Author: voltlog

Voltlog #66 – Cheap NiMH Rechargeable Battery Testing

If you were following my InTheMail videos you probably seen these green rechargeable batteries that I got from ebay quite cheap, I think they were like 50 cents a piece. I got 4 pcs in AA size and 4 pieces in AAA size and little did I know about how crappy these could be.

Voltlog #65 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail, the series that will make your account balance go negative or so I’ve been told by my viewers. I admit it myself, when I watch these kind of episodes from other youtubers and i see something interesting, there is no going back, I have to order that stuff.

Here is a list with the items shown in this video:

  • 3W RGB Flashing Rainbow LED
  • Mini LCD Digital Humidity Temperature Meter
  • ACS712 Current Sensor Module
  •  TTP226 8 Channel Capacitive Touch Sensor
  • W25Q32B Winbond 32M SPI Flash Memory
  • Universal USB breakout board
  • Adjustable DC-DC Step-Down Converter
  • 5.8GHz Microwave Radar Sensor
  • AA NiMH Rechargeable Battery

Links for all of these items will be in the video description which is visible on youtube.

Voltlog #64 – DIY Adjustable Power Supply With Enclosure

Today I’m going to be building a complete DIY analog bench power supply. The actual analog power supply kit (0-30V 0-3A) that I’m going to be using, is this one, it was shown and assembled in voltlog #8. Besides that I’m going to be using this plastic enclosure which I think is quite nice and perfect for such a project, this one can also be found on banggood and there will be links in the description for all the items used in this build.

Voltlog #62 – Rigol DS1054Z Fan Replacement

Everybody knows this is a great scope for the money but as usual test equipment doesn’t use the best solutions in terms of cooling fans and associated hardware. They care mostly about keeping the unit cool and not about the noise the unit makes because usually these are used in environments where multiple equipment is run at the same time, the noise level is already high so it doesn’t matter much if a small 50mm fan is adding noise.

But it’s a totally different story for us hobbyists that are using these pieces of test equipment indoor, in our homes. We usually want units with passive cooling or with silent fans.

Voltlog #61 – Dummy Load Special

This episode will be taking a look at different dummy load models, these are all purchased either from ebay or from banggood so they’re easy to get and inexpensive. I just wanted to show them together and make a bit of a comparison just to help you understand the differences between these models so that you can choose the model that will fit your needs best. I have 5 dummy loads in total, starting from $5 a piece up to $20 a piece.
There might be slight variations of these available for purchase , some might come configured for different maximum power dissipation, some might have enclosure but those are all details that you can figure out on your own. Today I’m just going to point out the major differences and features of each one.

0:54 ZHIYU ZB2L3 Battery capacity tester

2:38 Digital Battery Capacity Tester Model 2

3:16 Analog Dummy Load 100V 6A XHDZ-FZ-2D

5:44 ZHIYU ZB206+ Battery capacity tester

11:10 eLoad USB Data Logging Dummy Load

19:00 ZHIYU ZPB30A1 Electronic load

 

Voltlog #60 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail video where I show you everything I purchase electronics related.

A list of items appearing in this video:

  • 0:10 Hakko A1321 ceramic heating element
  • 4:30 Soldering iron soft metallic cleaning sponge
  • 5:25 Alcohol plastic container 200ml
  • 6:00 Antistatic ESD working gloves
  • 7:21 Star shaped led aluminium pcb base
  • 8:00 Cree XTE White LED
  • 9:33 Pentalobe 0.8mm screwdriver
  • 10:25 Excellway CH2 Quick Wire Connector
  • 11:30 M3 x 25mm black countersunk hex screw
  • 12:27 High voltage 3V to 7KV boost module
  • 14:32 1W 350mA led driver with pwm control
  • 16:38 DHT11 humidity and temperature sensor
  • 17:23 Bi-directional 4 line level converter module

Voltlog #58 – EasyEDA Free Online PCB Design Software Review

The guys from EasyEDA contacted me and asked if I could do this review I accepted and they’re also going to be offering some free coupon codes for my viewers which you can use to order PCBs but more on that towards the end of this video.

EasyEDA being a cloud app it’s supported on every platform / operating system. You get schematic capture, circuit simulation and pcb layout functionalities. You can import files or projects created with other design tools like Eagle, Kicad or Altium and i’m sure it does most of the things that every pcb design tools does.

You can share and collaborate with other people on your projects so that’s a big selling point for EasyEDA and they made sure to put that on their front page. And I’m sure a bunch of other features that are not mentioned on their homepage and best of all you always get to work with the latest version because the app is on the server not on your computer. Another good thing is that you have the whole process from design to finished PCB on one single app or service and you just click through until you get the PCBs at your door and that might be a big advantage for some people.

Now, ofcourse a big concern with these kind of web based apps is what happens if they decide to shutdown the service? Well the guys from EasyEDA say that if they ever decide to shutdown the service they will open source the code and allow people to download all their projects so in theory you are covered, you could host your own server if that ever happens.

For more info, you should watch the video below.

Voltlog #57 – InTheMail

Another InTheMail video because I know you like seeing these electronics items from China.

Here is a list with the items shown in this video:

  • Prototyping PCBs
  • Carbide PCB Micro Drill Bits Set
  • 1W 3W 5W 6x LED Aluminium Printed Circuit Board
  • 1W 3W 5W Star Shaped LED PCB
  • 20W Waterproof IP67 LED Driver
  • EL Panel 10cm x 10cm
  • 3V Flat Vibration Motor
  • High Voltage Boost 400KV Step-Up Module
  • Small Plastic Bottle With Needle
  • Gelid Silent 5 Cooling Fan Replacement for Rigol DS1054Z
  • 18650 Battery Storage Case
  • Small Plastic Project Box Black
  • 3P4T Rotary Selection Switch
  • NodeMCU ESP8266 Module with CP2102 USB to Serial
  • LM2596 DC-DC Step Down Module
  • HC-SR501 PIR Motion Detection Sensor Module
  • 2000W SCR Motor Speed Controller
  • LT1083 Power Supply Kit
  • Maiwo K104 USB 3.0 to 2.5 Inch Sata Hard Drive Cable Interface

As usual links for these items will be posted in the video description.