bigclive

Tasting a meat free burger.

Not a normal video for this channel, and probably not being released on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/IIUnqK1apY8

My co-worker Steve got me to try a meat-free burger to see how it compared to the real thing.

Tiny electric fireplace effect.

Now that the bulk of the heavy work is done on the show we're currently loading in, I can get back to making videos.  I'm currently making them in the accommodation provided by the job, so things will look and sound different for a while.  As much as I'd like to use the big glossy pictures of tiny circuit boards to trace through the circuits, the lack of a printer here makes that tricky.

https://youtu.be/_vNdK_HP...

Checking out a truss arch. (Not a video.)

Truss arches are a thing at the Edinburgh Fringe.  Nothing says "this is a theatre of sin" (Event Venue) better than framing the front door of a building with an arch of truss with random lights fixed to it.

This one was put in by fellow tech Danielle and her posse in readiness for the upcoming festival.

Fake-neon-fest.

Before travelling though to start the load-in of the current show I filmed this video in Glasgow.  It's about 4 different neon style signs, each using a different construction technique.

You may get deja vu from this video since it covers some areas of previous videos.

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

I'm releasing this video now so you guys don't go too long between videos wh...

Normal service will resume shortly.

We're almost there.  Tomorrow (today!) will involve final setup of the lighting, then a focus in the evening and whatever troubleshooting and final layers are required after that.

Once the hours tame down and I can stay awake long enough, videos will resume.

Edinburgh Tattoo show.

You may have spotted that I'm travelling with work at the moment.  I'm settled into a student accommodation flat in Edinburgh.

Today was the first main load-in day for the lighting.  I feel like I've had a huge gym workout in my arms.  I'll be sleeping well tonight.

Why RGB LEDs sometimes don't work in solar lights.

This video was recorded quite late at night the evening before a heavy load-in of show lighting.  I'm trying to be quiet to avoid disturbing sleeping coworkers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsA79XdV1wk

ASDA (Walmart) 12W LED filament lamp teardown.

This was quite an interesting lamp to take to bits.  Mainly because of a mysterious chip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3HpPikRDeY

This was recorded at work accommodation with the Cat S61 phone.  It shows that it's got a good camera that unfortunately drops clusters of frames whole recording when used with non native camera apps.  I hope they fix that issue at some point as this w...

Eye colour experiment.

Please only leave your three word comment on the YouTube watch page so all the answers are together.

https://youtu.be/aHdAd_hYHlg

This is just a little experiment to see if eye colour relates to the type of work you do.

Unusual mounting system for LED neon strip.

Slightly different sound and look due to travel.  I also picked up this LED "neon" sign on my travels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy4q_-5cRuM

Initially I thought it was a bit tacky, but on closer inspection it's actually a very fast and logical way of making a sign.

Live stream Sunday night 11.20pm BST (GMT+1).

If all goes to plan I'll do a live stream from Glasgow in an hour.

Neat LED cluster lamps. (with schematic)

I've seen various versions of these lamps.  Some use a stack of little circuit boards and some use a string of soldered LEDs, but this one uses a novel interconnection approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_HowAqKd4

For a change this lamp is better suited to 120V that 240V.

Decent LED head-light.

Head mounting lights are one of my favourite type because they put the light right where you need it at all times.  The quality can be a bit variable, but this one is actually pretty good.

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

The capacity of the cell took me by surprise.  I was expecting it to be quite low, so when it just kept on charging I was beginning to wonder if it was overch...

Russian candy and power bank repairs.

A rather nice gift of Russian treats plus a couple of duff power banks for our entertainment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1RpQbImoqQ

My Blu teardown and refilling.

Another big tobacco company getting their oar into the vaping market.

https://youtu.be/eWxwoJgvZIA

Once again it's a beautifully designed unit.

This one is MUCH easier to refill than the Vype unit.

Solar powered floating fountain.

This was suggested by Mikeselectricstuff.  It's a floating fountain that pumps water at surprisingly low light levels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9BvhPG-rQE

I didn't get into it as far as I wanted to, because the two main electronic modules are potted in black resin to protect them from water ingress.

And back to fixing LED lamps again....

It's actually a while since I've taken apart a plain LED lamp, so fixing this one seemed like a good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhFbW8GieEM

Books that matter.

I've not got a huge collection of books these days.  Literally just a smattering of technical manuals relating to specific areas of my work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOfghE59jq0

This is a guide to what I regard as technical "bibles" relating to specific industries.

The interesting thing is that some of the books are very old, but still available because they encompass the entire t...

Testing meters with a custom resistance box.

I've been meaning to do this for a while.  Make a custom resistor test box and then use it to test a wide selection of meters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDsIpBVCi04

Meters tested were a high accuracy Amecal, an old fluke, two old installation testers, a tacklife monster, a Uni-t UT210E and a couple of generic cheapo meters.

Silicone solar panel sealing. One year update.

Now that a year has passed, including a ferociously hot summer and bitter winter, it seemed a good time to check how the silicone coating on the solar panels had worked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czfa0S5uwcI

Only one light had failed, and the video recaps on the silicone coating technique and then the fixing of the light.

Inside a modern linear light.

I think the main selling point of this light is that it uses Samsung LEDs.  It came from a prominent UK seller, so I'd guess they probably are the real thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD4zn9IA5Ec

After that it looks very typical of a modern LED light, with the notable feature of a case that manages to combine the white reflective plastic and the diffuser in a single immaculate extrusion...

13,500A surge suppressor. (Uh-huh?)

Let's be honest.  Yes, technically speaking you could say it's a 13,500A suppressor, but it's very much marketing speak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQYbs09vGg

That said, this device is actually quite well made.

Analysis and flame test on a PIR ceiling light.

This light was sent for our exploration by Miek in Florida.  It's a very common eBay ceiling light with PIR sensor and it appears that the same style of light is also being sold in the UK by a prominent seller, albeit with different internals.

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

It works, but the yellow wire is definitely not an earth wire.

Rare electronics-free video.

This video has nothing to do with electronics at all.  Just plumbing stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OnxLxqfIsE

But interesting plumbing stuff nonetheless.

Smell the bass.

This little rechargeable JBL speaker and its non-matching melted power supply were sent in by Leo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fJ6gQc-6X8

The question is...  Which failed first.

WTF! New "toy" I got asked to review.

That little girl is probably going to have a bad educational experience with her new toy at some point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2nsUMf3yrU

It actually makes my videos look SAFE!

Deliberately shimmery neon lamp. It worked out well.

Now I'm feeling a bit better I'm getting back into projects again.  Starting with another neon based one.

https://youtu.be/BWu_1RPYkBo

The project is based on an existing LED lamp supplied as a kit without LEDs.  Instead of using the original PCB and circuitry I designed a new one to support 9 neon indicator lamps in a star under the clear dome.

In a way it's similar to the nixie lamp project, but...

Not actually my real address....

It may not be my real address, but it got delivered.

The postcode is actually for the islands welcome centre in the ferry terminal.

The envelope contained a washing machine door lock.

It's like the letter my brother received that was addressed to:-

Ralfy

The bothy

Isle of Man.

Portable clothing dryer.

This is quite a smart little device.  It's a "travel dryer" for allowing single garments to be laundered and dried in your hotel room.  Anyone who has spent time travelling with work will know that sometimes hotel laundries can be less than ideal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EPzPQ2tfJU

The unit even seems to be designed not to burst into flames, which is nice.  I can see myself ...

Under the weather - PIR light.

I think this is probably the first time I've tried to make a video while ill.  It probably shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMI_6KPOxmU

I'm not sure what I've got at the moment, but it's quite extreme and VERY unpleasant at night.

It's interesting to note that Dave of EEVblog seems to be suffering from a bug at the moment too.