DiscussionHQ - General Discussions
DiscussionHQ is a general discussion forum that has opened December 2024!
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Last thing you bought
- Thread starter Smithy
- Start date
Kyng
Well-known member
A dental check-up.
Nancy Hart
Well-known member
An LNB (Low Noise Block downconverter) for a satellite dish.
Axel Slingerland
Wordy Blues Rocker
Dinner and a Mocha! 
Last night we went to Denny's for dinner and grabbed a Mocha from McDonald's on the way home.
Last night we went to Denny's for dinner and grabbed a Mocha from McDonald's on the way home.
Kyng
Well-known member
Tortilla chips, oat bars, and chocolate-dipped fruit and nuts.
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Half-price deal on some solar power cable. 35 feet of 12 AWG with appropriate connectors. Also a cheap cord reel for storing it.
I figure that copper is only going to get more expensive so at half-off it was hard to sit on the deal too long. I have a use for it immediately anyway.
I'd have liked a 35 to 40 foot 10 AWG as well for my higher-power panels, but these are hard to find at a tempting price. My 20-footer will have to do for a while.
I figure that copper is only going to get more expensive so at half-off it was hard to sit on the deal too long. I have a use for it immediately anyway.
I'd have liked a 35 to 40 foot 10 AWG as well for my higher-power panels, but these are hard to find at a tempting price. My 20-footer will have to do for a while.
Yvonne Smith
Moderator
My blender quit, and it is something that I use all of the time. Now that we have the Ninja Creami ice cream machine, I use the blender to make the ice cream mixes with and then freeze it overnight to use in the Creami.
I also use the blender for other things, like making smoothies or protein milkshakes (protein drink with ice )
My old blender also had the food processor attachment, and i use that a lot as well, for chopping up veggies for stir fry or salsa. It was an Oster Pro 1200 series, and I really liked it.
So, I have been looking at other Oster blenders, Ninja blenders, and just what other blenders were available on Amazon.
I finally decided on the Oster Classic blender that comes with the food chopper attachment. This blender has the small base that will also work with a mason jar, which is sometimes handy when you want to blend something and store it right in the jar. (The one that went with the old blender does not work with this blender.)
I also use the blender for other things, like making smoothies or protein milkshakes (protein drink with ice )
My old blender also had the food processor attachment, and i use that a lot as well, for chopping up veggies for stir fry or salsa. It was an Oster Pro 1200 series, and I really liked it.
So, I have been looking at other Oster blenders, Ninja blenders, and just what other blenders were available on Amazon.
I finally decided on the Oster Classic blender that comes with the food chopper attachment. This blender has the small base that will also work with a mason jar, which is sometimes handy when you want to blend something and store it right in the jar. (The one that went with the old blender does not work with this blender.)
Kyng
Well-known member
A Father's Day card.
Cpvr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2024
- Messages
- 488
How'd it go?
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Another USB-powered floor lamp. The one I bought has worked out well, and I have a lot of solar power "buckets" with USB power output. Frees up another outlet, I can move it anywhere, and it's another way to make use of the stored power. Payback? Oh, years and years. I'm not trying to fool myself. Handy in a power outage though.
Yvonne Smith
Moderator
Post a picture, please ! This sounds awesome and I have not seen one before.
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Well they come in many styles. But I have just bought a couple of the cheaper and simpler ones as a proof of concept before investing much into them. The first one is being used tucked into a corner of a room that gets little natural light.
These contain a set of cool white LEDs and a set of warm whites (total 168 LEDs). So the "color mode" can use one set, the other set, or both for a decent daylight approximation to the eye. With both sets on at full brightness it burns about 10 watts. There are 10 levels of brightness, and I normally run it "warm white" at about half-brightness - burning maybe 3 to 4 watts. So a power bank with around 300 watt-hours of battery can run it this way almost 3 days 24 hours/day.
I chose a model with a disc-shaped "head" but they also come in "bar" shapes and even swiveling double-bars that can fold into one, out in a "V," or wide into a wide single bar.
I don't use the supplied AC adapter. And if you use all of the pole sections the heavy base can be a little precarious so I bend the gooseneck into a "shepherd's crook" or "question mark" shape to cast light downward while keeping the head roughly over the center of the base. But one could create a heavier base or I suppose even glue the metal base onto a circle of painted wood for more stability.
Less pole sections makes it a desk lamp. There are also similar desk lamp products in more variety, and even "clamp on" short-stalk lamps.
And nothing says you can't just adapt the head and its cord into a more conventional potentially more attractive existing AC-powered lamp. There are also products with just a cord and one or more "bare bulbs" with LED elements inside that might be used to retrofit a conventional table or floor lamp.
So there is room for plenty of ingenuity for emergency, camping, work shed, and RV lighting. Not to mention there are "grow light" products from single-pot helper lamps to larger setups.
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Ordered another wacky gadget:
That shows two of them, so you can see both ends.
The single-plug end goes to a USB-A power source. The double-socket end accepts one USB-A plug and one USB-C plug for devices to be powered. The button and LED on the side are for setting it up.
This is a WiFi "smart plug" module, similar to those sold for switching AC powered devices from a wall socket. The pair of jacks can be controlled separately. You can turn each jack on or off remotely, or set up timers to automatically switch power to the two devices. For example to avoid overcharging an older phone that isn't smart enough about battery management.
I plan to use it with a USB-powered lamp.
"Alexa, turn on Bedroom Reading Lamp" before entering the room, etc. But timing things like plant lights is also possible. You can also use the Smart Life phone app, which I already use for other things.
That shows two of them, so you can see both ends.
The single-plug end goes to a USB-A power source. The double-socket end accepts one USB-A plug and one USB-C plug for devices to be powered. The button and LED on the side are for setting it up.
This is a WiFi "smart plug" module, similar to those sold for switching AC powered devices from a wall socket. The pair of jacks can be controlled separately. You can turn each jack on or off remotely, or set up timers to automatically switch power to the two devices. For example to avoid overcharging an older phone that isn't smart enough about battery management.
I plan to use it with a USB-powered lamp.
"Alexa, turn on Bedroom Reading Lamp" before entering the room, etc. But timing things like plant lights is also possible. You can also use the Smart Life phone app, which I already use for other things.
Mary Stetler
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2025
- Messages
- 280
I just bought a tank of gas. 
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
More lights:
First 20 little lights for $7. Next 5 bare-board lights with a touch-switch on the back for $5.
I read that the "little lights" might burn hot and get too warm, but there is a simple fix (though it requires a little soldering). We'll see.
First 20 little lights for $7. Next 5 bare-board lights with a touch-switch on the back for $5.
I read that the "little lights" might burn hot and get too warm, but there is a simple fix (though it requires a little soldering). We'll see.
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
More detail than you ever wanted:
Jacob Petersheim
Well-known member
Those "bare bulb" versions look like:
I'd think you could take almost any single-bulb table or floor lamp apart and thread this into it without a ton of trouble. You might have to cut the cable close to the "bulb" end to thread it through, then splice it together again. But the splice could be dropped down into the metal tube of the lamp. As a tinkerer, I'd probably take a white foam picnic plate and lay it onto the "spider" of the lampshade, cutting a center hole to screw the finial on top of the harp. This would reflect more of the illumination downward as you'd normally want with a table lamp.
Or in simple cases take a white plastic funnel and cut away the nozzle end until it fits down onto the base of the bulb as a lampshade. Then hang it downward from its hook, maybe a dab or two of hot glue to secure the shade into place. These don't get hot like an incandescent bulb or even a 120 VAC LED bulb.
I'd think you could take almost any single-bulb table or floor lamp apart and thread this into it without a ton of trouble. You might have to cut the cable close to the "bulb" end to thread it through, then splice it together again. But the splice could be dropped down into the metal tube of the lamp. As a tinkerer, I'd probably take a white foam picnic plate and lay it onto the "spider" of the lampshade, cutting a center hole to screw the finial on top of the harp. This would reflect more of the illumination downward as you'd normally want with a table lamp.
Or in simple cases take a white plastic funnel and cut away the nozzle end until it fits down onto the base of the bulb as a lampshade. Then hang it downward from its hook, maybe a dab or two of hot glue to secure the shade into place. These don't get hot like an incandescent bulb or even a 120 VAC LED bulb.