bigclive

Novel mosquito fume generator

I bought a few of this type of unit recently. They vary in complexity, but all have the same basic principle. They heat an oil with a tiny percentage of a synthetic pyrethrin in it, to create a v...

Handy little multi-cell lithium charger

A very simple, but useful USB powered charger for up to six lithium cells. This is designed for the cells used in things like drones, where you want your spare cells charging while you use the dro...

Fizzy wine stream about to start

I'll be starting the fizzy wine Twitch stream just after posting this reminder.

https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom 2024-10-13 20:00:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Fizzy wine stream?

Twitch has various targets for streaming and I'm just one off the "streams in a month" target. As such, do you think I should do an unadvertised stream the day after the one I did today, but with ...

Streaming on Twitch in an hour from posting this

Usual weekend Twitch stream. You may need to refresh the Twitch page for the stream to start.

It should start roughly on the hour.

2024-10-12 19:10:10 +0000 UTC View Post

Random extra stream

I'll be streaming in about 20 minutes from posting this. (5 past the hour)

You may need to refresh the stream page on Twitch to see the live stream.

2024-10-10 21:46:07 +0000 UTC View Post

New LED filaments with all circuitry on board

I've come across the low power LED bulbs with a resistor in the base and a rectifier/LED filament. But this is the first time I've seen them integrate ALL the circuitry on very small filaments so ...

Inside a radical alternative to traditional UVC lights

Some good things came out of the pandemic. One of them was the sudden market created for UVC LEDs and the new excimer 222nm light sources.

Naomi Wu has sent me a 222nm excimer light that she...

RF cloning button

It's a little button you can copy an existing remote's code with, for an extra controller. (but not a code hopping remote.)

The circuitry is clever, but also a bit weird. The receiving circ...

Twitch stream

I'll be streaming at the usual time (about an hour from this message being posted).

It's probably best viewed directly on Twitch, and you may need to refresh the page for it to start.

<...

Not complex, but still handy to know

This is a very common battery level indicator used with many cheap power tools (including from Aldi and LIDL). The one interesting twist in this module is the time delay circuit with a simple MOS...

Intriguing AliExpress $3 110-240V emergency light

So cheap, and yet so functional. The circuitry on this unit was clearly designed by someone who relished fitting it all on a single sided PCB amongst the grid of parallel LEDs.

The lithium c...

Brake fluid tester teardown

A look at a brake fluid tester for the usual glycol based brake fluids used in vehicle hydraulic braking systems.

This took a lot longer to reverse engineer than expected, because it worked i...

Magicians thumb gimmick - the turbo remix

A somewhat turbo-charged version of the classic magicians trick where a dot of light is transferred from one thumb to another. Used properly, this can be quite a good visual effect.

This is ...

Showbiz IT department

Just a photo of the projector room from the Tattoo, showing the racks of video servers and some of the projectors in the background. There are loads more projectors above this area under suitable...

Weekend stream on Twitch

Here's the Twitch link to the weekend stream.

You may need to refresh the page to get the video to start.

https:...

MBC going live on Twitch

If all goes to plan the MBC will be streaming live about 20 minutes from me posting this.

You may need to refresh the Twitch page to get the stream when it starts.

2024-09-27 19:41:13 +0000 UTC View Post

A neat little LED panel

This is a little LED panel I added to an AliExpress order for an extra $1. It turns out that it's actually quite a useful little module. If you need a bit of extra light in a rack with a spare US...

eBay USB rechargeable aroma atomising unit

When I recently made a video about the surprisingly sophisticated Air Wick Mist ultrasonic aroma atomising unit, I mentioned that the Chinese design would be very minimal in comparison.

Well ...

3D printing pen

A look inside a 3D printing pen. I'm not sure how much fun you could have with this. It's certainly novel being able to form things out of molten plastic. But not neat things.

The internal...

Starburst lamp revisit 11 years later

It's been a very long time since I first looked at one of these bulbs. They have a stack of PCBs inside with LEDs splayed out from them to give a lot of sharp points of light in a globe. Very spa...

Live stream on Twitch

I will be live on Twitch in about an hour from posting this link.

You may need to refresh the screen on twitch to get the stream when it starts.

2024-09-21 18:53:09 +0000 UTC View Post

A look inside my favourite trackball

This is my main input device. I prefer it over a mouse as it stays put in one position and is perfect for using with CAD like PCB design packages.

This unit is relatively old. I'd guess mod...

I'm glad this video's finished

It's a good video about a very interesting product, but the circuitry was so complex and weird that it took me much longer than usual to reverse engineer it.

That said, it had lots of very no...

Glowing inflatable orb

This video was one I made as a welcome break from another video that has a really arduous bit of reverse engineering. Very weird circuitry that gradually releases clues to the products operation a...

LIDL UV bug zapper

This unit does actually use a small fluorescent UVA tube to lure bugs to its zapping wires. One of the most interesting things about this unit was the strange choice of a ballast for the fluoresce...

Another bulb - but an interesting one

I added this to an aliexpress order just for the novelty value, but it's actually quite neat.

The housing is made from two parts that clip and glue together around a flexible filament with 20...

The most menacing light on AliExpress

I'm wondering how this ended up translated the way it did. It's quite funny.

The circuitry in one of these lights has been super-optimised for cost, with one downfall.

Initially it mak...

Inside a Poundland bubble bear

These bubble toys contain very clever mechanisms. The one inside this one is very similar to the Disney bubble wand I looked at before, but with a slightly different arrangement to operate horizon...

Just in case you wondered...

Here's the show I was working on. The link may take you to the start of Highland Rave with the DJ faking it on the decks. Some of the instruments are being genuinely played, and some are for visu...