Electronics and technology blog    /    Materials for March 2015 year

Today, a clamp meter landed on my workbench. When I was looking for one, I specifically wanted a model that could measure DC current with the clamp, and it absolutely had to have True RMS. I need both features for working with uninterruptible power supplies (and not only those). As always, all the details, teardown, and measurements are below the fold.

I've described components for DIY chargers several times and shown how to use them. This time, I decided to take a look at what a factory-made charger is like. Of course, I've seen the insides of chargers before, but I initially liked this one simply for its looks. We'll take a look inside, too :)

I've been working with video surveillance systems for many years. Like everyone else, I used to install analog cameras. These days, of course, I've switched to digital, and I wouldn't go back. I've tried various cameras, but I kept coming across products from ILDVR and Hikvision, mostly because of their convenient software. This article is about cameras from the latter manufacturer—or rather, one particularly successful model. If you're interested, read on.

I have a set of electronic scales at home that I bought about 5 years ago. They’re pretty good, and sometimes make an appearance in photos in my reviews. But they have one quirk: besides weighing things, they can measure the air temperature, show the time, and rob caravans. But they chew through batteries so fast that sometimes I feel like I replace them more often than I use the scales. Anyway, I got tired of all that and decided to order a set of scales that are just scales.

With this review, I’d like to continue introducing readers to all sorts of useful electronic components. Reviews like this don’t come along very often, but I hope they can be useful too. Anyway, as always, the rest is after the jump.

I know quite a few people who would like to replace their desktop with a small mini PC. They want to browse the internet, watch movies on a big TV, and still be able to use it like a regular computer, albeit a small one. So, let me introduce you to a mini PC running Windows 8.1

Not long ago, a friend asked me to help him buy a drawing tablet. We picked one, placed the order, paid, and started waiting :) Anyway, the rest is below the fold. If you're interested, come on in.

In my work, I sometimes need to measure distances. Mostly, this means calculating how much cable is needed for an installation or measuring a room for drawings, but sometimes it’s to convince clients whose sense of distance isn’t quite up to scratch. We used to make do with a tape measure, or pace it out if the distance was long. It was rough, but it worked—we’d just allow extra cable. I got tired of that, so I decided to add a laser distance meter to my toolkit. If you’re interested, read on.