Clive said "It's not too bright for technical reasons". And i immediately thought "all the available power is used to try to kill the user, isn't it?".
..Yike!! It could reach the situation where the manufacturers are designing things specifically for him to strip down-- and zap him in the process. ...A bit like the Zus-40 anti withdrawal device that vapourised our bomb disposal chaps all those years ago..
+AgentTasmania He's already made a deal that if he dies while shooting a video it'll still get uploaded. Not sure how that's going to work out though...
Brother Ralphie has been instructed to upload any post mortem videos after prying the phone out of Clive's cold dead hands. They both care about the viewers.
Scott Harrison I think "Death by Disco" sums things up nicely! As someone born in the early 70s I still find myself wondering what they were thinking -- bell bottoms and scratchy, itchy, polyester clothing with ridiculous collars, but at least they seemed happy!
I'm gonna be honest pretty much all the technical talk goes over my head. However I do enjoy you taking stuff apart and listening to you explain even if I don't fully understand.
Disco Death Dalek!Even after being repaired its not up to scratch. Modify this thin, Clive. This one. Make it right. Put a lithium battery and a good charger in it and have that porta-disco that everybody will want! Color changing leds in the middle and lower sections, maybe in the disco light part as well. If it cannot survive as a real thing then perhaps give it life as something wonderful and absurd instead? I know I have the extra parts so I'm 100% certain that you do as well, Clive.Save that Dalek!Save that Dalek!Dave the Dalek!
Lithium Ion (or Lithium Polymer) would probably work a bit better, although the 2.5V cut off voltage will be a bit low for the LEDs. Though if you use a TP4056 charging module with a micro-USB input (which therefore gets rid of the mains derived input), which includes overcharge/overdischarge etc, then it would be safer, and if you then used a boost converter, you'd get the 5V required for the USB (plus the LEDs would be brighter).
11:22 "... slight mains output issue." Ya, you would only end up slightly 6 feet under. Family and friends would only be slightly sad and slightly cry at your funeral.
Everybody, or at least most, people in countries which use proper power supply of 220-240VAC has had or will have an electrical shock. Vast majority survive.
"Adverse health effects", that's a very polite way of saying "involuntarily crap your pants and die"... :P Probably would be safer to repurpose this with a USB charging system, so long as the USB charger isn't also plug-in death... :P
In those Chinese factories, sometimes the products will have a sticker that says "QC passed" even if it has glaring flaws like this death light. That's because QC stands for *quantity* control.
I bought one of the gold solar rechargable lanterns the charging cord doesn't really fit in us sockets and I will never use it. The battery recharges enough during the day by sitting it in the sun that I have never ran it dead while camping. It's a great light if you don't charge it by the charge cable that should never be plugged into any outlet
Modify the thing to charge via micro USB and it should be fine. The solar panels are limited by the fact that 2 of the strips are wasted by blocking diodes. Therefore, the batteries will never fully charge via the solar panels.
Well, maybe the disco light does have a use. In CPR class, we're taught to sing "Staying Alive" is the right rhythm for chest compressions. So this would be the perfect mood light for the first responder trying to revived the hapless user who touched it while charging.
There's a 70s station here in middle Tennessee that plays a lot of disco. Sad because the rest of their music is really pretty good, but you can't leave the station on for more than 15 minutes without getting bombarded with Bee Gees or Donna Summer.
It really makes me wonder why they didn't just include a double ended USB type A charging cable and leave all of the mains circuitry right out. It would save time, cost in production and make the product much safer without needing to use fake CE markings. It's not like people don't already have plenty of USB adapters to plug it into to charge. Alternatively, they could have included a cheap USB lipo charging/protection board with power bank function and upgraded the unit to use standard lipo cells in common sizes and it would have greater selling points since they could use the pads for one USB charging port to run the LEDs at a regulated voltage with proper resistors and the other USB charging port to charge a device safely.
The good chinese electrical engineers are busy designing useful things. The college dropouts who don't understand the issue of putting 120/240 V through the USB port design defective camping lanterns to flog to foreigners lol.
I believe that it goes something like this: -On the side that has the capacitive dropper, the circuit was designed with a certain current draw in mind, and thus they were able to regulate the voltage by limiting the current. As long as the load is there, the voltage will be regulated, and as you only need to power up the LEDs and the battery, you don't really more than 5, 6V. This is fine for the electronics of the lamp. -On the side that doesn't have a capacitive dropper, the voltage goes straight from the mains through the bridge rectifier. Given that this camping light is fed with AC, on the positive half of the sine wave nothing would happen (regarding electrical shocks) on the ground /negative / 0V side of the USB plug. However, on the negative half of the sine wave, current would flow from mains side to the ground / negative / 0V side of the USB plug. On an ideal, forward biased diode (considering conventional current flow), you'd only get current flow from the anode to the cathode, i.e., when the voltage potential is higher on the anode than it is on the cathode. If USB ground / 0V / negative side is connected to the diode's anode (inside the bridge rectifier), and the mains fed voltage is on the cathode, then the potential on USB ground would be 0V, while on the mains side it would be, on worst case scenario (on the negative half of the side wave), a peak of -320V. Given this, current would flow from mains to the USB connector, and with little to no series resistance (no capacitive dropper on this portion of the circuit!), you would effectively have mains voltage present at the USB connector, which is tied (either on the light or the phone side) to the "0V" pin of the USB port. Effectively, the ground of the USB port would be referenced to mains voltage, and if you were touching your phone on an exposed metal surface, you would too. If you were touching the floor or something with your bare feet, you're allowing current to flow from mains to earth, using you as the wire... aka getting zapped in the process. I'm sorry I needed to write such a big text to try and explain such a thing, it was not my intention. Wait for someone that can convey the idea in a better way, and correct any mistakes I've made (which I'm sure there are).
Capacitive droppers limit the current to the rest of the circuitry, the resulting voltage across this circuitry is due to the difference in the relative impedance between that of the capacitor and the rest of the circuitry. In the case of this lamp, it's mostly the battery. But if you touch the right part (or wrong part depending on how you look at it), mains current can flow via a diode to you to and then to earth (ground). The diode will drop the voltage only by about 0.65V to 1V. So you get more or less the full mains voltage.
God you learn some scary shit on this channel. I found myself on a live feed yesterday explaining to someone why I thought using a voltage regulator to enable him to power a 4.6v board with a 9v battery would probably be better than him using a resistor (as it would be less likely to sap battery life or fry the board), and I've never even done it myself! Watching Uncle Clive and reading the comments gets into your brain!!
It's because there are two difference points of reference. The LEDs only see the low voltage across the NiCd battery, but the entire circuit is floating at 240V above ground. The LEDs don't see this because they don't have a ground connection, but you very probably do (via your feet and the floor, or by touching a water tap, or heating radiator etc.)
Clive you could build a fire around the disco light with it strapped to a stake in the middle whilst playing disco inferno. A great alternative to poor old guy on November the 5th. A little melodramatic but fitting for a potential killer.
I'll do it one day. Buy one of these, switch it to Lithium Ion and have it as USB derived instead of via the mains, as it then gets rid of the capacitive dropper and the live USB.
All I can think of now is Disco Daleks screeching the lyrics to disco and dance hits. HAVE YOU HEEEEARD... ABOUT THE NEW DANCE CRAAAAAAZE? LISTEN TO US... I'M SURE YOU'LL BE A-MAAAAAZED.
I have 2 of those (but version with solar panel instead of that globe) solar panel could provide max 3V (for 3xAAA batteries it is just not enough) and USB was connected directly to battery But its power was okay, so i drill-modified it and now there sits 2x 18650 3450mAh LG cell with USB charging and 2A USB out.
This is a prime candidate to improve its function. Add one of the taser stun modules so it can give a proper shock and then give it to your coworker Vince.
I just did a quick Google search for "solar camping lights" and the death-dalek was about the tenth product listed... There's also another version, it looks a bit different, doubt the circuitry has any substantial changes though...
I bought a cheap flashlight that had a mains plug so I removed the AC plug and wired in a USB lead because I watch your videos of these crazy death contraptions and I don't trust them.
I think I'll buy one of these and do a LiPo conversion. I'll obviously get rid of the capacitive dropper right out of the box and replace it with a micro USB LiPo charger/protection board.
Good idea. I'm going to do one of those too, shove a TP4056 onto the input (with protection) and whack a great big LiPo or 18650 Li-Ion into the top. I could even keep the solar panel, if I get one with a panel on it. That'll do it.
Clive, I'm listening to this video thru the exact same lantern but now they've added a dang fine Bluetooth speaker and a..... functional solar panel. Plus worlds dodgiest "wall cord" and great engrish box. Love the vids do a proper colab with Stuart plz. Thanks in advance
Both Clive and Diode have tested various different types of these. They all have the same problem - a capacitive dropper doesn't isolate the output from mains, and with a USB port being there, you can touch the USB and reference yourself to 240V AC. Hence, risk of electric shock and death.
Got that lamp with out disco ball and check it out ..it was ok. So i got the only two made on Tuesday when every one wasn't hungover from rice wine or made in another garage than one you got
I still want to know who said to themselves: You know, I've got my tent, a splendid view of nature, perfect weather, a star filled sky, a warm campfire, crappy food warmed or scorched by my fire, a great beer in hand, and the most amazing significant other. And you know what this situation most calls for? A disco light for my tent -- THAT is what would complete this most perfect picture! Granted I would probably drag my radio gear along with me, but I can not imagine ever needing a disco light for such an occasion!
Chances are, one guy who had no business designing electronics started doing well selling his original Dalek light, then once other would be industrialists noticed they copied him while knowing even less about how not to electrocute people, resulting in an entire rainbow army of increasingly defective lights.
The CE label: “Trust me, I’m certified... no no no, there’s no screw under here you don’t need to take the unit apart to see if I’m a fake cert, WHICH I’M CERTAINLY NOT!”
Yay, bigclive is home! The other backgrounds have been a bit strange to get used to, the past few weeks I've seen almost every one of your videos, be sad to have caught up😂 would you ever do a q and a video again?
I now have a 4G internet connection on the Isle of Man, but it's capped, so I'm going to have to be cautious about using it for streaming. It's also not been fully tested for streaming ability and has a slight tendency to lose connection with the 'net.
Do you ever get Poundland or similar company contacting you about your product reviews and what do you do if you find dangerous/faulty products that are still on general sale for the numpty consumer.
I got one of these recently and the blue LED seems so much happier than the one in this video. I guess that blue LED wasn't very happy with being driven the way it was. Note that I have got rid of the cheapo Euro plug that came with it (excruciatingly thin wire! thankfully it takes a standard 2 pin connector) and I plan to modify it before I get a "murder on the dancefloor" moment :p
I don't ever really see these kind of things in the US! I've seen a few videos now where cheap USB chargers (or failed USB chargers) put mains voltage right to the USB. Is this a case of me just being ignorant? Or does the US have stricter regulations?
Isn't reference to mains a violation of the various certifications? Including USB wall outlets and the like? Would think incomplete ground plugs would fall into this category too. Do these companies not get in trouble for such shenanigens?
The RAPEX (search for RAPEX european or you will get unrelated results about a rape deterrent/piss of the rapist real bad device) makes for a entertaining read. Lots of things which show up there show in stores also, which ain't that great.
So the light bulb probe between the USB ground and neutral.... is it safer to go USB ground to power point earth (assuming no RCD or similar)? Would accidentally getting live/active instead of neutral blow you/it up?
Why did I ended up throwing the charger across the room when I accidentally touched one of the connectors of a cheap chinese 18650 charger when I tried to put in a battery?
If it gave you a slight tingle that could have been capacitively coupled leakage. If it was a strong shock then the output of that charger is probably referenced to the mains. If it was a strong shock it would be good to see the insides.
bigclivedotcom Well, I felt my muscles contracting so it was somewhere in the middle. It charges 18650 batteries ok, but quite slow actually. I opened the charger and what I see is a bend spring that could touch some resistors and other components and short things out. It is connected to the minus terminal of the charger. i.imgur.com/EgX6fge.jpg
So now you can have a light when you go camping and boogie down out in the woods. I'm surprised that doesn't have a little speaker in it and a tiny MP3 player where you can load KC & the Sunshine Band on and "Get Down Tonight" and hopefully not get fried doing it.
I think in some forgotten department of the PLA section O "oh fluck we done it again" they sit and design as many ways to accidentally to kill off as many capitalised swine without raising suspicion.
Hard to tell without looking square on, but is the CE a fake compliance mark, or a real "China Export" mark, in the compliance mark, the E starts where the circle of the C would finish, while the "China Export" mark has them closer
These seem fairly safe compared to the Chinese water heater. The one that runs mains power through the water. They are an accident waiting to happen and the sad thing is it won't really be an accident.
+steve64464 Check from the mains input to the USB output with the meter on diode test. Test all pin and polarity permutations and look for any reading at all. Often 0.6 for a diode.
Thanks for the reply clive , In my instance its not a death usb device more like a wall wart adapter that outputs 12v@3amp , I had this really dodgy flash and breakers trip the other night with no trace of burns or smell it was like some high current jump i dont know if its safe to use or not.
In a follow up to this i thought id try one them voltage test screw drivers over the 12v output (neon light resistor based) and the neon gave a very dull glow so im assuming its prob gonna kill me if im earthed while touching it.
You'd still get a shock from it because there is still an AC current path to ground, even if that current path is DC decoupled by the capacitors. At double the capacitor value (1.5uF each side), the current would only be limited to about .11A or so at 240/50Hz, which is still enough to kill you.
Clive said "It's not too bright for technical reasons". And i immediately thought "all the available power is used to try to kill the user, isn't it?".
Rene Schickbauer Hehe, 'Technical reasons'
It gives "optimizing the bang / buck ratio" a whole new meaning.
Noooo there is no bucking going on. :P
Same can be said for the designer of the device...
Yes man, ain't that the truth, LOL.
If Clive ever stops uploading, we'll all know he got caught by something shittier than he was expecting and toasted.
..Yike!! It could reach the situation where the manufacturers are designing things specifically for him to strip down-- and zap him in the process. ...A bit like the Zus-40 anti withdrawal device that vapourised our bomb disposal chaps all those years ago..
😂
+AgentTasmania He's already made a deal that if he dies while shooting a video it'll still get uploaded. Not sure how that's going to work out though...
Brother Ralphie has been instructed to upload any post mortem videos after prying the phone out of Clive's cold dead hands. They both care about the viewers.
Oh, my. That sounds like he could be setting us up for a April 1st joke just before he goes on vacation.
I always watch Big Clive's videos when my mother-in-law's birthday is getting close.
My Ingroup Idol Did Nothing Wrong
Thanks for the idea!
My Ingroup Idol Did Nothing Wrong 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 HARSH
My first mother-in-law was nicknamed Ermintrude, until someone pointed out that Ermintrude was a _nice_ cow!
..... Perfect, (Cracked me up).
You know you've been watching Big Clive enough when you start recognizing where each burn scar on the desk originated from. :)
Murder on the dance floor
The Last Tango.
"DJ, gonna burn this god damn house right down". Seems like Sophie Ellis-Bextor discovered the Death Dalek long before Clive...
Panic at the Disco
Scott Harrison I think "Death by Disco" sums things up nicely! As someone born in the early 70s I still find myself wondering what they were thinking -- bell bottoms and scratchy, itchy, polyester clothing with ridiculous collars, but at least they seemed happy!
Disco Inferno!
" yeah it's got a discharge resistor, I'll just check that by putting my fingers across it " classic!!
But how can you know it's dangerous if it's not painted in the warning lurid pink??
The CE label, in this case it's the fake one which means Certain Electrocution !
Camp Exetermination
station240 you're joking but it's literally a symbol for "chinese export", made to look like the CE logo. Google it haha :)
Chinese Euthanasia?
Chinese excrement
Great, saw this at a car boot sale yesterday and thought "Big Clive would love this thing" and boom here it is.
Tearing down truly dangerous garbage products make the best vids.
The shoddier, the better!
Educational, or should I say enlightening?
Simon Radford It's not garbage, it's a gift
The AvE of cheaper item tear downs
I'm gonna be honest pretty much all the technical talk goes over my head. However I do enjoy you taking stuff apart and listening to you explain even if I don't fully understand.
Ah ah ah arrrggghhhh staying alive, staying alive
My favorite comment. Thanks for the chuckle. Cheers
😂😂😂😂 today's best comment lol
born to be alive
Disco Death Dalek!Even after being repaired its not up to scratch. Modify this thin, Clive. This one. Make it right. Put a lithium battery and a good charger in it and have that porta-disco that everybody will want! Color changing leds in the middle and lower sections, maybe in the disco light part as well. If it cannot survive as a real thing then perhaps give it life as something wonderful and absurd instead? I know I have the extra parts so I'm 100% certain that you do as well, Clive.Save that Dalek!Save that Dalek!Dave the Dalek!
I never thought i'd say this but.... i would like to see this item crushed by the crazed Finn who plays with a hydraulic press on his days off.
Lithium Ion (or Lithium Polymer) would probably work a bit better, although the 2.5V cut off voltage will be a bit low for the LEDs. Though if you use a TP4056 charging module with a micro-USB input (which therefore gets rid of the mains derived input), which includes overcharge/overdischarge etc, then it would be safer, and if you then used a boost converter, you'd get the 5V required for the USB (plus the LEDs would be brighter).
11:22 "... slight mains output issue." Ya, you would only end up slightly 6 feet under. Family and friends would only be slightly sad and slightly cry at your funeral.
Only if you happened to be rather well grounded.
petti78 if you were 6 feet under you'd certainly be well grounded!!!
Causality problem detected
Everybody, or at least most, people in countries which use proper power supply of 220-240VAC has had or will have an electrical shock. Vast majority survive.
"Adverse health effects", that's a very polite way of saying "involuntarily crap your pants and die"... :P
Probably would be safer to repurpose this with a USB charging system, so long as the USB charger isn't also plug-in death... :P
Ehhh, just use a cheap shitty pink usb charger from china, it'll be fine...
Upgrade it with a Lipo, a TP4056-based charging circuit and a proper boost converter/powerbank circuit for the USB out. ~$10 or less.
twocvbloke ... w/o even a blink !
I think he already fixed one of the old ones that way.
God bless you mate , you doing a huge service for people who don't have a clue about these things. Thank you.
Equal rights for death disco Darlek!
whats a darlek lol
Dalek is an alien from the TV-series "Doctor Who"
ua-cam.com/video/7tMuXuIYkco/v-deo.html
I know what a dalek is, but a darlek? I suppose that is pronounced the same in Mary poppins land.
Marcel Germann But what's a Darlek? Are they the knockoff versions of Daleks?
A typing error... ;-)
In those Chinese factories, sometimes the products will have a sticker that says "QC passed" even if it has glaring flaws like this death light. That's because QC stands for *quantity* control.
Welcome home sir! Nice to have you back in your normal habitat.
Where can I get one of these? It'd make a great gift for somebody I know.
Just my luck they'd regift it to a friend.
Look on eBay Chinese sellers I'm sure you'll find a good one for a £1 to blow up all your sheen friends lol 😂
Lionel Hutz You can get it on eBay.
Search this - Rechargeable camping disco light
I finally understood how such a thing could be live. Thx a lot mate, learn something new every day.
Looks like a great present to give a 'friend' that you actually don't like that much.
Why on earth would you visit such a person?
I bought one of the gold solar rechargable lanterns the charging cord doesn't really fit in us sockets and I will never use it. The battery recharges enough during the day by sitting it in the sun that I have never ran it dead while camping. It's a great light if you don't charge it by the charge cable that should never be plugged into any outlet
Modify the thing to charge via micro USB and it should be fine. The solar panels are limited by the fact that 2 of the strips are wasted by blocking diodes. Therefore, the batteries will never fully charge via the solar panels.
I just saw one of them death dico dalek's I a local shopping center. Pure Q U A L I T Y. So Exciting.
' It's got a discharge resistor, I'll just check by putting my finger across it ' This is why I love Big Clives videos :)
Well, maybe the disco light does have a use. In CPR class, we're taught to sing "Staying Alive" is the right rhythm for chest compressions. So this would be the perfect mood light for the first responder trying to revived the hapless user who touched it while charging.
I'm trying to think of the best way to describe the little noise Clive makes as he pulls the lid of ataround 6:15...
Disco died years ago here in the States. It humiliated many but as far as I know it never killed anybody. Cheers
There's a 70s station here in middle Tennessee that plays a lot of disco. Sad because the rest of their music is really pretty good, but you can't leave the station on for more than 15 minutes without getting bombarded with Bee Gees or Donna Summer.
Coming this fall to UA-cam, Big Clive and the Disco of DEATH
Just imagined a Time Lord Big Clive taking apart a Dalek on the Time Lord UA-cam talking about the shoddy construction.
It really makes me wonder why they didn't just include a double ended USB type A charging cable and leave all of the mains circuitry right out. It would save time, cost in production and make the product much safer without needing to use fake CE markings. It's not like people don't already have plenty of USB adapters to plug it into to charge. Alternatively, they could have included a cheap USB lipo charging/protection board with power bank function and upgraded the unit to use standard lipo cells in common sizes and it would have greater selling points since they could use the pads for one USB charging port to run the LEDs at a regulated voltage with proper resistors and the other USB charging port to charge a device safely.
The size it is, you'd hope it had a decent sized battery in it too. Preferably in the base to make it more stable.
Bro. Punctuation. My head exploded reading that. 😂 That said, I agree
china is trying to kill you.
The good chinese electrical engineers are busy designing useful things. The college dropouts who don't understand the issue of putting 120/240 V through the USB port design defective camping lanterns to flog to foreigners lol.
So can you explain why a capacitive dropper causes there to be a low voltage side for the LED, but also for there to be 240V at the low voltage?
Aden McKinley because the capacitor limits the current but not the voltage.
I believe that it goes something like this:
-On the side that has the capacitive dropper, the circuit was designed with a certain current draw in mind, and thus they were able to regulate the voltage by limiting the current. As long as the load is there, the voltage will be regulated, and as you only need to power up the LEDs and the battery, you don't really more than 5, 6V. This is fine for the electronics of the lamp.
-On the side that doesn't have a capacitive dropper, the voltage goes straight from the mains through the bridge rectifier. Given that this camping light is fed with AC, on the positive half of the sine wave nothing would happen (regarding electrical shocks) on the ground /negative / 0V side of the USB plug. However, on the negative half of the sine wave, current would flow from mains side to the ground / negative / 0V side of the USB plug. On an ideal, forward biased diode (considering conventional current flow), you'd only get current flow from the anode to the cathode, i.e., when the voltage potential is higher on the anode than it is on the cathode. If USB ground / 0V / negative side is connected to the diode's anode (inside the bridge rectifier), and the mains fed voltage is on the cathode, then the potential on USB ground would be 0V, while on the mains side it would be, on worst case scenario (on the negative half of the side wave), a peak of -320V. Given this, current would flow from mains to the USB connector, and with little to no series resistance (no capacitive dropper on this portion of the circuit!), you would effectively have mains voltage present at the USB connector, which is tied (either on the light or the phone side) to the "0V" pin of the USB port. Effectively, the ground of the USB port would be referenced to mains voltage, and if you were touching your phone on an exposed metal surface, you would too. If you were touching the floor or something with your bare feet, you're allowing current to flow from mains to earth, using you as the wire... aka getting zapped in the process.
I'm sorry I needed to write such a big text to try and explain such a thing, it was not my intention. Wait for someone that can convey the idea in a better way, and correct any mistakes I've made (which I'm sure there are).
Capacitive droppers limit the current to the rest of the circuitry, the resulting voltage across this circuitry is due to the difference in the relative impedance between that of the capacitor and the rest of the circuitry. In the case of this lamp, it's mostly the battery. But if you touch the right part (or wrong part depending on how you look at it), mains current can flow via a diode to you to and then to earth (ground). The diode will drop the voltage only by about 0.65V to 1V. So you get more or less the full mains voltage.
God you learn some scary shit on this channel. I found myself on a live feed yesterday explaining to someone why I thought using a voltage regulator to enable him to power a 4.6v board with a 9v battery would probably be better than him using a resistor (as it would be less likely to sap battery life or fry the board), and I've never even done it myself! Watching Uncle Clive and reading the comments gets into your brain!!
It's because there are two difference points of reference. The LEDs only see the low voltage across the NiCd battery, but the entire circuit is floating at 240V above ground. The LEDs don't see this because they don't have a ground connection, but you very probably do (via your feet and the floor, or by touching a water tap, or heating radiator etc.)
Nice to see you back home at 'the bench' Clive.
Oh for gods sake... I'd weaned myself off watching these videos and now I've started again!!!! Am becoming a junkie for these techno vids... Lol
It's almost as if the CE sticker was added as an afterthought.
thats not a "European Conformity" sticker thats a "China Export" another way China circumvents copyright + safety laws
They can be faked and with how bad this light is I bet it is
You could fix (replace) the power supply and thus make it have no issues...
Ah, the Isle of Mann, home of the 1965 Peel Trident automobile.
Welcome home BC!
We look forward to your more tear downs and modding videos.
Cheers
Those Poundland screwdrivers are actually really good for the price. Mine lasted for almost 3 months before some bits started to get seriously damaged
Good to have you back at your own bench Clive!
Ah, it's technically challenged, like many modern people.
Did you throw it into the bathtub for maximum sensation?
yeah... "adverse health effect".. ...hmm... like death? I love how you word it!
Thumbs up for the "scream hysterically" bit at the end. It got a snort out of me (can't laugh out loud too much while in public).
Clive you could build a fire around the disco light with it strapped to a stake in the middle whilst playing disco inferno. A great alternative to poor old guy on November the 5th. A little melodramatic but fitting for a potential killer.
Well, that's a "party stopper" ;D
Oh wow, I have one of those. I got it from my cousin who came to visit last summer...
Clive, please replace the charger and battery with a powerbank and USB charger. I'd like to buy one of these if you can do this.
This sounds like a project you could easily do yourself.
I'll do it one day. Buy one of these, switch it to Lithium Ion and have it as USB derived instead of via the mains, as it then gets rid of the capacitive dropper and the live USB.
Well.... all we need now is a tear down of a non-lethal cheapie USB camping light
Loved the comment about the usefulness of those phone sleeves
"One of these not faulty but just completely fatal usb devices...". Lovely!
I bet the Bastard Operator From Hell would buy this as an anonymous gift to bump off a boss who's overstaying his welcome.
All I can think of now is Disco Daleks screeching the lyrics to disco and dance hits.
HAVE YOU HEEEEARD... ABOUT THE NEW DANCE CRAAAAAAZE?
LISTEN TO US... I'M SURE YOU'LL BE A-MAAAAAZED.
I have 2 of those (but version with solar panel instead of that globe)
solar panel could provide max 3V (for 3xAAA batteries it is just not enough) and USB was connected directly to battery
But its power was okay, so i drill-modified it and now there sits 2x 18650 3450mAh LG cell with USB charging and 2A USB out.
"I think it has a discharge resistor across it", "I'll just check that by putting my finger across it " 😂😂
Welcome home Clive!!
Quality Engineering Design right there, Mate! (The sort of thing you'd buy for Mother-in-Law Christmas Presents :-) )
I used to have a "Death Before Disco" T-shirt...maybe that is where they got the idea for this light?
"I'll just test that by putting my finger across it" ...holy crap, he has become Codyslab!
This is a prime candidate to improve its function. Add one of the taser stun modules so it can give a proper shock and then give it to your coworker Vince.
I just did a quick Google search for "solar camping lights" and the death-dalek was about the tenth product listed... There's also another version, it looks a bit different, doubt the circuitry has any substantial changes though...
oh you did it last year, with the solar panel! video is called "Deadly camping light with 240v USB outlet."
They sell very well on amazon.Wonder how many ppl get killed by it. I also found a version without mains. Only solar and a battery compartment.
When you "screw it up?" Isn't it screwed up, already?
When you pulled out the phone I was like "holy heck that's a Wileyfox!" I'm watching this video on a swift 2 plus right now 😁
I bought a cheap flashlight that had a mains plug so I removed the AC plug and wired in a USB lead because I watch your videos of these crazy death contraptions and I don't trust them.
That's not a few issues... that's a whole subscription.
I think I'll buy one of these and do a LiPo conversion. I'll obviously get rid of the capacitive dropper right out of the box and replace it with a micro USB LiPo charger/protection board.
Good idea. I'm going to do one of those too, shove a TP4056 onto the input (with protection) and whack a great big LiPo or 18650 Li-Ion into the top. I could even keep the solar panel, if I get one with a panel on it. That'll do it.
The Doctor "Big Clive" fixing a deadly disco dalek!
Clive, I'm listening to this video thru the exact same lantern but now they've added a dang fine Bluetooth speaker and a..... functional solar panel. Plus worlds dodgiest "wall cord" and great engrish box. Love the vids do a proper colab with Stuart plz. Thanks in advance
DiodeGoneWild tested bassicly the exact same thing lol
Both Clive and Diode have tested various different types of these. They all have the same problem - a capacitive dropper doesn't isolate the output from mains, and with a USB port being there, you can touch the USB and reference yourself to 240V AC. Hence, risk of electric shock and death.
Got that lamp with out disco ball and check it out ..it was ok. So i got the only two made on Tuesday when every one wasn't hungover from rice wine or made in another garage than one you got
I saw a similar one of these in the “As Seen on TV” section. I wonder if that is a death trap too.
Before U2, Bono was front-man for an obscure quintet from Dublin called "Dodgy Surprises".
I still want to know who said to themselves: You know, I've got my tent, a splendid view of nature, perfect weather, a star filled sky, a warm campfire, crappy food warmed or scorched by my fire, a great beer in hand, and the most amazing significant other. And you know what this situation most calls for? A disco light for my tent -- THAT is what would complete this most perfect picture!
Granted I would probably drag my radio gear along with me, but I can not imagine ever needing a disco light for such an occasion!
is this the third 'death daleck' camping light? I hope they never do Lithium cells.
It's one of MANY of the things.
Chances are, one guy who had no business designing electronics started doing well selling his original Dalek light, then once other would be industrialists noticed they copied him while knowing even less about how not to electrocute people, resulting in an entire rainbow army of increasingly defective lights.
The CE label:
“Trust me, I’m certified... no no no, there’s no screw under here you don’t need to take the unit apart to see if I’m a fake cert, WHICH I’M CERTAINLY NOT!”
I've determined that Clive is the Bob Ross of Electronics - Nefarious Version.
Yay, bigclive is home! The other backgrounds have been a bit strange to get used to, the past few weeks I've seen almost every one of your videos, be sad to have caught up😂 would you ever do a q and a video again?
Maybe a meet up/live stream, with q&a and group activities (teardowns/schematics, quick builds, games, etc.). A bit of edutainment. ;)
I now have a 4G internet connection on the Isle of Man, but it's capped, so I'm going to have to be cautious about using it for streaming. It's also not been fully tested for streaming ability and has a slight tendency to lose connection with the 'net.
Is there a local pub or Starbucks with decent wifi you could use?
bigclivedotcom maybe just two videos, one saying send me questions, the other with answers😂 or a sleep over
Do you ever get Poundland or similar company contacting you about your product reviews and what do you do if you find dangerous/faulty products that are still on general sale for the numpty consumer.
"but with a disco twist , so atleast you can go out in style".......
I got one of these recently and the blue LED seems so much happier than the one in this video. I guess that blue LED wasn't very happy with being driven the way it was.
Note that I have got rid of the cheapo Euro plug that came with it (excruciatingly thin wire! thankfully it takes a standard 2 pin connector) and I plan to modify it before I get a "murder on the dancefloor" moment :p
I don't ever really see these kind of things in the US! I've seen a few videos now where cheap USB chargers (or failed USB chargers) put mains voltage right to the USB. Is this a case of me just being ignorant? Or does the US have stricter regulations?
Many of the imported products bypass US and European safety agencies.
Yay, another dangerous and deadly camping light! Awesome :D
Meanwhile in the office: "This camping light will be our next killer product." How hard can it be to isolate the mains from the USB?
Isn't reference to mains a violation of the various certifications? Including USB wall outlets and the like? Would think incomplete ground plugs would fall into this category too. Do these companies not get in trouble for such shenanigens?
These are dangerous products that defeat the usual safety filtering channels by being sold directly from China.
Who has jurisdiction?
The RAPEX (search for RAPEX european or you will get unrelated results about a rape deterrent/piss of the rapist real bad device) makes for a entertaining read. Lots of things which show up there show in stores also, which ain't that great.
At 6:50 is that a discharge resistor? I'll just check that with my finger! 😨⚡
00:09 ♯ Incredibly fabulous disco Dalek! ♯ [music]
How do you set and calculate the output voltage and current for a capacitive dropper?
+Timothy Sherratt You can use the formula for capacitive reactance or you can experiment with values. Usually from 0.01 to 2uF.
So the light bulb probe between the USB ground and neutral.... is it safer to go USB ground to power point earth (assuming no RCD or similar)? Would accidentally getting live/active instead of neutral blow you/it up?
If I'd tested to earth/ground the main RCD/GFI for the house would have tripped.
Super good job. Thanks. All the best to you.
@BigClive Could the capacitive dropper be gutted from this and a proper voltage adapter / buck regulator be put in so it is safe?
2:33 discoability is the number one product feature i look for when purchasing anything
Why did I ended up throwing the charger across the room when I accidentally touched one of the connectors of a cheap chinese 18650 charger when I tried to put in a battery?
If it gave you a slight tingle that could have been capacitively coupled leakage. If it was a strong shock then the output of that charger is probably referenced to the mains. If it was a strong shock it would be good to see the insides.
bigclivedotcom Well, I felt my muscles contracting so it was somewhere in the middle. It charges 18650 batteries ok, but quite slow actually. I opened the charger and what I see is a bend spring that could touch some resistors and other components and short things out. It is connected to the minus terminal of the charger. i.imgur.com/EgX6fge.jpg
Undefined Lastname Resistor R4 is directly connected to mains voltage, so is the 400v capacitor.
So now you can have a light when you go camping and boogie down out in the woods. I'm surprised that doesn't have a little speaker in it and a tiny MP3 player where you can load KC & the Sunshine Band on and "Get Down Tonight" and hopefully not get fried doing it.
I think in some forgotten department of the PLA section O "oh fluck we done it again" they sit and design as many ways to accidentally to kill off as many capitalised swine without raising suspicion.
Hard to tell without looking square on, but is the CE a fake compliance mark, or a real "China Export" mark, in the compliance mark, the E starts where the circle of the C would finish, while the "China Export" mark has them closer
These seem fairly safe compared to the Chinese water heater. The one that runs mains power through the water. They are an accident waiting to happen and the sad thing is it won't really be an accident.
"Not faulty, just completely fatal"
As if that's any better hahah
Is there a way to test for mains referenced power supply with a multimeter instead?
+steve64464 Check from the mains input to the USB output with the meter on diode test. Test all pin and polarity permutations and look for any reading at all. Often 0.6 for a diode.
Thanks for the reply clive , In my instance its not a death usb device more like a wall wart adapter that outputs 12v@3amp , I had this really dodgy flash and breakers trip the other night with no trace of burns or smell it was like some high current jump i dont know if its safe to use or not.
+steve64464 Was it inside the unit? If it was it's probably dead. If was from the output cable then that's dangerous.
In a follow up to this i thought id try one them voltage test screw drivers over the 12v output (neon light resistor based) and the neon gave a very dull glow so im assuming its prob gonna kill me if im earthed while touching it.
Could you make the capacitive dropper "safer" by using a capacitor in both Live and Neutral (double capacity to get same current of course)
You'd still get a shock from it because there is still an AC current path to ground, even if that current path is DC decoupled by the capacitors. At double the capacitor value (1.5uF each side), the current would only be limited to about .11A or so at 240/50Hz, which is still enough to kill you.