Electronics and technology blog

I’ve finally reached the third and final part of my look at the power supplies available from specialist stores. This part will be relatively short, but I hope it’ll be interesting. As always, the best bit comes at the end :)

Last time I covered three power supply models. Today there are as many as seven units under test, all bought from a different, but also fairly well-known store—"widely known in certain circles," so to speak.

Today I’m starting a short series of reviews looking at what other power supplies are available in Ukraine. I’m not talking about random units listed on OLX or Prom, but products from fairly large sellers. Yes, sellers is the right word—I’d like to say manufacturers, of course, but I don’t know that many manufacturers, and they mostly focus on industrial models, though not always.

I’ve already reviewed some models from this series. Back then, we were given “prototypes”—just the circuit boards. This time, the power supplies differ from production units only in that they aren’t potted; they also incorporate the changes we recommended.

We’ve reached the last compact adjustable converter in the RK series. I have to say, Riden has pleasantly surprised me with this lineup: it covers a wide range of power and current ratings, includes an H-series model—a less powerful counterpart to the RD6012H—and also a model with an extended output range, which is what I’ll be looking at today.

I've taken a look at another converter from Riden: the RK6018, which is advertised as delivering a full kilowatt of power. And yes, I think that's a record for something this size so far. Let's take a closer look and put it to the test.

Riden is really on a roll. I’d just finished reviewing their new RK6012 when they released three new models at once. I already have two of them at home, and the third is on its way. Honestly, I never expected them to bring so many new converters to market so quickly. Though, to be fair, I wouldn’t mind seeing an RD6036, first of all, and an electronic load from them as well.

I’ve already posted an unboxing video of the RD6030-max power supply, and said then that I’d write a short article about it too. But one thing led to another, and the article kept getting put off. I’ve finally found the time to pull everything together and tell you about it.

A while ago, AliExpress started showing me listings for the same power supply from different sellers. I had a project that called for exactly this kind of power supply, so I first bought a few to try out, then some more, and then more again. Before long, I was using these power supplies in production devices.

Not long ago, I wrote that I’d ordered Atorch’s new BW600 electronic load. I’ve now received and tested it, and have also figured out some of the new version’s quirks. I found both advantages and drawbacks, and built a couple of new devices based on this controller.

At the end of last year, I wrote about a 2,400 W electronic load. At the time, it was essentially a pilot unit ordered by one of my customers. After the New Year, I ordered several enclosures designed specifically for this version and decided to take it beyond the prototype stage—even if not into full production, at least to the next level.

The traditional 11.11 sale is coming up, so I decided to put together a bunch of links to products I came across over the year since the last sale. Some are products I bought myself or added to my cart but never got around to ordering, while others are simply things I thought might be useful or interesting.

One of my readers saw my comment about the low-voltage UPS board and suggested I review it, so he sent me this board. Given the current circumstances, these devices have become relevant again, so of course I agreed—especially since I was very interested in it myself.

Once upon a time—or, to be more precise, 5 years ago—I posted a big roundup of various interesting products. Time went by, and I updated it a little, but now it’s time for a complete refresh, so I decided to start a new thread “on this topic.” As always, I won’t use the tired old phrases “top 100 products” or “how did I ever live without this,” but I will say that you might find something useful here after all :)

Sometimes it feels like voltage converters are everywhere, even in places where you wouldn't expect to find them. You can find them in power banks, smartphones, TV boxes, computers, USB hubs, routers, and many other devices. But converters are also sold as standalone modules, intended for everything from hobbyist projects to professional use. And today, we're going to talk about these "invisible helpers".

I decided to do a bit of tidying up on the blog, check whether some product links are still current, and generally get things in order. There may be further changes as well. While doing all this, I noticed that some really interesting and still relevant reviews had been buried under others that are less on-topic for now. So I wanted to put together a guide, table of contents, or catalog—whatever you prefer. I’ve moved all my reviews, some articles, and a selection of the most useful reviews by other authors into this catalog.

I've been meaning to start this topic for a long time. I could have called it something like "Top 100 Best Products," but I don't want to write another cookie-cutter list, so it'll simply be called Popular and Useful Products. I'll be posting links here to various products that may interest electronics enthusiasts (mostly) and blog visitors in general. Some of the products will be ones I've tested myself; the only difference may be the seller.

Dear blog readers! In this section, you can ask all kinds of questions and discuss technical topics, among other things. Every question you ask will get attention, and some may even inspire a video, a review, or a full blog post.