Nice machining - crap electronics.

It looks like a phaser from the star-trek TOS pilot. Shorting the spring to the centre contact activates the self-destruct mode

Gordo

I don't claim as much as I probably should.

Big Clive

Clive. Don't forget to claim Tax Back against work related tools. I wonder if your 'whoosher' would qualify?

Andrew Donaldson

I originally intended to stick the other one on the back in the correct orientation, but forgot I had flipped it, so it was the wrong way round.

Big Clive

I love the way you've cut carefully round the PCB shape (including notches!) to make the prints the actual shape of the boards! Kudos to you, Clive!

Stephen Eyles

Yeah, it's one of the most complex system imaginable, geared up entirely to allowing the minority to avoid paying tax at all.

Big Clive

Remember the HMRC 'tax doesn't have to be taxing' adverts? It's a shame that they do their best to make it very taxing indeed!

Mark Gray

When I first moved to the Isle of Man I had to do two tax returns. One for the Isle of Man and one for the UK, and then try and claim back double taxation. The UK tax authorities were pretty unhelpful in that regard and only recently (hopefully) seem to have decided I don't need to do a tax return there any more.

Big Clive

I do have an accountant and had considered the accounting apps, but PayPal skews that considerably by operating in 12 different currencies and lots of small transactions with charges applied to each one. I like to provide my accountant with the figures all more or less sorted and then let them make the formal decisions.

Big Clive

The lull isn't a problem if I get hungry for some tech teardowns i have a thousand or so Big Clive videos to fall back on. Also the weekly streams more than make up for any quiet spell. Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say and I appreciate any time you can spare to record and edit content for our consumption. We wouldn't want the government to go without their cut of your hard earned finances, how else are they suppose to Fund gold leaf toilet rolls and velvet wallpaper ?

My son lost the charger to his but doesn't use it anyway. Thanks for 'heads up' on safe voltages.

Andrew Donaldson

You think that you got tax issues? Try being a US expat living in the Netherlands. I have to do two tax returns, plus a financial statement for them while King Don the Insane can hide his assets, and we can't look at his taxes! I'll stop ranting now. Maybe I'll start a vlog about it.

Rocco Rizzo

I wonder if it was designed by a factory that specialises in metalwork/castings but are new to electronics?

Wim

That is an odd combination of mechanical and electrical designs. Almost like it was an experiment using two teams that weren't allowed to communicate with each other.

Michael Thompson

Looks like German engineering apart from the disappointing no resistor circuit, poor electronic design.

Although I don't have much spare cash I use an Accountant, so all I do is give him the figures which gets easier now with Banking Apps where you can snap and store receipts etc. Accountant was recommended to me by a friend a long time ago and is defo worth his weight as gives other business / money advice too. If you can find a decent accountant I would do that.

Robert

When you came back from taking it apart you had quite a pile of parts there. I'm guessing it doesn't come with batteries. As long as all three LED's are working there is a chance. As soon as one goes out the others will follow in rapid succession.

One of the biggest issues is the heatsinking of the LEDs. You'd have to reduce the current down to a level where they didn't need a heatsink.

Big Clive

The general construction looks good. Couldn't you add your own resistors to protect the LEDs? Seems a shame to just discard it if it's a simple solution to fix it.

Neil Tonks