Category Archives: Hardware

Demo #6: Peak Electronic Design Atlas ESR Gold – Equivalent Series Resistance Meter | In The Lab

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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):

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 MountThis is an image of the product.

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High-Water Indicator | Project 16/20 | Maxitronix 20in1 | In The Lab With Jay Jay

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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 16th project from the Maxitronix Sensor Robot 20 (20in1) Electronics Project Lab Kit: High-Water Indicator.

After we build the circuit we dump the sensor in a glass of water which causes the alarm to trigger. To avoid the obnoxious noise we put an LED in place of the buzzer.

Please be aware: while talking about this circuit I said that the astable multivibrator “flip flops” between states. And that’s kind of true in one sense, but I should be clear than an astable multivibrator is not a “flip flop” circuit. A flip flop circuit is a different type of circuit known as a bistable multivibrator, which is a different kind of thing. In this experiment we use an astable multivibrator to generate a 1.62 kHz square wave which provides our tone, we do not use a flip flop or bistable multivibrator circuit.

We use the Rigol MSO5074 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope to measure and visualize the 1.62 kHz square wave which generates our tone.

We use the UNI-T UTi260B Thermal Imager to investigate the circuit thermals. We see that the 1K resistors in the astable multivibrator generate the most heat.

We use the Fluke 17B+ Digital Multimeter to measure the voltage across Q5. Between about 500 mV and 750 mV is enough voltage to enable the output.

We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply to deliver the 9V DC required for the project. We use the current measurement from the power supply to see that when the LED is active the circuit draws about 23 mA compared to about 11 mA when the LED is not active.

We use the Horusdy Soldering Station with Hot Air Gun to dry the sensor after it got wet.

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!

Ausum 25 In 1 Precision Screwdriver SetThis is an image of the product.notes

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Debugging

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I’ve been reading Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems. My mate @indigo suggested I read David A. Wheeler’s summary of it over here: David A. Wheeler’s Review of Debugging by David J. Agans. I know David A. Wheeler from his work on sloccount.

Unboxing #22: ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 WiFi Router | Learning Electronics In The Lab With Jay Jay

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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 unbox my new ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 WiFi Router.

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 Blue SpudgersThis is an image of the product.

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Demo #5: Peak Electronic Design Atlas LCR45 – LCR Component Meter with Impedance Measurement

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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 LCR45 LCR Meter.

If you’re interested I have other equipment from Peak Electronic Design.

Over on the EEVblog forum I ask What’s special about the frequency 14.9254 kHz? The answer seems to be that this is 1/67th of 1 MHz, which is probably as precise as the microcontroller they’re using can go.

You can learn more about my ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen.

There are accessories available for the LCR45. Stuff I am planning to get includes:

I would get the LX30 – Extension Cable for LCR40/45 but it doesn’t appear to be in stock.

There are cases available but I am not planning to get any of those:

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 BM800 Condenser MicrophoneThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Glass Organ | Project 15/20 | Maxitronix 20in1 | Learning Electronics In The Lab With Jay Jay

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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 15th project from the Maxitronix Sensor Robot 20 (20in1) Electronics Project Lab Kit: Glass Organ.

We had some trouble getting this circuit to work. It turned out that the instructions omitted one necessary wire. After we added that the circuit worked.

The salty water and the clean water didn’t have hugely different effects. It was hard to get a resistance reading because the resistances seemed to just continually increase. In the end I didn’t really understand that.

The products I purchase from AliExpress in the video are these:

We used the Rigol MSO5074 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope to inspect the output of the astable multivibrator.

We used the METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station to solder some jumpers onto a 10K potentiometer which we use to alter the frequency of the astable multivibrator.

We used the UNI-T UTi260B Thermal Imager to inspect the heat profile of the circuit. We see the resistors in the astable multivibrator get warm, along with other components.

We used the Fluke 17B+ Digital Multimeter to continuity test our point to point links, to test various resistances, to check for capacitance (there was none), and to measure the current draw. It was interesting to see the current draw increase with frequency.

We used the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply to provide 9V for the circuit. The RD6006 also reported current draw.

We used the Horusdy Soldering Station with Hot Air Gun. We used the hot air gun to shrink the heat shrink we used on the potentiometer jumpers.

We used the Brother P-Touch D210 Label Maker to label our salt jar.

The Goo & Adhesive Remover product I recommend is Goo Gone.

The cheap but excellent wire cutters I mention are these. I got a five pack for ten bucks.

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!

Fluke 17B+ Digital MultimeterThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Mail Call #17: Peak Atlas SCR100/ZEN50, DIP Switches, USB, Components, Third Hand and More!

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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 element14, eBay, AliExpress, and Amazon.

While I was trying to figure out how the rubber/bolts work on my third hand I found this video: Octopus Hand supports Soldering for only 5$ – Turtle Review. This person was confused like me.

That glue we tested was this stuff: 15ML 25ML 50ML 110ML B-7000 Clear Contact Phone Repair Adhesive Universal Glass Plastic DIY Glue B7000 With Precision Applicator.

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 Macropad 3-Key Mechanical KeyboardThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Square mesh holders installed

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I’m waiting for some more of these to arrive: Office Desk Pen Pencil Pot Ruler Scissor Cup Mesh Organize Container.

While I wait you can see in the bottom photo the bunch of tools without a home. In the pictures below I have circled in red the four mesh holders I have recently installed. They’re black on black so hard to see, sorry about that.

The two on the left are clipped on with zip ties. The other two are screwed in, one screwed into the second drawer and the other to some load bearing dowel I also installed today.

I’m a bit paranoid about the shelf my oscilloscope is installed in will come away from the wall, so I have buttressed it with a dowel I had them cut to size for me today at the shop (307mm, exactly).