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The Lumia or Aura effect is created by shining a laser through rippled glass, but it can be difficult to find the right glass, and someone who can cut a circle from it for you. This was an experiment to use a standard filament based 3D printer to create a silicone mould for optically clear resin. This was my first attempt at creating a mould with liquid silicone. Apparently platinum-cured silicone...

What features will we put in this light? ALL OF THEM! (That's why I don't get to the actual teardown until 8 minutes in!) This is one of the most ludicrous mini disco lights I've taken apart. It has 8 controllable motors and loads of random effects. It requires 26 DMX channels to control, although it can be used in several stand-alone modes too, selected either on the unit or via an...

This unit is used to help strike low pressure sodium (SOX) lamps in street lights. It is connected across the lamp and creates high voltage pulses that strike the neon/argon mix inside the tube to get the lamp started. These lamps are the type that light a dull pink and then gradually go a bright yellow colour. They were chosen for street lighting because they emit almost all their light in a very...

Another gadgetgasm of technical goodies from AliExpress for us to explore. These videos are not sponsored by AliExpress. I buy all these items myself. Here are some links to the items. These are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay. Keep in mind that these products may not meet your country's standards. Some listings may not work for some countries and some may just be...

It's a strange feeling when you reactivate a Victorian electrical Leclanché cell that is literally from the 1800's. The history of these very early zinc carbon cells is fascinating, and these liquid filled glass units were often found linked together as a battery in Victorian dwellings as part of the maid-call system. The chemistry of the cell means that they are only suited to brief bur...

For such a low cost, this little disco light is incredible. Internally it has the same physical structure as many professional lights, but all scaled down to make it affordable. While testing it I connected my DMX-cat by City Theatrical, a piece of specialist test equipment used in the entertainment industry for diagnostics and configuring lights on a network. I was absolutely stunned when the lig...

I bought a couple of gingerbread men from Tesco and one had unusually dilated eyes. I guess the factory machine had a blip at that point. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dWwnThhLYQ

Another dumpster-load of technical goodies from AliExpress for us to explore. These videos are not sponsored by AliExpress. I buy all these items myself. Here are some links to the items. These are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay. Keep in mind that these products may not meet your country's standards. Some listings may not work for some countries and some may just...

The AI generated adverts for this common solar light are often very misleading. But it's a good lesson in being cynical about things that seem to be too good to be true. It is actually a nice light when mounted on a light coloured wall that faces the sun during the day for a decent charge. If you want one then here's a link to this one on AliExpress at a sensible price:- https://s.click....

I was really surprised when I opened this up. I thought it was going to be much more complex. These devices are purely intended to break current limited faults like overloads, and not really ideal for breaking high short-circuit currents. One example of their use is in a motor circuit where the current increases dramatically when the motor stalls, and it's important to switch it off quickly b...

Do your vinyl disks lack "sibilance"? Do they sound "muddy"? Then what you need for your overpriced audio setup is this super wooden mains filter that purifies your electrical power and bestows extra depth to your EXPERT audio experience. The fact it's made of WOOD tells you that it's a PREMIUM audiophile product. But don't even THINK of opening it because we hav...

This is not a deep dive video with full reverse engineering. That would be very time consuming and be hampered by much of the functionality being in software. Instead it's a modular look inside the unit to see what sort of separation there is, and the separate sections of the power supply. It is important to select the correct voltage rating on the slide switch at the back of the power supply...

Another smorgasbord of technical goodies from AliExpress for us to explore. These videos are not sponsored by AliExpress. I buy all these items myself. Here are some links to the items. Some of these are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay. Keep in mind that these products may not meet your country's standards. Some listings may not work for some countries and some may...

This type of hexagonal lighting grid seems to be very popular in many modern retail outlets. It packs a large light into a small box as a series of illuminated batons and joining pieces that allow it to be assembled in various shapes to make a very large illuminated honeycomb grid on the ceiling or a wall. There is an internal wire link in each strip that feeds power to all parts of the light grid...

This is one of many useful little modules available from online marketplaces. It states in the listing that it is designed for use from 6V to 45V but I absolutely do NOT recommend that it's used above 12V. That said, with a suitably protected three cell lithium pack, a suitable solar panel and your choice of light, it could be very useful. The module does not have any charge control other tha...

Another blunderbuss-blast of technical goodies from AliExpress for us to explore. These videos are not sponsored by AliExpress. I buy all these items myself. Here are some links to the items. These are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay. Keep in mind that these products may not meet your country's standards. Some listings may not work for some countries and some may j...

A demo of how to connect and use a handy little stepper motor drive module. I also show the circuitry inside it to make more sense of the required simple control signals. If you want more control in an automated application then you could use an Arduino, ESP or other similar module to provide speed ramping and position sensing. This simple continuous rotation setup could be useful for things like...

The real point of this video is to help you realise that if you have a unique design, you can run a small sideline business selling kits and software. Even if you just get a sale or two a week, that is still a meal or fancy coffee at the weekend. Even a little extra income can quickly add up. At first the postal system can be quite confusing, but it will quickly become second nature. I had a littl...

I've featured a few of these devices in the past. All in the same case and being pushed on eBay, amazon, and all the other unregulated platforms during times of fuel poverty. It appears the recent greed-driven political idiocracy has caused another push of these devices onto the market to cash in on the fact that people are struggling financially. There are genuine engine-tuning devices avail...

A reactivated 150 year old Victorian Leclanche cell powering a sci-fi supercomputer panel. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnIDNcACkTk

Another bulging sack of technical goodies from AliExpress for us to explore. These videos are not sponsored by AliExpress. I buy all these items myself. Here are some links to the items. Some of these are affiliate links, but that will not affect the price you pay. Keep in mind that these products may not meet your country's standards. Some listings may not work for some countries and some ma...

An interesting concept that has been around for a while. It's an emergency light that is stored dry to prolong the life of the electricity generating components. When filled with salty water (or urine) the conductive liquid acts as an electrolyte and the cell electrodes can generate power for the light. The unit holds about 300ml of water and uses 10g of salt, but you can adjust as required....

These little thermal fuses are often found in things like fan motors and transformers as a protective device to break the circuit if the device overheats. In many instances that could be due to an associated fault or just an unusually hot enclosure, with the motor or transformer being serviceable. In this instance a new thermal fuse may restore operation. Shunting out thermal fuses is frowned on,...

The seeming simplicity of this sensor, and the massive resistance variation it exhibits when exposed to various gasses is pretty amazing. It probably trivialises decades of scientific research. The module I demonstrated the sensor with is often sold as an Arduino module, but it does NOT require an Arduino or any other specific platform to be used. The module has an onboard comparator with adjustab...

One of the tools that I use a lot when making teardown videos. The classic spudger is designed to help pop tight fitting cases apart. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cpZxgCTMQw