I'm one of those who gets useful info out of these videos, even though I'm already a long term design engineer. Never stop peeking at how other people do things. Just yesterday I learned a great trick for getting female threads in the ends of rods.
Never apologize for your complex videos. I am *not* an electronics person, but you explain things in such a way that even I understand. I love your videos.
You condensed those three evenings into 23 very enjoyable minutes. Nice to see some good and clever design. Always nice when you can "mis-use" a chip in a clever way.
it boggles my mind that the current limiting can kick in fast enough to stop the 300v output from frying a single LED. that amazes me how some of these things work.
At 16:20 you can see that the initial LED current is limited by two 510K resistors in series with the +300V supply voltage rail. Subtract the 12V zener voltage and that means you have 288V across 1.02M for a max LED current of around 0.28mA before the 7.4uF cap charges enough that the FU1N60A starts to turn on and the current increases. ie: The two 510K resistors give that instant limiting effect.
I keep frying LEDs by testing tham on a standard bench supply and forgetting that it's current limiting does not kick in fast enough. Have to remember to add a current limiting resistor
@@hoverbovver The other thing about a bench supply is that most are primarily designed to supply voltage, not current. So, to be a better voltage supply, they usually have substantial output caps (good for reducing ripple and better load regulation, especially during transients). So, even if the current limit were infinitely fast, you can usually get enough current out of just the output caps to blow stuff up long before the current limit has a chance to kick in. With this, they didn't put any substantial capacitance directly across the LED, so instantaneous current can be well regulated.
Full marks to the design team and to BC for persistence above and beyond, and finding the hidden easter Egg function . Who'd have thought that testing a LED could get that complex!
Dear Mr Big, can I call you Mr Big? Not boring AT ALL. Thank you so much for bringing us the more complex circuits. I appreciate your hard work, on our behalf.
I bought one of these testers because of this video. Trying to fix the LED backlight in a TV. The little tester works exactly as described, but I think my 7-segments are brighter. Thanks for settling my internal debate on testers, and not letting me buy one of those dangerous ones... Keep up the "boring" work, otherwise we'll have to start working ourselves 🙃
This is not boring at all. I was amazed every day for the 45 years I worked in the electronics/ electrical field at what smart people there are in the world who think up and build the incredible technology we live with today. I am also amazed at your ability Clive to reverse engineer these circuits and explain them so well to us. Thanks brother!❤❤❤
Extremely interesting teardown. This may be one of the most inpressive devices you have torn down. Never would have expected such a clever way of repurposing mass produced LED driver chips.
i actually like your more "in depth" videos like this. most of the time i'm here to learn something! the "dumd" tear downs are fun, but i'd rather find out how thing work in electronics like this
@12'20"..."Ridiculously Clever"... Sounds like you really enjoyed analyzing this gem.... I certainly enjoyed your Very Clever analysis...(15'40"...so appealing I just ordered one)...many, many thanks for your meticulous videos! ... nice circuit analysis & discovery of possible alternate modes & how to access them ...@20'ish... ("Does it just burst into flames".... LOL)
It's a hard to describe feeling when you reverse engineer a circuit (or rather any technical apparatus) and find that whoever designed it actually knew what they were doing all the way. You can't explain that to someone who isn't technically inclined. In this case starting with proper isolation (including an isolation slot routed into the board), then clever use of components like the primary side chip (that outside the box or better "outside the datasheet" thinking), a clean circuit board layout (and soldering job) and reduction of used component values (showing the designer understands manufacturing as well), finishing with software (that admittedly does not have to do that much) which makes use of the output as a user input. It just gives me a fuzzy feeling.
Wow...that is a very nice tester! The design folks have hit a really good system...just keep the bean-counters away and you will have some awesome products.
Ordered one. This was the bit of kit I was looking for. I will have to open it before use to ensure it’s a proper safe one and no fake or clone. Thanks Clive for showing this to us.
AliExpress is quite good if someone has a certain "intuition" and common sense in what to buy there vs what to avoid at any cost. For instance I got a pretty good FNIRSI hand held oscilloscope and various other electronics and bare chips from there but I would never trust it for a power supply or any storage media (SSDs, microSD, etc) for example
AliExpress covers a wide range of products, from the cheap and very nasty, to reasonably priced quite good stuff. The trick is telling what you're getting before you order...
My friend bought an excavator from there. It's been 6 months and it's already paid itself off, I'm considering buying a canopy or service body off of them or alibaba just to see what I get
Pretty complex and what's most important, there's galvanic separation. I completely didn't expect that, and I appreciate it so much. I'm pretty sure you could test Zener diodes with it as well.
That is indeed quite a surprisingly good device, especially for it's price. And kudo's to you mate for actually spending so much time on reverse-enginering that thing. And I do seriously understand your remark about that such content (the content with more effort and time into it but more 'complicated stuff') gets less views (or at least definitely feels like you would love/hope more people to see it). I'm currently working on a MASSIVE project with hundreds of hours of 3D printing, multiple different custom PCB's, custom firmware for it etc, and it has already taken up over 800+ hours now. And when it's done (the content part that is), it will probably "just" be around 45 minutes to about an hour, which is in comparison not much at all of course, but on the other hand you also know that many viewers often won't even realize how much work, time and effort it actually took to make a "simple" video of less than an hour (or just short of 25 minutes in your case here). BUT do know though, that the ones that do understand the topic and realize how much time has gotten into it and will appreciate it even more😊 Thanks for the effort mate, this was seriously a very interesting 'tear-down' and analysis 😊👍🏽
I know what you mean by simple teardowns probably get better views than these longer reverse engineering videos, but that was a lot of investigation work or your part to figure it out. Thanks for the video.
Brilliant r/e work Clive!. I worked in RnD labs myself where we designed products for open end size markets. We used to have like 6 possible sources of components and made contracts with 2 to ensure stable production runs. Nowadays Chinese makers see a market, determine its size, capture end of production run parts and throw in a mix of perceived user intelligence and presto provide a product that conventional Western thinking has no more chance to compete with. This tester pushes the efficiency levels past Western thinking, starting with the higher test voltage first, steps up current and also gives the user a low test voltage option.
If around, can you expound upon some of your experiences/premises shared? Specifically I’m having trouble understanding line 9-13 (perceived user intelligence, western thinking/efficiency levels) thank you!
@@thereignofoswin6138 If this unit would be manufactured say in the UK and had to be type approved the manufacturer would have to write a 50 page instruction book, the first 40 pages being warnings on what not to do with it. Also the company would have to fork out too much for insurance. When it comes in with Ali Express, who do you going to sue if the product kills you?
That's had some great engineering put into that, both hardware and software. Buttons? No. Knobs? Don't need them. Hold connection for extra current, hold probes together to swap voltage. Almost seems _too_ good for what it is. Are we sure this wasn't someone's pet project that got picked up by a bigger company and mass-produced?
A lot of test equipment like this is often built by a factory doing the job it tests for. They know exactly what it needs to do and what they need out of it.
I bought a set of test meter leads from Amazon that cost about the same price as the whole LED tester. This is a great value unit. NEVER apologise for working hard for us please Clive.
"Let's take a look at a completely different high voltage LED tester." My first thought was "Would love to, dude!" Sat here in my pajamas and under six blankets because I have a migraine and need a low-action, highly interesting thing to watch and my suggested sends me a banger.
There really is an extra degree of "nice warm feeling" from sneaky designs (whether hardware or software) that do clever stuff in a simpler way. Whoever designed this had the ability to step outside the normal circuit design training and "think outside the box" about how to achieve the desired result. Neat! (and, thanks BigClive for decoding it for us all!)
Thanks very much for putting in the time and effort to produce such a wonderfully detailed and informative video, Clive. I found it fascinating to learn about the alternative ways that a particular chip or component can be used.
Wow, interesting thing, and good to know that not all of China has turned to manufacturing "straight to the dumpster" electronics. Using components out of their intended use case shows that whoever constructed that thing actually cared about proper function (and safety) and didn't let cost-cutting take over. Thanks for taking the time to analyze it, you are simply the best at explaining complex circuits on a moderate difficulty level 👍
There's plenty of great products from China - also a lot of junk. Most of what I've bought from Aliexpress has been great for the money, only had the odd product be a scam or just terrible and more often than not get my money back.
It's been ages since I last worked on designing a circuit and this is starting to go over my head. I love the explanations since they keep jogging my memory of how everything works. I highly doubt that I would be able to reverse this on my own nowadays
I, for one, am part of that group that loves the complex analysis videos. Watching random Aliexpress junk light on fire is plenty fun, but it's nice to see something actually well designed for a change. It's really neat how they managed to add both the voltage and current options without adding any inputs or buttons to the device, very clever indeed.
8:42 - I appreciate a good "The Sound of Music" reference! It was the first movie musical I had ever seen, but I was too young to understand the ending. Re-watching it in high school (we played selections from both movie and Broadway versions for a field show, the entire drum line had to learn how to play handbells for "Edelweiss") I finally understood what was happening to the von Traps. 10:21 - "...because they're professionals, they knew what they were doing, and they did it properly." Well! If **that** isn't a refreshing change! 😁 12:28 - I don't know if I can handle this many surprises in one video. I don't think the ticker can take much more! 15:36 - Not boring at all, it's rather fascinating how they designed this, with all its little quirks - and I appreciate the time you took to dive so deep into it.
Wow, that is one clever wee tester! Great to see Clive be impressed by something, and that took him so long to figure out the magic working in the background programing.
Thank you for putting in a lot of effort to explain to us how the circuitry works. I’m still learning and your videos are a great learning tool that will help me gain knowledge. I’m an elevator mechanic in Seattle Washington and occasionally need to troubleshoot boards, your content has greatly expanded my skills and especially helped keep me safe when working with electricity
You've made a good career choice. Lots of diverse technologies and reliable employment. When I was a kid I wanted to be an elevator mechanic (lift engineer) but my dad told me I had to become an electrician first. My day release technical college class actually had several lift engineers in it.
Wow! I'm truly impressed! At times one can complain about Chinese designs when it comes to safety and such, but this truly impressive! Mis-use in this case is more like creative thinking. A very bright idea (pun intended) brought to fruition, well done!
CLIVE ... Never apologise for making excellent content... You have earned a Gold Playbutton.. I certainly enjoy your video's even though I am not fully up to speed with the electronics.. my era was OC71 & C106D and a copy of Everyday Electronics.. I was involved with some high-tech in the 70s & 80s and have become fairly well versed with Boaty 12v (something I do know about) and the occasional fix something electronic or mains. Your video's have familiarised me with where things are at now. The reverse engineering will certainly keep your mind in good condition.. and exercise those watching.. and help those starting their interests.. You suggested it wouldn't be as popular.. was it?
Yes, they know what they are doing. They are designing in the 620K resistors to fit in multiple contexts so that it will decrease the BOM cost. When you have a lot of the same thing, it gets cheaper. When you have equal amounts of different things, they are more expensive. Viola, the economy of scale. It does look like a very useful tool! Good find Clive!
It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a technical video You not only reverse engineered the schematic of this bloody complex thing but also explain how does it work in a very nice way. Thank you very much Clive
I have a version of this and had it for years and years....Mine has 2 extra controls for voltage and amperage range too....Works like a charm. Used it a lot for fixing for example LED TV's.....
Very interesting, watched enough of your fantastic video's to have a vague idea what to expect on some of the much simpler/basic things you cover so it's great to have something that parts stretch my understanding and a load is over my head. Learn so much from your video's, it's a public service Sir
If only you could do EVERY youtube video, the world would be a better place! Thank you so much for being detailed, easy to understand, and funny! Amazing!!
Now and then, Clive, you analyze something that's well made and perfect for my own purposes and this is one such case. I ordered one of these immediately. THANKS! For a superb analysis and for your nifty discovery. The drop to 18V is important, necessary to some applications and makes all the difference between a useful tool and a Super Useful Tool.
You're a bad influence, again... Just ordered one with the US market plug, your seal of approval after the reverse engineering of this is a strong recommendation.
@@shaunclarke94 the label on the tester says it has a minimum input voltage if 85vac, so I'm assuming the initial LED power supply stage is doing switch mode to buck or boost the supply voltage as needed.
So, with this product, you short the leads and it switches ranges, but with the other product that looks very similar, the output pins are across live and neutral, presumably, you short the pins and it goes bang, so you know that you do not have this feature. You've got to love the excitement of buying things off of AliExpress. My favourite so far was a 240V die grinder, which when it turned up turned out to be a 110V unit internally. I only found this out when it was spinning a bit quicker than I expected and started smelling bad quite quickly. The label on the outside definitely stated its 240V though.
I now nothing about any of this electrical stuff but it's still quite interesting seeing you go through and explain these complex circuit boards, nothing to be sorry about
Not only is this not boring, but it would be really cool to have you team up with someone like Recessim to reverse engineer the software for things like this. It would have also been interesting to have you do the adjustment to the voltage divider to correct the voltage display reading.
I feel really special now, one of the 41K 'minority'. I was eating my pizza and wedges while watching this, as I often do lol. Gadgets like that would have me scratching my head, I love deep dives into complex devices :) That capacitor on a NC leg of a chip is a special access key the Chinese put into their products. If the capacitor is there then it opens all the hidden microphones and long distance wifi transmitters stuffed into the package, to keep tabs on what engineers are doing with their products lol x Keep 'em coming :) x
There is nothing boring in that video at all, this one was great. Please keep these comming. I would actually love to see you _in the process of doing the reverse engineering_. Any chance to look over your shoulders at night (I assume (-: ) an see you working everything out. I would love to be able to do what you can do. Thanks so much 😊
Been using them for years and over that period of time I have had some kicks off of it, it makes your arm ache for a while Thanks Clive really interesting thanks 😊
Really enjoyed learning how the current sense and "dim-up" circuit are designed and how they work. Also thought using the over-volt protection and an opto-coupler to switch the drive circuit is a clever "misuse" of a component. Impressive reverse engineering. Thank you.
A rather complex device composed of relatively standard "modules". That functionality is pretty good, and the complete "package" offers such excellent value for the money. Buying one right now (along with some insulated tip probes). Available in light grey or black casings!
Chiba has some of the brightest design engineers I have met are Chinese - you only have to look at how quickly they've built their semiconductor design industry to overcome the US regulations. It's just that they've also have a lot of shysters out to make a quick buck...
I thank you so much for your time and video, I’ve been waiting for you to do a tear down on one of these things. I almost sent one to you myself I was so intrigued on how it worked. Really enjoy all your work.
I much appreciate your days of work on this one. The complex stuff is a fun workout for my brain. Not too much stumps me on circuit diagrams, but I just cannot get my head around that mosfet part of the circuit. I wonder if someone engineered that from scratch, or if that part just happened after a lot of playing with components after copying that part from something else. Blows my mind that these things start at 300v and ramp down so quickly they don't toast a 2.5v LED - it seems intuitively backwards. Thanks for doing this one.
Got one from Shoppee that reads volts and ma’s as well. I was pleasantly surprised by the circuitry inside. Left a photo of it on your Facebook page couple months ago. Very handy tool to have when repairing led devices.
Many thanks! You UNLOCKED A SECRET FUNCTION of my Jeston-clone! It only has the single output current level, but that's fine for my use... but at least now I understand the "19V" mode. I this version of the software, it only requires shorting the leads for about 2 seconds... I like yours better.
Great video. Of course, I had to go and test my unit out to see if it had the features you showed. Mine is the old "death trap" version that provides a nice jolt at DC Mains.
Clive, fantastic video, well done. More like this please! A nice follow up may be to show how to swap the resistors to calibrate the voltage display to make it a little more accurate?? Thank you K. GetCarterCarPark.
Ooh I have one of these. Made fixing my TV backlight so much easier. Can now easily identify which one has failed in a strip and replace a single one rather than a whole strip. Had some nasty shocks off it though!
Wow, pretty complicated to take apart and reverse engineer. You have patience. But honestly, it's a little over my head and in my own ignorant opinion, an unnecessary toy. I can do without things like that and still test LEDs the old fashioned way, lol. But I appreciate the brains it takes to designs these things. Cudos to all.
15:37 "Sorry if this is boring" Its NOT boring. Its very interesting. Im glad you have the patience to reverse engineer it so we don't have to.
Totally agree, I love the more detailed explanations. This was an interesting circuit.
I'm one of those who gets useful info out of these videos, even though I'm already a long term design engineer. Never stop peeking at how other people do things. Just yesterday I learned a great trick for getting female threads in the ends of rods.
*this* video is the only reason I watch every one of your videos. Never stop doing the good ones like this.
Agreed. That was fascinating.
Yeah, I thought it was one of his best videos.
The circuitry was very well broken down and explained.
I can hear the happiness in the voice when mentioning that "they are professionals", put a smile on my face.
Agreed, I smiled. There’s probably another engineer in “Alibabaland “ raising a pint as well 🍻!
Professional engineers know the First Rule of Engineering -- "Never kill a customer".
Never apologize for your complex videos. I am *not* an electronics person, but you explain things in such a way that even I understand. I love your videos.
15:37 - Boring? Are you kidding? This is the good stuff! Thanks for doing this in depth reverse engineering
You condensed those three evenings into 23 very enjoyable minutes.
Nice to see some good and clever design. Always nice when you can "mis-use" a chip in a clever way.
Finally, a good example of : If you use it wrong enough... 😛
it boggles my mind that the current limiting can kick in fast enough to stop the 300v output from frying a single LED. that amazes me how some of these things work.
At 16:20 you can see that the initial LED current is limited by two 510K resistors in series with the +300V supply voltage rail. Subtract the 12V zener voltage and that means you have 288V across 1.02M for a max LED current of around 0.28mA before the 7.4uF cap charges enough that the FU1N60A starts to turn on and the current increases.
ie: The two 510K resistors give that instant limiting effect.
Source impedance is how, it simply cannot supply enough current to fry an LED.
Ah, thanks for the OP remark and explanations. I was a bitconfused about that too. 👍
I keep frying LEDs by testing tham on a standard bench supply and forgetting that it's current limiting does not kick in fast enough. Have to remember to add a current limiting resistor
@@hoverbovver The other thing about a bench supply is that most are primarily designed to supply voltage, not current. So, to be a better voltage supply, they usually have substantial output caps (good for reducing ripple and better load regulation, especially during transients). So, even if the current limit were infinitely fast, you can usually get enough current out of just the output caps to blow stuff up long before the current limit has a chance to kick in. With this, they didn't put any substantial capacitance directly across the LED, so instantaneous current can be well regulated.
Full marks to the design team and to BC for persistence above and beyond, and finding the hidden easter Egg function . Who'd have thought that testing a LED could get that complex!
Egg function!
clever is not boring, your effort is much appreciated, Clive!
Dear Mr Big, can I call you Mr Big? Not boring AT ALL. Thank you so much for bringing us the more complex circuits. I appreciate your hard work, on our behalf.
Warms my heart to see Clive be impressed with the design of something which was unexpectedly good
I bought one of these testers because of this video. Trying to fix the LED backlight in a TV. The little tester works exactly as described, but I think my 7-segments are brighter. Thanks for settling my internal debate on testers, and not letting me buy one of those dangerous ones... Keep up the "boring" work, otherwise we'll have to start working ourselves 🙃
This is not boring at all. I was amazed every day for the 45 years I worked in the electronics/ electrical field at what smart people there are in the world who think up and build the incredible technology we live with today. I am also amazed at your ability Clive to reverse engineer these circuits and explain them so well to us. Thanks brother!❤❤❤
Extremely interesting teardown. This may be one of the most inpressive devices you have torn down. Never would have expected such a clever way of repurposing mass produced LED driver chips.
I like these deep dive reverse engineering videos, particularly when there are clever bits to the designs.
i actually like your more "in depth" videos like this. most of the time i'm here to learn something! the "dumd" tear downs are fun, but i'd rather find out how thing work in electronics like this
@12'20"..."Ridiculously Clever"... Sounds like you really enjoyed analyzing this gem.... I certainly enjoyed your Very Clever analysis...(15'40"...so appealing I just ordered one)...many, many thanks for your meticulous videos!
... nice circuit analysis & discovery of possible alternate modes & how to access them ...@20'ish... ("Does it just burst into flames".... LOL)
It's a hard to describe feeling when you reverse engineer a circuit (or rather any technical apparatus) and find that whoever designed it actually knew what they were doing all the way. You can't explain that to someone who isn't technically inclined.
In this case starting with proper isolation (including an isolation slot routed into the board), then clever use of components like the primary side chip (that outside the box or better "outside the datasheet" thinking), a clean circuit board layout (and soldering job) and reduction of used component values (showing the designer understands manufacturing as well), finishing with software (that admittedly does not have to do that much) which makes use of the output as a user input.
It just gives me a fuzzy feeling.
Wow...that is a very nice tester!
The design folks have hit a really good system...just keep the bean-counters away and you will have some awesome products.
A nice bonus for you by finding new features from looking at the hardware.
Your hard work and dedication paid off.
I prefer this format. Thanks for taking the time and putting the effort in. Much appreciated!
Ordered one. This was the bit of kit I was looking for. I will have to open it before use to ensure it’s a proper safe one and no fake or clone. Thanks Clive for showing this to us.
Have a coffee on me; or is that tea - you being English! ;).
Seriously though - I do enjoy your work as do the million or so others.
Thank you
Thanks. Much appreciated.
I never thought I'd hear "very good" and Ali Express in the same sentence 😂
AliExpress is quite good if someone has a certain "intuition" and common sense in what to buy there vs what to avoid at any cost.
For instance I got a pretty good FNIRSI hand held oscilloscope and various other electronics and bare chips from there but I would never trust it for a power supply or any storage media (SSDs, microSD, etc) for example
@@Yrouel86 I'd luv to trust it, there is so much good stuff. I've had a bad experience with an Amazon product.
I bought some things from AE, mostly active things, that were semi working (IE USB switch)
AliExpress covers a wide range of products, from the cheap and very nasty, to reasonably priced quite good stuff. The trick is telling what you're getting before you order...
My friend bought an excavator from there. It's been 6 months and it's already paid itself off, I'm considering buying a canopy or service body off of them or alibaba just to see what I get
15:37 "Sorry if this is boring" Its NOT boring. I loved the video!! thank you!
Pretty complex and what's most important, there's galvanic separation. I completely didn't expect that, and I appreciate it so much.
I'm pretty sure you could test Zener diodes with it as well.
Not every day Clive is actually impressed by something
Dam that was awesome. I will have to watch that a few more times, I think I missed some, because it was so interesting. Thanks so much Clive. 👍
...Ditto with bells on...
Me too!
Really appreciate the extra work to reverse engineer such circuitry!
That is indeed quite a surprisingly good device, especially for it's price.
And kudo's to you mate for actually spending so much time on reverse-enginering that thing. And I do seriously understand your remark about that such content (the content with more effort and time into it but more 'complicated stuff') gets less views (or at least definitely feels like you would love/hope more people to see it). I'm currently working on a MASSIVE project with hundreds of hours of 3D printing, multiple different custom PCB's, custom firmware for it etc, and it has already taken up over 800+ hours now.
And when it's done (the content part that is), it will probably "just" be around 45 minutes to about an hour, which is in comparison not much at all of course, but on the other hand you also know that many viewers often won't even realize how much work, time and effort it actually took to make a "simple" video of less than an hour (or just short of 25 minutes in your case here).
BUT do know though, that the ones that do understand the topic and realize how much time has gotten into it and will appreciate it even more😊 Thanks for the effort mate, this was seriously a very interesting 'tear-down' and analysis 😊👍🏽
I never cease to be amazed at the many instances of ingenuity, complexity and utility that can be purchased for such low prices these days.
I know what you mean by simple teardowns probably get better views than these longer reverse engineering videos, but that was a lot of investigation work or your part to figure it out. Thanks for the video.
That was super interesting. Every time I watch a complex teardown like this, I learn something new. Thank you for all your hard work!
We are blessed to have not only your extensive knowledge but also your patience and tenacity. Thank you😊
Brilliant r/e work Clive!. I worked in RnD labs myself where we designed products for open end size markets. We used to have like 6 possible sources of components and made contracts with 2 to ensure stable production runs. Nowadays Chinese makers see a market, determine its size, capture end of production run parts and throw in a mix of perceived user intelligence and presto provide a product that conventional Western thinking has no more chance to compete with. This tester pushes the efficiency levels past Western thinking, starting with the higher test voltage first, steps up current and also gives the user a low test voltage option.
If around, can you expound upon some of your experiences/premises shared? Specifically I’m having trouble understanding line 9-13 (perceived user intelligence, western thinking/efficiency levels) thank you!
@@thereignofoswin6138 If this unit would be manufactured say in the UK and had to be type approved the manufacturer would have to write a 50 page instruction book, the first 40 pages being warnings on what not to do with it. Also the company would have to fork out too much for insurance. When it comes in with Ali Express, who do you going to sue if the product kills you?
@@LawpickingLocksmith thank you!
That's had some great engineering put into that, both hardware and software. Buttons? No. Knobs? Don't need them. Hold connection for extra current, hold probes together to swap voltage.
Almost seems _too_ good for what it is. Are we sure this wasn't someone's pet project that got picked up by a bigger company and mass-produced?
I think many good DIY designs get adopted and mass produced.
A lot of test equipment like this is often built by a factory doing the job it tests for. They know exactly what it needs to do and what they need out of it.
I bought a set of test meter leads from Amazon that cost about the same price as the whole LED tester. This is a great value unit.
NEVER apologise for working hard for us please Clive.
We like the complex videos. Your stats must be broken😊
Thanks. The more technical a video is, the less people it usually appeals to.
"Let's take a look at a completely different high voltage LED tester." My first thought was "Would love to, dude!"
Sat here in my pajamas and under six blankets because I have a migraine and need a low-action, highly interesting thing to watch and my suggested sends me a banger.
There really is an extra degree of "nice warm feeling" from sneaky designs (whether hardware or software) that do clever stuff in a simpler way. Whoever designed this had the ability to step outside the normal circuit design training and "think outside the box" about how to achieve the desired result. Neat! (and, thanks BigClive for decoding it for us all!)
Just a thank you for all the effort that went into this video!
Thanks very much for putting in the time and effort to produce such a wonderfully detailed and informative video, Clive. I found it fascinating to learn about the alternative ways that a particular chip or component can be used.
Wow, interesting thing, and good to know that not all of China has turned to manufacturing "straight to the dumpster" electronics.
Using components out of their intended use case shows that whoever constructed that thing actually cared about proper function (and safety) and didn't let cost-cutting take over.
Thanks for taking the time to analyze it, you are simply the best at explaining complex circuits on a moderate difficulty level 👍
There's plenty of great products from China - also a lot of junk. Most of what I've bought from Aliexpress has been great for the money, only had the odd product be a scam or just terrible and more often than not get my money back.
15:36 "Sorry if this is boring" if it was boring, you wouldnt have 1k likes by the time you have 714 views, thank you clive, you are appreciated!!
Very interesting. Thanks for persevering with the schematic.
It's been ages since I last worked on designing a circuit and this is starting to go over my head. I love the explanations since they keep jogging my memory of how everything works. I highly doubt that I would be able to reverse this on my own nowadays
I, for one, am part of that group that loves the complex analysis videos. Watching random Aliexpress junk light on fire is plenty fun, but it's nice to see something actually well designed for a change. It's really neat how they managed to add both the voltage and current options without adding any inputs or buttons to the device, very clever indeed.
What do you mean by "boring", this is the best part!
Fantastic reverse-engineering, Clive, thank you!
(Edit: and this is an impressive LED tester!)
8:42 - I appreciate a good "The Sound of Music" reference! It was the first movie musical I had ever seen, but I was too young to understand the ending. Re-watching it in high school (we played selections from both movie and Broadway versions for a field show, the entire drum line had to learn how to play handbells for "Edelweiss") I finally understood what was happening to the von Traps.
10:21 - "...because they're professionals, they knew what they were doing, and they did it properly." Well! If **that** isn't a refreshing change! 😁
12:28 - I don't know if I can handle this many surprises in one video. I don't think the ticker can take much more!
15:36 - Not boring at all, it's rather fascinating how they designed this, with all its little quirks - and I appreciate the time you took to dive so deep into it.
Wow, that is one clever wee tester!
Great to see Clive be impressed by something, and that took him so long to figure out the magic working in the background programing.
We absolutely do appreciate your more complex analysis of the circuits... time well spent!
Thank you for putting in a lot of effort to explain to us how the circuitry works. I’m still learning and your videos are a great learning tool that will help me gain knowledge. I’m an elevator mechanic in Seattle Washington and occasionally need to troubleshoot boards, your content has greatly expanded my skills and especially helped keep me safe when working with electricity
You've made a good career choice. Lots of diverse technologies and reliable employment. When I was a kid I wanted to be an elevator mechanic (lift engineer) but my dad told me I had to become an electrician first. My day release technical college class actually had several lift engineers in it.
Wow! I'm truly impressed!
At times one can complain about Chinese designs when it comes to safety and such, but this truly impressive!
Mis-use in this case is more like creative thinking.
A very bright idea (pun intended) brought to fruition, well done!
CLIVE ... Never apologise for making excellent content...
You have earned a Gold Playbutton..
I certainly enjoy your video's even though I am not fully up to speed with the electronics.. my era was OC71 & C106D and a copy of Everyday Electronics.. I was involved with some high-tech in the 70s & 80s and have become fairly well versed with Boaty 12v (something I do know about) and the occasional fix something electronic or mains.
Your video's have familiarised me with where things are at now.
The reverse engineering will certainly keep your mind in good condition.. and exercise those watching.. and help those starting their interests..
You suggested it wouldn't be as popular.. was it?
The video was more popular than I was expecting.
Really enjoyed this one. Shame these more complicated videos don't get the views they deserve.
Quite surprising that the over-voltage circuit can operate fast enough to act as a switched mode PSU - very interesting!
I am amazed by your ability to reverse engineer such a complex circuit clive. Thanks for all your efforts
Yes, they know what they are doing. They are designing in the 620K resistors to fit in multiple contexts so that it will decrease the BOM cost. When you have a lot of the same thing, it gets cheaper. When you have equal amounts of different things, they are more expensive. Viola, the economy of scale.
It does look like a very useful tool! Good find Clive!
It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a technical video
You not only reverse engineered the schematic of this bloody complex thing but also explain how does it work in a very nice way. Thank you very much Clive
I have a version of this and had it for years and years....Mine has 2 extra controls for voltage and amperage range too....Works like a charm. Used it a lot for fixing for example LED TV's.....
Very interesting, watched enough of your fantastic video's to have a vague idea what to expect on some of the much simpler/basic things you cover so it's great to have something that parts stretch my understanding and a load is over my head. Learn so much from your video's, it's a public service Sir
If only you could do EVERY youtube video, the world would be a better place! Thank you so much for being detailed, easy to understand, and funny! Amazing!!
Thanks Clive for doing the longer format tech head videos. Definitely not boring.
Now and then, Clive, you analyze something that's well made and perfect for my own purposes and this is one such case. I ordered one of these immediately.
THANKS! For a superb analysis and for your nifty discovery. The drop to 18V is important, necessary to some applications and makes all the difference between a useful tool and a Super Useful Tool.
I may not understand anything you're talking about, but you have a pleasant voice to listen to, and that's what's important.
I dont need a led tester and I am not even a sparky but u love these videos. Thank you very much.
So much thought has gone into this clever little unit.
You're a bad influence, again...
Just ordered one with the US market plug, your seal of approval after the reverse engineering of this is a strong recommendation.
I was tempted to order one too, even though I don't need it.
I assume the output voltage would be lower?
@@shaunclarke94 the label on the tester says it has a minimum input voltage if 85vac, so I'm assuming the initial LED power supply stage is doing switch mode to buck or boost the supply voltage as needed.
@@heyallenify ah. I thought it was buck only.
So, with this product, you short the leads and it switches ranges, but with the other product that looks very similar, the output pins are across live and neutral, presumably, you short the pins and it goes bang, so you know that you do not have this feature.
You've got to love the excitement of buying things off of AliExpress.
My favourite so far was a 240V die grinder, which when it turned up turned out to be a 110V unit internally. I only found this out when it was spinning a bit quicker than I expected and started smelling bad quite quickly. The label on the outside definitely stated its 240V though.
That's such creative and ingenious engineering. What a cool product and awesome circuitry. I appreciate you taking the time to reverse engineer that!
Thanks BC for the awesome content
Very informative video. Excellent explanation of the components. Don't apologize for how long the video is. It's very interesting.
wow - very cool circuitry! Thank you for the reverse-engineering, Clive !
Videos like these are like candy for me.
Thanks for the sweets BC.
You are never boring!
I would "thumbs up" my way through dozens of "electroblast ninja" vids to get one of these! Clive, your efforts are appreciated.🙂👍
That was great work. I love your complex videos.
I now nothing about any of this electrical stuff but it's still quite interesting seeing you go through and explain these complex circuit boards, nothing to be sorry about
Not only is this not boring, but it would be really cool to have you team up with someone like Recessim to reverse engineer the software for things like this. It would have also been interesting to have you do the adjustment to the voltage divider to correct the voltage display reading.
I feel really special now, one of the 41K 'minority'. I was eating my pizza and wedges while watching this, as I often do lol. Gadgets like that would have me scratching my head, I love deep dives into complex devices :) That capacitor on a NC leg of a chip is a special access key the Chinese put into their products. If the capacitor is there then it opens all the hidden microphones and long distance wifi transmitters stuffed into the package, to keep tabs on what engineers are doing with their products lol x Keep 'em coming :) x
Thanks Clive for the detailed tear down… very much appreciated! The video *does* appeal to me 😊.
Thanks for putting the work in, great video. Nice to see a quality product that that impresses you.
There is nothing boring in that video at all, this one was great. Please keep these comming.
I would actually love to see you _in the process of doing the reverse engineering_.
Any chance to look over your shoulders at night (I assume (-: ) an see you working everything out. I would love to be able to do what you can do.
Thanks so much 😊
Been using them for years and over that period of time I have had some kicks off of it, it makes your arm ache for a while
Thanks Clive really interesting thanks 😊
Wow, they where clever putting that tester together. Very nice!
Really enjoyed learning how the current sense and "dim-up" circuit are designed and how they work. Also thought using the over-volt protection and an opto-coupler to switch the drive circuit is a clever "misuse" of a component. Impressive reverse engineering. Thank you.
Also like the clever current sense switching circuit.
A rather complex device composed of relatively standard "modules". That functionality is pretty good, and the complete "package" offers such excellent value for the money. Buying one right now (along with some insulated tip probes). Available in light grey or black casings!
This really is awesome content and the educational value rivals that of higher institutions.
Nice to see the Chinese can actually design and produce good quality products 👍
Chiba has some of the brightest design engineers I have met are Chinese - you only have to look at how quickly they've built their semiconductor design industry to overcome the US regulations. It's just that they've also have a lot of shysters out to make a quick buck...
In a number of cases, they've looked at Western designed products and improved on the original design.
I thank you so much for your time and video, I’ve been waiting for you to do a tear down on one of these things. I almost sent one to you myself I was so intrigued on how it worked. Really enjoy all your work.
That little thing is awesome.... gonna have to get one! Ur videos are never boring!
I much appreciate your days of work on this one. The complex stuff is a fun workout for my brain. Not too much stumps me on circuit diagrams, but I just cannot get my head around that mosfet part of the circuit. I wonder if someone engineered that from scratch, or if that part just happened after a lot of playing with components after copying that part from something else. Blows my mind that these things start at 300v and ramp down so quickly they don't toast a 2.5v LED - it seems intuitively backwards. Thanks for doing this one.
Got one from Shoppee that reads volts and ma’s as well. I was pleasantly surprised by the circuitry inside. Left a photo of it on your Facebook page couple months ago. Very handy tool to have when repairing led devices.
That is some clever circuitry! I need to gobforca walk to un boggle my mind.
Well done Clive.
Many thanks! You UNLOCKED A SECRET FUNCTION of my Jeston-clone! It only has the single output current level, but that's fine for my use... but at least now I understand the "19V" mode. I this version of the software, it only requires shorting the leads for about 2 seconds... I like yours better.
Great video. Of course, I had to go and test my unit out to see if it had the features you showed. Mine is the old "death trap" version that provides a nice jolt at DC Mains.
Clive, fantastic video, well done.
More like this please!
A nice follow up may be to show how to swap the resistors to calibrate the voltage display to make it a little more accurate??
Thank you
K.
GetCarterCarPark.
Ooh I have one of these. Made fixing my TV backlight so much easier. Can now easily identify which one has failed in a strip and replace a single one rather than a whole strip. Had some nasty shocks off it though!
Very very interesting device (despite the seemingly simple task) and reverse engineering of it, I enjoyed following along
Wow, pretty complicated to take apart and reverse engineer. You have patience. But honestly, it's a little over my head and in my own ignorant opinion, an unnecessary toy. I can do without things like that and still test LEDs the old fashioned way, lol. But I appreciate the brains it takes to designs these things. Cudos to all.