EEVblog - The Electronics Engineering Video Blog » EEVblog – Official Releases

EEVblog #243 – Vintage Brick Mobile Phone Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:11:39 +0000

What’s inside an almost 20 year old analog mobile phone?

Dave tears down a 1993/1994 vintage Motorola Ultra Sleek 9660 “Dynatac” phone and compares it with a Nokia 3310 from 2000

EEVblog #242 – Hakko FX-888 Soldering Iron Hack

EEVblog — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:13:03 +0000

Dave got fed up not knowing if his Hakko FX-888 iron was left on or not. So hacked the LED to toggle RED/GREEN, so it’s always on.
Toshiyuki Kita link

EEVblog #241 – Circuit Labs PCBs from New Zealand

EEVblog — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:32:51 +0000

http://www.pcbzone.net
http://iteadstudio.com/
Many people asked to see the PSU PCB’s from Circuit Labs in New Zealand.
Here is an in-depth look, compared with the same board from ITEAD Studios

EEVblog #240 – Power Supply Design Part 8

EEVblog — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:24:47 +0000

PART 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8b4h_UybLE
After some Arduino hurdles, Dave troubleshoots his DAC SPI driver code in “real time”, and takes a peek at an issue with the LCD I2C bus. As well as showing off his PSU PCB for the first time.
The PCB is from Circuit Labs in New Zealand:
http://www.pcbzone.net

EEVblog #239 – PCB Design For Manufacture Part 2

EEVblog — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:39:23 +0000

SIGN UP HERE: http://www.eevblog.com/2012/01/18/ucurrent-request-list/
PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXE_dh38HjU
A follow up to Dave’s popular PCB Design For Manufacture (DFM) tutorial video.
This time he updates his uCurrent PCB for production, including panelisation layout and component reel selection. Lots of the same ground is covered as in part 1, but with a specific real project example.

EEVblog #238 – Power Supply Design Part 7

EEVblog — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:28:20 +0000

Dave has changed a few things in the Rev B schematic of his power supply design. Talk on opamp specifications, I2C I/O expansion and AVR microcontroller pin usability.

Download the RevB schematic HERE

EEVblog #237 – Makerbot Thing-O-Matic Unboxing

EEVblog — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:14:57 +0000

Dave got a Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3D printer. A look at what’s inside the box, plus some bonus rants.
if it takes this long to un-box, how long will it take to build?

EEVblog #236 – FE-5680A Rubidium Standard Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I55uLRRvLCU
What’s inside the FE-5680A Rubidium frequency standard?
Available on ebay for about $50 or so.

EEVblog #235 – Rubidium Frequency Standard

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:42:57 +0000

TEARDOWN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRdGsSu5Nec
What’s all this Rubidium Frequency stuff anyhow?
Dave got an FE-5680A Rubidium frequency standard on ebay. How do they work?, and how does it compare to a regular crystal oscillator, a DTCXO, or an oven stabilised oscillator?

EEVblog #234 – Agilent U1733C LCR Meter Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:35:44 +0000

What’s inside the new Agilent U1733C LCR meter? and how does it differ from the old U1733B Escort design?

EEVblog #233 – Lab Power Supply Design Part 6 – LT3080 Testing

EEVblog — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:04:57 +0000

What about reverse bias protection on the LT3080, does the design need it? Dave does a quick test to find out what happens. Will it smoke?

EEVblog #232 – Lab Power Supply Design Part 5

EEVblog — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:54:25 +0000

Dave goes through the final base schematic for his Open Hardware lab power supply design.
Schematic is here:
http://eevblog.com/uploads/uSupplyBenchRevA.pdf

EEVblog #231 – 2011

EEVblog — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:28:05 +0000

2011 was a big year for the blog…

EEVblog #230 – ArduCopter ArduPilot Troubleshooting

EEVblog — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:45:15 +0000

Dave, Phil, and Rog battle Murphy to find an elusive short on their ArduCopter ArduPilot IMU (OilPan) board before they can get their CanyonCopter in the air for its first test flight.
Or, how to trace down a short on your power rail.

EEVblog #229 – IET DE-5000 LCR Meter Teardown

EEVblog — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:42:23 +0000

What’s inside IET Labs new DE-5000 handheld LCR meter?

http://www.ietlabs.com/de5000-lcr-meter.html

EEVblog #228 – New Lab Progress…

EEVblog — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:52:04 +0000

A tour of the new EEVblog lab, still under construction…
The arcade machine is from Wollongong Arcade Machines:
The Rubber ESD work mat:
http://www.oritech.com.au/productDetail.aspx?productID=20512

EEVblog #227 – Light Scythe

EEVblog — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:46:12 +0000

Gavin “The Mechatronics Guy” in a presentation about his Open Source Light Scythe project:
https://sites.google.com/site/mechatronicsguy/lightscythe

EEVblog #226 – Kindle Touch Review

EEVblog — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:45:34 +0000

Dave reviews the 4th Generation Amazon Kindle Touch Ebook Reader.
See the previous Kindle Non-Touch Review here:

EEVblog #225 – Lab Power Supply Design Part 4 – PWM Control

EEVblog — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:20:11 +0000

The 4th installment in the lab power supply design series. This time Dave shows you how to control the supply with a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal, and chose the correct filter values.

EEVblog #224 – Lab Power Supply Design – Part 3

EEVblog — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:39:41 +0000

Part 3 of the lab power supply design. This time the prototype build on a breadboard and some basic measurements, checks, and playing around.

EEVblog #223 – Agilent Oscilloscope High Res Mode

EEVblog — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:37:12 +0000

Dave demonstrates a little trap with the “High Resolution” mode on modern digital oscilloscopes like the Agilent 3000X series.

EEVblog #222 – Lab Power Supply Design – Part 2

EEVblog — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:04:01 +0000

PART 1 is HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGjActDeoM
Part 2 of Dave’s constant current linear regulated lab power supply design. An in-depth look at the LT3080 datasheet, the LM334 current source, and a few more circuit tweaks before it’s ready to build in the next episode to see if it works!

And thanks to John from LT who pointed out this video from LT about the LT3080, given by Bob Dobkin himself, the LT CTO and designer of the LM317!

http://video.linear.com/11

EEVblog #221 – Lab Power Supply Design – Part 1

EEVblog — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:08:10 +0000

Dave shows you how to design a simple constant current and constant voltage lab power supply that can be either software (PIC/AVR et.al microcontroller) or traditional pot controlled.
Starting with the venerable LM317, and ending up with an LT3080 solution, and the some thought processes that go into it all.
Part 1 is the conceptual design.

EEVblog #220 – Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Review & Unboxing

EEVblog — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:54:18 +0000

How does Amazon’s new $199 Kindle Fire 7″ tablet stack up?

EEVblog #219 – Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Teardown

EEVblog — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:29:22 +0000

What’s inside Amazon’s new Kindle Fire 7″ Tablet?

EEVblog #218 – Manly Warringah HAM Radio Society

EEVblog — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:27:21 +0000

Dave visited the Manly Warringah Amateur (HAM) Radio Society to see what they are up to…

EEVblog #217 – Lecroy 9384C Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:52:07 +0000

Dave powers up an old Lecroy 9384C 1GHz oscilloscope.
Will it work?
And what’s inside to make it tick?

EEVblog #216 – Gaussian Resistor Redux

EEVblog — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:00:15 +0000

Not content with 400 resistors, Dave ups the ante with several thousand genuine OneHungLow resistors, a semi-automated test jig, and some anger and love for the Agilent U1272A multimeter.

EEVblog #215 – Gaussian Resistors

EEVblog — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:22:55 +0000

Just how far out is that +/-1% metal film resistor you are using?
Is it just random?
Does it follow the classic bell shaped Gaussian response?
What are the odds of getting one that’s spot on, or right out at the limits?
Dave thought he’d find out, the hard way…

Original Data can be found here, in both Open Office and Excel formats, play around yourself!
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5460.0;attach=16808

See here for more analysis on the data by Bob from Ohio:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=5460.msg71085#msg71085

EEVblog #214 – Commander Phone System Teardown

EEVblog — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:43:07 +0000

Whist on the lab headlamp tour Dave found an old Commander phone system, and naturally couldn’t resist doing an impromptu teardown!

The Victorinox MiniChamp
The Victorinox CyberTool

EEVblog #213 – New EEVblog Lab Tour

EEVblog — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:47:38 +0000

Tempting fate, Dave goes on a quick tour of the new EEVblog lab, with headlamp!

EEVblog #212 – DIY Decade Resistance Substitution Boxes

EEVblog — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:02:29 +0000

Dave feels a tad nostalgic, so takes apart his 25+ year old DIY decade resistance substitution box. And some info on how you can build your own.
DIY thumbwheel box:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4244.0

EEVblog #211 – IET Decade Resistance Substitution Box

EEVblog — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 22:41:45 +0000

What’s inside a $500 commercial decade resistance substitution box from IET Labs? Dave’s about to find out.
http://www.ietlabs.com/decadebox/rsbox.html

EEVblog #210 – Krohn-Hite DC Voltage Standard Teardown & Calibration

EEVblog — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:28:41 +0000

A Krohn-Hite MV106J DC Voltage Standard calibrator landed on Dave’s bench. What’s inside? How does it work? Is it still within spec?, and what’s all this (lack of) Kelvin-Varley and LM299 zener reference stuff anyhow?
And no adventure in calibration check is complete without a visit to the TrioSmartCal lab.

EEVblog #209 – New Agilent 3000X Oscilloscope Firmware

EEVblog — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:49:17 +0000

Agilent have today released new 2.0 firmware for the 3000X series oscilloscopes.
Dave takes a quick look at the new Arbitrary capability on the function generator, something he complained was lacking in the original review!

EEVblog #208 – Tektronix 2225 Oscilloscope Teardown and Calibration

EEVblog — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:11:53 +0000

It’s all about the tongue angle when Dave tears down his Tektronix 2225 oscilloscope and tweaks a few of the pots to drag the unit back into cal.

EEVblog #207 – Rohde & Schwarz / Hameg Oscilloscopes (3 of 3)

EEVblog — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:07:19 +0000

Dave caught up with Richard Popple from Rohde & Schwarz to talk about the new Hameg oscilloscopes, the Hameg acquisition, and the Rohde & Schwarz Scope of the Art oscilloscopes.

EEVblog #207 – CleverScope USB Oscilloscope (2 of 3)

EEVblog — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:02:35 +0000

Dave caught up with the designer of the Cleverscope, Bart Schroder at the Electronex show. He gives us some history on the company (from New Zealand) , the scope, a quick on the spot teardown, and what latest scope design he’s working on.

EEVblog #207 – Electronex Expo 2011 (1 of 3)

EEVblog — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:27:32 +0000

Dave visits the Electronex Electronics Expo in Melbourne, Australia’s biggest electronics trade show.
What will Altium be in for? :->

EEVblog #206 – RIP Steve Jobs – The Magic is Gone

EEVblog — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:38:55 +0000

Dave’s first Walk Time Rant.
The sad death of Steve Jobs at Apple, and how Dave got shafted on his new EEVblog office space at the 11th hour.

EEVblog #205 – Kindle 4 Review & Unboxing

EEVblog — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:35:35 +0000

Dave takes a look at the new generation $79 “stripped down” Kindle 4.
How does it compare with the current Kindle 3 reader?

EEVblog #204 – Designing a Li-Ion Battery Gauge with the LM3914

EEVblog — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:03:43 +0000

How to design, prototype and test a two cell 18650 Lithium Ion battery pack level gauge using the classic LM3914 dot/bargraph display driver chip.
A favorite from Dave’s youth!
Dave gives you all you need to know to implement a simple expanded scale voltmeter with the LM3914, without adjustment pots to tweak.
This one works from 6V to 8.4V – the usable capacity of a two 2 cell 4.2V Li-Ion batttery pack.

EEVblog #203 – Melbourne Hacker Space Visit

EEVblog — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:18:23 +0000

Dave visits the Melbourne Hacker Space (CCHS) and takes along special guest Colin Mitchell from Talking Electronics fame.

EEVblog #202 – EMC RF Anechoic Test Facility Tour

EEVblog — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:31:18 +0000

Dave goes on a tour of EMC Technologies new $1.8M RF Anechoic Test chamber used for automatic and product testing for EMC emissions and susceptibility.
Also their other test chambers like the GTEM (Gigahertz Transverse Electromagnetic) test facility.
Thanks to Rob Weir (Yes, he’s a New Zealander :->)
www.emctech.com.au

EEVblog #201 – Mobile Cell Phone Radiation SAR Testing

EEVblog — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:44:37 +0000

Ever wondered how they test mobile phones for radiation and impact upon the human body? Dave gets a tour of EMC Technologies $1M+ mobile phone (and WiFi) radiation Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) testing facility.
Thanks to Jason Cameron from EMC Tech.
http://www.emctech.com.au

EEVblog #200 – Retrospective

EEVblog — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 06:31:05 +0000

Dave reflects on 200 episodes, his full time video blogging, and talks about some stats and the future of the blog.

EEVblog #199 – Tektronix MDO4000 Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:09:18 +0000

Part 2 of the Tektronix MDO4000 Mixed Domain Oscilloscope review.
This time, a world exclusive tear down.
What magic lurks inside the die-cast shielded RF spectrum analyzer circuitry?

EEVblog #199 – Tektronix Mixed Domain Oscilloscope MDO4000 Review

EEVblog — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:07:33 +0000

In another world exclusive, Dave reviews Tektronix’s new Mixed Domain Oscilloscope, the MDO4000 series that is released TODAY.
Does it live up to the hype of changing the oscilloscope landscape and creating a new oscilloscope category?
Also, it is a review of the MSO4000 series Mixed Signal Oscilloscope. How does that compare to the Agilent X Series?
See PART 2 for the teardown!

EEVblog #198 – Makerbot Venture Capital Funding

EEVblog — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:22:44 +0000

Dave gets out of the lab for some fresh air, and a think about what the Makerbot $10M venture capital funding might mean.

EEVblog #197 – RAW! Testing µCurrent’s, Keithley Current/Voltage Sources, DIY Pick And Place

EEVblog — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:11:44 +0000

The first EEVblog “RAW” Dave was assembling and testing some µCurrent kits on UStream and decided to record it. There is talk about his Keithly Instruments Voltage & Current sources, engineering statistics, and an open source hardware DIY Pick And Place machine.
http://www.eevblog.com/ucurrent
The thermal video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkVRX3h_A30 Around the 8:30 mark

EEVblog #196 – Tektronix 2225 Analog Oscilloscope

EEVblog — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:12:21 +0000

30 minutes of Dave twiddling knobs on a 2nd hand 50MHz Tektronix 2225 analog oscilloscope – it’s right here!
Who else can get so excited about a 500uV/div vertical scale?

EEVblog #195 – Open Source Hardware Explained

EEVblog — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:08:55 +0000

Open your mind to Open Source Hardware.
Dave gives you the low-down on what Open Source Hardware (OSHW) is, how it works, and some benefits of using it for your own projects.
LINKS:
http://freedomdefined.org/OSHW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_hardware
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
http://www.ohwr.org/cernohl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGPL
http://www.tapr.org/ohl.html

EEVblog #194 – Lab Bench Build

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:57:21 +0000

Dave installs a new bench in the EEVblog lab. Car in the way? – no problem, just build over it!

EEVblog #193 – FPGA Implementation Tutorial

EEVblog — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:23:31 +0000

Dave recently implemented an Actel Ignoo Nano and Xilinx Spartan 3 FPGA into a design, so decided to share some rather random notes on how to implement the FPGA’s in this scenario.
From datasheet specs, traps for young players, global clocks, FPGA fabrics, core power supplies and decoupling, getting the schematic basics, JTAG and flash PROM interfaces and finally PCB fanout and routing of a tiny 0.4mm pitch BGA package.

EEVblog #192 – Agilent Oscilloscope LOST Easter Egg

EEVblog — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:10:37 +0000

Just a quick one. Dave found the latest LOST easter egg in the Agilent 3000X/2000X series oscilloscope Ver1.2 firmware.

EEVblog #191 – Mouse Trap Triggering

EEVblog — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:35:37 +0000

What’s the easiest way to electronically trigger a mouse trap? Dave has an idea… Just don’t ask why, OK, Dave doesn’t know either…

EEVblog #190 – Live Show #9

EEVblog — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:33:12 +0000

The greatest live show ever.
World renowned guests, pyrotechnics, performing monkeys, aliens, marching bands, and the changing of the grenadier guards.
No?
Would you believe just two hours of Dave answering questions and yapping on?
Yup.

EEVblog #189 – iRiver Story HD eBook Reader TEARDOWN

EEVblog — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:06:41 +0000

What’s more fun that reviewing the new iRiver Story HD Wi-Fi eBook Reader? Tearing it down of course!
Dave cracks it open to see what’s inside.
Hi-res photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157627127757905/
And Yes, the JTAG pins are there, right under my nose as labeled test points. Left side of the processor. Doh

EEVblog #188 – iRiver Story HD Google Ebook Reader Review

EEVblog — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:02:18 +0000

Dave unboxes and reviews the latest iRiver Story HD Google Ebook Reader and compares it to his Amazon Kindle 3.
How does it stack up?

EEVblog #187 – Tektronix TDS2024C Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:26:53 +0000

Dave tears down the Tektronix TDS2000 series TDS2024C DSO, what’s inside?
And he can’t help but rant about the sample memory size and compare it to the venerable TDS210 from 1997 or so…

EEVblog #186 – Soldering Tutorial Part 3 – Surface Mount

EEVblog — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:30:17 +0000

Part 3 of the hand soldering tutorial. This time Dave shows you how to drag solder and tack & reflow SMD components, and in particular 0.5mm fine pitch IC’s. Including solder paste and hot air.

EEVblog #185 – Fluke 87V Multimeter GSM Fix

EEVblog — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 00:59:37 +0000

What have Fluke been up to since the infamous GSM mobile phone bricking incident back in Oct?
Not only have they fixed it, but they are giving an unprecedented exclusive look at their new pre-production board!

Hi-Res photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157627120630430/

EEVblog #184 – Open Hardware Multimeter Concept

EEVblog — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:35:52 +0000

Dave’s off-the-cuff open source hardware multimeter concept.
Inspired by the thread on the EEVblog forum: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=3978.30

EEVblog #183 – Soldering Tutorial Part 2

EEVblog — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:38:01 +0000

A beginners guide to learning how to hand solder.
Remember to watch the first part, which is all about the tools: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ

EEVblog #182 – Rode Videomic Shotgun Microphone Hack

EEVblog — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:19:03 +0000

Dave does a quick hack on his Rode Videomic so he can actually see the battery LED when he’s in front of the camera.
UPDATE: After further research it turns out the existing LED constitutes the majority of the product current consumption. So I’ll re-wire this new one in series with the existing LED and drop the current as well to increase the battery life.

EEVblog #181 – Dead Bug Prototype Soldering

EEVblog — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:47:49 +0000

Dave show you how to solder a small 3 axis accelerometer LGA surface mount chip “dead bug” style onto a microcontroller prototyping board.
This technique allows you to easily prototype projects using tiny SMD components designed only for reflow soldering.

EEVblog #180 – Soldering Tutorial Part 1 – Tools

EEVblog — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 12:26:09 +0000

Dave takes you through everything you need to know to do good quality soldering.
Part 1 is all about the tools you might need.
A lot of this was already covered in my general lab tools video.

EEVblog #179 – Mitsubishi iMiEV Electric Car Test Drive

EEVblog — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 06:37:28 +0000

Malcolm Faed drives an Mitsubishi MiEV Electric Car into the EEVblog lab to give Dave a look and a test drive. And also talks about his electric ute conversion.

Detailed iMiev technical specifications: http://www.autocrc.com/files/File/Mitsubishi%20i-MIEV%20Technical%20Highlights.pdf
Australian electric vehicle association: http://aeva.asn.au
EV Album: http://evalbum.com
Mal’s blog: http://a4x4kiwi.blogspot.com/

EEVblog #178 – Agilent’s U1272A Response

EEVblog — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:00:43 +0000

Agilent responded to the U1272A problems within 3 weeks, and have a nice present for all current owners to boot.
Mini rant time too – Manufacturers take note, this is how you respond to problems and keep customers happy.
Hey Fluke, where is your response?
Here is the Agilent notice:
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/U1272A-02.pdf

EEVblog #177 – Baby Scale Calibration

EEVblog — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:53:18 +0000

What does every 4 week old baby need? A visit to a NATA certified calibration laboratory, that’s what!
Dave takes his baby scales to a NATA cal lab to check it’s performance, because, well, he can…
Check out http://www.triosmartcal.com.au

EEVblog #176 – Lithium Ion/Polymer Battery Charging Tutorial

EEVblog — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:44:06 +0000

Want to include a small Lithium Ion or Lithium Ion Polymer battery into your next project? It’s easy! Dave gives you the low down on how they work and how to charge them and select a suitable charging IC.

NOTE: For safety you should always use circuit protected cells as per the larger cell I was holding up. It protects against over-discharge, over-voltage, shorts etc.

(BTW, the reference to Lithium Ion Polymer being the same as Lithium Ion is in terms of charging, if that was not clear. The Ion Polymer type have polymer anode material and hence a different construction that allows the small pouch type cells shown in the video, and other thin odd shapes shown toward the end)

EEVblog #174 – Renesas RX Design Contest Winners

EEVblog — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:41:13 +0000

Dave talks about the Top 3 winners in the Renesas RX Design Contest he was judging.
Check out the winners HERE:
http://www.renesasrulz.com/community/rx-contest

EEVblog #175 – Project Sagan

EEVblog — Mon, 30 May 2011 23:57:52 +0000

Dave shows off the latest neuroelectronics project he’s been working on.

Sagan Jones
Born 11-5-11 1:55pm
2.485kg

EEVblog #173 – Gossen Metrahit Energy Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:16:43 +0000

What’s inside Gossen Metrawatt’s Metrahit Energy Multimeter?

EEVblog #172 – DIY Acoustic Sound Panels

EEVblog — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:45:09 +0000

Dave shows you how he built his own acoustic sound absorption panels for his recording studio using Tontine Acoustisorb 3 material.
Data on the material is here:
http://www.tontineinsulation.com.au/technical-data

EEVblog #171 – Agilent U1272A Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Sat, 21 May 2011 09:38:53 +0000

A teardown of the Agilent U1272A Multimeter
Photos of the Teardown are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157626761928610/

EEVblog #170 – Agilent U1272A Multimeter FAIL

EEVblog — Thu, 19 May 2011 02:35:19 +0000

Dave has rotten luck with test gear for review failing.
What’s up with his Agilent U1272A Multimeter?

See a follow-up video from a viewer who posted this:

EEVblog #169 – Samson StudioDock 4i USB Monitor Speaker Review

EEVblog — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:13:26 +0000

Dave got the Samson StudioDock 4i USB speakers for editing the blog. What’s inside?

EEVblog #168 – How To Set Up An Electronics Lab

EEVblog — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:39:50 +0000

How to set up your own decent electronics lab, what you need, and how much it’ll cost you. Electronics test equipment, soldering, surface mount, hand tools, and parts.
Help support Dave by buying any of these items through HERE

EEVblog #167 – Atten 858D Hot Air Rework Review

EEVblog — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 06:37:45 +0000

Dave reviews one of the cheapest hot air rework stations on the market, the Atten Instruments AT858D+ how does it stack up?
Also known as the Saike 858D+ Looks like it’s designed for the Asian market only?

http://www.atten.com.cn/search.aspx?pageIndex=1&searchType=keywords&filter=858d

EEVblog #166 – HP Agilent E3610A Lab Power Supply

EEVblog — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:52:06 +0000

Dave takes apart an old HP E3610A to see if it can be modded for 240V operation.

EEVblog #165 – Problem Solved

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:39:22 +0000

Dave had a small problem in the lab and fixed it with some electrical tape.
Yes, the video is pointless, but why not?
Could have been funny if it failed…

EEVblog #164 – Agilent Fly To The Moon

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:33:28 +0000

Dave is a tad upset to find out how much standby power consumption the new Agilent Infiniviision oscilloscope draws.

EEVblog #163 – Solder Paste Porn

EEVblog — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:32:30 +0000

Dave has a play with a German Martin brand Dot Liner automated Solder Paste Dispenser machine.
http://www.martin-smt.de/en_p_d_dl06.php?contentInc=dispense

All, see the Shanghai Special video for other automated solder machines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A1j2RkwJOc

EEVblog #162 – Oscilloscope Probe Shock

EEVblog — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:23:56 +0000

Dave shows how the piezoelectric effect applies to oscilloscope probes.

Dave’s entry for the My Tektronix Scope contest:
Please VOTE for it here once per day for the rest of April -Thanks!
http://mytektronixscope.com/videos/#vote

EEVblog #161 – 555 April Fools Revealed

EEVblog — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:53:38 +0000

No, the 555 Timer doesn’t have an easter egg in it, Dave was pulling your leg.
Many people wanted to know how it was done, so here you go!

EEVblog#160 – 555 Timer Easter Egg?

EEVblog — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:57:27 +0000

Dave found something strange in his circuit for the 555 timer contest.

EEVblog #159 – Oscilloscope Trigger Holdoff Tutorial

EEVblog — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:44:08 +0000

One of the more obscure controls on an oscilloscope is the Trigger Holdoff control. A dedicated control on most high end analog oscilloscopes, and a main menu option in modern digital scopes, yet often poorly understood. What does it do and how does it work?

EEVblog #158 – AVR ISP MK2 + LM317 Regulator Tutorial

EEVblog — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:06:50 +0000

Who else but Dave can turn what was supposed to be a simple 2 minute AVR ISP hack video into a 30 minute episode on designing and measuring the performance of an LM317 voltage regulator circuit, with a bonus shootout between the Fluke 87V and the Gossen Metrahit XTRA multimeters?

EEVblog #157 – Angry Birds

EEVblog — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:24:03 +0000

Tangent time.
Dave can’t shoot his latest blog because of some angry birds.

EEVblog #156 – HTC Desire Mobile Phone FAIL

EEVblog — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:28:59 +0000

It’s EPIC FAIL time. There is one thing Dave hates worse than bad product design, and that’s ironically bad product design. What’s have HTC done to make him want to do a facepalm?

EEVblog #155 – ITead Studio PCB Prototype Goof

EEVblog — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:35:23 +0000

Dave shares an experience with his new prototype PCB’s from ITead Studio.
Super awesomely cheap, but beware!
http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=19

EEVblog #154 – Live Show #8

EEVblog — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:59:27 +0000

The 8th EEVblog Live Show from the 7th March 2011
Almost 2 hours of Q&A, plus a teardown of the Hameg analog combiscope.

EEVblog #153 – YouScope Demo on a Digital Scope

EEVblog — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:56:02 +0000

What does the famous YouScope demo look like on a digital scope?

You can download the YouScope demo HERE

EEVblog #152 – Jurassic Spider

EEVblog — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 23:21:48 +0000

The spiders are big in Australia. Meet the EEVblog lab mascot.

EEVblog #151 – Extech Multimeter Canyon Trip

EEVblog — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 06:40:33 +0000

The Extech EX505 multimeter is IP67 rated, that means immersion in 1m of water for 30 minutes.
Dave only knows one way to test that…

EEVblog #150 – Agilent Easter Egg

EEVblog — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:10:13 +0000

Dave finds an Easter Egg in the new Agilent 2000/3000 series Scopes

EEVblog #149 – Agilent Infiniivision 3000 X Series Oscilloscope Review

EEVblog — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:08:24 +0000

Dave reviews the big brother to the new 2000 series Agilent Infiniivision scope, the 3000 series.
What are the differences?

EEVblog #148 – Agilent 3000 X Series Infiniivision Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:33:07 +0000

A teardown of the Agilent 3000 X Series infinivision oscolloscope.
What’s inside?
How different is it to the lower cost 2000 series?

EEVblog #147 – $12000 Smoke

EEVblog — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:31:26 +0000

What does $12000 magic smoke smell like?
Murphy ensures that Dave always gets the outliers on the production bell curve for review!

OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM AGILENT AFTER INVESTIGATION:

We have determined that a short on our LAN/VGA module is what caused the EEVblog unit to stop working. The short caused a resister on the acquisition board to fail, bringing down our 3.3V supply path and causing the unit to no longer boot. After further investigation, it was determined that a small run of early production LAN/VGA modules were susceptible to this short. Although the issue is relegated to this small initial run of LAN/VGA modules, we are replacing all LAN/VGA modules in customer hands and have implemented additional testing procedures on our LAN/VGA manufacturing line to eliminate this issue from happening again.

Thanks to everyone at Agilent for taking this issue very seriously, investigating ASAP, taking preventative correction measures, and getting back to us! That’s what sets good companies apart!

EEVblog #146 – Digikey Postage FAIL

EEVblog — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:19:36 +0000

Dave got a big santa sack delivery, what’s inside?

EEVblog #145 – Agilent LAN/VGA Module Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:49:08 +0000

What’s inside the Agilent 2000/3000 Infiniivision X Series LAN/VGA module?
What do you get for your $400?

EEVblog #144 – Agilent 2000 X Series Infiniivision Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:36:55 +0000

In a WORLD EXCLUSIVE, Dave voids the warranty and takes a peek inside the new Agilent Infiniivision 2000 series oscilloscope that is released TODAY.
What will he find?

EEVblog #143 – Agilent 2000 X Series Infiniivision Oscilloscope Review

EEVblog — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:33:10 +0000

Dave gets a WORLD EXCLUSIVE, a look at the new Agilent 2000 series oscilloscope being released TODAY.
Is it going to change the world like Agilent claim?

EEVblog #142 – Electronics Magazine Memories

EEVblog — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:57:46 +0000

Join Dave as he opens a mystery box of magazines from his archives, in search of his old Talking Electronics FM Bugs book.
What will he find?, will it be one of his own projects?, and what were Australian Electronics Magazines like back in the 70′s and 80′s?
100% pure nostalgia!

EEVblog #141 – AA Alkaline Battery Capacity Measurement

EEVblog — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:37:03 +0000

How much Wh capacity does a typical Alkaline AA battery have? Dave intends to find out with his new Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit Energy multimeter

EEVblog #140 – Battery Capacity Tutorial

EEVblog — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:20:07 +0000

Ever wanted to know what battery capacity is? Dave takes you through everything you need to know about amp-hours, mAh, watt hours, internal or series resistance, temperature effects, battery cutoff voltages, and characteristic curves.
Part 2 coming soon.

EEVblog #139 – Let’s Select a DC-DC Boost Converter

EEVblog — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:44:01 +0000

Join Dave on the search for a single cell to 500mA 5V DC DC boost converter chip.
What will he find?, and how long will it take him?
What is the Maxim Datasheet FAIL he uncovers along the way?

(Yes, it’s over an hour long, because that’s how long searching for this stuff takes, in fact I condensed it greatly already. Complaints can be sent to I@dontgiveashit.com)

EEVblog #138 – Top 5 Tips for Graduate Engineers

EEVblog — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:16:44 +0000

Dave runs through his top 5 career and life tips for electronics engineering graduates.

EEVblog #137 – BK Precision 879B Handheld LCR Meter Review

EEVblog — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 11:51:21 +0000

Dave reviews the new design BK Precision 879B handheld LCR meter.
How does it differ from the legacy Escort design?

BK Precision have confirmed the MIN/MAX bug and now have a fix available:
http://kb.bkprecision.com/questions.php?questionid=182

EEVblog #136 – Building an Electronics Storage Cupboard

EEVblog — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:28:26 +0000

Dave has run out of space in the EEVblog lab so needs to fit out the cupboard in his study for all the electronics parts and junk.

EEVblog #135 – Kindle Case Mythbusting

EEVblog — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:55:34 +0000

Dave investigates the Amazon Kindle 3 reset/lockup problem that countless people have been having with the leather case.
Is it the metal tabs shorting something out, or something else?

EEVblog #134 – The Maxim Manipulation

EEVblog — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:52:22 +0000

More dodgy components, this time from our friends at Maxim (c/o Motorola)

The DS2502 datasheet is HERE

UPDATE:
Maxim have admitted the problem and have fixed everything without fuss.

It turns out the firmware is intended for Motorola phone batteries:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5717307.html

EEVblog #133 – Dodgy Digikey Components

EEVblog — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:31:46 +0000

Dave cuts loose on Digikey (or Bourns?) for providing dodgy resistors which made their way into his

EEVblog #132 – Delusional Dyson Marketing

EEVblog — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:48:38 +0000

Dave cuts loose on the dickhead marketing team at Dyson.

EEVblog #131 – Live Show #7

EEVblog — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:55:30 +0000

Sorry, no chat window overlay, it got corrupted.
Mostly almost 2 hours of Q&A, so a good one to listen to instead of watching. Just start watching when you hear something interesting happen!, like when Dave opens up his 1980′s vintage LED clock project.

EEVblog #130 – The uCalc Credit Card Scientific Calculator / Computer

EEVblog — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:34:16 +0000

Dave describes the design of his open source hardware uCalc credit card sized calculator / computer.
Specifications: PIC 24F 16 bit Processor, 256KB Flash, 16KB SRAM, 64KB serial flash user memory, 3-Axis tilt sensor, Micro SD card, capacitive touch sensing keypad, 128×64 dot matrix display.

EEVblog #129 – US Airline TSA Security Rubbish & the $9 fee

EEVblog — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:56:06 +0000

Dave cuts loose on all the US airline security and TSA rubbish, their stupid reactionary process to every new security threat, and the new $9 “Security fee” for all packages going into the US of 453g (16oz). How will affect local business who export to the US

Thanks to Don McKenzie:
http://www.dontronics.com/pdf/APO_US_surcharge.pdf

And don’t try and ship any item with a tiny lithium coin cell in it!:
http://auspost.com.au/personal/dangerous-goods-personal.html

The Royal Mail are increasing security for US bound packages, but has as yet not passed on a cost:
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400033&mediaId=3800088

Reminds me of the Jack Black Tenacious D song:

EEVblog #128 – UEI Multimeter Contest Draw

EEVblog — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:37:32 +0000

Dave draws the UEI Multimeter contest draw “live” using the EEVblog contest Wobulator.
And the winner is…

EEVblog #127 – PCB Design For Manufacture Tutorial

EEVblog — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:53:57 +0000

A how-to guide to taking your electronics project from prototype through to high volume PCB manufacture.
Covers component selection and purchasing, SMD, DFM, PCB panelisation, gerber generation, drill files, pick and place files, and more.

EEVblog #126 – The Free Sample Fallacy

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:22:18 +0000

Why free chip samples are NOT always a good thing. Will they cost you more in the long run?

EEVblog #125 – Soup to Nuts with Free Software

EEVblog — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:39:33 +0000

A presentation by DJ Delorie called Soup to Nuts with Free Software. It highlights the current state of free open source software for end-to-end engineering and personal use. Operating systems, EDA tools, office tools etc
Recorded at the Renesas Devcon 2010 event.

EEVblog #124 – A Tour of Apex Electronics

EEVblog — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 08:35:49 +0000

Dave dropped by Apex Electronics in Sun Valley just outside LA, the biggest and oldest surplus electronics store in California (and probably the US?) . Come on a tour through the aladdin’s cave of surplus electronics and hardware. It’s actually pretty sad to see all this old technology just lying on the scrap heap

EEVblog #123 – Top 5 Tips for Semiconductor Manufacturers

EEVblog — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:38:04 +0000

Yes, the drive time rant is back. Dave gives some choice advice to the semiconductor manufacturers.

EEVblog #122 – Renesas RX Design Contest Announcement

EEVblog — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:11:47 +0000

The announcement of the Renesas RX Design Contest at Devcon 2010.
Dave makes a BIG appearance about half way through.

http://www.renesasrulz.com/community/rx-contest

EEVblog #121 – gEDA Interview with DJ Delorie

EEVblog — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:38:35 +0000

I caught up with DJ Delorie at the Renesas Devcon 2010 event and he was kind enough to sit down for 10 minutes and chat about the Open Source gEDA package, of which he is one of the major developers. What is gEDA?, where did it come from?, and what relevance does it have to the Open Hardware initiative?

www.delorie.com
www.gpleda.org

EEVblog #119 – Renesas Devcon Day 3

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 02:28:29 +0000

Day 3 (for Dave anyway) was all about Open Source Hardware and gEDA. But let’s not forget the Q&A with the head Renesas MCU honcho, and the evening with James Meigs, editor of Popular Mechanics magazine.

EEVblog #120 – Renesas Devcon Day 4

EEVblog — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:00:43 +0000

The final daily video.
This one includes a teardown!

EEVblog #118 – Renesas Devcon 2010 Day 2

EEVblog — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:44:14 +0000

Nerd nirvana, what smells?, and who’s number 1?

EEVblog #117 – Renesas Devcon 2010 Day 1

EEVblog — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:54:16 +0000

Somehow Dave scored an invite to Renesas Devcon 2010 in Anaheim California, a mega event for microcontroller and embedded uber nerds.

EEVblog #116 – Retro Notebook Teardown – Tandy Model 100

EEVblog — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 02:11:08 +0000

Sick of seeing modern computer teardowns with their hideous BGA packages?
Dave decided to get all nostalgic and do a teardown of the famous Tandy TRS-80 Model 100.
What are the electronics and manufacturing technologies like from 1983?

The SERVICE MANUAL
The TECHNICAL REFERENCE MANUAL

EEVblog #115 – Extech 380193 LCR Meter Review

EEVblog — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:47:38 +0000

Dave reviews the $199 Extech 380193 Handheld LCR meter.

And for those curious, here are the SCHEMATICS

EEVblog #114 – Electronex 2010 Electronics Exhibition

EEVblog — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 05:49:35 +0000

A few snippets of the Electronex 2010 Electronics Trade show in Sydney Australia. I wanted to shoot a lot more stuff, but ended up spending all my time yapping to people instead!

EEVblog #113 – Live Show #6

EEVblog — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:10:47 +0000

The 6th Live EEVblog show. Lots of the usual random stuff. Yes, I know, the video sucks, it came from the Ustream recording. That’s the best main camera shot I had, sorry.

EEVblog #112 – GSM vs The Fluke 87V Multimeter

EEVblog — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 06:59:36 +0000

Dave checks out reports that the Fluke 87V Multimeter is susceptible to GSM mobile phone radiation and can be bricked. He puts his 87V on the line to find out. Can he kill it?

EEVblog #111 – Live Show #5

EEVblog — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:39:47 +0000

The 5th Live Show.
This version is the original webcam footage version. It still has audio sync problems, particularly toward the end, but it’s still watchable.

EEVblog #110 – Let’s Design a DC to DC Switchmode Converter

EEVblog — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:22:16 +0000

Dave takes you step-by-step through designing a DC-DC converter using the venerable MC34063. And then he build it and checks the performance.

An online calculator is here:
http://dics.voicecontrol.ro/tutorials/mc34063/

EEVblog #109 – Amazon Kindle 3 3G/GSM/WiFi 6″ TEARDOWN

EEVblog — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:27:50 +0000

Dave shows you how to take apart the new Amazon Kindle 3 3rd Generation 3G/GSM/WiFI Ebook reader, and examines and discusses the circuitry, assembly, and build quality.
And hackers can get excited about the accessible ARM JTAG port.

EEVblog #108 – Amazon Kindle 3 3G/WiFi Review

EEVblog — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:29:45 +0000

EEVblog #107 – Live Show #4

EEVblog — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:19:28 +0000

The 4th Live EEVbog show. Dave answering questions in the lab and flashing the odd bit of hardware around.

EEVblog #106 – Top 5 Tips To Bring Your Product to Market

EEVblog — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 02:58:28 +0000

Are you are a hobbyist, hacker, maker, or garage engineer with a great product idea?
Dave gives you his Top 5 tips for bringing your product to market.
And a bonus Top 5 reasons to avoid patents.
Copyright, Marketing, Advertising, Protection, and Creative Commons Open Source all get a look in.

Watch all the Patent and Invention ads ironically popup over this video!

The Creative Commons licenses available:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses

EEVblog #105 – Electronics Thermal Heatsink Design Tutorial

EEVblog — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:44:43 +0000

A follow on from some of the recent blogs that have involved basic thermal heatsink calculation. This time around Dave takes you though the basic theory of thermal design and how heatsink calculations work. Then there are some real world temperature measurements to see how close to the theory we get.

How do you read a heatsink thermal response graph? What is emissivity? It’s all here in thermal design 101.

EEVblog #104 – Live Show #3

EEVblog — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:24:04 +0000

The live EEVblog show recorded back on July 4th. I only just around to editing and uploading it.

The new Rohde & Schwarz Oscilloscope
http://www2.rohde-schwarz.com/en/products/test_and_measurement/Oscilloscopes/RTO.html

EEVblog #103 – World’s Largest Depth of Field Laser Hologram

EEVblog — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:39:10 +0000

Dave & Phil check out the world’s largest depth of field laser hologram display at Macquarie University.
It was part of the Paula Dawson exhibition. The bar display is titled “To Absent Friends”
This hologram was created in 1988 and is still the worlds largest to this day. They don’t make holographic plates this big any more!
The resolution on this entire room display is incredible and was hard to catch on camera in the low light, but you can read the labels on the bottles as if they are right in front of you, and the light reflections in the crystal vases and other objects was simply amazing.
See a behind the scenes video of how it was created here:
http://www.pauladawson.com.au/ (click through to the To Absent Friends video)

EEVblog #102 – DIY Constant Current Dummy Load for Power Supply and Battery Testing

EEVblog — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:54:39 +0000

Dave grabs a few junkbox parts and builds a useful constant current load for switch mode power supply, battery testing, and other applications.

EEVblog #101 – Hacking your own Peltier LAB Thermal Chamber

EEVblog — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:37:57 +0000

EEVblog #100 – Triple Digit Retrospective, Wonder Woman, and More Multimeter Destruction

EEVblog — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:14:43 +0000

100 video blogs? Who would have thought Dave had it in him!

EEVblog #99 – $100 Multimeter Shootout – Extech Amprobe BK Precision Ideal UEi Uni-T PART 2of2

EEVblog — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:43:27 +0000

PART 2 of 2
Dave compares six $100 Multimeters:

BK Precision BK2709B
http://www.tequipment.net/BK2709B.html
Extech EX505
http://www.tequipment.net/ExtechEX505.asp
Amprobe 34XR-A
http://www.tequipment.net/Amprobe34XR-A.html
UEi DM391
http://www.tequipment.net/UEiDM391.html
IDEAL 61-342
http://www.tequipment.net/Ideal61-342.asp
UNI-T UT61D
http://www.uni-trend.com/UT61D.html

EEVblog #99 – $100 Multimeter Shootout – Extech Amprobe BK Precision Ideal UEi Uni-T PART 1of2

EEVblog — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:39:19 +0000

PART 1 of 2
Dave compares six $100 Multimeters:

EEVblog #98 – Microsoft InstaLoad Battery Technology – Patent Busting Time?

EEVblog — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:40:24 +0000

Microsoft’s new Instaload battery technology allows batteries to be inserted into a product either way around.
Is it one of those brilliant “why didn’t anyone think of that before” moments, or just another silly patent on a really obvious idea?
Is it workable in practice?
Can YOU bust the patent by finding prior art before 2006?

See the Microsoft Patent here:
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=hVXGAAAAEBAJ

OR DOWNLOAD THE FULL PDF PATENT HERE: http://www.eevblog.com/files/Microsoft%20Instaload%20Patent%20US7527893.pdf

You can get Dave’s T-Shirt here:
http://www.eevblog.com/store