Normally it's hard to get excited about a surge protection device, but this one by Meanwell (really big player in professional power supplies) was an absolute treat to explore.
It's very well made and much more rugged than the more common units.
It might actually be worth considering ...
2023-08-24 13:13:05 +0000 UTC View Post
There are a few classic chips from the 70's and 80's that have remained in common use because they were based on building blocks that made them very versatile (like a precursor to modern microcontrollers).
This product contains an IC that dates back to 1983 and seems to have established its...
2023-08-23 04:11:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Although the pandemic created masses of very shady products to "sterilise" everything, it did at least create a huge market for UVC LEDs, and in doing so helped with the development of that technology.
This is one of those products, and is now being dumped on eBay in bulk to move the excess...
2023-08-23 02:41:15 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_7yXLk69Lc
A gift from Vince the crew chief on the current show. It's a Pixmob audience wristband that allows the lighting system to activate colours on the wrists of the audience members.
This version is infrared. I also have a wireless version to explore too.
There's not really much else to say about this. My colleague Vince got this self heating meal a long time ago, and we finally got around to trying it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgyhR1XyI54 2023-08-16 15:00:50 +0000 UTC View Post
This is the cheapest dancing flame candle effect I've seen, and more surprisingly, it was being sold in a standard shop in Glasgow.
The product it is based on is the classic and very expensive Luminara candle that apparently used licenced Disney technology. This generic Chinese one wi...
2023-08-16 14:43:43 +0000 UTC View Post
This unit appears to be in the process of being dumped on eBay UK, possibly from amazon stock that failed to sell or was having reliability issues.
It's a USB powered essential oil atomiser that pulses the oil directly into the air without the usual water mist carrier.
You basically l...
2023-08-14 14:43:02 +0000 UTC View Post
An oddity of this job is that we often have flypasts from military planes.
The first of the twp flypasts on Saturday was the Red Arrows.
The second was two jets, which were deafening.
2023-08-14 02:10:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link to this weeks live stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuHyz5rdNO4
2023-08-13 12:20:44 +0000 UTC View Post
A brief look inside a special effects fan that I was taking a look at.
It was suddenly losing control and going at full speed - which is quite ferocious.
The problem appeared to be originating from a rogue DMX card with slight corrosion on some components.
There's sensible cost cutting and then just going too far.
In this case they may have gone too far and compromised the safety of this bulb by removing electrical separation. I wonder how many of these bulbs blow up at the factory, or after a short amount of use.
This Tetris type of ornament/toy sent in by Ray isn't meant to give electric shocks, but due to the poor choice of power supply it does.
With a defective power supply it could also give a fatal shock due to the exposed nature of the electrical contacts and "gripability" of the live blocks.<...
2023-08-11 14:53:23 +0000 UTC View Post
The risers back in action for the up-tempo Electro-Pipes act of the show. This time with no video floor, but an upper RGB LED trim and RGBW downlighting. They have an RF link to the show control system so they integrate into the show lighting under timecode control.
Much l...
2023-08-09 14:52:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Having bought a bottle of gin, my work colleague discovered that the security cap was still on it.
To get to our gin and tonic we first had to defeat the puzzle of removing the cap. That's quite complex, and attempting to twist it off with force just locks it on tighter.
I ended...
2023-08-09 02:28:54 +0000 UTC View Post
A provisional date and time for the Edinburgh meet up 2023.
3pm onwards on 13th August at The Caley Picture House on Lothian Road.
Note that a political party (libertarians) has also arranged a meet there for the same day, so make sure you join the correct group. It will be the ...
2023-08-08 15:31:35 +0000 UTC View Post
I can't guarantee this stream will go ahead, but if it does it will be one hour later than normal:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noO7WMzAwdc
2023-08-06 13:11:32 +0000 UTC View Post
On one hand, this circuit could have a glaring defect, but on the other hand the microcontroller could theoretically contain an independent simple shunt reference of about 0.6V below the lithium cell's maximum voltage.
I won't release this video until I can prove my thoughts, as it would be...
2023-08-05 13:59:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Scrufdog will be a doing a live stream at the usual weekend time:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxPGd-RnlUQ
I'll hopefully be doing a Sunday stream, but it's very hard to predict times at the moment...
2023-08-04 03:05:28 +0000 UTC View Post
The "preview" show. The first full run of the show with an audience and the press.
This is the full cast epic song moment that represents the "Stories" theme.
Note that the white spark-fountains up in amongst the traditional fireworks are titanium spark fountains that blow a str...
2023-08-04 02:20:10 +0000 UTC View Post
The way the solar panels are potted on this main PCB inside the globe is what makes this quite an interesting light.
It's not perfect though, with a very odd colour selection method.
2023-08-04 02:14:07 +0000 UTC View Post
This circuit is out of a clock with a simple manual start magnetically driven pendulum.
The same circuitry can be used for many different kinetic ornaments that can potentially run for a very long time on a single battery, or almost forever with a solar charge circuit.
The unglamorous world of highland dancing rehearsals. Once the lighting and loud thumping music is added the audience will love it.
This is just one section of the show amongst the international acts. (Although many of the dancers may be from other countries too.)
I'll be working tomorrow on standby during the show rehearsals, so I don't think I'm going to be able to do a live stream this week.
2023-07-30 02:34:48 +0000 UTC View Post
We've finished the risers today. They had video floors in them last year, but just two independent sections of RGB lighting in them this year. One will have an illuminated transparent drum kit on it, but I'm not sure if it's going to be just a single RGB channel or if each drum will b...
2023-07-29 00:36:30 +0000 UTC View Post
This is the circuitry of a "vintage" solar flappy leaf ornament before they started using the dedicated blob chips.
That makes it much more interesting, and allows the circuitry to be repurposed for other magnetic pendulum experiments.
This video was filmed between two less than ideal...
2023-07-28 14:56:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Despite extensive waterproofing of connectors we generally have one or two issues when heavy rain occurs. It's actually good to have issues during technical setup, as it's better to solve them in advance before the shows start.
I thought it was Vince the crew chief that had done this, but it was apparently Ed and Tim who did something very weird to one of our control cabins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2UNHdV5kvI
2023-07-28 01:57:40 +0000 UTC View PostThe rare and elusive datasheet for the amazing little chips used in disposable (and rechargeable) vapes.
Quite a specification. Particularly the low 0.1 ohm on state resistance of the MOSFET and the handy 120mA lithium charger with sub 2.7V trickle recovery mode.
I completely forgot about this video, which I recorded just before travelling.
I've not got an optimal recording area set up yet due to the quirky nature of the furniture in my room. The camera may end up a bit further away from the temporary bench than usual.