0:00 It's for putting the magical smoke back into devices.

its funny. i used to have one of those exact "rosin dispensers" in college almost 10 years ago, and apparently i was not using it correctly lol.

That rosin dispenser is definitely also intended for use with rosin extracts from certain plants for inhalant use. The nozzle is clearly a mouth piece. Thought glad to see they would have another use.

That thing you showed at the beginning of the video is in fact used to burn THC Wax to smoke it

Rosin is also another word for solventless thc concentrate that is extracted using heated plates in a press (aka rosin tech), and also is smoked/vaporized out of the same "dispenser". The dispenser was found in smoke shops in the USA probably 10 years ago when concentrates first hit the black market, and became popular around the same time nicotine vapes were just starting to be sold.

I enjoy this series so much! Thanks for all of the work that you put into these videos!❤

I bought the same hot plate thingy and can confirm everything you said. First thing was also taking it apart, especially to check if the PE wire was connected to the case (which it was).

According to the voice synthesis module's manual, you need to choose serial port 1 using the jumpers (which you have already done right in the video). Then refer to section 2.3 to exit the default serial passthrough mode by using any of the two methods: 2.3.1, pull-down pin PB2/ES0 for 50ms-2s; 2.3.2, send "+++" to it (the module will return "a" if it received that correctly), send "a" in under 1 second (the module will return "OK"), it will fail if you took longer than 1 sec to send the "a". You can send AT commands after that, but if you send only "at", it will go back to passthrough mode.

I cannot begin to explain how helpful this video series is. Although I don't use a fraction of the items you show, but I learn so much about what components are on these boards and that helps me make better decisions on my other electronics purchases.

Great video! The voltage regulator looks especially interesting! I also enjoyed seeing you use the vapor flux device. I have never seen flux used as a method for finding short circuits. Another effective way to find hot spots without a FLIR camera is to use a cotton swab (Q-Tip) to apply a bit of isopropyl alcohol to the suspect components and note how quickly the alcohol evaporates. When you have a hot component, it will evaporate very quickly.

Thank you so much for these reviews of products from aliexpress. I usually buy electronic parts and very often i miss an opinión of an electrónic expert about buck converters, led strips, developer boards and iot devices. It's really useful 👍 Greetings from Barcelona and congratulations for your channel Scott!!🎉

The buck boost converter really caught my attention. Based on the design and product description, something really cool is that itll operate in both buck and boost, meaning your voltage can start above the output voltage and drop below, but still work. This was really useful for me when i had to run a 3.3v Vout on 5v and 2.8v power. Its called capacitor based buck boost

Hey Scott love your stuff! Just a fyi, rosin is also a name for one method of extraccion of cannabis concentrate, the vape pens for this type of extractions use a ceramic bowl as the one you showed. I do think that is a weed product claiming to be another thing just to get through most customs

I cannot get enough of these videos. Entertaining and incredibly useful. I recently came across some ultra powerful lifepo4 battery chargers (29.2v 100A for like $650), and was really curious how they might actually perform. I build backup power stations with fairly large batteries (7200Wh), and charging them fully in under 5 hours requires a TON of power. Would love to see these crazy AliExpress chargers put to the test, as well as anything else lifepo4 related!

I really enjoy watching these even though I don't tinker with electronics these days. It's just fascinating to see what is out there and what can be done nowadays on a tiny board that previously would take a whole cabinet of resources.

These type of video series are gems, they are very integretable to any projects, for example the first product AI recognizable camera. As of now, I did create my own facial recognization system, modularity would be a lot helpful :)) Thanks GS!

Do NOT use magnetic adapters for USB! They attract ferrous debris and can short out, causing fire risks. Connections like MagSafe keep the contacts farther apart to minimize the risk. Low profile adapters cannot.

Love these vids, especially when you feature those very useful but sometimes questionable pcbs/modules, like power converters etc.

Thank you so much, GS. As someone who loves tinkering with all the diverse items from AliExpress etc, this series is essential viewing.

For everybody that likes the rosin dispenser but doesn't want their board sticky from it, you can simply use an air duster can upside down to freeze your board and reveal the faulty component the same way 😁

That AI chip on the face recognition module is not just an ASIC; it's a full fledged RISC-V system. The hot plate could possibly be calibrated to eliminate its glaring temperature error. Even my Yihua 937D+ had a calibration pot right in the front of it.

Hi, when testing buck/boost stuff, it would be nice if you tried a soft start, slowly raising input from 0 Volt, and finding out if and when it starts. It is good info for using with solar cells, mimicking a dull gray sun rise.

I like how you test electronic gadgets from online with proper tests and results. You also explain very well, this is very appreciable ... Love you brother, carry on.

Really loving this series. Wish you'd cover some more consumer-oriented products though, there's far too little information available on consumer electronics and you seem like you'd have enough expertise to judge the overall quality of them.

Wow, who'd have thought I already had a rosin dispenser?

I checked out the hot plate because I have been wanting one. And the price was discounted by 50% - cut to about $26 US. Only problem - shipping to the US is $93 !! Also - it looks like they have a 215 mm x 215 mm plate size version for the same price !! Did you consider getting that version ???

this is the closest thing to an effective form of advertising I've ever seen

I also bought this hotplate but it heats up too fast for reflow soldering. Within a minute it is already at 200 degrees. I saw that with the old variant you could adjust the pwm in a hidden menu. Unfortunately, this does not work (yet) on this variant. I did find a way to get to the menu but I can't adjust pwm there to make it heat up just a little slower.

think what you're measuring as a hotspot is the reflectivity of the surface for the thermal camera! the rosin smoke sounds like a health hazard without protection tho!

Please never stop trying to find hidden gems. We know it's not gonna happen, but.. just continue.

Awesome job, you certainly kept the best for the actual subscribers, and we thank you! Would you have any recommendations to go along with the Buck converter for a LORA/WAN Setup? thinking about acreage and not wanting to not have cell signal on the "back 40", or populating it along roadways to help signal in those low spots where it isn't.

I love it how you give so much importance to efficiency and loss 💖💖 wish everybody was like this

That TPS board was interesting but you didn’t say why they had bridged the power-save pads in the first place.

These types of videos are great if you don't have much knowledge about electronics. Keep up making videos like this.

I've seen reports in the reviews on AliExpress on *all* of those magnetic USB-C cables having the connector start melting or burning, with pictures to prove it. That makes a lot more sense now that I know 20% of the energy gets wasted as heat in that exact area. So these claim to be compatible with fast charging, but they really shouldn't be used with fast charging.

Fantastic, dude! Thanks a bunch for the testing! 😃 The converter should work great for a breadboard power supply! Perhaps with a rotary encoder or something to select the voltage! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Another pro for the magnetic cables. If you work in an area with a lot of dust (ie: a wood shop) the magnetic piece that plugs into the device acts as a dust cover. Downside, every little piece of magnetic dust will find it.

I am enjoying these new product episodes.

I'm really enjoying this series. Please keep making them!

You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting for a new video of this series. Love the video

I loooove those rosin dispensers for finding shorts. So useful and way cheaper than a thermal cam. Also way higher resolution and easier than the original method with an iron

there is a much better technique to find hotspots on a board which doesn't involve custom hardware and inhaling flux fumes, and that's just spraying isopropyl alcohol on your pcb

Makes me feel good knowing even you struggle sometimes with these random dev boards.

I really enjoy this series! Looking forward to further episodes! What I think would be interesting though: I also use these magnetic charging cables and I am actually satisfied with them. But there's one problem I noticed: over time, the resistance somewhere in the magnetic connector seems to increase for some reason. Would you be interested in taking it apart and have a look what's inside?

It is a really common technique really, to find short in cell phone by using heat. At least here in Indonesia. It's a bit brutal sometimes, lol, injecting 12v to phone. But that's kinda the way we can fix a phone sometime because the manufacturer wont give us schematic. Other than that fancy resin dispenser, you can use ethanol, IPA, or even receipt from ATM.

This hidden gem series is super useful in my country where Chinese products are all we can rely. So identifying the good and the bad is very helpful. Subscriber here since the 1st led cube

As part of moving to my newly built house, one of my latest favourite gadgets are serial to ethernet adapters. I built my own RFID+keypad door bell using two Arduinos, one for the RFID keypad, and one with a double relay for the bell and opener. All of that is connected to my servers where the actual access control happens. (I don't trust those all-in-one solutions) Another adapter connects my energy meter via a cheap IR read head to the network. There are many solutions using ESP32s or ESP8266s, but they also need power wires and would additionally use up some wifi bandwidth. The last adapter is a RS485 (Modbus) adapter, that let's me connect to my heat pump heating system. Very useful to control the energy usage depending on the output of my solar panels. Of course, these are a bit less electronics gadgets than "smart home" hacking thingies, but they are very usable in the right circumstances (MANY devices have RS232, RS485 or UART interfaces).

Great video, nice to see that im not the only weirdo that enjoys browsing aliexpress for new products ❤

What I love most about those magnetic connector cables is before there is enough force applied to damage something, it disconnects. Saved my phone a couple of times.

Problem with AliExpress is they have been slowly increasing prices and the deals are not as good as they used to be.

Love this series. Suggestion for catchier yes/no naming - Must Buy or Let It Fry

Back to desulfation topic a while ago, the desulfator I made based on several recent academic journals using resonant principle on sulphate seems to works. Its been running for 2 weeks. I use this desulfator on a lead acid 45a 12v battery which previously failed to desulfate using traditional method aka transformer+rectifier diode. On the 3 cell which the cells turned dark brownish rusty like color, 2 cell almost cleared of rusty like oxide. The 3 cells still bubling atm. The 3 cell with normal colored cell did not bubling at all from the begining of desulfation process. I use pwm at 700khz and 27% duty and irf540. Earlier, I got problem with this configuration as the solder joints providing 32v and ground keeps melting, even when i cooled it with 8" ac fan at around 50cm. Seems that the pulse resonating and disintegrate the solder joints. The solution is to clamp the wire using diode pin. I limit current slightly under 1A because i also often use the transformer to charge 18650 battery packs.😅 Edit: i also on 3d printer project, its a corexy based planned to run klipper. The interestings parts is that I use alternative approach to build this printer. The frame is made from welded 30x30x1.5mm hollow carbon steel. I use custom made heat treated carbon fiber brackets on x axis. The bed also made using carbon fiber. The heater element, thermostate and heat shileld will be on a single plate as carbon fiber is a good insulator material. The bed bracket will be using grade 1100 alumunium which is light and got high tensile strenght. The bed leveling will be using 6 axis gyro and servo controlled by separate mcu. The x axis use custom made bearing from ptfe aka teflon rod instead of linear bearings/rail on 3 8mm 304 stainless steel shaft. I also considering 1100 alumunium or heat treated carbon fiber shaft, but I am tight on budget atm😂.

About those USB cables, any magnet near the USB port on my laptop shuts it down. That's where the sensor for closing the lid is located, so it thinks the lid is closed and goes to sleep. Also, I couldn't tell, did it have more than two pins? If not then it's definitely not capable of fast charging.

hi scott can you make a chicken egg incubator (DIY or BUY)

Wow, I loved that TPS board, just tinking about some devices that last like forever, is awesome!

Sharing these videos with my local makerspace group . Interesting stuff.. thanks Scott!!

, welp that was a good video like always 😂❤

It's a crack pipe! Oh...

Always looking forward to new episode of this series. Keep it up !

What is the pcb with the Cooler Master fan and display showing volts, amps, ohms, watt calcs, time, and temp? Is there a project file around to build one? Thanks

With the face recognition, if it's possible to register your face at an angle, would that possibly solve the 'looking straight on' issue? It would take another space, but 2 or 3 out of 1000 is a drop in the bucket for home use.

One of the best Ali videos so far. Would love to see a working and recommended version of the speech module as i would like to build a Jarvis type device.

I really really really really really really really like this "hidden gems" series... I really really really really like them ❤❤

That's a lovely voltage converter, I'll have to keep that in mind when ordering next :D

I was waiting for this after seeing you had purchased the converter in your discord. Pleased, for sure

Magnet usb and tps BBB seem like the best ones for sealed projects (i even watched someone make a wireless mouse and use the magnet usb thing to charget from time to time) with ease, so for low power projects it shouldn't be an issue

The resin in the vape looking thing is Pine tree resin- it's the only resin that hits thermal saturation that fast & is capable of re-crystallizing directly from a gaseous state- instead of having to turn into a liquid & slowly reforming into a crystalline state like other standard crystal formations.

I just had to drop a quick comment to say how honored I feel that you reviewed the product I suggested. Thank you so much! 🙏 I absolutely love the AliExpress Gems series and your videos are just amazing! Keep up the fantastic work and keep those awesome videos coming!

Sas sind wirklich wirklich wirklich wirklich wirklich die besten Videos die du machst. "Hidden Gems" und "DIY or BUY" Videos... dein Kanal ist immer Pflicht!! Mit Chipstüte und Cola ❤

Thank you so much for these reviews of products from aliexpress.

Great video thanks for making it. I am confused about your TPS Buck Booster board. You said it handles 4 different voltages and can be set using the pads on it. Then why is the board sold at different price for each voltage. They charge more for 5v yet less for 2.5 and other voltages. IF all that is needed is to close loop/pads for each voltage then why do sellers have 4 different costs?

LOVE these AliExpress videos. Keep them coming!

Awesome video as always, @greatscott. Though I want to comment on the magnetic USB cables; I wanted to drive them daily, mostly for charging port longevity on my phone and interchangeability, with one charging cable any each device with its appropriate head. But from what I understood from online and Reddit research that it's just not safe and not recommended for daily use; I forgot the reason why it's not safe, but I wanted to give you a heads up; I would either research this a bit further (and would like to hear more insight from you if you do) or put a disclaimer of not recommending it because people were really convinced online that it's bad.

Thanks for doing these types of vids, along with other informative vids. I have bought some of these things after seeing you demonstrate them.

The TPS module is awesome. There is a serious lack of affordable high efficiency, low quiescent current converter modules, so this is certainly a gem. A pity it's so big though. Too beefy for low power uses which don't require current in ampere range.

Hey Scott, if you want really good magnetic cables try the ODDADD brand. They have proper data pins and even CC1+2 for PD communication. I have them and though not as low as high quality cables (sub 0.08) the resistance is ~0.16 ohms for the 2 meter cable.

Concerning that PS pin on the buck-boost converter, what does de-soldering it do to the circuit? Is there anything special that has to be wired up after the surgery lol? As a EE student I love your videos and focus on efficiency

My compliments, as a power electronics expert I recognized your good practice when measuring the DC-DC ripple with the small loop fixture. Thanks for the great video.

glad to see the rosin dispenser only other person iv seen using one is northbridgefix, iv been using one for couple years now and cheaper then a infrared camera while still working as good.

@greatscott, when you tried the sound board, did you change your windows system to whatever language the board code was written in? It's common having to change to Chinese and Japanese in order to get such apps to work

The Aliexpress series is like a treasure hunt. I like it.

Love this series, keep it coming!

I love this series, thank you so much sir.

7:00 - My rosin atomizer, uses "interface 510", additionally I bought soldering iron for 2$ and now I have rosin atomizer + soldering iron in one tool.

Have been using magnetic cables for a long time. Go for quality at slightly higher cost. It does have a slight power loss at higher voltage and current. The plug gets warm to touch. And the magnetic part does pick up debris. The pros Eliminates wear on the charging port almost completely. No more fumbling around trying to plug in the phone while driving. Just hover the cable close by and it latches on.

You should definitely try out the eta9640 IC for battery powered projects

The magnetic cables are absolutely perfect for wireless headphones, you can easily attach them without removing the headphones and if you forget they are attached and stand up they safely disconnect without stressing any component. It's worth the power loss in my opinion.

That rosin dispenser is a repurposed concentrate vaporizer, that's absolutely ingenious! You could grab better coils from OOZE, they use quartz with wire around it and their pretty efficient in vaporizing so I imagine they'd perform the same for this application. I have a fantastic use now for my old 510 batteries!

Scott knowing the Pacha meme 2:58 is the best part!

So cool to see your face. Your humor is Awesome.

I enjoy this series so much! Thanks

Thank you for the tip about the buck-boost module, it looks absolutely great for lithium batteries. Been looking for something like it for a while.

0:00 - Oh my, idk why was I expecting you to make some smoke rings 😂

The heat plate hot spots might be due to thermal imaging and not due to product itself. The surface of the heat plate is reflective.

I have seen the Rosin atomizer/dispenser used by Northridge Fix channel. I thought it was a very clever use of the pen. I usually use my IR camera, but this seems good for the price for sure. Great video!

Really love this series

I had these magnetic cables for years now and I’m super glad for them and use them for almost everything it’s nice to have one cable for everything except for using it on iPad it’s not so good it’s getting really hot thanks for a great video keep it up🤘😎

worth watching, as always!

Interesting! I wonder, why would anyone not use the buck-boost-board in power saving mode? What are the drawbacks to it?

I love this series! So often, when on AliExpress, I find myself asking... "What is that?" LoL