I’ve been playing with some very cheap, but quite good power meters made by Eastron for a few years now, in particular their compact (single-DIN) single phase Modbus meters. They are great for cheap (non-commercial) energy monitoring applications. The SDM120M variant has Modbus over RS-485 support for convenient data acquisition and integration. These aren’t the […]
Note: This post is currently just some loose notes during my R&D, and is a continuation of the Extech CO250 project. See my Extech CO250 review here. I have RS-232 details and teardown here. Open-source Java library I have a working Java library that reads all values over serial and provides statistics (minimum, maximum, average, […]
The Extech CO250 (AKA Senseair pSENSE RH) is a relatively cheap handheld air quality measurement device with decent features. It measures carbon dioxide (CO2), dry-bulb temperature, and relative humidity, and also provides calculated dew-point and wet-bulb temperatures. One interesting feature, and the subject of this post, is it’s serial communications port. It comes with a […]
The Extech CO250 is a relatively cheap handheld air quality measurement device with decent features. It measures carbon dioxide (CO2), dry-bulb temperature, and relative humidity, and also provides calculated dew-point and wet bulb temperatures. After some searching I found what seems to be the OEM device which Extech rebadges. The original device seems to be […]
In this video we take a detailed look at the SCA 300W Power Inverter and review its performance in detail! I explain what a modified sine wave inverter is and how it’s different from a pure sine wave inverter, and it best applications in the field. * This product was provided to us by Supercheap […]
In this video I build an electronic clock kit! I attempt to do it with a cheap USB soldering iron, but don’t last long before switching back to the Hakko. I also offer a few soldering tips and useful tools and gear. It’s a decent little clock with animated LEDs, time, date, temperature, and light […]
I was unable to find the user manual for the PROVA 23 Power Harmonics and Leakage Tester anywhere online, so I’ve scanned it in and made it available as a PDF here:
In this video I review and teardown a compact and very bright video and photography light. I have an upcoming video that shows colour temperature and brightness measurements and my overhead lighting configuration. *This is an unpaid, non-sponsored review* Further information eBay product page Workbench shelving video I reference (YouTube)
In this video I review an automatic car battery charger and measure how affective it’s 7 stage charge cycle is but monitoring it’s voltage and current. *This is an unpaid, non-sponsored review* Here’s another video where I do a quick teardown of the charger to see how it’s built and the quality of its components. […]
In this video we look at a dirt cheap wireless energy meter that is surprisingly accurate. We put it through its paces before tearing it down to see how it works. Further information Altronics product page Atmel AT24C02 datasheet (PDF) Cirrus Logic CS5460 datasheet (PDF)