Paolo at RS Components sent me over this set of SMT cutters and pliers to play with and review. I’m not going to write much here, as it’s a video review, but the cutters are sharp and cut very nicely. If you work on stripboard or circuit boards, having a good set of cutters will make life easier for you. See them in action in the video. I should add that the close-up shots in this video were done with my RasPiCamcorder 2. Link to product page here.
This is a video review/tutorial of the ISO-TECH IPS 3303D DC bench power supply from RS components. It has 2 variable outputs (30V, 3 Amps) which can be connected in series or in parallel to double up the voltage/current. It also has one fixed output with three settings (2.5V/3.3V/5V – up to 3 Amps). I used it on 5V to power a RasPiCamcorder while I filmed this video. You can also control it with a computer via USB, but I haven’t tried that (yet). But this is meant to be a video review, so that’s […more…]
I’ve got a couple of new battery packs in from RS. As part of my testing, I wanted to see how long they could power a Pi at idle, with nothing but the battery pack and an Edimax wifi dongle connected. I know how much power this uses because I’ve made measurements in the past. Model B with just Edimax = 2.0 Watts at idle Model A with just Edimax = 0.81 Watts at idle (included for completeness – this test is on model B) I just want to know roughly how long it lasts […more…]
This might strike you as a slightly odd thing for me to review, but most of my hardware projects involve cutting wires or trimming soldered joints. I’ll let the video do the talking. I’m on holiday this week, so if you leave a comment, it may take me longer than usual to approve it…
A multimeter is the Swiss Army Knife of electronics. You really do need one to debug your circuits when things aren’t working. GRRRRRR! Where is that dodgy connection? I’ve managed for years with a very cheap multimeter, but recently RS Components sent me this ISO-TECH IDM99III for review. Could it be “the one”? My brief is “an honest video review”. I receive no payment or kickback for doing this, but I do get to keep the product. I’m getting quite a lot of stuff in for review at the moment, from lots of different sources. […more…]