Every market we’ve visited on the Global Geek Tour has a preponderance of LEDs. Hua Qiang Bei takes it a step further with a six floor building dedicated to LEDs and accessories. It’s unbelievable. For the buildings safety and comfort, installing trusted mats to improve floor safety is a must.
Category Archives: Global Geek
Global Geek Shenzhen: USB microscope
We all bought one of these USB microscope at the SEG Market. We were immediately fond of the heavy base and the smooth adjustment of the camera. We bargained a bit and bought it for 260 RMB ($40), that’s half the cost of the same thing on eBay from another China seller. Some example shots […]
Global Geek Shenzhen: SEG Market mega post
SEG market is the best known electronic part market in Hua Qiang Bei neighborhood. It’s two giant floors of component and tool stands. The upper floors are full of computer parts and consumer electronics, also very cool, but we’re here for the electronics. This is an overview of the second floor of SEG Market. It’s […]
VIDEO #18: Hua Qiang Bei market in Shenzhen, China
Dangerous Prototypes tours the biggest electronics market of all, the Hua Qiang Bei market in Shenzhen, China. This is the third and biggest market on our Global Geek Tour. Be sure to check out Akihabara in Tokyo and Cheonggyecheon in Seoul too. First we went to the SEG building, which has 2 huge floors dedicated […]
GIVEAWAY: 4x FLUKES tweezers
Today we giveaway four FLUKES tweezers that we bought in Shenzhen. Leave a comment below, and we’ll pick 4 winners tomorrow.
Seeed Studio tour: People
Here’s just a handful of the Seeed Studio people we have known for years. Many we’ve met at Maker Faires in the US, many we just met for the first time in China. Ian, Kevin, and Eric Pan. Eric is the founder and CEO of Seeed Studio. He’s the guy who makes it possible for […]
Seeed Studio open hardware manufacturing tour
A highlight of our Global Geek Tour to Shenzhen, China was a tour of the Seeed Studio offices and factory. This is where Seeed Studio makes open source hardware, all our open projects pass through here. Seeed has modern, clean offices with a mix of Chinese and international people hanging around. It looks pretty much […]
VIDEO #17: Seeed Studio open source hardware manufacturing tour in Shenzhen, China 2012
We toured the offices and factory where Seeed Studio makes open source hardware in Shenzhen, China. All our open source projects are manufactured and shipped from here. Be sure to check out our visit to the Shenhzen Maker Faire, as well as our Global Geek Tour wiki.
Maker Faire badges
What all maker faires have in common is that the local hackerspace(s) come up with some kind of badge with a coincell and a blinking LED. In China things aren’t much different and we did see a few. This one could be bought as a kit at the Maker Faire for about 10 RMB (1.50 […]
GIVEAWAY: 4 boxes of roisn flux
Today we giveaway four boxes of rosin flux that we bought in Shenzhen. This is the stuff you need to make your own DIY flux. Just crush the rosin and mix with IPA. Forum members report that it’s good flux, and doesn’t smell as bad as some brand name fluxes. Leave a comment below, and […]
VIDEO #15: Apliu Street electronics market tour
Dangerous Prototypes drops by the Apliu Street electronics market in Hong Kong on the way to Shenzhen, China. It’s a smaller market, but a great warmup for Hua Qiang Bei. Check out pictures, and descriptions in our posts. You can also grab a Google Maps layer for all the locations we visited.
GIVEAVAY: 2 Hakko tips and 1 heavy-duty solder paste
Lets take a break from the geek tour and give away two more Hakko 900M-T-3C soldering iron tips, and one can of heavy duty solder paste. This paste is too acidic and corrosive for PCB use. It’s intended for heavy duty soldering, like joining or repairing copper pipes. We’ll give these away to 3 random […]
Apliu Street: Other stuff
We did a lot of fun stuff in Hong Kong that doesn’t fit in any other category. These are our pictures of food, fish, and fun. Here’s a big part of the Dangerous Prototypes crew, from the left: Sjaak, Ian, Lynn, and Vimark. More food, snacks, gamer t-shirts, and IRC jokes below the fold.
Apliu Street: Electronics Shops
Apliu Street has two major electronics component shops. Both carry way more stuff than our local electronics store, and the prices are a lot closer to eBay or Mouser than anything we’ve seen in the past. These drawers contain a ton of parts, just grab what you need and pay on the way out. We […]
GIVEAWAY: 2 Hakko 900M-T-3C bevel tips
We’re giving away two Hakko 900M-T-3C bevel tips that we picked up from the Pak Lik store at Apliu Street, Hong Kong. These tips are great for drag soldering, although not as good as the elusive 3CM mini-wave tips. Leave a comment below, and we’ll pick two random winners tomorrow.
Apliu Street: Golden Computer Arcade
In Hong Kong ‘Golden’ is synonymous with computer stores. We spotted Golden stores all over the city. The Golden Computer Arcade is one of the biggest, and it’s just a short walk from Apliu Street.
Apliu Street: Market stands
Apliu Street in Hong Kong is a mini electronic gadget and part market. We stopped by on our way to Shenzhen to check it out. It isn’t as impressive as the other markets on our Global Geek Tour, but it has a few really well stocked parts stores with online prices. We’d love to have […]
GLOBAL GEEK TOUR: Apliu Street electronics market in Hong Kong
Apliu Street is a two block stretch of market stands, gadget shops, and electronic part stores in the Sham Shui Po neighborhood of Hong Kong. With only two major parts stores it doesn’t really compare to the other markets on the Global Geek Tour, but it was a great place to geek out on the […]
Global Geek Tour China starts now
All this week we’re posting reports from our Global Geek Tour to China. We brought lots of stuff back to give away, so be on the look out for freebies along the way. Each day will have a video, pictures, and giveaways. Monday: Apliu Street electronics market in Hong Kong Tuesday: Shenzhen Maker Faire, China’s […]
WORKSHOP VIDEO #14: Global Geek Tour China preview
We toured the prime geek locations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China on our penultimate Global Geek Tour. Monday thru Friday of next week we’ll have videos, pictures, and giveaways. Here’s a quick preview. Don’t miss a single day or giveaway next week.