bigclive

Inside a bug zapping lamp.

nullhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz3RWYn7jQY

By popular request, a teardown of a bug zapper lamp.

This video is also a test of a new app that lets me join sections of video together and also lets me boost the audio.

Let me know if you think the audio is distorted in any way as a result of being boosted, noting that the bass content may cause issues with phones or tablets with small speakers that ...

Tasting a Lithuanian army food pack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SY1wasMAhc

I've never tried something like this before.  It's very interesting, almost like an adult food lucky bag.

A rather neat LED ring and driver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyk2EwwvIr0

I think this ring is intended for retrofitting into existing bulkhead or other round lights.  It's not isolated, so should be treated as being live at mains voltage when lit.  This version is for 220V use, but I'd guess there are other universal drivers for around 40V at 200mA that could be used with it.  Going by the ratings it's intended for use with ...

Inside a plug-in ozone generator.

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

This should help get rid of the lingering fart smell the Nosulus Rift has left.

South Park Nosulus Rift teardown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucymk0q70aQ

It's a virtual reality unit that farts in your face.

I opened the aroma modules and sniffed them.  That was a bad move.  I think I got about 100 farts in one sniff.

This is a neat little rechargeable light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plo9d7pqILc

As USB rechargeable lights go, this one is quite a serious little unit.  I'd estimate potential run time at different intensities as between 2 weeks at minimum night-light mode to 4 hours of continuous operation at full power.  At the normal low setting it should run for most of a day on a full charge.

Inside a solar powered car ventilator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bPLX4h0crY

A look inside an interesting fan unit that you close your car window on and it automatically ventilates the car using sunlight as power.

Things you should know about fuses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx35WN3uLis

Choosing a fuse isn't complicated, but there may be a bit more to it than you expected.  This video also gives a look inside a blown industrial (power distribution) 160A fuse and a 15kV "expulsion" fuse for overhead lines.

PSA for twin-tail harness users.

I know that many of you are involved in the entertainment, engineering and construction industries, so here's a quick heads-up for those of you using twin tail safety harnesses. If you hook one of the tails onto your harness it prevents the shock absorber from deploying. This is especially important when you clip it on the front of your harness to keep it out the way as it becomes the equivalent of a front attached harness and could cause significant spine damage.  Here's a link to Petzl's ...

LED eyelashes that you glue on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3eBpEt9Gc

For some reason the idea of putting glue and circuitry near my eyes creeps me out.  The technology behind these little circuit boards and their controller is pretty cool though.

New washing machine. (I opened it)

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

As usual when I get a new toy I tend to open it, and this also applies to large appliances like washing machines.  This one is the most minimalist I've ever seen, with a tiny wiring loom connecting all the modular components.  This machine is almost silent in use.  All you hear is the clothing sploshing gently inside.

Ram this up your nose!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1mw08vyoKg

No seriously, it's another dubious medical device which basically involves poking red LEDs up your nose.  And a handy DIY one too, which doesn't take long to make and can be used for other purposes.

Fixing my dashcam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXG3QE5TkO8

My dashcam started behaving erratically, so suspecting the lithium cell I decided to pop it open to see if it could be changed.

Death-disco camping light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWAA3Z4cfCg

Uh-oh, it's 5am in the morning, I guess I should get to bed.

Here's tonight's technical adventure.

Almost the last cheapo disco light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8JGCTmxG28

Sorry, I've been doing a lot of dubious eBay disco lights recently.  It's just been a "thing".  This one is the cheapest and plays the trick of looking like a full size one, but being kinda miniaturised.  It still works well though.

Poundland mini emergency flashlight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UooFK7nvwZs

Despite being disposable, this little light is actually quite a good idea for sticking to distribution boards with its built in magnet.  It's got a sealed case so I presume it's waterproof, and the switch is momentary, so it can't be left running.

Extra hot and dangerous bath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxwpTx4OTMY

I just got the urge to look out my improvised and very dodgy bath heater to have a super-hot bath.  No nudity involved.

Poundland - Poundworld NiMh tests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hNUbMuJMyw

I'm travelling again, so I'm spending my time in the airport editing videos.

Looks can be deceiving.

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

I was expecting this light to be a bit crappy inside, but it's not.  It's a very good base for projects.

Inside the DMX version of the disco dome light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLf6gObNIk

Having taken the other non-DMX version of this light to bits I thought I'd take the DMX version to bits too.

Gifts from the Edinburgh Meet up.

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

A look at some of the things given to me at the Edinburgh meet.

Technical crew weirdness.

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

Making videos in the technical room at a show is always going to result in random crew weirdness....

New style Airwick aroma unit teardown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohN-7wF3bM0

These devices are generally simple resistor based heaters that vaporise an aroma chemical from a wick.  This one has fairly interesting construction and opens easily enough that it might be viable to do an LED mod on it.

Inside a self contained LED switch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqsHkUNFH1Y

These have been around for a while now, so I thought it would be good to look inside one of them.  The construction is quite neat, although I do prefer the use of AA cells over AAA cells as they have three times the energy capacity.  For non direct viewing applications the unit is actually quite functional.

Bottling the crew beer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JFMgnlVce4

The bottling of the 2017 crew beer at Stewart Brewing in Edinburgh.

This has become a bit of a tradition, where we start the brewing of a beer during the load-in of the show and then bottle it close to the end of the run.  I've included the recipe in the video description.

Are these stungun modules?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDJp2tHmEQo

I finally got around to testing one of these common eBay "400kV" spark modules, and I wanted to ascertain if they are based on stun gun power supplies.  The logical way to test that was to touch the output and see how much it hurt.

It did hurt....    Lots.

I've included a search link for the modules in the YouTube video description.

Interesting cheap disco UV light.

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

I really enjoyed taking this light apart.  It has super-minimalist circuitry to give surprisingly good results.

Odd wobbling illuminated egg.

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

I'm not sure if this is considered a toy, ornament or functional light.

Reverse engineering an old project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ9y315D9hk

This is a neat project I made when blue LEDs first became available.  I liked that they created a very deep psychedelic blue colour at very low current and used it to create a wearable pixel of light.

It got a lot of attention at the time because nothing was available that could create such a small dot of such pure intense blue light at the time.

Re-upload of lighting prep video with full audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2jxZOrB6Wg

This is a re-upload due to an audio issue with the original video where there was only left channel audio.