bigclive

Panasonic Nanoe unit teardown

This is Panasonic's version of the Sharp Plasmacluster style air purifying unit. Every big Japanese manufacturer has their own version of these units, with very wild marketing claims.

When i...

The cutest little "street light"

I wonder how long one of these would actually last if mounted on a real lamp post. It puts out a useable level of light at very low power, but has no smoothing, meaning it is best suited to outdoo...

Fray Bentos pie - the remix

I wonder if my very popular previous pie review video, where I found they had removed most of the meat and made a gravy-pie, actually had the effect of them reviewing the ingredients.

It's ac...

When videos go wrong!

Just about everything went wrong in this video, and because I like to include the mistakes, they're all here for you to see.

I wonder how long the video would have been if it had worked first...

Weekend stream on Twitch

The weekend stream will be at the usual place.

https://www.twitch.tv/bigclivedotcom

Self indicating fuses

A look at some common self indicating vehicle fuses that light up to indicate their position and blown state.

Quite useful for situations where a circuit is prone to be overloaded or has a ro...

Switch close-up

This is the closest I could zoom in on the switch contacts with extra lenses and lighting.

It shows the smudging and tracking I'd associate with tin whisker growth, but without a lab grade mi...

Tin whiskers?

The only thing I can think of for this fault is the issue with tin whiskers growing between switch contacts, especially in miniature tactile switches.

I'll upload a close-up of the inside of ...

Supermarket bulb dooby

Although Tesco is a huge UK supermarket chain, it's almost certain that other similar chains will use bulbs from the same source.

This one was notable for being lower power, and having slight...

Weekend live stream is on Twitch

I've set latency to standard and also enabled video on demand, so the streams should be visible afterwards for at least a week.

Since I'll be stopping the streams while working on an upcoming...

Next in your deluge of videos....

Here's a good one. I finally collated the results of a long term desiccant test. The result were pretty interesting, and suggest that there are some cheap and readily available materials that are...

And we're back again

Now that my ban from uploading to YouTube has passed I can add new content again. Not that I'm feeling particularly enthusiastic for YouTube right now, given the unjustified nature of the last two...

Have a picture

Since I still can't upload content to the channel, you'll have to explore this image instead. It's the control PCB from a generic Chinese 3-cell 12V tool battery. Note the red wire link and the (...

Future live streams should be viewable afterwards

Because Twitch is an "in the moment" live streaming platform, I've found out that I have to specifically enable post-stream viewability. The videos should then remain viewable for a week.

My...

Weekend stream link is different

Because I can't risk streaming on YouTube because the main channel is currently under strike limitations, I'm going to have to try something different. So I'm going to give Twitch a go.

Keep...

The video that got me a strike

It's archived on Odysee.

Meanwhile, it's almost like a holiday. Comments on my channel have come to a near standstill and there's no pressure to keep up my usual upload schedule.

I'll ...

The chainsaw teardown

I'm currently blocked from uploading and releasing content on the main channel, so I'll release this pre-made content on the livestream channel and then take a break until YouTube relaxes a bit. 2024-06-13 19:35:30 +0000 UTC View Post

Another strike

I just got another strike on the channel and a recently released video taken down. It was an 18 second short in which I lit the end of my beard with a lighter.

They reckon it was "Content t...

eBay cordless tool charger teardown

Here's the charger that matches the battery pack supplied with many unbranded eBay tools.

It's functional, but the circuitry leaves a lot to be desired.

2024-06-12 04:23:21 +0000 UTC View Post

New Chinese power tool battery circuitry

Quite an interesting bit of circuitry in this battery that came with a new style of cordless handheld chainsaw. The chip seems dedicated to this style of pack and its charging system. The most ba...

Not a video (yet). Poor battery pack clearance

I showed a couple of power tools on the live stream. A different cordless handheld chainsaw, and a cordless air blower. Although all the batteries look the same, the chainsaw one has a much simpl...

Weekend stream link

Here's the link to the weekend stream:-

https://www.youtube.com/live/uyUFnwRe_M8

Testing an African lightning surge arrestor

An unusual item sent by Frankhe for our entertainment.

In this video I do high voltage tests on the device and then open it to see what's inside.

2024-06-07 05:06:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Random (but interesting) plumbing component

I like to throw a random plumbing device into the mix from time to time, and this is the Sioux Chief - American made water hammer arrestor.

Not quite what I was expecting inside.

2024-06-06 23:39:23 +0000 UTC View Post

Totally dead lithium batteries

My fault entirely, for getting these with a tool and then losing them for a few years.

When cells are self-discharging it indicates that there has been an issue with the electrical separator ...

Full DIY ioniser project

I've not finished editing the description of this video yet, but I've put the (optional) scripts into the description of you want to have a play with them.

Quite a good result, and a nice sci...

Voice controlled light (no network required)

As demonstrated on the recent live stream, this is a cheap USB powered light that responds to voice commands. It's even got a dimming feature that isn't documented in the instructions.

I tri...

Patreon stream link

Here's the link to the quiet Patreon stream:-

https://youtube.com/live/wpPY0at20KY?feature=share

Something different

A look at the smallest standard theatre style light. Commonly used for avoiding dark spots on sets, or for adding a splash of colour.

These are available in 12V MR16 and 110-240V GU10 varian...

This was a hard one!

Not just three types of circuitry (digital, analogue and RF), but also a fault that stopped the sensor from working.

On a plus note, I was able to see the doppler effect when I scoped the amp...