This very rough image shows the failed lens of a very old blue 1W LED (over 70,000 hours).
The lens has gone brown on the surface in a distinct central dot and outer ring that suggests they were the main optical peak for the blue light.
2022-11-03 04:57:54 +0000 UTC View Post
I didn't realise how old this lamp was until I made this video and discovered that this lamp has been running 24/7 for over 8 years!
The only failure was degradation of the blue LED, with a slight reduction in intensity, but more importantly, a discolouration of its lens that affected it's ...
2022-11-03 04:54:28 +0000 UTC View Post
It's debatable whether buying a cheap module from eBay that works at 110-240V and has a bare wire that you actually touch is a good idea.
This one isn't too bad if you trust a non class Y capacitor between you and a bad time.
The circuitry is OK and has a degree of hackability for pla...
2022-11-02 05:05:20 +0000 UTC View Post
I thought I'd have a go at designing and 3D printing a refillable coffee pod for my coffee maker. It turns out that PLA wasn't the best choice of plastic for the prototype. I'll have to check out the higher temperature plastic options.
Quite a handy little module, but they could have done with omitting most of the 31 different modes. I can't immediately think of an application for a pink SOS signal.
When used with it's short pulse duration modes it should achieve decent run time from its tiny 35mAh lithium cell, whi...
2022-10-31 03:11:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyObZAEk0jA
2022-10-28 23:48:43 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm slotting in an extra live stream on the main channel (so a flood of unsubscribers when they see my face then).
I'm expecting the chat to be quite busy in this one, so I may end up snatching random chat comments out of a scrolling blur.
Link to a quiet Patreon stream.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVnz98-bx3M
2022-10-27 19:29:27 +0000 UTC View Post
This is not really what I was expecting. The eBay listing images hinted at some interesting alternative to the usual PTC heating module found in these heaters.
But this unit makes me wonder which version came first? Was it this odd retro design or was it just trying to keep up w...
2022-10-27 04:26:35 +0000 UTC View Post
It's a while since I've looked at this type of light, and unfortunately in this era of political and corporate utility mismanagement it has become important to have a backup source of light that will spring into action during a power outage.
I've been doing a long term test on earlier versi...
2022-10-26 01:59:47 +0000 UTC View Post
More importantly, is it worth actually fixing one of these very cheaply made appliances? The answer is yes. If you can fix something safely then it reduces landfill and can make a huge difference to those living on a budget, or where getting a new one locally is difficult. ...
2022-10-24 03:01:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ck4S0tB2RI
2022-10-22 19:19:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Those of you who watched that bit of the Patreon live stream will know that I was demonstrating this whoofle igniter by swiping it back and forth in the air to disturb the arc, when suddenly it stopped working.
The good news is that I fixed it. The LED staying on was a weird and compl...
2022-10-22 04:42:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Yes I know. It's shallow and guaranteed to please those with a short attention span.
But sometimes one must abuse the system for amusement.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/H9NhgOL55cQ
2022-10-21 20:43:13 +0000 UTC View Post
I've never really explored cell balancing much before, so I got a simple two cell module to reverse engineer and see how it works.
It's clear that this module needs to be used with a charger that has suitable current limiting and an output voltage that matches the two cell voltage of aroun...
I've lost track of whether this is one of the second Thursday streams or if it's a bonus extra one.
That said, there often is an extra one anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGeKs0HA65s...
2022-10-20 19:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Although this unit claims to be "the original", it is very similar to an American made unit called a Peet boot dryer.
It's worth mentioning that Peet don't seem to make these for other voltages than 110/120V.
The construction is inspirationally simple, and relies on hot air convection...
2022-10-19 00:13:27 +0000 UTC View Post
It's rare that I get so enthusiastic about a light, but when your favourite daily use LED light gets an upgrade, it's hard to be disappointed.
In this awkward era of possible power outages, this is the light you want for comfort and functionality. Best of all, it's widely available, a...
2022-10-18 03:00:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Todd suggested I take a look at the much hyped Night Buddy style light. But instead of buying the official marketed one for £30 I got a £10 one from eBay.
I'm wondering if they've just selected a common product and marketed it as if it's an original design. The official one ma...
2022-10-17 06:07:48 +0000 UTC View Post
The Internet is littered with scams like these. Often originating in the past when people didn't have the Internet to check their validity.
They were usually advertised in magazines or newspapers who were also apparently unscrupulous in the adverts they allowed.
They may also ha...
2022-10-15 03:31:38 +0000 UTC View Post
I made a new video about this fake fuel saver plug, but then decided to blow it up in a short video by swapping the polarity of the capacitor and drilling some extra vent holes for the boom to come out of.
The case actually contained the blast quite well.
Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKTwanp2fYc
2022-10-14 01:56:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3SWDWOWuZY
2022-10-13 20:14:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the link to the quiet Patreon live stream:-
The choice of thumbnail is entirely random. I was looking for something more Autumnal due to that season being upon us, but liked this one.
I appear to be making a video almost every day at the moment. I'll have to tame things down to avoid having a huge delay between videos being made and released on YouTube at the usual schedule of one every two days.
This was a pretty cool unit. Very sparky and poppy, but with ve...
2022-10-13 04:27:32 +0000 UTC View PostJust a reminder that my most recent video about the Parkside soldering iron hack is jumping the queue and being released in a moment due to being topical with the recently released reverse engineering of the same item.
So if you've not seen it yet, my apologies for the adverts that will ap...
I've not seen this officially documented, but there's a way to set a new bit temperature for these soldering irons that is done entirely from the single button on the unit.
After I made the video showing the hardware hack a few people sent me a copy of the same text, showing the button cali...
2022-10-11 23:43:07 +0000 UTC View Post
This "ozone generator" is a nozone generator. But weirdly the case has clearly been designed with mountings for classic ozone modules, complete with ventilation.
But what's in it is absolutely not an ozone generator.
Fairy lights aren't just for Christmas, they're an all year round thing.
This is a set bought locally, that uses a fairly standard looking USB controller. It won't put much strain on a USB power supply at just 350mA, and has a slightly annoying timer function and no memory!
Here's the link to the weekend stream:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWZGryaA-84
Hopefully YouTube is just glitching, as it currently shows my live channel as completely demonetised. &nbs...
2022-10-08 06:11:02 +0000 UTC View Post