Tiny Undervalued Hardware Companions (2024)

73 zdw 17 6/21/2025, 2:19:47 AM vermaden.wordpress.com ↗

Comments (17)

blitzar · 3h ago
Basicallly angled adaptors for everything.

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away my apple magnetic charger was right angled. Unfortunately the technology was forgotten and eventually lost with the passage of time.

bryancoxwell · 18m ago
There are few better feelings than really needing some obscure cable/device at work, whipping out your cable organizer like nerd Batman, and saying “oh I’ve got one of those”
EvanAnderson · 6h ago
Female-to-female RJ45 couplers ("join adapters" as described by the article) have been very handy in my experience. They're cheap enough that I don't mind leaving one now and again. It's so handy to be able to unplug something, splice in my laptop / tap / etc, and quickly return things they way I found them without rerouting the original cable. It's also handy when you don't have a long enough patch cable with you but you do have a couple shorter ones.
PhilipRoman · 2h ago
Agreed, they are great for messing around. I didn't want to bother with a proper patch panel so I just attached a bunch of them to my minilab and it's the best thing ever.
nicbou · 3h ago
My current favorite is a 1 meter retractable USB C to C cable. Combined with the smaller GaN charger and the lower power requirement of newer MacBooks, I can pack really light, and that's great for bike and motorcycle travel.

I also have a set of USB adapters that plug into each other and let me charge anything with the same cable. Again, less stuff to pack.

o11c · 6h ago
Beware: most USB-to-SATA adapters do not work with HDDs, only SSDs

One USB A-to-C adapter I particularly like is a cable with adapters tied to each end, so you can use it for any combination of (A or C host) to (C or micro device).

FM transmitters you have to be slightly careful - they need to get power somehow; think about how that will happen.

pockybum522 · 6h ago
If you want to be sure that a USB to SATA adapter will work with anything, get the style that has the power on a completely separate cable that plugs into the wall.
yonatan8070 · 5h ago
A lot of cars without Bluetooth have a USB-A port for charging or plugging in a USB drive with music on it, you can use that port to power the FM transmitter
epakai · 6h ago
I love having so many little daptery-doos. My best hack is storing them though. I have a two tier desk, 24" deep main surface, and 10" monitor 'shelf'. I keep a half dozen tiny adhesive drawers under the shelf so they're always at hand.

One for flash storage + usb dongles, another with every usb adapter + short cables, audio things + usb power meters, pens, and other stuff. It is so nice being able to quickly use almost any device without a scavenger hunt first.

alex77456 · 5h ago
I have been using stackable hardware/diy organiser compartment boxes for this purpose. It's great
citizenpaul · 6h ago
If you use the various Ethernet adapters make sure you run some speed tests when you get it.. Those cheap dongles/converters ect are notorious for Working but cutting your speed and reliability of the connection.
quailfarmer · 4h ago
Add to this list: small portable HDMI/VGA monitor for checking on headless machines.
sgentle · 37m ago
I use an iPad (that I have with me anyway) + cheap USB HDMI capture dongle for this.
npodbielski · 2h ago
It is nice but I wish there would be just a dongles of some kind that is like a network monitor, you i.e. VNC into from another place to see what error machine is spewing.
yonatan8070 · 41m ago
I got one of these which does the job pretty well

https://www.crowdsupply.com/techxartisan/openterface-mini-kv...

dasv · 2h ago
npodbielski · 46m ago
Seems interesting. To bad you cant buy it yet.