50/50

A mixed start to the day will a postal delivery.  Two of the three items I'd purchased on Aliexpress arrived from China.

When I took the large Canon DSLR camera to Taiwan to be repaired I noticed the rubberised reverse of the shoulder strap had started to perish leaving a sticky black residue on my shirt.  An "official" replacement strap cost in the region of $40-60.  This seemed excessive.  A seller on Aliexpress appeared to be offering a similar strap for $12 so I ordered one.  It arrived today, along with a WIFI SD card adapter I'd also bought.

 

New shoulder strap at the bottom and the wifi SD card adapter at the top

The new shoulder strap appears to be as well made as the original.  It's also slightly longer.

Unfortunately not the same success with the wifi SD card adapter.  For several years I have been concerned that the continual removal and insertion of the SD memory card into the camera to transfer photos might eventually result in the camera slot cover or card connections failing.  Whilst in Taiwan I suddenly had a "brainwave" and thought "Maybe I can modify the camera and be able to transfer the files wirelessly?".  Of course most modern cameras have this functionality already built in.  But our 2011 Canon EOS 550D was manufactured prior to this enhancement.  Well my online search revealed my idea was already obsolete.  SD card manufacturers started making cards with inbuilt wifi back in 2014.  Then camera manufacturers started making camera with the functionality.  Any wifi adapter card that would fit our camera had been well superseded and those currently for sale cost around $200. 

More searching on Aliexpress suggested I might be able to buy a wifi adapter (without memory) for $10.  The wifi adapter card arrived today.

I inserted a 64GB micro SD card into the adapter and then inserted the card into the camera.  The wifi adapter is powered by the camera.  The first thing I discovered was the wifi will only connect to an Android or iPhone device.  Next I discovered the wifi in the adapter would disable (or turn off) after a few seconds of power.  Maybe it was because the 64GB micro SD card had too much capacity and in ExFAT format.  I tried a smaller 8GB micro SD card formatted in FAT32.  No luck!  Then I tried using the Samsung Android Tablet instead of the Android phone.  No luck!  I haven't given up on the adapter but I might have wasted $10.

Here is a small tip for motorhome, caravan and narrowboat owners.  Your 'shore-power' lead is an attractive item.  To reduce its attractiveness wrap  different coloured insulation tape around it in several locations to give the impression it's frayed or damaged and not in the best condition.  Any thief is likely to look for a better lead.