- I’m on a lot of mailing lists and participate in a bunch of amateur radio forums. As a result, I see a lot of interesting gadgets that guys are buying or are thinking about buying. Here are three of the latest that look interesting to me. I wish I had time (and money) to purchase all of these and try them out.
Android antenna analyzer
On Reddit, some of the guys have been talking about the Mini60 Antenna Analyzer. Its frequency range is 1 – 60MHz, but the cool thing about this device is that you can use it standalone with the built-in LCD display or with some software and a Bluetooth device to get fancy frequency vs. SWR plots as shown above.
Of course, this is made in China, but how can you beat the price? It costs less $120 shipped.
Multi-functional component tester
Here’s another marvel of Chinese engineering and manufacture – a smart component tester for only $25, shipped. This isn’t the first one to hit the market, but the unique thing about this unit is that it has a graphical display that not only identifies the type of component that you’ve connected to it, but also draws the schematic symbol of the part. See the video below:
Make your RPi into a desktop PC
Newark/element 14 will soon start selling a kit of part that will make it easier to turn your Raspberry Pi into a desktop PC. The kit includes:
- Intelligent and Safe Power Controller
- Interface to connect mSATA SSD (upto 1TB)
- Real Time Clock to keep track of time
- Heat Sink
- Enclosure
They don’t list the price just yet, but this might be what I need to actually make use of the Raspberry Pi 3 I bought several months ago.
The ebay link in the antenna analyzer is for something different!
The antenna analyzer looks very tempting…
Yes, I may just have to buy one. I’m sure after playing with it for a while, I could sell it for pretty close to what I paid for it, if I don’t want to keep it.
I found the perfect use for a Raspberry Pi is to (wait for it) USE IT!
That is, find a dedicated use like a DMR hotspot, and “sacrifice” what ever current version of Pi you have on hand to the project, and then go out and buy another! That way, you’ll always have one or two in stock for the next dedicated project that strikes your fancy.
Don’t overthink the process. Pi’s are cheap, so you don’t have to treat it like a general-purpose computer. Same goes for Arduinos. Build a project with one, like an APRS setup (there’s a use for an old handheld, also), and then replenish your stock of boards.