Best products from r/techsupportmacgyver

We found 34 comments on r/techsupportmacgyver discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 463 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

11. TP-Link AV600 Powerline Ethernet Adapter - Plug&Play, Power Saving, Nano Powerline Adapter, Expand Home Network with Stable Connections (TL-PA4010 KIT)

    Features:
  • Fast speed: Wired connection with high speed data transfer rate, ideal for HD video or 3D video streaming and online gaming, up to 100Mbps
  • Plug and Play: No new wires and no configuration required; Step 1: connect 1 adapter to your router. Step 2: plug in another Powerline adapter wherever you need wired internet service.
  • Network expansion: The TL-PA4010 KIT transforms your home's existing electrical circuit into a high-speed network with no need for new wires or drilling and brings wired network to anywhere there is a power outlet(Up to 300 meters)
  • Miniature design: Smaller than most Powerline adapters in the market, blends discreetly in front of any power outlet
  • Power Saving Mode: TL-PA4010 KIT automatically switches from its "Working" mode to efficient "Power-Saving" mode when not in use, reducing energy consumption by up to 85%.
  • Please note that powerline adapters must be deployed in sets of two or more
  • Kindly Reminder: Powerline Adapters must be on the same electrical circuit for connectivity. Appliances and devices running on the same circuit may affect powerline performance.
  • Compatible with all TP-Link Powerline Ethernet Adapters AV2000, AV1300, AV1200, AV1000, AV600, AV500, AV200. Please purchase TL-WPA4220 or TL-WPA4220KIT if you need Wi-Fi
TP-Link AV600 Powerline Ethernet Adapter - Plug&Play, Power Saving, Nano Powerline Adapter, Expand Home Network with Stable Connections (TL-PA4010 KIT)
▼ Read Reddit mentions

Top comments mentioning products on r/techsupportmacgyver:

u/FoxKeegan · 1 pointr/techsupportmacgyver

>Or, you know, you just used the cables Apple provided, which they could be certain met the necessary safety standards, unlike some $1 cable that probably doesn't but who cares?

<laughs> You've got a lot of faith in a company that doesn't give a shit about you. Enough to spout nonsense you know nothing about, and called the bluff of the wrong person. The $1 cable I referred to is one I've bought many of, of various lengths, as I don't like messy cables. It's a C7, or C7P plug, and it, like C5 cables plugs, and virtually all other US lamps, largely use the same wire. So much so, it's called "lamp wire". It's a pair of 18awg cable. Now this is the part where your little indignance breaks down, and it's gonna involve numbers that aren't money, so stay with me. 18awg cable is capable of running 10 amps over 120v power, so long as it isn't over 50 feet. The Apple cable is required to provide enough to supply a Macbook with, at most, 85 watts of power. Watts are calculated by multiplying voltage by amperage. So the Apple cable is required to supply 85. My $1 cable you doubt so much is capable of supplying 1200.

Truth be told, the Apple cable is likely 18 as well, possibly 20awg, since they like making money. But at this point it's pretty clear you don't know what you're talking about, but are heavily, emotionally invested in your opinion, and may want to rethink your opinions on Apple and your discretionary income choices.

>Probably because quality and safety cost money, hence the USB power supplies from reputable brands, that won't burn your house down, aren't $1 from eBay.

As I've shown above: No. It's just cuz Apple likes overcharging people, and people who like Apple appear to like getting overcharged, then get very defensive when it's pointed out. I take safety very seriously--more so than I care to explain right now, and far more than you'd likely believe. The $1 cables aren't from Ebay, but they also weren't USB cables. Please try to follow along. USB has become a very convoluted standard that requires a great deal of research to ensure you're getting what you need. There are some dangerous cables out there, so you need to be aware of what you're getting. They're going to cost more than $1, but a 6ft cable isn't $30. That's just you buying an Apple executive another vacation home.

>You won't be buying the stand unless you're buying the monitor.
>
>This isn't for your "gaming rig", it's for people that have the budgets to pay for it, where time is money, and don't want to waste time finding a cheaper alternative.

<googles "VESA compliant monitor mount"> Oh look. I found a cheaper alternative. It only took me <looks at non-existent watch> 10 seconds. At $970 savings, I'm saving almost $350,000 an hour! Boy, that certainly isn't worth "wasting time to find a cheaper alternative." Yeah, if I'm a business with a budget, it's certainly much better to just spend an extra $1,000 for every single one of these monitors we buy. That money clearly couldn't be better spent somewhere else.

But wait! There's more! True to Apple's philosophy of proprietary bullshit I explained earlier, they've made certain their monitor is not VESA compliant. Why, you ask? I'll tell you! This way if people come to their senses (as many have over this) and decide they don't want to pay Apple $1,000 for a ridiculously overpriced stand, they'll instead still be forced to pay Apple $200 for the adapter to that makes the monitor VESA compliant! Either way you go, Apple screws you over! :D

Noticing a pattern?

Oh, and their justification for this bullshit? It pivots between landscape and portrait, and has a magnet so you can disconnect it and take it with you. Now, the $30 option I showed also spins 360 degrees, so I guess they had to up their game to justify this nonsense by adding another feature that seems more like a solution looking for a problem than an innovation. I don't know why anyone needs to quickly disconnect and travel with a monitor that's the size of a small TV--it's not exactly convenient to transport something like that, but I give them points for the sheer audacity of suggesting this level of shit to justify another "innovation" they could use to rip people off even more. Bonus: If they encourage people to carry around a $5,000 monitor, there's a chance it'll get as destroyed just like an iPhone, requiring them to buy another!

Again, noticing a pattern?

Give if a month or so. Someone'll sell a better version of their VESA mount adapter for $50 on Amazon.

>By whinging about the cost of something you aren't required to buy. You don't even need to buy it even to use that monitor, you could of course find your own stand if you're willing to put in the time.

Ah, apparently you weren't aware of the $200 Sucker Tax. :) Yeah, the whole "Oh, but you're not required to buy it! We're doing you a favor!" line falls apart when everyone just realizes even Apple didn't think they could get away with charging an extra $1000 for the monitor by forcing people to buy the stand as well. That make it nearly double the cost of Dell's version, and they wanted to stay under Eizo and Sony. So, instead, it's a $5200 monitor, minimum. They're just milking the intended demographic, hoping they'll shell out more for overpriced nonsense because they're settling for the Apple XDR instead of getting a far more expensive reference monitor, but anyone in that same market is also going to look at others making similar products, so they still have to stay competitive. Brass tacks? You're the one who mentioned the monitor--I don't care about it. I said the stand is bullshit, because the ability to pivot, rotate and "easily disconnect" a 32" display does not justify a $1000 cost. Nor does a simple adapter for VESA compliance justify a $200 cost.

>I say this as someone who literally yesterday had to spend time filing down my new "VESA desk mount" to fit my expensive monitor

I'm hoping you're not saying it would be wiser to spend 1,000 USD than to spend a few minutes filing down a monitor mount. I'll stick with my middle-ground of buying VESA mounts that meet the typical 75 or 100mm standard, as I've never had any issues with them. It sounds like you got a low quality VESA mount, but the wonderful thing about standards is that you can measure both the monitor and the mount, and see who actually screwed up!

u/sasasa377 · 3 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

Well in that case I suggest a bigger roll, likely 1000ft or more. Shouldn't be more than like 40 or 50$. But if you're running them through the walls, you're right, cat6 would be the smarter move. This is almost exactly the kit I bought but it comes with a neat carrying case and those blue ethernet connector covers. You should absolutely get and use a cable tester like the one in this kit, if you're running wires through your wall the last thing you want to do is run them and then find out it was wired incorrectly or doesn't work for some other reason. Also always give yourself at least a foot more than you think you'll need so that if you mess up stripping the wires or something you have a couple more tries. But it takes surprisingly little practice to get good at.

I wish you good luck, mate. I also recommend running a good HDMI, USB and power extension cord for a Vive (also works with Oculus) if you ever plan on using that room for VR. Since you're already in the walls, it would be a smart time to do it. Only real advice there is to put a nice sleeve over the power wire because it's surprisingly small in diameter. Quick edit: Here's an outlet cover plate you could use for VR wires.

u/tyami94 · 37 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

u/Rubik842 is right, even if he is being a little vague. It probably won't help much, if at all. RF at WiFi frequencies is very vulnerable to the skin effect. The wire you are using is probably causing a lot of loss, or at the very least, low SNR. Even though your speeds are significantly higher, your latency is probably off the charts due to all the packets it would be dropping. The only time you wouldn't be dropping packets is if you are incredibly lucky, as even the slightest defect in that cable will cause multipath distortion and at least a little bit of noise.

All of this is completely disregarding the problem with your reflector. There is a very low chance that it is efficient at 0.12491352416m (for 2.4GHz, around 12.49cm) or 0.0599584916m (for 5GHz, around 5.99cm) If I were you, I would go buy a pre-built directional antenna, as they are designed with all this in mind. They are pretty cheap if you know what you are looking for.

It is still pretty intuitive for a temporary solution, though.

This one will work well with 5GHz: https://www.amazon.com/ALFA-APA-M25-directional-connector-WL-ANT-157/dp/B00R1PA9EO

This one will work well with 2.4GHz: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Outdoor-Directional-connector-TL-ANT2414A/dp/B003CFATNS?th=1

Beware of no-name omnidirectional antennae, as they aren't well made. Most of them make things worse.

Info for those who don't work with radio: Those numbers above represent the ideal length for your antenna. They are pretty easy to calculate. The formula is λ = C/f, which means wavelength = speed of light / frequency in Hz.

To get wavelength from GHz:

299792458 / (GHz * 1000000000)

For MHz:

299792458 / (MHz * 1000000)

For KHz:

299792458 / (KHz * 1000)

For Hz:

299792458 / Hz

​

The result will be in meters for all of the above.

​

Your antenna can be full-wave, which means its length matches the wavelength.

You can also get a half-wave antenna, which has a very small degradation in performance. Its length is half of the wavelength that you are using.

Quarter-wave antennas are also available, but they carry a more significant performance decrease. You can probably guess how long it needs to be based on the pattern so far.

Anything smaller probably isn't worth it, as a full-wave antenna for 2.4GHz is just under 5 inches long in the first place. A quarter wave antenna is just over an inch. Full-wave 5GHz antennas are already tiny. They are around 2.4 inches long, with quarter-wave being barely longer than half an inch.

​

To be totally honest u/dusty_whale, if you are happy with it's functionality, I wouldn't bother buying one. There is a chance, albeit a rather small one, that your DIY reflector fulfilled all of those requirements I listed above. Nice job, it looks really cool regardless.

Edit: Easier to read number formatting for the wavelengths.

u/Treereme · 3 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

Do you have a cable box or any other device that makes heat 24/7? If so, you might consider wiring up the fans to run 24/7. That's also the simplest way to wire them. Lower temperatures are good for electronic longevity. Fans wear out in a few years, but are cheap to replace compared to a PS4 or receiver.

If you want to trigger them off your receiver, that's pretty easy to do. Most likely your receiver can't power the fans directly (most 12V trigger outputs are 200-500mA output). Some receivers have a switched 120V outlet on the back, which makes this really easy, you just plug the fans in.

Fans can draw anywhere from 160mA (0.16A) to 600mA+ (0.6A)
The Antec fan you linked doesn't have a spec listed for power draw, but typically very quiet fans are below 300 mA.

If your total fan power draw (add together all fans) is less than 90% of the power your receiver can output, you can hook the fans up directly.

If your total power draw exceeds 90% of the rated output of your receiver, you need to use a relay to power the fans.

Here is a relay board that will work.

Here is the same thing but shipped free (probably from China, may be slow)

You'd also need a 12V power supply that provides enough current to run all your fans together.

Here are USB Fans - plug straight into PS4 or TV, and they turn on when the device powers up.

You could also use a 5V relay to control 12V fans from the PS4 usb if you wanted. Or use the TV's USB to trigger the fans whenever the TV is on.

Here is a plug and play thermally controlled fan setup

I'd plan on using both fans as exhaust on the top shelf. Just make air inlet holes in the bottom. Typically you want 30%-50% more inlet volume than outlet volume if you can get it. Remember all the cracks along the doors and edges will let air in as well. Making an air path across the front of the shelf by trimming is a fine idea.

So, step 1, decide when you need the cooling system to turn on - PS4, receiver, tv, 24/7, or other (such as temperature).
Then I can tell you how to use that device to turn it on.

u/paxswill · 5 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

It’s a nice case. The handle is pretty sturdy, with only a little bit of flex if I try to bounce it in my hand, and that flex isn’t very concerning. It isn’t very comfortable to carry for extended periods though, as it’s a little wide, and the shape of the bottom of the handle isn’t well suited for hands.

All that being said, I am a fan of the case. It’s compact, looks kinda like a game console, and isn’t super difficult to use/build in (as compared to the other SFF case I was looking at). I also ended up getting Silverstone’s FPS01 to make use of the optical bay I wouldn’t otherwise be using. If you want a front panel SD card slot, USB-C, and an internal SATA M3 slot, it’s a pretty slick combo.

u/Foxtrot_Alpha_Papa · 8 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

Use this connector into the port.
https://www.amazon.com/YCS-Basics-Micro-female-extension/dp/B00HAOK7XE/ref=pd_sim_147_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00HAOK7XE&pd_rd_r=1K7Y8KM8CCG3NA9TRDK3&pd_rd_w=3MLQx&pd_rd_wg=S0wfJ&psc=1&refRID=1K7Y8KM8CCG3NA9TRDK3

Use some epoxy or gorilla glue to bead around the connector between the controller and now you have a short little dongle that weighs next to nothing hanging off but keeps the controller wireless when needed. Do the epoxy in a few coats, don't just glob it on there super thick, it takes forever to get strong then. I recomend against super glue, it will just make a mess.

You can use this to make it look prettier if you want as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Sugru-Moldable-Glue-Classic-Multi-Color/dp/B008URBC9I/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_60_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GEHJJR1SV07J2VYRE363

u/Ivebeenfurthereven · 16 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

don't worry dude, the other 99'11" of this line is still good, no need to rip it out

Something like this https://www.amazon.com/UbiGear-Crimper-Connector-Network-Crimper315/dp/B008UY5WL0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518894673&sr=8-3&keywords=ethernet+kit&dpID=51DjZejC9oL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch should have everything you need for under $15 - will sort you out perfectly.

It took me about 20 minutes to learn to use the tools, and now whenever I need a short cable I can just make one. Boot split and frayed? Who cares, I'll just replace that bad boy, no throwing out the entire run for me. Drilling through a wall to feed a cable outdoors, how will the plug fit? No problem. So convenient as a future-proof ability to have under your belt.

Unsurprisingly, excellent instructions for dummies like me are incredibly prolific on the internet, including lots of great YT videos

As others have mentioned the interference from multiple unshielded cables right next to each other will be slowing your entire network down right now (loads of dropped packets and failed attempts), so I agree this is more /r/techsupportgore than MacGyver. Fix this right and everything will be significantly less laggy, plus you only gotta buy cheap tools once and then you're set to be able to make incredibly low price Ethernet lines wherever you live for the rest of your life

u/ikeepadreamjournal · 1 pointr/techsupportmacgyver

That's the best fucking mic on the market for the price. Seriously, that little Zalman is clear as a bell.

Edit: Link for those interested.

u/Hotglue89 · 1 pointr/techsupportmacgyver

I got my own phones for 14€.

  • good sound for the money (hi-fi)
  • comfortable (and fits my bigass head)
  • decent quality. Just don't stress the plastic headband too much.

    Here

    Ebay
u/mike413 · 2 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

actually that looks a little better than the 4500, but the side button is still small.

I actually switched to the Steelseries sensei which you can see has the same sort of shape as the intellimouse optical and the side buttons are ok.

That said, the drivers suck, not so much under windows, but with a mac.

microsoft actually makes great mac drivers.

u/kester76a · 54 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

That cdrom is 16 years old and still selling strong at only $55.00

​

https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs-MK40-Internal-Drive/dp/B00009V6OF

​

I think they sold a version with a remote control aswell. The AT PSU is alarming though as it you're pretty much got an firebomb there.

u/j0nxed · 1 pointr/techsupportmacgyver

Agreed, nice job on that.

here is a brief URL for that first photo: http://amazon.com/dp/B00E0GLBLC

u/cyclonesworld · 0 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

First result on Amazon, would definitely be a good place to start:

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Condenser-Recording-Microphone/dp/B001AIQGUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414433154&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+condenser+mic

I used to record voice overs for my shitty Youtube video game reviews with a Samson C01UCW. I bought it at Target years ago for $120. A few weeks later, they had it on clearance for $50. Amazon has it cheap now:

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U37-Condenser-Recording-Microphone/dp/B001AIQGUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414433154&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+condenser+mic

u/DexterMorgan67 · 2 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

Powerline adapters are perfect for what you're looking for. Do not plug them into a surge protector, they get weird. You can get either ones with outlet passthrough or without. I'd also suggest getting these to get that plug off the wall a bit.

u/huffalump1 · 2 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

I've definitely set up a SM58 on a mic stand running through my interface to use while gaming. Because this Zalman mic which reddit loves has never struck my fancy...

Now I want to see someone using a Neumann for Counter-Strike.

u/Optimal_Joy · 0 pointsr/techsupportmacgyver

That's so much more work than cutting it and crimping on a new end... crimper kits are actually pretty cheap.