Articles

I invite you to a practical test of the new image generator from OpenAI. In this topic I will test the performance of GPT-Image 2 on various electronics related tasks, there will be drawing schematics, describing devices and also editing photos and graphics. In addition, I will compare... [Read more]

I invite you to a demonstration of a Wi-Fi enabled electric kettle. Here I'll show how it pairs, what its mobile app offers, how it's built inside, and see if it can be altered with firmware to free it from the manufacturer's servers and connect it locally to Home Assistant. This... [Read more]

Today a little tidbit I came across while developing one of my projects. I was looking for a simple way to mechanically disconnect microcontroller/ESP controlled lines, with a minimum of additional components. This is how I came across the very small V23100-V4 dual signal relays.... [Read more]

What does it look like to implement a storage device driver in C? Can the tiny PIC16LF1459 microcontroller, with a modest 14 KB Flash memory and an even smaller 1 KB RAM, simulate a pendrive? Will it manage to write a text file to an EERAM 47L16 connected to it via I2C? Today is the... [Read more]

I bought a pack of 3 Feit OM60/RGBW/CA/AG(N) smart light bulbs The (N) in the model name seems to denote a newer revision from the already posted non-N version , as these use a Tuya T1-U-HL (Beken BK7238), not the BK7231N They still use the BP5758D LED driver IC. Since they have the... [Read more]

Two soldering irons in one kit and for only PLN 300 - is that a good deal? Here I'll introduce the Yihua 852D+ station and see how comfortable it actually is to work on a motherboard with it. I will test both a hot air and a flask soldering iron. I will take measurements at the 100°C,... [Read more]

I invite you to a little adventure with the PIC16LF1459, an 8-bit microcontroller made by Microchip, distinguished by its hardware USB support with a minimum of external components. You don't even need an external oscillator - the built-in one has enough precision. Here I will run... [Read more]

Transfer Multisort Elektronik (TME), a global distributor of electronic and electromechanical components, announced the expansion of its U.S. operations with the appointment of three experienced industry leaders: Mark Burr-Lonnon as CEO TME US, Krister Haggstrom as strategic advisor,... [Read more]

Here I will introduce the DigiTOP VP-16Аf voltage relay designed to protect electrical equipment from excessive electrical voltage. It offers a simple LED display and a programmable setting for the upper cut-off limit, hysteresis and turn-on response time. The device is available... [Read more]

Here is an account of building a two-channel dimmer based on an 8-bit PIC12F683 microcontroller and parts from electrical junk. The project will be written in C using the SDCC compiler. A single encoder will be used to control the brightness levels, and pressing the encoder will toggle... [Read more]

The SFS 133 surge protection power strip (product 99457) is available to buy for around PLN 80. It offers 4 230 V sockets, three USB sockets with a claimed current capacity of up to 2.1 A and a main switch-off button. Here I'll show its interior and check that it matches its description... [Read more]

I always look with curiosity at devices signed as Made in Poland, and this was also the case here. This tiny module with a four-digit display, four lights and three buttons is a temperature controller. According to the manufacturer, it is designed for use in the plastics industry,... [Read more]

Here’s a little curiosity for today. This piece of kit is completely outside my field of expertise and not from my era, but it might still be worth a look – an old triple timer dating back to the days of the USSR. The whole thing is built using semiconductors. Time to take a look... [Read more]

Some time ago I presented the interior of the Saia PCD2.C100 extension cassette , today I would like to show its main module, the PCD2.M120 base unit. The PCD2.M120 consists of an enclosure, inside of which is the main board and the bus for the I/O modules, and a cover with LEDs,... [Read more]

I would like to invite you to a presentation and a detailed analysis of the interior of the WT200-16A-W thermostat compatible with the Tuya app. The WT200-16A-W offers manual control via WiFi and schedule operation in 5+2, 6+1 or 7-day modes, with 6 time modes per day. The WT200-16A-W... [Read more]

The miniature uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) shown here provide uninterrupted operation for a 9/12 V router, USB devices (5 V) and two PoE devices (12/24 V), such as surveillance cameras. They declare a battery capacity of 10400 mAh. Two models will be tested - 15 W and 30 W,... [Read more]

Did you know that TP-Link also has its own smart products? Here's the Tapo P300, a power strip offering three individually controllable 230-volt sockets and three USB sockets (with QC support), all together with an app and support for Apple Home, Amazon Alexa and Google Home. All... [Read more]

I've been presenting my capacity tests of various powerbanks on the forum for a while now, but I've recently realised that I've been too conscious of choosing good models such as Baseus , JoyRoom or Romoss . For this reason, I decided to go for the first cheapest 50 Ah powerbank from... [Read more]

Here's another nostalgic gadget, this time a little more expensive as it was bought for over PLN100 - the X12 console offering a 5.1" colour display, AV output and compatibility with retro games from platforms such as NES and GBA. In addition, the whole thing can act as a video and... [Read more]

Here's a short test of a tiny 10-inch surveillance monitor bought from a Chinese mail order site. Here I will measure its power consumption and test its performance with a single PAL camera. How much does it cost to use such a monitor? Will it be suitable for the Raspberry? Let's... [Read more]

Many of you are probably wondering how you can unleash the power of today's artificial intelligence and integrate it into your own projects and products. The most common form of access to LLMs, the popular chat window, is just the tip of the iceberg. Here, I will show how you can... [Read more]

Malus.sh is a satirical platform offering an "AI clean room recreation" - a process in which AI recreates open source software based on documentation, without access to the code. The result is supposed to be new code, free of licensing restrictions and ready for commercial use. The... [Read more]

An interesting project is gaining popularity on site X tscircuit , which combines frontend web technologies (React + TypeScript) with electronics design. The idea is simple: instead of classic CAD like KiCad or Altium, we write the circuit as JSX code. The electronic components are... [Read more]

What is the evolution of the kitchen alarm clock radio? Do the newer models differ from the older ones in construction? How is the tuning, display, power supply implemented? Here, I will try to demonstrate this using the example of two kitchen radio receivers from different periods.... [Read more]

Today I am showing two LED controllers that can work without a cloud from the factory. No soldering is required. The first one is the GL-C-309WL, it is based on ESP32 and has an open WLED firmware uploaded. It works 100% locally, we configure it via Wi-Fi. The second is the GL-C-301P,... [Read more]

An interesting service story today. Can swapping 4 GB RAM for 8 GB damage a laptop so that it can no longer even boot or install the operating system? I have personally found out that this is possible - here I will show what happened and present the solution to the problem. Does your... [Read more]

Here I will show the inside of a PoE-compliant IEEE 802.3af/at/bt switch with up to 60 W, offering 4 LAN ports (with power), 2 uplink ports and a throughput of up to 1.6 Gbps. PoE (Power over Ethernet), as the name suggests, is a technology that allows data and power to be transmitted... [Read more]

Here is a teardown of an 'ELVICO Smart Plug'. It is intended for Zigbee using the eWelink platform. I have been hunting for bouffalolab-based devices, as my project has been porting those chips to Zephyr RTOS for a few years, and we just got BLE working, enabling usages similar to... [Read more]

Good morning. My first project. Some time ago I wanted to repair an old radio from my father-in-law as a gift for my wife, but I didn't want to burn it out extra. So I came up with a bulb tester. It was supposed to be as simple as possible, but somehow I got worked up and added a... [Read more]

Here I will introduce two Meross MSS550 switches, the first a touch-sensitive version and the second based on a 'clicky' microswitch. I'll examine how they are built and then I'll post the information I've gathered so far about the interesting Wi-Fi chip on the inside - the Mediatek... [Read more]