Electronics and technology blog    /    Reviews    /    Kits

Last year, I posted a preview of these rather interesting clocks and mentioned that I planned to buy them. They took quite a while to arrive, and then I didn't have a chance to write a review. But I finally got around to it and decided to show you what these clocks are all about.

Today I'm reviewing a kit for building a useful device of your own: a speaker protection circuit. I'll explain what it is, why you need one, and how to assemble it. And of course, there'll be a few tests.

Continuing my reviews of all sorts of interesting things from Tao, I decided to write about something I ordered simply "for fun"—partly out of curiosity, and partly because I really like VFD displays. And let's not forget that every beginner electronics hobbyist is supposed to build a clock of their own :) These aren't my first clocks, of course, but whenever I build something like this, I remember my first ones, based on the KR145IK1901. So today's review is more of a nostalgic look back at clocks.

I've built lots of different kits: amplifiers, an oscilloscope, a signal generator, all sorts of measuring instruments and power supplies. Now it's time to try something new for me: building a DAC. In this case, we're talking about an audio DAC (digital-to-analog converter). As usual, in this review I'll show you the kit itself, the assembly process and some tests. But I'll also try to fit the whole thing into a case afterward :)

Following on from my discussion of amplifiers, which began with a review of an LM3886 chip-based kit, I want to show you an option that’s its complete opposite: no chips at all. It’s a clone—or, more precisely, one of several clones—of a fairly well-known amplifier by Dartzeel. And it also runs warm in the literal sense, but more on that in the review :)

To be honest, I ordered this kit mostly to fill out the package, but it turned out to be quite useful, especially for beginner electronics hobbyists. A while ago, I reviewed a simple adjustable power supply, and as it turned out, it was useful. Now imagine something similar, but: With a higher output voltage With more current With transformer winding switching With fan control Interested? Then I don't think you'll regret it.

I recently posted a review of a volume control, and today I'm continuing the series of reviews about all kinds of audio equipment. This time, I'm looking at a power amplifier based on the fairly popular LM3886 chips.

Somehow, despite the large number of reviews I've written, I've hardly ever reviewed devices related to audio equipment in one way or another. Of course, I did review a power supply for a power amplifier, but in my view that's only tangentially related. So I've decided to take a look at amplifiers, DACs, and other audio devices, starting with a volume controller. I chose this volume controller mainly for aesthetic reasons, since it's very simple in terms of functionality, so today's review won't be very long.

Many of you already know that I have a soft spot for all kinds of power supplies. This review is two in one: this time, I’ll be looking at an electronics kit for building the core of a bench power supply, as well as a real-world implementation of it. A heads-up: there’ll be lots of photos and text, so stock up on coffee :)