I have a new post on Hackaday: 2025 Component Abuse Challenge: A Self-Charging LED Flasher By Burkhard Kainka.
2025 Component Abuse Challenge: A Self-Charging LED Flasher By Burkhard Kainka
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Category Archives: Design
Electronics Project #20: Making the Self-Charging LED Flasher | In The Lab With Jay Jay
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video.
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Silly Job Title: Outlet Overlord. I am the Outlet Overlord!
In this video we build the A Self-Charging LED Flasher By Burkhard Kainka. This project was submitted for the Hackaday Component Abuse Challenge 2025.
The fun thing about this project is that it works even though it doesn’t have a power supply. That’s because the LED sucks energy from the ambient light to charge the capacitors!
It took me three goes to make this work. The first go was with 100 nF ceramic caps on veroboard, and that didn’t work. The next go was with 470 µF electrolytic caps on breadboard, and that didn’t work. Finally I had a go with 1 µF polypropylene film caps and that worked!
We use the METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station for soldering.
We use the Pro’sKit SS-331H Desoldering Pump for desoldering.
We use the MUIN Solder Fume Extractor to clear the air.
We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply for test power.
We use the EEVblog BM2257 Digital Multimeter for voltage and other measurements.
We use the Brother P-Touch D210 Label Maker for making labels.
We use the Bysameyee Head-Mounted Magnifier for magnification and light.
We use the Scotch Titanium Scissors to cut things.
We use the Carpenter Mechanical Pencil to make notes.
We use the Hakko CHP 3C-SA Precision Tweezers for tweezering.
We use the Plato Model 170 Wire Cutter for cutting.
We use the Victorinox Swiss Champ Red Swiss Army Knife for its blade.
We use the Kaisi S-160 45x30cm Repair Mat as our workspace.
Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)
Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!
Wowstick Wowpad Magnetic Screwpad |
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Analog Devices Resource Library
A lot of good stuff available here: Analog Devices Resource Library.
More Than 100 Sub-Circuit Designs From Texas Instruments
I have a new post on Hackaday: More Than 100 Sub-Circuit Designs From Texas Instruments.
Ben Eater Explains How Aircraft Systems Communicate With The ARINC 429 Protocol
I have a new post on Hackaday: Ben Eater Explains How Aircraft Systems Communicate With The ARINC 429 Protocol.
Learning the Art of Electronics: Fig-1N.33: Circuit A Drives Circuit B | In The Lab With Jay Jay
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
Silly Job Title: Component Wrangler. I am the Component Wrangler!
In this video we continue to work our way through Learning the Art of Electronics. We have nearly finished the 1N DC Circuits chapter. Today we learned a new rule of thumb: when circuit A drives circuit B the output impedance of circuit A should be equal to or less than 10% of the input impedance of circuit B.
There is no prac this week, only theory. Next week we will complete this chapter and then we’re ready to proceed into our first lab chapter.
Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)
Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!
Yum Cha 13MP HD Webcam With Mic USB Camera |
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Module Monday #2: KY-002 Vibration Switch Module | Learning Electronics In The Lab With Jay Jay
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
Silly Job Title: Amp Alchemist. I am the Amp Alchemist!
In this video we demo the KY-002 Vibration Switch Module. There’s more info here: KY-002 Vibration Switch Module on ArduinoModulesInfo.
Source code is here: 2025-10-13-KY-002-Vibration-Switch.ino.
We use the Rigol MSO5074 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope to check the output signals.
We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply for power.
We use the EEVblog BM2257 Digital Multimeter to test voltage.
We use the Kaisi S-160 45x30cm Repair Mat as our workspace.
Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)
Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!
Aussishop Calipers notes |
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Making A 2-Transistor AM Radio With A Philips Electronic Engineer EE8 Kit From 1966
I have a new post on Hackaday: Making A 2-Transistor AM Radio With A Philips Electronic Engineer EE8 Kit From 1966.
FREE Analog Engineer’s Circuit Cookbooks from Texas Instruments
Today over on the EEVblog forum I learned about the two ebooks available from Texas Instruments. One is for amplifier circuits and the other for data-conversion circuits, including both Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuits and Digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits. I had to sign up for an account before I could download…
Old Book Teardown #16: Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits Volume 3 (1991) | In The Lab
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
Silly Job Title: Prime Hack. I am the Prime Hack!
In this video we take a look inside Encyclopedia of Electronic Circuits Volume 3 by Rudolf F. Graf.
Some circuits of interest included:
| Page | Circuit |
|---|---|
| 245 | Electronic Dice |
| 327 | Adder |
| 337 | Electrostatic Detector |
| 594 | On/Off Inverters |
Some things we needed to look up while flipping through:
CMRR is Common-Mode Rejection Ratio.
RIAA is Recording Industry Association of America.
RIAA equalization is a specification for the recording and playback of phonograph records, established by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
PUT is a Programmable Unijunction Transistor.
φ (phi) can represent an angle, typically the second angle mentioned, after θ (theta).
PEP is Peak Envelope Power.
For voltage signals you usually want high input impedance and low output impedance.
LVDT is a Linear Variable Differential Transformer.
NAB is North American Broadcasters. They defined phonograph standards similar to the RIAA’s.
Thanks very much for watching! And please remember to hit like and subscribe! :)
Following is a product I use picked at random from my collection which may appear in my videos. Clicking through on this to find and click on the green affiliate links before purchasing from eBay or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!
JYHealth Medical Digital Thermometer |
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