hybridfree/eevblog-posts huggingface dataset:
GDS-1102A-U Vs DS1102E - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: CM800
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 11:43:55 pm
content: Okey, Hello folks and folkettesIve got a question, im planning on buying a oscilliscope,originally i was going to go for a 4 channel but they are a tad too expencive for me.so currently im debating between:ID: DS1102EPrice: £360.00 + ShippingSpecs:http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds1000e/ds1102e/Buying at:http://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/ds1000e-series-digital-oscilloscope/ID: GDS-1102A-USpecs:http://www.gwinstek.com/en/product/productdetail.aspx?pid=3&mid=7&id=129Price: £291.06Buying at:http://dx.com/p/gwinstek-gds-1102a-u-5-7-tft-lcd-100mhz-25gsa-s-2-channel-digital-storage-oscilloscope-grey-191967?tc=GBP&utm_source=GoogleshoppingUK&utm_medium=CPC&utm_content=191967&utm_campaign=429&gclid=CMi6udPn87cCFeTLtAodciwAYAAlso open to other reccomendationsHuge Thanks-Thomas W

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 11:52:42 pm
content: I would buy theGW Instek, because it has knob for each channel. But yes, it's firmware is not much feature-rich.Read user manuals of both scopes and find out, what you prefer.

author: CM800
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 12:11:06 am
content: Thanks for the reply, il wait for a few more opinions, but right now i think i will end up with the GWInstek, i know Dave uses a one of their 'Scopes

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 08:13:50 am
content: Have a look over in the test equipment section of the forum. There's many many threads discussing low end scopes going at the moment. There's a lot more options than just these two in that price range.BTW that price for the rigol is about %50 higher than what the current price in Oz is through a bricks and mortar store. You shouldn't be paying much more than what's on the rigol website you linked to ($399USD)QuoteIf you've watched a few of his videos, you'd see he uses several manufactures scopes (I guess not to be biased.)

author: CM800
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 09:19:17 am
content: That was the rigol uk site, the price was without tax..... oh well, il probibly go with the GWInstek

author: CM800
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 04:00:53 pm
content: well, i brought the scope from deals extreame (the GWinstek one) i just hope its legit... for £300....
How Tablet PCBs are born in China (Video). - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rasz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 05:55:04 am
content: Pretty interesting clip showing how fast China is moving.Company exists for 7 months. 1,5 months from prototype to shipped product (Android Tablets).Interviewer is little weird, sometimes rude, interrupts a lot, pretty much mister derp, but content compensates his idiocyInterestingly they use Mentor Graphics instead of Altium.ps: There are few other Shenzhen factory tours on this YT channel.

author: nuhamind2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 07:56:39 am
content: I read somewhere that in China the IC design house not only provide the chip but also the reference product.So It is Rockchip that do all the hardwork.Oh, it here :http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2012-March/002881.html
Casio CT-638 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 05:41:28 am
content: OK, so I just got hold of a Casio CT-638 for $10. I have no intention of it surviving in its current form.But I find its architecture interesting (I'll post pictures at some point).Take that Yamaha teardown Dave did and simplify the heck out of it. Basically, it is one single sided board, most of which is taken up by the amplifier. There is a NEC CDT-109 CPU (the only surface mounted part), and a 4M mask ROM (this really surprises me, I was expecting a little more integration/security) connected directly to the CPU. My guess is that the mask ROM contains some small program memory and the rest being wavetables for the "tone bank". There are a couple of other random chips but nothing interesting. Dead simple. Everything is directly soldered on just like in the Yamaha.I can't find datasheets on the CDT-109 anywhere, is anyone familiar with this chip?So my thought is that I'm going to rip that board out and replace it with something based on an ATMega... add USB/midi and a few other things... maybe even dump out the wavetable and keep the original wavetable as an option but add more besides. I dunno, the sky's the limit. Since this is pretty much a throwaway device, who knows.I think my biggest challenge now is going to be limiting my projects... there's just too many good ideas!
Particle Counter Teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 04:13:22 am
content: Today's trip to the surplus store yielded an interesting piece of equipment. This is a High Yield PM-150 particle counter. You won't see many of these! And this is built like a friggin' tank.We start out with the views from the front and back. There are slots for four detecting heads. The safety interlock has a shorting plug on it, which is in series with a keyswitch. I'm not entirely sure what is so dangerous about this piece of equipment that it needs all that safety. The front power switch is really beefy, and the thing is built to last. Taking the rear cover off, we expose three boards and a power supply. The bottom two boards are acquisition boards, though there is circuitry on the bottom board for the keyswitch. The top board is the actual computer board.The power supply is just two commercial power supplies and a DC-DC converter.Everything pops out until you get to the front panel, at which point you have to dig in and unscrew four screws throughout the entire, very hefty, case. I didn't bother pulling off the front panel board, because it obviously was just an LCD and a few contact switches.There is a lithium battery and a very well built alarm on the computer board. The battery was bulging a bit, but it's probably over 20 years old and long gone, so I didn't think much about it.There is absolutely no surface mount on this device, in fact, it reeks of late 80s, and still, its construction impressed me so much that I put it back together, made sure it's working, and put it on ebay.On another note, old laptop docking stations (the kind with the monitor platform designed for CRT monitors) make an excellent oscilloscope/test equipment stand. I picked up two.Next teardown will likely be a casio keyboard I'm going to rip the guts out of and replace with something much more powerful.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 21, 2013, 04:15:21 am
content: the rest of the story...
Velleman Surprise! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: itdontgo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 02:44:50 pm
content: Apologies if there has been a post about this already but I didn't see this coming!http://www.maplin.co.uk/3d-printer-velleman-k8200-783902

author: Rascal
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 04:25:13 pm
content: This looks interestingWhat is the cost of the plastic filament cartridges (cant find them)?Paul

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 06:14:57 pm
content: Link to the Velleman site:http://www.velleman.eu/products/view/?id=412554Its interesting they choose to move the object instead of the extruder head. But as usual with Velleman products its probably just a toy.

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 06:51:45 pm
content: Nominal mechanical resolution:• X and Y: 0.015 mm (smallest step the printing plate can move in the X and Y direction)• Z:0.781 µm(smallest step the printing plate can move in the Z direction)Slip up with the decimal point here methinks
R.S transformer Kits - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kevin.D
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2013, 05:10:43 pm
content: Can anyone remember the wind your own split bobbin mains transformer kits R.S used to sell (207-734 data/instruction sheet posted below which used to be incuded with the kits . ) .They did 3 sizes 50VA,100VA,250VA and I think they might have done a 500VA. I used a few of them in the 90's for my own projects and restoring old radio grams with a burned out multi tapped transformer .They used to be really usefull for that kinda thing , when you have zero chance of finding a replacement tranny you could just wind your own with one of these kits. They stopped selling them years ago due to lack of sales probably but I always kept a few in my parts bin incase needed .Now I used my spares up and so could do with finding a source for these kit's ,anyone know who may still sell them.

author: Andy Watson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2013, 06:38:30 pm
content: I do have vague memories of the RS kits but I've not seen them in their catalogue for many, many years. The last kit I purchased was from Maplin Electronics, but again, they are no longer listed in their catalogue. The Maplin part was a small 20VA device - YJ61, and it was apparently manufactured by Danbury Electronics, who are still in business:http://www.danburyelectronics.co.uk/I've no idea whether Danbury will deal with individuals. It looks as if they supply kits to the audiophile market.

author: InterestedTom
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2013, 04:40:01 pm
content: I think farnell sell transformer parts, don't know whether they sell kits though...

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 04:20:41 am
content: I've done the same thing many times, but I've never seen a kit for sale (I guess I'm too young). All I do is grab a reasonably priced torroid of the right VA rating I need, then remove the outer shrink plastic wrapper, then modify the secondaries to whatever I need. No need to disturb any of the insulation between the primary and secondary.Obviously it needs to be the type that just has a shrink wrap outer, and not enclosed in a PCB mount molded plastic case.

author: anotherlin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2013, 08:23:02 am
content: Quote from: Andy Watson on June 14, 2013, 06:38:30 pmI've purchased a guitar amp kit fromhttp://www.ampmaker.comand the transformers (both main and tube output) are Danbury's.They seem pretty well made.
Looking for a energy metter with wirless/sd card  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: sean87
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2013, 02:42:18 pm
content: Hi all,I am looking for a energy metter that can record data and transfer it to PCD either with wireless or sd card. I want to have power consumption and the current measurements also so I can have nice graph at the end.I failed to find what I needall I get just something with a LCD that users should manually look at it!Can you please give me some options?P.S. It should be for europe
Gas analyser(s) teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 09:46:56 am
content: Photomultipliers, UV sources, and lots of plumbing!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 10:31:51 am
content: Going to sell any parts? I would like the 10 turn pots and the dials.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 04:39:47 pm
content: 2 Analysers on ebay for anyone local...www.ebay.co.uk/sch/mikeselectricstuff/m.html

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 04:43:00 pm
content: Pity, I would have loved the 10 turn dials ands pots, and whatever else small like the light sensors, but shipping that boat anchor to ZA will be a killer.

author: don.r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 11:00:24 pm
content: Always love your teardowns Mike. You choose the most interesting bits of gear. Lots of useful parts in those units too but the vacuum pump was a bit of a disappointment (in vacuum pressure).

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2013, 12:14:37 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 17, 2013, 09:46:56 amNice teardown. Kinda funny, at work I just toredown a UV absorbance detector and an old fraction collector. Never thought to film it.The UV detector had some 2n2222a (3z), OPA111 (2x), LM301AH (2x), LM308AH (2x) and an LM394H all in metal cans, a spectrol 20K 10 turn pot, a wide variety of film and disc caps etc.While the fraction collector has a variety of EEPROMs (useless for me), an ST ZeroPower battery ram (like the dallas one that fails all the time), oddly enough a 0.33F supercap, an LCD panel, some beefy input filtering and two very nice japanese made stepper motors.
antique electronics? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 09:06:56 pm
content: If you are trying to sell an antique is it wise to clean the case (I.E> if it has yellowed). Will the value depreciate or increase?

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 09:13:24 pm
content: Most knowledgeable antique buyers would rather get an object in original aged condition than have it "cleaned" in an incorrect manner. Leave it alone, or talk to an expertconservator-restorer.Some people just buy an antique because they "like the look", and they might be happier with a cleaning that would horrify any museum curator, but I still can't recommend that.

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 09:54:22 pm
content: I guess that makes sense. With the amount of money people pay for stuff I figure the time it would take me to scrub something with borax or orange soap is not significant.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2013, 10:39:43 pm
content: Yep, here in italy, remove dust, clean the glass and nothing more.Never touch wood or metal or plastic, the risk is alwais hight and there are no benefits usually
Mosquito Magnet - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mpswin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 12, 2013, 09:27:46 pm
content: I wonder if Dave could do a tear down on one of these. They are quite secretive about schematics and block diagrams. It is a very unique system using propane burner and thermo electric power generation. Love to have a schematic, but not sure if I can reverse engineer one.Mike

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2013, 09:31:27 pm
content: Mosquitoes are attracted to C02 and infra red, same as animals and humans emit. The propane burner will produce the CO2, haven't seen the device so can't speculate further.

author: mpswin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 12, 2013, 09:42:59 pm
content: You can Google Mosquito Magnet to get a general idea of design and function. This is a sophisticated system designed and patented by American Biophysics in the 1990's. The company has since gone out of business; it has licensed the patents to another company. These devices work great, but are finicky and hard to maintain. I asked for the schematic from a licensed servicer, but they were sworn to secrecy in order to receive the schematic from current licensee.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 11:18:42 am
content: The good thing about patents is that they're in the public domain; and by extension,any schematics in them...http://www.google.com/patents/US6145243http://www.google.com/patents/US6286249In general it's very hard to find schematics of consumer equipment these days; they are kept confidential most of the time.Edit: I just realised the schematic in that patent above has part numbers too!

author: mpswin
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 13, 2013, 11:45:25 am
content: Thanks, that will be a great help. Later models may have some modifications, but they should be minor. Thanks again.
QSI Qterm R55 teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2013, 05:56:24 am
content: This is an interesting little gadget I picked up at surplus. I wasn't really expecting it to be as useful as it is, I just saw a bunch of buttons and a display and thought "ooo pretty". But once I took it home and looked into it, I discovered that it's actually programmable via a version of QBASIC, and it can do pretty much anything you want it to. It has a display backlight, key backlights, all of the keys, etc., are *fully* programmable, and it has two serial interfaces.We start out with it being put together and powered up. As I flip it over, you can see that there's a bunch of useful info on the back, such as pinouts. As I open it up, you can see that there's a DIP switch on the power/IO board (I haven't figured out what it does, but I think it's related to the e-stop button functionality you can find on the screw terminals). As I take that off... it's directly soldered to the display, but underneath is quite interesting. You'll notice that the key backlight is actually powered by one LED and a bunch of fiber optics (I've never seen that before). There's a controller, some memory, and two custom chip boards that I've never seen before.The firmware is entirely upgradable (and available on their website still), and I'm trying to decide whether it would be worthwhile to reverse engineer it to figure out how the thing is architected. I'm leaning towards no, but also towards "put it on my list of things to do when I get a round tuit). Either way, it's still pretty useful.Oh, and the last pic is just an aside, I've decided all of my test equipment gets googly eyes.Anyone interested in a teardown of the Tek TDS 340A? It's my primary scope so I won't take it too far apart, but I'll be glad to show you the guts, anyway.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2013, 10:33:50 am
content: That is an interesting way of backlighting... perhaps individual LEDs were too expensive or maybe it was an afterthought.It doesn't look too difficult to RE, the main CPU is a Hitachi (now Renesas) H8 with docs available, the other two chips are a DRAM and what looks like NAND/NOR flash.
Sony universal remote teardown and some other interesting stuff. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 10, 2013, 05:35:12 am
content: Since my camera's on the fritz, I can't do a video blog, but I can do some pictures.The first set of pictures is a sony integrated remote commander. It's a programmable remote with a touchscreen (but no custom messages, etc., it's all hardcoded into the lcd). As I take the cover off, you can see the microcontroller, the transformer on the upper left, and the backlight connector on the upper left. Touchscreen connector is on the top. Some closeups show a SPI (I think) interface, as well as several programming pads on the upper right, which I find to be interesting. Turning it over, you see nothing surprising.Second set of images is an old anco wiper blade catalog I picked up at surplus. Turning it over, you'll see an atmel atmega64 at the lower right, a broken SD card socket in the middle (which I have to fix) and the power supply at left. So, this is basically a ready made control panel, if I can get it working. It has ISP, tiny_ISP, and jtag headers across the top, or at least holes for them.Third set is a control panel I picked up for a buck, it has lots of switches and LEDs, all connected to an atmega64 mcu, which works. pretty sure the header at lower left is an ISP header, so I'm going to have a bit of fun with that too. Not bad for $1. They have a few more there too if anyone wants one, though some may need repair (the headers may be wonky).Anyway, just thought I'd share.

author: ben_r_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2013, 05:01:35 pm
content: Man I remember when that Sony remote came out. It was cool stuff. Think it was like $299 or so. Now look at it...

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 10, 2013, 05:36:09 pm
content: Yeah it's kinda dated, isn't it? But I do like the fact that it has serial pads, it could make things a bit interesting.
GQ-5200 rework station review - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 05, 2013, 11:01:10 pm
content: So I purchased the GQ-5200 rework station full pack. This includes a soldering iron and hot air gun, ten tips, four nozzles, tweezers and chip popper, spare elements, and a few other things.I like it. It's pretty solid, it works well. The heater is in the gun but the fan is in the station, so it's got a long tube running to the gun, but other than that, it's comfortable to hold and I was able to denude an entire smd board, including quad packs and PLCCs, in less than an hour. And when you turn it off, it keeps the fan running long enough to cool down the nozzle before shutting off.The only downside is that there's a constant 60hz hum coming from it while it's running, and it requires a little bit of assembly. Plus, its footprint is a little large.To quote Dave: I like it! Beauty! Two thumbs up!Caveat emptor though: It offers as a selling point that it's a USA branded item and ships from Seattle. It is indeed a USA branded item. But it comes from Japan. The word "branded" is kind of important, there.I'll do a video blog on it soon.

author: chibiace
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2013, 08:59:20 am
content: How about a teardown?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 06, 2013, 02:57:41 pm
content: I might, yet. I have a lack of confidence in tearing things down that I want to keep, but I'll give it a shot at some point.

author: staxquad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2013, 08:37:41 pm
content: Quote from: duskglow on June 06, 2013, 02:57:41 pma Philips screwdriver is all it needs.unscrew 4 screws on the left side, 4 screws on the right side, lift the top, peak insideabsolutely no danger in damaging anything, nothing's connected to the top, make sure it's unplugged, then take some pictures.it will look something like this, but yours has a different boardI listed the fixes my Kada required here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/kada-952d-soldering-station-fixes/msg220837/#msg220837Still need to replace the 100kohm linear pot with a 50kohm linear pot for the air control since air only starts after it's past 5. I assume since the pump is running on 120VAC, not some DC from the board, that they forgot to change the pot they were using in 240VAC. Still need to replace the stiff soldering iron cord, still need to either fix or replace the soldering iron holder.

author: millerb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2013, 09:13:16 pm
content: How does that saying go?If it ain't broke...

author: staxquad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2013, 09:50:57 pm
content: Quote from: millerb on June 06, 2013, 09:13:16 pmdoes that apply to low end Chinese air stations? guilty till proven innocentit humming 60hzI'd be curious on how the transformer was mounted and would be happy if a simple fix would quieten the thingI'd also ask the knowledgeable if the thing was wired safely.
Tenma SMT Pre-Heater / Hotplate - is it worth it ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bob_60
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2013, 10:50:02 am
content: Hi, I have seen this Tenma SMT Preheater at Farnell.http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/21-10135-uk/pre-heater-540w-350c-uk/dp/2064552It's obvious that it only handles relative small pcbs but has anyone any had any experience with this type of equipment./Bo

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 07:22:04 pm
content: The only time Ive needed a board preheater in my professional experience was doing an RF PCB with a tiny QFN 3x3mm on a board with heavy ground pour and heavy ground stitching. Everything else has been handled by plain hot-air fine. If you intend on doing a lot of hot-air work, then it speeds it up a lot, but its not needed unless you have a bastard ground plane soaking up all your heat.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 05, 2013, 09:23:30 pm
content: I usually use preheater if I solder some mobile phone boards or other multilayer boards. Just make things much easier and less stress on components is made. Some parts are very difficult to reflow with lead free solder without preheater.
Patient monitor teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 01:01:09 am
content: Inside some medical kit :

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 06:08:27 am
content: I picked up 2 boards from a Nihon Kohden monitor a week or two ago at the scrap yard. What drew me to these 2 boards in the pile of ewaste in the scrap yard was the big Burr Brown ADC574AJH converter on the one board, and I wanted to see more about it. Has a 68HC000-16 processor on it. Other is the CPU with 256k of batery backed RAM on it. Dates from 1991.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 08:22:17 am
content: It took me almost 20 seconds before I realised it wasn't Mike doing it...
Compression F connector - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jeroent
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 06:53:55 am
content: I am wondering how the shield of the cable makes good contact with the shield of a compression F connector. With most compression connectors a piece of plastic is pressed into the connector to keep the cable secured, but I can't figure out how the actual contact is made.

author: Nermash
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 07:57:49 am
content: Inside the connector there is a metal tube that wedges itself between jacket and shield when you push the cable in.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2013, 08:26:20 am
content: Picture which shows this clearly.
Quick tools - China - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2013, 12:14:15 pm
content: I was again browsing the worlds greatest factory outlet and I found an interesting company...http://www.quick-global.com/1-lead-free-soldering-2.htmlhttp://www.quickchina.com.cn/products.asp?ClassID=80Check out the QUICK303ESD soldering station, up to 64 units can be networked and remotely programmable. The second link has better pictorials but in Chinese.Their products are quite interesting, some items are just copies, such as the Hakko look a like fume extractors.

author: arekm
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2013, 02:03:54 pm
content: Here in Poland Quick 202D (induction heater; but not curie type) and Quick 861DS (hot air) are quite popular.Also search forum - quick was mentioned several times.
quick-shot thermite soldering iron - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tyler
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2013, 12:22:34 pm
content: hellomy dad just gave me a quick-shot soldering iron. it has never been used and still in box with instructions with 8 boxes of cartridges. if i were to sell, what would it be worth? is it a rare piece?thanks tyler

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2013, 01:01:28 pm
content: Blimey I haven't seen one of those for years.I found one in my office stores In Darwin 1991. The Australian engineer told me that we used it for soldering the thick copper earth straps for our HF antenna masts. I was alowed to fire one up to see how well it worked... impressive power output !I don't think these ancient devices are that rare, but I do know that you would have to declare the thermite based cartridges as hazardous cargo if posted anywhere. I am not even sure you would be able to ship them as they are old and potentially unsafe in the eyes of the carrier . The cost of shipping such would likely outweigh any residual value. A fun object but not a rarity. You could do as I did and activate each cartridge so that it is no longer 'live' .The collector of such would then have the iron and the 'made safe' cartridges. Inert cartridges would not need to be declared. I personally wouldn't collect something that was 'live' and capable of burning down my house anywayFraser

author: tyler
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2013, 01:23:28 pm
content: thanks for the info, girlfriend just made me take them outside to the garage. tyler

author: ilikepez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2013, 11:38:58 pm
content: Anyone got a picture of one of these things? Maybe a video of one in use? Sounds fun.

author: tyler
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 23, 2013, 04:05:06 pm
content: here are some pics

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2013, 12:55:48 pm
content: I'd love to have a box of cartridges to go along with my quick-shot for my collection but they would never make it through customs to the US.Mind if I use a photo of the box and the cartridge?

author: classic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 01, 2013, 08:37:22 am
content: Hi!Do you still have the Quik-Shot Soldering Iron and the cartridges?I have an iron but i am lack of cartridges.Please reply location, price and terms.Banc
Fluke 28ii problem - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: crizh
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 26, 2013, 04:58:42 pm
content: Hii what is the problem regarding fluke 28ii that when you use the contuinity with backlight is showing battery indication even you replace new battery and automatically off.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2013, 09:22:32 pm
content: Already discussed here. Seehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-28-ii-battery-life/
Giandel 300w pure sinewave inverter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kartman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2013, 12:03:15 pm
content: I've got a current interest in inverter technology so i bought this unit off ebay for around $60. The non pure sinewave one was about $20 cheaper. So i spent my money and a couple of days later it turned up. The model is PC8-300S made by lingqi. The general build quality is a bit rough - there's plentynof extra solder on the board to beef up the power tracks. Pretty much a simple design - a push- pull converter using a transformer to get the 340vdc. This runs upwards of 100KHz and uses two IRF3205 mosfets and a tl494 as the pwm controller. There's a lm324 for voltage detection etc.On the high voltage side, things get a bit more high tech. There's a PIC16F716 with a 16MHz crystal, two IR2110 mosfet drivers and 4 WFP840 mosfets arranged as a H bridge. A toroid inductor and a capacitor form the output filter. The switching freq is around 18KHz. In operation, the inductor gets a bit warm. This was only running a 32W flouro! I've yet to test at 300W. Yes, it does generate a sinewave.Overall, it looks to be a reasonable design, but component selection is towards the cheap and cheerful side. I'd say its ok for intermittant operation but i wouldn't expect it to last long running 24/7.

author: Kartman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2013, 03:10:32 am
content: One thing i forgot to mention - with no load it pulls around 700mA from the supply. This is around 8W. So something is a tad lossy in there.
Robofish teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ChristopherN
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2013, 09:37:10 am
content: I recently got an Robofish. Its an 10€ toy fish that senses water and swims thru fin movement. I wanted to know how the fin works, so the poor fish had to die.The package contains the fish, replacement batteries, an small manual and a stand for the fish.Here is a short Video of the fish in action:The fish itself is made of welded together plastic, it was quite hard to crack it open. I used a small desktop mill.After some minutes of milling the fish was open and revealed some quite interesting innards. The small black dots are made of some rubber and interface directly to the PCB. Those seem to be to test if the fish is in the water.The fin is embedded in a very soft silicon seal and connects to a coil. The coil is connected to the small control PCB. There are two magnets on each side of the fish housing. If the coil is charged the fin will move away from one magnet to the other and reversed.All in all its a fun little toy for 10€. I will conduct some more test on the fin system, I'm interested in its energy use.Have you seen similar propulsion on bigger (toy / robotic) fish?Do you think this would be good for larger models?

author: Thor-Arne
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2013, 10:44:09 am
content: There's a lot of hits on google for "scientific robo fish".The idea is not new, but it's a interesting toy.The kids love those, I have a 5 y/o that says she wants them all.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2013, 04:09:41 pm
content: Bye Bye Nemo........ Quitte an interesting little toy, quite wll put together.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2013, 06:11:03 pm
content: You gutted it like a fish!Alexander.
Exact model 7056 Generator - worth having? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ModemJunki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 10:14:16 pm
content: I am completely new to electronics and and slowly learning as a hobby. I have simple Arduino projects in mind (and in work) at the moment.I have the opportunity to obtain a vintage Exact model 7056 generator for no cost. It may or may not be in working order.Is such a thing potentially useful down the road for me? I know what the device does, but not where it might be useful for a lay person like myself.I don't have a scope so I can't check the output in any case.Edit: Oops - forgot useful link!http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/exact_generatorsignal_7056.html

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2013, 05:19:44 am
content: Is one of the most usefull piece of equipment.Just problably need a bit of calibration, but you should buy it.With a scope is also 10x usefull

author: ModemJunki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2013, 03:35:50 pm
content: Thank you, ddavidebor.Not buy - the generator is free!I only have to change the plug to USA from EU and put slide switch to 115V operation. And I found I can make a simple 'scope from an Arduino or PC sound card to do simple testing of the unit.So I will take it home and store it until I have time to figure all that out.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2013, 03:51:59 pm
content: To test this unit you really need a scope, and also you need a scope for use it in the best way.But a signal generator is a really important piece of equipment, as a scope is.

author: ModemJunki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2013, 04:34:31 pm
content: Scope is coming!Tektronix 2467bhttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2467b-ok-for-beginner/
iSound Portable Power Max 16000mah - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: walcen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2013, 01:50:09 am
content: I'd be really interested in a proper review on the iSound Portable Power Max 16000mahto see if it does in fact deliver 16000 mah. actually I'd like to know if any one has found a good value for money portable Power bank.I have just purchased the Bauhn power bank from Aldi for $25 but have returned three of them because they're supposed to fully charge in 8 hours but take??, Well it's still charging if the blinking led is any indicationI thought that this might be a good discussion as we all use usb charged devices when we're out and about and those expensive solar charges from Snowgum are all but useless for charging an i phone.regards to all,Wal.

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2013, 04:52:54 pm
content: If a product's name starts with a lowercase 'i', it's not worth buying. I have yet to find a single product that would convince me otherwise.
Dolby CP500 Digital Cinema processor teardown  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2013, 09:04:44 am
content: Nice tear down!Just wondering for the scratch on the LCD... Is there any way to restore such a scratch on a display. I know that in some cases there is a plastic film you can peel off. If the scratch is on a the actual glass/polycarbon? Any paste of some kind someone can apply?There was a big annoying scratch on an equipment screen. I was applying some petroleum jelly every couple of months. It was hiding the scratch almost completely. Couldn't find something for permanent use (actually no one could verify it wouldn't attack the type o plastic).Alexander.

author: JackOfVA
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 01:49:09 am
content: An interesting tear down, Mike, but can I offer a suggestion.There's so much camera movement that it almost gives me vertigo - perhaps keeping the camera and board in a relatively fixed position with respect to each other and pointing out the various features with a pencil or screwdriver or the like would steady the image for those of us subject to sea sickness.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 08:29:48 am
content: That brittle solder for sealing ICs might be something like Au80/Sn20 -- very high melting point of around 280C (and quite expensive too).Quote from: JackOfVA on May 21, 2013, 01:49:09 amGood teardown and explanation, but otherwise I agree completely. The field of vision is moving too much for enjoyment.
can I use tek p6205 with my DSOX2002 ?  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2013, 09:21:27 pm
content: heyI have tek p6205 on hand and seem like that used amplefier on the output . so supply vltage rails are needed and so as others (?) ,can someone tell me wether that's possible to use those probes without having to be tuned to the teks scopes ?thanks !

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 19, 2013, 10:29:04 pm
content: It needs DC power on the pins around the BNC connector and 50 ohm termination at the scope end. The pin-out for the Tekprobe interface ishere. Tek used to make an external power supply, model 1103, that just contained some three terminal regulators to make the various voltages. It tends to be quite expensive on the used market.The hardest part about a DIY solution is probably getting a PCB with the correct plating, mounting it at the correct distance in front of the BNC connector, and maintaining the 50 ohm impedance (a feed-through or female crimp connector would probably be ideal here).

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2013, 07:23:39 pm
content: If you had a 3000x series, Agilent took care of it for you already.http://www.home.agilent.com/en/pd-1912818-pn-N2744A/t2a-probe-interface-adapter?&cc=US&lc=engBut it looks like the 2000x series doesnt have an active probe interface :-/ If someone on here could get you a high res photo of a tekprobe connector on the scope, with a scale, you could get a PCB made up with goes around the perimeter of something likehttp://www.cctvcamerapros.com/BNC-Male-to-Female-Connector-p/bnc-mf1.htmas Alm suggested. As far as the plating is concerned, use OSHpark to get your pcbs and you get charged by the square inch, gold plating, and 3 copies, so overall it shouldnt be bad for this project.As for getting the distance right, you have a probe already, so put the PCB on bnc adapter piece, connect it to the probe, use tape to compress the pins partially, and tweak it till its straight, and use something likehttp://www.amazon.com/Weld-8267-S-SteelStik-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B000786GLMto secure it. Its a putty so it wont run to where its not supposed to be, an. From there just make/buy a small linear power supply to feed +/-5 and 15 to the board.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2013, 08:08:14 pm
content: Maybe this could be useful after some tinkering:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-1103-TEKPROBE-Power-Supply-/181133299925?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a2c62d0d5

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 20, 2013, 08:40:15 pm
content: That should be easy to get working, since the P6205 doesn't support the offset feature anyway. At $200, the price is similar, if not more, than the used value of a P6205. Selling the probe and buying one with an external power supply might make more sense in that case. Agilent probes aren't going to work any better, since the DSO-X 2000 doesn't have supplies for Agilent active probes either.
Agilent E3610 load regulation - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mrbrown
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 08:17:20 pm
content: I just made a small current dummy load to test a switching power supply.When I used my Agilent E3610 power supply to test the dummy load I noticed something strange.I set the CV to 5 Volt and let the current go from 0 to 1A using the dummy load, at 1A the voltage of the E3610 rised to 5.25V???Load regulation is supposed to be 0.01% + 2mV.The E3610 is brand new, just came out of the box.Is it broken or am I doing something wrong?I hope not cause I already broke the warranty-seal, I opened it to tighten the nut of earth-connection on the front, it hung loose.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 08:29:08 pm
content: Did you test it with a resistive load or an electronic load?It is possible you could get unstable control and oscillation if you have too many control loops trying to regulate the same system. An electronic dummy load could do this.

author: blackdog
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 08:33:41 pm
content: Hi Mr Brown, :-)The first ting i think of is this.Have you checked oscillations, have you checked it with a scoopKind regarts,Blackdog

author: mrbrown
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 21, 2013, 08:47:15 pm
content: Thanks IanB & blackdog, I've made a nice oscillatorA small cap in the feedbackloop and now it's steady as a rock

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2013, 07:25:33 pm
content: hey MrbrownI think the E3610E has 50uS response time . may you check the frequency the "oscillator" you've made ?I am pretty sure that has higher then 20Khz frequency
Teardown BM368 RF vintage vacuum tube oscillator - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Drirr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2013, 09:40:37 am
content: It was made in Czechoslovakia in 1965. Frequency range 100kHz-30MHz. Allows internal or external amplitude modulation.Photos -https://picasaweb.google.com/104378593109746079667/BM368?authuser=0&feat=directlink

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2013, 10:06:46 am
content: Very nicely made that one.

author: EV
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2013, 10:16:19 am
content: Nice RF, have you installed 3 new capasitors (pic 3)?

author: Drirr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2013, 10:28:38 am
content: yes, these old ones were completely dry.. you know.. 50 years

author: blasto9000
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2013, 05:25:01 pm
content: Wow, what a nice looking piece of gear.Maybe we're all jaded by modern gear using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. "Vintage" gear and gear with overly complicated mechanisms sure do look a lot nicer than I remember them looking when I was a kid.Perhaps a reason why Rolex sells so many watches at 100x the cost of a Casio (which keeps better time, has more features, and will still be ticking after sitting on the nightstand for a month).
Hammond Manufacturing - Custom enclosures - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2013, 05:51:35 am
content: Has anyone else dealt with hammond manufacturing for ordering custom length aluminum enclosure?We keep getting given the run around trying to get them to do things.They're always happy/friendly to talk to but keep failing to return calls/emails, issue quotes etc..Often the person we're dealing with is away and the new person doesn't know about our order and we have to start explaining things again.We have tried their New Zealand, Australia and Canada agents with pretty much the same results.(I suspect the other agents have the same problem with the Canada head office)Just wondering if anyone else has found this too?Currently we order their cases from digikey/mouser and cut the case in half ourselves to get the right length.Also their cases often have scratch/marks on the edges which isn't ideal.

author: Corporate666
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 11, 2013, 08:57:46 am
content: I've dealt with the USA office (I thought it was USA - maybe it was Canada) and haven't had any problems. Are you maybe ordering small amounts they don't care about? (they should care - it's not your fault, just wondering if the ball is being dropped because of that?).That case you pictured is just a simple aluminum extrusion. How many are you buying? If it's large, you can get your own extrusion made and save a lot of $$. If it's not a ton, you could have a local shop do the cutting of the stock part for you and get a better job. But those cases look anodized. Are the "scratches" you speak of the little clear spots on the ends?Those look like they might be the anodization connection points. Whomever is doing the anodizing should be able to connect on an unseen area of the part and avoid that.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 11, 2013, 09:07:13 am
content: Yeah the scratches/marks do seem to be some sort of tool impact, they're too uniform and often in the same place between cases.The cases come with plastic end-caps that would normally cover it up (we don't use them). I figured it might be the machine that puts the end caps on which is hitting the case and causing the mark.But your theory of the electrode for the coating does sounds plausible.They're definitely powder coated.We have been trying to order lots of 50 (they told us they have a min order of $100).Case is 78x24x80mm (W H L)It's annoying too because one of the quotes we got was a really good price, about 1/4 what digikey sell the longer case for. (So about half the per unit price without the need for us to cut/paint them)

author: Bud1234
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 12, 2013, 05:36:00 pm
content: Just letting you know that Bud is focused on doing small to large modifications and we use the same distribution to support you. Check us out atwww.budind.com. Hope your project worked out.
Broken Huawei U-8650 teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ResR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2013, 06:47:18 pm
content: I found this broken touch screen cell phone on a street, someone already gutted the battery and the sim-card, judging by the damage it was thrown hard.The cover was beyond repair, the touchscreen was obliterated, I thought the lcd and motherboard survived, but the lcd driver silicone (Si-14) chip was in 3 pieces and whole screen cracked, the motherboard took some damage also, it had a bent corner and smashed top edge, so some tracks are also damaged/shorted most likely. I found the same layers used in lcd as was used in led lcd tv Dave took apart earlier and one odd thing was rgb led with only red and green chip connected to the circuit.http://www.myspace.com/resr1286/photos/albums/album/2580998

author: TheEPROM9
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2013, 03:16:32 pm
content: Nice find, the phones I have found all have worked and I tracked there owners and returned them.I did not know that people still used Myspace anymore.