Usual time and usual place.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
Best viewed on Twitch, and may need a page refresh to start.
I have mounds of new Chinese tat to show.
2025-05-24 18:54:37 +0000 UTC View Post
I recorded this while travelling and forgot how horrible the audio is in this recording device. I'll bring the Pixel with me next time.
This is a neon colour display case to help customers choose the colours of their custom neon signs. Note that it is NOT the new LED neon, but is the traditional long lasting glass stuff.
2025-05-22 00:33:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm in Glasgow at the moment, getting lots of novel things to take apart. I'll try and make some videos here, but they never look or sound as good as the ones made at the usual bench.
This is a video I made just before catching my flight here.
2025-05-18 23:30:02 +0000 UTC View PostGiven how stupidly dangerous the multi-way power strip/splitter/block is, I'm going to release that video early for safety reasons.
A subsequent flame test on all the plastic components showed that they ignited readily except for the switch, which was the only quality component in the whole product.
I've always been suspicious of those tiny class-Y safety capacitors and the test confirmed that they pose more of a risk than a safety feature.
2025-05-13 15:41:15 +0000 UTC View Post
You could literally use this popular socket strip as the subject for an entire safety course.
It's almost like they deliberately tried to break every regulation possible.
I've listed every defect I found in the description. It was mostly defects.
Bizarrely there was one good bit. The switch.
2025-05-13 04:03:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm perplexed at why they needed to even make this thing. It basically rocks your phone back and forth to emulate walking. Are there jobs where they monitor peoples phones for movement in case they fall asleep?
Nice enough magnetic movement system though, and the whole unit may have other uses.
2025-05-13 03:58:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Another refreshing break from electronics to look at something much wetter.
This is a very clever universal float valve with lots of neat features.
2025-05-11 00:01:47 +0000 UTC View Post
The complete lack of an anonymous microcontroller made this quite a fun reverse engineer with no secrets. There were two special function components with vague markings, but the design of the circuit made it easy to work out what they did.
I also completely annihilated all the LEDs and a resistor with a very innocently low load due to the weird circuitry for powering the LEDs.
2025-05-10 23:52:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's a link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
2025-05-10 19:40:55 +0000 UTC View Post
At some point the new style of candle LEDs will appear on AliExpress, but at the moment it's just the harsh flicker ones.
The new subtle style is much more relaxing than the older juddery type.
2025-05-08 16:07:22 +0000 UTC View Post
I like to leave my mistakes in.... Let's just say that the coil was not dissipating 35W.
Very simple mechanism in this unit. Just two buttons to push a relay closed and force it open again, although in this case it just wasn't holding at all.
2025-05-08 16:04:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Having seen these little three pin power supply control chips in various products, I decided to take a look at some datasheets and see if I could work out the magic.
2025-05-06 18:16:16 +0000 UTC View Post
This unit has jammed a lot of circuitry into a small case. It has one oddity - the LED current limiting resistors for the small LEDs are on the emitters of the transistors, suggesting perhaps a crude current regulator approach?
It has a few modes that I show in the video and document in the description. And it does store the last mode for the main beam.
Most notable thing is the intensity control with no obvious PWM, so it may be using high frequency PWM done by a module on the ...
2025-05-06 17:52:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Weekend stream starting shortly.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
2025-05-03 19:54:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Having had a very annoying experience trying to clean paint from a hard to reach stub of pipe, I looked online for techniques or devices that could make it easier.
I found these devices being featured on various YouTube plumbing videos and got a set from eBay to try.
You can see the results in the video.
2025-05-03 02:13:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Something different that I stumbled across on eBay. It's a bare module designed for electrical noise filtering in equipment with things like variable frequency drives.
It has some quite interesting features to allow the use of standard single phase filter capacitors on a three phase supply.
2025-04-30 00:30:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Quite a nice looking light with potential for being hacked to suit your own requirements.
This video is so fresh that the lithium cell hasn't completed its capacity test yet. It's currently clocking in at 770mAh , but has still got some charge left. I'll update the video description with the final test value.
This came from eBay a while ago, but I'd actually recommend searching for it on AliExpress or one of the other Chinese retail sites as it will be cheaper and may arrive fas...
2025-04-29 04:19:57 +0000 UTC View Post
You may notice that the thumbnail was taken a while ago.
This is a classic British vibratory massage device from around 1950. It is very simple in construction.
As expected of a unit from that era the plastic is degrading and was very brittle.
2025-04-28 01:14:53 +0000 UTC View Post
Twitch stream - usual time and usual place:-
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
Best viewed on Twitch and you may need to refresh the page to start the stream.
Start time should be displayed in the Twitch schedule.
2025-04-26 17:22:20 +0000 UTC View Post
I've been burning the midnight oil doing cell tests on this unit. It would definitely be a prime candidate for adding a 550mAh cell from a disposable vape salvaged off the street.
They've cut every corner in this design in an impressive way - but it does work. You can swap the LED if you desire, as it's a very standard 1W one.
2025-04-26 05:52:39 +0000 UTC View Post
I thought this was going to be an easy video to make, but it wasn't.
It took a LONG time to work out all the modes this unit has, test them and then basically write the entire English manual for the module in the description of the video! I had to remove some of the description because I hit the character limit!
It's quite a handy module though, even if it does have some issues with its power supply circuitry. The odd choice of an LM317 voltage regulator for 5V means that it wil...
2025-04-25 05:28:30 +0000 UTC View Post
A proper deep dive into the trip mechanisms in circuit breakers, and the way the two overcurrent sensing mechanisms work (thermal and magnetic).
It's the first time I've managed to find out how the trip mechanism works without a breaker exploding into an assortment of springs and random bits when I open it.
2025-04-24 04:37:50 +0000 UTC View Post
This particular recording device has the unexpected feature of zooming much wider than it started off, resulting in a sudden reveal of the clutter around my filming area.
2025-04-21 17:48:19 +0000 UTC View Post
This must have other specialist uses where you need something melted in a little pouring ladle. It's intended purpose is heating sealing wax, which is poured onto documents and then stamped with a suitable logo.
I'm sure it probably has other uses though. Polymorph polymer melted, but stuck to the ladle, hot melt glue did the same, and PLA offcuts melted, but not to a pourable level.
2025-04-20 16:28:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Since it's the easter holidays, this stream will be reinforced with cheap fizzy wine. As such, I can't be held fully liable for outrageous statements.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
Best viewed on Twitch, and you may have to refresh the page to start the stream.
Streaming times are shown in the Twitch schedule.
2025-04-19 17:51:26 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a very capable little unit, but is hobbled by the use of long musical sections in place of simple short chimes.
But it has many uses, including pairing with a matching wireless PIR sensor to act as a basic alarm to detect people (or trapped animals) in an outdoor shed.
2025-04-18 18:13:37 +0000 UTC View Post
The circuitry in this was surprisingly well designed. It has anti-tracking slots, a fuse and a decent power supply.
This was another AliExpress buy. The listing is linked in the video description, and if you view it, it may add it to the bundle deals page.
2025-04-17 02:23:42 +0000 UTC View Post
These are very common on online selling platforms. They are single code RF buttons that can be used to control lights and other loads. The transmitter chip is extremely standard, so most receiver modules of the same frequency will work with it.
2025-04-16 01:36:11 +0000 UTC View Post
This full kit effectively costs a fraction of what the big electrical distributors sell the basic crimping tool for. It has a very good range and generous quantity of bootlace ferrules for binding the loose strands of flexible cables together for making a better termination.
2025-04-14 04:33:22 +0000 UTC View Post
In hindsight I would have tested the capacitor differently. (Rectifier and a tungsten bulb in series to limit the current.)
But the fusible resistor did an admirable job of limiting the fault current and breaking the circuit.