Home Reviews

TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter review

REVIEW – The TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter extends a computer network almost to 1000 ft by transmitting an encrypted signal over existing electrical wiring. The adapter can also power PoE+ devices. Best of all it is ready to use out of the box. Read on to see what I think!

What is it?

The TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter creates a high-speed computer network on top of  your home’s existing electrical wiring. It does this by creating an encrypted radio signal within home wiring for transmitting and receiving network traffic. This is useful for using network components that require wired network connections in rooms where no such connection is available. The TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter also has PoE+ capability, which means that it can supply up to 30W of power over the ethernet connection for powering devices. Some devices which may benefit from this include IP cameras, wireless access points and VoIP handsets. 

What’s in the box?

The product review is for the TPL-331EP2K which contains two units for starting a network.

  • 2 x TPL-331EP
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • Safety note (about the dangers of using damaged electrical equipment and exposing the unit to extreme heat)
  • 2 x Network cable (1.2m/4 ft.)
  • 2 x mounting hardware

Mounting hardware includes a plastic drywall anchor, screw and foam spacer so that the base of the unit can be fastened to the drywall below the wall receptacle. You can see from the picture below that the spacer, on the left, is about the same thickness as the wall plate (on the right).

The mounting hardware also comes with an extended wall plate screw that can support the weight of the adapter in a standard duplex receptacle design. The unit weighs 7 1/4 ounces so it will generally stay installed without the screw – the hardware provides assurance that it will not be removed accidently. The picture below shows the unit fastened by the wall plate screw only. 

Design and features

Specifications

Standards  • IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u,  IEEE 802.3x,  IEEE 802.3af,  IEEE 802.3at,  IEEE 1901
Frequency Band • 2 – 28MHz
Modulation/Protocol • OFDM, 1024/256/64/16/8-QAM, QPSK, BPSK, ROBO; CSMA/CA, CSMA
Data PHY Rate • Up to 200Mbps
Networking Distance • Powerline: Up to 300m (980ft.) linear distance over electrical power lines***
Encryption • 128-Bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
Powerline Nodes • Up to 8 (max.)
Overlapping Powerline Networks • Up to 4 (per electrical system)
Special Features • Auto-connects to other TRENDnet Powerline adapters;  IPv6 support;  IGMP / MLDv2 Streams
Power • Input: 100 – 240V AC, 50-60Hz; Consumption: Active mode: 2.3W (max.); Standby mode: 1.7W (max.); PoE Budget: 30 Watts (max.)
PoE Delivery • Pin 1, 2 for power+ and pin 3, 6 for power- (mode A)
Operating Temperature • 0 – 55°C (32 – 131°F)
Operating Humidity • Max. 93 % non-condensing
Certifications • FCC;  IC
Dimensions • 156 x 67 x 43 mm (6.14 x 2.6 x 1.7 in.)
Weight • 205g (7.2 oz.)
Warranty: • 3 year

TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter Design

The power adapter will look at home in any fairly technical setting, such as an AV area or near a computer workstation area. However, it’s technical design and lines will be somewhat of an eyesore anywhere else. For instance, if you are using this to discreetly power an IP camera then the large TRENDnet box will certainly provide a hint that there may be surveillance in the area.  The front of the unit is well ventilated but it seems excessive for a device that only consumes 2.3 W.

The four LEDs on the front indicate the operating state of the unit. The top LED is always lit whenever the device is powered. The second from top LED is lit when the powerline network is connected and blinks when data is transmitted over the powerline network. The second from bottom is lit when the Ethernet port is connected and blinks when data is transmitting over Ethernet. Therefore, the middle two LEDs always blink together, but the second from the top may blink on its own (indicating the powerline network overhead). The bottom LED is lit when a PoE/PoE+ device is connected.

The left side of the unit has more ubiquitous venting but no other interface or indicators.

The right side of the unit looks similar to the left side but there is a sync button at the base. Pressing the sync button for 3 seconds initiates a synchronization session. The powerLED will begin to blink for 2 minutes. Pressing the Sync button on additional adapters within the time frame will synchronize encryption keys between these adapters and create a private network. Without performing this step any additional TRENDnet adapters introduced into the electrical circuit will also be allowed to join the network. Performing this step on a subset of adapters (if four or more adapters are connected) will create an isolated network of adapters.

The bottom of the device is shown in the picture below. The Ethernet port is a standard design. The reset button to the right restores factory defaults settings if it is pressed for more than 10 seconds. When resetting  all LEDs will turn off and on again. After reset the powerline network name will return to the default “HomePlug AV”.

Operation

Operation is the definition of simplicity. The adapters automatically establish a network out of the box. The adapters are also cross-compatible with Powerline 1200, 600, and 500 adapters.

The powerline communication works on a single electrical system. (Usually controlled by a single distribution panel). Power strip, GFCI outlets, and AFCI circuit breakers may degrade Powerline network signals. My first choice for outlets in my home was on two different end-runs powered by different breakers. One breaker is the standard design from 1973. The other breaker is a GFCI type installed last year. The Powerline signal did not transmit across the GFCI. However, it was easy to debug this situation by observing the LEDs on the front.

I tested the operation of the PoE with a VOIP phone from work and it successfully powered up. You can see the PoE LED illuminated in the picture below, and the Powerline LED in the middle of a blink. I didn’t have any PoE+ devices at my disposal.

Performance

Aside from the PoE capability, the most important aspect of the system is how quickly it can provide communications over the electrical system and how reliable it is. Every electrical system is a little different so these tests only indicate one set of results and can’t guarantee the maximum or minimum performance achievable in another application.

One thing I did notice is that I cannot use touch-sensitive lamps on the same line as the adapters. The adapters must introduce signal noise that triggers the circuitry to turn the touch light on and off.

To test performance, first I plugged my laptop directly into my router and then the router to the TRENDnet and the TRENDnet to another computer. I tested the speed between the systems using LAN SpeedTest Portable Ver. 4.1.0 Lite by Totusoft. The OS parameters the computer used for the test:

Operating System: Windows 10 Build 14393
Window ScaleFactor: 1
Network Cards: 1
HP Timers: 0 = 0.01 1 = 0.09 10 = 9.38 100 = 99.02
Packet Size: 1 MB to 1 MB
Packet Size Avg: 1,000,000 Bytes
Packets: 1
Write Cache: Enabled
Read Cache: Disabled

The results vary considerably from test to test. However, in general, the results using the Wi-Fi in my house (with the Ethernet ports disconnected):

Write Speed: 149.08 Mbps
Read Speed: 199.52 Mbps

The typical results using the TRENDnet without Wi-Fi:

Write Speed: 16.51 Mbps
Read Speed: 24.60 Mbps

And for comparison, the results at work (using a different source and destination):

Write Speed: 231.96 Mbps
Read Speed: 273.98 Mbps

The results above indicate that the Powerline is not operating at 200 Mbps. Unless the Powerline network is very clean there may not be sufficient bandwidth for 4k video, for instance. However, 25 Mbps is adequate for  general web surfing, email, social media, Online gaming, Video conferencing, and HD video streaming. It would be great if the TRENDnet could provide an indication of  signal quality. Maybe an LED that indicated the electrical system signal-to-noise ratio could be included in future designs.

The TRENDnet has been connected to my SmartThings hub for the past month. I have not had any reports from my hub that the internet signal has dropped. Therefore I can say that the connectivity remains very high.

What I like

  • Easy Set-up
  • PoE/PoE+ for devices that can use it

What needs to be improved

  • electrical system quality check

Final thoughts

The TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter provides network access through electrical wires when network cabling or Wi-Fi isn’t available. Setup is easy since the adapters auto-connect to an encrypted network out of the box. Even if the signal isn’t the fastest, it seems to be very reliable.

Price: $59.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by TRENDnet.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

TRENDnet Powerline 200 AV PoE+ Adapter review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 25, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

MIOPS Smart controllable camera and flash trigger review

REVIEW – Each photographer has his or her own type of photography that is special to them. I like to photograph subjects in nature, and I also like to use existing objects to create my scenes. Water drop photography is a favorite of mine, and this device promises to greatly help me to expand my creativity.

What is it?

The MIOPS Smart is a device that responds to Lightning, Sound, Laser, Timelapse, HDR and more to trigger the shutter of a camera to take a picture.

What’s in the box


1 x MIOPS Smart
1 x Mini USB Cable
1 x Camera Trigger cable
1 x Quick Start Guide

Design and features

The MIOPS Smart is a small and nicely built camera shutter trigger that can be activated in several modes. On the front there is a display screen and buttons to navigate the screens should you choose to do so from the device. On the side under a removable cover, there is a port for extension DIY projects, a flash trigger port, a camera trigger port, and a mini USB port for charging the battery.


On the top, in addition to the control buttons and the display screen, there is the trigger LED, the power LED and the on/off power button.


On the front (side), there are an infrared sensor and a motion sensor lens.

On the back of the MIOPS Smart, there is a 1/4-20mm female mount that sits on a Hot Shoe mount, the microphone and a battery door that covers the slot that holds the rechargeable battery.


Performance

While you can control the MIOPS Smart via the buttons on the device, the optimal way to use it is via the app. It has several operational modes and setup screens that are available via the app.

App

Once you install the app and launch it, and turn on the MIOPS Smart, it appears on the app. If you have more than one MIOPS device turned on, they will all show up as available for selection.


Once you select the MIOPS Smart by touching the icon on the screen, it connects to the app and is ready to be controlled via the app. At this stage, all of the available modes and options are available on the left of the screen. (I used the app on my Pad for this demonstration)


Scenario option:

For example, you can create custom scenarios by combining all available modes with up to five different steps. You can do so by using any combination of the sensors or by using different sensors for various steps of your scenario. For instance, you may want the MIOPS to trigger the camera shutter to take a picture after an object breaks the laser beam and then makes a sound either from hitting a surface or by some other action.


Lightning option:

This option has one screen which gives you the ability to set the sensitivity level to trigger the device.


Sound option:

Settings for Sensitivity, Delay, and Lock.



Laser option:

Threshold, Delay and Frame settings screens.



Time Lapse option:

Settings for Interval, Exposure, and Limit



Bulb Ramping option:

There are 4 settings screens for this option: Interval; First Exposure; Last Exposure; Frame.




HDR option:
Settings screens are for: Center; EV (+-); Frame.



DIY option:
Settings screens: Threshold; Delay; Mode.



Cable Release option:

For my testing of the MIOPS Smart, I chose the sound option. I set up for water drop photography using the MIOPS Splash Water Drop Kit and the MIOPS Smart, within a photography lightbox enclosure. (Additional items like a catch basin for the water, etc are necessary)


The enclosure that I used does not have any built-in lighting. To light the effect, I used a flash strobe with a colored gel insert. To take the pictures, I used a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a 70mm Sigma Art Macro Lens. The MIOPS Smart was connected to the 3-pin trigger port on the Canon and mounted close to the MIOPS Splash. A flash trigger transmitter was attached to the shoe on top of the camera, and a receiver was connected to the strobe. I used 2 iPhones to simultaneously control the MIOPS Splash app and the MIOPS Smart app. When I trigger the MIOPS Splash device to drop water, the mechanism makes a sound that in turn triggers the MIOPS Splash to trigger the camera shutter. This setup takes time and a whole lot of patience to get the size and timing of the waterdrops as desired, as well as to get the sensitivity and timing correct for the MIOPS Splash to receive the sound and trigger the camera to take the picture at the right time. This setup is actually one of my less complicated setups and describing the details of it is challenging.

The MIOPS Smart is a great device, and I do plan to try it with a laser beam for the laser option, as well as with lightning when a safe and convenient opportunity presents itself. The following are 2 pictures of water drops that were taken as a part of the testing:


What I like

I like the build quality and the functionality of this device. So far it has worked flawlessly and has allowed me to increase my photography creativity.

What can be improved

1: Longer camera trigger cables must be made available
2: Include a tested laser that works with the device. (They are quite inexpensive but all may not work with this device)

Final thoughts

The MIOPS Smart is a great camera trigger device that is nicely built, and that offers endless opportunities for creative photography. I am thoroughly enjoying using it, and every day I am designing more elaborate photo opportunities. As long as it continues to function well, it is well worth it.

Price: $219
Where to buy: MIOPS Website or Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by MIOPS.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

MIOPS Smart controllable camera and flash trigger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 24, 2018 at 1:00 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Well Desk Double Monitor standing desk review

REVIEW – I don’t know about you but I have seen a great influx in the number of convertible and standing desks at my office. This got me thinking. I wonder if I would like something like this? Julie offered to let me review the Double Monitor standing desk from Well Desk. Let’s dive into it and see what we think.

What is it?

The Well Desk is standing desk that is designed to help you be more ergonomic and burn more calories at work by standing. This desk like the name implies is made to hold 2 monitors for double duty while working.  The desk is designed to be easy to assemble and to be fully adjustable.

Design and assembly

In the box were the 4 pieces that make up that standing desk. Each was packed without any wrapping around them but none of my pieces had any damage. The biggest piece is the back of the desk which is made up of 3 pieces that are already assembled using screws and hinges. The entire desk is made out of Baltic Birch plywood and is really a high grade of plywood if you ask me. In fact, a colleague of mine asked where I got the plywood to make it because he wanted to make something with such nice plywood.

The first step in the easy assembly process is to add the rear monitor guard to the main legs of the desk. This will keep your monitors from falling off the back of the desk. Yeah, probably a pretty good thing! I would hate to lose a 24in monitor! Really, I would hate to have to explain to my boss why I need a new monitor!

The next step is to add the monitor and keyboard shelves and you are good to go! Then the fun part starts when you put your desk back together again. I think that it took all of 2 minutes to put together the Well Desk and that is probably a pretty long estimate.

This is one of the setups that I had using the desk. I tried several different setups to see what I might like better.  The two monitors on the top are 24-inch monitors and they fit well with only about an inch of each base sticking over the end of the monitor. Not enough to really worry about them falling off. I like to have my monitors pointed in for a more immersive environment. You can see that in this picture my mouse and keyboard fit nicely on the keyboard shelf with plenty of room to spare. You might have a bigger keyboard but I went with a Logitech K780 that Julie reviewed and I now enjoy. Thanks, Julie!

In this picture, you can see the cord cutouts to run cables to cut down on the crazy wires going everywhere. This is a nice feature. I have been trying lately to get my wires tamed at my desk.

This picture gives you a feel for the thickness and quality of the plywood. It is made up of 1/2 in. thick plywood. This makes the unit very sturdy.

One of the neat features of the Double Monitor Well Desk is the mobile device slots on both the keyboard and the monitor shelves. The original model of the Well Desk does not come with these slots. I found it very useful for holding my phone throughout the day. They also have holes cut out so that you can charge you phone while it is in the slot. You can also see the keyboard and mouse cord cutouts in this shot but I use wireless so I had no need for them.

Standing vs. sitting

This is my original setup before I started reviewing the Well Desk. I had the three external monitors that I was using and then the laptop display as well. A lot of the time I found myself getting very tired in the afternoon.

This is me standing at the desk after it was all set up and after a little engineering of the Well Desk. Well not on the desk itself but the setup of the monitors that I was using. I did find that in the afternoons while I was standing I did not get as groggy and tired as I had when I was sitting all day.

The Well Desk is not designed for sitting, but…

After some thought, I figured out that even though the Well Desk is not designed to be a convertible desk why not try anyway! So low and behold you can fit a 27 in. monitor very nicely under the monitor stand on the top. This was my way to help with the transition to standing a lot of the time. One can never have 2 many monitors or in my case 3 monitors!

The shelves are easy to move and only take a few seconds to move.  Because of the way the slots are cut they slide together easily without a lot of effort. I don’t think though that I would try moving the monitor shelf with two 24-inch monitors on the shelf. I have a feeling this might end badly!

What I like

  • Easy to Assemble
  • Very solid even with 2 heavy monitors on it
  • Quality materials

What needs to be improved

  • The corners of the shelves could be sharp depending on how you put your hand on them
  • For me being 6ft. 3in. tall, the top slot for the keyboard shelf was too short so I had to use the lowest slot for the monitor shelf which put me a little closer to the monitors than I would have liked

Final thoughts

The Double Monitor Well Desk is easy to put together and because it is not convertible, it is cheaper than most convertible desks. It is made of a high-quality plywood and seems like it will hold up very well. The desk is supposed to provide health benefits like burning more calories and reducing back pain. I would assume that this probably depends on the person using the device. I know for me, I started standing the majority of the day and ran into my back hurting but when I switched from sitting to standing throughout the day no problems. I have enjoyed using the Well Desk and will continue to use it at my office to see how it can help me long term. If you are looking to get a standing only desk then this would be a great and economical purchase.  You might want to think about it more if you are needing a convertible desk.

Price: $179.99
Where to buy: Well Desk and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Well Desk.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: , ,

Well Desk Double Monitor standing desk review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 24, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger review

REVIEW – All these personal devices make our lives easier, but they demand the juice, don’t they? Enter the portable charger, the market for which has exploded (thankfully figuratively, not literally).  I own and/or have reviewed a handful of portable chargers and I’ve been fairly happy with most of them, but the RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger has a fairly unique feature, a built-in wireless charger that can be used to charge Qi-enabled smartphones.  With a couple of the latest wireless charging capable iPhones in our household, I was excited to give the RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger a try.  Gadget on!

What is it?

The RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger is a compact portable charger that can charge devices via either wireless or wired means.

Hardware specs

  • Input: DC 5V/2A max (via Micro USB port)
  • Wireless Output: 5W max
  • iSmart 2.0 Output: 5V/2.4A max (via USB port)
  • Dimensions: 5.7 x 2.9 x 0.8 in / 14.6 x 7.4 x 2 cm
  • Compatible Models: iPhone X / 8 / 8 Plus, Samsung S9 / S9+ / S8 / S8+ / Note8/ S7/ S7 Edge/ S6 / S6 Edge+, and all Qi-enabled or Qi receiver-equipped devices.
  • Warranty: 30 Months – Get 18 months out of the box and extra 12 months by simply registering the wireless battery pack

What’s in the package?

  • RAVPower Wireless Portable Charger (Model: RP-PB081)
  • 2 ft / 0.6 m Micro USB Cable
  • Storage Pouch
  • User Guide

Design and features

First impressions: Compact size and shape, especially for a battery pack that has a 10,000 mAh capacity and can perform both wireless and wired charging.  The circle on the top dead center of the charger, seen in the image above, is the spot where wireless charging capable phones need to be placed.  More on this below.
I also like the slightly tacky, matte black look and feel, which looks cool and helps with gripping the device.

As mentioned above, this charger is a nice size, as seen in the image above.  It can easily be slipped into a backpack or purse, and even a fairly large pocket if need be.

This charger includes a drawstring pouch made of soft cloth for storage.  There is also a small pocket on the outside for cable storage.

When I removed the charger from its box and pressed the button on its end, two small blue LEDs out of four up.  This indicated the charger already had about half of its full battery capacity.

The next thing I did was plug the charger into a wall outlet to top it off to its full battery charge, as shown above.  RAVPower recommends that a 2.4 Amp AC wall charger be used to most quickly charge this device.

 

Upon plugging the charger into a 2.4A AC wall charger, a tiny red LED near the end of the charger lit up.  This indicated that the device itself was being charged via its input port, and turned off after 15 seconds.

It wasn’t long before a third of the four small blue LEDs lit up, indicating that the charger’s internal battery was charging.

Once I had the charger at full battery charge, the first thing I wanted to try was the wireless charging feature, which I did using my wife’s iPhone X.  I simply placed her iPhone X atop the charger.  This charger is compatible with any Qi-enabled wireless charge-capable device.  Its footprint is also roughly the same as an iPhone X’s footprint (thought it is also thicker).

Once I placed the iPhone X atop the charger, another tiny LED lit up and blinked, this one indicating that the charger detected that it was in contact with and charging a wireless-enabled device.  Once the iPhone X was fully charged, the green LED turned off.  Note that this LED flashes red if a non-wireless-charging capable device was placed upon it.

My wife’s iPhone X charged without incident atop the charger.  The charging speed wasn’t as quick as with a wired charging connection, but from my understanding that is typical with wireless charging.  Also, in these photos I am showing the charger with an iPhone X out of a case, but the charger was able to charge my wife’s iPhone X as well as my brother-in-law’s iPhone 8, each while within relatively thin, but not super thin cases.

I also rotated the iPhone X 90 degrees on the charger to see if it would still charge, and it did.  As long as the iPhone X’s center was fairly centered on the circle on the face of the charge, all was well.  Moving the iPhone X a bit off center would sever the wireless charging connection.

 

In addition to the wireless charging, I also evaluated the charger’s ability to charge two devices simultaneously.  In the image above, I have my wife’s iPhone X charging wirelessly atop the charger on the left, and my iPhone 6 Plus charging via cable connection on the right.  The USB output wired charging connection is iSmart 2.0 and can output 5V/2.4A max.  Note that sometimes the button on the charger had to be pressed to initiate charging of the phones, and other time this did not seem to be necessary and the phones began charging automatically as soon as they were sat on tip or plugged into the charger.

A few weeks prior to posting this review, I brought the RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger on a 2-week family trip across Europe and it performed well in general.  With long days of sightseeing, including using my iPhone 6 Plus’s browser to look up things, apps for directions and recommendations, and snapping hundreds of photos per day, this charger gave the extra boost I needed in the afternoons and evenings to keep my iPhone 6 Plus functioning.  Several times I used it to charge two iPhones at once, one wirelessly and one wired, and with its 10,000 mAh capacity, it continued to charge multiple devices for many hours.  At night, I would just plug in the charger and top off it battery again to be ready to use it the next day.  It also held up well to the abuse of being placed into and out of backpacks, purses, pockets and suitcases.  The one caveat is that once the charger was fully drained, I sometimes had a difficult time getting it to charge again.  It may have been the AC voltage and frequency difference between the USA and Europe, but some places that I tried to charge up the charger’s battery just did not work.  However, upon returning to the USA it has charged fine.

What I like

  • Simultaneous wireless and wired charging of two devices.
  • 10,000 mAh capacity will charge multiple devices for hours
  • Relatively small and compact size

What needs to be improved

  • Needing to push the button to initiate charging—this was inconsistent and as a result, I sometimes forgot to do it

Final thoughts

The RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger is a very useful and handy charging device.  It is sturdily built, fairly compact, can charge two devices simultaneously using its wireless and wired charging capabilities, and its 10,000 mAh capacity will charge devices for hours.  This is a nice little portable charger and I found it very useful.

Price: $41.99
Where to buy: RAVPower or Amazon
Source: The product sample for this review was provided by RAVPower.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

RAVPower 10,000mAh 5W Wireless Portable Charger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 24, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Online Switch Plus Fountain Pen review

REVIEW – I’ve seen many ballpoint pens with a built-in stylus, but the Online Switch Plus Fountain Pen from JetPens just might be the first fountain pen I’ve seen that has a built-in stylus. It’s like old world tech meets the tech of today with this pen. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Online Switch Plus Fountain Pen is a lightweight plastic bodied fountain pen that is available in 5 colors and with nibs sizes from extra fine to medium. I was sent the Petrol Blue fountain pen with a fine nib and a blue ink cartridge.

Pen specs

Converter Included: No
Eyedropper Convertible: No
Filling Mechanism: Cartridge – Standard International Short, Converter
Diameter – Grip: 10.4 mm
Diameter – Max: 14.9 mm
Length – Capped: 15.0 cm / 5.9 inches
Length – Posted: 16.7 cm / 6.6 inches
Length – Uncapped: 13.9 cm / 5.5 inches
Weight – Whole Pen (Empty): 0.67 oz / 19 grams

Design and features

The Online Switch pen has a modern look with the two-color body and snap-on cap with a chrome pocket clip. The main barrel of the pen has a soft rubber coated area for fountain pen use and two small knurled grippy areas when the pen is flipped over for stylus use.

There’s a window in the barrel so you’ll know when it’s time to replace the ink cartridge. I don’t know how effective that window really is though as I can’t see anything through the window and without a matching opening on the opposite side of the barrel, there’s no light to help you see through the ink cartridge to see the ink level.

I’m not a fountain pen expert but the nib of the Online Switch looks like a typical fountain pen nib to me. The nib is made of steel that has been painted a glossy black and has a split ink channel.


On the underside of the nib is the black plastic feeder channel. Note that the nib on the Online Switch fountain pen is a non-replaceable part.

On the opposite side of the pen’s barrel, you’ll find a capacitive stylus tip. The stylus tip is a wide rubber style tip that doesn’t lend itself well to precision writing or drawing, but it’s just fine for scrolling through pages, tapping onscreen buttons, and icons.

The Online Switch fountain pen uses ink cartridges like the one that you see in the image above. That’s the blue ink cartridge that comes pre-installed. Jetpens sells a large variety of replacement ink cartridges in many colors.

I mentioned earlier that I’m not a fountain pen expert. So I can only compare the feel to writing with this fountain pen to my favorite style regular pens that use the Pilot G2 refill. That said, the Online Switch fountain pen writing tip felt scratchy on all paper that I tried with it.

I think the main problem that I have with fountain pens is the fact that I’m left handed and find it hard to hold the pen so that the nib is at the optimal angle to the paper. There’s also the fact that when you write with your left hand, you push the pen’s tip across the paper instead of pulling it across the paper. When I tried using this pen in my right hand, the nib to paper feel was smoother. But still not as smooth as using a ballpoint pen.

What I like

  • Inexpensive
  • Built-in stylus

What needs to be improved

  • Nib can’t be replaced

Final thoughts

The Online Switch fountain pen is a nice looking fountain pen that has the extra feature of a built-in stylus tip at an affordable price. I have a feeling that this pen isn’t one that a fountain pen afficianado would choose, but for someone just starting out with fountain pens and who also likes to use a stylus with their mobile devices, the Online Switch is a fountain pen to consider.

Price: $21.50
Where to buy: Jetpens
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Jetpens.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

Online Switch Plus Fountain Pen review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 23, 2018 at 1:00 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.