Hats off to Mark for asking for and braving a Dave critique. A great learning opportunity for many of us.

Thank you for the critique. You gave me much more time than I expected. I have since uploaded the schematic to the github in PDF and PNG format (sorry about that). The pot choice was more one of my attempting to pitch it to SparkFun. They had that pot in their catalog already so it was optimizing for their manufacturing. In previous versions I had wanted to use surface mount pots but there was a question of their rotational life. I was hoping to have this be for beginners like myself so I figured they would be turning it a lot. I am going to look into moving the SMD and through hole parts to opposite sides like you suggested. Also I'll see what I can do about directionalizing any shields. As for the soldering that was just a dab of solder paste and some hot air work. I'll make sure to put more on in the future. Again thank you I appreciate the gentle but frank review, and I'll keep you up to date going forward. EEVBlog forum member: Dteck but I might make one just for MouseBiteFever

Hey some German lessons: ß is not a B, it a sharp s, pronounced similar to the ss in "mass". Also, interestingly, the instrument is manufactured by the "Stateowned Klingenthal harmonica factory". The street name is "Lenin street" (so, yeah, east germany), pronounced "lehnin shtraasse" or something like that.

New video format of the mailbag is really great Dave. The new bench allows us to see your face expression when opening the mail... Fantastic !!

2nd love the new format with the different cameras! ✌️👍👌

New setup is much better. Thanks for all of your efforts in enhancing the view with your innovation!

Like the new format. Very professional.

I like the new format. It makes the video seem more personal, and the backdrop full of instruments fits the theme of your show very well.

Hi Dave, i think the parcel was hardly dropped. It looks like the pointer is bended to the left. So the zeroing screw can not work properly. Before i send it, i adjust the pointer to zero. Frank

I like the new camera shots very much. 2x better than older mailbag episodes.

Like the new setup, Dave. Keep it up!

Love the new format of the video. lots of interesting stuff today, the dimmer was a bit of a surprise more electronics in there than my old camera

Hey, Dave, the new mailbag format was great! Love it!

I actually like this format better. Thanks for sharing. First comment, that never happened before except on my own videos!!

That was a really good critique Dave. Not harsh but to the point; Hat's off to you... The new setup is great and my opinion would be harden the fuck up haha.

I like the new setup. Its nice to see your face when you open the packages.

New format rocks, and you perfected the lighting too :) Excellent work.

13:59 yeah, I definitely got to like this setup with newsreader-style opening of packages, then dedicated product-viewing from above as usual, it's nice and probably easier for you too so you can sit down sometimes

Like the new bench Dave!...... Gives you a better presentation too with all the test gear behind you. Looks good!

Both methods of shooting the video work great. I would say go with which ever method is easier for you.

I'd be completely nervous to get a Dave critique too, but I know I'd learn some awesome stuff in the process!

I like your more aesthetic arrangement of your "storage" test gear. I'm glad you mentioned it soon in the video, as I was just about to ask if it was deliberate.

New set up gets thumbs up!

On the Ohmeter the pointer looks like it might be bent at the coil end, carefully bending to the right might restore full scale deflection. It may have been dropped or something. The new mailbag format is a good improvement.

Hi Dave, Love the new set up it works a treat, well until the lab gets over cluttered again! lol. Love the eevblog and the eevblog2 i watch it all the time. keep i up cos your doing grand; also kisses and hugs to mrs dave & sagen. Paul, London uk.

Love the new format Dave, it works well.

I like the new format already and it can only get better when you inevitably tweak it and play around with ideas. Efficacy sounds good, you will soon be up to date on all the mailbags :D

Yep, i like the new setup. And that critique was really well done.

Two thumbs up on the new format, Dave. Looks like it's more fun for you this way. --Steve

I like the new bench mailbags! Felt good!

Another great mailbag video.

Uploaded on a Tuesday =-) Love it =-)

New format works fine from this end; sound is perfect.

That upside down scope in the back is driving me nuts :-D. Besides that, another great mailbag Monday.

Great video, really like the new format.

Your new bench just looks cool with this all well storaged measuring equipment!

The ohm meter was made by the "People owned factory accordion works Klingenthal, plant of the people owned factory combine musical instruments Markneukirchen/Klingenthal, music electronics division. 9653 Klingenthal, Lenin road 244". That's quite a mouthful. About organizers, I think the last successful ones were the Palms in the very early 2000s?

I still own my casio 7700G graph calculator that I used at school when I was 11 years old over 25 years ago lol.. It still works perfectly and When my son starts secondary school in a few months it will become his calculator. I love how robust some of the older stuff is. :)

great work, keep it up!

2:18 XD I really like how you open up this stuff, it's like unpacking gifts

Thats some serious backgroud your storage shelfs make ;)

Dave, the ohm-meter is just an ohm-meter because it was supposed to be used to test leads on-site (e.g. construction sites, workshops for cars etc). Hence, it came with a protective carrying pouch which allowed to use the meter without taking it out. Think of an electrician who is supposed to verify that a new electrical installation meets the regulations in a new building. Add to that the fact that resources and many metals were rare in East Germany, so they always tried to use a minimal and long-lasting design which is supposed to do its job well and reliably.

to my memory, the end of the pocket organiser happened around the mid 2000s with the popularity of the windows palm pilot and similar devices from the likes of HP. Being in IT retail, i have seen most of the trends over the last 10 years come and go.

that 44 minutes flew by....nicely done

Good critique on power supply switch over proto. I like the new camera angle. Sound excellent with boom mike.

Love the new format Dave :)

Hey, great to hear you visited my neck of the woods. Well when I lived in England anyhow! Awesome to hear not everyone hits London and heads back to their own country. The north of England is where its at :) Hope you enjoyed Bridlington and my home town of Scarborough which I'm sure you visited along the way :) Thanks for the top videos. Love your channel. Jason, now Poland.

The format is working a treat, Dave. Keep it up. I like the eye candy kaleidoscope of gear sitting behind you on the shelf. I am a sucker for knobs, buttons, and screens! Mailbag is my 2nd fav segment. I like the fundamentals best.

I love this new setup! Keep it up!

Awesome Mailbag... cracked me up heaps of times, thank you :-)

It would be sweet if you made some foot pedal controls for the camera zoom when you're at the new bench

New format better. Just get two cameras around that new table. One for overall angle, and another for closeup :)

Great format Dave! I like it.

I do like the new format - It makes it more personable.

you need to change all 3 batteries in the sharp, 1st put 2 in the operation battery slots, then put one in the back up slot, it wont start if the back up battery is flat.

Sharp is still there @ Huntingwood, i go past there every week. Every now and again they have a scratch and dent sale direct from the warehouse.

Lable @ 27:22 : "VEB Klingentaler (Name) Harmonikawerke (Haminicafactory) Shoptest of Item Leitungstester PL1 (Wiretester LP1) was tested before leaving the Factory. Accuracy and function meet the standarts of TGL. (in german the second sentence is part of the one with the TGL - but, we are german and somehow need to make i perfectly clear, so the sentence is a bit longer ;) ) Date Tester"

Humber bridge is in Hull, Liking the new layout :)

1989 was also the year of the fall of the Berlin wall. This set in motion the reunification of Germany. As the GDR was bankrupt several times over, this is one of the last products produced under the old regime. A historic piece of electronics.

Like the new format Dave, an idea for you, to change once in a while, i.e. once a year the video setup, that way the log refreshes itself!. Anyway, keep them coming!

To be honest, I prefer the old mailbag way. It's better when you can see the item up close.

Dave, PLEASE fix the time circuits. They would look cool in the background.

That Pow-OR thing needs some way to mount it in a device. I would add two screw holes.

the bench(and the top of your head) is out of frame when you are on the new bench. it feels like a 4:3 to 16:9 conversion

I really like the new format.

I had one of those calculators, it was great - right up to the point that some scroat nicked it! I replaced it with a HP-28S, which is *still* working. I love the new background Dave, but you can tend to disappear in black t-shirts, I think that's just a lighting issue. You might want to tilt the camera up slightly so it doesn't chop the top of your head off though :) P.S. Guys, stop sending Dave mobile phones! There's bugger all inside them!

when looking at the insides of the metrawatt I thought it may be east german made. but when i googled the manufacturer it came up with a company in Nueremberg, west germany. it seems that the unigor a43 was made in '73

Dave, Loved the nostalgia of the FX7000. I managed to talk my parents into buying me one when I was at school in the mid 1980s.... I actually thought I got it in the summer of 1984 going into the penultimate year at high school but if it was launched in 1985 it must have been in my last year..... Oh and there is an X-Y button but it's got to be used with shift.

You forgot to replace the backup-battery it might be discharged to such an extent that it is shorting the 3Volt powerbus.

I see a CTT (Portugal's mail company) package. Looking forward to see what was sent by a fellow countryman...

I like the new format!

Love the new format. Quite funny that the Ohmmeter is mady by a german Harmonica-factory (Musical instrument, that is)

I think the half deflection on the meter might reflect the wrong power supply. The letter said 1.5V, but looking up 2R10, it seems to be a 3V battery

It's The Humber Bridge you are talking about in Hessle,Which join's onto my home town which is Kingston Upon Hull (the ninth biggest city in England,Hull is on the River Humber in East Yorkshire,Keep the great vid's comming,Much respect,Nigel.S.

The Humber Bridge is at Kingston Upon Hull... or just Hull for short.

It'd be cool to see some videos just geared towards critiquing. Very interesting!

Cool! I have a Casio fx-7000G (not sure what makes yours the "GB") that has been my daily calculator for the past 28 or so years. Interestingly it has developed a bug in the hex math that I can't really figure out (some math operations on hex numbers are just wrong). But it's been a great calculator all these years.

I liked the camera setup =)

I love to watch ur reaction, how ur excited about what u get. Like kid oppening xmass presents :D

Wow! Brilliant! I liked your board layout review at the most! It was very instructive, and had one or two "Ahaaa's!". Instructional board-review! I like that!;) The new video set is way better, because i can see your head during opening. It seems to be a little more relaxing for you in terms of ergonomy and the opening is somewhat faser. By the way: Your lab definetly needs some cleaning up. ;)

I like the new setup!

hi dave the Humber bridge is in hull, i live about 26 miles from it in grimsby

I got a big kick out of that 1989 ohm meter :)

Heya Dave, I know its a pain, but your lapel mic sounds a lot better than the shotgun mic. Or maybe it's the lack of sound absorbing thingies (sorry for the overly technical term) in your new location?

Maybe the old Ohmmeter is for military use? That would explain the simple design. I have used similar, although more modern, meters for measuring the resistance of detonation circuits. Non technical persons have to use it so all they need is the Ohm value and then you just need to know the resistance of each detonator.

Like the format.

Great format

Panasonic probably made the smallest practical GSM phone, small enough to be usable as a keyfob. It actually had a full graphic LCD and it had all the requisite functions including a 56K fax modem.

I remember I still have the Casio 7700G it requires 4 LR2032 button cell but it consumes power very fast. So I attached a Li-ion batteryx3 @ the back that comes from phone batteries hehe.. Also installed a charging circuit and voltage regulation too since the calc needs 9V only.. Good calculator..

No doubt those transistors branched from Infineon's acquisition of Eupec.

Nice to see your face, Dave! Reminds me of the old videos

I like very much new background, it reminds me of your older home lab, but sound is better with Lapel microphone. Good luck! Thumb up!

Dave I haave the feeling it's the other way around (ac adaptor in the micro usb and battery connected thru those screw terminals). 3:14

How many oscilloscopes?

Wow! i was going to send you my Casio FX-7000GA (which i still have from my A-levels). Would you still want it for a mini tear down as I'm not sure that mine still functions? (Also, I like the new show format)

The guiding is just gold leafing (thin foil). You spread or spray the surface you want it on with some kind of fixative then carefully lay the leading down on it and lightly rub.

D'oh; I saw my box on the table, but Dave didn't open it :)

That dimmer was really impressive. Any chance any of that equipment pron is for sale? :) I'd love to have a 2nd hand oscope.

Hi Dave: Like the new format (2 thumbs up). The back-and-forth between the “full frontal” view and the close-up seems to work well. The background porn is not a problem, I just paused and got my eye-full and then continued. Although, some said it is distracting, I say keep it and in fact swap out a new gadget every so often. Besides, if someone is listening that closely to what you are actually saying they may have an issue (joke?). Cheers, Mark * * *

Okay Dave, I like this format :) A lot.