I was having issues with YouTube not processing an uploaded video, so I shot this short test video. It's a menthol crystal being placed on a heater and quickly turning into extreme menthol vapour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_zAzsBgvrw
2020-03-29 05:17:48 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm not sure of the best title for this video. It's a toss up between the existing "Drunken history of theatrical fog effects" and the title above.
I did find my little British fog machine later on. I'd moved it from its normal place to a completely different room.
2020-03-29 04:30:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Sorry. I'll try to put more space between ioniser videos in future. This video was caused by much thinking about the current situation and how ionisers were tested in schools and hospitals and had a dramatic effect.
I can't help feeling that a viable product has had its reputation damaged by over-marketing, with the potential loss of a useful device that might have found u...
2020-03-27 06:25:17 +0000 UTC View Post
It sounds rude, but these are actually an interesting thing for joining cables in emergency situations.
Not sure I'd trust them for normal use, especially with high current loads.
2020-03-24 22:50:22 +0000 UTC View PostI'm starting a little bit earlier this time.
The stream will be on the BigCliveLive channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClIzWmVzGPm2zhNT2XZ-Rkw
2020-03-23 21:14:58 +0000 UTC View PostDo you guys fancy a live stream tonight?
I think the general opinion on the thermal video is that it's the wrong time to release it.
If I'd released it a month ago it would have been fine, but given the current climate I'll not be releasing it openly on YouTube.
2020-03-23 19:33:50 +0000 UTC View PostAlthough I re-uploaded the thermal camera video I didn't release it for general viewing.
I'll admit that the original title and description of the thermal camera video was a bit "enthusiastic". The new version is more vanilla and avoids the keywords that I knew would get the video demonetised automatically (it instantly got flagged as advertising restricted) but also attracted an unusual amount of trolls who are clearly looking for the same keywords to vent on.
The thermal p...
2020-03-23 18:16:11 +0000 UTC View Post
For those who wanted to see the thermal camera video I've uploaded it again, but made the title and description vague so it has no real context to the current situation.
I may release it for public viewing, but it was very obvious that the trolls and self appointed YouTube-police are actively searching for keywords like "coronavirus" and unleashing their bitter rage and tabloid scienc...
2020-03-23 04:11:21 +0000 UTC View PostI knew when I put it up that it would attract extreme views, especially by the doom mongers.
The point of the video was that you could detect a significant thermal difference within a group of people and then investigate further if needed.
I knew that it would be demonitised before it even got posted (it was) because it contained keywords that referenced the current virus.
I'll stick to taking pink plastic electronic things apart.
2020-03-22 22:25:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Bit of an extreme claim, but check out the video and tell me what you think.
I'm not cashing in on the virus, because I knew this video would be demonetised from the start (it's already been flagged as advertising limited - I fully expected that).
I just think that something like this could be a useful tool at this time.
2020-03-22 00:05:52 +0000 UTC View PostAs many of you pointed out, the first version of this video I recorded (Deep Heat) was better because it was more fluid even if the resultant toilet paper wasn't. In hindsight I could have remade the vaporub one, but only had one tub of vaporub.
Please note that this video is not making fun of the current situation. It's just adding a touch of humour to lighten the mood.
I'm about to release the Deep Heat video earlier than usual, so we can observe the reaction.
...
2020-03-19 18:11:42 +0000 UTC View PostI know that many of you are feeling the effect of the coronavirus shutdowns.
Remember that you can lower your Patreon contribution to just $1 if things start getting tight.
2020-03-19 01:03:17 +0000 UTC View Post
This was the first version of the spoof toilet paper energisation video that didn't turn out quite as planned when the deep heat failed to melt and fuse through the toilet roll properly.
The Vaporub version worked much better, but which video is best. Should I release the Vaporub or Deep Heat one while the world is having a toilet paper crisis? Or both with some time betwe...
2020-03-19 00:58:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Since toilet paper is so fashionable right now (yeah, they've cleared the shelves of it here too) I thought I'd make a spoof video showing how to make vaporub sterilising toilet paper.
Obviously this is a terrible idea, but exactly the sort of thing some health channels come out with, so I did it in the style of a made up channel called Healthy Papa. A search for that name...
2020-03-19 00:32:45 +0000 UTC View PostI'm thinking of doing a spontaneous unplanned live stream in about 1 hour and 30 minutes from posting this. (Midnight here in the UK).
I'm not going to publicise it elsewhere though to keep the chat manageable.
If I do it, it'll be on the BigCliveLive YouTube channel.
What do you reckon?
2020-03-17 22:34:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Quite a long video this one, just because there was a lot to talk about.
This is also one of those videos that took a long time to make because the circuitry is very odd to allow cheap manufacture.
2020-03-17 19:30:49 +0000 UTC View Post
By request. A video showing the process of casting an LED into a photoluminescent shape.
This actually looks really good in a dark room with the LED current limited to a fraction of a milliamp. It would make a very intriguing sci-fi style pendant.
2020-03-15 03:44:45 +0000 UTC View Post
After viewing the video by The Thought Emporium (link in YouTube description) about the "ionising" health products being sold on eBay and Amazon I immediately rushed to buy one of the pens before they got banned.
I needn't have rushed as they are still well and truly available. There's an eBay search link in the YouTube video description.
Keep in mind these pens are basica...
2020-03-13 06:09:57 +0000 UTC View Post
So many to choose from, each with its own problems, but this one just simply fires most of the light well above your field of view.
Great case, decent 300mAh (first test) cell (which I accidentally damaged) and usable if not quite efficient wide angle COB array. But then it just fails to light what you need to see.
Maybe I'm missing something. Like it's designed for ...
2020-03-12 03:34:31 +0000 UTC View Post
The aqua version of the strontium aluminate glow in the dark pigment seems to release light much slower than the green stuff. This means it looks a lot dimmer, but glows for much longer.
I've not tested the last bit - since I'm sleeping well at the moment, so haven't woken to look at it in the early hours.
2020-03-10 04:06:04 +0000 UTC View Post
This is another of those items that is functional as supplied, but completely hackable to change the driver, colour and focal length, either for fun or to fit an application.
The heatsink seems to work well at the supplied power rating, even without thermal compound. It's ungrounded, but that's not really a surprise, and fixable if desired.
2020-03-10 03:23:56 +0000 UTC View PostFor better or worse I'm giving LBRY a go on the recommendation of other electronic YouTubers. At the very least it's a way to have an automatic backup of most of my existing videos in an easy way. (They offer a sync to your existing YouTube channel.) This also theoretically means I don't have to upload the same video to multiple sites, which would not be fun with existing upload speeds.
Nothing will change in the way I publish to YouTube and release videos here f...
2020-03-10 01:11:38 +0000 UTC View Post
I actually installed this on an outside wall and hooked it into the outside lighting in the middle of this video. (I didn't record that though.) It's now on test.
Note that on the box it says the power consumption is less than 0.25W. It's very wrong. The standby power is around 2W because the unit has a 1W heater in it (the 470 ohm resistor) and dissipates anot...
2020-03-06 06:08:39 +0000 UTC View Post
I've looked at quite a few LED head torches, but this one has such good functionality for the low price that it's almost (but not quite) perfect.
The battery capacity test is ongoing and will be updated in the description when complete.
Quite hard to find on eBay due to the high number of similar products, but it's available with an orange case which narrows down the listings. &...
2020-03-04 19:59:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Although the coronavirus has been blown out of proportion by the media in their usual way, I thought it would still be interesting to make a video about simple DIY hand sanitisers.
This is the video I had to re-record, because for several years I've been using a hand pump filled with 1% benzalkonium chloride with a dash of glycerin to moisturise my hands before going to bed at night. ...
2020-03-02 19:00:53 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm not sure what to make of this. The implied purpose is to help you relax and meditate, but it's anything but relaxing.
The quality seems really good though. What appears to be a robust glass solar panel properly sealed onto the flower top and a decent 1500mAh (untested) 18650 cell to power what may be a dedicated chip or custom programmed microcontroller with MP3 functi...
2020-03-02 18:20:50 +0000 UTC View Post
If all goes to plan we'll be doing a live stream from Juan's place on Monday the 2nd March around 9.00pm (21:00) UK time.
To check the time versus your local time just search Google for "what is the time in the UK".
This will probably be a lower key stream because Juan has been signed off work with significant stress and we'll probably be discussing that, since it probably affects many of you too.
Note that it's nothing to do with stability of the company he's with and he ha...
2020-03-01 19:17:15 +0000 UTC View PostI always like to double check things before releasing videos involving chemicals.
It appears I may have got a decimal point one position out, and made something between 5 and 10 times stronger than normal.
I may re-record that with an adjustment.
2020-03-01 19:04:35 +0000 UTC View Post
A look at a faulty thermoelectric dehumidifier.
Although the problem is simple to fix, these units are really not worthwhile. They only work in a small ambient temperature range and draw very little moisture out of the air for the power they consume. I rank them next to the calcium chloride chemical dehumidifiers.
If you need to dry the air in your home the best opti...
2020-02-28 04:28:46 +0000 UTC View Post
I really screwed this video up with a rookie mistake. I'm used to using the crimping tools that do both contact and insulation crimps at once, so when I was using the single jaw version I thought that the insulation would need a bigger jaw position. It doesn't. You use the same jaw for both.
After the video I made off several more crimps of each type with the cheap i...
2020-02-26 19:33:54 +0000 UTC View Post