22 Oct 2015

Protek 608 original Windows software

Protek 608 Windows software v1.02

I’ve finally managed to fire up the original Protek 608 software on an old Dell Inspiron 8100 I found stowed at the office. My previous attempts to run this software failed on Windows 8 and 10, and there’s very little information about how this software looks and operates (it’s quite niche). I decided that it […]

7 Oct 2015

Introducing the TreadGaming video game controller

The TreadGaming device

I recently received my TreadGaming treadmill video game controller and noticed a lack of basic information about setting it up, how to use it, suitable games, and user opinions. I’m hoping to fill that void, starting with this introduction to the TreadGaming project. Once I’m all up and running I’ll post an update with my […]

4 Oct 2015

Repair: Replacing a dead PS3 Dualshock 3 controller battery

PS3 controller battery

I’m sick of seeing this notification! I’ll usually only get 20 minutes play time before the controller requires charging again. I’ve had it on charge for weeks, since the last time I used the PS3. I don’t use the PS3 often, and I’m holding out for Uncharted 4 next year before I consider buying a […]

18 Jul 2015

Review: Cheap eBay transistor tester

A review, test, and teardown of a cheap transistor / component tester purchased on eBay. eBay item: LCD ESR Meter Transistor Tester Capacitance Inductance Diode Triode MOS NPN PNP http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171753821157 Here’s the original review and teardown video: Here’s a follow up video where I test some old germanium transistors:

30 May 2015

Protek 608 RS-232 details

Protek 608 RS-232 login analyser

This is following on from my previous post introducing the Protek 608 multimeter and my software project. In this post I detail the communications hardware, an important consideration for future development. The Protek 608 uses an RS-232 connection to allow for interfacing with a PC. This is a very common connection that most DMMs used. […]

22 May 2015

Back online!

My messy desk

This is the latest of many incarnations for my personal website. I wasn’t particularly planning to rebuild my site, but my last host Acute Networks seem to have gone out of business, and without warning everything disappeared! I managed to resurrect some of my original website content from the archives from around 2010 onward. On […]

30 Mar 2015

Protek 608 multimeter overview

Protek 608 multimeter

The Protek 608 is a 5000 count digital multimeter made by Hung Chang, who have since changed their name to GS Instruments. I’ve owned one of these since about 2009. This multimeter is now discontinued and no longer available new, although they occasionally show up on the second-hand market from forums and eBay. This DMM […]