Electronics and technology blog    /    All publication of the user kirich    /    Page 42

I’ve reviewed quite a few mini PCs already—I’m a fan of these little things. And now another member of this big family has landed in my hands. Actually, I got two of them, but I’ll tell you about the other one another time. To sum up the key specs, this is a mini PC with an N3450 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of flash storage, an M.2 slot, 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi, and two video outputs. For the full rundown, including tests and a closer look, read on.

The resistor is probably the most common electronic component. I’d venture to say it’s also the oldest component still in use. So I’ll start my detailed look at different electronic components with resistors.

A short video that could easily go in the “notes from the field” category.

I’ve already reviewed quite a few smartphones, but I’d like to start this review by saying that this phone isn’t built around the much-maligned MTK SoC from MediaTek. I don’t mean to say anything bad about it; it’s just that the seemingly bottomless supply of processors from this manufacturer, used in almost every budget phone (and plenty of others), has been mentioned many times already. This time, the “heart” of the phone under review is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617—not exactly new, but still a pretty decent chip.

Today, a relatively brief review of a rather large tablet. Its advertised key features include a 10-inch Full HD screen, GPS, and a 6000 mAh battery. Are all these claims true? Let's find out. Exterior, internals, tests—as always :)

I was asked to write a review of some product from the store mentioned above. I chose an IP camera, since I was much less interested in the other products. And now, at long last, I’ve finally gotten around to this camera. Let’s take a look at what it’s like inside and out, and how it works.

With this article, I’d like to start a series about various electronic components: diodes, capacitors, resistors, varistors, and so on. There are so many different components, and I can’t shake the feeling that by the time I finish writing about them, something new will already have come out :) I’ll start with X-type capacitors, especially since this article is a follow-up to my previous article about Y capacitors.

Not long ago, I posted a review of triple frames for assembling battery packs, and now I’ve finally received the single frames. There’s not much new to say, so this review will be minimalist.

I got my hands on another batch of batteries, this time Samsung ICR18650-26HM cells. Their only real selling point is the price, since capacity and maximum discharge current are clearly not their strong suits. But why not test them, especially when I have the time and feel like it? I’ll also try to clear up a couple of misconceptions about batteries.

Many years ago, I picked up a fan with a rather unusual design. I tried to get it running back then, but had no luck, so I ended up putting it on a shelf. Now, after all this time, it’s turned up in my hands again.

I've been asked more than once how to determine the power rating of an unmarked 50 Hz transformer, so I'll try to explain and show a couple of examples.

Some time ago, I was asked about the power factor correction circuit in switched-mode power supplies. I’ll try to briefly explain what it is and why it’s needed.

About six months ago, I reviewed a TV box based on the rather uncommon RTD1295 SoC from the very well-known company Realtek. Processors from this manufacturer are fairly rare, and TV boxes using them are practically invisible among the sea of Rockchip and Amlogic devices. That’s exactly why I decided to write a relatively short review of this device. Maybe it’ll come in handy for someone choosing a TV box.

A short video showing why a USB tester should only be used for rough estimates, not precise measurements.

I often see people measuring the capacity of smartphone batteries, power banks, and the like with USB testers in forum comments and reviews. I once tried to explain why measuring them this way makes no sense, but today I’ll approach it from another angle and test the testers themselves.

Last fall, I posted a review of the interesting Vorke V1 mini PC. It’s a pretty good machine: fast, doesn’t overheat, and lets you install a hard drive. Not long ago, an updated version with an Apollo Lake J3455 processor appeared on the market. I got interested, ordered one, and wrote a review. Of course, the review includes a look at the device, tests, a teardown, and a comparison with the previous version.

Back in winter, I posted a review of 64x32-pixel RGB LED panels, which gave me a 192x32-pixel scrolling display. But, as I found out once again, the more you have, the more you want, so I decided to double the resolution—not by making it longer, but by making it taller. Anyway, if you're interested in this topic, come on in.

A short video about safety when using an oscilloscope to repair and test switch-mode power supplies.