Extra Content #14: Previously Unreleased Content: Cleaning Resistors and Having a Chat | 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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Today I was organising my media files and I found this old video. I recorded this back in August 2023 but I never released it. I think back then I didn’t have this second channel and I decided this video wasn’t good enough for the main channel, so it just kind of got forgotten. But I thought it was fun so I have published it here for the record.

In this video I do a time lapse of me cleaning my resistors. While the time lapse is playing I include a narration in which I discuss things I had been reading at the time. There are two links for the show notes, being these:

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 USB 3.0 Powered 4-Port USB HubThis is an image of the product.

Let’s go shopping!

Extra Content #1: AliExpress diodes | 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 over here.

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

This is an old video I released on Elliot’s Extras back in September 2023. It didn’t get a write up on the blog at the time, so just doing that now. In this video, which was the first ever video for Elliot’s Extras, my second channel, I organise some of my diodes from AliExpress. This is a really long and really boring video, a perfect fit for the first Elliot’s Extras video. :)

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!

Tungfull TH-161 Rotary Tool Accessory SetThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

Ego surfing @ ChatGPT

In my dream last night I asked ChatGPT about… me. When I woke up, I did the obvious thing:

JJ5.net Overview

JJ5.net is a personal website run by John Elliot V, commonly known as Jay Jay. The site primarily serves as a hub for Jay Jay’s various projects, thoughts, and notes on technology and electronics. It includes a blog, a wiki, and a section dedicated to mini-projects, particularly those related to electronics.

The website is structured around Jay Jay’s interests, such as electronics, software development, and DIY projects. His blog discusses a range of topics, including technology trends and his personal projects, and is connected to his YouTube channel, “In The Lab With Jay Jay,” where he shares video content on similar topics.

The wiki on JJ5.net is quite extensive, serving as a repository for notes on his projects, study materials, and other technical resources. It’s a place where he documents his experiments, designs, and the outcomes of his electronic endeavors, particularly those involving kits from Jaycar Electronics and Silicon Chip magazine.

Overall, JJ5.net is a comprehensive resource for those interested in electronics, programming, and DIY technology projects, reflecting Jay Jay’s extensive involvement in these fields.

In The Lab Overview

“In The Lab With Jay Jay” is a YouTube video blog series created by John Elliot V, also known as Jay Jay. The series is centered around electronics projects and is tailored for hobbyists who are interested in various aspects of electronics, from building and repairing devices to exploring old technology.

The content is spread across two YouTube channels:

  1. Main Channel (@InTheLabWithJayJay) – This channel features high-quality content, including electronics projects and a popular segment called “Old Book Teardowns,” where Jay Jay examines and discusses old technical books related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  2. Second Channel (@ElliotsExtras) – This channel includes longer-form content that is less edited and more casual.

Jay Jay’s content is beginner-friendly, making it accessible to those new to electronics. He often covers a wide range of topics, including old gaming consoles like the original Xbox, microcontroller projects, and circuit design.

The series also features special shows, such as unboxings, mail calls, and mini-projects, where Jay Jay shares his experiences and knowledge in a hands-on, relatable manner. The series has gained a following for its mix of technical insights and approachable presentation style.

For more information, you can visit In The Lab With Jay Jay’s official site or check out the channels on YouTube​.

Mail Call #6: More Loot from Amazon and AliExpress! | 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 over here.

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

In this video I take a look at the following equipment which arrived in the mail.

The large scales I mention in this video (which can measure up to 30kg) are these ones: Disenkelubo 30kg 1g Electronic Scale.

You can find more info about how to use the screw pitch gauge on YouTube: Stainless Steel Pitch Scale Gauge.

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!

JST XH2.54 Pre-crimped Connector KitThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

My use case for git submodules

I have been chatting on IRC about how I’m learning git so I can use submodules and my friend @indigo wants to know my use case, so this post makes some effort to explain that with reference to one specific example.

I have a web framework/toolkit I am experimenting with called Mudball which is here: https://github.com/jj5/mudball

I use Mudball in (some of) my web projects, for example: https://github.com/jj5/www.jjlab.net

In the main project (in this case www.jjlab.net) I have a copy of Mudball in the ext/mudball directory. At the moment ext/mudball is setup as a git submodule.

I open the main project in my IDE (or text editor) and I want to be able to work on both the main application and the web framework/toolkit at the same time. Then when I’m done with some changes I want to run my `gui` script (it stands for “git update interactive”, not “graphical user interface”) which will increment my version numbers in inc/version.php and ext/mudball/inc/version.php and then add/commit/push any changes in both the main project and the web framework/toolkit.

The code for the `gui` command is here: kickass-libexec/bin/lx-gui.sh, it mostly just defers to lx_vcs_sync() which is here: kickass-libexec/src/2-module/vcs/vcs.sh.

The code which updates the version numbers is here: kickass-libexec/bin/lx-version-increment-patch.sh, it mostly just defers to other modules which are here: kickass-libexec/bin/libexec/version-increment-patch.php and here: kickass-libexec/bin/libexec/inc/version.php.

I have been using a similar setup for a long time with Subversion which uses the svn:externals facility (in place of git submodules) and I have a few scripts which help me manage that. My main tooling for this is known as svnman which is a bunch of scripts I wrote myself: Svnman.

Mail Call #5: Loot from Amazon and AliExpress! | 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 over here.

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

In this video I take a quick look at a few cheap bits and pieces I picked up from Amazon and AliExpress recently.

The stuff I got from Amazon was:

The stuff I got from AliExpress was:

I’ve got some more loot on order, so stand by for another mail call video soon!

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 before purchasing from Amazon, eBay, or AliExpress is a great way to support the channel at no cost to you. Thanks!

Arlec PB91 Plug-In RCD Safety Switch With Surge ProtectorThis is an image of the product.notes

Let’s go shopping!

I figured out how to avoid connascence of position

Instead of passing positional arguments to constructors (or functions), instead pass a list of value objects. The type of the value object will tell you the type of the value, so you don’t need to worry about the position. This is a super powerful means of supporting back-compat within your code base so you can move ahead at speed. Having value objects instead of simple types (bools, ints, floats, strings, etc) might have performance implications, but it also can be quite handy. So far so good for my use cases.