EEVblog

What is the actual capacitance of typical breadboard contacts? It’s not in the datasheet, so Dave decides to measure it. It is well know that breadboards are not suitable for high frequency work due to the stray capacitance between contacts, but how bad is it really? Forum: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-568-solderless-breadboard-capacitance/

Dave breadboards a precision 1A current source circuit and finds that even the application reference circuit doesn’t work as expected. Showing that you can’t just blindly trust that datasheet application circuit will work first go. LTC6655  Forum HERE  

Dave takes a look at two cheap USB microscopes to see how suitable they are for electronics works and soldering and inspection. http://amzn.to/JEXuLH Andonstar/Vividia 2MP 12mm diameter endoscope style USB microscope: http://amzn.to/1cLfhHr http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171176517011

A teaser video… Dave knocks on the door of the local Sydney TV transmitter facility. Will they let him in? Forum HERE

Part 1 HERE Dave follows a more methodical troubleshooting procedure in order to track down the fault in the Tektronix TDS3054 oscilloscope. Measuring the low and high frequency differential outputs of the hybrid front end, the voltage rails and other parts. And has the magic smoke escaped? And he couldn’t resist playing with his new Flir E8 thermal imaging camera . Forum HERE

Dave tries to find out what’s wrong with a Tektronix TDS3054 500MHz 4 channel oscilloscope. SPOILER: there is no ending… Forum HERE

What’s happened this year, and what’s coming up in 2014 on the EEVblog? Forum: http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-563-2013-review/

Dave assembles his first uCurrent in the SMD reflow oven. With random running commentary while pick and place assembling. Forum HERE

http://www.frantone.com/ http://www.youtube.com/user/ContourCorsets Apollo LVDC teardown: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ggqY7vnAw RCA Numitron Nixie tube display XMOS StartKit How to make a DIY Solder Paste stencil from a soda can. Forum HERE

1 minute tech tip! Dave shows how to remove sticker residue from test equipment without damage, using a plastic pencil eraser. No chemicals required! It also works for those troublesome security stickers. Handy for sprucing up equipment before resale on ebay. Forum HERE

Dave shows off his loot from a recent auction. Tektronix TDS3054 500MHz 4 channel oscilloscopes, TDS220′s, DMM916 multimeters, Simpson 260 analog multimeters, and an 1960′s AVO transistor tester. Microchip TC8129 Forum HERE

Dave plays around with converting a toaster oven into a surface mount SMD reflow oven with a beginner kit and controller from Beta Layout. Includes basic calibration and thermal profiling of the oven. Also a look at an example PCB from PCB-Pool, and reflow of an example board with lead-free solder paste. And using an Agilent bluetooth multimeter to remote log the temperature. Reflow Oven Kit Reflow Controller Thermocouple amp datasheet Forum HERE

Inside the classic retro Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer from the 1980′s Was supposed to be part of the previous Mailbag video, but Dave is an SEO keyword whore, so it gets it’s own video. Forum HERE

Mailbag Monday http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeselectricstuff http://www.hioki.com/discon/pdf/multi/3207_08.pdf http://tindie.com/stores/Pieco http://tindie.com/UnaClocker http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/kisai/upload/

Dave celebrates the classic 555 timer IC by building the Evil Mad Scientist “three fives” discrete timer kit. Some scope measurements and an explanation of the internal 555 timer circuitry follow. Video Highlights: Construction Testing Circuit Description Waveforms Classic old Signetics 555 timer datasheet The kit Han’s Book on Analog chip design Forum HERE