>News (cont)
>>106594030 - Anon posts a 8" tablet for sizing help
>>106598692 - The Guide has a new look
>>106598822 - Silksong enjoyer gets some anime pins and a USB-C cable
>>106601222 - Anon makes questionable purchasing decisions while drunk and horny
>>106603625 - Anon buys a premium soldering station
>>106603760 - Haul review, mostly a wifi card and antenna stuff.
>>106604147 - Anon learns of the power of genuine chinesium

thanks for the news newsanon

Any suggestions on a beard trimmer?
I'm on a trip right now and my Braum Series 5 won't turn on anymore but I don't have a charger so I need to wait till I get home to find out if it's somehow out of battery without giving a low battery warning the last few uses or if it's just genuinely dead

Why has aliexpress stop accepting paypal? I get to the checkout and select paypal as normal but when the paypal window opens I get a message saying the seller doesnt accept payment in my currency. Ive tried USD, GBP, EUR with no luck. What the fuck?

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hehe

guys i haven't been chinked in a while so i bought 64gb "lexar" microsd with the 3 off 6 coupon wish me luck

How is the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 for swimming? I just want a simple tracker, but I'm afraid that most cheap stuff will die as soon as I enter a pool.

>>106606389
Godspeed.
https://fight-flash-fraud.readthedocs.io/en/latest/introduction.html

i just want an outdoor wifi camera and a small display to watch the live feed, what is my best option?

>>106604198
That picture really is quite good. What did you take it with?
>>106604147
I’ve got the same tool and I quite like it. It’s wobbly and cheap, but it works for those hard to reach spots. What did you do with it?

>>106607281
Bike brakes. Can't be more than 10Nm of torque. It just slipped at some point and after that I saw this.
>take it with
I feel like I would be shunned from this thread for going with non-chink phone, so I'll give a riddle. First three symbols of the name are the same as the name of the short message service rolled out in 1993; and the last three is the name of the series of iconic German rear-engine sport cars, introduced in 1964 and made to this day.

>>106606456
I have a mi band 7 or something, the versions don't really change too much.
The bpm and step counter are fairly accurate, battery life is great and it's cheap, but the other sensors I wouldn't trust at all. For calories it mostly uses MET with some scalar for bpm as proxy for exertion.
If your fear is waterproofness, don't worry, I wore it anywhere, salt water, daily shower, etc. It doesn't care.
Just be realistic about how good the sensors are and it's a good little tracker. If you want more accuracy you will need to get something better though. Don't worry about waterproofness that's a solved issue these days.

>>106607579
Yeah I'm not expecting it to be as accurate as a $1000 garmin, as long as it has good time/distance measurements that's enough for me.
My main worry was about how it'd fare being underwater a lot, thanks.

>>106582971
don't buy a super thick xxxl fat ass extra padding saddle with spring, its alright but if it rains it will be a sponge for a week, and saddle covers are all shit.

for light you'd be better off buying something from local Aldi or liddl.
otherwise newboller,

>>106604147
glad I didn't buy this. was always tempted.

>>106607999
or rockbros

What's the current state of Chinese or other adjustable lightbulbs that you can flash free firmware like Tasmota on and remotely control with free software? I know Tuya and tuya-convert to flash Tasmota but nothing about how to control it. Don't care about RGB, I just want controllable luminance/brightness and white levels. Static light bulbs are either yellow or too bright. Remotely turning them off would be nice too.

>>106608683
I don't know about firmware flashing, but tuya is essentially zigbee, which is a local mesh network. No internet connection required.
You need a gateway, which is where the botnet comes in, but you can buy zigbee bidges, which are USB dongles that act as a gateway, then run them via homeassistant locally.
That should still be the meta.

>>106608683
Most are a pain in the ass to flash because the firmware gets updated to fix the OTA exploits. Tasmota can be controlled by a simple web interface, but a lot of people set them up with stuff like Home Assistant.

well first time i either got scammed or stuff stolen, but ordered some stuff and didn't see it arrive at my house. they gave the proof of delivery pic, so i know it was delivered (even though it was just a picture of the package and a picture of it near my house or anything but whatever). already request for a refund for my stuff and got some money back already, but still damn, 2 weeks

Is it possible to buy non shit magnets on ali? I want some strong, small magnets but half of them are obvious trash, how can I filter out the good ones? It doesn't matter if they cost a bit more, but I just don't want to pay more and then still get the shit ones.

>>106609131
That sounds like an issue with your shipping company, not Aliexpress.

>>106609306
Look for Neodymium and filter by orders/reviews.

>>106609358
yeah forgot to mention it, but yeah definitely seems like a shipping company error. it was Cainiao Logistics and i heard good stuff about them so thought they were fine, guess not though

>>106609372
>Cainiao Logistics
At least where I live Cainao doesn't do last mile delivery. They deliver most of the way and then after customs they subcontract to a local delivery company.
Either way my condolences, if you have porch pirates or scummy delivery people that's gotta suck. I tell all delivery people to just leave my shit in front of my door so I don't have to pick it up at a store or packet station and despite me living in a inner city I've never had any issues, even if it lies out there for a day or so.
If it happens more often and wasn't a one-off I'd look up if you can set that delivery company to instead deliver to a pickup station and get it from there, then you have definitive proof if you got the package or not.

Any steam deck equivalents from trusted brands?
Any MIDI controllers/synths/etc?

>>106609510
https://csg-guide.neocities.org/#gaming-handhelds

>>106609520
Lmao, sorry for the typo. Meant stream deck, like the Elgato.

>>106609585
Oh kek.
There's been talks about clones, but I don't think anyone actually reviewed anything or talked about compatibility or anything.
But there are definitely clones around, just not sure I can speak to how good they are. Maybe some other anon can help.

>>106605245
I don’t see the point of this week’s discounts, 300$ worth of shit only gets like 11$ off , 40-50$ tops with coins and codes. Unless I buy blatant chinesium

>>106605245
anyone knows a good supplier for water filters? both the filters themselves and the devices.
I heard someone say the best suppliers of cheap filters are taiwanese. is this true?

what's a good chink e-reader? the ones in the guide aren't that cheap for a poorfag thirdie like me

>>106608683
I'd suggest zigbee or bluetooth. Bulbs are hard to ESPHome because usually you have to take them apart for the initial flashing and bulbs are glued.

Otherwise if you want ESPHome, my source on that is generally digiblurDIY. He has a list of flashable bulbs: https://digiblur.com/wiki/devices/esp-flashable-devices. I've also found https://www.athom.tech/ has pre-flashed esphome bulbs, and if I search for "esphome bulb" in ali I find some more stuff that is pre-flashed.

I personally have put all my smarts in my switches, which are a little easier to flash and less effort to pair than pairing every single bulb in my house. But that doesn't meet your adjustable color temperature requirements, unless you maybe get dim to warm bulbs.

>>106593947

what are you redeeming? I dont have stuff like that.

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>>106605053
Chink dont care about any laws at all and will send almost anything and the customs are so overfilled with tiny packages they dont have capacity to scan them so a lot of stuff slips through?

>>106604411

how good were the items?

>>106610286
As the guide specifically states, if price is the issue, a Kindle Paperwhite will be cheapest. Used or new, then jailbroken or left in airplane mode.
>>106610721
From my understanding decent, for those that got lucky and noticed the exploit that is. It's just highly unlikely you were one of those lucky people. One anon noticed in time and got a beamer, though he only posted about it once it was too late.

>>106607453
> First three symbols of the name are the same as the name of the short message service rolled out in 1993; and the last three is the name of the series of iconic German rear-engine sport cars, introduced in 1964 and made to this day.
SMSche? Or maybe sms911? What kind of phone is that?

>>106610650
10 cent water bottle, lol. It's not even worth it but I'm doing the tree watering thing for these gems.

I need a onahole

Will I regret getting a 13" tablet? Is it too big?

Anyone purchased lab grown sapphires from AliExpress? Know of any stores that sell large stones with nice cuts?

>>106611423
Depends on for what. 13" is laptop size, so for laptop workloads you'll be happy. For more tablet related stuff like using on a couch or something, it'll be a little too big though.
I find 10" is to be sweet spot between screen space for work and portability, but given the choice I'd rather go bigger than smaller, and 13" isn't that far off.

>>106609520
Man, I really should sit down and rewrite that section (not OP). It's outdated as fuck, and even by that time some recommendations are questionable at best.

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>>106611119
Good job!
>What kind of phone is that?

>>106611423
at that size i'd need at least 2.5k display or everything's going to look like shit

>>106611423
I've got a 12.1 tablet, and it really doesn't feel too big, but I probably wouldn't read an entire book off of it while holding it in my hand -- it really benefits from a case that doubles as a stand. So I imagine 13" would still be fine, especially if you mostly want to watch videos on it; or read something while sitting at the desk.
Thinking about it, every new tablet I've got was an inch or 1.5 bigger than the last one. 7.9" MiPad (the OG, with a Tegra K1)-> 9.7" Tab S3 -> 11" iPad Pro-> 12.1" Oneplus Pad 2
Next one would be one of those 15" Samsungs, it seems.

>>106612177
I thought all of them are, but found a couple of 13" 1920x1200 ones. That must be horrifying.

>>106612130
Stop complaining, post a better section and it'll be updated. You can join the current count of (6) anons who said they would and then never posted about it again.
Talk is always cheap.

>>106611156
you think you do but you don't.
mine has been collecting dust for years now.

>>106612353
Alright, give me a couple of hours. I need to get my links.

>>106612353
>>106612130
Genuinely though, suggestions or new sections are always welcome. Make sure to tag NeoOP so it gets seen and either post it in the thread (if it's short) or provide a link to a pastebin or retry or something.

Make sure if you want to use formatting it's markdown formatted but that's about it.

>>106612383
Sure, looking forward to it. Sadly the collaborative pad we used originally for the guide isn't an option at the moment, but suggestions are still always welcome. That entire handheld section was written by some random anon in one sitting iirc so it's likely super biased to begin with, but personally I don't really care about that topic so I just copied it over.

>>106612377
i've stored mine away for months because it was winter, and using it while having layers of clothes on is next level degenerate behavior
once i'm done with this last quarter bottle of lube i'm throwing the whole thing away and going back to ole' faithful

>>106612399
>>106612383
>>106612353
>>106612130
what needs to happen is that we need to get people to rewrite several different sections so the important parts of the page gets refreshed all at once
i've been personally itching to update the tablets and even smartphone section on either here or the german csg wiki since it's stuck at 2017

>>106612422
Please do.
We used to have a collaborative pad, which went well for a month or so but then got griefed as some non-thread natives found it.
If you have an idea for a way to collaboratively allow for more people to overhaul or submit shit, feel free to share it, but I haven't found one that protects against bad actors while also not needing an account.
>Since it's stuck at 2017
Sadly that's just a result of the format. Sections that don't get updated tend to get left alone or be kept in from older guides, some info legitimately are from the image guide of the olden days.

>>106612445
yeah, part of the reason why i didn't do it yet is because the wiki gets vandalized from time to time
that's an unfortunate consequence of the wiki system

>>106612456
Part of why we switched the wiki link a month back or so, the old Gentoo one was unusable. The power of unconfined autism I suppose.
That's also the upside of the guide. Once your section is in, it stays in until someone overhauled it and it's been manually approved.
On the downside if I'm offline or busy or have other priorities, nothing gets changed and the guide gets progressively more outdated.

>>106612595
if we can organize here and get people to commit to sections they're interested in, i think we can make this overhaul a real thing

>>106612634
Issue is I'm kinda busy at the moment. Last time we did a big overhaul I was chronically online and managed the whole thing, which I don't have the time for this time around. I can do proofreading and minor formatting fixes as well as the merging, but that's about it.

I'd say just get started rather than wait for the perfect moment. Rewrite a section and submit it, who knows how things look when the momentum is there. Last time it also just started with me getting started out of nowhere.

I did rewrite the soldering iron section and cut down the shop section already as part of the visual overhaul, so your section won't be the only thing changed.

>>106609306
(Copied from a previous thread)
Use N35+ magnets, the higher N value the stronger the magnet https://tymagnets.com/low-remanence-neodymium-magnets-n25-n28-n30-and-n33/

>>106612634
>>106612383

In case this makes it a bit more official, here's a new section about contributing in the guide:
https://csg-guide.neocities.org/#contributing

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Fuck this chink. I buy a product, he doesn't bother fucking shipping it and wants $40 from me?
If I press reject all, can I still get my full payment back? I'm pretty confident this cheeky Chang never sent anything and is trying to chink me. The delivery status said it was out for delivery 4 hours in the future and the tracking number doesn't work at all on 17track

>>106612840
every magnet listing on ali lists N52 so it seems to still be a shot in the dark lol

>>106613347
no tracking on a 200 dollar item?

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>AliExpress Global September Coupon Codes :

$2 off $15: IFLPFQRL (13.33%)
$4 off $29: IFPFC8GD (13.79%)
$6 off $49: IFPMGX6O (12.24%)
$10 off $79: IFPHGYHK (12.66%)
$13 off $109: IFP8LAJS (11.93%)
$20 off $159: IFPYUQAA (12.58%)
$30 off $249: IFPWTSBD (12.05%)
$45 off $369: IFP6UNHU (12.20%)
$55 off $469: IFPRLJK7 (11.73%)
$65 off $569: IFPWAUJI (11.42%)

>US Only (Lucky Bastards)
$10 off $2: IFPWRHDC (20.00%)
$25 off $5: IFPTGCGK (20.00%)
$35 off $7: IFPQLJBH (20.00%)
$50 off $10: IFP29AEY (20.00%)
$70 off $14: IFPTUIYD (20.00%)
$100 off $20: IFPGHX4I (20.00%)
$125 off $25: IFPLANSM (20.00%)
$160 off $32: IFPZFDLG (20.00%)
$280 off $56: IFPDZUSL (20.00%)
$320 off $64: IFPYVVWV (20.00%)
$400 off $80: IFPYMNHV (20.00%)
$500 off $100: IFPDXEPM (20.00%)

Dumb question but anyone know of any cheap chinese shit I can buy to weigh parcels before I send them?
>a weighing scale
Yes but the cheap ones are often small and my parcels are sometimes big.

Is there anything else as cheap as possible or failing that a cheap ass weighing scale any of you can recommend plz?

>>106611423
I prefer smaller (~8 in) tablets since I mostly use them to consume media. If you plan on taking notes or doing actual work I'd get a 11in one. Any bigger than that and they become pretty inconvenient to use imo, just go with a small laptop at that point.

>>106614566
13" is pretty much a surface where you connect a BT keyboard and mouse. it's especially good since at this size the battery is going to be 8000mah at minimum

>>106614509
How big is big? You can usually get 5kg/11lb scales cheap.

>>106614239
Not so lucky considering the taxes they owe once it gets there (albeit I guess it’s better than paying VAT without good discounts as the eurocucks do)

>>106614665
I'm talking like 40cm*40cm boxes, weight isn't too heavy it's more just being able to read the damn scale after putting the box on.

>>106614772
The trick to that is to put a bowl or something on the scale first, tare it, then set the box on top of that.

>>106614509
Depending on how big they are:
Digital kitchen scale -> up to 10kg
Person scale -> up to 100 kg
Luggage scale + cargo belt -> anything heavier

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Has anybody bought a Flipper Zero on Ali?
Not wanting to get put on some glowie list for purchasing it through the official store

>>106616307
well if you aren't going to do anything illegal with it why do you care if you're on a list?
we're probably all on one already just for being on this website.

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I'm looking for a controller, should I get the Gulikit ES Pro or is there a better alternative?

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>>106612383
Where is it

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Seeing this number not go down for days on end is torture.

toothbrush recommendations

GF needs a purse strap replacement
Anything I should be looking out for?
Not sure if the cloth ones are dogshit and only the PU Leather ones are worth considering

>>106617294
If you don't mind hassle, get the gulikit ES
After some tinkering I finally managed to get a software setup that gets rid of its main issue (snapback)
It requires reWASD (you can find a crack for an old version), ds4windows and hidhide but once it's all set up it works like a dream

>>106618244
Any reason you got the ES instead of the ES Pro? From what I understand, for a few dollars more you get better sticks and a 4-way D-pad.

>>106618332
I asked someone about the "better sticks" and apparently it's mainly just a marketing gimmick
I basically just got it to save a few bucks

>>106617512
In progress. Didn't forget, didn't say fuck it, just had a long work day. Not going to sleep until it is done.

>>106618534
As long as you didn't forget it's all fine anon, don't fuck yourself over to meet some arbitrary deadline that noone set for you. Glad to hear you plan on still making it, but health comes first.

>>106618369
I see, I think I'll get the standard version if that is the case, I prefer the grey color scheme.
Thank you for your help.

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luv me generous discounts

I need mouse click switches.
Any recommendations from aliexpress? Specific listings I mean.

I'm trying to fund ways of making money passively. I thought I had found it, but... turns out it's more difficult than I had thought, at least to the degree I expected.
I still can't find shit, at

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>>106618735
god damn
how big is that?

>>106619449
Alright anon, out with it. What was your idea?

>>106619449
>>106619930
I posted to the wrong thread lmao
it has little to do with chinkshit (or a lot, depending on your point of view)
I wanted to build a solar PV plant, but there is no legal way of selling energy in my country unless it's a 300+kW plant... and I don't have the kind of money you need to build that shit.

>>106618560
>>106617512
>>106612353
NeoOP, I shall deliver as I promised.
Feel free to fix any mistakes you find. I'm done.
https://rentry.org/xrrbbto5

>>106619649
PLEASE DO NOT THE CAT!

>>106605245
Are there any downsides to getting cheaper cables for a sennheiser headphone or IEM ? I never noticed the difference between a good 16 core and some no brand ali cables that have barely readable english. Like, is it just that It’s more likely to be a scam ?

>medium difficulty prize in watering minigame needs like 3x the water compared to easy
wtf is this shit

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>>106618145
Also interested. Thinking of a sonicare or a xiaomi.
Replacement brushes are nice and cheap on Ali

Pic unrelated

>>106622117
>brush heads
are most brush heads one-size-fits-all? my xiaomi toothbrush came with a few replacement heads which have "universal brush head" on them and the same ones are like $3 for an 8 pack

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>>106622477
It’s literally $current_year$.jpeg

I highly doubt that these are universal. Companies don’t miss a chance for profit where ever they can find them.
Can you use sonicare or oralB brushes on your xiaomi?
Which xiaomi do you have?
How do you like it?

So the $0.01 trials are full of scams. Sellers have ways to bork the item listing to prevent it from being ordered. I've been picked several times without being able to place the order. With different errors each time.
From the looks of it sellers can rescind the deal to block orders. The price of the listing can be reset from $0.01 back to regular price. The price of the listing can be set to $0.00 making it impossible to pay for.
Escalating a support ticket is useless. They do not avow the existence of the $0.01 thing. They give generic scripts about payment issues or they say nothing at all.
I think I may have fucked myself by contacting support too much. The stopped responding to me all together. My trials page got reset. Might be it's just a coincidence that it's broken right now given how buggy this platform is. But probably they shadowbanned me.
Oh yeah and I'm pretty sure the whole basis of it is bullshit. When you're selected you're not actually special. I think the system selects many people. It goes to a second phase battle royale for whoever if anyone manages to place an order.Maybe even sellers can pick who they want.
It seems not unlike the big promotion prizes in the watering game. You may complete the task but you're still not guaranteed to claim a prize.
I'm sure most sellers are just abusing it to amass follows and store page engagement. I've been "selected" for a few things in the hundred dollar range but the stores are obviously scams. New stores. Little to no sales. Big red flags like a couple good reviews and a lot of bad ones. Yet they've put multiple trial items worth hundreds of dollars. I've not been able to claim any such trial.
All that being said, I did manage to get one of those housefire tier USB chargers. It reports PD voltages but only actually does 5V. It's barely out of spec too. More like 5.27 volts.

I have $13 in coins and I have no idea how to use them because of ali's 30 retarded css layouts that all shift the same bullshit into different places. Whoever designed this should be reborn as female/cat right back in that shithole

>>106622605
basic xiaomi mijia t100. it's the perfect basic electric toothbrush for $5.50
i don't know if oral-b/sonic/philips comes out with their own proprietary head slots. it would make a lot of sense if they did but at the same time very honorable if they were universal

>>106620655
The cable is a cable. Unless it is broken, there shouldn't be a difference. Maybe slightly in the impedance, but that is negligible.

>>106622693
I could try this to start out with and move on to something more expensive later.
Everyone swears by the sonicare ones if you look online. But they range from 60 to 250 for one and the common complaint as of a few years ago is they are on their planned obsolescence stage of manufacturing because they only last two years.
Surely there are sonicare chink versions. Don’t want to spend a fortune for a toothbrush but the basic xiaomi I also doubt would do the functions of even the basic sonicare. For 5.50 it may be worth a try. Care to post a picture?

Shill me some affordable high capacity chink drives that will last at least 10 years for a home NAS.

>>106622790
Anon I think you're massively overthinking this.
A toothbrush isn't some super complex tech, there's essentially two types, rotary brushes, which are the older one, and ultrasonic ones, which are newer. The only issue with ultra cheap ones of the second type is they have fake ultrasound in them, but once it's a xiaomi or something it'll be just fine.
I had a sonicare, then got a cheaper clone when that broke (not from Ali though) and they are basically the same.
Bear in mind that the ultrasonic ones are fairly strange the first week or so you use them as they kind of tickle your gums. You get used to it though and they clean much nicer than manual ones.

>>106622791
lmao

>Order one item I'm really excited about and 5 accessories for it
>Accessories ship the same day
>The item I actually cared about didn't ship yet (currently on day 3)
I'm going insane...

>>106622832
enjoy your $1 discount coupon

>>106622836
I have plenty, the fear, though likely unfounded, is that they'll cancel the order and I'll be stuck with a bunch of accessories for an Item I don't have and have to buy it again after the sale for more expensive.
There's only two listings of it on Ali too, and the one I didn't pick is including accessories, so I can't switch listings either.

>>106622846
its ok anon, my thigh highs and dildos are also not shipping for several days

>>106610021
>>106610021
no one? please /csg/

>>106622790
by all means, you can even find super chinky electric toothbrushes for $2 in the bundles section.
the more expensive ones have timers and programmable modes and at the top level they have bluetooth connectivity and send data to your phone so you can keep track of your brushing habits and how well you clean. as for the planned obsolescence part, these things are surprisingly highly repairable. the batteries are a quick cut and you can get new motors online.

>>106623089
Anon, we're buying dollar store knick-knacks here; you're trying to find a business supplier.

is there a wireless version of the sunset lamp?

>>106623141
>business supplier
???
I'm trying to find someone who sells filters. I want to buy a few to give to friends and family

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>>106622971
and just as I say this...

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The gaming handheld section of the guide has been updated and is finally not as outdated!
Thank you >>106620526


>>106620526
Did some proofreading and merged it. Nice work anon.
Out of curiosity are you a non-english native? If so mind saying which language? Your spelling and use of idioms is essentially perfect, but you regularly leave "a" or "the" out, which I get the feeling might be a grammatical quirk of your native language or something and it's something I rarely see so I got curious.
Either way, good work again on the new section, I can't judge the veracity too well because as I said I'm not deep in that topic, but it reads competently and like it gives plenty of pointers to confused or new anons.

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>>106623186
Don't worry anon, I'll just sit over here and cry on my own.

>>106623252
(nta): NeoOP, how detailed am I allowed to get with this? i'm a more technical person so I like to use a lot of headings and go into depth about certain things which i find important but others may not

>>106623252
Nah, ES(or, rather, third)L. We don't have articles here, so I often drop them without thinking twice.

>>106622832
small items are well stocked in warehouse
bigger items are couriered from where ever they get it fmro

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>>106623414
We don't really have rules regarding how detailed you can get, but my personal feelings on the matter are that the guide primarily serves as a method to allow other anons to get some info on a topic they know little about.
I fear that if everything is too wordy and detailed, people will skip ahead or not bother at all. There's also a question of what level of specificity serves the used reading it, and what level of it is the author stroking his own ego. Brevity is the soul of wit and all that.

I'd say try to balance your desire to go into detail with what you think actually serves the reader.
A decent compromise in my opinion is having a header section that gives a sort of TL;DR of where to read on if you just want the summary and then subsections that go into more detail.

>>106623417
That explains it. Other than that one quirk your section was flawless, and you did it so consistently that I figured it must have been a grammar thing, good to know I was right kek.

>>106623414
>>106623501
>so I like to use a lot of headings
On that note, you can make my life easier by matching the markdown header level (=how many # in the beginning of the line) to the ones we are currently using

# is reserved for the document type and not used (technical limitation with mkdocs being designed around multi-page websites)
## is for guide specific sections, such as "stores" or "items"
### is for Larger categories such as "office", "consumer electronics" or "outdoor"
#### is for subcategories such as "knives" or "Handhelds"
-- anything with a deeper header level will not appear on the navigation anymore to avoid clutter, so try to have stuff like "handheld" or so at level 4 so people know where to read on --
##### is usually for specific items or item families but can also be for subcategories
###### and beyond are section specific and there's no real consistency here honestly.

That makes it much easier for me to add them to the guide later.

>>106623501
legit good advice, cheers

>>106623583
Glad if it's been of use, cheers.

>>106618226
PU leather will be dogshit as well but I guess it depends how much use it will get

in daily use it will disintegrate in no time

>>106618735
That's a real cheap way to get ass cancer.

>>106615852
thanks, what are some good cheap ones? anyone got recs?

>>106622683
AliExpress is like Wonderland anon
Everything seems magical at first but the closer you look the more you realise it's all an illusion. You take the fun you get.

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I think this is a new record;
Yihua 858D ordered in the late evening on the 16th. Arrived today afternoon on the 18th.
1.5-2 day shipping, impressive.

As for the 858D itself, it doesn't feel premium but it does feel better made than I expected honestly. Nice metal case, intuitive controls, comes with 3 different nozzles and some rubber feet to not scratch up the work surface. The nozzles are cheap and the screw attachment method is not particularly convenient, but it does the job and means spares are cheap. Everything works fine too. Can't judge if the temperatures are correct, but a quick try on a throwaway pcb showed I can get it to liquify the solder without burning the chips, which is enough for my use.
Pleasant surprise, the handle comes with a tilt sensor, meaning if you put the handle into the stand at the side, it automatically shuts off, but keeps the fans running for a bit so the heating element can cool itself, which likely improves longevity of the device.

Only downside is the power cable is one of those mockingly short ones, where you really want to have a power bar on the same table as you plan to use the station, because it barely reaches from the desk to my floor. Then again that's a generic power plug, so you can just get a longer one if needed.

Given that this thing was 20€ I'm very happy. This station costs the same as the handheld versions, but I've got faith that due to the larger station design it'd be a little easier to repair should something break, it's more ergonomic and I don't know if the handle versions have that tilt feature.

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>>106624262
I have picrel and use it in my kitchen, I don't think it's branded, all the ones in that shell should use the same sensors. Note that there's two version, one accepting up to 5kg, one up to 10kg. They are fairly accurate (+- a few grams at most) and very resilient.
People scales are very inconsistent sadly, no idea what to get there. Maybe check amazon for super cheap ones, I got mine for ~15$, but it's fairly inaccurate, often swinging within a range of up to 2 kgs.
Luggage scales should be fairly accurate once you're in the kg range, below that don't expect them to be accurate.

None of these are branded. Maybe some other anons know of some trusted and calibrated ones, but for most uses I don't think you need it.
If you're a drug dealer, you'll want a jeweler's scale (which go down to .01 of a gram), but you'll likely want a calibrated one because for drugs small amounts mean big price differences. Also you shouldn't deal drugs, but I'm not here to judge.

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>>106624399
I like to pronounce it Yee-haw

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>>106624505
Yee-claw little buddy

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>>106624399
Another pleasant surprise, you can calibrate the station manually. Very based.

>>106624399
What does the inside look like?
This design is a copy of some DIP chip design. There was some floating around in the early days but I assume they're all but extinct now.
Every generic is the copy. I wonder does Yeehaw give the original design.
You can already tell they give the better wand. The cheapest copies are basically death by electrocution suicide sticks. Mains voltage is going through like 30 AWG or something.

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>>106624646
A whole lot of empty space, which isn't too surprising.
That being said the case is properly grounded, it has a 5A fuse built in and that heatsink on the triac is beefier than I might have feared. Board quality in general looks fairly good.
The board is a kasadl 858DP Rev F with the date 2023-03-24, so not that old all things considered.

>>106624399
why didn't you just buy a dumb soldering iron if that's all you need it to do? probably would have been a quarter of the price and it would take up way less space on your bench.

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I tried to browse some stuff on temu and now it wont let me even browse the help centre site without a login prompt.
I maybe opened like half a dozen different items page before this happened.

Why are chinks like this

>>106624399
>20€
How is that even profitable for them? I know that there isn't that much inside, but still, the margins must be razor thin. Are they getting subsidies from the CCP?

any cheap chink e-reader that can be used to read manga?

>>106625381
android tablets are better since they're larger, more responsive, you have mihon app

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>>106625339
Capital controls is your answer.
You can’t transfer chink money out of China. But you can export product.
You sell product below cost as a way to get foreign capital. Why do you think so much of this stuff is so cheap? They’re not selling things, they’re buying currency.

>>106625189
Because I don't want or need a soldering iron, I want/need a hot air station. I already have a soldering iron (TS100) and a proper soldering station is in the mail (I'm upgrading from the TS100).
I can of course do it with cheaper soldering irons, but I solder often enough that the convenience is worth it, and a hot air station is very convenient for smd work and reflow. It's just another tool in my arsenal.
I didn't get this just to desolder stuff, if that was the case you'd be right, I'd be better served with a cheaper iron or one of those heated suction pumps.

>>106625339
Thin margins, basically free labor, and the general cost of goods are insanely low in china. When I was there I was shellshocked from how cheap some shit is (/how expensive it is in europe I suppose). Truth is, a pcb and sheet metal shell isn't expensive, and the parts are available in bulk for cheap. Plus what >>106625434 said of course.

>>106623713
>in daily use it will disintegrate in no time
Fuck, then what's the solution? I imagine Amazon will be chink shit too

>>106626054
you buy a new one when the old one breaks that's why you're here homie
ever since i've discovered chinkshit i look forward to things breaking because that's when i get to buy a new version of the thing

>>106614750
>Not so lucky considering the taxes they owe once it gets there
Anything that ships Choice has import fees included in the price; I've made several orders since April and haven't had to pay anything on delivery. As far as AliExpress goes, while the tariffs seem to have reduced our selection somewhat, with some sellers no longer shipping to the US, they don't seem to have had too much of an effect on prices.

>>106626054
If she's okay with this style
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006805942524.html
then maybe order a couple to have spares

I'd expect the metal parts to fail in a year if not sooner

>>106618226
>>106626054
In my opinion, you should get something that matches the purse, there's no point in getting something that will last two decades if she doesn't use it because it looks like shit.
PU leather is fine for a strap, it will peel off after a while but it's not as bad as a handbag which is in direct contact with your hand. If you can, get real leather, it shouldn't be too expensive and won't have this issue. Cloth ones are fine too but they have a sporty look. They're usually more comfortable though.
Also keep in mind if you get a leather/PU leather strap, you'll probably need a leather punch if you want to adjust the length.

>>106618226
Ignore the others, listen to >>106626529
PU leather isn't gonna last forever, but people in here act as if it'll crack within a week, which it won't.
Basically all "leather" items you see that aren't labeled genuine leather where you live are PU leather, and people don't usually complain there either. Also all "vegan leathers" are just PU leather. Obviously genuine leather is best, but depending on what size you need it might be harder to get.
Other materials are only worth considering if they fit the aesthetic.

>>106626633
>act as if it'll crack within a week, which it won't.
how could you even guarantee this rofl

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>>106626667
I can't guarantee it in the same way that there's not a single item you can guarantee will be good because there's a logically consistent yet statistically irrelevant chance of it falling outside standard deviation, but there's a reason humans talk in generalities and probabilities and people who refuse to do so are considered autists and socially shunned.

What a utter waste of a post.

>>106623258
it'll come, you just have to stop waiting for it.

also why a soldering station, when "smart" soldering irons are all the jazz and are a lot more compact and convenient to use?
I guess for the 220w but what are you even soldering with that kind of power?

>>106623181
you probably shouldn't buy that kind of thing on Ali.

>>106626633
>Also all "vegan leathers" are just PU leather.
Ackchyually, you can find pineapple or cactus leather nowadays, but they'll probably tell you since it's expensive.

>>106626667
Unless you get a dud, the straps should at least last for a few years before they start to peel. And even if it happens it doesn't mean they break, it will look like shit but you can still use them.
t. someone who works in the field

>>106624840
>just an empty fucking box
instead of making it fuckhuge to "trick" the customer or follow the trend, they could have made it compact...

>>106626775
>Ackchyually, you can find pineapple or cactus leather nowadays, but they'll probably tell you since it's expensive.
There's also that kombucha fungus leather, but last I checked that was weirdly brittle and not great from its material properties.

>>106626782
>instead of making it fuckhuge to "trick" the customer or follow the trend, they could have made it compact...
There are compact versions. The form factor of the case has been a thing from before we had smaller switching power supplies, so my guess is it used to actually profit from the size when the form factor was established, but probably plays a role that consumers assume bigger = better.
Should make repairing easier at least I suppose and this way you can attach the grip to the side, though that's a bit copium because you could just as well have a compact base station and a separate stand or something.

>>106626752
>also why a soldering station, when "smart" soldering irons are all the jazz and are a lot more compact and convenient to use?
>I guess for the 220w but what are you even soldering with that kind of power?

Well a soldering iron needs to do 3 things:
- Deliver enough power
- Do so accurately
- Be comfortable to hold

And so far, a (good) station is better in all 3 aspects still. A normal pinecil can start struggling at larger heatsinks or very thick wires, with 220W there's enough headroom to do whatever you may want. The control circuitry and accuracy is also better on this station, including heat curves, better PID tuning and better sensors.
Lastly because the power supply and grip are separate, the grip can be thinner, closer to the tip, and lighter. All nicer to hold.
It also has some features that a normal pinecil doesn't have the screen real estate for (it could have the processing power probably though), like temperature curves.
Basically it's a straight upgrade in all the ways that matter to me.
And it supports different grips and tips, from super small T115 which are great for SMD up to larger T210 tips, which are also cross compatible with genuine JBC tips. You simply can't have one tip to rule them all, it'll be too large for fine work and too fine for coarse work.

That being said, smart soldering irons aren't bad, they are very convenient when traveling or on the go and cover a good 80% of use cases. I do have a TS100, it's getting old and the case is 30% superglue at this point, but I will keep it for travel or on the go uses.
TL;DR: Stations allow for more power deliver, more accurately while being nicer to use for specialized tasks. I have soldered enough to want those specialized abilities, so I got that station, but a smart iron is enough for most people

>>106626860
fair enough
just feels like 220w is like for Powerline soldering or some industrial like that, feels crazy.
I don't think I ever went higher than 20w on anything

>>106627020
I'll grant you it's overkill, I can't think of a single application where I'd actually need 220W.
But it's a bit like people who buy pro controllers instead of a gamesir nova lite, or the people over at iemg paying hundreds for headphones that sound like 5% better than the TWS for 20$.
It's for the people who think the increased cost is worth it for the edge cases and special features. I originally also considered the yihua 982 which is rated for 75W (or 40W on the smaller tips), but it was close enough to the geeboon in price and with the temperature curves and much better QC and resistances I figured might as well treat myself to something truly endgame.

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>>106627142
well I guess if you have the money for it...
I just bought myself a 3 buck 98w temperature controlled one with a rotary and haven't looked back yet.

>>106627500
I mean these are fine for the kinda home fixing stuff many people might need them for.
Like if you needs to connect two wires in the house, or fix a cord somewhere, then these are perfectly adequate. I wouldn't want to have to do much soldering on SMD or even through-hole parts, but given a little time and a little frustration tolerance it would still work just fine for it. A bit too high chance of it frying sensitive SMD parts for my tastes, but the average user doesn't really work on those anyways.
I used to use a bright red soldering iron that didn't even have a rotary knob, just one size and one heat option when I lived at my parents house as a kid, and I made even that work.

In fact I'd even recommend anons who never soldered to get something cheap like that, because it's a bit like anons buying arduinos, where they are excited when they get it, but a good 80% will never actually do much with it, might as well save the money and then get a better one when you realize you use it enough to justify the purchase.

Oh I see some anons talking about soldering stations.
Which reminds me, are there any decent battery powered soldering irons up to about 20 usd on aliexpress?

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>>106627636
Consider reading https://csg-guide.neocities.org/#soldering-irons

Battery powered is a bit of an issue, unless you're either willing to bring your own batteries, or willing to accept very short battery life.
The pinecil and TS100 can both be run off batteries, the TS100 got big in the FPV community for that exact reason, so you could rig it to a lipo pack and do in the field repairs of your broken drones. People back then (me included) had to spot weld their own power packs, these days you can just use a powerbank thankfully.
That being said, they're outside your budget range.
Then there's T12 stations that run off battery packs for power tool (versions for makita, dewalt and bosch all exist), but we're still talking 20-30$ and of course you need your own batteries, so they are still outside your budget.
Outside the T12 area, there seem to be more generic ones, like picrel for 15$ or so, just search "[brand] battery powered soldering station". Assume them to be very very basic.
You can run a lot of USB-C soldering irons off powerbanks, but they'll likely not perform their best.
There's also dedicated battery powered ones, but they seem to use weird battery systems, cost 20-30$ and once the battery or device dies the rest is ewaste, so personally I'd probably not go that route. No idea if they're any good.
Wildcard: If you are fine with very unprecise power, there's butane powered ones too for 10-15$.

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>>106627746
Thanks anon, yeah I had seen some, I was mostly wondering about stuff like these two that I saw.
The first one and the AD one.
I should have read them better, I guess it is battery powerED, but battery powerABLE, which would be the ones that accept USB C power I guess.
Either is fine for me honestly, but I imagine the USB C ones would be cheaper so I am fine with those.

>>106627818
>I guess it is NOT battery powerED
Forgot a word.

>>106627610
You sound like someone who knows a thing or two about this. I need something suitable to swap the switches on my mouse. I haven't done any soldering in about 20 years. What should I look out for? The switches themselves are mechanical so they shouldn't mind the heat but I don't know if there's components nearby that I need to be wary of.

For how cheap this thing >>106627500 is it is tempting.

>>106627818
Out of those 3, I'd easily get the fnirsi HS-01 myself, it's the most capable of the bunch and also mentioned in the guide. Requires a good power bank though and might be overkill for your needs.
If cost is your main concern, all 3 should work, I'd look what tips they use. The JCD seems to have a included battery, which sounds nice until you realize it's 800mAh. That gives you 20 minutes as a sort of best case scenario, less once the battery degrades or if they weren't entirely honest with the rating. Might be able to use it with a powerbank for longer though. I can't find what tips they use but a reddit post I found says they are not C-210 compatible, so assume the tips to turn to e-waste eventually (then again at that price, might not care).
Kinda depends on your usecase/what you want to do with it, personally I'd much rather get a usb-c powered iron and use a powerbank (assuming you have one), but that isn't a universal advice.

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>>106627865
Are we assuming this to be a one-off thing? Or do you want a soldering iron that'll last you a long time?
Picrel is the contacts of the switches of a logitech G502 (taken from ifixit), as you can see, these are fairly large components with fairly large contacts and not much else around them (though that depends a bit on pcb), so you don't really need the highest accuracy or finesse.
If it's a one-off thing, I'd say the 3 buck iron from >>106627500 should work. Just keep in mind that cheaper irons make everything a little more painful, but as long as you have some frustration tolerance it'll work.

>>106627932
its technically 10 but you can get off with coins.
has a pd trigger adapter included.
you can get a finer tip too.

>>106627932
I got one other use for it but it's just soldering a couple cables. Aside from that I don't foresee much use for it. It's not like I'm tight on money but I also don't feel like buying some 70 buck set either. I'm fine with having to buy a better one if I suddenly come up with more soldering that I need to do in the future.

Thanks for the input. I'll go with the cheap one.

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>>106627818
don't get the middle one cause there's a better version that's cheaper.
its ok for small components, can work like 10 min off the battery and has passthrough powering.
I got it for 5 bucks with 3 tips and that's the only time I'd say its worth considering.

>>106627981
Quicko also make the cheaper and some mid market T12 stations, they try their best at the price point chosen, but there's just some obvious compromises that have to happen at some prices.
>>106627990
Sounds reasonable, godspeed anon. Wires shouldn't be an issue with whatever iron you have, if you massively overshoot the heat goal with those all that happens is you get some molten insulation, which doesn't inhibit function at all.

>>106628011
also these are NOT compatible with c210 tips

Are there any good single purpose pedometers/step counters available? /csg/ or not, but figured you'd guys know best. Main parameters I'm looking for:
>as tiny as possible
>pocket/clip-on form factor (not wrist watch)
>single purpose (not a fitness tracker)
>an actually accurate step detector, rather than just a dumb accelerometer that fails if you wear it in the wrong direction or just shake it randomly
>decent quality/durability

>>106628470
Maybe some other anon can help you out, but it feels like
>an actually accurate step detector, rather than just a dumb accelerometer that fails if you wear it in the wrong direction or just shake it randomly
and
>not a fitness tracker
will be conflicting requirements. There's single purpose pedometers, but they tend to be cheap and use "dumb" detection of steps. Anything more sophisticated will likely not be single purpose anymore.

>>106628489
I'm seeing a bunch of pedometers that claim to be "3D", which, I'm assuming at least, should mean they're doing something more intelligent than just a single accelerometer.
The biggest problem I have with most of those is they're as big as the early pedometers from the early 2000s. I was hoping someone maybe had made a minifed version that just disappears in the pocket rather than being a large visible clip thing you have to wear on your pants.
The thing this guy made is like a form factor I'd be ok with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySCa7F-0yzY but that's DIY.

>>106628561
Nothing comes to mind sadly.
>should mean they're doing something more intelligent than just a single accelerometer
To be fair, that might just as well be questionable aliexpress marketing terms.

Maybe some other anon can help, I'm unfortunately out of ideas.

>>106628470
just get the cheapest latest Xiaomi smart band, you can use it as a clip or a pendant. need to buy the mounts for that separately though.

>>106628470
I've heard that Pokewalker, made for one of DS games was for some reason one of the most accurate pedometers ever made. And a couple of years ago someone reverse-engineered the protocol, so I guess you can shop around for those on ebay?

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>Choice free shipping minimum calculated before coin discounts
>$X off $X coupon code eligibility calculated before coin discounts
I can't believe they haven't nerfed this yet.

(The "multi-store coupon" was actually coins as well; maybe that's part of the reason why it works?)

>>106618226
If it were me, I would by a strip of leather, use a punch to make two holes at either end, then put the leather through the loops on the handbags and clasp them with a rivet or something similar.
The leather isn't that expensive (don't get it on ali) and the hole punch is also cheap and has other uses (adjusting belts, adjusting shoe straps, I've used mine a few times) and you can get one of those on ali. Rivets you can probably just get wherever.
She can pick the colour this way, and she'll find it attractive.

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my galaxy watch died after 7 years, today i learned how many cheap "smart" watches there are out there, how much will i regret paying <$100 for one? any ones in particular that are actually decent? i just need something to read notifications while at work because my hands are always dirty.

strange that people buy gpus from alibaba

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Should I grab these? My galaxy buds are dying.

And then my watch starts to China to copy this:
https://petapixel.com/2025/09/09/the-kodak-charmera-is-a-tiny-digital-keychain-camera-sold-in-blind-boxes/

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>>106629868
Forgot pic

I think Aliexpress is using AI to fake reviews

>>106629868
These have been around for ages
aliexpress.com/item/1005008564500076.html

>>106629952
Yeah, I found that and a few others, but they don't have the same vibe.

>>106629893
How can you tell? Has the quality of reviews seemingly gone up because the average consumer is dumb as fuck in reviews

>>106630019
Maybe the translation is at fault? It's just feel too artificial sometimes: "Oh, I love this product. It's so good, and fun and it does everything I need!" shit like that

>>106626694
>did not define the SD or any other variables
>but is confident that PU will not break under constant use
how can you argue for it one way while being unable to prove it the other way?
and then you have the audacity to be take it personally when someone pointed out that you're talking out of your arsehole. modern day genius right here.

>>106618226
if you want it to last then buy real leather, buy a PU strap encased in lacquer which will act as a barrier against friction or god forbid make your own. buy multiple cheap ones so you can switch out when it one of them goes. buy local if they offer warranty.

People, I get how the gems work now. If you're able to get the $5 ones from the shop every day then you'll be able to stack 6 of them before they expire, but usually they're botted as soon as they refresh so most likely you'll only get $1x6 at most if you can redeem them. Stacking these with Merge Boss credits and other seasonal games will allow you to get more discounts during sales.
It's actually a lot of work now that I think about it and only worth it if you're living in a place where your currency is shit.

>>106629257
Well, first off, try finding something that doesn't look as absolutely atrocious as the one you posted. Secondly, don't look on eBay. Those are just re-sold and up charged things that are bought off AliExpress. Go directly to the source.

>>106629788
No reason to get branded ones.

>>106629788
scarbir.com
personally I like qcy stuff

Has anybody had success returning expensive items to China? I bought a Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G and it only supports T-mobile service... Scared of the worst case scenario where I lose both the phone and $200 on it.

>>106631377
You're not necessarily going to send it to China. Last year I wanted to return a speaker amp, was about 120 Euro -- broke in that 90 days warranty period. Warranty, to my surprise, worked and Ali gave me a shipping label -- but not to china, rather to the city in my country, and I can even use a good courier company and not a national postal service. So maybe you'll get lucky with it too.

are chink SSDs still dramless trash or are they actually usable now? I just want a cheap ssd for computer without nvme slot.

>>106629788
QCY Melobuds.

>>106631606
There are some with DRAM now. Netac has a couple of models -- NV7000, for example. But NV7000-t is dramless, so be careful.

>>106631377
This is the American band chicanery I've heard so much about, eh? Bands being monopolized by certain telco companies so Chinese phones don't all work there.

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>>106626752
I submit myself to thy divine insight oh anon-sama.
Blessed be thy advice.

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ordered this but instead go CCA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper-clad_aluminium_wire

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009005829851.html

fist time im getting chinked (probably not true) will see if i get my refund

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I want to get the mix87 should i wait for black fridays discounts or just get it now?

>>106629257
i'd say to not do it cause these are full on chinky devices that need full blown spyware (the kind that wants all the battery consuming shit enabled at all times) to do what you want of them. Spend a little more to get a proper brand one that is compatible with gadgetbridge or something like that instead

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Hey /csg/ got a little haul.
Left to right,
>Cardboard box
Screen protectors for my OnePlus 13. The factory installed one has gotten a bit more beaten than I like, so these will replace it. I'm interested if the plastic rig thing actually works
>Heavy duty nail clippers
For my Grandad. He wanted a stronger one than the flimsier basic ones, so gonna try this one out
>Magnetic phone holder
Holy shit this thing holds tight! Gonna put it in my car so I can easily put my phone somewhere for when I need to get directions or change song
>Kindle Case
For my Grandma's kindle, so it hopefully wakes up and sleeps when she opens and closes the cover. Just a nice usability thing for her really. She also likes blue
>Roll
A new desk mat. I had a nearly identical one, but I put a cup of tea on it and melted the rubber underneath it a bit, so there was a weird hole in it.
Any questions, lemme know.
Not pictured: Bigme B751C because the cunt never sent it, I opened a dispute and he's offering that I take a $40 hit. I've rejected it 3 times now and hoping that AliExpress sides with me. I'm sure this fucker was scamming since the shop has been closed.

What's some cheapo but good Chinese shoe brand for sneakers? I already have 4 pairs of different saguaro barefoot shoes, and want some that has more cushioning than them.

>>106632111
current sale is trash worse than choice day. only good thing was the $5 coupon from water game

>>106633858
doubt you will find anything that will last more than one season

>>106634057
Shoes usually don't last longer than a season for me anyway, so I'm okay with that.

https://thefitville.com/

Found these, hmmm.. gonna try it sometimes

How are chink shit routers/modems/wifi/whatever it's called (not sure what the best option is for my situation)
I have one provided by my ISP and it's OKAY but due to long house design and those thick german solid walls, the wifi connection is less than ideal. I'm very frequently losing connection in my room on the third (or second for some people) floor, the bathroom and the back of the house. We tried using a wifi repeater in the middle of the house but they still give out pretty frequently and force us to plug them out and back in to "force restart" them so I was wondering if the chinks can help out or if we're kinda just fucked and forced to pay an absurd amount of money for something that looks like an alien spider

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FUCK YOU CHANG

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>>106626529
>In my opinion, you should get something that matches the purse, there's no point in getting something that will last two decades if she doesn't use it because it looks like shit.
We found the same purse with a strap that matches the purse design, but the one she got had this metal chain strap that digs into her shoulder. The purse's design is these shimmery grey plastic looking triangles and so was the fitting strap, but I think a lot of different straps could fit it
Funnily enough, looking into it for a picture of the purse made me realize the purse is likely chink shit in the first place due to how many different sellers and brands there are for the same "design"
>>106626667
Can't guarantee anything to be fair, even if 10 anons vouch for a product you can still get a dud
>>106626775
>Unless you get a dud, the straps should at least last for a few years before they start to peel.
that should be more than fine, I'm not even sure the purse is going to last that long
>>106629056
Wouldn't that end up looking less... finished, due to a lack of stitching, rolled edges, adjustability and whatever else they do to the straps.
Makes more sense for a male belt or whatever, but for a thinner purse strap it seems like an odd choice

Any of you ordered from tao Bao?? Its 30% of Ali Express prices but the site is in chingchong. Wondering if it's worth it.

>>106634873
isn't that one of those sites you can't order from unless you have some chink only shit like alibaba

>>106634931
I havent actually tried to order but this chinese girl I was dating gave me the alpha on ordering from tao bao, she would use it to ship outside China and said it was cheaper than ali express (which was made for western people).

She also had chinese maps, all in one apps to order food, clothes etc for their expats in chinese and was cheaper than using western apps

>>106634993
Don't think taobao sellers ship outside china, you would need a forwarder

What's a good hand screwdriver set that's cheap but not super chinesium? I don't expect incredible quality, but the bits shouldn't strip after 5 uses.

>>106635338
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005200703483.html

>>106635338
Small bits? The xiaomi mijia one is great if you can get it legitimate (has the little fox icon if it's legitimate I think)
I got it for my dad and he's been super happy with it
there's a manual and an electric one, I imagine the manual one is better for most people

other anon seemed to link a legit one

>>106635377
Yeah, it's the legit one, I got the link from my order history, had it for 4+ years now, still holding up.

>>106635364
>>106635377
Are all the cheaper generic ones really that shit?

>>106635398
yes, if you're talking about the fake mijia ones. They strip crazy fast and have worse bits (usually). They basically spent all their money on faking and none of it on making an actually decent item
why do you even want cheaper? That's already REALLY cheap for what you're getting
I paid 3$ more for mine and I still felt like it was an absolute bargain and likely one of the best things for the money I've bought off ali alongside my SR850 headphones (that I rebuy every few years because they break)

>>106634777
>Wouldn't that end up looking less... finished, due to a lack of stitching, rolled edges, adjustability and whatever else they do to the straps.
For stitching you could probably do that yourself to, or get her to do it. It sounds like it's just some crappy handbag anyway in which case I wouldn't bother with this. You'll probably be able to buy another chinesium bag for the same price as the tooling on ali anyway.
Adjustability would be buying the right metal hardware for it. I had a look and they have those little metal pieces handbags have on ali.
For real though if this bag is a throwaway item I wouldn't make the strap. You can disregard that advice.

>>106635301
No, they do. They don't ship to every country but there is a short list of countries that they will ship to.
The U.S. is on there last I checked. Notably though, the U.K. is not.

>>106635338
>>106635398
unironically, the hypertough walmart store brand has a good electronics repair bit set if you're in the US.
haven't been able to find the equivalent of it on ali but it's cheap as dirt and the bits are actually hardened.

>>106635338
Amazon Basics screwdriver set has served me well so far.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Ratcheting-Electronics-Screwdriver/dp/B07V4TFWFZ

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>>106635447
>SR850 headphones
Oh damn, that's a flashback. Superlux HD668B (same thing) was my first not shit set of headphones way back when I got my first proper job out of the uni. They sounded great, but stiff pads and not the best headband made them really hard to use for a long time for me. Gave it to my (ex) colleague, think he still might be using them. Good memories.

>>106634742
this user presses these buttons at the exact same pixel on very precise intervals of 1.000 seconds
>and i wonder why my tracking cookie i planted on his android is seeing that he currently has "Auto Clicker - Automatic tap" overlayed over my app
>hmmmmmmmmm
謝れ、ホワイトピッグ!!

>>106635597
Why would the chinese speak in japanese?

>>106635651
because they can. they rote learn a N1 textbook and pass it on the first try within a year

>>106635364
They made more production runs? I thought it was a one and done thing from several years ago.
At least a Korean dude and a Ukrainian dude in the reviews thinks this is copy of the original. Albeit probably better than the other copies.

>>106635364
>showing a bike in the intro video
There's exactly one thing on a bike you can possibly turn with that set. I would've chosen anything else but the bike.

>>106635749
I don't know, I remember somebody in these threads or somewhere online saying that basically their license to use the Wiha logo ran out but they kept producing it without it (mine doesn't have the logo).
Anyways, it's definitely not chinesium and has served me well for years now.
Unless newer batches are defective, I'd still recommend it.

>got 250 000 water as win

damn I thought I would get only 200, I usually get 100 00 so its okay I guess

>>106635364
It looks very sleek but wouldn't that handle be a real pain to get a good grip on?

>>106635875
One side of it is flat so the grip is perfectly fine, but I guess it depends on what you're doing with it, it's ideal for eletronics and PC-building, you aren't building furniture with it.

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Poland’s border closure risks choking EU-China trade

A temporary precaution taken during Russia’s recent war games is turning into a shutdown of China–EU rail freight, worth €25 billion annually.

The corridor now accounts for 3.7 percent of all EU-China trade, up from 2.1 percent a year earlier — a lifeline for e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein.

I thought its all planes or boats because how fast it was. TIL.

>>106635890
Makes sense.
I got the Amazon Basics one and have used it for both building a PC and building furniture. Does look a bit uglier but it's just a screwdriver.

>>106635896
Poolanders are american bitches. And cowards lol.

>>106635528
>For real though if this bag is a throwaway item I wouldn't make the strap. You can disregard that advice.
yeah we're not classy enough to have anything like a fancy purse, it's purely utilitarian and she picked it because it looked nice but is now struggling with the strap
>>106635594
I get the ones with velour pads (and occasionally get new replacement pads when they get too filthy)
I'm actually considering getting better ones to stop replacing them every few years but I don't know what to get. I tried getting the Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R once, but they ended up being slightly less comfortable (could've been due to added weight or newness but hey) and the sound quality was only VERY MARGINALLY better so I returned them
>>106635875
It feels really nice in my hands, sure you won't be able to put a ton of torque on it but perhaps that's for the best, considering the applications you'll use it for

>>106635896
>3.7%
wow.... what a tragedy ..
who the fuck uses rail anyway? it would take months

>>106635896
Not my problem.
That's Changs problem.

They really rushed my grow game prize. 3 days to my local post office. I will probably have it by Monday. If only every shipment was this fast

>>106616797
beggars can't be choosers

>>106636716
which prize did you choose? i'm very close to the easy compartment underwear holder

>>106635896
All my chink shit comes through romania

>>106628561
>[YouTube] I made Step Counter - Pedometer (ESP32 project)
Does it measure pedos?

>>106636870
Kemei shaver from medium difficulty. I got it for the nose hair trimmer.

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>>106634873
>Any of you ordered from tao Bao??
A couple of times. Through an agent, though, not directly. I went with Superbuy because their shipping options seemed to be the cheapest, and I haven't had any issues with them.

>Its 30% of Ali Express prices but the site is in chingchong. Wondering if it's worth it.
I mainly use it for small electronic parts, modules, etc. In that realm Taobao has a number of things that aren't on AliExpress at all, or only have maybe one seller at an absurd price. (Pic related is a screenshot of the last parcel order I made, to give you an idea. Note that $9.47 was the cost for shipping, not for the items.)

Since shipping starts at about $8-10 (and going up quickly from there with weight), you generally want to plan out your buying and combine several items into one international shipment.

>>106635896
I wonder which one is more important to yurop, pollacks or chink shit

>>106637152
can you name 5 pollacks? because i sure as shit can name 5 chinks

>>106637041
give it to me straight
how cancer was it to get & how long did it take?

>>106637216
Best i can do is 2 chinks, genghis khan and marco polo

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Got this blower, weak as fuck. Can barely blow the dust off a CPU heatsink and mobo, utterly disappointing. Luckily I bought it for <15€, Chang is now asking 32€ for fuck's sake, get something else with your good money. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009737328574.html

>>106637390
should have bought a brush for 2 dollars instead.

>>106637390
>200000RPM
lol
also the shape of it looks too much like other scam electric dusters

Shoulda done your research anon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gkmx3GtLcs

>>106637364
I started this prize in April.
I water every day.
I am dead inside.

Every day I water until the PvP challenge is up to ~130 points. It's about enough to beat the opponent for me. When the star challenges give 200000 water or whatever then I can spam waters without worrying too much about running out.

>>106637390
a powertool blower which uses a separate battery pack might be better. will be more than 32 euros but will work 5x better
think i saw some combination vacuum/blowers which take dewalt/makita batteries

>>106637472
i believe it takes a months to get an easy prize, with each time you clear it the requirements go up even on the same difficulty
if medium takes half a damn year then i don't know i think i'll stick to easy

>>106637472
I'm so sorry anon...
I was considering putting up with it, but that is FAR too much to put up with

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Any Taobao users? For some reason product descriptions doesn't load for me.

>>106637390
I wonder if there is any GOOD blower on ali or if ALL of them are shit. I also got chinked on this.

>>106637500
I did 3x hard ones and it wasnt half a year maybe like 2 and half month for each.

>>106637500
I finished hard twice back in the early days. I got nothing from it. Prizes were unclaimable due to sellers not shipping to countries. If that mechanic was in place then it must have screwed me harder than I thought.
I finished one easy mode at the beginning of the year just to see if I could get a prize. Then I did medium next.

>>106637451
I have the wolfbox, it's legit.

>>106638440
What do you use it for? Do you do a lot of pc cleaning professionally or does it have other uses that warrant the purchase
I've always wanted one because I fucking HATE the idea of consumable cans of fucking air, but I could never justify spending that much on something I'd use like 2-4 times a year

>>106636220
I almost went off the deep end with headphones, but ended up with very mid range chink ones -- Hifiman Edition XS -- and I'm happy for now. They're GIANT, and would prefer a suspended headband, but still pretty comfortable and I really like the way they sound + the fact they're open.

>>106638490
I use it mostly for dusting my desk, cleaning my PC, and blasting spider webs out of the corners of the ceiling.

>>106637390
Damn, I remember cleaning my PC with a compressor. Had it for other things, thought to myself one day: what if I add the moisture trap to the airline and blast my tower with it. Was breathing dust for a week straight, but that PC was spotless.

>>106638574
>what if I add the moisture trap to the airline
what now?

>>106628011
This one has no proper temperature control, does it? It says only low, med and high.
While that middle one does.
Or does that not make any difference for these cheap piece of shit soldering irons?

>>106637472
Do the star challenges reset? I haven't seen it since I finished it for the first time. Got enough water from it then to immediately finish an easy challenge (the cheapo wireless earphones), but haven't seen them since. And what's that slots machine I've seen people post screenshots of? Haven't seen that either.

>>106638926
But I think I will just buy the Aneng SL108, it is at a good price, and I like Aneng's stuff, already have one of their meters.

>>106638926
its the same shit. it doesn't show you the actual temperature.

>>106638948
>star challenges
They just did another star challenge. It appears every few months.

>slots machine
The slots replaced the 5, 10, or 15 water intervals that give you back water.
I think it's actually a low key nerf. You get a spin of a the slot machine in incremental intervals that get larger than the old intervals. It's a chance to win water, credit, or coupons. You never win credit or coupons. The prizeland coupons are worthless anyways. It's better to get more water.

>>106639108
>The slots replaced the 5, 10, or 15 water intervals that give you back water.
Interesting, I still have the old mechanism. Maybe it's a regional roll out or something.

>>106639077
Real quick, I am gonna buy a SL108 and it only comes with one tip that is like a flat blade, which other T12 tip would complement it best?

>>106582971
those carbon saddles with the 3d printed hex padding are decent
the nose? is a little thick tho i had to throw mine away cause it was cutting off circulation to my legs

What is the /csg/-approved USB-C data & power tester?

>>106639108
>I think it's actually a low key nerf
It's a high key nerf. Low chances of getting anything greater than 200 water whereas the old system you got progressively more water rewards

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>>106638140

I can highly recommend
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806026011000.html

What is the deal with "Order unsuccessful" messages when pressing finalizing a purchase/pressing Pay now?
Everything still says it is in stock.

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I love chink shit. I just want the hat.

>>106640281
I got that white temperature box thing as a gift once, not quite good, it would turn itself at random times and it dries the battery quite faster than other similar temperature boxes, hope you don't get the same experience.

Can anybody recommend any decent webcams on AliExpress? Don't need anything fancy, just something to place on top of my monitor, preferably with the option to point it somewhere else while I'm not using it.

>>106640278
How the fuck do I tell what is not fucking going through WHEN THEY WON'T TELL ME????

>>106629868
>>106629887
>>106629973
yeah hopefully by Christmas time. keep us updated if you find something

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>Crinacle Zero 2
>Tripowin Vivace

Which one is better?

>>106639673
>it only comes with one tip that is like a flat blade, which other T12 tip would complement it best?
That's called a chisel tip and already plenty versatile. Probably enough for most use cases.
If you really want something else, probably a fine conical tip for precision work.
Personally I'm also a fan of to bevel tips, which are like a in-between.

>>106641470
In the end I put a T12-ILS in my cart, but I can't finish my fucking purchase because aliexpress is a piece of shit, and I don't know how to tell what I need to remove from my cart without possibly creating bogus orders with different combinations.

>>106641481
I'd personally prefer a B2 or BCS1, the ILS looks too fine almost, getting a good contact with that might be a pain.
If you have issues with your cart, that's often because choice and international shipping are distinct categories for some coupons, no idea why.
If you get neither, the default tip of the iron should suffice for most work. It won't be ideal, but it will get the job done.

>>106637819
Does Taobao even deliver outside of China or you using an agent?

>>106641568
I am not really using coupons, only discount is from coins, maybe that is the issue, I don't know.

>>106641648
Turns out it was the fucking T12 tips that was blocking my purchase.
And I had even tried two different listings, both are fucked.
Thanks aliexpress.
I wanted the thin tip of the ILS because there was a very small SMD replacement I wanted to attempt. It probably wouldn't work but I wanted to give it a try anyway, and I know this isn't even necessarily the right tool for the job, but I don't wanna get a hot air station.

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>>106638590
I think I had something like this. There is some moisture and sometimes even suspended oil in the air from the compressor, and you really don't want that inside of your PC.

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>>106639865
Pretty sure there's only one, copy of C2C caberQU -- well, I say copy, but it is open source, so they just can make them.

how aliexpress work with the tariffs and shit now?

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>>106640831
For some reason the webcam market is pure, absolute garbage. Even expensive logi ones are shit -- quality especially. If you have an old Android phone laying around, you can just get a tripod/vacuum magnet mount and use DroidCam.

>>106641644
I am using Superbuy. Most likely disabling IPv6 to mmstat.com fixed issue, this is downside of using he.net's tunnel.

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Cheap alternative for pic related? Original Hakko model cost fucking 80€

>>106641281
Wrong Chinese e-waste general, buddy
>>106643092
What is that?

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>>106635594
I had a pair too. Used it daily. They sounded pretty good, but made dents in my head (not a joke) and fell apart a year after I bought them. Absolute dogshit build quality and design. Pads are made from some atrocious flaky plastic and started falling off after a while, too.

>>106643425
It's a weighted circuitboard holder. It's pretty kino for holding small boards while you work on them

>>106637091
There's this asian guy called Kyd on Instagram that tries chink products and then over charges for them in his own site. I just download the pics, upload them to Tao Bao to find them and they're sold super cheap. Same with Ali Express. Good way to find products to buy

>>106641281
Kinera Celest Wyvern Black

>>106629887
>>106629868
I think I'd actually buy one of these for $30, but they're literally sold out so hopefully chang copies them.

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>>106641281
Unironically Tanchjim Bunny (or Zero Ultima for bullets). My most used IEMs this year, and I have a good choice to pick from, including much more expensive ones. Very comfortable, solid mild V, look decent. I do like Zero 2, but Bunny made them obsolete for me.

>>106643509
The pads were the main reason I ditched them too. Very bad, genuine shit. Had AKG K52 after that, you can just forget you had them on, great fit. Would not recommend them for sound or value (both are alright, but nothing impressive), but Hans knows how to make a comfy pair.

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AliExpress, what the fuck are you selling me

>>106644411
....link?

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Never bought anything from aliexpress.
can i get a QRD on how to not get scammed?
I'm assuming number of orders and average review are the main indicators, any specific numbers to strive for?

>>106645312
Number of orders really don't mean much, just look for good sellers

>>106645409
>just look for good sellers
well, what's the criteria to qualify as a good seller?

>>106645312
>can i get a QRD on how to not get scammed?
if it seems too good to be true, it is
don't expect a smartphone for 20$, a 8000mAH 18650 battery or a 1tb sd card for 50 cents
If it has no reviews and low sales it isn't necessarily a scam, especially if it's a product that would logically have low volume (main example I can give you is stores that sell thousands of different sticker designs, obviously not each one will have thousands of buyers). As such check the store's sales and reviews in addition to the product's
Read the actual product description and MOST IMPORTANTLY the "choice" you make, sometimes you'll have listings for let's say a controller and the default selected option will be just a carrying case which they sell for 5$ but if you want the actual controller you have to select it at the top and it'll be 30$ or whatever

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Got a 3-band EDUP 3000Mbps WiFi 6E dongle since my internal wifi on my HTPC was slow and had lag spikes which meant I couldn't do steam link gaming. $16, so decently cheap for what it is.

Picked the chipset from the Linux WiFi chipset list: https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/USB_WiFi_Adapters_that_are_supported_with_Linux_in-kernel_drivers.md

The problem is the antennas. They shipped it with 3GHz antennas, which seemed to work fine for 2.4GHz and 5GHz, but those bands are completely congested in a dense urban area near an airport. I need it to work at 6.9GHz, so I had to improvise and make my own antennas soldering on some 1cm long wires on. Will make some better antennas when my order for RP-SMA cables comes in, but this works great for now. Much more stable, and it doubles my wifi speed.

>>106645621
>I need it to work at 6.9GHz, so I had to improvise and make my own antennas soldering on some 1cm long wires on.
Could you give some more information on this?
It isn't useful at all to me whatsoever, but you've made me curious as to how different antennas apparently are meant for different frequencies and how you can modify them to change the frequency they're optimized for

>>106645594
Gotcha.
i was actually looking at stuff not /g/ related.
keychain and enamel pins, so pretty cheap, and the official version cost a lot more with shipping, i ain't paying 20 bucks for a small keychain

maybe somewhere in the future i'll consider getting tech stuff

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>>106645656
it ships with this antenna, which has 2 unshielded wires each poking out opposite each other. It's called a half-wave dipole, because the total length (50mm) is half the wavelength of the tuned frequency (3GHz).

I made a really shitty quarter-wave monopole, which means I have a piece of wire that is 1/4 the target wavelength. 6.9GHz = 43mm, so it's a roughly 10mm piece of wire.

>>106645621
you should probably put a heatsink on that bitch, shit gets hot.

Does anyone use some chink mouse?
Zaopin, mchose or something similar? Want a new wireless gaymen mouse and I don't want to use logaytech

>>106645486
its number of orders, dont listen to the other retard. If an item is sold 1000+ times you definitely know its safe. Even less than that is fine. I have bought items with like 30 sales and it was fine. I would simply never buy items which don't show any sales. Also official stores also work. For example the Espressif official shop doesnt have many sales as their products have higher Quality Assurance and thus cost more and most people dont really care about it, they care about price. Some of their items, like the esp32 p4 have very few sales but you can be assured they are safe.

>>106646198
ATK F1 extreme and Scyrox v8 are basically the current holy grail of chink mice when it comes to price to performance. They weigh like 35 grams, can do 8k polling and even have an 8k dongle. I'd suggest the official atk store though if you get the f1 extreme, as there isnt that much of a price difference to aliexpress, even with coupon and coin stacking

>>106632088
nothing wrong with that if the price is right honestly

>>106641994
>I wanted the thin tip of the ILS because there was a very small SMD replacement I wanted to attempt.
>It probably wouldn't work but I wanted to give it a try anyway, and I know this isn't even necessarily the right tool for the job, but I don't wanna get a hot air station.
Just to be clear, you don't need a hot air station for most SMD even with smaller sizes. It definitely helps, but you can use a iron. For small chips you use solder wick to remove solder and solder paste to apply it then rely on capillary action (?not sure if that's actually capillary action, but the attraction that small particles have to shit) to move the solder to the pins. That can work with a solder iron too.
The one are where you absolutely can't get the job done is when you're using BGA, where the pins are on the bottom.
For those you do need either hot air, a hotplate or a reflow oven.

Quick PSA since we're on page 10:
I (NeoOp) am not at home, so I won't be able to make a thread until I am back. That'll be 12-24 h, so if there's a need for a thread some other anon will have to make it.

>>106645910
no, it doesn't, it doesn't even get noticeably warm. and the original manufacturer didn't see the need to put a heatsink on.

>>106646539
Hot air or a hotplate can still be nice for not fucking lifting pads while trying to remove something. The former is nice for heatshrink too.

>>106624467
thank you anon
i do not deal drugs

>>106646620
try checking the temperature when you're actually using it you dingus.

>>106646352
thanks, I never had a super light mouse, current one weighs 90g. But good to hear they aren't memes and are worth considering