This video reviews a selection of seven intriguing products purchased from AliExpress, a Chinese online marketplace known for its wide variety and often vague product descriptions. The presenter aims to determine whether these items are "hidden gems" or simply "garbage" through hands-on testing and internal examination. Products range from practical tools like a mini portable air pump and power tool battery adapters, to advanced components such as a laser distance sensor (LiDAR) and a USB-C battery charger, as well as a more controversial "Rodin Coil" and a Bluetooth anti-loss tracker. The review provides detailed performance insights, notes on build quality, and discusses the challenges of utilizing some of these budget-friendly electronics.
AliExpress Gadgets: Hits & Misses
0:00 Introduction: The video begins with an introduction to reviewing 7 intriguing products from AliExpress, highlighting the challenge of vague product descriptions and the potential for both "hidden gems" and "garbage."
1:03 Sponsor Segment (Boot.dev): The presenter promotes Boot.dev, an RPG-style platform for learning coding (Python, Go, SQL, Git), offering 25% off the first year.
Purpose: To inflate items more easily than manual pumps, suitable for summer activities.
Features: Small size, super bright LED, various nozzles, activated by double-tapping.
Performance: Inflated a small pool in 41 seconds (compared to 3 minutes 18 seconds manually), also worked for deflation. Internal testing confirmed claimed pressure (5kPa) and airflow (500L/min) are mostly accurate. Well-built internally.
Key Takeaway: Highly recommended for inflating numerous items.
Features: Costs around 15€, good sunlight resistance, high frame-rate.
Challenge: Lacks proper documentation/drivers.
Solution: ChatGPT was successfully used with the Chinese datasheet to get it working with an ESP32.
Performance: Delivered accurate values up to 8 meters indoors.
Key Takeaway: A thumbs up for cheap distance sensing applications.
6:38 Makita Battery Adapters (Turbo Fan & Soldering Iron):
Purpose: Allows use of common Makita power tool batteries with various devices, addressing the issue of custom/expensive battery packs.
Products: A turbo fan and a soldering iron, both adapting to Makita batteries.
Performance: The turbo fan worked well (slight airflow reduction), and the soldering iron provided 45-50 minutes of use with a 5Ah battery. Build quality seems sufficient.
Key Takeaway: Both adapters are given a thumbs up for their practicality and value.
Purpose: A tiny, cheap (around 1.5€) USB-C charger for 4.2V lithium batteries.
Features: Uses an LP4054 IC, providing 600mA charging.
Design Note: The +solder pad is dangerously close to GND, requiring careful soldering.
Performance: Successfully charged a small Li-Ion battery, functioning correctly through constant current and constant voltage modes. The IC got hot but has thermal protection.
Key Takeaway: Recommended as a perfectly functional and cheap charger board.
Purpose: Helps locate lost items, leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a network of other phones running the app.
Features: Easy setup, ability to make the tracker emit a sound, and tracks the last known location via other users' phones (similar to Apple's Find My network concept). Also features wireless charging.
Performance: The sound feature worked well. The location tracking also functioned as described, utilizing nearby phones' GPS. Internal analysis showed low power consumption, suggesting 5-6 months of battery life.
Cons: Requires a specific app and the "scan QR code" feature's utility depends on others having the app.
Key Takeaway: Considered a "life saver" and given a thumbs up.
13:36 Conclusion: The presenter concludes with a positive overall experience for this batch of AliExpress products and promises more reviews in the future.