EEVblog #1003 - Mailbag

Mailbag is back!

SPOILERS:
Trezor Bitcoin Hardware Wallet. Dave is looking into the new crypto currency Corion:
1980 Retro Language Translator Teardown
ReflowR Hot plate PCB reflow machine
50ohm Dummy Load for babies from First Advanced Industrial Labs
Black Box for stealing Pay TV, teardown.
Retro radio alarm clock teardown
Bayard-Alpert Ionization gauge.
Voltage tester pen teardown
Alcatel/Lucent telecommunications processor teardown

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[Thesignalpath]

The painting gift is so extraordinarily sweet and kind. You should be proud of your impact Dave.

[blubb]

WARNING: Apply to input (FEED) jack only! Applying to output jack will overload your device.
26:13

[williamsquires]

Each ruler is a decryption key - all you need now are top secret documents to use them on! The holes reveal the plaintext.

[TheStiepen]

fyi: The City Köln is internationally known as Cologne

[ghost_ship_supreme]

I like rulers that don't have the 0 at the end, because when it inevitably gets damaged on the ends, you can still use it!

[UTubeRangerBob]

Ref 12:24, when I was in the USAF in the early '80s, we had special processing equipment in what we called 'the vertical drawers' in a 19" rack. If our detachment was overrun by anyone, the on-duty equipment operator was to set off the built-in mini shape charge that would blow a hole through the set of circuit cards in the vertical drawers. The cards were wire-wrapped so there wouldn't be any circuit board bits that might be possible to reassemble by the bad guys.

P.S. Apex is still selling those 'DANGER' switches on their eBay store. $40, +$5 shipping.

[harbselectronicslab]

Those flashers screw onto the force turns them on....

[killernoob]

The red explosive devised can be found in the WW2 B24 liberators. They are used to destroy the very early auto pilot

[jspeare]

The alcatel lucent device at the start is a line card, It'll go in a router chassis. Each line card will have it's own processor and memory to be used by the device to perform packet forwarding for the interfaces on that line card.

[twocvbloke]

Them bike lights have a clue as to where to fit them, they're called :P


(Hint: They attach to the valve stem on the wheels!!)

[bentfork]

The two flashing lights at 21:29 look like they go on the bike tire fill valves. Probably activate when the spring of the switch is forced out from centripetal force.

[mikeselectricstuff]

first "dc/dc" module pointed at looked like just a common-mode filter

[theSuitMusic]

Hey Dave, I work as an ASIC designer at Nokia (formerly Alcatel-Lucent), and that board (or at least its form factor) looks quite familiar to me. I'll ask around to see what it's purpose was.

Seems to be the processor platform for either a core/edge IP router or for a fixed access (DSL/PON) street cabinet.

Wouldn't be surprised if those 2 other heat sinks had some Xilinx FPGA's underneath them.

I'm sure our board teams will be honoured to be featured on this channel. As you said, these systems take a huge amount of effort to design, but no one really gets to see their (beautiful) guts :)

[motaboy]

At 30:00 has the earth pin of the IEC socket been cut off? Considering the device is enclosed in metal I would hope its earthed!

[towerclimber]

That meter had to be a troll, you just can't escape it... But it's awesome that you showed it

[GraemeWoller]

Hi bro! I've had a go at reflow in a frying pan and it seemed to go fairly well. I took my time to get the soak time etc about right and it reflowed nicely. No board cooking at all.

[many-maker]

Hi Dave,
Thanks a lot for showing off my ReflowR. I hope you try the test PCB soon, I am sure you will be impressed (even with the scraper/squeegee). The key to getting the “thermals” right is the proper ramp and soaking times, this ensures the entire board heats evenly and thoroughly. Looking forward to you trying it out. p.s. You can also now find it on tindie.

[nexaentertainment]

I actually really like the painting. I know a lot of people online are super harsh on art that isn't some renaissance grade piece of art. But I myself really like abstract art. I love the texture on it was well :D

I also like Dave's voice :D It grows on you, it's quite comforting.

[cemx]

At 41:22 - About the light green bodge board. This appears to be taking the place of a fourth language ROM slot. I think this because the keyboard has L1, L2, L3 and L4 (four languages?) but there are only three language ROM connectors seen.

[cburgess]

The hotplate reflow method is actually the preferred method for some of the smaller maker shops because it works so well and is very economical. I think either Adafruit or Sparkfun use it exclusively for their limited-run in-house boards, having paid several thousand $ for a professional reflow oven and being disappointed with the results. I remember reading and a good tutorial on the process on one of their sites.

I use a ceramic griddle to reflow the boards I sell on Tindie and am very happy with the results. I might actually pick a reflowR up as it would be nice to have the thermal profiles available.