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The sequence is familiar. The board is finished in KiCad. Gerbers are exported. An online calculator returns a bargain — a few dollars for five or ten double-sided boards, sometimes with a 24-hour build. Then the archive... [Read more]
Today, something a bit different – a round-up of old power transistors, mostly in TO-3 packages, which I’ve kept over the years. Most are types used in horizontal deflection circuits and power supplies for CRT televisions, whilst a few are from other devices. There are products from Western and Japanese firms, as well as from the USSR and... [Read more]
Here is an emulator capable of running the Beken chip’s firmware and simulating the peripherals so well that even the original batch from Tuya connects to their cloud and allows remote control via a mobile phone. It’s all here – UART, pins, Bluetooth and even Wi-Fi, along with a proxy mechanism that allows you to establish an HTTPS connection.... [Read more]
China has changed considerably over the past 15 years — and so have European companies’ expectations of Chinese manufacturers. Robert Tarantowicz of Honya Europe looks back on that shift, from his first attempts to work with Chinese suppliers in 2009 to building a Polish-Chinese company that now operates across Europe. Why shouldn’t price... [Read more]
Join me for the next instalment of my presentation on stage equipment – I’ve already shown you some lighting effects Trix BrokenSwing and American DJ RollerTron 250 , so now I’m moving on to the audio equipment and showing you the insides of two dual-channel receivers for wireless microphones. These are used to receive audio from wireless... [Read more]
Here I will present the interior of a Spacetronik DIN-rail power supply, model PS_DIN_60_5. The manufacturer states on the box 5 V, 6.5 A and 60 W, which in itself is not entirely accurate. In this post, I’ll take the power supply apart, try to identify the components used, compare it with the Mean Well HDR-60 datasheet – on which it is clearly... [Read more]
Today we’re reviewing the Acer PM161Q B1 portable monitor from the PM1 series, which we bought for around 400 zł. It’s a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS screen housed in a slim chassis with a fold-out stand, which can be connected to a laptop via USB-C or HDMI. The casing also houses two speakers and a headphone jack. A screen like this comes in handy... [Read more]
Do you remember CRT televisions? Join me for a look inside the 14-inch Daewoo DMQ-14A1TXT CRT television. Here, I’ll show you the casing, the rating plate and the main board, and for the larger integrated circuits, excerpts from their data sheets. For comparison, I’ll use a scan of the service manual for the Daewoo CP-330 chassis, from which... [Read more]
Join me for a presentation of a German digital terrestrial TV receiver: the Xoro HRT 8724, a DVB-T2 HD receiver with H.265/HEVC decoding, USB recording and a built-in Irdeto Cloaked CA system for Freenet TV. Irdeto Cloaked CA is a software-based conditional access system from Irdeto: it decrypts encrypted channels within the set-top box itself,... [Read more]
Today I’ll be reviewing another typical product that you can easily order online. Join me for a look at two VAYOX power strips with a built-in USB power supply: the white VA0467W-3 with three sockets and the black VA0466B-3 with five. Both have two USB-A ports and one USB-C port, and were bought for around 30 zlotys each. Here, I’ll show... [Read more]
Today we’re modding another ‘smart’ product; this time it’s a ceiling light capable of operating in two modes: coloured light (RGB) or white temperature (CW). I’ll show you the inside of this product here and then update its firmware so that it operates 100% locally, without the cloud, and works with Home Assistant. The product is available... [Read more]
![[LN882H] Behogan 16A Mini Smart Switch - OpenBeken flash, UART pins and GPIO](https://obrazki.elektroda.pl/9604497200_1790508464_thumb.jpg "[LN882H] Behogan 16A Mini Smart Switch - OpenBeken flash, UART pins and GPIO")
I bought a six-pack of these Behogan mini smart switch modules from Amazon.nl: Behogan 16A Mini Smart Switch – Amazon.nl They are sold as Tuya/Smart Life compatible 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi switches. The controller turned out to be an LN882HKI mounted directly on the main PCB, rather than a separate replaceable Wi-Fi module. Advertised specifications... [Read more]
Join me for a look inside the Vireo BPM-530 electronic blood pressure monitor. Here, I’ll show you its construction, briefly explain how it works and examine its components – from the microcontroller and EEPROM memory, through the pressure sensor, to the pump and solenoid valve. You’ll find devices like this in many home first-aid kits, yet... [Read more]
Here is a Wi-Fi-controlled socket/plug that is easy to dismantle and modify. The Ucomen shown here can easily be programmed with alternative firmware so that it operates 100% locally, without the manufacturer’s cloud, and is compatible with Home Assistant. The whole process is non-invasive – the casing isn’t glued shut; you simply need to... [Read more]
I have a TEESA TSA8077 dehumidifier and I wanted to be able to switch it on and off via Home Assistant On the dehumidifier’s printed circuit board, I’ve marked GND (-5V) and +5V. When the dehumidifier is running, the operation confirmation signal outputs +5V, which needs to be connected to GPIO4 on the ESPD1mini dehumidifier_start_stop shorted... [Read more]
The QS-WIFI-S10-C04 is a tiny, flush-mounted roller shutter controller that normally works with the Tuya cloud, although it can also be easily programmed using our Polish open-source software and connected locally to Home Assistant. It is based on the CBLC9S module with the BK7231N, so it is supported by OpenBeken. I recently programmed a... [Read more]
I had to scrap two switching power supplies from some old printers, so I decided to see if, in practice, they could handle a load significantly greater than that specified by the manufacturer. All this was done under the watchful eye of a thermal imaging camera, whilst also examining exactly what was heating up. WARNING: Naturally, I advise... [Read more]
Which touchscreen should you choose for wall mounting? Here’s an interesting option, imported from China for around 250 zlotys, featuring an IPS panel with a wide viewing angle and 16.7 million colours, supporting up to 10 touch points. The screen offers a resolution of 1280x720, with HDMI and VGA ports on the back, as well as the slightly... [Read more]
Join me for a presentation of the old FUHO TA-6698H analogue CCTV camera, which operates in the PAL standard. Here, I’ll show you its construction, the available connectors, and take a look inside to see which integrated circuits it’s built on. We’ll see how this type of CCTV monitoring equipment, supporting Auto Iris lenses, used to be built.... [Read more]
IP67-rated power supplies are an integral part of outdoor lighting installations exposed to direct rain and moisture. The IP67 rating tells us two things – the number 6 guarantees complete protection against dust ingress (dust-tight), whilst the number 7 indicates resistance to the effects of brief immersion in water (to a depth of 1 metre... [Read more]
Here, I’ll be presenting a piece of equipment that has now been somewhat forgotten, from a time when ISDN digital telephony was a symbol of modernity and fast communication. The NT1 Plus was a device that was installed between the operator’s line and the user’s telephones. On the one hand, it supported the digital ISDN bus, whilst on the... [Read more]
OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra is apparently already capable of designing a PCB on its own based on a circuit diagram. Wow, they haven’t done that yet… A year ago, I took the plunge and wasted a hundred… the only use it had was for generating questions for tests and exams. (Just a little teaching escapade I had.) Today, repeating this experiment, I’m... [Read more]
Several articles have already been devoted to transistor radios in matchboxes on ‘Elektroda’. These were circuits built using discrete components and integrated circuits. But would the same level of miniaturisation also be possible if vacuum tubes were used to build such a radio? A few people seem to have tried, or wanted to build, such a... [Read more]
Hi! I’d like to show you my internet radio project based on the ESP32-S3 module. The main aim was to create a system that absolutely anyone can get up and running – without having to install an IDE, search for missing libraries or troubleshoot compilation issues. The entire firmware is uploaded directly from your browser! 🔧 Hardware used At... [Read more]
Hello :) I was inspired to build the device by the topic Initially it was to be a radio for the kitchen. Eventually the decision was made to build one. As is usually the case, the question was - how to "package" it? After various measurements, the enclosure finally evolved into the above form. Due to its small size it was given the name micro... [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 few extra components. I plan to add one more - an ammeter on... [Read more]
Hi everyone! I would like to present the construction of a WAREHOUSE POWER SUPPLY quite powerful, as it is almost 1200W . The power supply came about as an idea to get a cheaper equivalent to the Riden RD6018 kit. Parameters of the power supply, are: - voltage regulated 0 - 60V with 0.01V resolution - regulated current 0 - 20A with 0.01A... [Read more]
Hello Colleagues, I wanted to share an old project that I once made and was even commercially available for a while. The project is more than 15 years old so I am happy to share the materials. Maybe it will inspire someone or they will want to make such a device themselves. The code is 100% working and everything needed is in the zip. It is... [Read more]
Good morning. I made this kinetic splitter in the spring, but have only now decided to show it off on this forum. Toothed strip module 5, which is 50x50 mm. Most of the components, such as the carriage and bearing mounts, are made of 10 mm sheet metal. The splitter is engaged by the pressure of the toothed bar against a spur gear connected... [Read more]
I made myself a two-digit thermometer with a red ELD-515SURWA seven-segment display (soldered out of a Euroster 1100E thermostat) and a DS18B20 sensor. The electronics fit on a 2x8 cm cutout of a 6x17 mesh universal board. The housing is a white 2xRJ11 6P4C surface-mounted telephone socket. Power supply from a 5 V / 120 mA switching power... [Read more]
I have made myself a transformer rectifier to charge my car battery, with automatic charge control - on an on/off basis - so that charging can be left unattended for long periods. The circuit has two basic tasks: - enable charging when the battery is connected - switch off charging when the battery is charged or in an error situation The... [Read more]
Nothing special to brag about. However, here is a project I made. The device moves to the right by 5 pixels every 1 minute, then back by 5 pixels. Written in Arduino for a Raspberry Pi Zero (RP2040) board. You may ask, why make this when you can buy something like this? And this is for 2 reasons: 1. cheaper, 2. in bought ones the mouse pointer... [Read more]
DIY Kiosk - or electronics magazine During the construction phase... Hello esteemed forumers. The year 2025 is upon us and, as is customary, it is good to have some New Year's resolutions. I decided that I would start the new year by putting my studio, and workshop, in order. What was my surprise when I opened the book calendar for 2025, where... [Read more]
Good morning. I would like to show you my mini hauler, which is powered by an engine from a petrol scythe. The 3hp internal combustion engine comes from a NAC scythe and is connected to a 60:1 worm gearbox. The gearbox drives the differential from the mower tractor, on which the 18-8.00x8 wheels are mounted. The kipper is manual and the change... [Read more]
Recently, when building a controller for my cooker, I decided to experiment with something simpler. Admittedly, I'm not keen on Wi-Fi control, but I was curious to see how low the current consumption could currently be. In the off-the-shelf solutions I tested, the consumption ranged from 0.3 W to 1 W. So I bought some Zigbee modules, a couple... [Read more]
The NE555 astable circuit - how to make a flashing LED The NE555 chip is one of the most popular and widely used integrated circuits in electronics. Due to its simplicity, versatility and low cost, it is used in many projects such as pulse generators, clocks, timers and flashing LEDs. In this article, I will present a simple circuit with the... [Read more]
Hi, under this unusual topic name I present a project of a small automatic music player to make sitting on the toilet more pleasant. Of course this is one application, in other situations it could probably be useful too ;) The main considerations were low complexity, a trivial interface, maintenance-free after initial set-up, and room for... [Read more]
Hello forum members. I would like to present a chassis design I have made for the Raspberry Pi 4 that works with the IQaudIO DAC Pro card. The device serves as a music streamer from a home NAS server and can play audio material in 16-24 bit quality. I used the Volumio system as the software. Operation is possible both from the mobile app and... [Read more]
As simple radio receivers are invariably of interest, I have decided to present a rather interesting design for the current technical realities. This is one of the first electronic circuits I had the pleasure of building, but unfortunately, for various reasons it lay unfinished for many years. Recently, looking through my electronic scrapbooks,... [Read more]
Hi, . The project presented this time is purely programming but I hope it fits in this section and maybe someone will find it interesting or useful in the workshop. The aim of the project was to create a convenient-to-use GCode generator for making PCBs on a CNC milling machine. I design my PCBs in KiCAD so I focused on this input format.... [Read more]
Today, I would like to introduce an interactive Arduino music project. Using six obstacle avoidance modules and DF’s MP3 module, we will build a musical piano (originally, I had eight obstacle avoidance modules, but during assembly, I found that two were incompatible and lacked indicator lights. Since replacing them in time was not feasible,... [Read more]
:smile: Over 10 years ago Gerhard Schmidt DG4FAC on avr asm tutorial.net (site already not exists) :cry: presented such a circuit :idea: LED effect based on ATtiny13 ; ; *********************************** ; * Ledlight with an ATtiny13 * ; * (C)2012 by avr-asm-tutorial.net * ; *********************************** ; .nolist .include... [Read more]
For some time now, I became interested in network security and came across an article on how to make a Wi-Fi Jammer (deauthentication attack). I did not even suspect that you can make someone's life so easy and simple. To make a Jammer All we need is esp8266. The principle of operation is very simple. Our device pretends to be a router... [Read more]
The author of the following project, having no experience with Raspberry Pi, set about creating a simple air conditioning control system. As he did very well, he decided to create the following guide so that any other person could also build a similar device. Step 1: What you'll need To compile the system described below we need: * Raspberry... [Read more]
Do you have audio equipment that is too old to support Apple Airplay that you want to use? You don't want to replace it with lower-quality wireless speakers, but want to listen to music from the Internet? This is a common problem. The good news is that solving this problem costs as much as the Raspberry Pi - not much. Based on this minicomputer,... [Read more]
In the material below, the author describes how to use Arduino and an RFID reader to build a simple lock. In this system, Arduino reads the RFID tag ID with the help of a special reader. The identifier is displayed on the OLED screen, and if it matches the number stored in the system's memory, it displays the word "Unlocked", it can also... [Read more]
The project below is a weather station based on a module with ESP8266. There would be nothing special about it that distinguishes it from other such constructions, if not for the optimization of the system in terms of minimizing power consumption. The microcontroller used is not very energy-efficient, so it works on average in battery-powered... [Read more]
Currently, in the era of simple and inexpensive GSM modules and Arduino modules, it is very easy to construct an SMS-controlled relay. In the project below, the author used the SIM800L module to receive SMS messages. The whole system is controlled by the Arduino Nano V3 module. The system is equipped with one relay, which is controlled by... [Read more]
Thermal imagers have been fascinating for years. The idea that you can watch images in a part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, inaccessible to our eyes on a daily basis, is extremely interesting and appealing. Unfortunately, the implementation of this task is not cheap - especially if we want to buy this type of camera only to... [Read more]
Microchip ATM90E26 is an integrated circuit dedicated to use in modern power consumption monitoring systems. It allows for easy integration with advanced monitoring systems of the power network within, e.g. our home. The use of such a system together with, for example, photovoltaic systems allows you to monitor the level of generated energy,... [Read more]
Most computer platforms have the ability to connect sensors that operate in the audio band (microphones) or in the visible light (e.g. cameras). However, sensors for electromagnetic radiation in the radio range are not popular and until recently it was difficult to connect to computers systems allowing for any collection of radio waves. In... [Read more]
Pigeon is a simple webcam, dedicated to work in the cloud. It is based on the Raspberry Pi Zero W, costing just $ 10. The minicomputer, together with the camera, are enclosed in a housing made in 3D printing technology. A simple handle is integrated with the housing, which allows it to be mounted anywhere, e.g. on the wall. The software itself,... [Read more]
In Brazil, the Raspberry Pi Zero overclocking record has just been set. The team managed to achieve a clock frequency of 1600 MHz and test such an extremely overclocked computer. This gave them the first place in April in the HWBOT ranking for SoC BCM2835, which is in RPi Zero. The whole overclocking began with one teaser on social networks,... [Read more]
The description below shows how you can convert a Raspberry Pi with a GSM modem to USB into a gateway for sending SMS via the web interface. The project was created using PHP and C #. The software that communicates with the modem is written in C #, and the web front-end in PHP. In addition, the system is equipped with a database, which is... [Read more]
The environment monitoring system, based on the LoRa IoT interface, consists of a base station built using the Arduino Mega module with a LoRa gateway and remote stations based on the Arduino Feather, which connect to the base station via the LoRa radio interface. The system allows monitoring of environmental parameters in the house and its... [Read more]
Pi-FM-RDS is an FM radio transmitter equipped with RDS, running on Raspberry Pi. The GirHub downloadable program is responsible for generating a frequency modulated (FM) waveform with encoded RDS data (data transmission system with audio transmission). All this works in real time and is able to work with both mono and stereo audio signals.... [Read more]
The electronic fuse eliminates the need to replace the element that burns out with excessive current when using a classic fuse, e.g. a fuse. This element does not act as a current limiter in any way - when it rises above the set limit, the system disconnects the circuit. The limiter would instead limit the flowing current to a predetermined... [Read more]
This simple device has one task - it converts received exiles, broadcast in a walrus alphabet, to Latin letters. This translator can find many applications. With it, you can train your morse broadcasting skills, but also decode data received from the ether. It may be amazing, but the walrus alphabet is still very popular in amateur radio,... [Read more]
This article will describe how to display and record car diagnostic information with a Raspberry Pi. Step 1: Required materials To complete this project you will need: o Raspberry Pi Model B or B + o Car stereo (must have an AUX socket) o Bluetooth adapter o Car charger o USB or Bluetooth adapter based on ELM327. o RCA cable o Keyboard (optional)... [Read more]
Spot welders are used in almost all plants where it is necessary to join sheets. The advantage of welding machines is the precision of joining (with very good electrical contact), and a very low voltage between the electrodes, which makes the device safe. The presented device is of course not a professional welding machine, but an amateur... [Read more]
Hello. I made a soldering iron for plastic. I saw a similar company, and that the construction is very simple and you have to pay for welding, it is worth doing. 5mm diameter, 2m of hose, a piece of cable with a plug. The required pressure is 0.5 ÷ 1.5 bar. I used a simple regulator on a triac to regulate the heater. And the cube to connect... [Read more]
I think it’s high time to present the design for the Pulsar sound card – a Sound Blaster clone enhanced with: - The replacement of the 8051 with the AT89S8253; in terms of instructions, it is still an 8051, but it features an added hardware SPI controller, which is crucial for communication with the VS1063. The microcontroller converts parallel... [Read more]
I picked up a Volumio a couple of years ago. I wrote a bit about it in my topic on guitar amplifiers. For the project I purchased a Rasberry Pi4 B, a Hifiberry DAC2 Pro and an "official" 7-inch touchscreen display. The system that was installed was Volumio 2.917 and I hooked up an encoder and IR receiver. I was going to do the enclosure but... [Read more]
. I would like to present an application that is a collection of test tools using CH341 as a physical interface. The original purpose of this application was to repair laptop batteries. However, I had to familiarise myself with the CH341 chip beforehand, I started with more elementary functions like I2C support and the application took the... [Read more]
Hello, Necessity is the mother of invention, sometimes the right equipment is needed for servicing, such as a low-frequency signal generator used to repair amplifiers and receivers. There are a lot of devices on the market, both new and used, but their price is unacceptable to me. So I thought that in order to save costs I would build something... [Read more]
It may seem ridiculous, but you can build an interesting power amplifier from ordinary operational amplifiers (with the right amount of them). :) From this "miracle" I achieve 2×14 W on a load of 8 ohms. Maybe this value is not shocking, but considering what we get it from, it's probably not a little bit. First things first. This project... [Read more]
The idea came from the fact that the 5-year-old daughter is willing to drive all kinds of vehicles. He packs on a motorcycle, he wants to drive the car, he stays in the tractor with his grandparents, etc. So I decided to build something for her that would allow to develop certain habits of the driver and provide a dose of adrenaline and child's... [Read more]
Hello. I am honored to present my present work committed in 15 minutes during the performance of works at the end of the world, i.e. in Central Poland. Needed was a flow meter with pulse output to control the chemistry dosing pump. Of course, there are ready-made flow meters / water meters with such a function, only that within a radius of... [Read more]
Hello a project done (almost a year ago) quickly in order to show the younger generation what can be done with the idea of some parts (the rest can be done). Hardware: Robot platform bought from China Adruino on the atmega 328 Double H-bridge controller for motor control Converter from 12V-> 5V for the webcam WiFi camera dcs-5222l Akku 11.1V... [Read more]
Hello. I would like to present an electro-spindle made by me from a 2.2kW 2800rpm "dachshund" type engine. The design was created for use in a small universal milling machine for machining aluminum and steel. I decided on my own design, because within the budget I would have to choose a liquid-cooled Chinese reaching 25 thousand rpm, but... [Read more]
Hello! I would like to present the Bethlehem Star I made two years ago. The entire structure is made of sheet metal. There are 78 5mm LEDs in the drilled holes (34 red, 33 yellow, 10 green, 1 blue). The star's tail is the ne555 + cd4017 base configuration. Three series-connected LEDs are connected to each counter output. The center of... [Read more]
Hello, I wanted to present a simple and proven (using the GLUCOFACTS Deluxe v3.05 program) cable to read data from the Bayer Contour TS glucometer. Of course, there is nothing extraordinary here, and his advantage lies in simplicity. For anyone who needs to archive measurements from time to time and has a computer with an RS-232 port, it... [Read more]
Today, something a bit different – a round-up of old power transistors, mostly in TO-3 packages, which I’ve kept over the years. Most are types used in horizontal deflection circuits and power supplies for CRT televisions, whilst a few are from other devices. There are products from Western and Japanese firms, as well as from the USSR and... [Read more]
China has changed considerably over the past 15 years — and so have European companies’ expectations of Chinese manufacturers. Robert Tarantowicz of Honya Europe looks back on that shift, from his first attempts to work with Chinese suppliers in 2009 to building a Polish-Chinese company that now operates across Europe. Why shouldn’t price... [Read more]
Join me for the next instalment of my presentation on stage equipment – I’ve already shown you some lighting effects Trix BrokenSwing and American DJ RollerTron 250 , so now I’m moving on to the audio equipment and showing you the insides of two dual-channel receivers for wireless microphones. These are used to receive audio from wireless... [Read more]
Here I will present the interior of a Spacetronik DIN-rail power supply, model PS_DIN_60_5. The manufacturer states on the box 5 V, 6.5 A and 60 W, which in itself is not entirely accurate. In this post, I’ll take the power supply apart, try to identify the components used, compare it with the Mean Well HDR-60 datasheet – on which it is clearly... [Read more]
Today we’re reviewing the Acer PM161Q B1 portable monitor from the PM1 series, which we bought for around 400 zł. It’s a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS screen housed in a slim chassis with a fold-out stand, which can be connected to a laptop via USB-C or HDMI. The casing also houses two speakers and a headphone jack. A screen like this comes in handy... [Read more]
Do you remember CRT televisions? Join me for a look inside the 14-inch Daewoo DMQ-14A1TXT CRT television. Here, I’ll show you the casing, the rating plate and the main board, and for the larger integrated circuits, excerpts from their data sheets. For comparison, I’ll use a scan of the service manual for the Daewoo CP-330 chassis, from which... [Read more]
Join me for a presentation of a German digital terrestrial TV receiver: the Xoro HRT 8724, a DVB-T2 HD receiver with H.265/HEVC decoding, USB recording and a built-in Irdeto Cloaked CA system for Freenet TV. Irdeto Cloaked CA is a software-based conditional access system from Irdeto: it decrypts encrypted channels within the set-top box itself,... [Read more]
Today I’ll be reviewing another typical product that you can easily order online. Join me for a look at two VAYOX power strips with a built-in USB power supply: the white VA0467W-3 with three sockets and the black VA0466B-3 with five. Both have two USB-A ports and one USB-C port, and were bought for around 30 zlotys each. Here, I’ll show... [Read more]
Join me for a look inside the Vireo BPM-530 electronic blood pressure monitor. Here, I’ll show you its construction, briefly explain how it works and examine its components – from the microcontroller and EEPROM memory, through the pressure sensor, to the pump and solenoid valve. You’ll find devices like this in many home first-aid kits, yet... [Read more]
I had to scrap two switching power supplies from some old printers, so I decided to see if, in practice, they could handle a load significantly greater than that specified by the manufacturer. All this was done under the watchful eye of a thermal imaging camera, whilst also examining exactly what was heating up. WARNING: Naturally, I advise... [Read more]
Join me for a presentation of the old FUHO TA-6698H analogue CCTV camera, which operates in the PAL standard. Here, I’ll show you its construction, the available connectors, and take a look inside to see which integrated circuits it’s built on. We’ll see how this type of CCTV monitoring equipment, supporting Auto Iris lenses, used to be built.... [Read more]
IP67-rated power supplies are an integral part of outdoor lighting installations exposed to direct rain and moisture. The IP67 rating tells us two things – the number 6 guarantees complete protection against dust ingress (dust-tight), whilst the number 7 indicates resistance to the effects of brief immersion in water (to a depth of 1 metre... [Read more]
Here, I’ll be presenting a piece of equipment that has now been somewhat forgotten, from a time when ISDN digital telephony was a symbol of modernity and fast communication. The NT1 Plus was a device that was installed between the operator’s line and the user’s telephones. On the one hand, it supported the digital ISDN bus, whilst on the... [Read more]
Today I’m presenting three different office calculators from different eras – the Citizen CX-123II, DONAU TECH K-DT8121-09 and MBO 1245 PD models. I’ll take a look inside them and see how their designs differ. I’ll also try to switch them on and test them briefly. The first model presented is the K-DT8121-09. It features a 12-character LCD... [Read more]
Who can find more errors in the AI design? Five years ago I was designing my own automation controller based on the PIC18F67J60 . Back then, I hadn’t anticipated such rapid development in artificial intelligence. Today, in 2026, Fable 5.1 is taking over my role and is also attempting to design its own version of my project. Will it succeed?... [Read more]
Join me for an interesting experiment – which agent is best suited to replace a user interface designer, or ‘front-end developer’? Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 Flash High, Opus 5, Gemini 3.1 High, Opus 4.6 High and GPT OSS 120b are going head-to-head. One prompt – different systems and agents. We’ll see the results and assess whether any of them... [Read more]
Today I am continuing my series of presentations on the internal workings of electronic devices manufactured by Polish companies, and I am showing the design of the ecoMAX 800 controller, intended to control the operation of a coal-fired boiler with a screw feeder. Its role is to maintain the set temperature, which is achieved through the... [Read more]
Today, something that wasn’t made in China – according to the label, the UB10.241 was designed in Germany and assembled in the Czech Republic, and its role is to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the event of a mains power failure. It is an industrial DC-UPS controller for DIN rails, capable of sustaining a 24V (10A) output using just... [Read more]
Here’s a brief presentation and load test of the HDR-60-24 rail power supply, which I bought for 60 zł. According to the specifications, the unit offers an output voltage of 24 V DC at a rated current of 2.5 A, which gives a power output of 60 W. The power supply is housed in a slim plastic casing for a DIN rail (TS-35) with a width of 3... [Read more]
Today we’re taking a look inside the H1064PL switch. The device has six 10/100 Mbps ports, four of which are capable of powering devices via the twisted-pair cable (PoE). The manufacturer specifies a total power budget of 65 W (up to 30 W per port). It also features a hardware EXTEND mode switch which – at the cost of reducing the link speed... [Read more]
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