bigclive

Real street light with data-logging!

I wasn't actually expecting this light to have a driver with built in data logging functionality.

It's a neat British made miniature street light that crams a lot into a small space.

The electrical data the driver stores is intriguing, since it can detect and log irregular voltage incidents to help resolve any maj...

Weekend stream

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=addJkAP6sUQ

Test in progress....

This unit is a USB powered dehumidifier for small enclosed spaces. It uses an internal heater to drive the gathered moisture back out into the room it is being dried in.

The insides were underwhelming... But that may have now been corrected.

https...

This went in a random direction

This video was originally supposed to be about building an ioniser using a universal voltage module, but it ended up diving much deeper than expected. The circuitry in this module is refreshingly simple, but also very advanced in its use of a very neat miniature high voltage transformer.

I'm aware that some people love...

Yet another video

I showed this in the live stream, so thought I'd share it now. It's an illuminated sandscape style ornament that has potential for just being used as a custom light.

Note that it has the super exciting feature of trying to charge non rechargeable batteries with a high explosion risk due to internal pressurisation, plus...

Quiet Patreon Stream Link

Here's the link to the quiet Patreon stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AElo3cQDY2I

Delightfully trashy granny-zapper

Given that this style of circuitry used to be widely used in hideous coiled-wire sculpture lights favoured by elderly ladies, I do wonder how many got zapped by them before they switched to using low voltage light strings.

I really enjoyed reverse engineering this one. It's pleasingly functional for such a trashy desig...

Possibly the last of the surger series?

Given that the Guinness surger basically turns carbon dioxide drinks into thick foam, I may not do any more. It's still an interesting effect, and the foam is actually quite nice. But it's likely to be a predictable outcome each time.

Then again, the same could apply to the "Will it carbonate" series, and people still...

Inside an Otis elevator button

A visually nice elevator button with red LED halo. It operates at 24V and has other applications. Clones can be found on AliExpress with the keyword in the description of the video. Note that with this button the switch contact is also referenced to +24V so logic level circuitry will need a suitable interface like a resist...

Nice lockable socket - can we pick it?

This is a posh and very expensive lockable socket with a very novel key operated switch mechanism. I was expecting it to have a cam and microswitch, but it turned out to be a bit more robust than that.

https://youtu.be/YW2B4Yzr5c0

Real car ozone plug with weird circuit twist

This arrived faulty, and at first I thought it was due to the odd circuitry on the output. But it turned out to be some off-tolerance components instead.

https://youtu.be/nQEFMFl4ZJU

Near unity power factor LED driver

This video is a bit deep and may only appeal to the true geeks. It's a cheap AliExpress power supply module with some circuitry that is not actually even mentioned on the chip manufacturers datasheet.

The way the snubber network also delivers power to the chip is quite clever.

2024-04-02 18:09:38 +0000 UTC View Post

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWgRBeAtu-0

More alcoholic shenanigans

Can the Guinness ultrasonic surger be used with other drinks?

There's only one way to find out.

https://youtu.be/omUwi-d-DsY

Well this was carnage!

This was supposed to be an innocent disassembly of a Chinese illuminated latching panel button. But it did NOT come apart easily.

Oh well, that's the point of the channel. Me destroying stuff so you don't have to.

https://youtu.be/bnt1rRn7u0A 2024-03-29 04:37:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Fireball vs sodastream

I've never tried fireball before. It's basically a liqueur made from whisky and cinnamon flavoured sugar syrup.

It kinda works, since whisky mixes well with aromatic flavours.

https://youtu.be/6nWHpiTAVhY

Specialist pump and the machine its used in

Although this video was originally going to be just about this application-specific pump, I thought it would be good to explore the technology of the machine it's used in.

Most of the components in these machines are a common rebranded type, so spares are readily available online. The unusual rubber impeller design mea...

Mystery "orange juicer" on eBay

There are so many keywords I have to avoid on YouTube, but I can let rip here.

This is a ladies pussy pleaser with a strong citrus juicer theme. It has very minimalist circuitry and a couple of charging quirks.

I definitely couldn't read out the eBay listing description in the video, as it left nothing to the ima...

Quiet Patreon Stream Link

Here's the link to the Patreon stream:-

https://youtube.com/live/lOwzmnfguS8

And now for something completely different

A test of an Ecoegg alternative to laundry detergent, that I bought from ASDA in the UK.

I was surprised to find something like this being sold in a major supermarket, as the eBay ones that have been around for a while are very much a placebo device.

I decided to give it a test.

2024-03-21 20:46:57 +0000 UTC View Post

Easy remove disposable vape cell with contacts

This is a very pleasing twist on the disposable vaping devices. It's a new style of the Blu device that has a very easy to remove lithium cell in a rugged capacitor style package with a concentric gold contact PCB on the end.

The case and contact system would make a very handy format for small lithium cells in general....

Exploring the plasmacluster protection circuitry

The dense potting resin used in this module made it VERY hard to explore. I pretty much destroyed it in the process, which is a shame as I'd like to have extracted the data from its protection chip.

Perhaps that can be done in the future now I know the pinout of the connector and the nature of the internal usage counte...

Ultra frustrating product

I've been exploring a Sharp Plasmacluster unit for vehicles - notably the fact it has expensive ion modules that expire after a fixed run time and then need replaced at great expense.

The module is completely potted with solvent/heat proof resin, meaning that an attempt to de-pot it results in component damage before th...

I've FINALLY broken it

It took several years of regular heavy use, but I've finally managed to break the iSesamo spudger.  It's lasted so long that the domain name of the supplier I got it from (regizmo) is currently being squatted by a domain name seller.

None of the copies lasted very long at all.  iSesamo seem to use a very well ...

eBay night light 2024 revisit

Now with even less components.   Kinda interesting how the design has evolved.  The cover comes off far too easily - if you have one in a kids room it might be worth adding a dab of suitable glue.

The dusk sensor will probably increase LED lifespan, but is mostly a gimmick.

2024-03-17 19:12:27 +0000 UTC View Post

Weekend Stream Link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3qzUKoMQPE

High current remote control receiver from eBay

A generic remote control receiver with a higher than normal current switching capability due to the use of a chunky "30A" relay.  I'm not sure I'd trust it anywhere near that, but it should definitely be better than the ones with tiny relays in them.

...

Schottky diode lithium charge test

An experiment to see what happens when a classic TP4056 module charges a lithium cell with a schottky diode in series with it.

It was to see if it still charged it normally, but stopped sooner at a lower voltage.  But it went a bit odd.

https://...

Smartap manifold teardown

What a massively complex water control system.  From the mystery sensors to the triple magnetic remanence pilot solenoids, it's a chunky 2.5kg (5 pound) chunk of brass.

https://youtu.be/FFw5I_cvc70 

Shady 3V rechargeable lithium cell kit from Japan

Aside from my own tests showing that the cells and charger were not really compatible, I subsequently got a vague message from eBay telling me to stop using the product due to safety concerns(!)

I've since found data that suggests a super-slow trickle charge at 2mA (for two days!) with a voltage cap of 3.1V!

The t...