bigclive

Inside the world's smallest smoke detector.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kO7BYyqvPo

This is quite a neat little thing.  It's a very compact smoke detector based on a stack of the sounder, smoke detec...

Why I never mention my power supply.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAoHnbBmfsI

I like this power supply.  Shame about the bug that affects these units sold under various brands.

An early unlisted video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwaQU5vN4z0

This is probably the first video I got a death threat for.  Ironically from someone who's channel showed lots of vi...

Heat sensitive nail varnish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4C3Lh71yFQ

There are a few different nail lacquers/polishes/varnishes that have technical uses.  Here's a demo.

Revisiting dancing flame LED candles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpK9beBN98s

It's a while since I had a look at a dancing flame style candle.  These effects use a pulsed magnetic field to defl...

Destructive flying disco ball.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgZ0uCuZhDU

This thing's great.  If you want one then I'd suggest buying it now (about $4) in case the video causes a surge of ...

Early new year/MRE Ralfy Colab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oikrxdQnYv8

My brother and I decided to do a collaboration video on Boxing day.  So here it is (a bit early) with a Russian Mil...

LED space-gun thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn5Ol4o9_iU

I won't lie...   I bought this light because it looks like a space-gun.

Try and guess what the circuitry...

Xmas 2017 Barbie abomination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx-Ty4u-tjk

The full description of this lighting frame is in the video description on YouTube.

I tend to put up a minimalist ...

Deadliest Kitsch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cNKGrvD1ro

My pick of what I consider one of the most dangerous Xmas gifts around.

Let me know if you can think of a worse it...

Xmas lighting picks for 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fERl8n-ac8

Every year I look for new and interesting lights and effects, so here's my choice from what I've seen this year.

Repairing copper wire LED strings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoRbHYJAwis

I get asked if it's possible to repair this style of LED string quite often, so I thought I'd make a video about it.

Mains LED tree topper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Asjh7R0wA

This LED tree top star is actually quite interesting inside.  Quite hard to find on eBay, but maybe that's a good t...

Norwegian MRE taste test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKsldeQhEhs

These MREs (Meal Ready to Eat) were sent to me by a chap called Christian in Norway.  I'm not planning on doing too...

Neat halogen desoldering technique.

This is a neat technique for desoldering using a focused beam of IR from a common car halogen lamp.  How long before it's sold as a commercial product.

https://www...

Something festive (and slightly rude).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYQqCw_Bk-0

This is quite a fun project to do and it seems to make people really appreciate your cards.  They tend to put them ...

Inside a newer flame effect LED lamp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLBHCS_hrRU

It's a year since I looked at the first of these that appeared on the market, so it seems a good idea to make an update ...

Glove re-video in focus this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7L_sqXuSAc

One of the perils of having a small screen when recording is that when there's a pre-filming focus blip you don't always...

Poundland vs ebay cheapo lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7povdS90Hyg

A comparison between a Poundland £5 string of LED lights and an eBay £3.50 string.  One of them is very good.

USB heated gloves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-3XQpBEY0

These things do seem to have an effect.  But they're also a very good source of components.

PROPER rechargeable LED work light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIzQFA-JCg

Unlike the multitude of crappy work lights on eBay, this one is a decent unit with a beefy battery and consistent regula...

Patreon charge changes.

When you make a pledge to one or more creators the transaction incurs a standard credit/debit card processing fee.  Normally this is transparent to you, but is effectively charged to the creator you are supporting.  If you pledge a single d...

Early DIY slot machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4aQiIXASuI

I've been digging through some old stuff and came across this early attempt at building a coin operated slot machine wit...

Vintage disco kaleidoscope projector.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf9Z2duf50A

The multi-layer oil filled dichroic glass effect wheel in this unit is very nice in its own right as it has a very deep ...

Fixing a crappy COB LED light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsK-YFPH4fE

I'm not even sure this thing is worth fixing.  It seems to have some design issues.

A clusterf*ck of power saving plugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD7M_tJ-SwM

I've looked at these things before, but thought it would be interesting to compare units from different sources and with...

Simple lighting timer circuit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn3uYJrXhhw

This unit appears to be using a small microcontroller to implement a 6 hour on - 18 hour off timer.  It makes an in...

Yet another trashy bachelor recipe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOy7oO2DToc

This is probably the fastest way to make a hot sticky pudding without mixing ingredients.  It literally takes about...

Autopsy of a dead OSRAM LED module.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y86Cbj9tGA

This is pretty neat.  It's a failed module from a high profile manufacturer.

The weight of disposable alloy a...

Nicely machined LED lamp housings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCeklsu5dM

This channel used to have a lot of LED lamp videos, so I thought it was time to look at some current units that seem nic...