Here’s another domestic CO Alarm, this one a cheaper build than the FireAngel ones usually use, these don’t have a display with the current CO PPM reading, just a couple of LEDs for status & Alarm. This alarm also doesn’t have the 10-year lithium cell for power, taking AA cells
Continue readingFirst Alert CO-FA-9B Carbon Monoxide Alarm Teardown
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
Here’s the solar charge controller to go with the MT50 from the last post. This is the 40A version of the EpEver Tracer A series, the 4210A. This unit is large, and very heavy. Most of this weight comes from the enormous heatsink which doubles as the mounting plate for
Continue readingEpEver Tracer 4210A MPPT Solar Charge Controller Teardown
This is a chip aimed at the automotive market – this is a low power voltage regulator for supplying power to microcontrollers, for instance in a CD player. The TDA3606 is a voltage regulator intended to supply a microprocessor (e.g. in car radio applications). Because of low voltage operation of
Continue readingIC Decap – TDA3606 Multi Regulator With Battery Sense
Here’s an eBay oddity – it’s got the same light & lens mechanism as the cheap “disco light” style bulbs on eBay, but this one is battery powered & has a built in MP3 player. This device simply oozes cheapness. The large 4″ plastic dome lens sits on the top
Continue readingeBay Special – LED Disco Light With Built In MP3 Player
Here’s the other TV that was picked up from the local water point having been put of to be recycled. This one is much newer than the Thorn TV, a 10″ colour version from Ferguson. The colour CRT used is an RCA branded one, 27GDC85X. Like the other TV, this
The other day at the local canal-side waterpoint, this TV was dumped for recycling, along with another later model Colour TV. This is a 1970’s Black & White mains/battery portable made by Thorn. It’s based on a common British Radio Corporation 1590 chassis. Having received a soaking from rain, I
Here’s a useful tool for testing both power supplies & batteries, a dummy load. This unit is rated up to 60W, at voltages from 1v to 25v, current from 200mA to 9.99A. This device requires a 12v DC power source separate from the load itself, to power the logic circuitry.
Here’s another battery charger designed for lithium chemistry cells, the BLU4. This charger doesn’t display much on it’s built in LCD, apart from basic cell voltage & charging current limits, as it has a built in Bluetooth module that will link into an Android or iOS app. Above the charger
Continue readingELuc BLU4 Intelligent Lithium Battery Charger W/Bluetooth
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
Recently my phone decided it was going to die a battery-related death, and having not found much useful information on the Great Google, (all the information I could find, was hinting at many issues from firmware to a faulty motherboard, nobody seems to have actually done any investigation into similar
I recently came across these on eBay, so I thought I’d grab one to see how they function, with all the metrics they display, there’s potential here for them to be very useful indeed. One of the best parts is that no wiring is required between the sensor board &
This camera has now been retired after many years of heavy use. Exposure to a 3-year old has caused severe damage to the lens mechanism, which no longer functions correctly. Pretty much standard interface for a digital camera, with a nice large LCD for it’s time. With the front cover
Continue readingGeneral Electric A735 Digital Camera Teardown
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
With a recent order from a Chinese seller on eBay, this little gadget was included in the package as a freebie: I’ve not smoked for a long time, so I’m not too sure what use I’m going to find for this device, but it’s an electronic lighter! Pushing the slider
This detector has now been retired from service since it’s a fair bit out of date. So here’s the teardown! Unlike older detectors, this unit has a built in battery that never needs replacing during the life of the sensor, so once the unit reaches it’s expiry date it’s just
Continue readingFire Angel CO-9D Carbon Monoxide Detector Teardown
The multimode dimming/flashing modes on Chinese torches have irritated me for a while. If I buy a torch, it’s to illuminate something I’m doing, not to test if people around me have photosensitive epilepsy. Looking at the PCB in the LED module of the torch, a couple of components are
Continue readingMaplin/Refrakta Torch Modification & Mode Removal
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
In my previous post, I mentioned I’d be replacing the factory supplied charging gear with something that actually charges lithium chemistry cells correctly. Here’s the base as supplied, with an indicator LED on the right hand side. This LED indicates nothing other than power being applied to the charging base.
A member of the family recently bought one of these torches from Maplin electronics, and the included chargers for the 18650 lithium-ion cells leave a lot to be desired. Here’s what’s supplied. The torch itself is OK – very bright, and a good size. Me being cynical of overpriced Chinese
I really like the UV-82s, over the UV-5Rs I was originally using, so I’ve bought another pair. Here are the power levels on test. Tests were done with a full battery charge on the 2m/70cm calling frequencies. 00
In my shack, 99% of my gear is all 12v powered, which is good for a few reasons: Single Power Supply – This increases efficiency, as I’m only getting the losses of a single supply. Safety – Mains voltages are dangerous, I’m not fond of working on such equipment. Portability
I often find myself carrying by go bag up to the boat during trips, so I can do some radio. However at 16lbs it’s a pain on public transport. A fixed radio was required! Another Wouxun GK-UV950P was ordered, and the fact that the head unit is detachable from this
The latest addition to my radio shack is the GY561 frequency & power meter, which has already come in useful for measuring the output power of all my radios. It’s a small device, roughly the same size & weight as a stock UV-5R. Power is provided by 3 AAA cells.