bigclive

Patreon stream link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n79PcklB7s

Ambient explore and hack of a recent eBay charger

This looks very similar to a charger I looked at 5 years ago, but the circuitry is better.

It would make an excellent cell holding case for a custom charge system.  In this instance I just made a few adjustments to turn it from a modestly high current charger into a basic top-up trickle charger reminiscent of the U...

Neat little Sansi PIR light

Having been impressed by the Sansi ceramic core LED lamps, I thought I'd take a look at one of their other products.

It seems to be quite well designed too, with a logical layout, and some neat twists that set it apart from generic eBay lights.

2023-04-11 03:45:53 +0000 UTC View Post

TikTok grade IKEA charger video

And for the youngsters - here's the sub 1 minute version that still manages to cram in most of the important bits.

Making shorts that contain useful technical data is extremely difficult.  They're literally bite sized nuggets of data.

If I made a 6 second video where I plugged a lead into the charger and said...

IKEA charger - the shorter 2 minute version.

Because the main video went into so much depth on this complex charger, I decided to make a much shorter (2:20) version for those in a hurry.

It covers the main points, but doesn't go into too much depth.

I'll release the main video, this shorter version and a 1 minute short at the same time, so we can see which t...

Excellent new IKEA USB charger

Thanks to John for sending me some of these units.  I expected them to be well built and they lived up to my expectations and then exceeded them with some really novel extra features.

Note that I measured a capacitor in circuit and got a weirdly high 47nF value which seemed wrong for the location.  I subsequen...

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS2Z2hSQNAM

Inside the Guinness clip-on nitrosurger

A device that uses ultrasonic energy to cause cavitation of the nitrogen in Guinness in a controlled manner as you pour it from a can.

Note that there's a live stream coming up right after I released this video, so this video could be enjoyed either before or after the stream.  I'll demonstrate the unit live during...

Patreon stream link

Tonights technical video involved drinking Guinness, so there may be a risk of loose tongued talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRc1c_eG-ng

The Volkslicht "people's light"

An interesting light that was sent for our exploration by Kai Steffen.

It's a bluetooth controlled light that was supposed to be the new standard for lighting in Germany, but didn't quite catch on.  Probably because most people just want to switch their light on and off at the wall.

2023-04-05 01:24:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Chunky high power keychain light

I'll make a guess that this is a clone of another product, but there are so many copies of specific styles that it's hard to work out which came first.

It's rechargeable by USB C and has a 500mAh lithium cell.

The flashlight/torch has a momentary action turbo mode that drives the two front LEDs with 2A of current,...

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAoU0Zk785c

Patreon stream link

Note that UK clocks are back in sync with the rest of the world, so the stream will start at the traditional time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FvBQNam4o

Very crap UV floodlight

I'm sure I've made a video about the white version of one of these lights, but a quick search didn't find it.   I wasn't even going to make a video about this one, since it was going to be part of another video about blacklight sources.  But when I unpacked this one and did some electrical tests I decided it de...

Intriguing solar light with interesting chip

I think this is the first time I've come across this particular chip (YX8183).

It is designed for solar lights that use a lithium cell, either standard or LiFePO4, and has built in LED current control.

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

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smasmc2NqUc

Slightly shonky voltage probe

I promise, this is the last vehicular themed video for a while.

It's a low voltage probe with built in digital voltage meter, that could be used for many applications and not just automotive.

I get the feeling the circuitry may be based around either a dedicated meter chip, or a microcontroller mass programmed for...

As promised in the live stream...

Here's the video about the mechanics version of a logic probe.

It can indicate polarity of 12V circuits, and forcibly change their state with internal short circuit protection and warning.

But do NOT use on lower voltage sensor circuits not operating at 12V.

Let me know if you think the components I mentione...

Patreon stream link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8K8SvUoWGk

Take Two with oscilloscope

The first section of this video is identical, but there are two new sections with more detail including the use of an oscilloscope to confirm that the unit is indeed switching voltages.

Thanks to Andy Brown for the extra information about why the voltage is switched.

It's not for reducing power dissipation, but i...

Another carbonation experiment

Having already done some fuel injection experiments, I decided to do a carbon dioxide one too.

I'll let you judge the results yourself, but suffice to say that I've already consumed several glasses of the result.

https://www.youtube.co...

Fuel injector test unit with weird circuitry

I'm not sure if there are multiple variants of this unit or if it's just another stolen design with legacy circuitry and software.

The software is terrible.  Really basic, and the only way to change mode is to force a processor reset and start from the beginning.

The dual voltage functionality has me perplexe...

Inside an NVR (No Volt Relay)

This is a very common component found on industrial equipment.

As well as acting as an on/off switch, it has the extra safety feature of latching magnetically, so that in the event of power failure equipment will default to an off-state so nothing starts unexpectedly when power is restored.

The construction is qui...

Intriguing USB powered UVC "steriliser"

This is one of many products that popped up during the pandemic to cash in on the craze for sterilising groceries and other things.

In reality, it's output is far too low to be useful for the claimed purpose.

But at least products like this helped create a market for this new type of LED that does have real applic...

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oEYtxWztP8

New stream!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AstkuJtUrg

Patreon stream link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7XLqZRWjCM

Flux residue and fairground games

I filmed this while travelling (and quiet tired) so it will sound and look different.

The video looks at some PCBs from almost thirty years ago to see if the flux residue left on the PCB had any signs of corrosion.

It also gives a demo of the PCBs I used for designing and programming a fairground game.

2023-03-15 20:18:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Chat GPT

I asked Chat GPT about changing the specific gravity of water with ethanol and it told me that ethanol floats on water.  This is bad news for vodka.

It then announced that drinks manufacturers simply skim it off the top during the fermentation process.

This is going to save the distilleries a fortune in fue...

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvN4iZ24HE4