Category Archives: Video

Electronics Project #1: ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen Teardown | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

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

Silly Job Title: Electron Herder

This video is a teardown of the ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen which I did for YouTube user t1d100 who asked me about it over here: Demo of the ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen | In The Lab With Jay Jay.

I made a bunch of mistakes while making this video, so please bear with me. I tried to add some captions to explain things when I went wrong.

The discharge pen that I have was purchased from Amazon Australia here: 1000V Portable Capacitor Discharge Pen High Voltage Quick Discharging Tool Constant Discharge Pen Electronic Repairs Discharge Pen ALKOY.

There seems to be a similar product available from Amazon USA here: YEKMLCO Capacitor Discharge Pen Fast Discharging High Voltage 1000V Repair Tool Discharger for Electronic Safety Intelligent (affiliate link).

In the video you can watch me break this thing open. I didn’t exactly know how to do it, and I permanently damaged the device while opening it. In the end I wasn’t 100% sure what the safe and proper way to open these things really is. Giving it a mighty pull might work, otherwise you will need to leverage off some friction locks.

Before I broke the device open I tried to measure the resistance across its probes, but all three measurement devices reported open circuit. The device doesn’t seem to engage the resistor until it detects a voltage.

Eventually I got the device open, you can see some photos of the circuit board below, and I make some attempt to identify the components.

The MB10F on the top is a bridge rectifier, the M7F in the middle is a rectifying diode, and the resistor at the bottom is 2MΩ. In the video I say that the resistor is a “two ohm resistor”, but it is actually a “two MEGA ohm resistor” (I knew that, I just misspoke).

I’m not 100% sure what the CS01N100 A3R is, but it seems than an CS01N100 A4R is a silicon N-Channel Power MOSFET, so I think that’s probably what that is.

As I broke this device during the teardown I have purchased myself a replacement device for AU$23.02.

In the video I use the following equipment (affiliate links where possible):

Mini Digital Tweezers Miniware DT71 Mini Digital Tweezers Smart SMD LCRDVF Tester Multimeter Signal Generator for Measuring Components
SMD Digital Tweezers UNI-T UT116A Digital Tweezers Smart SMD Tester Electrical Multimeter Resistance Capacitance Continuity Diode Test Meter
Component Tester FNIRSI DSO-TC3 Digital Oscilloscope Transistor Tester 10MS/s Sampling Rate 500kHz Bandwidth Support Diode LCR Detect Signal Generator
Soldering Station Horusdy 2in1 Soldering Station Solder Iron Rework Hot Air Blower Digital SMD Display + 11 Tips, 4 Nozzles & Tweezer Set
Mini Screwdriver Set Legion Tools Precision Mini Screwdriver Set 11pc Jeweller Laptop Phone Watch Repair Tool
Repair Mat Kaisi Heat Insulation Silicone Repair Mat with Scale Ruler and Screw Position for Soldering Iron, Phone and Computer Repair Size: 13.7 x 9.8 Inches
Desoldering Pump Kaisi Professional Solder Auxiliary Tool 6 piece double-sided repair tool with Desoldering Wick & Desoldering Pump
Craft Knife Precision Craft Knife Set 52pcs Professional Razor Sharp Knives for Art, Hobby

In the video I have trouble with the connections into the DSO-TC3, the connections are documented here: FNIRSI DSO-TC3.

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 52 in 1 Tiger WrenchThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Channel News #1: Stetmann Cosplay Costume Reveal | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

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

Silly Job Title: Craig Entertainer

Here it is! As planned, my new costume! Just for fun when I record electronics videos in my lab I’m gonna dress myself up like Egon Stetmann the scientist from StarCraft II:

The cosplay costume reveal is in this video. Also some news and discussion about the goals for the channel over the longer term.

As mentioned in this video I will have a new job title for my ID card for each video. The inaugural job title is Craig Entertainer, for my only regular reader, Craig. :)

Here are some affiliate links to the bits and pieces I got for the costume:

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!

aToolTour Extra Long Magnetic Drill Bit ExtensionThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Johann Hari

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Johann Hari is definitely a crank. I like him already! He wrote a book about drugs and addiction called Chasing the Scream, and there was a famous TED talk he did about that. I haven’t read Chasing the Scream, but this evening I am going to read Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again.

Note: the links to Amazon above are affiliate links. I recently signed up for an affiliate account with Amazon. Is that cool? Is that not cool at all? What sort of disclosures are appropriate when you use affiliate links? I have never used them before and am not expecting to make any significant amount of money with them, so maybe I should just not use affiliate links at all? I dunno. Would be happy to hear from you if you have an opinion.

Early Content #11: Demo of the ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

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

In this video I demo my new ALKOY Capacitor Discharge Pen.

The bench multimeter I use in this video is my OWON XDM1041 and the bench power supply is my RIDEN RD6006.

The demo circuit used a 1KΩ 1/4W resistor, a 25V 330μF electrolytic capacitor, and an 18V supply.

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 Heat Shrink Wire ConnectorsThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Adrian Black goes PRO

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In my feed today a note from Adrian Black from Adrian’s Digital Basement that he was retiring from his infosec job and going full-time content creator for his YouTube channels. His announcement is here. It’s fun because I managed to be the first person to wish him luck and my name was in the credits because I now support him on Patreon! You can see the proof in the screenshot below! :)

Unboxing #5: Unboxing of AliExpress TE-801 Third Hand With Magnifier | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

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

In this video I unbox two “different” helping hands (AKA “third hand”) only to discover they are the same TE-801 model.

I purchased these separately on AliExpress:

They are exactly the same product so if you’re planning to purchase might as well get the cheapest option. Note that the first link above also has a separate more expensive option which is actually a different product, I didn’t get one of those.

In addition to unboxing these third hands I also add some 4mm heat shrink to the alligator clips to take the bite out of the teeth.

Note: in this video I have the annoying habit of calling “heat shrink”, “shrink wrap”. The correct term is heat shrink, shrink wrap is a different type of thing.

In the video I use 4mm yellow heat shrink:

The hot air gun I use is a part of my Horusdy Soldering Station.

The batteries I use are Duracell AAA batteries.

My gloves are:

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!

ENGINEER PA-09 Crimping ToolThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Early Content #10: Enameled Bodge Wire With UV Solder Mask | 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 on this show’s homepage which is here.

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

In this video I solder three different sized bodge wires onto some perfboard for practice and for the purpose of exposition. After attaching the three bodge wires I cover them with UV solder mask.

If you haven’t heard of the expression “bodge wire” before, ChatGPT will explain.

I want to thank my mate Bruce from Branchus Creations for recommending the enameled wire of various sizes, the Swann Morton blades, and the Amtech flux.

I got three rolls of this enameled copper wire from AliExpress:

The diameters of the various rolls I got were:

Size mm inches
Small 0.07mm 0.003″
Medium 0.16mm 0.006″
Large 0.31mm 0.012″

I got the “coppery” colour, not the red stuff.

The Swann Morton blade handles I got were these:

I got three types of blades in #15C, #15, and #10 sizes:

The #15C Swann Morton blade is the smallest and is so far my favourite. The #15C is the blade I use in this video.

My flux is:

The industrial/precision tweezers I mention in the video are these:

The solder lugs I refer to are these:

The perfboard I used in this video was a 2x8cm board which I picked up from AliExpress:

I use two microscopes in this video:

In the video I reference my thermal imager:

My gloves are:

My head-mounted magnifying glasses are:

The soldering iron I use in this video is a part of my Horusdy soldering station:

My desoldering pump came in this kit:

The solder mask I ordered was this green stuff, but the stuff they actually sent me was red:

The solder I use in this video is:

My paint brush is the 5/0 sized brush from this set:

The blow torch I mention in this video is this one:

My Kapton tape and tape dispenser are these:

The bench multimeter I use in the video is a:

  • OWON XDM1041 Bench Multimeter

The isopropyl (IPA) alcohol I use in this video is this stuff:

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!

Amazon Basics Ratchet ScrewdriverThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!