Tag Archives: reverse engineer

Teardown: T Tersely USB-C OTG Adapter with PD Charging Pass-Through

Posted on October 29, 2023 by lui_gough

I’ve been rather interested in how USB-C “does its thing” when it comes with USB-C PD and DRD (dual-role devices). Being rather late to the USB-CC party, I’ve not had any experience with how it works at a low level, … Continue reading →

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Salvage, Teardown, Reverse Eng: ME Design PC2-1 Two Channel Power Controller

Posted on October 16, 2023 by lui_gough

In this post, I’m back to examine some of the items in my salvage from a rack system that formerly ran a lecture theatre. This post will be looking at a ME Design Two-Channel Power Controller which was used to … Continue reading →

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Project: Simple Python-based Controller for Tenda Beli SP3 Smart Wi-Fi Plugs

Posted on August 13, 2020 by lui_gough

The convenience and utility of remotely-controlled power switches is difficult to overlook once you’ve gotten used to having them around. Ever since the WeMo, I’ve realised just how useful they can be – for example, no more getting out of … Continue reading →

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

Reverse Engineer: Tenda Beli SP3 Smart Wi-Fi Plug Protocol

Posted on February 22, 2020 by lui_gough

Some readers may remember that I recently purchased a pair of Tenda Beli SP3 Smart Wi-Fi Plugs on sale. In the review and teardown, I discovered the units were nowhere near as secure as I had expected, operating in a … Continue reading →

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

Review: Orico 2139U3 2.5″ USB3.0 External SATA Hard Drive Enclosure

Posted on November 16, 2019 by lui_gough

After my recent marginally-satisfactory experience of purchasing external 2.5″ SATA to USB 3.0 enclosures from eBay and my recent caving-in to joining eBay Plus, I decided to capitalise on my newfound purchasing freedom by picking up two Orico 2139U3 2.5″ … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Tech Flashback: The CD+Graphics Format (CD+G)

Posted on March 31, 2019 by lui_gough

I think by now, everyone knows I like to go on a salvage. This includes going regularly into thrift shops to see what’s new (or old) and what could be had for a reasonable price. This week had been rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Project: EQKit PSK-1 Electronic “Voice Control” Switch Kit

Posted on March 17, 2019 by lui_gough

Continuing the kit-a-thon, I grabbed another EQKit out of the drawer – this one is a PSK-1 which was sold as an Electronic “Voice Control” Switch Kit for the princely sum of AU$1.98 including postage. As a kit that had … Continue reading →

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Project: EQKit MDS-60 Electronic Metal Detector Kit

Posted on March 17, 2019 by lui_gough

As a fan of building kits, my crusade to try building random cheap-Chinese kits continues with this EQKit MDS-60 Electronic Metal Detector Kit which I managed to get for AU$1.84. Being such a low-cost item, we don’t expect to build … Continue reading →

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

Project: “Generic” CD4060 SMD Musical LED Fancy Lantern Kit

Posted on March 10, 2019 by lui_gough

I have a drawer full of cheap kits and I’m on a mission to empty it! This time, I’m looking at a “generic” CD4060 SMD “musical” LED fancy lantern kit which was purchased for AU$2.89 including postage. What’s so fancy … Continue reading →

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Project: “Generic” Electronic 3-Person Voting Kit

Posted on March 10, 2019 by lui_gough

My love for kits and cheap thrills comes together when I shop online. A year-or-so ago, I scoured eBay for whatever cheap kits I could find so I could build them and given the rainy weather, it is time for … Continue reading →

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Project: Generic 16-Tones Electronic Music Box Kit

Posted on March 2, 2019 by lui_gough

Around a year ago, I went on a shopping spree for kits and ended up with a stash of them which I would attempt in my spare time. Chinese kits have all the fun of being relatively inexpensive, but also … Continue reading →

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

Not So Smart: TP-Link TL-SG105E V3.0 5-Port Gigabit Easy Smart Switch

Posted on November 3, 2018 by lui_gough

I’ve made a few mentions about VLANs in the recent past as it’s something that I find quite useful along with virtual APs with managing an ever-increasingly-complex home network. But as some more “basic” edge equipment may not be able … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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: 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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Hack: Customize the LED Shake-Stick Images

Posted on November 22, 2016 by lui_gough

As I managed to construct the LED shake-stick kit just yesterday evening, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with its operation. For one, the images weren’t particularly inspiring. I mentioned that it should be possible to replace the images in the ROM … Continue reading →

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Project: AT89S52-based LED Shake-Stick Kit

Posted on November 21, 2016 by lui_gough

Just recently, I built an AT89S52-based LED Heart and an LED Clock Kit, so I wondered just what else is out there that is AT89S52-based. Searching around on eBay led me to a “shake stick” kit for AU$4.37. It looked … Continue reading →

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

Project: AT89S52-based Multi-Coloured LED Heart Kit

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lui_gough

As my radio kit-building adventures have reached the “bottom” of the eBay well, with most of the kits available being built, I decided to branch out into other “low cost” kits to see what they are like. Most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 13 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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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 , , , , , | 29 Comments

Review, Teardown, Reverse Eng: Generic Battery Tester

Posted on September 27, 2016 by lui_gough

As a kid growing up in the 90’s, one fond memory I had was sorting through piles of batteries to see which ones were good and which ones needed to be discarded or recharged. With many toys and appliances using … Continue reading →

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Weekend Probing Pt. 2: Keweisi KWS-V20 USB Tester IC Connections

Posted on August 22, 2016 by lui_gough

What started off as a little exploration led me deeper to try and better understand what was going on with the Keweisi KWS-V20 USB Tester. Even though I don’t have any specialist bus sniffing gear, I decided to just wing … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Weekend Probing: Keweisi KWS-V20 USB Tester IC Connections

Posted on August 21, 2016 by lui_gough

After doing a quick review and test of the Keweisi KWS-V20 USB tester, the whole issue of the unknown microcontroller IC, the EEPROM which holds the accumulated charge and the LCD display really bugged me. I thought of the possibility … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Reverse Eng Pt 2: Watts Clever Easy-Off w/SMART Box (ES-AUS1103)

Posted on April 13, 2016 by lui_gough

Continuing on from my last post about the Watts Clever Easy-Off Sockets with Smart Box, there were a few things still bugging me in the back of my head. After all, they do advertise that their other system has >1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Reverse Eng: Watts Clever Easy-Off Sockets w/SMART Box (ES-AUS1103)

Posted on April 10, 2016 by lui_gough

Internet-of-things and home automation seem to be the cool thing nowadays, and remote controlling things is something many have been dabbling with, sometimes rather unsafely. Imagine my surprise when I walk into a Jaycar, and see a kit of IR-and-RF … Continue reading →

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

Review, Teardown: Philips GreenPerform Highbay BY619P LED Luminaire

Posted on November 30, 2014 by lui_gough

This week, I was very lucky to receive a rather large and heavy box. (No, It wasn’t pizza …) It was “unlovingly” left outside my front door by the postman. I wonder what it could be? It says Philips on … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Lighting | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Reverse Engineering: The KW203 USB Detector

Posted on November 2, 2014 by lui_gough

Since I decided to take apart the other USB Charger Doctor unit to determine how it worked, my curiosity could only be satisfied if I took apart this unit as well. Out of the two units, this was the pricier, … Continue reading →

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

Reverse Engineering: The USB Charger Doctor

Posted on October 28, 2014 by lui_gough

In my last post, I had a good look at the features of two different USB charger doctors, and went through a quick teardown. It was fascinating, especially for the blue unit, that they could make and supply such a … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Reverse-Engineering & Emulating the Kogan Active-Shutter 3D TV IR Protocol

Posted on January 19, 2014 by lui_gough

In an earlier post, I looked at the provided active-shutter 3D glasses from Kogan and aftermarket compatible glasses which can be used with their TVs. A key sticking point of that article was that different TVs often use different synchronization … Continue reading →

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

Teardown and Project: Clone Nikon ML-L3 IR Remote and Emulation

Posted on December 6, 2013 by lui_gough

Users of Nikon cameras, including the D3200, have had several choices for remote triggering. The use of a wired remote is traditional, with infrared (IR) remotes being common accessories for many and Wi-Fi just becoming the latest craze. The Product … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments