I thought it was time to add a bit of security to the gear I take camping, so this GPS tracker unit was sourced from eBay. This is a Rewire Security 103RS, a slightly customised version of the common Chinese TK103 GPS tracker. The small module has all it’s power
Time for another eBay special: this time it’s an 8-port video distribution amplifier, with BNC connections designed for commercial/industrial equipment. Not much on the front panel above, apart from the power switch & LED. The rear panel has all the connectors, input is on the left, while the outputs are
These large LED Philips PAR38 lamps were recently on clearance sale in my local T.N. Robinsons electrical contractors for about £3, so I decided to grab one in the hopes I might be able to hack it into a low-voltage LED lamp. These are full-size PAR38 format, with most of
I wrote a few weeks ago about replacing the hot water circulating pump on the boat with a new one, and mentioned that we’d been through several pumps over the years. After every replacement, autopsy of the pump has revealed the failure mode: the first pump failed due to old
Continue readingnb Tanya Louise Heating System – Oxide Sludge
I recently decided to restock my toolkit, as there are plenty of jobs I need to sort that require the use of crimp terminals, so eBay again came to the rescue. In my experience, cheap tools of any flavour are usually universally shite – I’ve had drill bits made out
Here’s a modern LED bulb, that unfortunately decided to disassemble itself within a few minutes of being installed in a light fitting! The base plastic snapped off the main aluminium body at the screw posts! The PCB in the base holds nothing but the input components. Above is the bridge
I’m no fan of power inverters. In my experience they’re horrifically inefficient, have power appetites that make engine starter motors look like electric toothbrushes & reduce the life expectancy of lead-acid batteries to no more than a few days. However I have decided to do a little analysis on a
I’ve been a vaper now for many years, after giving up the evil weed that is tobacco. Here’s my latest acquisition in the vaping world, the JoyeTech eVIC 60W. This one is branded by Totally Wicked as the Forza VT60. Powered by a single 18650 Li-Ion cell, this one is
Continue readingTotally Wicked Forza / JoyeTech eVIC 60W Teardown
Following on from the teardown & analysis of the charger, here’s the torch itself under the spotlight. Here’s the torch itself, it’s a sturdy device, made of aluminium. Power is provided by a single 18650 Li-Ion cell. Here’s the charging port on the torch, there’s no electronics in here for
This is basically an industrial, rugged MP3 player, in an extruded aluminium case. They are used in commercial settings for generating telephone hold music or continual playback of background music in shops. It’s quite a compact unit, in a nice aluminium case, designed for mounting into a comms setup. This
Here is a followup from the 1.5W laser module post. The module has been fitted into a housing, with a 2.2Ah Li-Poly battery pack. Charging is accomplished with an external 12.6v DC power supply. Above can be seen the pair of switches on the top, the keyswitch must be enabled
Here are a few details of a valve amplifier I am building, using the valve related parts from a 1960’s reel to reel tape recorder. This amplifier is based on an a Mullard ECL82 triode/pentode valve, with an EM84 magic eye tube for level indication. Here the first components are
Continue readingDIY Valve Amplifier – Part 1 – Amplifier Section
This is the control unit for a Routemaster system, that downloads traffic information for the area local to the vehicle. Here is an overview of the unit, in it’s aluminium box. Here is the unit with the top cover removed, showing the pair of PCBs.
Here I will document progress in replacing standard halogen MR10 lights with LEDs. These units are from TruOpto, available through Rapid Electronics in the UK. They are 3W total, from 3x 1W emitters on an aluminium back plate. Here is the LED attached to a heatsink for testing purposes –
This is a small 120W power inverter, intended for small loads such as lights, fans, small TVs & laptop computers. End cover of the unit, 12v DC input cord at the top, power switch & indicator LEDs at the bottom. Opposite end of the unit, with the standard 240v AC
An early speed radar detector from the early 90’s. Pictures showing the front of the unit with the option buttons. Bottom of the unit showing label. Unlike the newer plastic detectors, the whole casing of this unit is cast aluminium. Model Uniden Stalker RD-6000W. PCB removed from the casing. Volume/power