I recently purchased a used 10A Carroll & Meynell Variac from eBay for use in the lab, however the variac often caused the 32A B-curve MCB in the consumer unit to trip due to the high inrush current of the variac core. To prevent this from happening and to add a few additional features I […]
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YouTube Videos
SDGEE YZXstudio LCD USB Power Monitor
Reviewing a YZXstudio LCD USB Power Monitor ZY1262 sent in by Franky Tong at 99centHobbies.com This uses an interesting ADC from Microchip Technology – the MCP3421 with a single channel low-noise, high accuracy delta-sigma A/D converter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpRN6XXX7WQ
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Cambridge Audio A4 Stereo Amplifier Mods
In this video, Steve disassembles a Cambridge Audio A4 Integrated Amplifier which he rescued before it was thrown away. The amplifier is refurbished with new electrolytic capacitors and a clean inside before performing a modification to make the dials on the front panel glow. The video of the process is here on YouTube: […]
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Build a 2.3″ 6 Digit LED Clock
In this video, Steve builds a 6 digit LED clock from some Kingbright SA23-12SRWA 7 segment displays and a Microchip PIC18F26K20 microcontroller. You can build one for yourself with the schematics posted under my LED clock page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov27rac0tP0
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Acoustic Solutions Hi-Fi Amplifier Repair and Teardown – Error U52, U53
In this video, Steve performs a Hi-Fi Amplifier repair and teardown on an Acoustic Solutions SP101 Hi-Fi Amplifier that displays Error U52 or U53 on the display. The amplifier is unable to store tone and balance settings and doesn’t always respond to changing the volume with the rotary encoder. The video walks through the design […]
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46″ Samsung LCD TV Repair
In this video of a Samsung LCD TV repair, Steve investigates the cause of some odd picture quality issues on a 46″ TV. Primarily the TV seems to have lost any colour depth, brightness and contrast, yet the controls have very little effect despite the backlight output not being affected. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9kVFIh77mw
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LCD Monitor Repair and Teardown – BenQ 19″ LCD Monitor
In the following videos, Steve performs an LCD monitor repair on a faulty BenQ 19″ Monitor that would not power up correctly and regularly displayed the ‘Auto Adjust’ message. The Peak Atlas ESR70 meter is used to test suspicious electrolytic capacitors in the power supply. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgpo406pJzE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HjaKBd9yU8
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Designing a Constant Current LED Driver – Part 2
In this video Steve interfaces the DC-DC converter circuit with a Microchip dsPIC33FJ16GS502 microcontroller to create a microcontroller-based constant current LED driver. The dsPIC33FJ16GS502 microcontroller has four analogue comparators which allow expandability to 4 independent constant current channels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcble4aiNlw
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Designing a Constant Current LED Driver – Part 1
In the first episode of a complete video series, Steve begins the design of a constant current LED driver. This aim of this project is to create a four channel high power LED driver that can interface with an RS-485 or IEEE 802.15.4 MiWi™ network. This will allow control of multiple light fixtures or multicolour […]
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