EEVblog 1558 - Mailbag

Рет қаралды 43,487

Күн бұрын

More random mailbag!
PocketFrog: standardmeasurement.us/
Omnifixo Maker's Third Hand: kandaelectronics.com.au/produ...
NASA Red Crew: www.nasa.gov/feature/artemis-...
caberqu.com/
github.com/DanInvents/Rockit/
The legend that is Billy! • Billy - The Unsung Her...
00:00 - Mailbag
00:42 - PocketFrog USB Lab in your pocket
22:40 - Omnifixo OF-M4 Magnetic PCB Holder
28:32 - NASA Artemis 1 Red Crew - Billy Cairns
30:36 - Caberqu C2C USB-C Cable Tester
39:30 - Rocket Rocket-Operation Computing Kit (Rockit)
42:44 - RIFA Capacitor FAIL
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#ElectronicsCreators #Mailbag

Пікірлер: 225

@MaxPivovarov 11 ай бұрын

The potential problem of these USB cable tester is that they will not determine a short circuit in wires. I would add a simple counter (CD4017) to the tester so that the LEDs light up separately.

@button-puncher 11 ай бұрын

Or for intermittent cables. I like the kind of testers where you connect the cable, push a set button, then you wiggle the connectors and flex the cable to see if any LEDs shut off.

@PelDaddy 11 ай бұрын

RIFA MADNESS!!! High speed, please, Dave!

@sampofilms 11 ай бұрын

I am so ready for slow-mo RIFA madness! 👍

@Electronics-Rocks 11 ай бұрын

You have to blow up those RIFA caps I used to love the advertising about how safe they could be against the Poly catching fire which they did back in the old days.

@Pallebent 11 ай бұрын

You should put some mouse traps up. Around 39:46 two mice on your radiator in the background :-)

@Oberkaptain 11 ай бұрын

Nice to see RP2040s used in more things.

@tweed532DaveH 11 ай бұрын

Is letting the smoke out of those Rifa's going to be an Aussie version of a 'Big Clive Woofle'? Us Dave's got to stick together...🎉🤞🤔🤭👍🇬🇧

@mrcomment5544 11 ай бұрын

The pocketfrog looks like a college final project.

@ArtiePenguin1 10 ай бұрын

It definitely needs a lot more software work, that's for sure. So bizarre you need to enter a complicated math formula just to have a programmable power supply. Also, the barrel jack to USB-C adapter should be eliminated. Just pick one or the other since it can only output 40 watts.

@StubbyPhillips 11 ай бұрын

I also had a bunch of NOS RIFA caps in storage. Every one of them was cracked. I tossed them, but I kind of wish I'd kept them around for their "historical value."

@bascomnextion5639 11 ай бұрын

I think you misspelt that , should be "hysterical value"

@jutukka 11 ай бұрын

I have some of them from late seventies. They have not cracked but the metal film inside has turned greenish because of oxidation and those caps are electrically leaky. So the plastic envelope is not a hermetic enough package.

@tubastuff 11 ай бұрын

I wonder if that's only for X-rated Rifas. I've got a tub of them picked up in the 1970s with values from the pF to µF range, none are "safety" and they all look pretty good.

@Ghlargh 11 ай бұрын

@@tubastuff I've been through probably a thousand of these both in NOS and in equipment, there seems to have been at least 2 different resins used for these, one yellows and one doesn't. The one that doesn't yellow with age seems to be a lot more reliable while almost every single yellowed one has some cracking or green tarnish, used or NOS doesn't really matter. I believe these haven't been made since 2003 or possibly much earlier so anything you find now is getting really old.

@tubastuff 11 ай бұрын

@@Ghlargh I gather that some values of these Rifas are prized by a segment of the audiophile community.

@TofersCarTales 11 ай бұрын

Woohoo, was a rough day and I was happy to stumble across another mailbag video. Thanks Dave!

@nat7278 11 ай бұрын

Pop the reefers! I NEED that USB cord tester

@beamfinder8336 11 ай бұрын

44:28 Imagine a shady guy in the park whispering to you "pssst! hey dude, looking for some fun? forget about poly X1, I've got the stuff that blows you away! yeah It's safe safe to use, my dad was doing them too! We call them RIFAs and it's $1 for a trip"

@akroeze 11 ай бұрын

Been watching this channel for years. Not an EE, just an enthusiastic amateur. This is the first time I've "run out" and bought something because of one of your videos. Both cable testers on their way, I'll have to make a pile of cables and grab the label maker!

@Eduardo_Espinoza 11 ай бұрын

About the cable tester battery screw, Fran has asked about why some electronics have screws for the battery lid, when it used to be a plastic spring type, it could be for the safety regulations, she also talked about regulatory agencies that govern everything down to toothbrushes, so it probably needs a screw just to meet those safety standards. Awesome and entertaining video, Dave :D!

@TheCod3r 11 ай бұрын

These are still my favourite videos. Well those and the DC fundamentals which i seem to have watched no less than 10 times lol

@dblnessa69 11 ай бұрын

Just ordered the C2C cable tester. What a great idea and product.😋

@Pippo.Langstrumpf 11 ай бұрын

I once received an old Harddrive from US. There have been 4 living cockroages inside too. Since then I always have a bug spray next to me for defence purposes.

@mohinderkaur6671 11 ай бұрын

Klaus schwab wants people to eat roaches for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks

@kooky216 11 ай бұрын

fun video as always, btw you had little critter friends in your shelves at 40:12, time to finally use that knife for it's intended purpose haha

@rocketman221projects 11 ай бұрын

CaberQU needs to make an active version of their cable tester that can read the ID chip in the USB cables and tell you what modes and power levels the cable supports. Just testing what pins are connected can't determine that.

@michaelplus-trojan_dc8687 11 ай бұрын

That usb-c tester is now on its way! Never occurred to me to just check the damn cables.

@N4CR5 8 ай бұрын

Pocketfrog would be awesome for internationally travelling techs doing on-site diagnosis etc. I'd love one!

@TheGFS 11 ай бұрын

ok ... ordering those usb cable test boards, they are awesome ! I have bins full of cables to test :D

@bobn8865 11 ай бұрын

Hi Dave. I'm from Detroit, MI and the correct pronunciation for that city is Yips--a--lan--e. Thank You Very Much......

@MoreCharactersThanNeeded 11 ай бұрын

Ive hade the omnifixo a couple of years and they are my goto third hand. Use them for most applications, and i can use them on my PCBite plate if i need a larger mounting area. Pro top: put some loctite on the screw holding the top gripper plate.

@sandy1653 11 ай бұрын

That little retention screw on the Caberqu is one of those little design touches that I really like. As you say that'd get tossed in my bag and inevitably the battery would slide out and I'd have to go digging around for the bastards.

@EEVblog 11 ай бұрын

Someone on Twitter mentioned it's there for EU compliance reasons?

@ickipoo 11 ай бұрын

@@EEVblog mandatory in Au since July 2022

@digi-tal 11 ай бұрын

To stop the children eating them, the new Duracell packs are adult proof let alone child proof, have a foul tasting coating on, and a sticker on the back of the cell!

@gr4eme1975 11 ай бұрын

@@EEVblog think it’s to stop children getting it out and swallowing it.

@sandy1653 11 ай бұрын

@@EEVblog I could see that, don't want kids getting at them and swallowing them.

@rolfdieterklein 11 ай бұрын

The Caberqu usb c to usb c really great, just bought one immediatly. Only drawback that it does not sequence through, but then an acive circuit is needed. But still very helpfull, as also many USB C cables wait for checkout.

@TorchHacker 11 ай бұрын

33:09 The screw could be a compliance thing to allow it to be imported into countries like Australia? Australia has cracked down a fair bit on electronic devices with button cells. Something that you could sell in the US may not be allowed in Australia due to the safety risk of children eating button cell batteries.

@EEVblog 11 ай бұрын

Not that I know of here. Someone on Twitter mentioned it's an EU compliance thing?

@ickipoo 11 ай бұрын

@@EEVblog new Au mandatory standards came in in 2022 and require positive retention of the battery.

@jeremyglover5541 11 ай бұрын

Ive been eyeing off the omnifixo for some time and now i've seen you review it well, I think i'm going to buy one today. since I have a nice 3d printer; I could 3d print a base in TPU to add more friction to the rotation if required.

@samsamm777 10 ай бұрын

I have a omnifixo and i find it incredibly useful. you can detach the gripper from the yellow magnetic base and flip them round so they dont swivel on the ball, can be handy sometimes. neat trick.

@davidhunt240 11 ай бұрын

I really hope you blow those RIFAs Dave 👍🏻 The devastation caused inside the Transputer Development System PSU by a RIFA shooting liquid aluminium and tar all over. The fuse blew, limiting the damage to a MOSFET and a rectifier. I took the opportunity to replace the RIFAs with identical RIFAs assuming that problem wasn't happening in modern times. Nope. I went to get one from my stash of X/Y caps and noticed they were all split or cracked. Then over to the museum to replace those with Panasonic equivalents. The ones I took out were cracked, but hadn't exploded. Phew, lucky catch. I don't want the Transputer exhibit filling the Simulation Gallery up with smoke again! 😂 Loving the channel Dave, especially Mail Bag and busting vids.

@brucepickess8097 11 ай бұрын

Hi Dave, back in the 80's/90's we used Rifa caps in all our RFI filters fitted in our companies products. At that time they had a good reputation as being a quality component. The X and Y caps alongside RF inductors and discharge resistor were encapsulated in an enclosure. Not sure if being encapsulated would have lessened the failure rate. I don't know how many failed over time as I'm now retired. Yes let's see if they CAPitulate. 🤔

@grizewald 11 ай бұрын

Schaffner potted all their mains EMI filters as well and we all know how famous they are for boiling out the potting compound and catching fire with lots of foul smelling smoke!

@tocsa120ls 11 ай бұрын

43:40 if you ever want to visit Bletchley Park make sure you go on a day when there's a full guided tour! It's awesome! And there's a direct train from London.

@redsquirrelftw 11 ай бұрын

Definitely do the mains test on those caps. :D

@RandyDarkshade2 11 ай бұрын

You said at the start that mailbag is a quick look at mailbag items. 20+ minutes on the first item is hardly a "quick look" lol

@milentiusgaming 11 ай бұрын

in reguards to the PocketFrog i think a little info icon ( ℹ) with a tooltip would be a good idea for the software to give more info on the usb/external power. the software seems to be built to be small in size like the PocketFrog but it doesn't need to be, maybe the idea is to be usable with a small RasPi screen or something. odd but still a pretty cool device. Big Clive needs to investigate further!

@ivbrleci 6 ай бұрын

Every single one of those caps at the end of video are ok, they will perform as it supposed, try them Dave.

@tHaH4x0r 9 күн бұрын

31:00 Pretty sure that including a manual is nowadays required for compliance with CE directives! Hence you cannot (legally) sell your products in the EU if you don't include a manual. I am not sure if a link online would suffice or not. The purpose of the manual is supposedly to 'increase consumer protection' and should contain the standard blabla ('dont put your hamster in the microwave' and 'dont put the scope probe up your butt' rubbish). Also hazards and guidelines to usage should be provided, and the manual should be translated in the languages of the country where it is distributed.

@JAKOB1977 11 ай бұрын

For most modern cables that are intended for high power and +100w and above, they will often have a chip in them, that you can decipher with your USB meter...I recall I showed it in an EEVblog post with the Fnirsi FNB58 and how fx Power delivery PD3.1 will not work on an Anker737- 2x140w powerbank unless you have a cable that have a chip that triggers it. Its often called USB-C chip reading on more advance USB meters, on the latest el-chepo Baseus cable it gave a reading_ "passive - 0-1m - 50v volt - 5A - USB2" and that is a TypeC cable rated for 240watt, even though the chip claims 250w (5A/50v) though you can trigger that PD3.1 standard, that gives you an option to choose 28v 5A out as you please on Anker737 powerbank...though if you only use a cable with support for PD3.0 the FNB58 will max allov a manual 3.3v to 21v with 0.5 to 5A.

@youbecha64 11 ай бұрын

I had one of those caps blow up in my old oscilloscope...loud and smelly as advertised.

@getyerspn 11 ай бұрын

I can confirm that those rifa caps are still used today in Leicester temperature controllers... Pita ..

@unmanaged 11 ай бұрын

I need that rock pcb... My grandfather made us 2 liter bottle rockets when we were kids...

@ulfg1409 11 ай бұрын

As you talk about the Rifa smell you need to compare old vs. new Rifa smell!

@stitchfinger7678 11 ай бұрын

Def gonna keep my eye on the PocketFrog They're local and if that unit comes down a few bucks that would be KILLER for a small workspace

@rebokfleetfoot 10 ай бұрын

USB standards are a study in themselves, but generally speaking, if the plug fits it 'should' do no harm

@infernaldaedra 11 ай бұрын

I totally agree it could have been fwice the size and have more features. Maybe a PocketFrogXL?

@button-puncher 11 ай бұрын

I'm amazed that a bunch of USB cables weren't shielded. I now wonder if they aren't shielded at all or if they only have the shield connected at one end to prevent a ground loop?

@garethashley9128 11 ай бұрын

I have the C2C tester, I like it but the LED's are SO bright it's hard to read the labels

@pcfreak1992 11 ай бұрын

Re PocketFrog: Modern laptops can provide USB-C Power Delivery from their built-in ports, so they could have replaced the USB-A with a USB-C port or at least make it an option. Alternatively, they could have really added the circuit for a secondary USB-C port in there as well, even without making the housing any larger. The chips for that can even fit into the plug of a cable these days! That being said, I would also be fine with a device that's 5mm longer to fit all the components..

@fredfred2363 11 ай бұрын

For a fancy power supply waveform, I use a sound synth chip with a power driver. Easy.

@gentlemanhk 11 ай бұрын

There are a very useful products In this episode

@jj74qformerlyjailbreak3 11 ай бұрын

The Analog Discovery 2 tells if you are on USB power or external power. It was upgraded before they came out with the 3.

@bascomnextion5639 11 ай бұрын

I have a number of boards with Rifa caps (all types electrolytic etc.) they are around 1985 vintage but there are two types one has a brown color encapsulation these are cracked others have clear encapsulation and have not cracked

@technodaz 11 ай бұрын

Oh lord directly connected/powered by the usb port on your laptop......not a hope I'm plugging in something like that in my laptop.

@zyghom 11 ай бұрын

@19:00 - I realized that many power supplies behave like this one: if you short it, it will simply go to 0V, 0A. Some others will do max current with whatever voltage is needed to get there. So no really a standard.

@ryebis 11 ай бұрын

pocket frog, they should've made it larger. usb-c and also cleaned the flux properly ... looks a bit dirty for $210 yankee bucks

@frogz 11 ай бұрын

i had a pocket frog.... it was an older model, pure analog, you needed to keep it wet and fed or it would stop working

@NotIT 11 ай бұрын

Ypsilanti, MI is pronounced (ip - sil - LAN - tee) by us Michiganders and definitely also not (YIP - sil - lan - tee) like I hear so often. 😎 It's a Greek name by origin BTW.

@EEVblog 11 ай бұрын

Yep, I would have said YIP - sil - lan - tee

@StubbyPhillips 11 ай бұрын

As with "yttrium" 'eh?

@jimsteele9261 11 ай бұрын

I live in the Detroit area, and I've heard TV news people pronounce it wrong.

@WillBreaksStuff 11 ай бұрын

Incorrect. Ypsilanti is pronounced (Yip-si-tuc-ky)

@pupu-hm8cg 11 ай бұрын

Did a 32 rail power measurement thing and literally nobody cared about anything else than start/stop measurement and start/stop logging buttons and the SW just spit out .csv files for Excel + the quick view GUI of all of the 32 voltages and currents. There was also a HW button to start logging to SD card so you could do that without connected to PC, with battery power. Also, good ol' .csv file there. No fuss. I did have fun adding calibration, serial command programming for scripting etc. though. Learned a lot, even if the sole user of those features was me myself.

@hotkeymuc 11 ай бұрын

5:23 Not a good sign if the company can't spell its own name on the PCB ("measErement") 😂

@Hewey19 11 ай бұрын

I am an actual viewer in Michigan. Hello!

@ats89117 11 ай бұрын

I was hoping you would test the rocket board out in your lab...

@radarmusen 11 ай бұрын

The usb tester looks like it has test pads at the labels, maybe it can be used to measure ohm without the battery installed. If so it’s brilliant.

@PeetHobby 7 ай бұрын

18:17 The specs say (at 4:50 ); Max 20v 2A power supply and Max 40v Voltmeter. So that may explain why it won't do 40V output, but it doesn't clarify why it failed at 10V 1A.

@bjiirn 11 ай бұрын

Another problem with USB cables is, how much current they can handle. There is a lot of garbage on the market. A Lot of my cables drop over 1V at 1A load. I even had cables dropping 2V at just 300mA.

@bertblankenstein3738 11 ай бұрын

Thumbs up for the Rifa caps.

@JAKOB1977 11 ай бұрын

The cable you have there is called a liquid silicone cable and cost around 3 bucks 34:05, have lke 10 of them in all sorts of sizes and plug variales as the sleeving is nice and manageable, even some that have 3 plug at one end.. lightning, TypeC and MicroUSB. they are optimised for high power 100watt, not high bandwidth.. If I recall its merely USB2 standard so 480mbps or maybe it aint, as there is a lot more LEDs lit than I would reckon for that standard but then again, would make no sense to give you a 40Gbps Thunderbolt/USB4 cable for high data transmission for a soldering iron.. you need beefy currentlines for a 60watt soldering iron, not high datathrueput.. One annoying thing you can encounter with these Liquid silicone cables like above 34:05 is that the typeC plug is to short for certain things and will not lock, with that satisfying click..atleast been a con I have experienced with certain items and these cables.

@Lynxxde 11 ай бұрын

Want to see those rifas pop. 😁

@kick1ass20 11 ай бұрын

33:00 Mechanical fasteners for button cell batteries are now a legal requirement within Australia (at least for normal consumer products). Austria must have followed suit.

@barrieshepherd7694 11 ай бұрын

EU Regulation to stop kids eating batteries.

@jerry1378 11 ай бұрын

haven seen mailbag for so long

@josephcote6120 11 ай бұрын

Rifa test! Yes!

@TomLeg 11 ай бұрын

The PocketFrog combined with the power => type C adapter is WAY bigger than a USB stick. Building the type C into the P.F. would be smaller, all told. And spares you the risk of leaving the adaptor at home, thus being unable to use the P.F., cause who else has such an adaptor?

@MatzeSeifert 11 ай бұрын

Is anybody else slightly triggered by the typo on the bottom side of the Pocketfrog PCB?

@Brian-L 11 ай бұрын

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em! 👍

@embededfabrication4482 9 ай бұрын

I'm trying to fix a VESC (momentary short of two ouput wires). I put a bunch of new mosfets in it but it just blew again when I tried it. is there a way to test a speed controller function without applying power in order to troubleshoot the bad parts?

@gjvdspam 11 ай бұрын

1800 aussie dollar loss at each smoke alarm? You forgot to take that into account in the video when you played around with the idea to buy a new lab. Probably a common assurance for each office space. Really interesting items in the mailbag. O man, those Rifa caps. Champagne and Rifa.

@chirculescuhoria2676 11 ай бұрын

Two thumbs up from Romania . Toast them ! :-)

@kevrosbane 11 ай бұрын

how can you tell this is actually shielded and a cable wasn't made connecting ground to the connector so it shows as shielded?

@johnsonlam 11 ай бұрын

PocketFrog: There is a risk of breaking the USB connector of the computer during the operations, such as plug in the test probe and external power supply, it can be a bit larger and just connect the USB with a cable, don't have to risk wriggle the USB connector.

@EEVblog 11 ай бұрын

That's why you use the extension lead. You wouldn't plug it straight in.

@johnsonlam 11 ай бұрын

@@EEVblog I guess many people did not think and will plug it in immediately.

@xenories 11 ай бұрын

Should have been a USB C connector, and second USB C and barrel jack for power.

@derstrom8 11 ай бұрын

They misspelled "Measurement" on the bottom side silkscreen of the board (on the side facing you when you opened it up)

@x_x_w_ 11 ай бұрын

Yip sill ann tee is how you pronounce that Michigan name. It's by Detroit. Funny enough when you said that I'm like 20 bucks says it's Ypsilanti

@hellhound-si5oz 11 ай бұрын

Headed tantalum capacitor go off and it really really large like building and it stunk up the entire place one of those Tech Scopes from tektronix stunk it up

@Corgitronics 11 ай бұрын

Waiting for the RIFA smoke!!

@donondre7314 11 ай бұрын

What are you waiting for? Blow them Rifa Caps!

@yodjisuzuki9033 11 ай бұрын

thanks

@coondogtheman 11 ай бұрын

I so want those two USB cable testers. I have one of the testers that show how much power a device draws but I'd like to add those two testers to my test equipment. Sadly they are not on amazon.

@aziztcf 11 ай бұрын

.csv logging would make so much more sense! I wonder if the devs really hate excel which I get. Learning that $ is used for absolute reference was the moment I gave up trying to understand that esoteric hellraiser box of a software.

@lasersbee 11 ай бұрын

39:15... Just checked the price for both boards shipped to Canada is ~$80.00 Cnd. Yeah... Want to see the smoke...

@john_hind 11 ай бұрын

PocketFrog: Would be so much better if it was Bluetooth and had a rechargeable battery and the software allowed several to be connected at once. That way you'd get galvanic isolation for free and you could place the device really close to the measurement point with very short probe leads. Several could be connected at once to instrument a circuit under test. Caberqu: Like you said, I cannot believe they did not think of printing that table on the back of the PCB, such a missed opportunity! But still look worth having! And shame on the USB Implementers Forum for not mandating a colour code to properly identify cables!

@abitofabitofabit4404 11 ай бұрын

4:17 Ip-suh-lant-ee

@Waccoon 11 ай бұрын

Every OS should have a built-in cable testing utility as part of its diagnostics package. But, hey, ordinary people don't need to know if their stuff is working correctly... or just crap.