Electronics and technology blog    /    Materials for December 2014 year

I decided to put down the soldering iron and microchips for a while and try writing a review that's very unusual for me. Of course, this isn't like the reviews by the respected kholigor, besalisa, and WOLFRIEND, who are old hands at reviewing products like these, but I did my best, so please don't be too harsh. And it's not even certain I'll write more reviews of this kind. Anyway, we'll see. If you're interested, come on in.

Because of the nature of my work, I often have to deal with a wide variety of devices. And as technology moves forward, familiar interfaces like VGA, composite and component video have gradually started disappearing from these devices. HDMI has taken their place. No, it arrived a long time ago, but until recently its arrival hadn't really bothered me. Anyway, I decided to make my work a little easier.

When I started writing this review, I didn't even know what category to put this product in. I'd wanted to try this device for a long time (yes, a button can be a device too), and only got around to it now. That's what I'd like to share with you. As always, the rest is after the jump.

This story began when an acquaintance brought me a cordless drill for repair. He bought it on sale when a store was closing. The warranty has expired, and it won't work. When I opened it up, I found that one of the batteries had died. Then batteries for power tools showed up on the ChinaBay website—yes, that's exactly what they were called: Battery for Power Tool. I couldn't just pass them by, so I ordered one for testing. Read on for the rest of the story, the test results, and how I put it to use.

I'm almost certain that many seasoned radio amateurs recognized the title of an article published way back in 1988. Back then, these electronic clocks were sold as kits for home assembly and cost quite a lot: 16 rubles (and the most interesting thing was that the display alone cost even more). Many people probably got into building these clocks and tinkering with them, and I was no exception. If you're interested, read on—I think you'll like it.

I've mentioned a few times that I also install video surveillance systems. So I decided to order this unusual power bank to help me out. What it is, why I got it, what's inside, and what can be done with it—read on.

I needed some inductors for a project, and CDRH104R-type inductors seemed like the best fit. I only needed a few, so it would have been easier to buy them locally. But after browsing AliExpress, I decided to get a set with 10 values, five of each. Inductors are pretty useful things for a radio hobbyist to have around, so I figured it was a good call—they'd come in handy. But that's just the preamble; the story comes next.

I liked these small ICs for simple chargers. I used to buy them at a local brick-and-mortar store, but, as luck would have it, they ran out and it took them a long time to get more in from somewhere. Seeing how things were going, I decided to order a small batch for myself, since these ICs are pretty good and I liked working with them. Description and comparison after the jump.

Many of you probably remember my saga of building a DIY bench power supply. But I've been asked more than once for something similar, only simpler and cheaper. In this review, I decided to show an alternative version of a simple adjustable power supply. Come on in—I hope you'll find it interesting.