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Unboxing #20: METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station | 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 I unbox my new METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station which I ordered recently from element14.

I keep my notes about this equipment on my person wiki, over here: METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station.

Before I purchased this equipment I made some notes about my research and decisions and element14 had the best price by far.

As I mention in the video my new PS-900 soldering station uses the METCAL SmartHeat technology. You can read more about SmartHeat over here:

Per the above links the Metcal SmartHeat technology is available in various solutions:

The PS Series (which I got) is the entry level system. You can spend much more than I did!

I found this document Metcal – Tip Temperature Guide which describes the various tip options (Metcal calls the tips “cartridges”) along with their temperature specifications.

As promised the link for my electric scissors is here: Jackcat Electric Scissors.

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!

gku AC1009 Underdesk Keyboard DrawerThis is an image of the product.notes

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New Book Teardown #6: God Created the Integers (2005) | 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 I take a look at God Created the Integers edited by Stephen Hawking and published in 2005.

Hawking’s other book which I mention in this video is On The Shoulders Of Giants.

I am sorry that my pronunciation of European names is kind of terrible. While working through the book I made some notes on my wiki about pronouncing various names: God Created the Integers.

At 12 hours (the YouTube maximum video length) this is my longest video so far! If you do watch the whole thing through to the end, you are my type of person, so please do let me know! :)

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.

Let’s go shopping!

Mail Call #16: METCAL PS-900; Peak Atlas DCA75 Pro, LCR45, ESR70; ESP32; Pi Zero, Pico; 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 I receive the following equipment in the mail:

As I mentioned the open-source architecture books are available free online: The Architecture of Open Source Applications.

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!

Aussishop CalipersThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Spare steam keys

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I purchased this Humble Bundle without realizing I already owned most of those “games”. I now have spare keys for:

These keys are free to good home. If you’re interested PM @jj5 on libera.chat and I will send to you. (I will cross them out of the above list when I give the key to someone.)

Electronics Project #10: TJ-56-428 4-Digit Digital DIY Clock | 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

Silly Job Title: Switch Sleuth

Happy New Year!

In this video, my first video for 2025, I construct a 4-digit digital clock I recently purchased from AliExpress: TJ-56-428 4-Digit Digital DIY Clock Kits with Acrylic Shell, DIY Alarm Clock Soldering Practice Kit for Learning Electronics.

I thought it might be nice to kick off the new year with an actual electronics project, as that is what this channel is supposed to be mostly about!

I translated the instructions from Chinese to English, and those are here: TJ-56-428. These include instructions for use of the complete and fully assembled clock.

This was a great chance to try out my new METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station and I am pleased to report that I am very happy with my new soldering iron! It is a pleasure to use.

The heart of this circuit is the STC15W404AS which is a microcontroller! It has been pre-programmed with the clock functionality, there was no software or source code that shipped with the kit.

Update: my mate @sadata777 pointed out that there was a protective coating on the acrylic and I remove that in this video: https://youtu.be/y9btakLOCHc

Update: my mate Joe pointed out that I had the case on back-to-front which you can see me fix here: https://youtu.be/IyJ3IHgRfiw

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 IC Chip Pickup ToolThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Old Book Teardown #11: Interactive Television (1995) | 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

Silly Job Title: Outlet Overlord

In this video I take a look at Interactive Television: A Comprehensive Guide for Multimedia Technologists by Winston William Hodge published in 1995.

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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Magnetism Detector | Project 12/20 | 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 I do the 12th project from the Maxitronix 20in1 (the Sensor Robot 20): Magnetism Detector.

In this project we control a BJT transistor with a magnetic reed switch.

We use the thermal camera to observe heat in the transistors and LEDs during operation.

This is a plain DC circuit with no signals so there was no call for measuring anything with the oscilloscope.

I got myself a little confused about normally open and normally closed circuits during the video, but I think I was clear enough about that in the end.

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

Let’s go shopping!

Equipment from Peak Electronic Design

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The British company Peak Electronic Design has a wonderful range of Test Instruments.

Today I purchased these ones:

Still on my wish list is this one:

The reason for this particular splurge is that after I purchased my METCAL PS-900 Soldering Station element14 sent me an email with a coupon for 15% off. Since these Peak Atlas devices were on my wish list I figured I might as well get them while I can get 15% off.