Scavenging Poundland LED COBs and a hack
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Your average Pound shop or Dollar store usually has some very useful low voltage (about 3V) LED arrays that can be used in projects or to fix other lights.
(Note that some of the round lights may apparently run quite hot.)
The COB (Chip On Board) modules usually have an aluminium backed PCB with flip-chip LEDs on it, protected by a layer of phosphor loaded gel. A flip-chip LED is a bare "dice" with metal contacts formed on the back of it as part of the manufacturing process, so it can be soldered directly in place with no need for bond wires.
For project use these COB arrays will need a resistor top limit current.
In the video I also converted one of the lights into a rugged magnetic emergency light that charges from a USB charger. If making your own in this style the batteries MUST be either Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) or old fashioned Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) cells. Non rechargeable cells like alkaline or zinc chloride will pressurise and may explode.
You could also use a protected lithium cell. But it would absolutely have to have protection fitted.
The resistor values can be juggled to suit your needs, noting that continuous trickle charging at high currents will reduce the working life of NiMh cells.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of RUclips's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
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I got tired of putting AAA cells in the PIR module on my led strip I use in my cat feeding area, so I installed a dimmer switch and usb lead for them. Now I don't worry if the batteries are dead.
It was this channel that taught me how to do that.
Thank you for being your entertaining self. The world needs more of you.
Ever since I started watching this channel and Ashens, I've been really curious to see a direct or semi-direct comparison between products from Poundland and ones from various American dollar stores. Even taking into account that ₤1 = $1.31 (at the time of this comment, anyway), the stuff in Poundland seems to be slightly but noticeably better than anything I see in my local dollar stores.
Of course, it might just be that the items worth reviewing are the best and the worst, which might be distorting things. Having never been to Poundland myself, I couldn't say. Or it might be that, when you're selling things so cheap, that extra $0.31 makes a big difference. And I'm sure it depends on the store itself.
I don't remember the point I was trying to make, but it's just an interesting regional difference that I've noticed.
LOOOOoovvee that little USB tester. little dude has done so much work for gizmo battery analysis and proving (or disproving) capacities!
I bought the flat one the other day, got me through the woods on the way home, good torch.
Say what you want about these LED lamps, they're head and shoulders above what you could get for 20x the price 30 years ago.
thorium lanterns though
@@dfpguitar mmmmmm, frontal lobe cancer
@Joachim Shekelberg which isn't a fault with the lights. It's the manufacturing that's bad, you can just resolder.
@Gazr Gazr I don't think that's why, it's because they didn't use LEDs.
7 linear COBs and the round one and you have a seven segment display (with dot)
That round cob looks to be a decent size and output to replace the paltry 5w G4 halogen setup in the lid of a ReefOne 15L BiOrb.
Obviously it's not a straight swap, but it'd fit the available space.
Just need to convert the 13v AC that the wall plug puts out, into a 13-12v DC ( or less ) , but that can be done in-line away from the tank head.
Hmmm I love Clive's videos 😁👍
@@RawTopShot I'd look at using a capacitive dropper, probably with bipolar electrolytics. The original 5w bulb would draw around 400mA which should be a decent current for these COBs.
Hey I’ve had those exact cheap digital calipers now for 3+ years and they’re awesome 😎 for the cost!!!
Looks like you could almost fit an 18650 in the shaft of the first one
Just opened the comments to post that myself!
Won't work. The internal space is far too less. I tried
If that doesn't fit even after dremeling out part of the original battery compartment you can perhaps use a rectangular cell in place of the original battery compartment (removing as much plastic as possible to make room but keeping the ability to retain the cover) and then stuff a tp4056 in the base (above the magnet) with a small hole for the micro usb port
@@Yrouel86 I managed to fit a rectangular pouch cell and a tp4056 in the battery compartment without any dremelling. Although its a bit tight
@@Will-sc3hw Yeah there are indeed small pouch or cellphone cells that can fit in there without any modification but if you remove as much plastic as possible you can likely fit a slightly larger cell so it'll last longer.
I prefer not to have the TP4056 in close quarters with the cell if possible because the chip does get hot when charging, especially if you can use the full 1A charge current, so I usually avoid risking to cook the battery.
Also speaking of charging current remember that the module is set by default to charge at 1A but if you use a small cell you should adjust the current accordingly by changing R3 to the appropriate value (refer to the datasheet for that). I usually set it to charge at around half C or even less for the really small cells
I just recently fixed my tactfire LED headlamp that runs on dual 18650 batteries. I only got it for $10 like 3 years ago, but I use it nightly at work and it's like my little buddy that lets me see at night. Lasts weeks on a charge.
The wire routing was weird, the conduit goes from the battery, to the front where the switch is at, then goes back to the battery circuit board, where it then goes to the front light. Wire that goes from the circuit board to the front light broke it's solder, so I fired up my iron and resoldered all the wires. Should be good for another 3+ years. Simple fix but I was extremely happy.
I've converted a work light that originally took three AA batteries in a holder. I used an 18650 battery and charge circuit PCB from a Poundland power bank. Tight squeeze but it all fits in and have the added bonus it can still be used as a power bank! Sockets are protected as.they are under the battery compartment cover which unscrews. As a waterproof light, this retains this ability.
You're so cool, Clive. You're my hero. The DIY Champion and Tamer of Electricity. When I grow up I want to be just like you.
Clive I just had a quick survey from RUclips basically asking me if I was happy to have your videos suggested to me and if I click on the happy face it gives me a list of reasons why I was happy like “informative” “calming” ect.
I find this strange because I have subscribed to your channel, I “like” all your videos and comment on most of them too.
I think they just put them up at random. They may also be checking for automated views.
I get those on random videos too, including channels I already subscribe to.
Just got one on your last video I gave u a 5 stars and calming and informative !
I often get those questions on sport score recaps...
"Yes RUclips, the game recap from August 15, 2019 was earth shattering and should be recommended to everyone in the future." lol
Of course, a BigClive video would be 5 stars by default. :)
oh how I despise torches that use 3xAAA 's!
It feels so antiquated now that I discovered 18650 flashlights. I even have one with a 26650 battery. Way more convenient.
I'm glad I'm not alone in this thought! Torches shouldn't use AAAs!
You can make a useful, bright floodlight by hacking parts from Poundland purchases and a 3D printer, notably salvaging those two COB LEDs from the lightswitch light thing, and the 18650+charging board from one of their cheap USB power banks.
Regardless of the size of cells, I love products that three A type cells, makes them perfect for hacking in a tp4056 + lithium cell or 5v like Clive did here.
@@TheNiteNinja19 Trouble is, you now can't buy Li-Ion 18650 batteries on eBay because eBay have banned the sale of such cells!
I use single AA/AAA with joule thief
9:24 You can put Schotky in parallel with those two 22 Ohms resistors, Anode on battery +, so you waste less power when you are on battery mode due to low Vf of the diode, this will also allow you to set the charging current by selecting other value than 11 Ohms.
The digital calipers that are in Aldi/Lidl from time to time are quite good, all metal, good repeatability and low quiescent current all for about €12 if I remember correctly
I bought one and it seemed to have sand in the mechanism - made a grating noise when sliding. Took it back and didn't want to risk another!
Yeah, cos we all want more Metal/Conductive tools while poking around live components. ;)
@@snakezdewiggle6084 Sure that just makes it more interesting!
@@AAAyyyGGG they are rough as a goats knee but they're cheap .
I bought the round one & used it to rebuild my bike light. Great light & you saved me a bunch of money, thanks.
They claim that the "suggested videos" is from a complex algorithm. I'm seeing bigclive comments all over the videos that I watch. I can only assume that clive is the algorithm and I am being stalked.
Been enjoying your channel for a while bud, stay safe my friend and thanks for the content thus far =)
Same here... so it‘s not only you who is that important. :-)
@@Herr_Bone Stalking us all, and here I thought we followed his channel. The whole time its been reversed.
That thumbnail be like "Today we're tearing apart a Large Hadron Collider."
Everyone: "Where... where did you get that? Clive? Clive. Clive?"
Poundland
Ebay. Here are the key words to search for...
I thought it was the electrocution of an egg
lol, got a laugh when you pulled out the same calipers I purchased a few months ago :D
Thanks for reminding me that I need to order a new set of calipers!
I use mine a lot. They're a very useful tool. Especially for 3D printing object design.
I have just received my caliper (metal/digital) version. Does help quite a bit as my eyes can't read the analog one very well without glasses (that are never in the place I need them)
@@ZeedijkMike when 100% precision is not needed. These cheaper ebay/Amazon options are not to shabby.
Mind, though, AvE has done a review of these shitty chinese calipers and found that the quiescent current is quite high (more or less the same whether they're turned on or off). In my case that would mean that whenever I need them, the battery would be flat. That's why I haven't ordered one. I have contemplated bodging a hardware switch onto them, to physically separate the battery when not in use. As long as one remembers to zero them out (as you always should, really), it should be ok. Also, I'd go for the metal ones (even if it's pure chinesium) instead of plastic or composite. You need hard(ish) measuring surfaces, and it would be easy to wear/nick them and have false readings.
I use standard vernier calipers. Always works. And I have no trouble reading off them (yet... my sight is going...).
@@horrovac I have a set of those cheap metal calipers, and as said, the battery will be completely flat every time you come to use them. Useless.
Sod USB Clive, those are ideal for fixed wiring under the car bonnet as fixed position worklights at night. Simple, cheap buck converter to drive them off the car battery. Or car boot lights, or car footwell lights, or rear passenger, under seat footwell lights. 👍👍👍
They do a rectangular light with a big on/off switch in the middle and 2x COB LEDs behind a diffuser - they are two COB lights very similar (maybe identical) to the LEDs in that worklight. They also do a blue COB headlight (worn on the head..) which has a smaller COB on a heatsink/PCB controlled by a the usual On/Low/Flash controller.
I recently came across a bevy of these at the Dollar General for $1.00 ea. They are bright as the sun. Ima gonna go back and buy all of 'em!
Pound shop electronics are a bargain until they burn your house down, love you big Clive.
Poundland electronics are generally pretty safe and reliable, per BC's earlier reviews (and my experience).
To my slight surprise, none of my AliExpress lamps etc. have caught fire either :-)
Hey Clive, very nice modification to that small "super cute" work light. Being here in the midwest of the United States, it's difficult sometimes to find neat little LED lights like those two you showed in this video. Missouri, where I live has a lousy selection of these types of LED lights. It's like living out in the middle of nowhere. LOL Stay safe and stay healthy Clive. As always, I'm looking forward to your Saturday live stream.
The little blue Harbor Freight lights subject to the free coupons in every flyer are fairly similar with a hook and magnets but no handle. The old style had 27 discrete LEDs (and I believe they're still labelled as 27 LED on the shelves) but the newer version has a COB for the main light.
Damn thing still needs the unnecessary grill-work to be cut off... those shadow bars across the workpiece would drive me nuts :-)
Why do lamps even have those blinking modes? What is the use cases supposed to be? I just find it annoying having to cycle through to reach the mode I use.
The supposed use case is as an SOS without the person in need of help (who may be injured) to actually swing the light up and down.
Its pretty doubtful that anyone would ever use a cheap torch to signal for help when hiking but my guess is the only companies who can afford R&D on fancy new integrated circuits are the ones selling to the mountain climbing crowd for $$$ and the cheapie ebay specials use the same chips one generation back for other benefits (lower quiescent current?) and to save costs.
It's a leftover from thousands of years ago, when fires were used for signaling. Semaphore.
They are primarily for breakdowns on highways. Just placing one or two a few hundred metres up from an accident or breakdown at night alerts drivers something is amiss up ahead so slow down. The red and blue strobing LED ones are especially effective as people think it's the police and immediately slow down.
Make it bigger, move the 18650 into the handle, use an adjustable voltage booster to regulate the voltage to the LED via a pot, and I'd buy a light like that.
But not a bubblegum machine toy like this one. It's breaking as I'm looking at it!
I bought power switches from AliExpress like the one in the handheld model.
I think some Chinese entrepreneur (maker) made the plastic mold cheaply, and started building these in his basement! Smart.
Heh, always scavenging LED's and LED COBs out of anything and everything. OK, I may scavenge just about anything electronic lol. Got fed up of my LED moon always needing batteries so now it's USB or battery powered, yay!
Nothing ever shorts out when you want it to...
Igor's Law . . .
This is what I've been doing.
Swapping out bulbs for LED's in old flashlights and adding resistors in dollar store lights so they don't blind me and the batteries last a few days. I don't know where this craze for blinding white light has come from? I much rather have a decent light with firefly mode.
In fact, I just bought a Klarus headlamp with a very awesome hands free mode. Thanks for the heads up on those.
It comes from the shit or non existent electronics found in torches that use 3 batteries
blinding white light makes people who buy dirt cheap torches think "wow, thats really bright" and saves the BOM and assembly cost of a resistor.
Love the hack and the fact you show how it's done, but £2 for the light and a fiver for the components to make it rechargeable, lol.
Those worklights are great bought three of them. However I modified mines differently. I managed to squeeze in a small lithium pouch cell and a tp4056 into the battery compartment. Wanted to go with a 18650 or a smaller cylindrical cell however there's not much space inside the housing.
I learn a lot from your videos, I am also a bit of a tinkerer, I would often find myself opening things up and learning something new.
Those are quite roomy inside, I'm sure they can be modified to be so much better. You pay a couple of pounds for the housing, and have fun with the modifications. :D
Always enjoy your content. You definitely make me want to get into hobby electronics. I am a BSME, always wanted to learn more about EE.
I have just bought a few of these- very good they are.
They sell that exact same light (the one with the handle) with batteries for I think $3 USD in New England at a place called “Ocean State Job Lot” which sounds like the NE version of Poundland. My kid uses it and the grille broke off and the switch is touchy but still works.
Interestingly, I used a very similar COB that I scavenged from a Lidl Work light for my Halloween Pumpkin just a week ago. Cool Video - learnt some things, Thank you Clive :)
I use the circuit board from poundland's £1 mini USB powerbank, connected to a small mobile phone battery that exactly fits in the battery compartment for 3 x AAA... then you can take power directly from the battery to have 3.7-4.2V that doesn't turn off if the power gets low, or take the fixed 5V from the charger board, which is much brighter (and gets hot without resistors) and turns the power off for undercharge protection. Very easy way to make something USB chargeable + use lithium ion battery for £1 :-)
OK, so I know very little about electronics, but could you not have had 1 set of resistors pre switch on the USB+ and had a more useful light or are the two needed to provide protection when the USB is powered and the lamps turned on?
Great video as always Clive. Great that you give Poundland some love 😂 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 they have some great things to cannibalise sometimes for their low prices.
They really need a dedicated
"Clive Isle" at this point.
@@RawTopShot definitely with a big sign clearly Stating "As Seen on Big Clive" like you see with the As Seen on TV products 😂 😂 😂
@@RawTopShot That'll work; The Aisle of Clive, brought to you from the Isle Of Man :-)
Are zinc-chloride cells really less expensive to manufacture in 2020 than standard alkaline cells?
Sunk costs. The factories already exist and the machinery processes set. Retooling would be too expensive plus labor costs.
The THUMBNAIL made me HUNGRY!
I thought it was a FRIED EGG! 😂😂😂
I love eggs, they're my favourite food!
What would happen if you put a diode across the two resistor that are limiting the charge to the battery.... so when the unit is not being changed by the USB more current would flow to the COB LED?
At Harbor Freight (Americans will be familiar with this store), they have these worklights that come free with a purchase of however many dollars, and the COB on it is quite good
I just bought one of those calipers and it works great. Stupid cheap too.
What cob was it that you really like Clive? Me personally i like a cheese and onion cob.
I'd like to see a series on "stuff you can make with poundland electronics'. Other channels do it with craft and decor items, we need an electronics version! "Forget that poundland bike light, make this super bright rechargable bike light!" and so on.
am i wrong or are the batteries in the diagram drawn wrong? shouldn't they be reverse: the short sides on top long sides bottom?
I've got the first one. It's lasted a lot better than the smaller one with a magnet 🧲 they sold in the spring mostly because I dropped the other one in salt water and it is clearly not water proof ;)
I've USB-ified some of my flashlights because they drain batteries quick. Most of the time the lights have resistors built in so I just solder the USB lead onto the battery terminals. I have this tiny bendy light that ran on LR44 button cells and I put a short USB lead and I use it on a power bank. It even makes the power bank turn on when you press the button on the light.
I have a worklight like the one here and it's very bright. I don't plan on modding it.
Stupid question, at 8:30 why didn’t you just put 2 resistors before the switch instead of 2x2?
It'd be fun to design and 3D print a little enclosure for that linear COB to convert it into a custom rechargeable headlamp.
Although, that magnetic base seems super convenient.
Drawback of the 'always on caliper' is that after a few months it won't come on at all because the cell will be flat, or at least that is my experience of a similar one. I have resorted to taking the cell out which is rather irritating, but slightly irritating than getting new cells.
taking the guts out of one of those £1 USB battery packs from Poundland, and putting into this would make it very very useful
It Seems Clive has his spies everywhere. Whenever I visit my local el cheapo store ( Otherwise known as The Reject Shop here in Australia ) looking for items to experiment with/on , The items I purchase are debunked on Clive's channel.. Usually only a couple of weeks before but then again, some have been well over a year.. I take great pleasure in debunking some of the more dangerous items I have found . From USB chargers with mains potential across them, Mains Power sockets where the on off switch is in the Neutral wire on both outlets, Power saver plugs which do nothing and lots of cheap chinese rechargeable batteries with unholy capacities printed on them. I even found the LED lamps that Clive has studied and modified plus I rebuilt the solar LED PIR outside lamps with better batteries and a much better solar charging regulator... Clive, Keep up with the videos please, you are legend among Aussie Electronic and electrical enthusiasts..
Question :. If you wire it from USB through the 11 ohm resistor to the batteries like you have it, but go from the switch directly to the battery should make the light not drop in brightness when you unplug the USB. The voltage from the battery is going through a total series of 22 ohms per your drawing where with USB power it only going through 11 ohms to the COB
That would work but then the batteries might discharge when it's on and plugged in.
BTW: If you strobed the LEDs - would the batteries last longer? Like 60+hz?
Are those calipers actually carbon fiber? I bought one and the listing was weird, hoped to get metal, got that light one. It says something about carbon fiber components on the back, but I thought it's plastic, because when you open it there's a stick coming out the back for depth measurement I think, and if I hold it by it, the whole thing bends, and I thought carbon fiber is very rigid.
Nice and simple. I like it. I think I'll do this project with my boy. He's 4, but I think he can follow a few lines around on a piece of paper. I've already done some breadboard fun with him... ;)
Very useful hack.👌👍👍
would it make sense to put a second schottky diode in parallel to the charging resistors (reversed) so you're getting more brightness from battery operation?
My thought as well. Why hamstring the brightness so much? 22 ohms is a lot for that voltage.
i was thinking, why not put the switch closer to the battery instead of at the charge resistors and then to the led resistors, that would still be 22 ohm on usb and 11 ohm on battery...
@@fumthings Same thought going through my mind... I think you mean put the resistors between the switch and the USB positive? Better go and buy one and check it out!!
Have you calibrated those calipers per AvE's percussive maintenance procedure?
Clive, if i mod your circuit by moving the charge resistor (which is next to the battery) up inline with USB IN (+) before the switch, so the battery (+) goes straight to the switch, the LED will lights brighter when powered by the battery, because the current from the battery to the LED only see 1 resistor, not 2, right? is it a good mod or a bad one?
You would just be swapping the brightness levels the other way round i.e. dimmer when charging, brighter when on battery power. That would drain the battery quicker.
@@tinkerbot4148 ah yes, i do prefer the battery to last longer.. thank you for point that out.
The objective is _to see,_ rather than to preserve the charge in the battery; a brighter light while on battery makes more sense.
@@michaelthibault7930 true. i think we should find the sweet spot between these two factors. bright enough to see while keeping the battery last long, because these AAA batteries don't have plenty of juices.
I have one if the work lites but it is a little bigger and you can stick a 18650 in the handle, the LED is also bigger and allows for the 3.7 -4.2 volts without any limiting
I have those calipers! Pretty good for the price, about 6 pound odd on amazon presumably considerably cheaper on ebay
I bought one on ebay for £4 about a year ago. Works well.
@@Okurka. glass fibre reinforced plastic of some kind, I think carbon fibre might have been a slightly dodgy description by Clive since they are most definately the same ones, they are indeed light anyway
Cool ideas big C 😎👍
I love a rechargeble worklight with a basic on off switch, no weird modes. The astro pneumatic dimmer switch is also fine, for around 8 euro's I bought a knockoff from aliexpress. It works good, no grey light but 4000K-ish, even got a battery level indicator. It's a bit too big for electronics tho so I've bought a 10x7cm one with the same switch, even got an usb out for the same price. Guess I'm not the only one with too much worklights..
Take a new lamp ( as above ) and fit a diode bridge rectifier across the COB + a 10 microfarad electrolytic ... then supply the AC side of the bridge via a MAINS RATED 100nF capacitor and 220 Ohm resistor or use a 100nF snubber ( neutral to other AC input of bridge ) connect other side of 100nF to mains live ( ! ) = super efficient " night light " that will last forever ( my version has been continuously connected for 10 years ( or more ! ) hint : X2 100nF motor noise suppressors are ideal !
Clive, do you know if Nitecore chargers are safer to use with nickel metal hydride batteries?
A former employer of mine once gave all the employees a holiday gift. It was a flashlight almost identical to the magnetic one shown here. But it was a putrid green instead of a nice black.
Those LED lightswiches they have are pretty well-suited to the USB mod too, they're very handy lights, especially when stuck in a mobile phone mini-tripod to turn them into little cheap worklights as I have done with a number of mine... :D
Poundland fusiomax nimh rechargeable AA batteries are pretty good as well. I use them in my wireless keyboard and mouse.
Sorry to hear Ralfie's bike needed fixing. Did he accidentally fill it with diesel after one of his "Malt-mates" videos?
Bought one of the round ones. Perfectly fine! Good red light on it too. Some cyclists round here could do well to invest in one!
You could put a schottky diode on the left side to bypass the resistors during discharge to avoid going through the 11 ohms, but it would drop 0.3V...would that be less than the voltage drop across the resistors ? Depends on the current I guess.
You did not take your new calipers apart, or hack them in any way. Or is that for another vid? The new 3 function calipers with the fraction capability I will buy next.
have you checked the battery drain on the calipers when they are off? they seem to eat batteries very quickly.
20uA continuous, display on or off.
Add some defusing media 'opaque plastic' and those heavy lines should disperse?
I had the same caliper for awhile, seems to work very well, but it drains the battery fast even when not in use
I take the LR44 out after each use now
Could you not have used an 18650 micro usb charge board then you could have done away with the usb cable sticking out of the light?
Doesn't the Schottky diode allow more revers currant then the silicon? would discharge through charger.
Just low current, and only if left plugged into an unplugged charger.
They're not bad for poundland job's , do you know if they still sell them. Thanks
Thanks for a great little lockdown project. :)
That thumbnail had me hoping for Big Clive DIY Large Hadron Collider.
Feels like a missed opportunity to crammed a joule thief inside. I had to crammed one inside my nephew Chinesium AC powered night light. The circuit has a very nice 3 LEDs capacitive dropper with very questionable tiny slide switch and the life wire very very very close to the board.
I love the tiny rocker switches on them , No where where to obtain/part number is mind.
They're common. Search for miniature rocker switch.
@@BigClive Thanks Clive , i shall begin the hunt immediately :-)
@@steve64464 start in Poundland.... They're on some torches 😂😂😂
Interesting / thanks... mainly because the mini slider switches are absolute rubbish, almost always the first thing to fail :-)
Cool I learnt a new bit of wiring an charging their
I have those callipers. They feel like it's ordinary plastic.
I would have used a pouch style lithium battery and also included a female USB port to plug the cable into.
Great video however, very good indeed.
Nice overview and repurposing :) Personally I'd have gone for slightly lower value resistors, to get a bit more light output at the expense of battery life. You can get decent Ni-MH AAAs (up to 900 or even 1000mAh) nowadays, which would still give a good run time.
Also, alkalines would work when on battery power, so long as they are not in the fitting when plugged in to the USB. So you could still use disposable batteries if you have loads laying around.
Also, the initial current (with no resistor) is pretty high and would likely burn out the LED COB quite quickly, as well as have poor battery life.
I have that digital calliper. Very happy. I just got a mains digital power meter that was DOP ( dead on plugging in ) if you want to autopsy.
Where you get the Caliper..??..
And Hows the Bloody Weather Around Your little Plot of Land..?
Caliper from eBay and stormy here as ever.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133121340215
Clive, Can you explain why adding 2 x 22Ohm resistors gives you 11 ohms and not 44?
If you put two 22 ohm resistors in series they add together to make 44 ohms. If you put them in parallel they combine to make 11 ohms.
@@BigClive Thanks, for anyone else confused the following page cleared things up for me www.electronics-tutorials.ws/resistor/res_4.html
I am confused as to who buys a pocket lamp 🔦at this time, is the flash of a phone not enough! Or a spark plug Or a candle 😌
Hi Big Clive!. I own a Fluke 70 Series II Multimeter, a Greenlee DM-110 (Madre in Taiwan) and a Blue-Point DMSC683 (by Snap-On (Automotive Tools Brand in USA (Made in Korea))). I want to keep only 2. Which pair would you keep?
I'd suggest keeping all three as it's sometimes useful to monitor multiple parameters at once.
@@BigClive Thank´s for your reply. The thing is that I my son needs one and I want to give it to him.
@@pepetono6374 The meter you give him will depend on the work he's going to be doing with it. If it's just bench tinkering then a basic meter will do. But if it's electrical installation or troubleshooting then he'll need a meter properly rated for live work in high current equipment. (Cat III or IV)
The plastic cage on that worklight is pointless as the LEDs are recessed anyway, it just causes those annoying shadows 🤔
I thought the same when I saw it too.
Snips… where are my snips? One moment, please.
(Snip the cage off _near_ the body, not flush with it, angled so as not to create small hooks and to hold the light bay off of a flat surface…
Should of maybe fitted a mini or micro USB port instead of hard wiring the light for retaining the neatness and originality of the light?
Skip all that; if you need a dinky light, you almost certainly don't have AC -- hence, the batteries. So, lose the AA(A)s, lop off the handle, wire a USB lead through a string of a few ball-and-socket joints, and use one of the many external supplies on hand to power the thing. The COB's the thing; the rest (save perhaps the magnet) is window-dressing.
This was really interesting! I like the calm and thoughtful way you explore items like these. I wonder what you would think of using a Poundland LED lightbulb and some 18650 cells to convert an old incandescent 6v flashlight into an LED flashlight?
Don't the Poundland LED lightbulbs run at rather higher voltage than you can easily get from 18650s ?
I'd instead look at a white 3W LED 'bead', put the 18650s in parallel, add a low-value current-limiting resistor; the 18650s will put out 2.5V (LED off...) to 4.25V (fully-charged, LED bright) and you only need to add a 1R5 or so resistor, to hold the LED current to less than 1A.
Probably need some heatsinking on the LED, tho! :-)
@@theskett I was thinking more of taking the LED bulb apart, cutting off the mains input side of the circuit board, and wiring the 18650s directly into the DC input side of the converter?
Hm... don't the Poundland 'mains' lamps rectify and smooth the incoming mains (so 240V gets ya about 330V), and then use the switcher to put the 330V on the input side of the transformer? Usually lots of LEDs are connected in series to the transformer output, because driving them with lower current is generally more efficient (less heating / resistive losses in rectifier diodes, etc.).
Maybe a 12V automotive lamp would be a better choice, you could probably drive that ok with three 18650s (especially if you could remove any bridge rectifier from the lamp, thereby saving 1.2V :-)
I've been using the 5£ wireless charger from Poundland for some time now, did you ever took it apart? it's really cheap compared to what I found on Amazon and I was wondering how good it is...
You've been using it so you know how good it is!