bigclive

I stole a dead light bulb to autopsy

I bet they still haven't noticed that it's missing, given how long it had been dim and flickering for.

But is has revealed many things - including identifying a mystery chip first seen in a monster "architectural" lamp from Poundland.

Perhaps I should carry a small LED lamp selection and change out dead ones in return for getting to make videos about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDBSEj0B...

This was hellish to reverse engineer

This vintage LED test light is so "analogue" that it was really hard to reverse engineer due to the odd way the transistors are used.

Instead of being able to draw it out in a logical way, I literally had to trace every component's connection to the others, and then try and draw it as a neat schematic.  Even with triple checking, it still left me with doubts about the layout.

The veterans of analogue circuitry will be much more comfortable with the design than I am.
I bet ...

Not a video (yet)

Tonights project.  3D printed E10 LED bulbs.

They're so small, and print so fast that I had to half the speed of the printer to let each layer cool before the next one got extruded.

Each one contains an LED and 150 ohm resistor for 5V.  Quite tempted to try and fit a little socket in with an eighth watt resistor to allow LED and cap swapping.

12V tool system flashlight / torch

This is a torch or flashlight designed for use with the LIDL Parkside 12V tool system, but it will probably be available under other brands too.

The circuitry is basic, but neat enough, and it has potential hackability for customisation.

You may notice strong similarities between the circuitry in this light and in the recent MR16 downlight video, because they both use a similar chip and circuit.

2023-09-19 00:25:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCxuO3_GW4Y

Patreon stream link

Here's the link to this weeks Patreon stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMHl8C7yjzE

The thumbnail I really WANTED to use...

It's so easy to upset YouTube these days that I sometimes have to omit humour from the thumbnails.

I was pondering if the nonsensical "dicksimilated" word and partially obscured other word would slip past the automated image filters.

First Temu delivery

I've been trying to find dangerous items on Temu, and so far it's been hard to find really bad stuff.

Better still, they did actually deliver to the Isle of Man, which is often a stumbling point for many companies, as they don't recognise the island's existence.

This was a nice effect once I'd fixed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7iJOHvXVIA

Express video from Edinburgh

I wasn't sure if this video was going to be any good due to the simplicity of the device.

Rather than carry the thing back in my luggage I opted to strip the electronic module and flame-loom out and recycle the rest.

It's a very odd combination of trying to be weatherproof and then completely defeating it by providing a way in for the water.  But people like us can finish the job and make it more rugged.

2023-09-13 02:24:00 +0000 UTC View Post

An EXPENSIVE one this time!

Obviously I wasn't going to pay the full price of an item being gouged by contrived "regulatory requirements" - so I found one going cheaper on eBay.

I also have to admit that afterwards while investigating the smaller disk device it turns out it's probably a gas discharge tube surge device, which makes sense given its location in the circuit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD7cXGr-ZYs

If you LOVE lemon-yellow......

Another video that I filmed before heading back.    It's a set of solar lights from a local UK store called Poundstretcher - which promised "gold light".    It isn't what I'd call gold.

The solar case is unusually large and old fashioned looking, and has a very minimalist construction.   It cost £4 so I guess you get what you get.

If you really love the lemon yellow colour they may be ideal for you.

2023-09-12 02:45:46 +0000 UTC View Post

Worthy Poundland thing

I got this mainly for the low voltage (3V) filament lamp, but it turns out that it's quite a nice thing as it is, and VERY hackable to either steal the bits or adapt the base to run on solar power or a USB power supply.  That makes it ideal as an off-grid or apocalypse light, since USB power banks are a handy rechargeable power source during darker times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYf5og2cb74<...

Naomi Wu is OK

I've just been in touch with Naomi Wu (sexycyborg).

She's been given warnings about posting certain technical content after riling the Chinese government.

She's lying low at the moment, which is why there haven't been any videos on her channel for a while.

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoSMYHMan0w

No thumbnail or text yet

Just a last minute teardown of a dead Ubiquity WiFi node to save the extra weight of carrying it during travel.

It's actually really well designed inside.  Much more sophisticated than I was expecting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6dmP3AeUAQ

Patreon stream link

Here's the link to the Patreon stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDnq3ZJ79F0

Short - but a worthy one

A project I put on my website a very long time ago, that has been in constant use since.
Originally it was fitted with nine compact fluorescent lamps just to get a much higher brightness, but latterly I made it decorative instead by swapping in suitable lamps.

It's basically a two part plastic globe that has multiple parallel lamp holders on it.  The top ones are unusual vintage LED lights that project a slight ripple pattern, the middle ones are a candle shape lamp Poundland so...

Monster backstage snippet

No stabilisation on the camera which would have been nice.  But I rarely film while walking.

Here's a backstage tour that takes you into many secret bits that tourists don't get to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amx5XL1vGZ4

Short notice Glasgow meet

I'll be having a meetup in Glasgow city centre in a few days.

If you live in Glasgow and can make it into the city centre for 6pm onwards this Wednesday, then it would be good to see you at the Counting House on George Square for coffee, beer, chat and food.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Ia9o_9kUk

Inside MR16 12V LED bulbs

I may switch to using the word "bulb" instead of "lamp" as there seems to be a cultural variation.

This video was filmed on the fly while travelling.  How does the black background look, and how are the acoustics?

The schematic shown was featured in the weekend live stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap8Y6pqSYI0

Normal day stream

Here's a link to the weekend stream, which is back to the normal day:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic5INWRgj3o

Inside a "toy" thermal printer

Very common on eBay and quite a fun device.   It uses standard 58mm thermal paper on very small rolls (you can re-roll from a bigger roll though) and also prints on thermal label material as a continuous strip.

The circuitry is as minimalist as you'd expect, with the bulk of the work being done by a bluetooth microcontroller and the driver in the printhead itself.

The bits that added to the complexity of the reverse engineering were polarity reversal detection and the cl...

Extra shady eBay junk

What do you do when one big online retailer rejects your product for having a manufacturing fault?

Why - you sell them on eBay of course, because they really don't give a toss what dangerous crap you sell there.

Here's one of those products with a very silly manufacturing fault involving a slight printing misalignment that defeats a safety function.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UALm8oomJRg...

Job done - time for a quiet Patreon stream

Now some normality has returned to life we can have a quiet stream again.

I'll be doing this one from Gotham City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij6AIVKyIos

Backstage snippet - one of the lighting gantries

Walking along one of the lighting gantries as the audience comes in for the first of two shows on the last day of the run.

The whole rig is now packed up and shipped off in three large trucks that were well-stuffed with lights - four cases wide and three high all the way from front to back.  Then the crew dined together and we headed our separate ways.

Vince the crew chief is already on his way to his next job.

2023-08-31 04:03:09 +0000 UTC View Post

Wireless version of the audience wristband

Another gift from Vince the crew chief.  A wireless version of the LED audience wristband used in big concerts to add extra audience interaction.

Unlike the infrared version, this one uses a radio signal for control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEdaRYd9kkc

Freaky backstage snippet

We explored one of our old power distribution rooms in the dungeons of Edinburgh castle.

Very "Blair Witch Project" - especially when we actively used that freaky area for power distribution and it often had the carcasses of dead rodents on the floor.

These days it is a lot less damp due to the construction of a new castle ticket office above it (already obsolete due to new e-tickets).

It always felt a bit creepy and uncomfortable going into that area on my own to power down...

Loading out show

No live stream this week because I was working long and heavy hours.  Normality should return this week, as the next two days will involve the removal of the remainder of the lighting and controls, then freedom.

I've been taking more snippets of video which will be revealed once I get time to check and upload them.

But right now it's time for a meagre 5 hours sleep before the next shift begins.

"Pork cartilage" self heating noodle

Last day of this show, so I celebrated with another Chinese self-heating noodle dish.

The "Pork Noodle" bit had looked so tempting, but in reality it was part of the pig that might go into processed meat products, and it was a bit squirmy eating it directly.

the heater packs in these are much more violent than the ones with the military self heating rations.  They literally jet out steam when activated with water.

My colleagues also decided to join in on the "One moment...

Scruffdog fill-in live stream

Scruff's doing a fill-in live stream on Saturday.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do a stream at all this week as we start loading out the show on Sunday and will be craning stuff out of the castle in the evening.

Then hopefully things will return to normal.

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