Unboxing #10: Unboxing of Ampcom Automatic Network Cable Tester | In The Lab With Jay Jay

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In this video I unbox an Ampcom Automatic Network Cable Tester from AliExpress. It was a bit confusing because the AliExpress page says this is an ANENG M469D. But actually it’s not. It’s an Ampcom Automatic Network Cable Tester, which is a similar bit of kit. In the video I test this equipment with both a normal patch cable and a crossover cable and it seems to work okay, so for five bucks I’m a happy customer.

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JST XH2.54 6pin Pre-crimped ConnectorThis is an image of the product.

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Old Book Teardown #8: Radio Engineering 3rd Edition (1947) | In The Lab With Jay Jay

This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video on this show’s homepage.

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Silly Job Title: Amp Alchemist

Note: this video is nearly five hours long! If you’re interested but don’t have 5 spare hours (and who does??) you might like to listen at 2x speed or more. The standard YouTube interface only supports playback up to 2x speed but I have some notes about YouTube hacks you can use to set the playback at 3x speed… or more!

In this video I teardown “Radio Engineering” (3rd edition) by Frederick Terman published 1947.

Frederick Terman was a Doctor of Science which is what the Sc.D. after his name stands for. It’s like a Ph.D. He is remembered as a father of Silicon Valley.

In the book there is much talk of diodes, but of course that is in reference to the old thermionic diodes which were vacuum tubes. These days diodes are semiconductors made from something like silicon or germanium.

The book talks a lot about power amplifier classes. Today the same classes are still used, it’s just that anything other than class AB and class D are very uncommon.

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Scotch Titanium ScissorsThis is an image of the product.notes

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Interlude #7: ElectroneX 2024 Debriefing | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

In this video I tell you about the SWAG (Stuff We All Get) I collected this year at ElectroneX.

I had the very good fortune to meet Dave Jones of EEVblog fame. He was nice enough to take a photo and mention my channel on X.

And as if things couldn’t get any better I then went on to meet Nicholas Vinen of Silicon Chip fame. For the record, the very first thing I ever said to Nicholas Vinen was: “is that a spectrum analyzer?” :P

I mention that the channel’s logo a version of the Hacker Emblem. There’s more info on the show’s website.

My business cards were designed by DAC Design and printed by ClickMedia.

My business card holder is this one: Business Card Holder, 1 Pcs Build in 40 Card Slot PU Leather Business Card Wallet for Credit Card, Business Cards, Men, Women (Black).

The companies who gave me SWAG that I mention in this video are:

I mention my One PCB to Ruler Them All from Adafruit which is part of my costume.

The cheap wire cutters I mention are these ones: Aokin1PC 170 Universal Pliers DIY Electronic Diagonal Side Cutting Nippers Wire Cable Cutter 3D Printer Parts Hand Tools.

As I suspected J.Burrows is a stationary brand. Must have stolen someone’s pen! Whoops! :P

You can read more about Pogo pins. I’ve never used them myself. Looking at them I’m not sure how you would mount them to a board. Lot’s of things to learn!

You can find more info about the probe tweezers I mention in the video over here: Yum Cha Probe Tweezers.

My cheapo multimeters are these ones: DT830B Digital Multimeter. My slightly less cheapo multimeter is this one: DigiTech QM1323 Multimeter. The multimeters I am saving my pennies for are these ones:

Check out the line of Peak test instruments. When I’m rich I am gonna get the full set!

My capacitor testers (and discharger) I mentioned are these ones:

You can find more about my Maxitronix Xin1 Kits. I am making videos as I work my way through them.

You can find the STM micros I showed you over here:

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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!

FNIRSI DC580 Power ModuleThis is an image of the product.

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Interlude #6: Fixing Corrosion on T15 Torx Bit | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

In this video I fix up one of my Torx T15 drill bits which was damaged by corrosion.

I mention about my broken Logitech C922. I have three of these. They are low resolution (1080p) cameras I use for doing low res video such as with the Welcome Cam, Wide Cam, and Lab Cam. (If you’re interested my good 4K cameras are Logitech BRIO which I use for doing high res video such as with the Bench Cam, Book Cam, and Booth Cam).

The BlueRigger active USB cable I mention is this one: BlueRigger USB 3.0 Extension Cable (32FT, Active, 5 Gbps, in-Wall CL3 Rated, Type A Male to Female Cord). An “active” cable is a powered cable which includes a signal amplifier so the cable can transmit a signal over a long distance, in this case 10 meters (32 feet). I’m not sure if this active cable somehow damaged my Logitech C922? It was working, then it stopped working, but I don’t know why. Maybe dodgy power supply, maybe dodgy cable, maybe dodgy camera, hard to say.

The Deoxit I mention is this one: Cleaning Solution Kit DeoxIT Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator Improve Performance. But the one I want to get is Hosa D5S-6 CAIG DeoxIT 5% Spray Contact Cleaner, 5 oz. which was mentioned on Adrian’s Digital Basement.

When I say that “I will turn it up to eleven”, I am obviously referencing the old classic, Spinal Tap.

The Mechanic UV solder mask and UV light I use in this video is this one: 3PCS MECHANIC 10ML UV 3S Quick-drying Solder Mask Ink for Mobile Phone Repair Jumping Wire + L1 UV curing light.

The UPS devices I mention are these ones: PowerShield Defender 1600VA. I am pretty happy with them, but it’s annoying that I have to replace the batteries every few years. My new powerboards are these ones: 10 Way Power Board Surge Protected Outlets USB Ports Coax USB Network Protection.

I mention that I’ve been working on the website for the channel. The main website is here: https://www.inthelabwithjayjay.com/ and there is a shortlink redirection service here: https://jjlab.net. You can find all my videos indexed on the site, along with RSS feeds, equipment lists, and other info.

I mention about the upcoming Jaycar / Silicon Chip Mini Projects which will be coming up soon. If you’re interested in those don’t forget to subscribe!

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!

3ELIGHTING 14″-27″ With 2 Arms VESA Wall MountThis is an image of the product.

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InTheLabWithJayJay.com now with RSS feed

I added RSS capabilities for InTheLabWithJayJay.com. You can subscribe to the whole thing, or just one channel, or just one show, or just one feature… it was difficulty to create the UI to support that without overcomplicating things. I made the link on the RSS icon support different feed depending on which page you are on.

Announcing new website for In The Lab With Jay Jay

Good news everyone!

The In The Lab With Jay Jay website has been freeloading off jj5.net for a while now, over here: https://www.inthelabwithjayjay.com/in-the-lab/

But I am pleased to announce that it has now been moved into its new and permanent home, over here: InTheLabWithJayJay.com

There is also a short-link domain which will redirect you to the new site which I put into production to keep the links on my business cards short: jjlab.net

Speaking of business cards I had some made to take with me to ElectroneX on Wednesday:

John's new business card for In The Lab With Jay Jay

I’m planning to show up in costume and hand out business cards, because I am a *genuine* nerd.

As part of the migration to the new domain I improved the content of the site a bit. There is now an about page with contact info and such and also a support the show page with some ideas about how people can support the show!

Channel News #3: Announcing Mini Projects | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

Silly Job Title: Amp Alchemist

In this video I announce the new Mini Projects. These are a new feature of Silicon Chip magazine sponsored by Jaycar. Each month two or three Mini Projects get published in Silicon Chip, and we will be building those projects together on the channel each month!

If you’re interested in Silicon Chip magazine (it’s really good!) then I would certainly encourage you to subscribe.

In this video I misspoke and said this was the “May 2004” issue of the magazine, but of course it is the “May 2024” issue of the magazine! Unfortunately I missed that errata during editing and didn’t include a title clip correction.

I don’t understand what happened that caused that video corruption we saw earlier in the video. I suspect the workstation I was using to record the video had some other processing task which interfered with its recording speed or something? Hopefully this is not an ongoing problem. It’s not a problem I have seen before.

Update: ElectroneX has now been and gone and my write up about the day is over here: My day at ElectroneX with my friend. I got my photo with Dave Jones!

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!

Kaisi Soldering Tools With Desoldering PumpThis is an image of the product.notes

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Visitor Alarm | Project 9/20 | Maxitronix 20in1 | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

In this video I do the ninth Maxitronix 20in1 Electronic Project Lab project: Visitor Alarm.



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 16MP USB CameraThis is an image of the product.

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Electronics Project #6: Piezoelectric Buzzer Volume Control | In The Lab With Jay Jay

This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

Silly Job Title: Amp Alchemist

In this video I put a 2k potentiometer in series with a piezoelectric buzzer to act as a volume control.

The project I mention in the beginning of this video is the Educational 555 Board from PCBWay which we will build and test soon.

The video I make the hook clip test probes in is this one: Electronics Project: Hook Clip Test Probes to DuPont Jumpers | In The Lab With Jay Jay.

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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 Long Handle Wire BrushThis is an image of the product.notes

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Interlude #5: Learning LTspice Part 2 | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

You can support this channel on Patreon: patreon.com/JohnElliotV

Part 1 of this two part series is here.

In this video I continue to make my first LTspice circuit simulation. I am running this software under Wine on KDE Plasma running on Debian 12 bookworm.

I got some help with this simulation over on the EEVblog forum: Help with modeling multivibrators in LTspice.

There are some important errata concerning the above over on the EEVblog:

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!

Maxitronix 30 In 1 (30in1) Electronics Project Lab KitThis is an image of the product.notes

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