I know it is a bit off topic, but what sometimes surprises me with Chinese suppliers is that say they offer say five pieces for 9.25 Euro, which is 1.85/piece. then that same shop sells that same item individually, for 1.68 a piece. Also as the 9.25 is >5, they add say 1.75 in shipping, making the 5 pieces a hell of a lot more expensive than 1 piece. Another thing that surprises me is that say I receive something that is broken: they offer me refund while I propose to just send new. Don't they want to sell? A refund means 'nothing earned' a resend means 'earned' and keeping a happy customer. Anyway, a bit off topic
Nope, not really off topic, Ed, just another thing to be aware of (and beware of!) when dealing with Far Eastern companies. They are usually just honest traders, often bound by rules of the umbrella under which they sell (eg AliExpress, who makes the rules regarding shipping by the way, when the order value exceeds a certain [low] total). But like you, I do wonder at their mathematical skills and business acumen for they very reasons you state! Caveat emptor as the Romans probably never said.
Oh yes, I trust the majority of them and I am still a happy Ali customer, got a bunch of stuff just today that is all perfect. Yes I know about the shipping rules... basically I sometimes order less and then just order the rest the next day. Indeed I dont always understand the Confucian mathematics. Did I say Confucian? Ofcourse I meant Confusing. Nevertheless, I think the Chinese webshops have contributed a great deal to the pleasure a lot of people have in electronics, computing and DIY
I buy stuff at Aliexpress as well. Stuff were dirt cheap you wouldn't suspect anything till you've used it and a couple that gets lost in the mail. Glad I can claim a refund if I don't receive the item.
Ran into the wrong spool on the machine years back when mobile phones were still something worth repairing. 4049 IC is NOT a memory chip. I was in the repair shop and things got busy for a long time. Also have a LCD 2016 that does what you mentioned. I'll have to try changing the driver but at those prices I just ordered two more until I can get to it. Thanks for all the great videos
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. There we are, you see, mistakes happen! Glad you like the videos Ricky. Thanks for posting.
Hi Ralph, lucky escape with the burning PSU. I like cheap priced electronics, but not cheap power supplies. The same with "UK" supplied cables, too thin cable or one did not even have a fuse in the plug. I know some countries plugs don't have the equipment has to have a fuse instead, so can see there the mistake comes from. I bought a cheap switchmode 24v supply the tripped the house earth leakage trip on powering, eventually found a length of tinned wire just stuck between the component legs. All fath was lost so never applied the mains voltage on it again and dumped in the electronic waste pile, just a wasre of money. I the best comprise on a 24V supply was the MeanWell make, cheap but well made enough for a framed supply. One point I would advise is to check the earth lead is connected to any exposed metal. The classic is a earth screw to the paint of the metal box so looks the part but not earthed.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Excellent point about the earthing of chassis and the like, that has actually happened to me before now and required some good scraping of the paint before I could get a decent earth connection. I think it was for an outdoor LED floodlight if I recall correctly, could have been lethal!
I made a bench power supply using mostly Chinese components, including the 240v/12v power module. I only did this because I will always be present when it is in service but it certainly does make you wary!
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Nothing wrong with using Chinese components (but wise of you to be present anyway), it's just a general concern that quality might go out of the window to get that low, low price that is so tempting to us!
Ralph, Great video, Very good point, as in life in general, you get what you pays for ( or as you point out What You DON"T pay for). The problem is that the difference between USA parts and China parts & Shipping is so great that I wouldn't be able to make as many things as I have been.making. None of the parts are in any Life Critical project, so each of us has to determine where to place your own priority. Your point about the high voltage parts like power supplies is good. I think I'll buy USA made power supplies in the future. THANKS for the video and your advice.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. You said everything that I would say, AdaBill. It's a hobby, mostly, and not critical. Annoying when things fail (or have not been QA'd correctly) but that's usually about it. Except for the ramifications on mains voltage compnents which I will certainly bear in mind before I order again from China!
Ralph, I bought several board mounted TTL relays and the catching diode was the wrong way round. These things are knocked out so cheaply that you should always give them the once-over.
Hey, whitefields5595! You are not kidding! I'm currently grappling with a poorly designed board that detects pulses - but I'll save my rant until the video!
Great video. I never use Chinese power supplies anymore. I had one explode in my hand as I plugged it in. Luckily I only had a small burn. My brand new £500 phone however was toast. Insurance covered it. I will only use XP power supplies from Farnell now. or build my own. 10 times the price, but 100 times the peace of mind.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Exactly so, Neville. I think mains voltage + Chinese = potential problem. Glad your phone was insured, I'm about to upgrade mine so I will take on board your experiences! Thanks for posting.
Was hoping to solder an IC2 module onto a 1602 LCD this very day! Now thinking I'll need to see how I am for extender sockets. I was considering using them anyway as it was going to be an evaluation type set up rather than an embedded project.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Use the extender sockets, gartmorn! Even if it means delaying the project for a few days it is worth it believe me. Even more reason if this is an evaluation project.
Hi Ralph, good video, that power plug pack, the high voltage electrolytic looks a little bloated in its top compared to the DC output filter caps. So if it went short and with no circuit protection the rectifier diodes would be one of the components under stress. Tom.. Hope you are having an enjoyable holiday..
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. You could well be right there Tom. I can't understand why they would build this without some protection (like a fuse!). My holiday is currently a washout, torrential rain for 48 hours in Bali, during their 'dry season'. Could have fooled me! We hope for sun (or at least no rain) tomorrow!
Not repairable!!?? Oh ye of little faith! I've just repaired one like that, not quite so charred but blown tracks and a blown zener on the reference side of the opto but working again now. Come on Ralph, take the challenge! 😁😁😁
And I did just that on another, similar device in video #35 Power Supply (9v) Repair, Bob, but this one looked all charred and I felt it safer (that's me worrying again) to replace rather than repair. Next time I'll take the challenge. :)
@@RalphBacon I need some minor preparations and I shall begin to post Ralph. I'm entering the content creation arena haha. It's a goal I've made to help with my mental ilness. The first video will be a lab tour and current project status haha. I don't intend to teach but learn in public hahaha. I need to buy a camera and install some shelves to finish my reno. A new printer will be running by then as well hopefully. I haven't finalized the name. I have no intent to monetize ever and if I ever can it shall go to charity but I'm putting the cart before the horse here. Expect a podcast invite sometime over the next year. I have a new spin on them. You'll like it. I've never seen anyone do it this way.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. You can indeed, tablatronix, but as the I2C module fits the LCD module exactly there is probably no need to omit anything - unless you know something more about this or can describe an advantage?
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Too true, Tetramorium, too true. They are mostly concerned these days about whether the items arrived and was 'as described'. Oh, and the 5-star rating of course!
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. And that's the reason my vids have been a bit thin on the ground just lately, but normal service will be resumed soon! Glad you like my style (my wife sniggered when she read that) but Benny and I thank you for your kind words. :)
Now then, Edd, I just skimmed this video and only thing I can spot that is big and blue is the 20 x 4 LCD display (that's 20 columns by 4 lines). Is that what you mean? Let me know where in the video (the time) if this is not it. If it is, then they are available from eBay, Banggood, AliExpress and everywhere else for about £4 ($5) and come with that I2C backpack.
seems like they have no quality control. when doing automated assembly some parts don't stick, or fall off between the pick-and-place and the reflow oven, sometimes those parts are replaced by hand.
I hear you. I've just discovered an ESP8266 Wifi relay with a missing resistor (surface mount). The operator probably sneezed at a crucial moment. But you could _see_ it was missing immediately so there was no QA at all on that board. We are their testers!
Great video. This is exactly why I am very hesitant to use Arduino relays to switch 240V for lighting and other stuff. Those relay modules are very cheap and a failure could certainly cause a fire.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. I think that is a wise decision, Laurenz, and one that I will probably have to come to as well, as one close call is enough for me!
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Exactly so, Pekka, the price is almost always low but we just have to be conscious of quality too!
9:00 ? a solder sucker rather than a wick might have been more effective. If the pin is not too tight a fit in the hole generally, a solder sucker will remove enough solder for the pin to either drop out, or be easily remove with a slight pull.
It might have worked better, RWA, but I've used (and still have) a solder sucker and just didn't like it that much, which is why I use wick these days. But, you're right, perhaps I should not be so blinkered and try the solder sucker again. Horses for courses, as they say! Thanks for posting.
I'm not a expert but, on your wall power supply. If you look at the main large input capacitor you can see it's swollen up. It is very likely that the extended use dried up all the electrolytic inside it and caused it to go short circuit and just before the 4 diodes they usually have a cement or metal/oxide resistor standing on its end wrapped in heat shrink as a input fuse. When it blew up the transient arc shot across the top of the board as the resistor denigrated from the dead short...cheap Chinese caps will get you..lol
You could well be correct. I know that electrolytic capacitors are the devil's work as far as electronics engineers are concerned. Especially where things get warm. What I do know is that my most recent purchase of a 9v Wall Wart has been certified for medical purposes - that is, built UP to a specification, not DOWN to a price! Time will tell whether the cost was justified.
Hi Ralph, thanks for yet another nice video, about not so nice issues we may run into with our cheapies from China. The issue you had with the power supply could have turn out much more serious. I am anyways to scared to use cheap power supplies for unattended 24/7 operation. Your video confirms that again. Oh, and thank you for giving me my five minutes of fame on your channel 😁. By the way, I am from the Netherlands, and Ewald is not a common name here either. It's German., though I have no German roots. Enjoy your holidays, we appreciate you keep posting videos even if you are so far away! What part of the globe are you? Regards, Ewald
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. I think you overestimated your time in the limelight there, Ewald, (my channel is still pretty small fry) but thank you in turn for letting me (and now everyone) know the issues with the thermostat component and with all Far Eastern-sourced components in general. I'm currently in East Malaysia but flying to Bali tomorrow (via Singapore). Far too hot but quite an interesting culture here. Regrettably no "Arduino" shops in sight :(
Ralph S Bacon Hi Ralph. Enjoy your trip! Bali is beautifull. You're actually not to far from China to go complain in person to the seller of that vicious power supply.
Ha ha! I wish I could find him and give him a piece of my mind! Talking of Bali it might be beautiful normally, but after 48 hours of persistent, heavy rain I feel like taking the next plane out of here! Oh well, there's always the cocktail bar...
Benny did warn me before I bought this item, James, but did I listen to him? "What does a cat know about power supplies?", I said. "That you need to exercise caution", replied Benny. Next time I will listen more closely to his wise words. He'll be making an appearance or two soon (at least, that's what he says, so I don't argue).
So does benny know if there's any problem with the 9A Variable Current and Voltage DC to DC power supply Robojax tested a week ago? Also bought the 20A version.
A batch of below-standard components in any electronic board or mechanical item can have devastating effects - think of car recalls because of one component fault - usually from a reliable component source. Ditto for motherboards from _any_ manufacturer, despite their Q&A regime. I've had both good and bad boards from some Big Names in the computing world. It's certainly down to poor components and/or construction.
if the diode was the wrong way around, how could it have worked to begin with? I have two and fortunately no problems with it 1) have one of those 20x4 displays. Line 3 has two 'faulty cells' that appear a bit lighter than the rest. If I write to them, Arduino crashes :-) Did you ever find out why the I2Cdisplay adapter didnt work? 2) have a bunch of IR diodes that I think are crap 3) Battery capacity ofcourse can never be trusted. 4) Bought a 100 Watt LED that was only 20 Watt 5) you may remember my high powered 2401's that had some issues :-) 6) a touch sensor didnt work. Upon checking the input of the IC was not connected to anything (faulty PCB design). A blob of solder fixed that All in all though, I am pretty happy with ordering from far East Having said that: I remembering ordering A Triac from a local western store for a price (minimum order, shipping) for which i couds buy 2 arduino UNO's in the far east... and that was faulty as well you were lucky your adapter had a transformer to begin with :-)
Ed19601 Hi there! The unit worked just fine until the setpoint was reached. At that moment the transistor turned on which then in fact shorted the supply voltage to ground via the 10 ohm resistor. So instead of using an LED to indicate the relay switches on, my unit used smoke signals (though only for a limited amount of time 😁). Hope it's clear now.
Ah OK. Thanks for clarifying. I must have misinterpreted your 'playing around' with it as already having tested the setpoint before there was smoke. Fortunately I have two that worked flawlessly, but I also had a touch sensor not working... basically because the PCB was faulty. Fortunately a blob of solder repaired that
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July. Could be, Ahmet, could be. Whatever it was, it shouldn't have failed at all! Lucky escape I reckon.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
I know it is a bit off topic, but what sometimes surprises me with Chinese suppliers is that say they offer say five pieces for 9.25 Euro, which is 1.85/piece. then that same shop sells that same item individually, for 1.68 a piece.
Also as the 9.25 is >5, they add say 1.75 in shipping, making the 5 pieces a hell of a lot more expensive than 1 piece.
Another thing that surprises me is that say I receive something that is broken: they offer me refund while I propose to just send new. Don't they want to sell? A refund means 'nothing earned' a resend means 'earned' and keeping a happy customer.
Anyway, a bit off topic
Nope, not really off topic, Ed, just another thing to be aware of (and beware of!) when dealing with Far Eastern companies. They are usually just honest traders, often bound by rules of the umbrella under which they sell (eg AliExpress, who makes the rules regarding shipping by the way, when the order value exceeds a certain [low] total). But like you, I do wonder at their mathematical skills and business acumen for they very reasons you state! Caveat emptor as the Romans probably never said.
Oh yes, I trust the majority of them and I am still a happy Ali customer, got a bunch of stuff just today that is all perfect.
Yes I know about the shipping rules... basically I sometimes order less and then just order the rest the next day.
Indeed I dont always understand the Confucian mathematics. Did I say Confucian? Ofcourse I meant Confusing.
Nevertheless, I think the Chinese webshops have contributed a great deal to the pleasure a lot of people have in electronics, computing and DIY
I buy stuff at Aliexpress as well. Stuff were dirt cheap you wouldn't suspect anything till you've used it and a couple that gets lost in the mail. Glad I can claim a refund if I don't receive the item.
Ran into the wrong spool on the machine years back when mobile phones were still something worth repairing. 4049 IC is NOT a memory chip. I was in the repair shop and things got busy for a long time.
Also have a LCD 2016 that does what you mentioned. I'll have to try changing the driver but at those prices I just ordered two more until I can get to it.
Thanks for all the great videos
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
There we are, you see, mistakes happen! Glad you like the videos Ricky. Thanks for posting.
Having the i2c converter board farther away is an advantage... Prevents short circuit to ground now those lcd clamping tabs
Good to know, Suraj, thanks for posting.
Hi Ralph,
lucky escape with the burning PSU.
I like cheap priced electronics, but not cheap power supplies. The same with "UK" supplied cables, too thin cable or one did not even have a fuse in the plug. I know some countries plugs don't have the equipment has to have a fuse instead, so can see there the mistake comes from.
I bought a cheap switchmode 24v supply the tripped the house earth leakage trip on powering, eventually found a length of tinned wire just stuck between the component legs. All fath was lost so never applied the mains voltage on it again and dumped in the electronic waste pile, just a wasre of money. I the best comprise on a 24V supply was the MeanWell make, cheap but well made enough for a framed supply.
One point I would advise is to check the earth lead is connected to any exposed metal. The classic is a earth screw to the paint of the metal box so looks the part but not earthed.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Excellent point about the earthing of chassis and the like, that has actually happened to me before now and required some good scraping of the paint before I could get a decent earth connection. I think it was for an outdoor LED floodlight if I recall correctly, could have been lethal!
I made a bench power supply using mostly Chinese components, including the 240v/12v power module. I only did this because I will always be present when it is in service but it certainly does make you wary!
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Nothing wrong with using Chinese components (but wise of you to be present anyway), it's just a general concern that quality might go out of the window to get that low, low price that is so tempting to us!
Ralph,
Great video, Very good point, as in life in general, you get what you pays for ( or as you point out What You DON"T pay for). The problem is that the difference between USA parts and China parts & Shipping is so great that I wouldn't be able to make as many things as I have been.making. None of the parts are in any Life Critical project, so each of us has to determine where to place your own priority. Your point about the high voltage parts like power supplies is good. I think I'll buy USA made power supplies in the future. THANKS for the video and your advice.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
You said everything that I would say, AdaBill. It's a hobby, mostly, and not critical. Annoying when things fail (or have not been QA'd correctly) but that's usually about it. Except for the ramifications on mains voltage compnents which I will certainly bear in mind before I order again from China!
Ralph, I bought several board mounted TTL relays and the catching diode was the wrong way round. These things are knocked out so cheaply that you should always give them the once-over.
Hey, whitefields5595! You are not kidding! I'm currently grappling with a poorly designed board that detects pulses - but I'll save my rant until the video!
Great video. I never use Chinese power supplies anymore. I had one explode in my hand as I plugged it in. Luckily I only had a small burn. My brand new £500 phone however was toast. Insurance covered it. I will only use XP power supplies from Farnell now. or build my own. 10 times the price, but 100 times the peace of mind.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Exactly so, Neville. I think mains voltage + Chinese = potential problem. Glad your phone was insured, I'm about to upgrade mine so I will take on board your experiences! Thanks for posting.
Was hoping to solder an IC2 module onto a 1602 LCD this very day! Now thinking I'll need to see how I am for extender sockets. I was considering using them anyway as it was going to be an evaluation type set up rather than an embedded project.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Use the extender sockets, gartmorn! Even if it means delaying the project for a few days it is worth it believe me. Even more reason if this is an evaluation project.
Hi Ralph, good video, that power plug pack, the high voltage electrolytic looks a little bloated in its top compared to the DC output filter caps.
So if it went short and with no circuit protection the rectifier diodes would be one of the components under stress.
Tom.. Hope you are having an enjoyable holiday..
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
You could well be right there Tom. I can't understand why they would build this without some protection (like a fuse!). My holiday is currently a washout, torrential rain for 48 hours in Bali, during their 'dry season'. Could have fooled me! We hope for sun (or at least no rain) tomorrow!
Not repairable!!?? Oh ye of little faith! I've just repaired one like that, not quite so charred but blown tracks and a blown zener on the reference side of the opto but working again now. Come on Ralph, take the challenge! 😁😁😁
And I did just that on another, similar device in video #35 Power Supply (9v) Repair, Bob, but this one looked all charred and I felt it safer (that's me worrying again) to replace rather than repair. Next time I'll take the challenge. :)
that was a close one rb. i've learned that when dealing with anything that goes in a socket has to have that ul certified logo on it.
Too close for comfort. It's certainly made me a lot more cautious where I'm getting [mains connected] components from.
@@RalphBacon I need some minor preparations and I shall begin to post Ralph. I'm entering the content creation arena haha. It's a goal I've made to help with my mental ilness. The first video will be a lab tour and current project status haha. I don't intend to teach but learn in public hahaha. I need to buy a camera and install some shelves to finish my reno. A new printer will be running by then as well hopefully. I haven't finalized the name. I have no intent to monetize ever and if I ever can it shall go to charity but I'm putting the cart before the horse here. Expect a podcast invite sometime over the next year. I have a new spin on them. You'll like it. I've never seen anyone do it this way.
you can also omit using the pins that are not used in the backpack modues, they are usually only 4 bit mode, and only need 4 of the 8 data lines
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
You can indeed, tablatronix, but as the I2C module fits the LCD module exactly there is probably no need to omit anything - unless you know something more about this or can describe an advantage?
Ralph S Bacon no just easier future replacement of desoldering on failures
Damn! I wish I had thought of that! Great point! Now I'm using header sockets though, no more soldering these things anymore.
Problem with some websites is that you can't post a new review after a product fails after a year or so.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Too true, Tetramorium, too true. They are mostly concerned these days about whether the items arrived and was 'as described'. Oh, and the 5-star rating of course!
Am enjoying this, Ralph. Haven't seen a new vid from you for a littel while. Very much enjoy your presentation style. :)
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
And that's the reason my vids have been a bit thin on the ground just lately, but normal service will be resumed soon! Glad you like my style (my wife sniggered when she read that) but Benny and I thank you for your kind words. :)
Hi, please could I ask what the blue development board u plug it mini is call and where is it from thanks
Now then, Edd, I just skimmed this video and only thing I can spot that is big and blue is the 20 x 4 LCD display (that's 20 columns by 4 lines). Is that what you mean? Let me know where in the video (the time) if this is not it. If it is, then they are available from eBay, Banggood, AliExpress and everywhere else for about £4 ($5) and come with that I2C backpack.
seems like they have no quality control. when doing automated assembly some parts don't stick, or fall off between the pick-and-place and the reflow oven, sometimes those parts are replaced by hand.
I hear you. I've just discovered an ESP8266 Wifi relay with a missing resistor (surface mount). The operator probably sneezed at a crucial moment. But you could _see_ it was missing immediately so there was no QA at all on that board. We are their testers!
Great video. This is exactly why I am very hesitant to use Arduino relays to switch 240V for lighting and other stuff. Those relay modules are very cheap and a failure could certainly cause a fire.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
I think that is a wise decision, Laurenz, and one that I will probably have to come to as well, as one close call is enough for me!
@@RalphBacon where were ya Ralph?
That's the price we all pay sometimes for buying dirt cheap from ebay. But on the other side, the price we pay is not that high.
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Exactly so, Pekka, the price is almost always low but we just have to be conscious of quality too!
9:00 ? a solder sucker rather than a wick might have been more effective. If the pin is not too tight a fit in the hole generally, a solder sucker will remove
enough solder for the pin to either drop out, or be easily remove with a slight pull.
It might have worked better, RWA, but I've used (and still have) a solder sucker and just didn't like it that much, which is why I use wick these days. But, you're right, perhaps I should not be so blinkered and try the solder sucker again. Horses for courses, as they say! Thanks for posting.
I'm not a expert but, on your wall power supply. If you look at the main large input capacitor you can see it's swollen up. It is very likely that the extended use dried up all the electrolytic inside it and caused it to go short circuit and just before the 4 diodes they usually have a cement or metal/oxide resistor standing on its end wrapped in heat shrink as a input fuse. When it blew up the transient arc shot across the top of the board as the resistor denigrated from the dead short...cheap Chinese caps will get you..lol
You could well be correct. I know that electrolytic capacitors are the devil's work as far as electronics engineers are concerned. Especially where things get warm. What I do know is that my most recent purchase of a 9v Wall Wart has been certified for medical purposes - that is, built UP to a specification, not DOWN to a price! Time will tell whether the cost was justified.
Ralph. I really enjoy your videos
Glad you like them Bruce, and I really appreciate your support on my channel. Great to hear from you.
Hi Ralph, thanks for yet another nice video, about not so nice issues we may run into with our cheapies from China. The issue you had with the power supply could have turn out much more serious. I am anyways to scared to use cheap power supplies for unattended 24/7 operation. Your video confirms that again.
Oh, and thank you for giving me my five minutes of fame on your channel 😁. By the way, I am from the Netherlands, and Ewald is not a common name here either. It's German., though I have no German roots.
Enjoy your holidays, we appreciate you keep posting videos even if you are so far away! What part of the globe are you?
Regards, Ewald
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
I think you overestimated your time in the limelight there, Ewald, (my channel is still pretty small fry) but thank you in turn for letting me (and now everyone) know the issues with the thermostat component and with all Far Eastern-sourced components in general. I'm currently in East Malaysia but flying to Bali tomorrow (via Singapore). Far too hot but quite an interesting culture here. Regrettably no "Arduino" shops in sight :(
Ralph S Bacon Hi Ralph. Enjoy your trip! Bali is beautifull. You're actually not to far from China to go complain in person to the seller of that vicious power supply.
Ha ha! I wish I could find him and give him a piece of my mind! Talking of Bali it might be beautiful normally, but after 48 hours of persistent, heavy rain I feel like taking the next plane out of here! Oh well, there's always the cocktail bar...
Ralph S Bacon The rain is a good excuse to stay at that cocktail bar.
Benny say "watch out for dodgy Chinese power supplies!!!"
Benny did warn me before I bought this item, James, but did I listen to him? "What does a cat know about power supplies?", I said. "That you need to exercise caution", replied Benny. Next time I will listen more closely to his wise words. He'll be making an appearance or two soon (at least, that's what he says, so I don't argue).
So does benny know if there's any problem with the 9A Variable Current and Voltage DC to DC power supply Robojax tested a week ago? Also bought the 20A version.
I always wonder why hp motherboards have a high failure rate. Is it really because their components are really cheap quality?
A batch of below-standard components in any electronic board or mechanical item can have devastating effects - think of car recalls because of one component fault - usually from a reliable component source. Ditto for motherboards from _any_ manufacturer, despite their Q&A regime. I've had both good and bad boards from some Big Names in the computing world. It's certainly down to poor components and/or construction.
if the diode was the wrong way around, how could it have worked to begin with?
I have two and fortunately no problems with it
1) have one of those 20x4 displays. Line 3 has two 'faulty cells' that appear a bit lighter than the rest. If I write to them, Arduino crashes :-) Did you ever find out why the I2Cdisplay adapter didnt work?
2) have a bunch of IR diodes that I think are crap
3) Battery capacity ofcourse can never be trusted.
4) Bought a 100 Watt LED that was only 20 Watt
5) you may remember my high powered 2401's that had some issues :-)
6) a touch sensor didnt work. Upon checking the input of the IC was not connected to anything (faulty PCB design). A blob of solder fixed that
All in all though, I am pretty happy with ordering from far East
Having said that: I remembering ordering A Triac from a local western store for a price (minimum order, shipping) for which i couds buy 2 arduino UNO's in the far east... and that was faulty as well
you were lucky your adapter had a transformer to begin with :-)
Ed19601 Hi there! The unit worked just fine until the setpoint was reached. At that moment the transistor turned on which then in fact shorted the supply voltage to ground via the 10 ohm resistor. So instead of using an LED to indicate the relay switches on, my unit used smoke signals (though only for a limited amount of time 😁). Hope it's clear now.
ROFL, nice explanation there, Ewald! That magic smoke has a lot to answer for!
Ah OK. Thanks for clarifying. I must have misinterpreted your 'playing around' with it as already having tested the setpoint before there was smoke.
Fortunately I have two that worked flawlessly, but I also had a touch sensor not working... basically because the PCB was faulty. Fortunately a blob of solder repaired that
Should have bought a meanwell wall wart
Should have, could have, would have... if I had known that this was going to self-ignite, Suraj!
Looks like ptc failed on PSU
Hello Arduinite! I'm currently on vacation 5,000 miles away from home so I'll have to be brief with these comments until my return, mid-July.
Could be, Ahmet, could be. Whatever it was, it shouldn't have failed at all! Lucky escape I reckon.