Algemeen's Electronics and Bicycle Tinker Blog

This repair is of today. Yesterday there was an accident with a glass of red wine, it was spilled over this Humax tuner remote control.  Note it is important to quickly remove the batteries in case such a spill happens, to avoid additional damage from leakage of the batteries. Thus not simply let it dry, remove the batteries first ! Opening is usually a bit nasty, since it involves prying with a knife and/or small screwdrivers. I’m using a Wera component lifter, a kind of screwdriver for the purpose of prying, but a normal small screwdriver works just as well here. I made a start at the top, the thin end of the remote control. After I made a start, I insert some toothpicks to keep the enclosure open. I managed to keep the damage to one broken tab this time, but usually it happens to me one or more tabs break. It’s a bit unavoidable with these cheap plastic enclosures. After it all opened up, it appeared the wine got sticky and in between the circuit boar...

In 2010 I constructed a simple autonomous solar power system comprising a poly-crystalline silicon solar panel of 60 Watt peak, a charge controller, a maintenance free 12V lead battery and a car power inverter for 230V/50Hz AC output. The goal was not to save or earn money with it, since the parts were not so cheap and the amount of electrical power from such a small system is only suited to power my laptop. It  also charges the battery powered gadgets one has nowadays, like mobile phone and so on. It was relatively simple to construct and still works fine after 8 years usage. The inverter is a bit noisy due to the cheap fan, but it stil works. I cleaned this fan once. The photo shows the battery system when it was still testing, so the wires were a bit messy and improvised. This was altered after the initial test and holes were drilled to feed the cables indoors. Used cable is LappKabel ölflex 2,5 sq mm, weather proof. The Kensington “Ultra Portable Power Inverte...

This repair was a bit longer ago. I’m just posting this because of the lack of current projects. It might be worth sharing for anyone having the same problem. This DVB-C tuner had some picture output problems on the HDMI cable, especially when the connector was touched or wiggled a bit. (no or interrupting signal on the TV set) I suspected the HDMI receptacle to be a surface mount variant, and maybe problems with lead free solder . Such solder was a bit problematic when it first entered the market (and sometimes still gives issues). So I opened the case, and the connector seemed still an old through-hole style. (On the pciture right hand, just below the network jacks.) Humax 5000C with cover removed Solder time! Mainboard under inspection This was in my lunchbreak at work, so I can use the microscope to inspect the solder joints more close by. Unfortunately don’t own such equipment myself (yet). And a random fact, the microscope is probably a dutch invention. An e...