Electronics and technology blog    /    Materials for April 2019 year

In today’s review, I want to show you various types of sockets that, in my opinion, are perfect for all kinds of power supplies and electronic loads, even though they were originally designed for use in audio equipment.

Not long ago, I reviewed some really "wild" and mysterious transistors marked IXUS, which I bought on Taobao for an electronic load. But some time has passed, and I've decided to take another risk and order a few more types of transistors that are designed from the outset to operate in DC mode, making them suitable for use in the power stage of electronic loads.

It’s no secret that television is gradually switching to digital broadcasting. Actually, no—it switched over a long time ago, and for at least the past 4 years they’ve been promising that they’ll “switch off” analog broadcasting any day now. But sooner or later, it will happen, and some owners of older TVs will be left, as they say, “up the creek without a paddle.” The TV itself will be like a suitcase without a handle: no use to you, but too good to throw away. But if you’re still happy with your old TV, you can add digital TV support with a small set-top box, which is what I’ll be talking about today.

Lately, I’ve been getting more and more different batteries to test, so I decided to pick up a couple of simpler holders to complement my powerful universal holder. Today I’m reviewing two of these simpler—and therefore less expensive—holders.

Continuing the topic of devices with VFD displays, I want to tell you about a rather interesting product: a fairly accurate ammeter-voltmeter that could come in handy for a hobbyist.

Some time ago, while discussing another batch of “test subjects”—batteries—the topic of measuring internal resistance came up. Since the well-known YR1030 (and 1035) are relatively expensive, one commenter said there was a good, inexpensive little tester called the ZH-YU ZB206+. But a few caveats also came to light, so to set the record straight, I bought one of these testers to try out.

A continuation of my simple, down-to-earth power supply reviews (with useful links).

I first saw this clock—or rather, this display—more than a year ago. It caught my interest so much that I kept checking back from time to time and watching the clock evolve around it. Finally, the price dropped to a relatively affordable level, so I bought one for myself. As always, here’s the full review.

My second clock from Taobao. Unlike the first one, this one has a simpler display, but it's much larger—and that's what I liked most about it, aside from the automatic time synchronization and its simply pleasant appearance.

I happened to get my hands on these unknown batteries. A friend brought them over and asked me to check them, measure them, give them a sniff and a taste—which is exactly what I did.