boxes of different cables and adaptors like this. Nice to know I'm not the only one who likes collecting them.

My favourite addition in recent years is really long USB cables, like 5 metres, and HDMI 90 degree adaptors in every orientation.

for me:

- usb-ethernet adapters, since many craptops have no RJ45 port and many users have issues with their wifi crap setup... "Hey, plug the adapter, forget the rest"

- NVME/M.2 SATA to usb case since allow good data storage in a small space (maybe with ventoy and a bunch of custom ISO)

- USB serial adapter, rare to use these days, but sometimes very useful with kermit or gtkterm as a companion (I do dislike minicom)

- for those who play with IoT, dupont lines/a breadboard might be handy

- small USB/battery powered lights

- RJ9 - 3.5mm audio ports and single to dual 3.5 jack adapter since sometimes audio need extras

These are mine "most used, most cheap, generally not taken into account" tools.

I've been looking for a USBC to MacBook circa 2008 charger. The voltage and power line up fine, just need to step (or negotiate ) to 16.5V and then get a MacBook 5 pin plug.

Anyone seen one of these?

Quick search for usb-c to magsafe 1, yielded this

https://www.amazon.com/AreMe-Magnetic-Converter-Compatible-2...

I cannot believe that. I swear I searched high and low, but I'm quite happy to see it's there, regardless.

Still looking for a high quality usb-c to audio jack adapter for my Galaxy S24, So far I only encountered garbage at Amazon et al.

According to what I read on the internet, the dongle from Apple seems to be ironically one of the best.

Though some people needed to buy multiple of them as they arrived broken from the factory.

I don't own one myself, but I read many threads about USB-C DACs and it always got mentioned.

Anker is my usual bet for usb

https://www.amazon.ca/Anker-Adapter-Female-Samsung-Devices/d...

I initially read "hardware companies", which sounded like an interesting read as well.

I've just bought a couple of USB-C right angle adapters, in the hope of jogging the cable at the back of a keyboard up 1cm. Tilting keyboards backwards for ergonomic reasons has long gone out of fashion, so the cables get in the way.

i own a few of these in the list. i'd also add: usb-a / usb-c data blocker.

I get a surprising amount of use out of a small $10 stamped-steel micrometer.

I have a bunch of those USB C to microUSB adapters since a lot of devices I have still use MicroUSB. They really come in handy

Do they work for more than just charging? The article only mentioned power/charging with them.

Yes, though only at USB 2.0 speeds.

These are great but I’m always concerned that these adapters violate some spec or might fry my hardware…

I do not have such experiences with them - and I do not use them since yesterday - but much much longer :)

See also this ExplainingComputers video on Very Useful Small Computing Things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_yO7aaHd0o

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