EEVblog - The Electronics Engineering Video Blog

EEVblog #472 – JBC CD-2BB Soldering Iron Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:18:03 +0000

What’s inside the JBC CD-2BB soldering station.
http://bit.ly/180GwAP
http://www.mektronics.com.au/

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #471 – Overload Detector Circuit Design

EEVblog — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:20:47 +0000

Fundamentals Friday
Dave takes you through designing a signal overload detector circuit from scratch and then builds it up on the breadboard.
Window comparators, schmitt inverters, capacitor charging, pulse stretching, common mode input range, tongue angle tweaking, it’s all here.

EEVblog #470 – Agilent N9344C 20GHz Spectrum Analyser Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:52:17 +0000

What’s inside an $18K 20GHz handheld spectrum analyser?
Rigol DSA815 teardown
Tektronix MDO4000 teardown

Interview on Usesthis.com

EEVblog — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:45:57 +0000

Here is an interview I did on usesthis.com:
http://dave.jones.usesthis.com/

It’s about how I do the blog and some of the tools I use, for those interested.

EEVblog #469 – Cockcroft-Walton Multiplier

EEVblog — Fri, 10 May 2013 01:02:13 +0000

A new EEVblog segment, Fundamentals Friday!
How to generate high voltage DC with a Cockcroft-Walton Multiplier circuit.
a.k.a Cockcroft-Walton / Villard / Greinacher Cascade

The Uni-T teardown segment HERE

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #468 – Uni-T UT513 Insulation Resistance Meter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:58:04 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
Inside the Uni-T UT513 5KV Insulation Resistance meter.
And what happens when you apply 5KV across the range switch of a cheap arse multimeter?
10KV Relay datasheet

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #467 – Walktime Rant Crowd Funding Projects

EEVblog — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:21:32 +0000

Dave talks about crowd source funding projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and a new forum section to discuss them.

Mµ Thermal Imager HERE
EMC SafeSleeve HERE

EEVblog Announcement – T-Shirts

EEVblog — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:19:57 +0000

555 Timer T-shirt
Negative Feedback T-Shirt

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #466 – Dumpster Dive Night Raid

EEVblog — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:44:25 +0000

Dave goes night raiding in the dumpster and finds the PC motherlode!

EEVblog #465 – LED LCD Panel Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:18:47 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside a modern LED backlight LCD panel from a 27″ computer monitor?
Forum Topic HERE

555 Timer T-Shirt

EEVblog — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:55:04 +0000

I’ve added my hand drawn 555 timer T-Shirt to Teespring

teespring.com/555timer-grey
Only US$15! if there is a total order of 100 or more.
This is much cheaper than my existing Zazzle store shirts.
The campaign runs for 7 days.
I was only charged $4.10 for DHL delivery to oz for two shirts.

Go on, you know you want this awesome bit of nerd street cred!

EEVblog #464 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:00:10 +0000

More mailbag
http://ros.org/wiki/Robots/TurtleBot
http://hacklace.org/
http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?Prod=ANALOG-DISCOVERY

Forum Topic HERE

New Negative Feedback T-Shirt Design

EEVblog — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:56:54 +0000

I’m looking for a new Negative Feedback T-Shirt design to take into a crowd source campaign to get some cheap shirts.
Please vote for the design you like HERE

Forum topic for discussion is HERE

The designs are not final, they can be tweaked in the last round.

This is probably my favourite so far, but some other aren’t close behind. It still has my hand drawn circuit, but with some extra artistry.

but after early voting, this one seems to have taken the lead:

EEVblog #463 – More Dumpster Diving

EEVblog — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:30:51 +0000

This time Dave actually had to climb into the dumpster. Was it worth it?

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #462 – Video Editing PC Assembly

EEVblog — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:38:22 +0000

60 minutes of Dave assembling his silent (low noise) Intel i7 3770K video editing computer. If you find that boring, don’t watch.
Please DON’T leave uninformed comments about needing a high end video card for editing and rendering. Read THIS first.

Coolermaster Silencio 550 case.
Asus Z77 motherboard
Coolermaster 212 Evo heatsink

EEVblog #461 – Genrad Decade Resistance Box Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:02:44 +0000

Dave’s Ignite Video is HERE
Teardown Tuesday
How interesting can a box with switches and resistors be?
Not very? How about a multi thousand dollar Genrad 1433 metrology grade decade resistance box?
IET’s video HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #460 – Mailbag – Plasma Speaker

EEVblog — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:37:14 +0000

Dave’s Mailbag
Some nice postcards, a Jamma card for Daves arcade machine, some computer stuff, dummy load kit, a calculator and a PLASMA SPEAKER!

Forum Topic HERE

Pre-Order an Amp Hour T-Shirt!

EEVblog — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:46:04 +0000

You can now pre-order the awesome new Amphour T-Shirt!
http://teespring.com/tah-black
Super cheap at only $15.
Even shipping to Oz is $10.50 via DHL, much cheaper for US of course.
You can only get this low price through the crowd sourcing campaign. After it’s done, the shirt will be $25 instead of $15.
And unlike places like Zazzle, we actually make a good profit on this, so it really helps support the show.

EEVblog #459 – Counter Shenanigans

EEVblog — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:21:41 +0000

What happens when you feed a frequency counter clock up it’s own clacker?
Agilent 53131A Schematics HERE

EEVblog #458 – Industrial Computer

EEVblog — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:28:46 +0000

What’s inside the ICP/IEI industrial rack mount computer Dave got from auction?
Does it boot?

Forum Topic HERE

Make a living on Youtube (or die trying)

EEVblog — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:48:33 +0000

Here is my talk from the 10th Ignite Sydney conference.
Huge thanks to Hunting with Pixels for the filming and video editing.
I’ll probably do another text blog post on this in due course talking about what went into, and the not-so-polished rehearsal video!

EEVblog #457 – Oscillator Calibration Followup

EEVblog — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:01:03 +0000

A follow-up on another method to calibration adjust the Agilent 53131A frequency counter against the Stanford Research PRS10 rubidium standard.
The oscillator drift video is HERE

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #456 – CSIRO Rubidium Frequency Standard

EEVblog — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:40:02 +0000

Dave uses his CSIRO National Measurement Institute rubidium frequency standard to calibrate and adjust his Agilent 53131A frequency counter.
With bonus teardowns.
53131A schematics are HERE

http://www.thinksrs.com/products/PRS10.htm

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #455 – Auction Bonanza

EEVblog — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:43:06 +0000

Dave shows off the gear he scored at an auction.
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #454 – JVC Camcorder Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:01:09 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
Inside a JVC comsumer camcorder
What design and systems engineering awaits?

Designing a Silent & Cheap Video Editing PC

EEVblog — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:05:15 +0000

Another in my series of text blog posts:

In the last week or so I’ve been putting together the spec for a new desktop video editing PC, and I’ve learned a fair bit about what’s (supposedly) really needed for a video editing PC. Here is the story:

I currently do most of my video editing at home on a HP DV7 notebook with a 4 core 2GHz i7 2630QM processor, 16GB of DDR3 memory, and ATI Radeon graphics chipset, and a 7200rpm 2nd internal SATA hard drive. But I’m not using the ATI chipset (too many driver issues with Sony Movie Studio), just the internal Intel integrated graphics (which actually pretty good). I also run a 2nd external monitor for dual screen. The chipset is a HM65. In short, it’s not bad as far as notebooks go, and it’s pretty zippy at video editing. It has a PassMark CPU benchmark of 5643

However, my lab PC is an old dumpster dive 4GB single 7200rpm Dell XPS 420 Quad core Q6600 2.4GHz machine isn’t nearly as zippy at video editing, and I do occasionally do some editing at the lab. That PC has a PassMark rating of 2961

So the plan is to replace the home notebook with a new video editing machine, and move the notebook to the lab as the secondary editor.

And then the fanboy wars started on the EEVblog forum… :->

Actually the response was brilliant when I asked about specing this machine on the forum, everyone jumped into the action and there was much research and discussion. 18 pages worth in fact!
And that doesn’t include a thread before that when I asked about video rendering speeds.

The result of that original thread (and on Twitter) was the suggestion that I should switch to a Mac Pro and Final Cut Pro. To cut a long story short, the Mac pro is massively slow at editing. And even a $500 hardware H264 accelerator card I was looking at would likely only bring it up to the same speed on my current HP DV7 notebook. So much for moving to Apple, sorry to all the Jobs fan boys, there was just no major incentive to do it.

So, the decision was to stick with my Windows and my current workflow and get a new WinTel machine.
I haven’t bought a desktop for at least a decade, as I’ve found notebook more flexible, but really that’s not good solution for a proper video editing machine.

My Workflow

So many people ask about my video editing workflow, so here it is:

I shoot on a Canon HF G10 in 12Mbps 1440×1080 AVCHD. (Have just switched to 17Mbps 1920×1080 in the last few videos)

I shot everything in sequence if at all possible, even if it means moving the tripod 20 times and changing the macro lens 10 times. That saves a HUGE amount of time in the video editing process.

I try and get the audio level right in-camera, so there is usually not much need to tweak or level audio while editing, is possible.

I then direct edit these .MTS files in Sony Movie Studio Platinum 12 (not Vegas). Most of my editing simply involves trimming the start and end of each clip, with maybe some overlay text or 2nd video track if I’m getting really fancy.

I then render from Sony to AVC, using the Sony AVC CODEC at a fixed 12Mbps rate (to match the input). This give me a top quality but HUGE intermediate file.

An aside on Constant Quality

Why don’t I use the MainConcept codec and output compressed Mp4 directly? The reason is simple and IMO, very important, and this is a point most peope do not understand and are quite confused by. I want the absolute best quality H264 HD video quality with the smallest possible file size, for every video regardless of what content is in that video (fast moving images, stills, etc). The codec like MainConcept that have a variable bit rate do not allow allow this easily. You have to know what type of content you have, and know the optimum average and peak video rate for that type of video content. If you get it too high, your file size is too big, and if you get it too low, your quality suffers. If your video contains a big mix of stuff, you have to compromise.

Why do I care about file size? Simple, Youtube!

Youtube cap the upload rate to 1Mbps or under (who knows why), even on my 2.4Mbps Telstra cable. This means it takes forever to upload long HD videos to youtube. Something the average person doesn’t really worry about. But to someone who does this daily, it’s really important. Optium file size vs quality is everything.

This is why I do the intermediate step in Sony, and use a 2nd final step with a program called Handbrake. Handbrake creates fantastic highly optimised H264 files using a codec technology called Constant Quality mode. It actually uses the x264 codec, Handbrake is just the nice GUI and command line interface to x264. There are others available like MeGUI.

What Constant Quality mode does (in a single pass!) is to optimise the bitrate to give you a consistent quality, and hence the most optimal file size, regardless of your video content complexity. So there is no need to worry about anything, just pick the quality you want (I use an RF value of 22) and it does everything. MAGIC!

This is something that regular (even 2 pass) Variable Bit Rate (VBR) codecs cannot match. So if you are using VBR, your videos are likely not a optimal quality.

And there is no video editor on the market (that I am aware of) with a CQ codec option.

Back to the Workflow

So I pass the big rendered video file into Handbrake (I have a command line script on my desktop, so just drag’n'go) and it produces the final 1440×1080 (or 1920×1080) H264 video I upload to youtube. I call this process transcoding. I also use Handbrake to produce a 640×360 iTunes podcast version.

Sony MS on my notebook renders in better than ”real time”, so a 1 hour video maybe takes 45-50min to process. Handbrake take about ‘real time” as well. So all up a 1 hour video takes me maybe 2 hours all up to render before I can upload to Youtube.

I Feel The Need For Speed

So “real time” actually isn’t bad for rendering in a general sense, so my current system is no slouch, but if I can double or maybe triple my rendering speed, then I might get to bed earlier. As I usually edit when I get back form the lab, which maybe takes a hour or two at most, and then I need to do that two step render process before I can upload to Youtube before I head to bed.

So can a new PC be that much quicker? We’ll see the end of this week when my new PC comes in…

Now, for all the gory details and fanboy fights, feel free to visit the 18 page forum thread. So here I’ll cut to chase of what seems like the general consensus from what people are telling me, and what I’ve researched myself.

You don’t need a GPU!

Joe Average will tell you that a hot shit video editing machine will need to blazing fast video card and GPU. But the fact is, Handbrake won’t use it, and while Sony Movie Studio can use it for rendering, it’s really designed for playback with a dozen different timeline items. I don’t have a dozen different timeline items, I have one video, one audio, and maybe one text. My internal chipset integrated graphic works just fine and smooth as silk in playback on dual screens, thank you very much.

Also, Sony Movie studio can use Intel QuickSync technology which is inside the latest i7 chipsets. My notebook has this, but I’ve tried using it and it’s actually slower than without it. But maybe my new machine will be different. Also, there is some question that using it can be lower quality than CPU only processing, but I have confirmed this. That’s one potential reason to chose Intel instead of AMD though.

You don’t need a Solid State Drive!

Joe Average will also tell you that a shit hot video editing machine needs an SSD drive, as the hard drive is going to be a bottleneck. Wrong!

Compressed video rendering speed is almost entirely is driven by the CPU, number of cores, and any associated CPU features that may help. Any old 5400rpm hard drive will easily keep up with the writing speed of rendered video output. You don’t need a fast hard drive or SSD! Although my machien will have a 7200rpm 2nd hard drive to write video too, and an SSD for the operating system, just for general machine speed.

You Don’t Need Much Memory!

Joe Average will also tell you that a shit hot video editing machine need lots of RAM. Wrong!

Some video editors may, but I can run 3 instances of Sony Movie Studio rendering 3 videos at once, along with a dozen Chrome windows open and still not get anywhere near my 16GB of memory. I can also run 8 instances of Handbrake transcoding 8 videos at once, with plenty to spare. 4GB is actually enough to do video encoding entirely in memory. Other video editors may vary of course! Video rendering works in small chunks, so generally not much RAM is required at all to process it.

But my new machine will have 16GB anyway, just because I can.

Intel vs AMD

Cue the fanboys. Both make their case using all sorts of benchmarks to show that one is better than the other, but in the end I relied on the only test that really matters, video rendering. And as it happens Toms Hardware has a nice comparison table using Handbrake for video rendering:

It turns out the sweet spot in terms of bang-per-buck is either the Intel i7 3770K, or the AMD 8350. The AMD 8350 is about a $150 cheaper solution give or take. Less than that in my case.

But the Intel i7 offer pretty hot integrated graphics, with QuickSync video encoding technology. So if you don’t need a video card, the slightly faster 3770K solution is essentially a similar price as AMD with a decent video card.

The 4 core Intel also beats the 8 core AMD (just, again) with the MainConcept encoder:

The higher end Intels didn’t really offer any huge bang-per-buck improvement, and crucially don’t have the fast integrated graphics or quicksync encoding like the i7. So the i7 was the obvious choice in the Intel range.

The 3770K has a PassMark of 9638, almost double my current notebook.
Power Consumption

The Intel 3770K beats the AMD 8350 in terms of power consumption, 13W less in idle mode in fact, and a massive 82W when running full tilt.

That’s a lot! And more heat means more cooling required, and faster fans, and more noise.

So the Intel beats the pants off the AMD in terms of video rendering / watt.

Silence!

My current notebook is real pain, the fan screams at the top of it’s lungs when I’m rendering, and for some time after, and it’s just 50cm away from my ears. Very unpleasant. So I decided my new PC must be designed with sound reduction in mind, even if that means over-engineering a bit in terms of cooling and PSU power.

Modern PCs can be very noisy. Stock CPU fans are notoriously noisy, GPU are very noisy, and cheap arse cases can be noisy in several ways. Cheap fans, hard drives can resonate, and poorly airflow ducting can have an impact too. It all adds up to a headache.

So I decided I wanted a name brand PC cased engineered properly to be Silent. It came down to a Fractal R4 or Cooler Master Silencio 550.

The PSU

More fanboy wars here! It must have Japanese gold blah blah caps. Yeah, great, I agree, but not at double or triple the price in my case. I’m a tight arse, and my system is probably going to draw 15oW max or something from it’s 600W PSU. I’ll go for a relative cheapie and take my chances.

My System

So what did I end up going with?

Intel i7 3770K (K is the unlocked one you can overclock, about $50 more)
ASUS P8Z77-V-LX Motherboard (cheapest one with the top line Z77 chipset)
16GB Corsair DDR3 1600 memory. 2 x 8GB, so room for extra if needed.
Corsair VS650 650W PSU
Corsair H55 liquid cooler.
CoolerMaster Silencio 550 case
Seagate 7200rpm 2TB drive

The case was decided because the Coolermaster had a very convenient top mounted SD card slot, and an integrated HDD dock installed. And it was $50 cheaper than the Fractal R4, just a smidge over $100. Both have very good “silent” reviews. The coolermaster has sound proofing on the side walls and front panel, air filters, and “silent” low RPM fans. Should be good enough.

I got upsold on the CPIU cooler. I only wanted a passive one with fan, but the water cooled Corsair H55 was only $10 more, and the box said 6dB better than the stock Intel cooler. Sounds good, and the reviews are good. Overkill maybe, but that’s a good thing. Less heat ultimately means less fan speed and less noise. It should also allow me to overclock the CPU. The H55 fan replaces the fan in the back of the case, so that’s actually one less fan in my system, that’s not a bad thing.

It was either an ASUS or ASROCK motherboard. I wanted the top line Z77 chipset, and the ASUS was cheaper, and had all sorts of wizz-bang stuff, so meah, ASUS it is. It has 4 DDR3 slots, PCI-E 3.0, plenty of expansion, and integrated HDMI and DVI video outputs.

Seagate was the cheapest 7200rpm 2TB drive, that is all. It’s the only thing I got from ebay, everything else was from my local computer store. I already had a 128MB Samsung SSD. I may even end up integrating my external RAID and network media hard drive into this thing (software RAID?). Comments?

All up the whole system cost me under AU$1K, and considering I’m a tight arse and have never paid over $1K for a computer in the last 25 years, I’m happy to continue to trend.

Conclusion

So how will it perform?

I don’t really know for sure, I’ll find out soon. But from all the research I’ve done, I think this is probably the best value video rendering machine possible. You can get maybe 25% faster at best, but it’ll cost you 4 times the price.

I’ll benchmark it without the video card first, and then out of curiosity will try a higher end GPU enabled video card and see if it makes any difference. I’m thinking it likely won’t. Unless you have gaming needs, or very serious multi channel wizz-bang effect video editing, then the integrated graphics will do a treat.

I expect it to be near silent, even when rendering for an hour. But we’ll see. It will certainly be a huge improvement on the laptop.

Power consumption should be <100W in idle, and maybe over that when rendering. We’ll see.

And the rendering speed? I’m expecting at least double the rendering speed in both Sony and Handbrake based on the PassMark CPU results. Likely more. If it’s less than double overall for the my workflow overall then I will be disappointed. I expect 2-2.5 improvement though, and that will be very significant.

Yes, I’ll do a build video and show the results, stay tuned.

Text Blogging!

People often ask how long it takes to produce a blog post like this. Well, I timed it! The post you just read took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to write and publish. That includes the gathering of links, thinking, etc.

And I don’t consider myself particularly slow at this kind of thing, but I’m not the most efficient either. Text blogging takes time, and writing takes time.

Don’t get me started on how long video blogging takes!

EEVblog #453 – Mysteries of x1 Oscilloscope Probes Revealed

EEVblog — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 04:28:14 +0000

Dave cracks out the whiteboard and side cutters to explain two lesser known facts about x1 oscilloscope probes:
- Why the bandwidth is much lower in x1 mode than x10 mode
- Why oscilloscope probe cables aren’t like ordinary coax cables

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #452 – Stanford Research SR430 Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:03:52 +0000

Inside the Stanford Research SR430 Multi Channel Scaler Photon Counter
Unboxing video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfp0QnQujvs

Datasheets:
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/ugrad/389/muon/SR430m.pdf
http://www.elektronik.ropla.eu/pdf/stock/hit/hd63484.pdf
http://cds.linear.com/docs/en/datasheet/100737fbs.pdf
http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/AD96685_96687.pdf
http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/MC10H107-D.PDF
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/SGSThomsonMicroelectronics/mXqzrvy.pdf
http://www.physics.brocku.ca/~edik/gpib/TMS9914.pdf
http://www.freescale.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/data_sheet/MC146818.pdf
http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/AD586.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emitter-coupled_logic

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #451 – Rigol DS1052E vs DS2072 Oscilloscope

EEVblog — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:01:46 +0000

How much has oscilloscope technology developed in the last 5 years?
Dave compares the baseline $800 entry level scope from 5 years ago, the Rigol DS1052E / DS1102E, to the current $800 benchmark, the DS2072.
Demos of intensity graduated display, waveform update speed, LXI Ethernet interface control and waterfall plots, segmented memory waveform replay mode, and more.
Includes bonus gratuitous analog oscilloscope comparison.

EEVblog #450 – Ebay Unboxing

EEVblog — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 21:21:47 +0000

Dave unboxes a random bit of gear from ebay. What is it?

Spoiler HERE

Forum Topic HERE

Microchip – Atmel Collaboration

EEVblog — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:25:20 +0000

Collaboration my arse!

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #449 – Absopulse VFC500 Variable Frequency Converter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:57:48 +0000

Inside the Absopulse Variable Frequency Converter

http://www.absopulse.com/pdf/sine%20wave/fc%20-%20vfc/VFC%20500.pdf

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #448 – New PICkit 4 & AVR Dragon

EEVblog — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 04:12:02 +0000

Dave programs a PIC 24F chip on his uCalc with the new official AVR Dragon firmware.
Part of the new Microchip-Atmel tool collaboration agreement.
Also, news on the new PICkit 4 which will have official support all Atmel parts.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #447 – Samsung Plasma Followup

EEVblog — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:16:07 +0000

A quick follow-up on the Samsung Plasma TV dumpster dive.

EEVblog #446 – Dumpster Diving Samsung Plasma TV

EEVblog — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 07:32:44 +0000

Dave goes Dumpster Diving again and scores a Samsung 42 PS-42S5H Plasma TV

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #445 – Fluke Contest Draw

EEVblog — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:29:00 +0000

The live drawing for the Fluke CNX3000 Multimeter

Forum Topic HERE

Live Contest Draw

EEVblog — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:44:48 +0000

The Fluke meter contest draw will (technology willing) be at 10am Sydney time tomorrow, Friday 29th.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20130328T2300
On the usual Ustream channel:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eevblog

EEVblog #444 – Car Lane Guidance Camera Teardown

EEVblog — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:21:13 +0000

What’s inside a modern Hyundai car lane guidance camera module?
Teardown Tuesday
Chips: Eye-Q2
MPC5604
MPC5604 Summary

EEVblog #443 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:58:58 +0000

Dave opens his mailbag.

EEVblog #442 – Analog Vs Digital Oscilloscope Noise

EEVblog — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 09:03:39 +0000

Is a modern digital oscilloscope noisier than an old analog CRT oscilloscope?
Are analog scopes better at displaying signals?
You might be surprised.when Dave demonstrates the display of some common mode noise on both types of oscilloscope.
An aside video from the common mode noise video

EEVblog #441 – How To Track Down Common Mode Noise

EEVblog — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 22:24:56 +0000

How to detect and hunt down common mode noise on your oscilloscope.
With the example of testing the output noise on a linear bench power supply.
The aside video for Analog vs Digital Scopes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImyUB3_n9fw

EEVblog #440 – Atten PPS3205T-3S Triple Output Power Supply Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:40:32 +0000

Inside the Atten PPS3205T-3S 3 output precision laboratory bench power supply.

EEVblog439 – Atten PPS3205T-3S Triple Output Power Supply Review

EEVblog — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:53:25 +0000

How much power supply can you get for $450?
Triple isolated outputs, PC control, 0.05% accuracy, is it too good to be true?
www.attenelectronics.com/Products/Power_Supply/Programmable_power/2012/0728/92.html
NOTE: Yes, it’s a long review, and I spend most of the time complaining about something. I wasn’t going to spend the time to try and edit it down. Complaints on a post card please.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVBlog #438 – Amiga 500 Retro Computer Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:25:05 +0000

Vintage Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside the 1987 Commodore Amiga 500 computer.
Relive Fat Agnus, Paula, Denise, and Gary in the Rock Lobster.

Forum Topic HERE

Fluke CNX Contest Announcement

EEVblog — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 02:00:02 +0000

Win a Fluke CNXv3000 Basic Kit, with Multimeter and wireless AC voltage module.

http://www.eevblog.com/forum/contests/fluke-cnx3000-contest

(NOTE: you can only see this forum topic thread if you have 5 forum posts)

EEVblog #437 – Removing SMD Parts with ChipQuik

EEVblog — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:42:23 +0000

How to remove surface mount SMD QFP packages from a PCB using ChipQuik low melting point alloy solder.

EEVblog #436 – Saleae USB Logic Analyser Review & Teardown

EEVblog — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 12:15:03 +0000

Review and teardown of the 8 channel Saleae USB Logic Analyser.

Forum Topic HERE

Bloggers – Don’t Sell Out Cheap

EEVblog — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 03:04:31 +0000

Footnote:

This is first of hopefully an ongoing series of text based blog posts. Posts on subjects that I ordinarily wouldn’t get around to sitting in front of the camera and making a video about, and that are too long to rant about on Twitter. The idea is to give additional blog content to those on the main site and RSS feed. If you like the idea, or not, please give feedback.

There has been an issue that has been bugging me for quite a few years now, and I need to say something about it.

Bloggers being exploited for the benefit of the big players in the online engineering space.

You’ve seen them, the big companies going all “social media” internet happy and wanting to draw in and dominate engineering audiences with their online blogs, and piss-poor attempts at setting up online communities. I won’t name names, you know who they are, because it’s almost every major player in the online engineering supply or magazine/content business.

And they are tripping over themselves trying to entice bloggers to write articles for them, do product reviews for them, blog events for them, you name it.

They do this by enticing you (if you are lucky) with free products, maybe travel to a trade show, and claims of making you well known with the “massive” viewership numbers they claim they have. And they all actively target existing bloggers, both well known, and not so well known to come and write stuff for them. If you have an existing blog, and you haven’t been approached by one of these companies, then it’s only a matter of time.

Whilst on the surface their offers might sound attractive, there may be several issues you are not aware of:

1) The numbers are bullshit.

Yep, every number they give you in terms of readers/subscribers/viewers/hits etc is complete bullshit. Artificially inflated. There is an old figure of “1.4 times” that the magazines used to claim on their subscriber base, and the BS continues on to this day, even more so online.

Lets say a magazine prints 10,000 actual copies of a magazine. They will say to their advertisers that they have 14,000 readers. Why? Don’t ask. They don’t care if those 10,000 copies are actually sold or not, if they are read or not, or if they are returned for pulp. That’s straight old-school publishing BS.

But the BS gets a bit more complex in the online space. Let’s say an online magazine has 10,000 subscribers, with 10,000 accounts & logins. Then they decide to add a blog. They’ll sell and package advertising space based on both print, electronic, and blog space etc, and they’ll muddy all the numbers up to make it sounds like their blog gets similar numbers of views. Only it doesn’t of course, it gets very little. The advertisers don’t care, they sign up anyway because their advertising department has to meet its monthly KPI (Key Performance Indicators) for money spent on each advertising space – “blogs – TICK!”. In short, it’s in the companies interest to muddy and inflate these numbers, and grossly inflate they do. And it gets to a point where they actually believe it themselves.

Then there are the companies with online communities. Some will proudly display their “view count” for blog posts etc, but in some cases, this number can increase with every page refresh of that thread. So your blog post contribution that shows 10,000 views, really only got a hundred or two genuine views.

Beware of these fake figures. Often, even a relatively little known blogger can get more views on their own web site than on one of these big players. There is most often more in it for them there there is for you.

The rule is, take their figure and drop it by an order of magnitude. Two orders if the smell is rather pungent.

2) They are outsourcing jobs, and want content for (almost) free

Why pay existing full time employees real wages to write quality articles, reviews and blog posts, when you can get gulli-err-eager bloggers to do it for the enticement of fame and/or some free swag? And yes, the big companies have been shedding full time writing staff. Genius on their part, it looks great on the books.

So, the fame ain’t as good as they say it will be, but what about that free swag?!

Yeah, it’s real, but what is that costing you, and your fellow bloggers? Is it such a good deal?

By accepting the free free swag and writing for them (or doing it for the “fame”), you are effectively lowering the bar for all bloggers in the future when these companies expect people to produce content for them for free, or effectively slave labour wages.

Often the free swag comes direct from the manufacturer, so why not start you own blog and them ask the manufacturers directly? Odds are they will give you the same swag for free as well. Then you aren’t producing content for a big commercial company for free, and you are making a go of it yourself – awesome. Your own blog can then potentially bring in views, advertising income, sponsorship, and fame – to you, and not someone else.

3) What if they pay you?

Well, do the math. How long does it take you to do that review or write that technical blog article? Are you getting paid a professional hourly rate for doing so? And not just a minimum wage, a real professional rate. Try $50-$100/hour as a bare minimum figure.

4) What if they want you to be an “expert” and answer questions?

Having your name and photo plastered all over their website as one of their writers or “experts” might look cool, but be prepared for the deluge of (often stupid) questions you’ll get from people from all over the globe, or people wanting you to spoon feed them. How much time are you spending doing this?, and for what pay? For who’s benefit?

5) But I wanna do it for the fun of it!

I hear you! But why not do it for your own site instead? Views might be less at first, but they will pick up, and it won’t be long before they surpass what they get on the big sites. If you build it, they will come. You’ll see.

6) How long will they last?

It might seem like a silly question, but how long will your post or reviews remains on that big site? Will it get purged in their next brain-flash idea to change direction? Will you be able to put it on your resume in a few years time? At the very least, duplicate any content you create on your own site. Don’t let them tell you you can’t do that either.

7) We’ll advertise your blog!

Sure they will, in exchange for your free content. Is it such a good deal? Is it better than Google? Maybe, maybe not…

Ask fellow bloggers to include you in their list of other blogs. That will likely bring in more views than the big sites will. Independent bloggers should scratch each others backs, not the backs of the big corporate players.

8) We’ll advertise ON your blog!

While I’m on the subject, as a blogger you will eventually get approached by an online ad agency rep. They will attack you several ways.

First they may offer you “info graphics” or other content to put on your blog. Don’t do it. They are trying to get cheap SEO for their highly paying client.

Next they may offer an absurdly low rate of say $50-$200 to advertise on your blog, for the whole year! Don’t do it. They have a LOT more money available, haggle them up by an order of magnitude.

They might offer you some free swag in exchange for advertising. Don’t do it. You are being bought cheap.

Only accept real advertising rates, in cash, up front, that as a ballpark, start in the hundreds per month. And even those figures are absurdly cheap compared to traditional print and big engineering website advertising SEE HERE for but one example. Accepting less once again drags down the bar for the whole industry.

So I encourage every blogger or wannabe blogger to really think long and hard before deciding to create content for someone else, be it for free, for pay, or for some other perceived benefit, or accept cheap advertising. Don’t sell out cheap. Sometimes something is not better than nothing.

Comments invited.

Should I do some text blogging too?

EEVblog — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:18:02 +0000

I’ve been thinking that maybe I should do some text blogging on here in addition to the usual video blog.
Just random stuff, rants, whatever, almost certainly on-topic of course, and maybe some photos if I’m doing something etc.
Just some extra content for eevblog.com were I would not be bothered to sit in front of the camera and do a video about.
Opinions please:
a) Good or bad idea?
b) If good idea, should it go on the main page here or another separate wordpress blog people can subscribe too with it’s own RSS feed?

Server update complete

EEVblog — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:28:02 +0000

The server update to CENTOS 6 is complete. Everything but forum emails seems to work just fine, that is being looked at now.
The new server should be quicker than the old one, and it should get even quicker with some tweaks that will come online is due course.
And hopefully the random “Database Connection” error will be fixed.
Sorry for the disruption, it will be good for the long term.

EEVblog #435 – 3D Rocker Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:19:56 +0000

You know you want to see what’s inside a 3D Rocker Platform.
TDA2806A
T410-600 TRIAC

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #434 – SMD Thermal Pad & Drag Soldering Tutorial

EEVblog — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:58:17 +0000

Dave shows another method for hand soldering a surface mount SMD chip with a thermal pad, using both liquid and gel flux.
A method using hot air is HERE
Also, drag soldering TSSOP packages is demonstrated.
http://pcbzone.net/

Forum Topic HERE

Server Upgrade

EEVblog — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 04:54:09 +0000

Note:
The EEVblog dedicated server is being upgraded sometime within the next 48 hours. There will likely be some disruption of service, but for how long I do not know. This includes the EEVblog Forum.
Updates will be available on Twitter, unless all this unfolds while I’m sleeping…

For those curious, the new server specs are:
Server model: Supermicro X9SCD+-F-BH002
Memory: Kingston DDR3 1333MHz
Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1265L V2 @ 2.50GHz
Ethernet controller: Dual Intel 82580 Gigabit (limited to 10MBit port)
Hard drive: Western Digital RE4 Serial ATA (WD1003FBYX-01Y7B1) x2

EEVblog #433 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:52:10 +0000

More Mailbag.
http://www.aimsolder.com/
www.electrolube.com/
www.pulseresearchlab.com/products/SCK/index.html

EEVblog #432 – Brymen Multimeters

EEVblog — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:08:56 +0000

Dave takes a quick look at three Brymen Multimeters.
The BM257 6000 count 0.2% $100 meter
The BM857A 500,000 count 0.03%
The BM869 500,000 count 0.02% top of the range meter

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #431 – PCB Wave Soldering

EEVblog — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:47:24 +0000

Extended commentary on PCB surface mount wave soldering on the Fluke 91 Scopemeter.
Original video here: http://youtu.be/AozG9DfGVeQ

EEVblog #430 – Fluke 91 Scopemeter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:21:50 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
Inside a 1994 vintage Fluke 91 Series II Scopemeter.
Extended commentary on PCB Wave Soldering

Service Manual
TDA8703
74HC4316
TLC27M2A
LF453
S83C196KB

Photos HERE

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #429 – TurtleBot & CineMoco

EEVblog — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:06:39 +0000

Gavin Smith a.k.a The Mechatronics Guy always has interesting stuff in his car boot. Here he shows off his TurtleBot and CineMoco camera dolly system.
http://sites.google.com/site/mechatronicsguy
http://turtlebot.com/
http://store.cinetics.com/bundles

EEVblog #428 – Wyong Field Day 2013

EEVblog — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:15:45 +0000

Central Coast Amateur Radio Club Field Day at Wyong 2013
www.fieldday.org.au/

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #427 – HP 3478A Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:13:45 +0000

Inside the HP 3478A Multimeter
A quick follow-up to the previous 3457A teardown video.

Forum Topic HERE

Photos HERE

EEVBlog #426 – HP 3457A Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:25:44 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
Inside the HP 3457A 6.5/7.5 digit bench multimeter.
Service Manual
HERE and HERE and HERE
LM339 Reference

User Manual HERE

Forum Topic HERE

Photos HERE

EEVBlog #425 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:11:56 +0000

EEVblog Mailbag

EEVblog #424 – $3M Agilent Portable Calibration Lab Tour

EEVblog — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:12:40 +0000

A tour of Agilent Australia’s new VOSCAL (Volume On-Site Calibration) portable NATA accredited calibration lab in a customised expandable shipping container, with Metrologist Peter Daly
The gear alone inside is worth a cool $3M.

Photos HERE

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #423 – HP5061A Atomic Clock Cesium Beam Frequency Standard

EEVblog — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:20:16 +0000

A look at one of the original HP 5061A Cesium Beam atomic clock frequency standards used in the “flying clocks” experiment in the 1960′s, that showed (not definitely at the time) that time dilation as part of Einstein’s relatively theory was correct. The effect was not confirmed until a more precise run in 1971, again with the same clocks.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #422 – How To Calibrate A Calibrator

EEVblog — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 04:59:45 +0000

Les Thomaidis shows and explains the calibration rack at the Agilent Melbourne Standards Lab that is used to “calibrate the calibrators”. This is where other calibration labs send their multimeter and oscilloscope calibrators to get calibrated.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #421 – Melbourne Hackerspace

EEVblog — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:55:04 +0000

Dave visits the Connected Community Hacker Space (CCHS) in Melbourne on Feb 5th 2013
Check out the Cray Supercomputer, automated RFID door access system, 3D printers, various robots, and a chat with the head software developer for the Raspberry Pi.

http://www.hackmelbourne.org/
Andy Gelme is part of http://lifx.co/
Jon Oxer is part of http://www.freetronics.com
Alex Bradbury is part of http://www.raspberrypi.org

EEVblog #420 – What Is Calibration?

EEVblog — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 21:46:25 +0000

Peter Daly, metrologist at Agilents world leading standards & calibration laboratory in Melbourne explains what calibration is.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #419 – Thermocouple Tutorial

EEVblog — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 05:53:01 +0000

Everything you need to know about how Thermocouples work.
K type thermocouples, the Seebeck effect, the Seebeck coefficient, and cold junction compensation.
Along with some practical measurements with a multimeter to demonstrate the effect.

Seebeck effect on a single conductor

NIST Tables

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #418 – Mailbag Apple Newton Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:34:08 +0000

Mailbag time.
Dave tears down an original Apple Newton Messagepad 100.
Photos HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #417 – Fluke CNX3000 Wireless Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:15:36 +0000

Inside Fluke’s new CNX3000 Wireless Multimeter.
Also, the CNX t3000 K-Type Thermocouple, CNX i300o iFlex probe, CNX v3000 wireless ac voltage meter, and CNX a3000 wireless ac clamp meter.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #416 – 35 Years Of Test Equipment

EEVblog — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:13:54 +0000

Dave takes you on a 35 year journey through the test equipment ads in his collection of Electronics Australia magazines, from 1965 to 2000.

www.hioki.com/discon/pdf/multi/3207_08.pdf

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #415 – SMD Stencil Reflow Soldering Tutorial

EEVblog — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:14:16 +0000

Dave shows you how easy it is to do surface mount SMD reflow soldering with a stencil and a hot air gun:
http://astore.amazon.com/eevblogstore-20

Hints and tips for quick and easy component placement, solder paste application, and reflow soldering using cheap easy to get tools.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #414 – Apple Macintosh SE Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:37:35 +0000

What’s inside a vintage 1988 Apple Macintosh SE?

http://www.nycresistor.com/2012/08/21/ghosts-in-the-rom/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOS_Technology_6522
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/motorola/AM26LS32.pdf
http://www.classiccmp.org/rtellason/chipdata/mc3488.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Desktop_Bus
http://amazingdiy.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/am5380pc.pdf

Forum Topic HERE

Teardown photos HERE

And a follow-up showing the Easter Eggs

EEVblog #413 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:30:13 +0000

Mailbag Monday
What’s in Dave’s mail?

jaanus.tech-thing.org/category/half-ohm/
atlanta-robotics.com/Home.html
mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en
dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_Pirate
dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_Blaster

http://www.energymicro.com

cdn.energymicro.com/dl/an/pdf/an0048_efm32_energy_friendly_display.pdf
www.atollic.com/index.php/truestudio
www.sharpmemorylcd.com/

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #412 – Jawbone UP Pedometer Teardown

EEVblog — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 21:27:30 +0000

What’s inside a Jawbone UP Pedometer?

MSP430F5548
BQ24230
MX25L8006E

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #411 – MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review

EEVblog — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:01:26 +0000

Is a sub $50 universal programmer from ebay any good?
Dave checks out the MiniPro TL866 programmer:

Chip support LIST

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #410 – Microtek 8086 In-Circuit Emulator Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:55:41 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside a 1980′s vintage Microtek MICE-16 8086 in-circuit emulator that Dave scored for 99 cents on ebay?

http://www.microtekintl.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_8255

Forum Topic HERE

Photos HERE

EEVblog #409 – EDMI – Smart Meter Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:24:32 +0000

NOTE: Something is wrong with eevblog.org, so I am unable to upload the podcast file at present.

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside an EDMI Atlas Mk10A Smart Meter?

Datasheets:
EDMI Mk10 Datasheet
EDMI Mk10 Reference Manual
VAC4626 Current Transformer
MSP430FG4618
TNY268
SP3238E

Abletronics
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #408 – Schmart Board 0.4mm QFN SMD Soldering

EEVblog — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:09:41 +0000

Mailbag continued.
Soldering a 0.4mm QFN chipscale SMD package onto a Schmart Board using 0.3mm JBC and Hakko tips.
Also a demonstration of drag soldering with a chisel point tip.

Schmart board
Green Arrays Multi-Processor Chip

Forum Topic HERE

EEVBlog #407 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 20:58:06 +0000

Pomona Precision Probes

Mike’s Proto PCB

Vincent Himpe’s website
Mastering Surface Mount Technology Book

Panasonic TV Schematic

Forum Topic HERE

How We Make The Amp Hour Podcast

EEVblog — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 04:07:30 +0000

Chris Gammell posted this video:

EEVblog #406 – Keithley 480 Picoammeter Teardown & Calibration

EEVblog — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:11:44 +0000

Teardown and calibration checking of a Keithley 480 Picoammeter Dave got from ebay.
This was supposed to be a repair and troubleshooting as well, but Murphy had other ideas.

Keithley 480 User & Service Manual

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #405 – Lecroy 9384C Oscilloscope Repair – Part 3

EEVblog — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 07:53:31 +0000

A followup to the previous attempted repair video, clearing up a few things and removing the ASIC chip.
Part 1 HERE
Part 2 HERE

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #404 – Korad PSU Followup

EEVblog — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 11:39:10 +0000

Just a very quick impromptu followup on the new Korad KA3005P PSU.
Taking a look at the boards in the new designed unit.

Charles’s testing of the new supply is HERE
Forum Topic is HERE

EEVblog #403 – IR Thermometer Calibration Testing

EEVblog — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 08:54:17 +0000

Not a formal calibration check, but playing around in the TrioSmartCal lab testing the accuracy of the Fluke 59 (Raytek MT6) Mini IR Thermometer using an Extech IRC350 (CEM BX-350) IR Calibrator.
Also playing with the Flir E60 IR Camera and Extech IR200 human body IR thermometer
Trio Smart Cal
RayTek MT6
Fluke 62 Mini
CEM BX350

Typical Germanium Lenses

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #402 – Flir E60 IR Thermal Camera

EEVblog — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:55:05 +0000

A mini review and some playing around with the Flir E60 IR Thermal Camera

EEVblog #401 – Lecroy 9384C Oscilloscope Repair – Part 2

EEVblog — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:08:19 +0000

Dave brings out the big guns in this attempt.
Can a $12K Flir E60 IR Thermal Camera find the fault?
Once again, a “real-time” attempt to find the short on the Lecroy mainboards 3.3V rail.
Part 1 is HERE

Flir Cameras
ULIRVision IR Camera

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #400 – 400th Live Show

EEVblog — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:49:38 +0000

An epic 4.5 Hours of Dave answering questions for the 400th Episode Live Show!
(Sorry, the chat capture seems to have frozen several times)

EEVblog #399 – GoPro Hero 2 Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 21:39:04 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside the GoPro Hero 2 action camera?

Ambarella A5S:
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog Torrents Now Available

EEVblog — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 22:23:04 +0000

The 640×360 podcast feed is now available as a Bit Torrent from BitLove.org
For those who prefer to get their files that way. And likely much faster too than the current cheap shared server were my podcast files are hosted.
It is also helpful if those who can, use the Torrent feed, as my host has threatened to shut down the server several times because of the high load.
http://bitlove.org/eevblog/torrent

EEVblog #398 – Lecroy 9384C Oscilloscope Repair

EEVblog — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:22:40 +0000

Dave attempts to trace a short “real-time” on the main board of the Lecroy 9384C oscilloscope.
Teardown video is HERE

400th LIVE Show – Dec 15th

EEVblog — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:24:21 +0000

I’ll be doing another live show this Sat 15th Dec 7:30am Sydney time.
Click HERE for the time zone conversions.
And the Live show tab above for details of how to participate.

12/12/12 12:12:12pm

EEVblog — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:48:59 +0000

A red letter moment in the history of the world.
Or would you believe a pointless time/date correlation?

EEVblog #397 – Turnigy Accucell 6 Charger Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:30:31 +0000

Inside the Turnigy Accucell 6 Lithium Ion/Polymer/Iron Phosphate 6A Battery Charger.
And a look at the JBC CD-2BB series soldering iron

Schematic is HERE
MOSFETs:
MT8103A
FDS6680

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #396 – Bode Plotting on Your Osciloscope

EEVblog — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:34:22 +0000

Dave shows you a neat trick on how to get a real time frequency response bode plot on your oscilloscope using your function generator. Useful for filter or system response characterisation.
Forum Topic HERE
Spectrum Analyser Video

EEVblog #395 – World’s Most Expensive Hard Drive Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:02:22 +0000

What’s inside a $250,000 1980′s vintage IBM server hard drive used in banks?
1989 vintage Model 3390 mod2 1.89GB or 3.78GB
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #394 – EEVblog Online Tour

EEVblog — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:23:02 +0000

For those who continue to ask really basic questions about the blog.
What other EEVblog stuff there is on the Internet?, and where to access it.
Sorry for those who do know this stuff, nothing new here for you!
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #393 – LiPo Battery Discharge Testing

EEVblog — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 06:04:33 +0000

Getting a battery discharge curve on a Turnigy 5000mAh battery using a BK Precision 8500 Electronic Load
Battery Charging Tutorial Battery Capacity Tutorial
Forum Topic HERE
Battery HERE

EEVblog #392 – 555 LED PWM Hack

EEVblog — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:12:19 +0000

555 T-Shirt HERE

Hacking the Mantis Elite microscope to control the LED brightness with a 555 PWM circuit.

Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #391 – Rigol DSA815 Spectrum Analyser Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:27:32 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside Rigol’s low cost DSA815-TG spectrum analyser?
Forum Topic HERE
HiRes Photos HERE
Datasheets on chips used:
XC6SLX25
A3P030
ADSP-BF526
LTC3728LX
ADF4106
ADE-2+ Mixer

Block Diagram Breakdown

EEVblog #390 – Mantis Elite Microscope Review

EEVblog — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 22:02:34 +0000

A review of the Mantis Elite 3D Stereoscopic microscope from Vision engineering.
Unboxing Video
Forum Topic HERE
Vision Engineering
Hawker Richardson

EEVblog #389 – Casio Calculator Investigation

EEVblog — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:23:03 +0000

Measuring the current consumption of some solar powered Casio calculators.
And a look at an unusual chip mounting technique.
Solar Power Hope

EEVblog #388 – Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:18:16 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What is inside a fake clone A1265 Apple USB charger?
How bad are they?
Teardown of a real Apple USB charger

EEVblog #387 – Oscilloscope Trigger Jitter

EEVblog — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:38:28 +0000

3 ways to stop oscilloscope trigger jitter on burst waveforms.
A follow-up to the Delay Line video #2
Trigger Holdoff Tutorial

EEVblog #386 – Glass Delay Lines Part 2

EEVblog — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:46:51 +0000

Part 2 on Piezo-electric acoustic glass delay lines.
Some measurements and playing around.
Part 1 is HERE

Delay line info is HERE
(chapter 6.9)

EEVblog #385 – Amstrad NC100 Notepad Repair

EEVblog — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 02:42:56 +0000

More retro computer time!
Repair of a 1992 vintage Amstrad NC100 Notepad
Forum Topic HERE

Korad PSU Follow-up

EEVblog — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:01:26 +0000

Charles Holtom from TrioSmartCal did this follow-up video on the fixed Korad power supply that failed.
The Failure video
www.triosmartcal.com.au

EEVblog #384 – Agilent 4000X Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 22:27:11 +0000

What’s inside Agilent’s new 4000 X-Series Touch Screen Infiniivision oscilloscope?
Teardown Tuesday
3000X Teardown
2000X Teardown

EEVBlog #383 – Agilent 4000X Oscilloscope Review

EEVblog — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:12:17 +0000

Review of the new Agilent 4000 X-Series Infiniivison Touch Screen Oscilloscope.
And a comparison with the 3000X
Hires Photos HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #382 – Cambridge Z88 Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 03:07:34 +0000

Retro teardown of the 1987 Cambridge Z88 notebook computer from Clive Sinclair
Running the OZ operating system, Pipedream application, and BBC BASIC

EEVblog #381 – How Do Ultrasonic Delay Lines Work?

EEVblog — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:06:30 +0000

How do glass ultrasonic acoustic delay lines work? The kind used in PAL video recorders.
This is Part 3 of the Sony CCD Video 8 Camcorder Teardown.
PART 1 HERE
PART 2 HERE
Service Manual is HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #380 – Sony CCD Sensor Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:05:20 +0000

Teardown of a Sony CCD sensor in the 1985 vintage Video 8 CCD-V8AF Camcorder.
And a look inside the small CRT Viewfinder
Part 1 is HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVBlog #379 – Yamaha RX-V557 Receiver Fix

EEVblog — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:25:24 +0000

The fix for the Yamaha RX-V557 Receiver.
A followup from the previous video:

EEVblog #378 – Dumpster Diving Teardown Repair

EEVblog — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:53:03 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
Repairing a Yamaha Surround Sound Receiver Dave found while Dumpster Diving.
SPOILER: I couldn’t fix it.
Service Manual PDF
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #377 – Mailbag Monday

EEVblog — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:55:49 +0000

Dave opens his mail.
http://pfranc.com/projects/e2Plug/Pledge.htm
www.poscope.com
The EEVblog Lab Temperature & Humidity in real-time:

EEVblog #376 – Multimeter Fuse Diode Followup

EEVblog — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:14:13 +0000

How diode bridge protection across a shunt resistor in a multimeter works, and why the fuse blows before the diode does on a well designed multimeter like the Fluke.
A followup to the previous video on Multimeter input protection

Fluke 27 Service Manual

Bussman Fuse Datasheet
LittleFuse Datasheet
DF02 Diode Bridge Datasheet
1N4007 Datasheet

EEVblog #375 – Sony Video 8 Camcorder Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:25:50 +0000

Go Back to the Future with Dave to 1985 as he tears down the world’s first Video 8 camcorder, a vintage Sony CCD-V8AF.

EEVblog #374 – DIY Multimeter Calibration

EEVblog — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:40:27 +0000

How Dave checks the “calibration” of the multimeters in his lab.
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #373 – Multimeter Input Protection Tutorial

EEVblog — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:31:58 +0000

Everything you ever wanted to know about how Multimeter input protection works.
Using the Fluke 27 as a baseline example.
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #372 – Fluke 27 Multimeter Review & Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:54:41 +0000

Dave scored a retro Fluke 27 multimeter on ebay.
Forum topic HERE

EEVblog #371 – Universal Programmer Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:13:20 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside a Wellon Universal programmer?
Is it completely “universal”?
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #370 – Kindle Paperwhite Teardown Review

EEVblog — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:13:37 +0000

What’s inside the new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Ebook Reader?
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #369 – Rigol DS2000 Oscilloscope Playing Around

EEVblog — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:47:34 +0000

Updating the firmware on the Rigol DS2000 series oscilloscope, playing around with the waveform capture/recall feature, and ranting about a few things.
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog #368 – EPIRB Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:58:09 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside an analog 121.5MHz EPIRB/PLB Personal Locator Emergency Beacon, and how do they work?

EEVblog #367 – Live Show 8th Oct 2012

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:55:07 +0000

Live on Ustream answering viewer questions

EEVblog #366 – USB PSU Troubleshooting

EEVblog — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 02:38:23 +0000

Some troubleshooting on the USB PSU DC-DC Converter

Live Show 8th October

EEVblog — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 00:47:34 +0000

Time for another Live EEVblog show.
TOMORROW – Mon 8th Oct SYDNEY TIME.
The usual Q&A banter.
The link here has all timezones.
You can watch live here, and the usual chat on Ustream/IRC.
http://www.eevblog.com/live-show/

EEVblog #365 – ESR Meter Bad Cap Monitor Repair

EEVblog — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 12:37:04 +0000

Yet another dumpster diving LCD monitor repair.
This time an LG SyncMaster monitor with bad caps.
Using the Bob Parker ESR Meter
Bob’s full article is HERE
Forum Topic HERE

EEVblog Electronex Stand TimeLapse

EEVblog — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 02:52:42 +0000

A time lapse (x100) of the EEVblog stand setup and teardown for the Electronex 2012 show.

EEVblog #364 – LED Ceiling Panel Lighting Install

EEVblog — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:02:32 +0000

Installing Doug’s 60W diffused ceiling LED light panels in the lab.
And a look inside a typical office ceiling crawl space.
http://www.dfad.com.au

Vote for Dave in the 2012 Streamys

EEVblog — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 01:18:31 +0000

This could be fun, or an epic failure, or both:
Vote Dave for “International Personality of the Year” !
Sadly, you’ve gotta have a Twitter account to vote.

EEVblog #363 – Gold Phone Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 22:45:08 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside a Telstra CT4 “Gold Phone” Payphone?
And how do electronic coin validators work?

EEVblog #362 – LED Tube Lighting Install & Theory

EEVblog — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 02:46:25 +0000

Installing LED fluorescent tube replacements in the EEVblog LAB with before and afetr measurements.
Bonus theory material on fluorescent startup and LED tube design and dangers.
With Doug Ford from Doug Ford Analog Design:
www.dfad.com.au

EEVblog #361 – LED Ceiling Panel Lighting 101

EEVblog — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:11:11 +0000

How do LED ceiling panel LED lights work?
Everything you need to know about LED ceiling panel lighting, with Doug Ford.
And a bonus tutorial on underwater LED lighting.

Two more parts to this LED lighting installation coming soon…

EEVblog #360 – Rigol DS2000 Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:53:35 +0000

Forum Topic http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog-specific/eevblog-360-rigol-ds2000-oscilloscope-teardown/
Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside Rigol’s new DS2000 series entry level oscilloscope?

HiRes Teardown photos HERE.

EEVblog #359 – QDSO Pocket Oscilloscope Review

EEVblog — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:50:35 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Dave reviews and tears down the QDSO (“MiniDSO”) Pocket Oscilloscope.

UPDATE: Since this and Mike’s review, DIYertool have voluntarily removed this product from sale.

EEVblog #358 – Electronex 2012

EEVblog — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:29:13 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Full coverage of Electronex 2012 in Sydney

EEVblog #357 – USB Supply Power-up Testing

EEVblog — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:10:45 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Some basic power up testing of Dave’s prototype USB power supply.
With some bonus Murphy’s troubleshooting.
Thanks to www.pcbzone.net for the PCB

EEVblog #356 – Makerbot Replicator 2 Announcement

EEVblog — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:38:45 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Makerbot announced the Replicator 2 today.
As usual, Dave has something to say about it.

Makerbots official response HERE
Dave’s translation:
The suits said we MUST go closed source on everything legally possible. Use all loopholes, whilst keeping up appearances.

EEVblog #355 – Dictaphone Dumpster Diving

EEVblog — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:18:29 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Dave finds a treasure trove of Dictaphone machines in the dumpster.

EEVblog #354 – CityRail PA Amp Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:20:35 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
Forum Topic HERE
What’s inside an Sydney CityRail Train PA Amplifier.
And an extensive tutorial on the design of the power amplifier system from the designer himself, Doug Ford:

http://www.dfad.com.au

EEVblog #353 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:55:50 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
http://www.allyourtechstuff.com.au
http://www.bluesat.unsw.edu.au
http://www.schmartboard.com/
http://www.cliftonlaboratories.com/
http://www.youritronics.com/
http://tindie.com/Rager/liponano-1/
http://henriksplace.se

EEVblog #352 – Tin Whiskers 101

EEVblog — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:07:42 +0000

Sorry, this video has been removed at the request of the organisers.
A even shorter edited version of the video may return in due course.

EEVblog #351 – Silicon Chip Magazine – Electronex 2012

EEVblog — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 03:02:34 +0000

A short interview with Nicholas Vinen and Leo Simpson from Silicon Chip Magazine at Electronex 2012.
NOTE: The podcast version is now 640×360 instead of 480×270. File size and quality should remain very similar.

EEVblog #350 – Sagan Tours Electronex 2012

EEVblog — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:19:58 +0000

Sagan checks out Electronex 2012.

EEVblog #349 – SMCBA Lecture IPC-2581 Open Standards for PCB Design Data

EEVblog — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:15:22 +0000

A presentation given at the 2012 Electronex show in Sydney by the SMCBA.
IPC-2581 Open, neutral global standard for efficient PCB design data transfer.
Presented by:
Gary Ferrari – Executive director and co-found of the IPC designers council.
Andy Kowalewski – IPC Designers council Master Instructor

EEVblog #348 – Electronex 2012 – Behind the Scenes

EEVblog — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:46:48 +0000

Come behind the scenes with Dave at the 2012 Electronex Show, and see what goes into setting up one of these electronics trade shows.

EEVblog #347 – Bad Cap LCD Monitor Repair

EEVblog — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:52:09 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Repairing and replacing the bad caps in a Samsung SyncMaster 204e LCD Monitor found while Dumpster Diving.

EEVblog #346 – MLF/QFN SMD Reflow Soldering

EEVblog — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 09:59:41 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
How to use solder paste and a hot air gun to reflow solder a surface mount SMD 0.5mm pitch 3mm x 3mm MLF (QFN) chip.

EEVblog #345 – Electronics Dumpster Diving

EEVblog — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:02:18 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
What’s in Dave’s garbage room?
Dumpster Diving time!

EEVblog #344 – Fluke 17B Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:44:21 +0000

Forum Topic HERE

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside the cheap Made-in-China Fluke 17B Mulitmeter
NOTE: This meter is only available in the China and Indian markets. But you can get it from Chinese dealers on Ebay.
Thanks to www.toddfun.com

Electronex 2012 – EEVblog

EEVblog — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:51:33 +0000

Dave will have his own stand at the 2012 Electronex show 12-13th Sept.
Electronex.com.au

Hopefully I’ll have some freebies to give away over the two days.
The password will be “Great Scott”, say that and you’ll score a freebie!
Also, follow me on Twitter to get random prize announcements during the show.

EEVblog #343 – Spectrum Analyser Tracking Generator Tutorial

EEVblog — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:58:27 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Testing the frequency response of an LC Pi (Capacitor-Input) low pass filter with a Rigol DSA815-TG Spectrum Analyser with Tracking Generator Option.
Inductor Datasheet HERE

EEVblog #342 – Agilent 90000 Oscilloscope Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:20:26 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
Forum Topic HERE
What’s inside an Agilent 90000 series oscilloscope that makes it worth $140,000?

EEVblog #341 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 04:50:18 +0000

Mailbag Monday
Fluke 17B Multimeter unboxing
http://www.toddfun.com
PIC Tutorial board
http://www.gooligum.com.au
IMPLA 3D Printable material
http://www.printbl.com
Analog Multimeter Teardown

EEVblog #340 – USB 3.0 Eye Diagram Measurement

EEVblog — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:30:21 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Using the Agilent 90000 series 13GHz oscilloscope and 12GHz differential probe to measure a USB 3.0 Super Speed signal.

EEVblog #339 – Cypres Parachute AAD Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 23:32:46 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Teardown Tuesday
A teardown of the Airpres Cypres reserve parachute Automatic Activation Device

EEVblog #338 – DIY Electric Bike

EEVblog — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:00:57 +0000

NOTE:
Sorry, have had to take this video off-line temporarily at the request of the school.
Will be back up in due course.

All about DIY Electric Bikes, with Malcolm Faed
a4x4kiwi.blogspot.com.au
www.glowwormbicycles.com.au

Another HSC project from the Mater Maria College.

EEVblog #337 – HSC School Electronics Projects

EEVblog — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 13:07:26 +0000

NOTE:
Sorry, have had to take this video off-line temporarily at the request of the school.
Will be back up in due course.

Forum Topic HERE
Some electronics projects from the 2012 HSC students at Mater Maria College in Sydney.

EEVblog #336 – Drive Time Rant

EEVblog — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 05:29:51 +0000

Hans Camenzind 1934 – 2012
More on the OSHW rant, and the Tangibot Makerbot clone.
Electronex 2012 in Sydney

EEVblog #335 – Carbon Printed Resistors

EEVblog — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 07:36:54 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
SMD Assembly Line: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNpayYhBvM
Dave looks at some carbon printed PCB resistors in the 1980′s vintage Psion II PDA Organiser.

EEVblog #334 – History of PDA Teardowns

EEVblog — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:30:23 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
A teardown chronological history of PDA Organisers spanning 17 years.
The 1986 Psion II Organiser
The 1996 Palm Pilot 5000
The 2003 HP iPAQ 5550

EEVblog #333 – Unwritten Rules of OSHW

EEVblog — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:40:54 +0000

FORUM LINK HERE
Dave lists the 5 unwritten rules of Open Source Hardware (OSHW), that have essentially been around since the very early electronics magazine project days.
These are over an above the legal obligations under whatever license is used.

#1 Don’t clone. Innovate.
#2 If you sell it, you support it.
#3 Give the original author a cut
#4 Respect the wishes of the original author
#5 Don’t use the original authors name or project name

EEVblog #332 – Mantis Elite Microscope Scratch’n'Sniff

EEVblog — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:49:47 +0000

http://www.visioneng.com
http://www.hrltd.com.au
Sorry, no new content here. Just an extract from the end of the 3hr 300th live show, because so many people seem to have missed this unboxing of the Mantis Elite Microscope.

EEVblog #331 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:16:29 +0000

Another Mailbag.
And it involves, well, Playboy magazine!
Check out http://zeptobars.ru

EEVblog — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 06:08:18 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/user/altzone

Dave now has a 2nd EEVblog channel.
Well, it’s his old Altzone channel, but it’ll now get used more for all sorts of random stuff…

EEVblog #330 – Medela Swing Teardown & Repair

EEVblog — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:22:26 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
Teardown, troubleshooting, and repair of a Medela Swing Breast Pump.

EEVblog #329 – Tracking Pre-Regulator LTspice Simulation Part 2

EEVblog — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 06:32:13 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
An alternative circuit for a power supply tracking preregulator for a linear regulator.

EEVblog #328 – Curiosity Mars Rover Landing

EEVblog — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 01:09:41 +0000

Forum Topic HERE

On August 5th/6th 2012 the NASA JPL Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover called Curiosity will land on Mars using an innovative new “Sky Crane” technique. Will it be systems engineering’s finest hour?, or a spectacular and costly failure?

EEVblog #327 – Makerbot Replicator Troubleshooting

EEVblog — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 01:01:06 +0000

Forum Topic HERE

Dave fixes his Makerbot Replicator, and rants about a few things…

EEVblog #326 – Makerbot Replicator Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:13:47 +0000

Forum Link HERE
Teardown Tuesday.
What makes the Makerbot Replicator tick?
And the benefit of Open Source Hardware and NOT using the Non-Commercial license.

EEVblog #325 – Rigol DG4162 Voice

EEVblog — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 01:42:23 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
An update on the voice waveform in the Rigol DG4162 ARB Generator.

EEVblog #324 – DC-DC Converter Testing – USB Supply Part 4

EEVblog — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:18:17 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Some quick testing of a 2W DC-DC converter.

EEVblog #323 – Rigol Scratch’n'Sniff

EEVblog — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 07:44:30 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
Unboxing and checking out the Rigol DSA815-TG 1.5GHz Spectrum Analyser and DG4162 Arbitrary Waveform Function Generator

EEVblog #322 – Google Nexus 7 Tablet Review

EEVblog — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:28:32 +0000

Forum Topic HERE
And unboxing and preliminary review of Google’s new 7″ Nexus 7 Android Tablet

EEVblog #321 – Google Nexus 7 Tablet Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:56:55 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside Google’s new 7″ Nexus 7 Tablet? Dave’s does a teardown to find out.

EEVblog #320 – Mailbag Monday

EEVblog — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:55:19 +0000

Forum Topic LINK

Some vintage Psion and HP PDA technology.
A breadboard battery PSU adapter:
http://rayshobby.net/
http://www.microchip.com/mcp1640/

EEVblog #319 – Lead Free PCB Tinning

EEVblog — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:53:01 +0000

Forum Topic LINK

A follow up to the first video about tinning PCB traces to decrease the resistance. How does Lead Free solder compare?

EEVblog #318 – Makerbot Replicator 3D Printer Unboxing & Review

EEVblog — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 02:21:32 +0000

Forum Topic
Dave checks out the new Makerbot Replicator 3D printer and compares it to the old Thing-O-Matic.

EEVblog #317 – PCB Tinning Myth Busting

EEVblog — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 11:19:29 +0000

Forum Topic here

Dave does some measurements on what effect “PCB tinning” has on the resistance of a PCB trace.

Mike’s video

EEVblog #316 – More PFANG, More 13GHz Scope, & More Pulser

EEVblog — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 02:55:02 +0000

Forum Topic HERE

More pulser action with some high speed digital logic.
And more playing with the Agilent 81160A PFANG and Agilent 13GHz 90000 series scope.

EEVblog #315 – Korad KA3005P Review/FAIL

EEVblog — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 02:52:20 +0000

UPDATE: Triosmartcal have withdrawn it from sale, and Korad are investigating…
UPDATE2: Korad have admitted that the output transistors were not the correct type in this early batch unit.

Forum Topic HERE

Watch the Korad KA3005P FAIL!
The review of course is not complete because there was nothing left working to finish it.

EEVblog #314 – Korad KA3005P PSU Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 01:07:04 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside the Korad KA3005P 30V 5A programmable power supply?

http://www.triosmartcal.com.au/dc-programmable-supply/2647-ka3005p-programmab…

$99 on Amazon

EEVblog #313 – Bus Pirate LCD Debugging

EEVblog — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 23:15:38 +0000

Getting a Newhaven 8×2 LCD display working with the Bus Pirate.
And some unexpected debugging.

EEVblog #312 – Photocopier Teardown Follow-up

EEVblog — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:36:15 +0000

A small follow-up on the Panasonic photocopier teardown, showing the paper feeder tray.

EEVblog #311 – Jim Williams Pulser Followup

EEVblog — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:34:40 +0000

Some follow-up measurements on the Jim Williams pulse generator circuit.
With a special guest appearance by a rather expensive scope…

The Amperes T-Shirt is available HERE

EEVblog #310 – Cheap Siglent and Agilent scopes

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:55:48 +0000

A quick look at some cheap scopes at TrioSmartCal with Charles.
http://www.triosmartcal.com.au
The Agilent DSO1052B
The Siglent SDS1204CFL
The Siglent SDS1022C / Atten 1022CL+ / BK Precision 2530B
The Unique UQ2062C

EEVblog #309 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 01:17:56 +0000

More mailbag.
http://www.cnc-design.fi/
http://www.agilent.com/find/N2796A
http://www.agilent.com/find/81160

Yes, this video was supposed to go up before the last teardown, obviously!

EEVblog #308 – Agilent 81160A PFANG Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:20:26 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside Agilent’s 81160A PFANG
Pulse Function Arbitrary Noise Function Generator

Chips Used:
PTH08T240:
LT1370:
COTO9290:
AD9283:
UMX-113:
AD7738:
AD9739:
ISP1521:
XC95288XL:
PIC18LF4455:

EEVblog #307 – Lab Lighting & Measurement

EEVblog — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 12:54:38 +0000

Light Meter on Amazon.

Some lux light measurements in the EEVblog Lab
And bonus measurement of some fluorescent light circuit currents using the AIM TTI I-Prober 520

EEVblog #306 – Jim Williams Pulse Generator

EEVblog — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:30:14 +0000

Testing of the Jim Williams designed pulse generator from Linear App Note 47:
http://www.linear.com/docs/4138
On a 500MHz Agilent 3000X series oscilloscope.
The build is by Munaut.S
http://people.osmocom.org/tnt/hw/pulse_gen/

EEVblog #305 – Photocopier Time Lapse Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:27:37 +0000

x100 speed time lapse teardown of a Panasonic DP-2310 photocopier.
Whilst shooting a teardown blog at the same time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSxEGgrvhMM

EEVblog #304 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 04:47:23 +0000

What’s in Dave’s mailbag this week?
www.sleepyrobot.com
people.osmocom.org/tnt/hw/pulse_gen/

EEVblog #303 – Photocopier Extreme Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 02:09:31 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside an office photocopier? Dave only needs a screwdriver to find out…

EEVblog #302 – Electronics Beginner Advice

EEVblog — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 14:34:09 +0000

Walk Time Rant
Answer to a question on the EEVblog forum – should you design a kit in order to learn electronics?

EEVblog #301 – LTspice Temperature Sweep Tutorial

EEVblog — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 01:08:04 +0000

Dave shows how to do temperature and parameter sweeping of your circuit using LTspice

EEVblog #300 – Live Show

EEVblog — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:45:48 +0000

Riveting viewing!
3 full hours of Dave yapping on answering questions on the 300th Episode Live show.
Only edited to remove some housekeeping at the start, otherwise it’s the full straight 3 hour live show as broadcast on Ustream, Google+, ad live on the Youtube channel using the “Hangouts on air” feature.
There is an unboxing of the Mantis Elite Stereo Microscope at the very end.

EEVblog #299 – Retro Phone Camera Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:31:29 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
A look at the systems engineering inside one of the worlds first mobile phone flash camera attachment, the Siemens S55.

EEVblog #298 – Dave’s Decade Digit Display – USB Supply Part 3

EEVblog — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 08:26:29 +0000

Part 3 of the USB Power Supply design.
A low cost 4 digit LED display solution = Dave’s Decade Digit Display
Is it a triumph of novel idea over practicality perhaps?

EEVblog #297 – Canon LANC Bus Reverse Engineering

EEVblog — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 00:06:48 +0000

Dave does some initial investigation into reverse engineering the (Sony) LANC wired remote control bus protocol on his Canon HF G10 video camera.

EEVblog #300 LIVE Show

EEVblog — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 11:39:59 +0000

I’ll be running a LIVE show for the 300th Episode.
9am Sydney time Monday 25th June.
CLICK HERE for the times around the world.
I will attempt to run both the usual Ustream channel and also a new live cast direct on my Youtube channel.
Questions and chat will be taken the Ustream chat window only.

The live show page is here:
www.eevblog.com/live

Nothing fancy, just the usual live show where I’ll be taking questions and chatting about whatever you want.

EEVblog #296 – AIM-TTi I-Prober 520 Current Probe Review

EEVblog — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:55:14 +0000

A full review of the AIM/TTi I-Prober 520 Positional Current Probe.
Some theory on how fluxgate magnetometers work.
Measuring the absolute value of Earth’s magnetic field
And a practical example of ground plane current tracing.

EEVblog #295 – $30 eBook Reader Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 01:25:25 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside the MiGear $30 Colour TFT eBook reader from Dick Smith?
CHIPS USED:
RK2738:
PT1502:
PT4110:
FT690M:
HYM8563S

EEVblog #294 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 10:27:29 +0000

More mailbag!
http://www.insidegadgets.com
http://diy4fun.blogspot.com.au

EEVblog #293 – Fluke Multimeter Birthday Cake

EEVblog — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:33:52 +0000

This has to be the worlds coolest birthday cake for electronics nerds.
An exact cake replica of a Fluke 87V multimeter.

µCurrent’s now available from Adafruit!

EEVblog — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:48:19 +0000

Just as the title says.
http://www.adafruit.com/products/882

EEVblog #292 – Johnny B. Goode

EEVblog — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:36:08 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
Sorry, this was meant to be just a fun supplementary video. Was going to have another teardown ready as well, but it never made it unfortunately. So this one will have to suffice for this week.

EEVblog #291 – USB Power Supply Part 2 – The Housing

EEVblog — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:49:00 +0000

Part 2 in the USB Power Supply design series. Selection of the housing.

EEVblog #290 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:34:14 +0000

The Renesas YRPBRL78G13 Demo board

The Chronoview USB Logic Analyser

EEVblog #289-2 – Handifax 1000 video – Part 2

EEVblog — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:58:36 +0000

Because many asked to see it, the entire Handifax 1000 VHS video.
I believe that the video was done by Eric Lau, as the label on the tape has Solar Film & Video Services Ltd
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-lau/19/4bb/903

NOTE: My encoder stretched this to 16:9. It was supposed to be 4:3. But it looks like it did a good job at it.

EEVblog #289-1 – VCR Teardown & Handifax Followup

EEVblog — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:56:55 +0000

An impromptu VCR teardown when Dave has to open it up anyway to extract the scrunched Handifax 1000 video tape!

EEVblog #288 – Transit Of Venus 2012

EEVblog — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 08:55:16 +0000

Dave attempting to capture the transit of venus amid the clouds and rain.

EEVblog #287 – Handifax 1000 Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 07:01:50 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
A rather obscure consumer device from 1995, a pocket organiser / fax machine. The Handifax 1000. Also known as the Smith Corona Handifax 1000
It’s bodge time!

EEVblog #286 – Orders Of Magnitude

EEVblog — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:23:30 +0000

Industry Terminology Time.
Sound like an expert in no time! – All you need to know about Orders of Magnitude.

EEVblog #285 – USB Lab Supply – Part 1

EEVblog — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 07:33:24 +0000

Part 1 of a new design series on developing an isolated USB Lab Power Supply.
Convert your USB port into an isolated lab type power supply.
This is just the introduction announcing the intention and showing off some old concept prototypes. The design videos will follow as Dave develops them.
The finished project is planned to look quite different to the prototypes.

µCurrents Back in Stock

EEVblog — Wed, 30 May 2012 06:07:57 +0000

As the title says:
www.eevblog.com/shop

EEVblog #284 – Braun Toothbrush Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:46:51 +0000

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside a Braun electric rechargeable toothbrush?
And some basic measurements on wireless power transfer and charging.
Chips Used:
EM6682
TSM7401

EEVblog #283 – Agilent U1732B Contest Draw

EEVblog — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:06:47 +0000

and the winner is…

EEVblog #282 – DIY Video Soldering Microscope

EEVblog — Sat, 26 May 2012 04:06:30 +0000

Video stuff in Dave’s Amazon Store
Manfrotto Tripod in Dave’s Amazon Store

How to easily transform a video camcorder into a very useful and practical soldering microscope.
And it disassembles in seconds to let you still use the camcorder as a regular camera!

WIN an Agilent U1732B LCR Meter

EEVblog — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:41:09 +0000

Just like the title says, for EEVblog forum members:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/contests/win-an-agilent-u1732b-lcr-meter/

NOTE: You have to be an EEVblog forum member with at least 5 posts in order to see the contest page and to enter.

EEVblog #281 – BK Precision 8500 Electronic Load Teardown

EEVblog — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:59:51 +0000

http://www.bkprecision.com/products/dc-electronic-loads.html

Featured Chips:
AD7708:
DAC7631:
ADR421:
IRFP250N:

Teardown Tuesday.
What’s inside BK Precision’s 8500 300W 120V/30A DC Electronic Load?
It is also known as the Itech 8512.

Dave’s DIY Simple Constant Current Dummy Load:

EEVblog #280 – Talking Electronics – History

EEVblog — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:26:02 +0000

www.talkingelectronics.com
A 5 part interview with Colin Mitchell, the pioneering founder of Talking Electronics magazine, which was immensely popular in the 1980′s in Australia.

EEVblog #279 – How NOT To Blow Up Your Oscilloscope!

EEVblog — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:33:35 +0000

And how NOT to blow up your Arduino.
Your oscilloscope ground clip lead can be a potential accident waiting to happen.
Why? And how do you avoid it?
The basics about measuring mains earth referenced equipment with your oscilloscope.

Sagan’s TV Commercial Debut!

EEVblog — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:15:26 +0000

Spot Sagan in the catchy new Bonds TV commercial!
And my hands make an even briefer appearance at the 0:22 mark coming in from the left

Bonds actually paid Devo to re-mix their hit song Whip-It for the commercial.

Of course, nothing beats Sagan playing with test gear:

And some behind the scenes video footage at the commercial shoot:

EEVblog #278 – Elmo Visual Presenter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:55:13 +0000

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside an Elmo Visual Presenter?
More importantly, can it be used as a PCB inspection/soldering tool?

EEVblog #277 – Mailbag – Elektor / Matrix Multimedia E-Blocks

EEVblog — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:27:27 +0000

www.matrixmultimedia.com/eblocks.php
www.elektor.com/products/e-blocks.258.lynkx
Dave takes a quick look at the E-Blocks learning system from Matrix Multimedia.
Available from Elektor.

EEVblog #276 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:13:01 +0000

EEVblog Forum Post

A 100W Audio Amplifier kit by flodins.info

And a car interface kit by www.retro-renault.com

I decided to split this video. The Elektor package video coming up next.

EEVblog #275 – PIR Sensor Teardown & Tutorial

EEVblog — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:54:25 +0000

http://www.perkinelmer.co.uk/CMSResources/Images/44-4345CAT_SensorsAndEmittersInfraredSensing.pdf
Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside a NESS Quantum Passive Infrared (PIR) pyroelectric motion sensor. How do they work?
And what’s all this Fresnel lens stuff anyhow?

For Meters and Sensors check out Measurement Systems.

EEVblog #274 – Makerbot Tweaking & First Print

EEVblog — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:43:50 +0000

Building the Makerbot Thing-O-Matic Gen 4 Interface Controller, fixing problems with the stepper motor drive current, and a successful first print. Well, almost…

EEVblog #273 – Power Factor Correction with the MC34262

EEVblog — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:25:26 +0000

http://www.onsemi.com/pub/Collateral/MC34262-D.PDF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX8IIjf15qY

This was supposed to be a small side piece in the Manson PSU Teardown, but it was almost 10 minutes, so I decided to separate it out to keep the teardown as short as possible. You should watch the PSU teardown to get the context of this where the chip is used.

EEVblog #272 – Manson 9400 40A 3-15V Switchmode PSU Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:31:57 +0000

Service Manual: http://eevblog.com/files/SPS9400_ServiceManual.pdf
What’s inside the Manson SPS9400 40A 3V to 15V Switchmode Power Supply?
Also known as the Jaycar Powertech MP3090 and BK Precision 1692

New EEVblog Lab Time Lapse Build

EEVblog — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:14:12 +0000

1 photo every minute, rendered to 5 frames per second.
A short time-lapse build of the new eevblog lab.
Forgot to upload this. Better late than never.

Die Hard Beer

EEVblog — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:12:24 +0000

Warning: Some viewers may find the following video disturbing.

EEVblog #271 – Zoom H1 Recorder Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:38:34 +0000

http://astore.amazon.com/eevblogstore-20?node=3

Teardown Tuesday
What’s inside the Zoom H1 Portable Handy MP3/WAV Recorder?

EEVblog #270 – µCurrent Test Jig

EEVblog — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:39:27 +0000

Dave builds a simple jig to help with testing the uCurrent’s
You can buy one here: http://eevblog.com/shop

EEVblog #269 – Energy Micro Tiny Gecko

EEVblog — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:40:37 +0000

http://www.energymicro.com/tools/efm32-tiny-gecko-starter-kit
Some playing around with the Energy Micro Tiny Gecko board and software. Does it meet it’s claim of 20nA standby current?

EEVblog #268 – Xantrex 300V 4A Power Supply Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:16:28 +0000

Teardown Tuesday time.
What’s inside a professional 1200W Xantrex XFR300-4 300V 4A rack mount power supply?

uCurrent’s Available Again

EEVblog — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:40:45 +0000

Those who were on the uCurrent email waiting list have already been notified and purchased several previous batches in the last two weeks.
But they are now on general sale again from the EEVblog shop:
http://eevblog.com/shop

This is the new Rev 3 version as seen in the recent videos.

If they sell out again in 24 hours, then it ain’t my fault
I made plenty extra above the number on the sign-up list.

Thanks
Dave.

EEVblog #267 – Voltage Detection Stick Teardown

EEVblog — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:09:13 +0000

http://www.idealindustries.com/prodDetail.do?prodId=61-025
http://www.google.com/patents/US5103165
It’s Teardown Tuesday time.
Ever wondered what’s inside those mains voltage detection sticks?
Dave cracks open an IDEAL VoltAware, and giggles at a patent.
Thanks to http://www.triosmartcal.com.au for the stick.

EEVblog #266 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:00:45 +0000

http://www.energymicro.com/tools/efm32-tiny-gecko-starter-kit
Another mailbag episode. What’s in Dave’s PO Box?
And can the uCurrent make music?

EEVblog #265 – Philips PM6672 Timer Counter Teardown

EEVblog — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:44:57 +0000

http://eevblog.com/files/PM6672-Service-Manual.pdf
http://eevblog.com/files/PhilipsPM6673-76-Service-Manual.pdf
PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157629731591013/

The first of the new regular segment on the EEVblog – Teardown Tuesday.
Dave cracks open the Philips PM6672 1GHz Timer Counter, and more interestingly, the PM9690 10MHz oven stabilised reference crystal oscillator.

EEVblog #264 – PCB Pick & Place Assembly

EEVblog — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:40:29 +0000

http://www.ramzonics.com.au
Watch the uCurrent PCB’s being assembled on a commercial pick and place machine.

EEVBlog #263 – Extech LP100 Laser Test Probes

EEVblog — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:14:51 +0000

Extech LP100 Release
Dave & Dr Phil look at how Extech’s new TL100 Laser Test Probes work.

FYI: The electronics beanbag was custom made, with material from here:
http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/382464
and made by this company in Western Australia:
http://www.beaufortstreetbeanbags.com.au/

AmpHour #88.5 Telematic Tested Tacenda

EEVblog — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:11:24 +0000

Dave and Chris have some news on The AmpHour

EEVblog #262 – World’s Simplest Soft Latching Power Switch Circuit

EEVblog — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:48:24 +0000

Want to use a single cheap momentary action push button switch to toggle your circuit power on and off? Try this circuit on for size.

EEVblog #261 – Marconi 2023 RF Signal Generator Teardown

EEVblog — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:33:20 +0000

Teardown Photos HERE
What’s inside the Marconi Instruments 2023 9KHz to 1.2GHz Signal Generator?

EEVblog #260 – Tracking Pre-Regulator Simulation in LTspice – PSU Part 13

EEVblog — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:57:14 +0000

Some tracking pre-regulator simulation fun in LTspice.
Part 13 of the PSU design series.

EEVblog #259 – PSU Rev C Schematic – Part 12

EEVblog — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:06:48 +0000

Previous Video HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa9Lyb45oJM
Rev C Schematic HERE: http://www.eevblog.com/projects/usupply/

Part 12 in the PSU design series.
A thorough look at the Rev C schematic and all the changes.
18650 Lithium Ion battery charger, software controlled switching pre-regulator, replacement of the uCurrent capability, return of the PWM DAC, accommodating the Wiznet Ethernet module, and a whole lot more.

EEVblog #258 – PSU Housing Design – Part 11

EEVblog — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:03:33 +0000

Part 11 in the PSU design series.
This time it’s the housing design based on the new Rev C schematic, and the secret reason behind the project!
The next video will follow with an overview of the Rev C schematic.

VOTE for Sagan!

EEVblog — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:12:04 +0000

UPDATE: Sagan made the short list!
http://babysearch.bonds.com.au/shortlist
A huge thanks to everyone who voted!

In a completely shameful use of social media power, Sagan needs everyone’s help to vote for him in the Bonds Baby contest, so, you know, he can start his world domination plans:

http://babysearch.bonds.com.au/entry/7229/sagan-j

Only takes a few seconds, but does unfortunately require email verification to count the vote.

(it seems it may take at least several hours for the verification email)

Thanks!

EEVblog #257 – Makerbot Troubleshooting

EEVblog — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:17:50 +0000

Dave & Phil try to calibrate and print something for the first time on their Makerbot Thing-O-Matic. But as Murphy always ensures, it turns into a troubleshooting bonanza, where much hair is lost, but much knowledge gained…

EEVblog #256 – Yamaha PSR-80 Keyboard Teardown

EEVblog — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:39:19 +0000

Teardown photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157629559990345/
Sagan needs his keyboard repaired, or daddy is in the dog house. Gotta tear it down, to fix it…

EEVblog #255 – DIPtrace PCB CAD – First Impressions

EEVblog — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:39:00 +0000

http://www.diptrace.com?source=eevblog
A 1 hour non-edited video of Dave playing with the DIPtrace PCB package for the first time.
This is a not a tutorial, it’s just a random first impression of using the program.

EEVblog #254 – KiCAD PCB First Impressions

EEVblog — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:53:50 +0000

Part 1 HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXEc7pB0o0
An unedited hour long video of Dave playing around with the library editor and PCB modules in KiCAD for the first time.

EEVblog #253 – KiCAD Install & Schematic – First Impressions

EEVblog — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:51:36 +0000

A continuous 45min screen cast of Dave installing and running KiCAD for the first time, along with his first impressions and rants about things he finds along the way, mainly with the schematic editor portion of the program.
How easy and intuitive is it to use the schematic editor for the first time?

EEVblog #252 – Multimeter Ohms Overload

EEVblog — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:19:33 +0000

Is the Agilent meter alone in slow recovery from mains overloading on the ohms range? Let’s find out…

EEVblog #251 – Mailbag

EEVblog — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:16:52 +0000

What’s in Dave’s Mailbag?
Send to:
PO Box 7949
Baulkham Hills BC
Baulkham Hills NSW 2153
AUSTRALIA

EEVblog #250 – Anti-Static Mat Myth

EEVblog — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 06:55:31 +0000

Dave is tired of hearing comments that ESD work mats affect your measurements. So here’s proof that they don’t.
The mat is like this one here: www.oritech.com.au/productDetail.aspx?productID=20512

EEVblog #249 – Agilent U1272A Multimeter Review

EEVblog — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:50:34 +0000

TEARDOWN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsTZuPN7wQQ

FIRMWARE BUGS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fC382Tog0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmGi7BZS5NM

PC INTERFACE & DATA LOGGING:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSmiDzbVt_U

A review of the Agilent U1272A multimeter.
How does it compare with the Fluke 87-V it is aimed at?

If you are looking for data logging solutions, visit Measurement Systems.

EEVblog #248 – LCD Enabled Microcontroller Selection

EEVblog — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:46:53 +0000

Look over Dave’s shoulder as he tries to select a 7 segment LCD and suitable driving microcontroller.

EEVblog #247 – Anti Static Bag Myth Revisted

EEVblog — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:14:26 +0000

Element 14 shipped Dave some chips in just “anti-static” packaging, instead of proper “static shielding” bags. So he decided to revisit the anti-static bag myth he mentioned in episode #3, but this time doing some static measurements and actually trying to kill a chip.

EEVblog #246 – Makerbot Thing-O-Matic Time Lapse Build

EEVblog — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:56:52 +0000

Dave and Phil assemble Makerbot Thing-O-Matic #6887 in x100 time lapse!

EEVblog #245 – PSU Design Part 10 – PCB Layout Editing

EEVblog — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:14:46 +0000

Part 9 is HERE
Part 10 of the PSU Design series, and Part 2 of the PCB Layout, this time, editing the changes from REV A to REV B and pushing the changes through to the PCB and doing a revised layout. Time lase is x20 speed.

Makerbot Build LIVE

EEVblog — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:23:21 +0000

For those interested, many hours of LIVE footage of the Makerbot build with myself and Phil, but still only half complete!

Video streaming by Ustream

EEVblog #244 – PSU Design Part 9 – PCB Layout

EEVblog — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:23:45 +0000

Dave video captured laying out his power supply PCB in real-time, and in this video speeds that up by 10 times and adds audio commentary over the top explaining his thought processes and techniques whilst layout out the board.

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

The EE Rap

EEVblog — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:28:31 +0000

The EE Rap
Music: C.Had
Vocals: C.Had, Ben Brand
Sound Bites thanks to Dave Jones of EEVBlog.com
Inspired sites: EEVBlog.com, HackNMod.com

Feedback to : cthadwin@gmail.com
If you have the skills to produce a cool video clip to go along with this, then the artists would be most interested to hear from you!

Lyrics:
http://eevblog.com/files/EERapLyrics.txt

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

uCurrent Request List

EEVblog — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:36:19 +0000

The latest batch of uCurrent’s has sold out again!
If you missed out, this time I have a list you can sign up to register to get one:
This doesn’t guarantee you anything, but I will base the next batch number on how many sign up to this list, so there should be enough for everyone next time. And you’ll get an email notification when they are available.
Sign up here:
http://www.eevblog.com/list/?p=subscribe

uCurrent’s back in stock

EEVblog — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:39:44 +0000

As the title says:
http://eevblog.com/shop

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

More µCurrents available

EEVblog — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:36:13 +0000

UPDATE: SOLD OUT in about 10 minutes, sorry! More on order, sending to the assemblers today.

I have 15 more µCurrent’s available now.
To be fair, I will list them on my shop tomorrow, Friday, 6 January at 9AM Sydney time.

CLICK HERE for the timezone conversions.

First in gets them.
I’ve had too many ask “can you put one aside for me”, no I can’t, sorry, this is the only fair way.

More are on order but will take some time…

EEVblog #231 – 2011

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

2011 was a big year for the blog…
Sorry for the crap video quality, Youtube screwed up the video stabilisation feature and I can’t revert back!

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

µCurrent’s available again

EEVblog — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:33:06 +0000

UPDATE: Sorry, they sold out overnight again!

I have new stock of the µCurrent adapter again:
http://www.eevblog.com/projects/ucurrent/
http://www.eevblog.com/shop

First in, best dressed, sorry, I do not take backorders nor can I “put one aside for you”.

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

Mini Maker Faire Melbourne!

EEVblog — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:52:52 +0000

Yes, that’s right, there is now a Maker Faire in Australia!
Saturday 14th January 2012 at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Victoria.
Sign up now and get your FREE tickets. Yes, it’s free, but you do have to register for logistical reasons.
Or better yet, show of your own stuff, or give a talk or conduct a workshop.
Either way, come along and help make this a HUGE event!
http://makerfairemelbourne.com

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!

Coolest Rigol DS1052E Firmware Ever!

EEVblog — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:57:32 +0000

As the title says! Thanks to Drieg!

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? :->

Electronics Doco Update with Karl von Moller

EEVblog — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:22:43 +0000

Dave caught up with Karl von Moller at the Electronex expo in Melbourne and asked him about the progress on his Australian documentary State of Electronics.

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

Server Move Complete

EEVblog — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:35:39 +0000

If you can read this, then the server move worked and you are now using the new dedicated server!
The site and the forum should now both be MUCH faster.
Please report any problems.
Big thanks to @alangarf for helping with all the penguin stuff when shit hit the fan!

Thanks
Dave.

Electronex Show

EEVblog — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:32:36 +0000

Heads up for Aussies. I’ll be at the Electronex show in Melbourne this Wednesday.
If you see me, stop and say HI.
I’m the stupid looking guy carrying around the camera gear, hard to miss.

In fact, the first person to track me down at the show and shout out the password “Great Scott!” wins a free IDEAL True RMS Multimeter (slightly “reviewed”)!

Dave.

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.

Moving to dedicated server

EEVblog — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:22:12 +0000

UPDATE:
It didn’t go as smoothly as predicted, so we are back on the old HostMonster server for now.
Progress continues in the background as time permits…
Feel free to post comments and use the forum and site as usual.

———————————
I’m currently moving the site and forum to a new dedicated server!
Please hang tight until it’s done, it could be a day or two for all the work, plus DNS propagation.
Please don’t post any comments in the meantime, they will be lost!
Thanks
Dave.

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!

Random Cuteness

EEVblog — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:20:37 +0000

We interrupt your regular program with an update on Project Sagan. Sleep mode now fully debugged and working.

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 LIVE show #9

EEVblog — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:27:39 +0000

It’s been a while, so the next live show will be this Sunday Sydney time. That’s this Saturday for you Yanks.
http://www.eevblog.com/live-show/

Sunday, 24 July 2011 at 00:00:00 UTC
That’s Sunday, 24 July 2011 at 10:00:00 AM SYDNEY time.

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 on Facebook

EEVblog — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:44:51 +0000

*groan*
Yes, I hate Facebook, but some people like it, so just a reminder and small plug there is an EEVblog Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/EEVblog

And I’ve now got it set up so my Youtube videos automatically get fed to the Facebook page.
Usually no other content on there, just my video blog posts, so you won’t get bombarded with stuff.
(people didn’t like my Twitter feed going on to there)

Because I upload video to my Youtube channel before they make it to the WordPress blog here (sometime 24 hours later), you’ll get it first.

So join, or “Like” it, or whatever it is if you want.

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

555 Contest Australian Winner

EEVblog — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 23:18:37 +0000

Because Jeri goofed up my video on the live 555 contest show and chopped off the end, here is the full video!
Check out Alan’s Adding Machine:
http://www.vk2zay.net/article/258

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?

Trailer – State of Electronics (Roll Call)

EEVblog — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:38:24 +0000

Check out Karl von Mollers latest trailer for his epic multi-part documentary State of Electronics:
The original in here: http://vimeo.com/21424290
Fellow bloggers: Karl needs help in getting as many views as possible in order to help sell the documentary to the big media players, so if you could repost the trailer that would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Roll Call – State of Electronics from karl von moller on Vimeo.

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

8th LIVE Show March 7th

EEVblog — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:56:58 +0000

The 8th LIVE EEVblog show will be March 6/7th (yes, that’s like TOMORROW!)
Check the Live-Show tab for details.
Usual deal. I’ll be taking questions, ranting, and taking stuff apart.

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?

Regular Heroes of Science 2011 Video Competition

EEVblog — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 22:24:36 +0000

Dustin Welbourne from the Canberra Reptile Sanctuary is putting up $7500 prize money for a video science competition.
And yes, engineers being an applied science can enter too.
It is however limited to Australia and NZ only.

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)

Server Move – Hang Tight

EEVblog — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:53:49 +0000

I’m moving the blog back to my old server.
This could take a day or so to do and propagate through the DNS system.
So please don’t post comments during this time as they will be lost.
If the site goes down or otherwise acts strange, this is the reason.
Thanks
Dave.

Vote for Pedro, or Dave?

EEVblog — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:13:08 +0000

I’ve entered the iiNet Top Geek competition!
Please vote here:
http://www.topgeek.iinet.net.au/entry/view/255
No need to sign up, just click on the VOTE button!
Thanks!

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.

Wireless Power Transfer & Transformer Tutorial

EEVblog — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:46:30 +0000

An excellent tutorial on transformers & wireless power transfer by fellow Aussie VK2ZAY

More info here: http://www.vk2zay.net/article/253

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

Dihydrogen Monoxide

EEVblog — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:08:37 +0000

I wanted to test my RSS feed, so had to post something.
This one is from the vault. Winner of the 2008 Earth Prize short film festival.

Beware of the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide