Tag Archives: electronics

Visited: ElectroneX Expo (5-6th September 2018)

Posted on September 9, 2018 by lui_gough

Every two years, the ElectroneX Expo comes to Sydney. This expo is like a trade show for those involved in electronics design and assembly with a number of stalls from relevant vendors, free talks and is held in conjunction with … Continue reading →

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Repair: Soyoung S-C18 Soymilk Maker

Posted on August 20, 2018 by lui_gough

This weekend, a friend of ours had a small emergency – her soymilk maker stopped working and was completely dead. The particular unit was a Soyoung S-C18 which claimed to be a unit specially made by Joyoung for the Australian … Continue reading →

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Note: Bosch Sensortec BMP280 vs BME280 Sensor Confusion

Posted on August 5, 2018 by lui_gough

While looking around for some cheap environmental sensors, I came across the seemingly ideal and relatively popular Bosch Sensortec BME280. This is a digital I2C sensor that can operate at 1.8 or 3.3V, providing temperature, humidity and barometric pressure measurements … Continue reading →

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Tested: MINI-360 (MP2307-based) “3A” Buck Converter Module

Posted on July 4, 2018 by lui_gough

As mentioned in my earlier Canton-Power buck-boost module review, voltages from batteries are rarely exactly the voltages you need to safely and reliably power your electronic creations. While that converter was rather acceptable, the efficiency wasn’t exactly stellar. In the … Continue reading →

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Tested: Canton-Power DDO603SA 3.3V Buck-Boost Converter Module

Posted on July 3, 2018 by lui_gough

If you like to experiment with electronics, sooner-or-later you’re going to build something you’d like to use in a portable way, perhaps running off batteries. While things that run off 5V are easy to cater for, as USB is ubiquitous, … Continue reading →

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Project: Generic Electronic 57 LED Hourglass Kit (TJ-56-205)

Posted on May 11, 2018 by lui_gough

I couldn’t help myself, so once I finish one kit, it’s often straight onto another. This kit was sold as an electronic LED hourglass and was a little more expensive at AU$3.07 including postage. Compared to local suppliers, this is … Continue reading →

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Project: Generic 18 Red LED Flashing Love Heart Kit (TJ-56-30)

Posted on May 11, 2018 by lui_gough

Another day, another classic kit. It seems that LED heart-shaped displays are a timeless novelty, so after building a multi-coloured chasing heart and a breathing heart, why not a flashing one? For just AU$1.68 including postage, I managed to score … Continue reading →

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Project: Unbranded Generic NE555+CD4017 SMD LED Chaser Kit (YL-117)

Posted on May 10, 2018 by lui_gough

I had a little time this evening, so I thought, why not crack open a kit? After all, I did buy a stack of cheap eBay kits to keep me amused and give me something to write about … so … Continue reading →

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Project: EQKit HBL-22 Breathing Green LED Heart Kit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by lui_gough

I just can’t help myself, so I grabbed another kit off the pile and decided to build it. This is yet another “cheap” kit from eBay intended for educational use. This particular kit is an EQKit HBL-22 “breathing” LED heart … Continue reading →

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Project: Unbranded 38 x 5mm LED DIY Lamp Kit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by lui_gough

Trawling eBay listings for some more cheap kits to build resulted in some rather interesting discoveries. The kit in question was a 38 LED do-it-yourself LED lamp kit for AU$1.47. At that price, I thought I’d jump on it despite … Continue reading →

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Project: Generic Chinese Electronic LED Windmill Kit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by lui_gough

I’ve always been someone to enjoy constructing electronics kits from a young age. Even though I’ve become more experienced at soldering and more knowledgeable about electronics, I still find constructing new kits therapeutic and enjoyable for a bit of weekend … Continue reading →

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Repair: LG WF-T552A 5.5kg TurboDrum Washing Machine

Posted on March 8, 2018 by lui_gough

In what seems to be just another day at the office home, something always manages to need my attention. This time, it was our washing machine which was behaving strangely. This particular machine was an LG WF-T552A TurboDrum 5.5kg with … Continue reading →

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USB Connector Resistance: Another reason for slow phone/tablet charging

Posted on November 20, 2017 by lui_gough

It was back in 2014 when I first published about USB cable resistance as one reason why your phone or tablet might be charging slowly. At the time, quality cables with good gauge wires were hard to find, and many … Continue reading →

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Repair (?): ICOM IC-R75 that won’t turn on!

Posted on November 19, 2017 by lui_gough

Returning home from holidays is not easy. In some sense, I’d like to call it a holiday hangover. You start walking on the wrong side of the road, sleeping at odd hours, and in perpetual need of energy to unpack … Continue reading →

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Review: Uni-Trend UT210E Mini Clamp Meter

Posted on June 3, 2017 by lui_gough

When diagnosing electronics, I often wished I could make current measurements without having to bridge out a component, or cut a wire. The inconvenience and potential safety issues are sometimes overwhelming and I just decide not to bother measuring the … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Random: Birthday, Reflections, Taronga, CeBIT & the Kitchen Sink

Posted on May 29, 2017 by lui_gough

#include <stdio.h> int main (void) { printf(“Hello World!”); return(0); } It’s been quiet. Too quiet. Sorry for that. While I did say I was going on holidays and would be on a hiatus, I didn’t expect it to be a … Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Event, Opinion, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Teardown: RadioShack Amplified Telephone Earpiece (43-229)

Posted on January 5, 2017 by lui_gough

After my experimentation in building a T-coil receiver on my own, it seemed that the unit did have some issues which I eventually corrected. While it seems the schematic may have been a victim of a transcription error, I thought … Continue reading →

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

RoadTest Review: Texas Instruments TPS56C215EVM-762 Evaluation Module

Posted on December 31, 2016 by lui_gough

It’s new year’s eve and I’m busy working away. Why you ask? Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to be the recipient of another RoadTest item – this time, it’s a Texas Instruments Evaluation Module. The module in specific is the … Continue reading →

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Salvage Season: Pt 5 – Fisher-Rosemount Systems Model 275 HART Communicator

Posted on December 28, 2016 by lui_gough

“All this gear … and I still can’t get to your heart.” Welcome back to the salvage season series of posts. Lame joke aside, this post will be about a Fisher-Rosemount Systems Model 275 HART Communicator. So … what is … Continue reading →

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Project: AT89S52+DS1302-based LED Clock Kit (EC1204B-Equivalent)

Posted on November 9, 2016 by lui_gough

Since I started along the line of garish LED-adorned kits, I thought I’d order a few other kits built around the AT89S52. In this case, it was a clock based around the AT89S52 80C51 microcontroller and a DS1302 real-time clock. … Continue reading →

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

Project, Reverse Eng, Repair: ATmega328-based “Transistor Tester” Kit

Posted on October 27, 2016 by lui_gough

A common complaint and reason for the falling popularity of electronic kits is that none of them really let you build something that’s really useful that you couldn’t buy pre-built at a lower cost. I believe this complaint does have … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Project: YYDZW BH1417F-based Stereo FM Transmitter Kit

Posted on October 27, 2016 by lui_gough

While I was browsing the listings of electronics kits on eBay, I came across this particular stereo FM transmitter kit but I didn’t think much of it. In fact, given the chance to buy it, I passed over it twice. … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Project: Sainsmart Forty-9er “3W” 7.023Mhz QRP CW Transceiver Kit

Posted on October 21, 2016 by lui_gough

Even though I’m insanely busy, it seems I just can’t help myself when it comes to cheap Chinese kits available on eBay. Of course, having built most of the cheap radio-based kits already, there isn’t really that much to build … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Project: CD2003GP+SC3610D FM Receiver w/LCD Alarm Clock (74-108Mhz)

Posted on October 15, 2016 by lui_gough

My little “mission” to build random Chinese radio-kits from eBay continues with this rather odd and difficult kit. Unlike the other kits, this is the first to come with an LCD display, but is advertised strangely as FM Radio Kit … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Project: S66D/E 9018-based AM Radio Kit

Posted on October 2, 2016 by lui_gough

If you’ve been wondering about all the random radio kits I’ve posted about recently and had the thought “Gee, that guy must’ve just looked for any cheap radio kits on eBay and bought them all!” You’d be absolutely right. In … Continue reading →

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

Project: 7.023Mhz PIXIE_V3 QRP CW Tranceiver Kit

Posted on October 2, 2016 by lui_gough

After I stupidly decided to push the limits on the PIXIE_4.1 and subsequently destroyed its amplification, I wasn’t too concerned. Being the prepared sort, when it comes to low-cost kits, I sometimes buy two in anticipation that maybe some parts … Continue reading →

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Project: 7.023Mhz PIXIE_4.1 QRP CW Transceiver Kit

Posted on October 1, 2016 by lui_gough

Going along the same vein of “radio kits”, this one is a little bit different. This one is a do-it-yourself PIXIE 7.023Mhz QRP transciever intended for amateur (ham) radio morse code (CW) usage. It doesn’t have many specs, but apparently … Continue reading →

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

Project, Reverse Eng: Hex3653 AV2B Stereo FM Receiver Kit

Posted on September 28, 2016 by lui_gough

When I built my last radio kit, I lamented that there were some kits out there which were mainly black-box which don’t offer that much of an opportunity to learn about what is actually going on. While I was dismissive … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Review, Tested: Generic USB FM Transmitter (FM_MIC_V5.0.9)

Posted on September 27, 2016 by lui_gough

It wasn’t too long ago that I purchased a generic pocket radio kit on eBay and built it. But as anyone knows, when it comes to shopping online for cheap Chinese goods, there are often lots of things that can … Continue reading →

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

Repair: Apple Macintosh PowerBook 100 “Gotta re-cap ’em all!”

Posted on September 24, 2016 by lui_gough

In the last part of this little project, I managed to refurbish the two PowerBook 100 power supplies to a working condition. The next step is to refurbish the main unit itself. Even though I was equipped with the service … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments