A Geek Goes Flying

Blink doorbell camera in Stouchi mount I wanted an inexpensive doorbell camera that I could pull up on my phone in real time, that was motion activated for saving clips, and that didn't require a monthly subscription. I more or less found it when Amazon put the Blink camera on sale. My setup: Blink Video Doorbell + Sync Module 2 ($48) Blink USB flash drive for local video storage with the Blink Sync Module 2 ($15 for the 64GB module; a touch overpriced (name brand units are like $10) but worth it to me for plug-and-play simplicity) Blink Doorbell Mount No Drill, Stouchi Anti Theft ($13) They say it has a 2 year battery life but mine were dead-dead after 7 months (confirmed with the handy battery tester in this handy organizer ). But I live on a hallway with a fair amount of traffic, so the motion sensor was getting triggered like all the time. <Shrug> Swapped in apair of EBL 1.5V rechargeables , see how long those last. ( A similar set of 1.5Vs are still kicking ass in my ...

Until very recently, if you wanted rechargeable AAs you were stuck with NiMH batteries, which topped out at around 1.2V ( Rechargeable Batteries — compared and explained in detail ). Off the shelf alkaline AAs, though, at least started life as (at least) 1.5V cells: New Energizer alkaline AA battery, 1.5V As the battery was used, the voltage decreases over time. In 2014 I installed the first generation Kēvo smart deadbolt , and loved it. I got a set of rechargeable AAs and recharged them every few months or so and life was good. Until life happened and in 2019 I had to replace that lock; the only one available was the Kwikset Kēvo 2nd Gen . That lock is much more finicky. It would work on NiMH rechargeable AAs, but only for a short time (a matter of days), and immediately started complaining the batteries were low. Meanwhile, e.g., a set of (4) Energizer MAX batteries, packaged in November 2021 and bought and installed in mid-December 2021, lasted about 2 months. When I tested them wit...

Zendure SuperTank Pro Zendure SuperTank Pro I’m still enamored with the Zendure X5, but I went looking for a solution with at least 2 USB-C PD outputs, that could power both a MacBook Air and a 15.6" UPERFECT portable monitor (that I expect will become part of a flexible sit-stand setup ). The Zendure SuperTank Pro 100W PD 26800mAh power bank seems to have glowing reviews and the specs are there (and I like the OLED screen that shows what each port is delivering, how many watt hours of charge are remaining, etc), and Amazon had it as a lightning sale item marked down from $229 to $169, so I decided to take the plunge. Update: The SuperTank arrived today. To my surprise, it came with a carrying case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. I hooked it up to the UGREEN 100W charger through the Klein and observed it charging (it came with about a 36% charge, and Zendure recommends fully charging it before use). Using the red 60W-rated cable showed 56.0W on the SuperT...