Tag Archives: schematic

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: DA-15 (D-Sub) Breakout for R&S NGx/LCX Digital I/O

Posted on October 2, 2022 by lui_gough

When I was young, I never imagined that I would be designing PCBs for manufacture overseas, rather than doing it at home. But ever since JLCPCB stepped up with their offer, I can now get five double-sided boards of up … Continue reading →

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Project: USB/LAN 40-Input 1W/2W/4W Solid-State Relay Multiplexer w/RP2040

Posted on September 24, 2022 by lui_gough

Running experiments has been a big part of my electronics hobby and having test equipment is quite important to making that happen. While I am most fortunate to have been involved in many element14 RoadTests and have had equipment donated … Continue reading →

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

Modified: An Annoying Manson HCS-3102 Power Supply Fan Behaviour

Posted on June 11, 2022 by lui_gough

Almost a decade ago, I was a fresh undergraduate commencing a PhD where I needed some affordable basic power supplies for bulk power. I came across the Manson HCS-3102 which have been the basis of many rebrands – a switching … Continue reading →

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Project: Crude Inverter V2 (Downlight Transformer) & Efficiency Measurements

Posted on September 16, 2021 by lui_gough

Apologies for the inconsistent blogging schedule – I’ve been totally swamped with work (as usual), but some things take more time than expected as I keep thinking of new things to try. This post is a follow-up to my previous … Continue reading →

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Project: A DIY Parts-Bin Crude Square Wave DC to AC Power Inverter

Posted on September 7, 2021 by lui_gough

It’s been a while since I’ve done a project of my own, but I had a bolt of inspiration all of a sudden thanks to my recent repair of a sub-standard modified sine-wave inverter from China (and a brief mention … Continue reading →

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Project: Generic ICL8038-based Signal Generator Kit

Posted on March 1, 2021 by lui_gough

Having grown up with through-hole electronics kits, I have blogged about constructing quite a few inexpensive Chinese “generic” electronics kits. For the most part, I rarely come across any new kits, but recently, this particular kit caught my eye. This … Continue reading →

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Note: Canton Power DDO603SA Buck Boost Module uses a Boost Converter IC?

Posted on December 2, 2020 by lui_gough

Just this morning, I received a comment from Franc, a long-time reader, on my post about the dubious Canton Power DDO603SA 3.3V Buck-Boost Converter Module: The link to the ME2149F datasheet is dead. Here is another one: https://datasheet.lcsc.com/szlcsc/1810081413_MICRONE-Nanjing-Micro-One-Elec-ME2149FSG_C236784.pdf The spec … Continue reading →

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Project: HX-1021 “Green Lighting” LED Color Small Night Light Kit

Posted on March 19, 2019 by lui_gough

Gough’s kit crusade continues with this HX-1021 “Green Lighting” LED Color Small Night Light kit, costing just AU$2.73 including postage. This one was incorrectly listed on eBay as a “mains motion light”, but the lack of a PIR detector is … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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

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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Review, Teardown: “Generic” BT-168 Battery Tester

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lui_gough

A short while back, I posted about this generic battery tester, which was a cheap and nasty clone of a model which was quite popular, which I used frequently as a child. In my quest to buy it, I came … Continue reading →

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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: 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 , , , , , , | 14 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 →

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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 , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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 , , , , , , | 6 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

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 →

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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