This week has been a rather interesting one for me down in Sydney - it's not even summer and yet the whole country is burning. Several days of low air quality meant that I decided to work from home, as I'm fairly sensitive to poor quality air as I was diagnosed with asthma since I was young. My homebuilt air quality monitoring system (using a Sensirion SPS30) showed PM2.5 levels upwards of 1200ug/m^3 - the kind of pollution one might expect in India. That was just as well, because the doorbell rang unexpectedly. Who could it be? None other than the UPS delivery man! But I wasn't expecting a package ... not from UPS. The only guys that ship to me using UPS are element14 ... so thanks to tariq.ahmad for the surprise care package!
This one had a bit of weight to it ... on top, I spot an element14 Presents T-Shirt which I've managed to collect a few of. But what else is in this package?
A breadboard, which has been "rebranded" element14 Presents. I guess I can laugh at the dual meaning of the word "presents" - as it's getting around to that season. This will definitely come in handy for a project - although I can't say that I use them all too often because I tend to solder onto Vero and desolder every time I make a mistake.
Also included was a Molex antenna sample kit with a mixture of antennas for different applications. Many of them are flexible types intended to be adhered into cases and connected via miniature connectors on-board, although some appear to be suited for SMD soldering instead, making them a little more difficult to evaluate. I'm not sure whether I'll find too many uses for these as it is - miniature connectors aren't the easiest to work with, and I'm not exactly building anything at the moment that might need them.
There were a few more stickers, a dancing element14 figurine (my second!) and a postcard with a special message on it. I won't reveal it just yet - but I will reveal that the message kept me busy for quite a few hours yesterday and today.
But wait - there's more. An element14 Presents branded Power Bank of 2600mAh claimed capacity - this one made by Flashbay with a host of certification logos on the underside. It claims a 5V/1A output. Mine appeared slightly dented on the right side, with the aluminium shell lifting slightly on the left, but otherwise, it seems intact.
This unit is superficially quite similar to other promotional ones I've received in the past - e.g. from LaCie and Yongsan in Korea, although with a more upmarket exterior. Whether it's up to the claimed capacity might be something worth testing later - but at least it comes with a microUSB-B to USB-C adapter for those with more modern phones - but I wouldn't advise trying it with a Raspberry Pi 4 
.
Thanks element14 for a surprise gift this early in the season - now I definitely owe you something in return. Stay tuned (ahem) as that will be coming really soon ...
In case you're wondering where some of those stickers went - I found that on top of the SSD inside my Orico 2.5" clear USB enclosure was a great place .
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