I tried finding Hidden Gems on Aliexpress!

[@originalkhawk]

Aliexpress takes anywhere between 4 weeks up to 4 months to deliver stuff to my house. i love it, because 2 weeks after i order stuff, i completely forget about it, and then out of nowhere a new package arives every week for about a month (depending on how much you order). it really feels like its christmass

[@yuxuanhuang3523]

I like your attitude. For me the packages should come in three days and if they don't I start getting impatient. But it feels really good to be able to order something you missed for a project and get on with it without waiting for too long.

[@Arcygenical]

Absolutely this. Especially after a few drinks, I buy myself the coolest stuff. And I've never had an issue getting a refund on poor quality or broken items.

[@SomeRandomPiggo]

especially if a ton of stuff that you ordered arrives in the same package, really feels like christmas!

[@poonholder5643]

I just ordered 36 separate items and then found out it was the first day of Chinese new year!

[@firstmkb]

I wish I could leave a note with the parts reminding me what I intended to use them for!

[@gregkrueger331]

The hand drawn diagrams are super satisfying. I usually hand draw my schematics before drawing them on solidworks and i spend entirely too much time trying to make them look perfect. No one will probably ever see them but i enjoy doing it that way. It’s a way to make my brain think a bit more and it “sticks” better in my memory also. I could watch you draw them out all day lol, thank you for the clear explanations when your doing it as well.

[@anon_y_mousse]

You have to admire his German precision even when hand drawing diagrams and schematics.

[@prettypointlessvideo]

so true, if you've got the patience at that moment in time. I've had circuit boards manufactured out of impulse, only to realise I missed a component/trace etc when they arrive in the mail XD. Guess that's why they're called "prototypes"

[@gregkrueger331]

@@johndododoe1411 Solidworks has an electrical engineering version.

[@gregkrueger331]

@@anon_y_mousse the funny part about your comment is I’m also German. Well, I’m American, however, German ancestry. Not to mention I’ve spent most of my career working for German companies here in the states and abroad. It’s a natural fit for me lol

[@danilokrausz9103]

2 weeks in Germany, i lived in Brazil it took 2 months to recive an item, so i moved to France, and i used to recive in 2 to 3 weeks, now i am living in Sweden and takes 1 months sometimes more to recive , and the shipping is expensive..

[@NinoJoel]

Most of the things take a month to Germany in reality

[@mateuszzimon8216]

@@NinoJoel U should looking for delivery from Poland/Germany. U can have in 7-8 day's. Yes items are more expensive but faster, also remember always use a Credit card where u can get a charge back.

[@farhanafjal4183]

You should move to China there you could buy yourself instantly 😃

[@mateuszzimon8216]

@@farhanafjal4183 they have big distribution center in Słubice (first city in Poland after crossing border with Germany)

[@nonameguy1427]

I have been shopping in China for about 5 years now. At the begining, shipping to Germamy (be it from aliexpress, ebay, or bangood) took ~1,5 months. Nowadays, items often come only after 2 weeks. But it varys A LOT. I guess there's just not enough demand to ship to China from Sweden while China to Germany is likely very popular

[@tushar673353]

Actually love this kind of episode...to check different tech on online with new idea

[@greatscottlab]

That is what I thought as well :-)

[@hoggif]

The pump seems a sentrifugal pump. They never suck, they only push. You need a line wit no air in it, an u-shape to keep it always primed or a oneway valve to keep air getting into it from the output side (especially when the pump is off) after priming it. Any air in the pump will make it not pump.

[@comp0smentis]

lol been sick in bed but I got up so I could read text well enough to write nearly exactly this. This^^^^!! Well said.

[@Henning_S.]

Yes, a check valve will definitely work if the the pump is always filled with water, but I think it is a vane pump because you can see the input shaft is offset from the center of the casing. A vane pump is potentially capable of sucking air, but it needs to be made with pretty good precision.

[@yaniv4786]

Not sure how he got it wrong Did he think it was vacum generator? Ofc it wont be able to make such suction for water to reach the top its a water pump not an air pump

[@manussos]

I can get the same product locally but marketed as an oil pump...

[@kc_toxic5185]

Literally jumped into comments to make sure someone already wrote it xd

[@abishvijayan76]

I do appreciate such episodes, wouldn't mind watching if this is turned into an actual series!

[@soulshinobi]

It's great that someone with your experience in electronics can analyze these for us. Would love to see more cheap electronics reviews.

[@coladict]

One problem I have with AliExpress is I can't group products together for a smaller shipping fee when buying from the same store. It's always full fee for each item shipped, even when they actually send them together in one package that costs them the price of one of the shipping fees.

[@stanneh1978]

Ask for a refund. take pics of the parcel and request all but one shipping back.

[@Slodin]

because the shipping fee is part of your items' cost lol...they inflate the shipping fee to lower the product listing price. Seems more attractive on the listing. To them I think it's by weight onto a huge freighter, so it doesn't really matter it's the same price (or close) for them.

[@twinsen04]

Absolutely looking forward to more episodes of this. Aliexpress is full of gems but between the bad descriptions and millions of items, it's hard to find what is good and what is bad.

[@nEuDyYT]

I like these kind of videos 👍 it's every time a surprise, what these products can deliver on quality and funny stories (like the one with the broken crank/handle 😂) looking forward to more of these Kind of Videos

[@greatscottlab]

Hopefully more to come 🙂

[@Lucas_sGarage]

@@greatscottlab Yes, pls

[@hadireg]

same here!

[@11danzizzle11]

Absolutely love this idea for videos, I frequently go to aliexpress and just go down the rabbit hole of different products and devices wondering what is good or bad! I would love to see more of these in the future!! :) Shipping times can be awful, but some of the halfway decent looking things would make up for that time in my mind, I sort of use it to get things I want but don't need in any specific timeframe and when they show up its like a surprise from my past self, bahaha.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks for the feedback :-)

[@Kalvinjj]

Nothing beats the Shrek masks there tho.

[@11danzizzle11]

@@greatscottlab You're very welcome! I really enjoy all of your videos!!

[@11danzizzle11]

@@Kalvinjj I have some different lists on AE for various categories, one of which is just for products with WILD long and bizarre names. I sometimes look through them just for some good laughs.

[@Kalvinjj]

@@11danzizzle11 Reminds me too of a DC motor I was looking for a CNC drill and the description had something like "100w violence". The auto translation is peak comedy in there.

[@DraxTrac]

That 5V/USB super capacitor buffer/filter will be useful for those USB solar panels. I have one, but it only works well under very clear sunny conditions.

[@sandordugalin8951]

Absolutely brilliant concept for a video. PLEASE make this an ongoing series!!!

[@orvarsigurgeirsson469]

Don't give up on the water pump, I have one like yours and it has helped me from time to time. Last time emptying a fuel tank while replacing a fuel pump and filling it back again.

[@chrisyboy219]

I feel like it would work better with a length of hose on the other side, too.

[@jim40135]

6:26 is there a competition to guess how many diseases you caught from that pond water? :D

[@beanlets]

50

[@WimsicleStranger]

The electronic bits makes me miss the old days of Ebay, where you could hop on and buy like 5-10 pounds of mixed electronics for no money at all. I loved getting those because they were like little treasure troves of what you could get. Usually you'd just get the usual stuff or a few boards from something, sometimes you could get neat stuff like expensive ultra caps or fancy laser diodes someone thought was trash! Unfortunately, it's just a second-hand Amazon now...

[@christopherleubner6633]

Used to buy lots of odd stuff, mainly sold as gold tech scrap. It had a good chance of having unusual parts in it. ❤

[@chazlabreck]

I use Amazon to research stuff then buy it elsewhere..I boycott Amazon and most people should but the herd likes to be sheep.

[@E_Legal_Alien]

The design is very human

[@Orselonn]

I love this kind of videos, i hope you make of this a serie 👌

[@greatscottlab]

Will see how it performs. Hopefully good because I would love to do more :-) Lots more interesting stuff out there

[@gavinsauer1608]

@@greatscottlab Yes! Please make this a series!

[@hawkeyes4768]

this video is well needed def worth doing a series on these products

[@akhurash]

I’m looking to get that Li-Ion charger board. Glad it worked out. I was also looking at getting a charger + boost converter module (all in one IC solution).

[@PerfectBroo]

I bought that one a few years ago and was not so happy. It did not convert the voltage level from 5v to 4.2v, instead it was pulsing 5V directly to the battery.

[@hempbear]

That dodgy chainsaw attachment looks absolutely terrifying. :D I wouldn't use it, you do need your fingers doing electronics, after all.

[@carpespasm]

Having your hand so close to a chainsaw, even a small one such as this is not a good idea. You could end up looking like a happy tree friend. Stumpynubs did several videos on chainsaw grinder disks after getting injured by one.

[@mrkiky]

@@carpespasm Although those disks are far more dangerous since they are all round and meant to be used on an angle grinder that's more powerful and faster than a drill. But yea this chainsaw looks like it doesn't have a good use case. You can outperform it with a good handsaw in every category, including physical effort 😂

[@BenScott]

This could spawn a whole separate channel, hope it gets enough attention for Mr. Scott to consider this.

[@greatscottlab]

Haha we will see😉

[@mateuszzimon8216]

Techiesms or something similar test a random esp32 board's from sources like Ali Banggood etc.

[@CharlieSierraBroadcasts]

That anti-spy device is very popular in China, ppl hide wireless (usually wifi) cameras in power sockets, ceiling fans, heat vents under wireless routers, behind IR window on TVs... in hotels and Airbnb to capture privacy videos and sell them online. Besides detecting wireless signals emitted by wireless cameras, with the LEDs turned on you can spot hidden cameras through the round window in the middle.

[@Xerber85]

As a habitual AliExpress browser, I love the concept of this video! This would be great as a recurring series! 👍🏻

[@M_Sp_]

Der Pumpenwirkungsgrad bei der "Drill Powered Waterpump" dürfte einfach nur extrem schlecht sein. Bei einer Höhe von 1m entsteht (unter Vernachlässigung des Schlauch-Druckverlustes) ein Höhen-Druckverlust von 990 kg/m3 (ca.) * 9,81 m/s2 * 1m, was ca. 9712 Pascal entspricht. Nimmt man den Schlauchquerschnitt bei ca. 5cm an und eine Strömungsgeschwindigkeit von ca. 3 m/s, so ergibt sich ein Volumenstrom von ca. 0,002 m3/s. Die benötigte Stutzenleistung, die an das Fluid übertragen werden muss, wäre dann ja 9712 Pascal * 0,002 m3/s = 19,4 Watt, was die Bohrmaschine ja locker leisten müsste. Denke also dass das Pumpendesign (Laufrad o.ä.) einfach schlecht ist.

[@jacksonblack9408]

I love seeing you explore the strange products Ali has, but Damn! Those prices are cray cray I bought that drill powered pump is $10aus or around 6.5euro from a local store here. And 46euro for a 20w handcrake generator that was essentially just a motor? That was hard to stomach.

[@davescomputercorner6015]

cray cray???????????????/ How old are you?

[@pedroemn]

A lot of people here in Brazil complain that delivery times are very long when ordering from China. However, it hasn't been uncommon for overseas purchases to arrive faster than some bought from local retailers, especially when using private couriers (instead of the Brazilian postal service). The average delivery time from Aliexpress purchases has been around 2-3 weeks (even though some may took waaaay longer), while I've had some local shipments that took over a freaking month to arrive.

[@JCHaywire]

I've watched your development over the years and it's amazing. I mostly became interested in your synthesizer step-by-steps and excellent explanations. Becoming visible, too, really improved your channel. I trust your acumen, so reviewing Ali Express (Geek, Wish, et.al.) is the PERFECT thing. You know they're watching this and hopefully improving their standards at least on the products you review in such excellent detail. Your narration is excellent, the script, the pen drawings (super good). I just want to tell you how much I love your channel and your output. Cheers! Jonathan in Seattle

[@greatscottlab]

Thank you so much😁

[@lanceuppercut8220]

I understand the love/hate relationship with aliexpress. I ordered around $80 worth of ICs for a synth I was designing and none of the ICs arrived and on top of that I didn't get my $80 back. You really have to be careful when ordering because you may think you're ordering from a company who you have previously had a good experience ,but in reality is just an unrelated company using the branding of a company with a good reputation. That being said the thing I love about aliexpress is that it's a great place to find aftermarket/obsolete/vintage ICs and very specialized tools/ test sockets/adapters. I found some very nice test sockets that would have been costed an arm and a leg on amazon and some used vintage YM2203 sound generation chips that were completely unavailable on amazon or even digikey.

[@PuchMaxi]

Did you like the pond water?

[@josephking6515]

Everyone loves *Soylent Green* and its life threatening _nutrients._ 🤢

[@kivylius]

PLEASE make this a series, this a GREAT idea Scott!

[@WereCatf]

As someone who has basically zero budget, I love Aliexpress and I am always on the lookout for videos of some good finds there. Sure, you have to take practically EVERYTHING claimed in the listings with a heavy dose of salt as 99% of it all is fake, scam or the specs are highly exaggerated, but you definitely can find some good, useful stuff there. Also, even if you could find something similar here in Finland, it'd literally cost 6 (or more) times more -- and that's not an exaggeration! I hope you do more digs through Aliexpress in the future.

[@crissto8591]

Hey they don't usually lie. If they do you just prove it and get half your money back

[@WereCatf]

@@crissto8591 Half? I've always gotten full refund, I don't accept anything less.

[@crissto8591]

@@WereCatf that's for when I fix them and use them anyways

[@talkinghat88]

Your handwriting and drawing are a joy to watch! Thanks.

[@davetreadwell]

I genuinely feel you could create an entire second channel with more content like this! Really useful!

[@blackbook0]

That's right, I agree with you, as they have more than 100 shipping companies, they order, and then the shipment gets lost, unfortunately, their work is very bad.

[@Bassquake76]

I like these kind of "looking for gold in junk" kind of videos! 😄

[@whodundat]

Hi, I use the same drill powered water pump to empty the dregs out of my Hot Tub, I think the reason it didn't work for you was because your drill was on the lower speed and you need a higher rate of RPM, fyi, the height of my hot tub is approx foot and this pump works great for me - so I suggest you try your drill on a speed 2 (if your drill has this feature), but all the same I do enjoy your vids

[@tychormthorp]

There's a clutch switch on the top.

[@adriancraciunoiu]

Thanks!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks for the support :-)

[@Schneewittchensarg]

That chainsaw thing looks dangerous, don't use it.

[@ddavid2]

I love how you explain these things. And it also helps me to improve my English 😅

[@Samaraton]

loved this episode, please more! Would also like to have a guide on how to use lithium batteries safely with charging etc and how not to overdrain them etc.

[@Gunbudder]

if you are soldering directly onto a lipo cell, you can't trust your numbers very much after that. even doing a cold solder joint will damage the battery some amount (and leave you with a shitty joint lol)

[@PeterMilanovski]

The hand crank generator works best with super capacitors! I have seen other people add super capacitors to it and it appears to work far better.... As for the hydro generator, I believe that there are better versions which are all black in colour and rated for 12v output.... I would love to see you test one of those....

[@eccentricthinker142]

I wonder if it would be possible to rig up a better turbine for the hand crank and use that in place of the water generator...

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@eccentricthinker142 you are going to need a gearbox because you won't be able to turn the water generator by hand fast enough.... I'm sure that there are better versions available which are rated for a 12v output....

[@eccentricthinker142]

@@PeterMilanovski I meant the other way around, rig up a turbine to run the hand crank as a water generator. There might be a torque problem though

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@eccentricthinker142 if it rains a lot where you are, then it shouldn't be a problem.... Or maybe there's a stream or river close by? Otherwise it's not going to work.

[@eccentricthinker142]

@@PeterMilanovski It's easy to get a lot of head from a stream, which can translate to more RPM with the right gearbox, but rain is just too unreliable for actual power generation in almost all cases. Hence why the main use case was as a flow meter in the video.

[@lamarched21]

This is a great series please keep them going.

[@firstmkb]

I loved this episode! The chainsaw gadget looks like an amputation just about to happen. I would bury that under some garbage to keep it from ever being used.

[@FuriousMiner]

Would not recommend the drill saw, full chainsaws have numerous safety features built in which just aren't present here. If the saw kicks backs, it gets doing towards the shoulder, where there is a major artery. A regular chainsaw's handle both serves as a grip for steadying, and a physical barrier to stop the saw from reaching your shoulder on a flick back.

[@noble_lime]

AliExpress banned in India😭😭

[@greatscottlab]

Sorry to hear that.....

[@bheeshmavasuprasad]

@@greatscottlab Banggood too. India's import taxes are 80%, which they just can't handle

[@noble_lime]

@@bheeshmavasuprasad yep

[@noble_lime]

@@greatscottlab Can you tell me which websites are banned in your country

[@Robin_second]

Good video :) Def want to see more videos like this in the future!

[@TheAdamnovice]

You saved my time and money on this product at 5:51. Thank you.

[@StefanoBettega]

Hi Scott. I solved the heating of the old battery charger using a thermal pad and putting PCB on a big metal plate. It works like a charm.

[@vigilante_stark]

Just FYI it's actually a water flow detection product. When listing on online portals, sellers have to use all kinds of words for the search to work. That product can be used in a ton of different projects where you need to sense whether some liquid is flowing or not.

[@JS7457]

I followed you since your first videos, it's amazing how your channel has grown! Thanks for the great content!! :D

[@valshaev1145]

Thanks, Scott! I didn't even know such kind of cutters even exists! Aliexpress owes you a great deal!!!

[@colefoster9280]

This should be a series, I can never find intresting stuff on Aliexpress because the search and recommended system is terrible.

[@wesselsi3791]

this content is so valuable bro, genuininely; thank you for making this!

[@nmjerry]

On the drill powered water pump, a lot of pumps need to be primed before they can work, that is, the supply hose needs to be full of water.

[@BitSmythe]

6:40. It will have better suction if you use a smaller diameter hose.

[@zanpekosak2383]

Pumps often have a much smaller rating in sucting than they do in pressure. Try using a piece of threaded rod to elongate the shaft of the pump and dip it in your pond. You can than drive the pump with the drill though your rod which should provide enough pressure to pump water. Thats why water reservoirs have the pump at the bottom and it can still deliver up to 20 bar of pressure which means it can lift water up to (theoretically) 200m. No pump however can suck water from 10m as that would require absolute negative presure (-1bar) which also means perfect vacuum.

[@alex.thedeadite]

12:08 I'd like to point out 4/8 products were not recommended, that is EXACTLY half bad.

[@Darieee]

7:55 I used one for a few hours to charge some fairly serious 1s3p banks of 18650s it dies randomly in a short circuit (on both ends of course) - luckily I have a fused meter in line and that 2A fuse blew before anything else

[@orion310591RS]

7:37 - If and when this white plastic breaks, you can make it from metal easily, take bigger lager, put it at angle and spot weld it. 11:47 - Different antennas are for different ranges. That circle thing is also antenna. Try it again in house with wireless internet shut down.

[@chromerims]

Piping plovers! The greatness of this channel keeps getting greater and greater! I adore the motley salmagundi of products that only make sense in a unified review video from Great Scott! AliExpress shipping indeed takes too long . . . but it is sometimes worth the wait! With much appreciation.

[@KG4JYS]

Uh, the USB spec allows for up to 48v at 5a. Besides, stuff on aliexpress routinely flouts consumer protection laws anyway... Not that that would stop me from shopping there. In fact, I consider it a point in the site's favor.

[@dalvarez6205]

we love this kind of video, the jigsaw adapter seems really handy, and the prank generator looks very funny....

[@zemil8460]

I've been since August browsing Aliexpress for components and its amazing the amount and variety that there is.

[@georgeindestructible]

Wow that super capacitor filter is what i really wanted for a long time, i might consider getting that.

[@peetiegonzalez1845]

11:08 and of course, you simply power the hand drill with the output from the generator! Genius!

[@pyrojason]

That was great, Scott. That drill powered reciprocating saw was interesting!

[@Captaink-1]

These sorts of videos are great, especially the electronic ones. The rather sketchy looking mechanical devices (that chainsaw) is scary looking. Can't wait for the next one.

[@hawksights]

I love those silly descriptions. And the Color: 5v finished me off 🤣

[@ytrew9717]

I love this kind of video, please keep doing them!

[@JohnnyWednesday]

That filtering block would be awesome for SDR radio! interference on USB lines can be pretty intense

[@benmanuel3502]

I like this video concept, look forward to the next one!

[@bromoliver]

I found your channel last week and I'm loving it, thanks for the good content!

[@Paxmax]

modify two of those micro chainsaws, strap 'em to hands... and you are now "Lumberine" for Halloween 😉

[@andchip.s]

Nice series, keep them coming.

[@themajasticcreature]

definitely looking forward to that wind turbine, i got one for camping but haven't had the chance to test it yet

[@redox3551]

Can we get a video covering bench variable power supplies and how to make the most out of them? I know this series is long gone but would be nice to see you covering this topic, thanks!

[@johnwalton5576]

I really enjoy these videos because, lets face it, we are all tempted to buy this crap when we see it online. I very much enjoy watching someone else waste their money, rather than myself. Keep it up!

[@DelticEngine]

That pump was a positive displacement pump so it is self-priming. Producing bubbles in the pond suggest you either got the inlet and outlet swapped over or were driving the pump impeller the wrong direction, which is very easy to do with a reversible cordless drill.

[@user255]

This was fun and useful. I hope videos like this mitigate the trash problem at least little bit!

[@Sri_Harsha_Electronics_Guthik]

Love it!...u shud make a series out of this

[@PowerScissor]

I would love a board like @9:00 but with jumper pins to set cutoff voltage, and also jumpers to connect built-in resistors for current setting. Then you could just move a couple jumpers and charge basically anything lithium based in a small package with no soldering and resistors.

[@paulbenzley4549]

Great video and brilliant to see you explaining how good items from Aliexpress are ! please do more of these videos as this one is excellent !! Thanks again.

[@supahvaporeon]

Aliexpress is pretty much one of the best suppliers for mechanical keyboard components of all things. Cheaper clone keycap sets, a wide selection of switches, and a lot of half decent board kits for reasonable prices. You can even find proper fully CNC aluminum and wood cases ready for the rest of the components.

[@tanveerjan9954]

Thank you for all your efforts in educating us.

[@DefenseSight]

Please make this type of videos more ❤️❤️

[@Maisonier]

Amazing video. I'm waiting for your next episode

[@chettiarsirusraj9501]

A tip for wood cutting for projects cover the wood pieces with painters/woodworking tape this will help with stopping the top and bottommost layers of the wood pieces without any chipping or fraying of the wood layers pieces saving time on finishing the trimming of the edges of wood cutting layers and have clean smooth layer cuts.

[@deedd4401]

stuff i bought and liked - sata to usb3 converter, esp32, neodymium silk dome tweeters, lusyia dac, bt5.0 dongle for 1.99 ,android tv box, and tons and tons of class-d amps from 2x3w with BT... to wuzhi 2.1 (subwofer ) BT one.. and all of em are basically amazing

[@skelethornbro]

Love this kind of video! Not just some boring unboxing. Keep it coming. 10x like from me lol.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks! Will do!

[@michaelmayo3127]

Keep up the good work: yours is a great initiative. Consumer product tests are important and make producers think twice when writing their product specifications.

[@james10739]

Ya on the hand crank show have a separate board for use to keep it at 5v but you can weld a nut on the shaft and use a ratchet you built something or if you go big with the nut you can probably use you car tire changing tool

[@htomerif]

The voltage shouldn't have dropped at a higher load with the capacitor. That was entirely a problem with your supply or cabling. The only effect an underrated filter capacitor should have is increasing noise at higher loads. Its pretty common for 5V usb power supplies to drop quite a bit even far from their rated current. The only way that supercapacitor box would affect output voltage is if its got a DC/DC converter inside it as well.

[@MONSEFBECKTV]

I'm so fckin high right now and I don't know what I'm doing at this side of KZbin, but what strange is that I'm enjoying watching it withouts understanding a single damn sophisticated term he's saying

[@jonathan__g]

I'd love to see some suggestions for a lipo battery charging and protection circuit if you can find any.

[@nccyr1]

Great topic for a video. I hope you consider making this a regular event on your channel (every 6-8 weeks maybe?)

[@jrioublanc]

Thanks for this video, I order a lot to Aliexpress, but I stay on electronic components with a "correct" price.; too cheap could lead to fake components. This is my thumb rule to avoid disappointments, I works most of the time. As said in the video, this is the place where we can find parts that we can't find elsewhere to stay creative! :)

[@oscar3611]

GREAT IDEA! Keep making these please.

[@jhill4874]

That chainsaw looks like a disaster.

[@ChadAF_YT]

Seeing you have printed out the safety data sheets gave me an idea!!