Category Archives: Hardware
JTAG ‘Hacking’ the Original Xbox in 2023
This turned up on hacker news today: JTAG ‘Hacking’ the Original Xbox in 2023 – Using Intel CPU JTAG to dump the secret bootrom in Microsoft’s original Xbox. There’s some info being collected on github: github.com/Necrosys/x86-JTAG-Information.
Need new UPS batteries
I have some old UPS devices which I’m going to have the batteries replaced in this week.
The one on the left is the OPTI-UPS Enhanced Series – ES-C 1KVA.
The one on the right is the PowerShield Defender 1600VA.
Learning the Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course 2ed
I have been sad for some time that Learning the Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course is out of print. Little did I know, they have been working on a second edition! The revised edition is due out in March 2025. Excellent news! I don’t usually pre-order books, but I will pre-order my copy of Learning the Art of Electronics: A Hands-On Lab Course 2ed. There’s more info on the book’s website: learningtheartofelectronics.com.
Mail Call #18: Tape, Cable, PCBs, Thermometer, Diodes, Soldering, Magnets, Blades and More!
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video over here.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
In this video we take a look at what has arrived in the mail from AliExpress.
We use the Brother P-Touch D210 Label Maker to label some of our components.
This is what we got:
- 1PK TZe Tape 6/9/12/18/24mm Colorful white tape Compatible brother tz Lable Printer H110 Label Maker tze231 tze221 tz131 TZE335 (Black on White, 12mm)
- 2.54mm Dupont Line 20cm 40Pin Male to Male+Female to Male + Female to Female Jumper Wire Dupont Cable DIY (20cm 3 kinds)
- 120PIN Cable Dupont Line 10cm Male to Male Female to Female Male to FeMale Jumper Dupont Wire Cable For PCB DIY KIT (10cm 120pcs set)
- 30PCS PCB Board Kit SOP24 SOP8 SOP14 SOP16 SOP20 SOP28 SMD Turn To DIP Adapter Converter Plate SOP 8 14 16 20 24 28 Ibuw
- Kitchen Food Baking Digital Thermometer Electronic Probe Type Digital Display Liquid Grill Thermometer (White)
- Three-in-one Corner Rounders Corner Embosser Corner Cutter, DIY Photo Card Business Card Cutter round Cutter Paper Cutter (Flat Corner)
- 250PCS PET Transparent Sticky Notes Perspective Waterproof Clear Fluorescence Memo Pad Stationery School Office Supplies (5 large sizes)
- 90PCS Rectifier Diode 1N4007 1N4001 1N4004 SS14 SS24 SS34 SS16 SS26 SS36 SMD Schottky Diode Assort Kit
- SMD/SMT Components Soldering Practice Board Electronic Project Kits DIY Soldering Kit Skill Training Board Led Transistor SMD
- 50/100pcs Magnets,Small Strong Neodymium Magnets for Scientific, and Office Magnets (5x5x5-50PCS)
- 3x3mm Neodymium magnet RoundN35 Permanent NdFeB Super Strong Powerful Magnetic Imane Disc Used for Refrigerators and Offices (200pcs)
- 250pcs/box C Type External Circlip Clip Snap Ring Mix M6 to M15 Kit Set for Shaft Bearing Retaining Stainless Steel Black 65mn (304 stainless steel)
- 100/20Pcs 4# Metal Scalpel Knife Engraving Knife Blades DIY Wood Carving Knife Blade Replacement Surgical Sculpture Cutting Tool (100pcs)
- WeAct STM32G431CBU6 STM32G431 STM32G4 STM32 Core Board Learning Board Development
- NEWACALOX Flexible Arms Soldering Helping Hands Repair Soldering Automobile Electronics Jewelry Painting Art Craft DIY Fixture (SS9-5)
- NEWACALOX Third Hand Tools Magnetic Base PCB Board Fixing Clip Soldering Helping Hand Welding Repair Fixture for Soldering (SN4AB-B)
- PP Cutting Mat Workbench Patchwork Cut Pad Sewing Manual DIY Knife Engraving Leather Cutter Board Single Side Underlay (A4 Green)
- Mini Bench Clamp Universal Bench Clamp DIY Sculpture Tool Mini Drill Press Table Vise Fixing Small Parts Jewelry Watch
- 8pcs CPU IC Glue Remover Phone Repair Tool C Chip Repair Thin Blades Piratical Repair Hand Tool For Mobile Phone Computer
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 Mini Magnetic Precision Screwdriver Set![]() |
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Demo #7: Octopus Third Hand | 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 over here.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
In this video we demo our third hands from AliExpress: Octopus Soldering Helping Hands Bench Vise Table Clamp with Flexible Arms Solder Iron Holder PCB Repair for TS101 TS100 PINE64.
I mention that I found a YouTube video which has a look at it: Octopus Hand supports Soldering for only 5$ – Turtle Review but like me they couldn’t figure out what the rubber and bolts on the base are for! If you know please let me know in the comments!
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 Drill Extension![]() |
Let’s go shopping!
Low-Water Indicator | Project 17/20 | Maxitronix 20in1 | In The Lab With Jay Jay
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video over here.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
In this video we do the 17th project from the Maxitronix Sensor Robot 20 (20in1) Electronics Project Lab Kit: Low-Water Indicator.
We use the Rigol MSO5074 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope to see the output of the astable multivibrator. In the video I make a mistake and attach the probe to the wrong pins.
We use the METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station to solder the wires I use for the banana plugs I attach to the touch sensor an voice sensor (microphone).
We use the UNI-T UTi260B Thermal Imager to look at the heat profile of the circuit. We see that the low resistances (470Ω and 1KΩ) get the warmest, but the higher resistances (e.g. 10KΩ) are also slightly visible.
We use the Fluke 17B+ Digital Multimeter to check the resistance of the touch sensor.
We use the Peak Electronic Design Atlas LCR45 LCR Meter to measure the resistance of the resistor we use in the LED attachment circuit. This extra circuit allows us to switch out the buzzer for an LED, which makes a lot less racket. The resistor it uses turned out to be 470Ω.
We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply to provide 9V for our test circuit. Usually I take a current reading to see how much power the circuit draws in its various states, but I forgot!
We use the Horusdy Soldering Station with Hot Air Gun for its hot air gun in order to shrink the heat shrink which we added to the banana plug cables we attached to our sensors.
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 9-Inch Needle Nose Pliers![]() |
Let’s go shopping!
Interlude #11: Playing with WeAct Studio Epaper Modules on ESP32-C3 MCU | In The Lab With Jay Jay
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video over here.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
In this video we play around with the 2.13″ and 2.9″ WeAct Studio Epaper Modules available here: WeAct 2.9” 2.13″ 2.9 2.13 Inch Epaper Module E-paper E-Ink EInk Display Screen SPI Black-White Black-White-Red.
As I mention in the video I was having a hard time getting good solder joints from my Horusdy Soldering Station. This was annoying me so much that I went and purchased a new soldering iron! My new iron is an Metcal PS-900 Soldering Station and I love it! This is what a soldering iron should be!
We use the Arduino IDE and the sample code from WeAct Studio but we don’t successfully load content into our Epaper Module.
We use the Rigol MSO5074 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope to and the Rigol PLA2216 Logic Probe to wire up a Logic Analyzer to instrument out circuit, but we don’t follow through with that in the end. We run out of time. We will try again another day.
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 58-pcs Stainless Steel Thread Pitch Gauge![]() |
Let’s go shopping!
Demo #6: Peak Electronic Design Atlas ESR Gold – Equivalent Series Resistance Meter | In The Lab
This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video over here.
You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV
In this video we take a look at my new Peak Electronic Design Atlas ESR70 Gold ESR Meter.
If you’re interested I have other equipment from Peak Electronic Design.
Following are some accessories available from Peak Electronic Design for the ESR70 Gold and the LCR45 (I purchased all of these directly from Peak Electronic Design via their website, I will cover them in a future Mail Call video when they arrive):
- CRC01M – LCR Croc Clip set with 2mm sockets
- SMD03M – SMD Tweezers for LCR/ESR with 2mm sockets
- LCRLHP2 – Replacement LCR Hook Probes
- ENP90 – ESR/LCR Needle Probe set with 2mm sockets
- PCA23 – Peak Component Adapter for SOT-23
- 3DPAS – 3D Printed Peak Atlas Stand
- LX30 – Extension Cable for LCR40/45
There are cases available if you’re interested. I have the dual carry case as that is what my ATPK3 Peak Electronic Design Bundle Kit came in.
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 100×100 200X200mm VESA Wall Mount![]() |
Let’s go shopping!
New component drawers for pegboard
I got some new component drawers and some new pegboard hooks and I installed them in my pegboard: