Category Archives: Learning

Extra Content #12: Fixing the Family Sunbeam Kettle | Learning Electronics In The Lab With Jay Jay

Posted on by
Reply

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 I take apart a broken kettle then put it back together, then magically it is fixed!

In this video I use my Yum Cha Mini Magnetic Precision Screwdriver Set for the first time. It takes me a little while to figure out how to clip the tips in. I needed the triangle bit for this job.

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!

Bosch IXO VI Electric ScrewdriverThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Electronics Project #7: ICL8038 Monolithic Function/Signal Generator Kit Build and Test | In The Lab

Posted on by
Reply

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: Buzz Boss

In this video I build and test this kit I purchased from AliExpress: ICL8038 Monolithic Function Signal Generator Module Sine Square Triangle Signal Generators DIY Welding Practice Kit.

My notes are on my wiki: ICL8038.

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!

Swann & Morten Handle For No. 10 10A 11 15 15A Scalpel HandleThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

New Book Teardown #5: Electrical Engineering 101 3rd Edition (2011) | In The Lab With Jay Jay

Posted on by
Reply

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 I take a look at Electrical Engineering 101: Everything You Should Have Learned in School…but Probably Didn’t 3rd Edition written by Darren Ashby and published in 2011.

In the book the author mentioned that they used to write for chipcenter.com which appears to have since been taken over by EE Times. ChatGPT provided more information.

The author also mentioned Mathcad. I’m planning to check that out over here: https://www.mathcad.com/

And some terms which came up (ChatGPT explains further):

Vcc
Voltage at the collector
Vee
Voltage at the emitter
Vdd
Voltage at the drain
Vss
Voltage at the source

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 100pcs Releasable Cable OrganizerThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Fixing duplication in HTML title element for WordPress with Yoast SEO installed

Posted on by
Reply

I was having a problem in WordPress for my blog where the title contained duplicate values, like “John’s blogJohn’s blog”.

The fix for me was to edit wp-content/themes/twentyeleven/header.php and disable a bit of the output, as shown below. I basically just added an if ( false ) to disable the code which caused the duplicate content.

This seems to effectively mean that Yoast SEO is in charge of the titles now. You can configure separately the homepage, posts, and pages titles in the Yoast SEO settings. I configure mine in Yoast SEO Settings / Content Types like this:

Homepage
Site title Separator Tagline
Posts
Title Separator Site title
Pages
Title Separator Site title
<title>
<?php
  // Print the <title> tag based on what is being viewed.
  global $page, $paged;

  wp_title( '|', true, 'right' );

// 2024-07-14 jj5 - OLD: I removed this because wp_title() (above) does everything that needs to be done.
if ( false ) {
  // Add the site name.
  bloginfo( 'name' );

  // Add the site description for the home/front page.
  $site_description = get_bloginfo( 'description', 'display' );
  if ( $site_description && ( is_home() || is_front_page() ) ) {
    echo " | $site_description";
  }

  // Add a page number if necessary:
  if ( ( $paged >= 2 || $page >= 2 ) && ! is_404() ) {
    /* translators: %s: Page number. */
    echo esc_html( ' | ' . sprintf( __( 'Page %s', 'twentyeleven' ), max( $paged, $page ) ) );
  }
}
?>
</title>

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

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

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.

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!

Scotch Titanium ScissorsThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Interlude #7: ElectroneX 2024 Debriefing | Learning Electronics In The Lab With Jay Jay

Posted on by
Reply

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:

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!

FNIRSI DC580 Power ModuleThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!