Old Book Teardown #13: Student Manual for the Art of Electronics 2nd Edition (1989) | In The Lab

This post is part of my video blog and you can find more information about this video over here.

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Silly Job Title: Surge Sage.

In this video we have a look at an old book, the Student Manual for the Art of Electronics (find on archive.org). This old book references The Art of Electronics 2ed, but The Art of Electronics is up to 3ed now. In this video we just flip through the book to see what is inside.

This book is made obsolete by Learning the Art of Electronics 2ed, which is an ongoing project of ours.

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!

Yutiars Round Paint BrushesThis is an image of the product.notes

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Mail Call #34: Project Boxes, Power Adapters and Power Switches from AliExpress | 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

Silly Job Title: Electricity Guardian.

In this video we take a look at what has arrived in the mail from AliExpress.

I mention about a project I’m working on: Electronics Project #13: Sanyo AM/FM Digital Clock Radio RM6018 Teardown Part 1.

Here is a list of the stuff that arrived:

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 High-Precision Electronic ScaleThis is an image of the product.notes

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New hard drives

Yesterday I was talking to my friends on IRC about how I should use a proper RDBMS for ad hoc data analysis more often. Then I found myself a job.

The hard disks I use for my offsite backups are ready to be replaced. They are good reliable drives (Western Digital Ultrastar 8TB) but they have been in service for five years and the warranty is just about to expire.

So I wanted to get some new drives which will do me for the next five years. I needed to know: what are good reliable drives to buy?

It turns out Backblaze maintains Hard Drive Data and Stats.

I downloaded their data for Q1 2025 and wrote a few scripts to process it. The output was this report:

Report on hard drive failures

The first drive listed in the above report is an SSD, but I want an ordinary spinning rust HDD. The second drive listed is ST12000NM000J which is Seagate Exos X18 12 TB. I found them on Amazon for AU$499 and on eBay for AU$280. So I purchased three drives from eBay.

Time well spent. Thanks d0nk`! <3

Mail Call #33: Wrench Set, Allen Key Set, Sandpaper, USB Power, Scraper, and More | 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

Silly Job Title: Chief Fuse Blower.

In this video we take a look at what has arrived in the mail from AliExpress:

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 Multifunction Hook ToolsThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Electronics Project #13: Sanyo AM/FM Digital Clock Radio RM6018 Teardown Part 1 | 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

Silly Job Title: Note Taker.

In this video we teardown an old Sanyo RM6018 clock radio which I found on the street when I was walking home the other day. A search for LM8560 datasheet turns up a lot of interesting info. The LM8560 is what implements the clock part of the circuit. The radio is separate. We’re looking at the clock first, might have a look at the radio some other time. I have ordered some parts from AliExpress so that I can do part 2 of this video, so stand by for that.

We use the METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station for some spot soldering.

We use the Pro’sKit SS-331H Desoldering Pump to to remove some wires.

We use the Fluke 17B+ Digital Multimeter to test the battery.

We use the Riden RD6006 Bench Power Supply to deliver power for testing.

We use the Bosch IXO VI Electric Screwdriver to remove the screws from the case.

Shout out to my mate @nanofix who I mention in this video. If you’re interested in reballing he has a lot to teach you! Check out his Ultimate Microsoldering Tool Guide, particularly for hints about cleaning supplies.

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!

Damotk 5pcs Crevice Cleaning BrushThis is an image of the product.notes

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Old Book Teardown #12: Principles of Electronic Circuits 2nd Edition (1997) | 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

Silly Job Title: Technical Director.

In this video we teardown this old book: Principles of Electronic Circuits 2ed by Stan Burns and Paul Bond.

Some quotes which came up in the video:

Young man, in mathematics you don’t understand things. You just get used to them. — John von Neumann

If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics. — Richard Feynman

I mention that my friend from Learning as a hobby is going to send me the CDROM that goes with this book, so I will update this post with a link to the ISO when it arrives!

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 3pcs Universal Metal SpudgersThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!