Monthly Archives: May 2015

Trip to HK & CN 2014 – Part 7: Being a Tourist – Big Bus Tour (Part 2)

Posted on May 31, 2015 by lui_gough

Yikes! Time flies, but time for blogging? Well that sometimes happens, but it’s no guarantee. Always good to get things down before the memories fade too much, so I’ll try to turn back the clock to the 6th January, in … Continue reading →

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Review: Seagate Archive 8Tb 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive

Posted on May 24, 2015 by lui_gough

Hard drive storage space is one thing which always seems to run out regardless of how much you have. Hard drive manufacturers have been working to push the capacity of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) drives constantly, but have lately hit … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing | Tagged , , , , , | 37 Comments

Teardown & Test: Nelson Cougar 60 Electronic Downlight Transformer

Posted on May 24, 2015 by lui_gough

You never quite go to Bunnings without leaving with quite a few items. While walking around the aisles, the Nelson Cougar 60 caught my eye. This is an electronic transformer designed for use with halogen downlights up to 60 watts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Review & Test: Philips LEDbulb B22 14w 1400lm LED Globe

Posted on May 24, 2015 by lui_gough

Sometimes you need to solve your own problems around the house, and the best place to visit is a hardware store. Just last week, I took a trip to Bunnings, and I couldn’t resist surveying their array of LED light … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Teardown: Genuine Asus A32-1015 Li-Ion Netbook Battery Pack

Posted on May 23, 2015 by lui_gough

Normally my teardowns involve taking apart dead compatible replacement batteries, but this post is a little different. My latest netbook, an Asus eeePC R011CX seems to have developed a fault whereby the battery detection is intermittent. When charging from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Electronics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Teardown: IKEA Koppla 6-outlet Powerboard

Posted on May 23, 2015 by lui_gough

My trip to IKEA netted me many interesting items, which I am slowly sifting through. IKEA is not only about furniture – there is some lighting and electrical as well that interests me. In general, powerboards are pretty simple household … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Unintentional Teardown & Repair: Kingston 128Gb UHS-I SDXC Card

Posted on May 23, 2015 by lui_gough

A while back, I posted a gripe article about how I disliked some aspects of the Secure Digital memory card format, one of the issues being the fragility of the plastic shell. Through no fault of my own, it seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Memory | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Project: A Fluorescent Starter Based Glow Lamp

Posted on May 22, 2015 by lui_gough

This week marks the official opening of the Vivid Sydney outdoor light show for 2015. Sadly, the weather is absolutely horrible today, with scattered heavy showers all over Sydney meaning it’s another “stay at home” day. This got me thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The tarnished Opal continues to darken …

Posted on May 21, 2015 by lui_gough

Suffice it to say, followers would have realized the difficulties I have had in getting satisfactory responses from Opal for anything less than a trivial enquiry. While the last post has seen update upon update, it’s probably time to start … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Project: Caroma Slimline Dual-Flush Cistern Inlet Valve Replacement

Posted on May 17, 2015 by lui_gough

The venerable flushing toilet. A miracle of engineering, a marvel that revolutionized sanitation and improved health of most living in developed areas. Yet, it is one of the things we least think about, that is, until it breaks. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Power Bank Endurance Test – Hillo Power Jin Gangxia (Part 8)

Posted on May 11, 2015 by lui_gough

The endurance testing on the power bank has reached another milestone, this time reaching 400 cycles since the test began, adding 50 cycles from the previous report and now running for a total of around nine months. All in all, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Power Bank | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Mega Review, Teardown: IKEA Sparsam CFL & Ledare LED Globes

Posted on May 11, 2015 by lui_gough

Late last week, I made my once-in-a-year or so pilgrimage to IKEA, just in time for Mother’s Day. I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I’m at IKEA, and my mind runs wild with questions like … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Visited: CeBIT Australia 2015

Posted on May 10, 2015 by lui_gough

Another year, and it’s another trip to CeBIT Australia, one of Australia’s premier technology trade and business events. This year, it was held Tuesday 5th May to Thursday 7th May at Sydney Olympic Park, similarly to last year. Being a … Continue reading →

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Experiment: SSH Honeypot – Weeks 3 and 4

Posted on May 10, 2015 by lui_gough

This has been a rather interesting experiment that I started and didn’t really “turn off” despite intending to. Unfortunately, last week, I didn’t have the time to analyze the data from the honeypot, and another week has come around, so … Continue reading →

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Review: Prof Revolution S2 8000 PCI-E Satellite Tuner Card

Posted on May 9, 2015 by lui_gough

Very recently, I was thinking of expanding my satellite system with a third and fourth receiver, only to be shocked to discover that my favourite tuner (the pricey, but otherwise rock solid TBS 6925) has been discontinued. The replacement, the … Continue reading →

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Teardown: Good Looking Counterfeit Nikon EN-EL14a Battery

Posted on May 8, 2015 by lui_gough

Despite having thought that I kissed my money goodbye, I still went back to eBay to lodge a case. Within 24 hours, without any word, I received a refund and the case was considered closed. As I did receive a … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Good Looking Counterfeit: Nikon EN-EL14a Battery

Posted on May 7, 2015 by lui_gough

Something most digital photographers don’t leave home without is a spare battery. Nikon’s excellent entry-level DSLRs (e.g. D3200, D3300) use the EN-EL14 series of batteries, with the EN-EL14a being the higher capacity revision that can be interchanged in the older … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Photography | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Mega-Teardown: An Assortment of Alkaline 9V Batteries

Posted on May 5, 2015 by lui_gough

A while back, I had some fun pulling apart an old carbon-zinc style 9V cell, which is a pretty basic experiment I think everyone should at least try at some stage in their lives. This time, it’s time to teardown … Continue reading →

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Teardown, Analysis: Unbranded Plastic Case HDMI 2-Port Splitter

Posted on May 5, 2015 by lui_gough

A short while ago, I did an analysis of an unbranded metal cased HDMI splitter, to discover that it has been designed in such a way to be non-compliant with HDCP requirements. At the time, I had ordered another model, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Visited: The South-West Rail Link (Liverpool to Leppington)

Posted on May 5, 2015 by lui_gough

Having spent a decent chunk of my life on public transport, whenever anything happens, it immediately captures my interest. The rail network had suffered through many years of neglect, and has only been undergoing “slow” evolution – I’ve only really … Continue reading →

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Review, Teardown: Xiaomi (Mi) Mini Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker (NDZ-03-GA)

Posted on May 1, 2015 by lui_gough

The Xiaomi or Mi brand has been gaining prominence in Asia for providing functional, quality and elegant products at very reasonable prices. Initially focusing mainly on smartphones, they have diversified into power banks, tablets, audio and mobile phone related accessories. … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Computing, Electronics, Tablet | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments