Quite a well built unit, but very hard to get apart due to a tight fitting and latching round assembly. Very much a one-way trip during assembly.
This is a rechargeable duck that squirts out a jet of foam for various uses.
2025-01-17 17:23:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Quite a neat idea, but really driving the LED panel hard (we can hack that). It also has much simpler circuitry than many similar lights I've looked at.
Not much scope for lithium cell enhancement as the designated space is already stuffed, with obvious dents in the cell pouch where the supports press into it.
2025-01-15 07:14:41 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's a link to the Twitch page for the weekend stream.
The stream is best viewed on Twitch and you may need to refresh the page to start the stream.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
2025-01-11 19:21:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Not a full reverse engineering, for reasons that will become clear in the video. Namely, a very well stuffed PCB with quirky charge circuitry.
But interesting to explore, partly because of the use of two cell clusters in series, and a very efficient buck converter to bring the voltage back down to 5V.
2025-01-11 19:19:05 +0000 UTC View Post
A properly obliterated circuit breaker that gave someone a burn when it failed in an industrial environment.
My apologies to those who don't like the auto dubbed speech when it is applied by default. If the video is viewed on YouTube you can manually select your preferred language.
I'm giving it a test to see if it makes my videos available to non-English speaking countries. (Especially for those who speak Spanish and Urdu.)
One of those bizzare regulatory things, where Americans are not allowed a candy that is popular in the entire rest of the world. It even carrieds a possible fine of hundreds to thousands of dollars per egg if you try smuggling them in.
This video was also a test of why none of my videos were getting auto-dubbed into other languages. It appears that the auto dubbing doesn't happen if you use your phone to upload videos, as I do. So I now have to port them to my chromebook and upload t...
2025-01-05 05:09:49 +0000 UTC View Post
The perfect hygiene gadget. A fake pigeon that literally shits out foamed soap into your hand when you place it under its butt.
The circuitry is actually more complex than I was expecting.
2025-01-03 07:47:59 +0000 UTC View Post
I opened this socket expecting to see low separation between poles in a double pole switch, but instead it is a single pole switch with good contact clearance.
The internal design didn't really seem to have any obvious flaws at first glance.
I'll let you take a look and judge for yourself.
2025-01-02 02:06:33 +0000 UTC View Post
It's amazing how mass production can bring down prices. When this style of light first appeared it was quite an expensive effect.
I would guess that the chip is a special purpose one for products like this, with the simple shunt regulator and six high current open collector/drain outputs.
2024-12-30 02:39:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Yeah, this might upset a vocal minority. But it's presented in a factual and scientific manner.
The availability of these devices is huge, suggesting a burgeoning market. I wonder how many are bought and then put in a drawer and never used again.
2024-12-28 03:59:23 +0000 UTC View Post
I can't even imagine how many of these things are in use. They're sold for pain relief, muscle building and pleasure. Their history goes back to the Victorian era when battery operated electric shock machines were used to "treat" various medical ailments.
2024-12-28 00:20:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Testing a mystery solder from AliExpress. They don't even tell you the alloy, so it's very hit and miss what this could be used for. It does have a fairly aggressive flux core. And to be fair, it kinda works on random materials.
2024-12-27 07:13:15 +0000 UTC View Post
I strongly recommend NOT using this glue gun with a real Makita battery, as it will potentially over-discharge the battery. But it's fine with the copy Makita batteries, since they actually have proper charge and discharge protection circuitry.
The glue gun works though, and has a fairly fast heat up and recovery time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD-piof-07A
2024-12-24 04:42:49 +0000 UTC View PostYouTube has classed my hot diamante/rhinestone applicator video as being not suitable for all advertisers, and therefore may run low or no adverts.
Update - may be my fault for adding a fake brand onto the tool in the thumbnail.
I can't work out why. Going through the auto subtitles the only things that seemed likely were the misdetection of the word "heil" and where I had said "For in America" it put "F America".
I asked for a "human" review and it came back as still in vio...
2024-12-23 07:21:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Rather than splash a few grand on a UVC spectrometer, I decided to splash £80 on a much simpler UVC meter intended for testing sterilisation equipment.
It uses a very specialist silicon carbide sensor with a UVA/UVB filter on the front.
2024-12-23 07:14:54 +0000 UTC View PostHere's a link to the upcoming Christmas live stream that my brother Ralfy and I usually do. It will be on the main YouTube channel.
https://youtube.com/live/PK5ioaDpgVU?feature=share
2024-12-22 06:38:26 +0000 UTC View Post
A very cheap and surprisingly simple PIR sensor that is probably designed to be built into lights. It has a fixed sensitivity and time delay of 20 seconds that does retrigger if more movement is detected within that 20 second time.
One of the most interesting features is the classic low control current switching approach of using a thyristor to shunt a rectifier.
2024-12-21 00:15:44 +0000 UTC View Post
A very simple, but stylish arcade crane claw mechanism from AliExpress.
This video also discusses the techniques used by the machines to make sure they don't make a loss if a skilled player wins toys too easily.
It's surprising how much money people will put into an arcade crane to win a toy that they would never actually buy out of a shop. There may be a human instinct in action - where the hunt and the prize are a factor.
I showed this on the weekend stream. It hasn't caught anything in my house yet, but that's good. Because I'm not aware of any bug infestation.
It's debatable whether heat and light are both needed for catching fleas, but reviews do hint at it working.
2024-12-17 19:16:33 +0000 UTC View Post
As usual, there will be a weekend stream on Twitch.
Best viewed on Twitch, and you may have to refresh the page to get the stream to start.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
2024-12-14 18:23:37 +0000 UTC View Post
A different case style for the fake power saving plugs, that really could have looked great with LEDs behind the vertical strips.
If you think this is bad, there is a company selling plug-in remote control sockets (without the transmitter) as whole house energy harmonisers.
2024-12-14 04:52:24 +0000 UTC View Post
This time the bulb has a curved LED filament, which is novel. If I have to be honest, I kinda prefer the straight filament type from an electronic level, as the flexible substrate has different LED circuitry on it.
2024-12-13 01:07:27 +0000 UTC View Post
A faulty time switch that had an unusual issue where the display was showing all 8's and the behaviour was erratic.
The video and description cover the primary suspects for failure.
2024-12-12 18:54:28 +0000 UTC View Post
This module was apparently used for panel illumination in older equipment.
It uses an unusual four-electrode system to strike the tube at low voltage. the system is very similar to the self striking mercury vapour lamps used in street lighting and floodlights.
2024-12-11 05:55:24 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm not sure how the corrosion occurred on this little light. I think liquid has dripped on it at some point. But it's a perfect excuse to modify the light for fun.
2024-12-10 02:35:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Another mass produced technical delight. Someone suggested I look at one of these, but I can't remember who it was.
The device has a very functional construction inside that is reminiscent of a glue gun, which kinda fits, since it does heat the rhinestones to melt the layer of hot melt glue on the back.
I liked this enough that I bought another one. I could see other uses than studding gems on clothing.
2024-12-08 01:40:11 +0000 UTC View Post
From a storm ravaged island in the middle of the Irish sea.
The stream is best viewed on Twitch, and the screen may need refreshed to start the stream.
https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom
2024-12-07 20:10:50 +0000 UTC View Post
It's about a company called Carillion (now thankfully gone) and how they weaponised "safety" to the point I stopped accepting work in the construction industry.
2024-12-02 21:39:21 +0000 UTC View Post
I thoroughly disapprove of the very principle of this device being used to imply kids are being watched remotely by elves - which Wikipedia describes as "supernatural beings".
On a plus note, it might encourage contempt for authority at a young age.
2024-12-02 20:45:09 +0000 UTC View Post
These were very popular here in the early 2000's, until they suddenly got pulled off the shelves due to their tendency to get very hot in use. You could actually smell the hot electrical smell from them when you walked into the shops that sold them.
The internal construction is very DIY looking.
2024-12-02 20:40:18 +0000 UTC View Post