Inside the cheapest remote socket I could find.

[@Lenny-kt2th]

"Not that bad at all" is high praise when coming from Clive...

[@anlumo1]

He's British after all.

[@Treddian]

I like that he takes all factors into account, including the price.

[@DaveSomething]

Is that the same as skookum? #2YearsLater

[@KJFMZ]

@@DaveSomething It's more like "not tea bag".

[@t0nito]

I have one of these for almost 10 years now and surpringly it still works! My bedroom TV has shitty speakers, so I use external computer speakers with it, so I programmed this remote socket with the TV's remote power button so the speakers turn on and off with the TV.

[@ncc74656m]

Clive, I love that your videos are equally useful for just putting on and having as background noise because you have the most soothing voice on KZbin, as well as destructive learning and entertainment!

[@bigclivedotcom]

A lot of people use my videos as an ambient audio track. Some to help babies sleep and some to help adults sleep too.

[@fredflintstone1]

@@bigclivedotcom That would explain why I fall asleep so often watching your channel :-)

[@vinnysworkshop]

Anyone else realize he was flipping us off at 15:26?

[@bvalentino]

I think we should have a competition for the worst power factor item you can buy on ebay. Maybe make one yourself? The energy company is going to love it

[@CerealKiller951]

Valentino Bianchi those '20kw energy saver' units which are just one giant capacitor would win that.

[@tecvictor1736]

he need to get negative reactiv power :P

[@SigEpBlue]

I'd like to see something that draws substantial current though, maybe pulls 1-2 kVAR. They're not going to care about this milliamp-level shite. :)

[@Chuckiele]

Actually the horrible power factor is a quite positive thing on that device, compared to actually wasting that much power from a resistive dropper. Its just phaseshifting and there shouldnt be a lot of distortion.

[@billiejean3748]

Considering most non-resistive loads are inductive anyway, this is acually going to be doing them a favor. The current draw is so low that it dosen't matter much anyway

[@tncorgi92]

That programming capability could make for some fun practical jokes.

[@Treddian]

There's a reason Clive's TV remote wouldn't work with it. Too many people were programming TV remote channel and volume buttons to turn off the TV's power as a prank.

[@0xbenedikt]

It's probably not that, but rather that they couldn't be bothered to implement other codes than the RC5 codes used by these little remotes.

[@crusher70]

Hi Big Clive, I just wanted to say thank you for your amazing videos they are so interesting. I have quite poor health these days and can spend most of them in bed. I have my own electronics workshop full of half finished projects as I get unwell and can’t finish them. Anyway it’s great to watch you doing what I love to do. keep up the great work.

[@noahagnew6517]

clive: "I always take it to bits then explain how it works. I've done this so many times that i'll just explain how it works before taking it apart"

[@iprot00]

Where does your quote end? At the end of file on KZbin?

[@noahagnew6517]

@@iprot00 somewhere around there

[@speeder1230]

sir i could watch you all day i have no idea what your talking about but your voice is riveting

[@mwshando]

Haven't got a single clue what u go on about half the time yet I still watch these videos. Very interesting breakdowns sir.

[@zh84]

I am most impressed by that power factor!

[@JoshWeaverRC]

zh84. What is power factor or where is a good site to learn about it.

[@zh84]

Probably it is best to refer you to the Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor

[@JoshWeaverRC]

zh84. I was curious if this could be applied to DC for RC applications but it looks yo be AC. Looking to be efficient so if this is a related number then I wanted to know about it. Thanks.

[@zh84]

No, this is strictly to do with AC circuits. It's not quite the same as efficiency, which applies to both DC and AC.

[@SeanBZA]

33R resistor is there to tame the input to the 78l05, so that it gets around 15V input to it instead of the full 24V, which is a little beyond the input voltage rating for many of the cheaper fake ST clones. Just lacks the input current limiting fusible resistor( or regular resistor and fuse) to limit surge current, and of course the relay contacts are not rated for breaking or making mains voltages and currents, and definitely will weld together with a shorted output, if they do not do as the normally do and burn up first. Bigger relay, some input protection and it would be a better unit, though the case would have to be at least double the volume, and will also need to have a working PE connection as well.

[@landon400000]

The excitement Clive got when get guessed that cap amount, makes the whole video!

[@neville3151]

Not once have i watched your videos and not learned something. We especially love it when you blow something up. Keep up the good work.

[@DubiousEngineering]

Wow! ... that’s quite a lot of electronics for half a pint of beer (in an expensive pub!)... hmmm... do I have a use for one? ... hmmmm. Not yet, do I want one? ... probably!... still loving the Clive!

[@mmuharemagic]

I've been using one for years now as a means to turn on my HTPC with a remote. I removed all the AC omponents, and 5V regulator, replaced the relay with a 5V DC one, and power it from the standby rail directly. I also implemented a small feedback circuit so it disconnects the relay immediately, as a sort of push button emulation. Quite useful and safe that way.

[@DubiousEngineering]

fleaspotter I must admit, I’d probably look to re-box it too... perhaps use it to turn on an a custom audio system, or a decorative light that’s across the room... like this one... DuB-EnG: PAR CAN Stage Light PAR56 ornamental decorative contemporary designer studio house flatkzbin.info/www/bejne/jnq5hH6Qh6mAp68

[@CalcProgrammer1]

Not a bad design, but I wish they would have separate codes for On and Off. If you intend to hack these to use for "smart home" type applications, or even just to use anywhere where the device is out of sight (little difficult with IR, but totally possible with radio based remote switches) then the toggle button is useless unless you know what state the outlet is currently in. I bought a pack of 5 radio controlled outlets with the idea of hacking the controller for USB (and thus network via a Pi) control of my lamps. The buttons looked like on/off switches but underneath the plastic was just one button per lamp. Gave those away and found better remote outlets at Walmart sold as a Christmas light accessory in the seasonal department. These actually do have on and off buttons and I was able to decode the protocol using a cheap 315MHz radio receiver and my oscilloscope. Found additional kits with channels B, C, and D for a total of 12 switched outlets. It's convenient.

[@valimakm]

Nice to see that the relay is not rated for 250Vac only 125Vac.

[@slm60uk]

Surprised Clive didn't spot that one

[@bigclivedotcom]

I didn't notice that. I'm so used to the similarly sized relays being rated at 240v. I'll update the description.

[@greenaum]

Is there really a difference between 125V and 250V relays? Like are the contacts further apart? Different metals maybe? The voltage rating is the voltage it can happily break apart without arcing or welding or whatever. Since a 250V relay will be happy carrying 125V, if it were me I'd design all my relays for 250V, and just mark them as 125V depending on the market I was aiming at. Since factories might not want to pay for "extra voltage rating" so assume my relays were over-specced and therefore too expensive.

[@patrickcol]

Somewhat off topic I know, but I'm trying to fault-find a simple circuit board from an outside security lamp. The PIR wouldn't illuminate it but you could switch it on from inside, then it came on all night and wouldn't go off. I can see nothing glaring on the board but a failed relay could do that? Is there a simple way to test it, I have very limited experience and facilities but as I have four lamps and they have all failed, (posh German ones too), there must be a simple solution.

[@stinkycheese804]

That would just make them think it's fake junk, as any decent line voltage relay is rated for 250VAC.

[@raymondmucklow3793]

2 VJO's in 2 days man you're gonna spoil us. Well done.

[@GeoGrig]

how the f*** you wrote this 2 days ago when the video is up today?

[@Mark1024MAK]

George Iulian Grigore Time machine, he borrowed a TARDIS.

[@gordonrichardson2972]

Patreons get advance release.

[@locouk]

George Iulian Grigore Buy Clive a coffee and you too can comment early!

[@Anvilshock]

People still ask this?

[@ArlenMoulton2]

I've been running one of these for 3 years, no issues with overheating at all! Also, there's a nice feature for the Aussies with this one, the pins on the plug can pivot to allow them to be plugged into an AU/NZ outlet!

[@xpehkto]

The reason for this feature is that Chinese grounded outlet standard is similar to AU/NZ.

[@fieroboom]

When you put it in the Hopi, its holes make a face like "NOOOOOOO!!!!!" 😂🤣😂🤣

[@erikl1003]

I've been using a few of these around the house for several years. I think I had one fail but none cause any harm. I'd read or heard somewhere about them being a potential cause for concern so opened one up and took a peek. Eh. They seem fine. I did not however realize they used as much juice as they did sitting idle, never occurred to me to test it. Glad I stumbled upon this vid!

[@greenaum]

If the thing's designed for 125VAC, would that explain why the Zener is running so hot? It's having to drop more voltage than it was intended to. Either way, the thing looks like a horror, wouldn't be mentally capable of plugging it into the mains at mine. Freaks me out like girls are freaked out by spiders. If somebody put a gun to my head, I might plug it in but wouldn't leave it unsupervised. Worrying it's actually worse when it's switched off, not on.

[@phils4634]

Might have an "alternative use" as a low-power space heater for small spaces?? :-)

[@JasonRobards2]

Watching the first view videos of your channel in 2021 I couldn't quite follow the functionality of some of the circuitry in shady wall plug appliances. A short search of "Clive + plugs" led me to this video. So far my trip down the rabbit hole has been quite educational :)

[@phils4634]

Built my own versions of these a few years back. Omron relays, and support electronics from the "usual Chinese suppliers". Been in pretty regular use, and (after 3 1/2 years) zero failures.

[@Chuckiele]

Maybe there is another version for a different socket that actually uses the earth because the PCB has an empty space at that spot.

[@phils4634]

It wouldn't be too difficult to insert a UK standard earth pin there, and run a suitably heavy gauge cable to the socket "earth". You might have to do a spot of "trimming" where the connection to the pin's concerned since there doesn't seem to be enough space to accommodate a standard screw-clamp style earth pin.

[@Chuckiele]

You could surely modify it but I thought there might be a version like that already available. With the 125V relay you shouldnt use it on a UK socket anyway :P

[@needforsuv]

an Australian earth pin would work

[@GregorShapiro]

The "completely useless earth pin receptacle" at least allows users to insert a plug with an earth pin without having to resort to a hacksaw to cut off said pin.

[@coilsmoke2286]

The 'earth pin' connection could be used to detect a ground fault / leakage in devices that have proper grounds .

[@himselfe]

If Clive dies in one of these we will never know. Need to get Julian Ilett or David Watts to make a Ardunio deadman switch which automatically uploads the video to KZbin!

[@bigclivedotcom]

I've told my brother that if I die while making a video he's to upload it.

[@YodaWhat]

Wow, that's a bit macabre, and KZbin would quickly remove it, but I applaud the sense of transparency!

[@himselfe]

That's dedication!

[@skylark.kraken]

Yoda, as long as the video doesn't show the exact moment and just the frame before it is fine.

[@edisone1]

I had a whole system of remote control from Radio Shack, some time ago. It sent the control signals through the house wiring, and worked very well.... UNTIL my electric company installed remotely-reading meters. The meters sent a signal out, so they could be read without a meterman entering the house - and they also randomly turned my lights and appliances on and off and up and down! Whole system is in a big box of parts, now.

[@-yeme-]

the circuitry might be OK but those soldered connections onto the plug contacts are pretty horrible. it would only take an iffy connection with the thing plugged into it or the wall outlet to melt the solder and depending on what came loose it could be very entertaining, like in a really bad way.

[@alexwood020589]

Is anyone else suddenly feeling sorry for all the zenner diodes out there quietly suffering in the name of cheap electronics?

[@vidasvv]

What do you expect from a 5yr old engineer ?

[@stewartcaldwell5299]

zeners are born to burn.

[@duke_of_oz]

They're the stick incenses to the altar of human greed

[@flatfingertuning727]

A simple explanation for a capacitive dropper is that it takes more power than it a device needs during part of a cycle, but then feeds the power back to the mains during another part of the cycle. It is more efficient than a resistor because the extra power that is taken during part of a cycle can be fed back to mains instead of being dissipated as heat.

[@andljoy]

Thats a good candidate to take the PCB out and put it into a power strip.

[@custardo]

Great for remotely controlling 3 kettles at once! or one kettle a heater and a toaster !

[@Anvilshock]

A welder comes to mind.

[@Chuckiele]

A welder is actually already included because of the nice 125V relay xD

[@paulabraham2550]

With a triple adaptor in the front of it you could add an electric hob and an instantaneous water heater - everything you could possibly want when you wake up wanting your breakfast on a cold morning. It would be nice and warm anyway.

[@Chuckiele]

one of those electrode boilers would be quite appropriate to be used with this :D

[@Chuckiele]

Well, obviously.

[@Mark1024MAK]

Oh my! Our postie already thinks we are a bit strange, what with all the little packets constantly arriving from abroad, now there's another one that will turn up at some random time within the next month or two!

[@uK8cvPAq]

They've probably seen it all over the years, from dildos to weird little circuits from china.

[@DiyintheGhetto]

I think the micro controller is a Attiny84. The pinout and the way the power pins on it are the same as a Atmel attiny84. That is if they are just sitting with all Atmel chips. Because they are cheap and off the shelf parts.

[@JoshWeaverRC]

I was just looking at three of these for 20 USD at a cheap part store call Harbor Freight. I bought a 6 volt screw driver to not over torque fragile bolts. Guy asks me if I want the warranty so I said no thanks I expect it to break. Nice to have you to test these things.

[@AmazingDX]

I have one of those but the version that just comes with a manual switch, no electronics. Impressive that they could fit all that inside..! Now I want one

[@dogbiscuituk]

That hot Zener's going to boil all the electrolyte out of that cap before very long!

[@twocvbloke]

I remember when Lime recalled one of their remote controlled "energy saving" plugs, amazing design, the live & neutral pins cold pull out at any time and be left in the socket, so, the one I'd been sent (which they said to bin on receipt of the replacement) I gutted, and yes, the L & N pins came out easily, and fitted the PCB inside a project box and wired a 4-way extension to the output from the board, worked great 'til the PSU in the plasma TV popped due to being switched on and off in such a manner... :P

[@locouk]

I’m trying to figure out why you’d need 16 on and off codes. 🤔

[@tncorgi92]

Imagine the fun you could have programming it so not only does every remote control in the house activate it, but also the garage door opener. (By "the house" I mean "the victim's house")

[@Fridelain]

You could have multiple of those devices triggered by the same code, in different combinations. So a single button press for each combination you cared about.

[@anlumo1]

One remote for every inhabitant.

[@locouk]

anlumo1 16 people in the kitchen with their remotes, 8 want the table lamp on and 8 want it off. 🤔

[@anlumo1]

Well, you want more than 4, and 16 is a nice round number :)

[@donwald3436]

Was expecting you to get a zing as you said "To stop you from getting a zing off the pins" 🤣

[@Seegalgalguntijak]

I'm always amazed at what Clive calls "not that bad at all".

[@bigclivedotcom]

I think I may have lowered my standards to Chinese levels. And I'm also considering things for their modular hackability.

[@alexanderwingeskog758]

This unit lacks important safety feature, still poking it live with pen :-) almost by finger!

[@dosgos]

That zener is pretty hot next to cap in small environment. Should be failure point

[@stevec5000]

Pretty good guess as to what's inside. Are you using Remote Viewing now to see what's in the device before ripping it apart?

[@vidasvv]

The missing ground pin was left out to exhaust anything over 16 codes ! Great video, TNX !!!!

[@duke_of_oz]

16 codes on an external memory? Marvellous engineering

[@Roy_Tellason]

When you were doing your predictive description and got to the 5 volt part, I thought "No, I'd stick a 78L05 in there"... :-)

[@stewartcaldwell5299]

When you say zener, I always think of my 1967 650cc Triumph and its wonderful Lucas electrics, and the burns I got trying to figure out what it did.

[@wbfaulk]

The fifteen buttons on the bottom that you pointed at (4:25) only number twelve. I would have assumed that you were also including the white row, but you specifically called out one of the white ones as the additional one. So, are you sure it was 16 buttons that it remembered, or was it actually only 13?

[@moth.monster]

That looks kinda useful honestly. Probably better for American style electricity.

[@DavidVanCleef]

The mystery uC is likely an ELAN EM781XX series, one of the cheaper chinese 8-bit OTP/mask type.

[@seanrodden6151]

I lived in china 2012-14 and those US style connectors can be found on deathdaptors but domestic wall sockets are almost exclusively an upside down Australian socket.

[@markschwarz2137]

Use the unreasonable force, Luke! Erm, I mean Clive.

[@ToWhom]

i must have missed something. what use is a memory of 16 codes when it only has one function? (on and off)

[@bigclivedotcom]

Multiple remote controllers.

[@anthonysibley1021]

The flaming doll video is now going around facebook, Clives about to hit the bigtime!

[@Anvilshock]

Sadly, he's not. It was the one video where he experimented with one of those content creation network things on KZbin, and they hosed him royally. They still own the rights and only ever once paid him pennies to shut him up after he kept demanding his fair share for long enough. First and last time he used such a network. The Bastards. Check the video description to see who they are. "For licensing/usage please contact: licensing(at)jukinmedia.com" Hope they get their dicks eaten off by rabid weasels.

[@bigclivedotcom]

And the Facebook copies are only generating revenue for Facebook and rarely if ever link to my channel.

[@anthonysibley1021]

I did credit you in the comments, but as you quite rightly said there was no link to your channel on the video itself

[@tncorgi92]

For me, the Easter one with Mr. Bun-Bun was just as good. I hope it makes a comeback this spring. Or maybe v2.0.

[@danner253]

Anthony Sibley It's stolen. Theft. Just stay away from FB

[@AnthraxGamingStudios]

Clive It has the Grounding slot so it can still accept plugs without an adapter even if it doesn't work

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

AO Seven Electronics That would work without the metal bit.

[@Spiz103]

It.... is actually better than I was expecting

[@AMBActual]

Guessed nearly every component before he opened it. How much do you have to take apart to do that?

[@ChrisD4335]

I love watching him inside things

[@iprot00]

Looks like Clive here just invented HED - Heat Emitting Diode! Impressive!

[@olegarkhangelsky3417]

What? +7 Celsius at your bench?

[@Anvilshock]

He likes it chilly.

[@AL_O0]

8:29 that looks like a LEZD light emitting zener diode, though it would be cool if it existed

[@AL_O0]

Doug Reed well, it already is a very faint IR LEZD

[@crazygeorgelincoln]

Does the 2 square peg plug system have an earth connection that could have been wired through Wondering what sort of load it can switch. .

[@bigclivedotcom]

The relay is rather poorly rated at 125V so I'd only trust it with very low power loads.

[@grobetog]

I think it would have been better to use a smaller (~220nF) capacitor dropper but with a larger smoothing capacitor. That would give you enough stored energy to trigger the relay, with enough continuous supply to hold it, while consuming half the power.

[@phils4634]

And reducing the load on the Zener (so improving long-term reliability)

[@lumpyfishgravy]

It's an option. You can run a 24V relay at 20V and it should be OK at household temperatures.

[@uK8cvPAq]

Its probably cheaper to buy a new one than spend money heating the soldering iron and using solder to repair it!

[@YodaWhat]

I have run 24 VAC relays very successfully on 12 VDC, though some units will not drop out as expected thanks to the manufacturer using a steel which retains too much residual magnetization for a DC-powered relay. It's not a problem for those few relays to run on AC power, of course near the rated coil voltage. My work-around was to run those relays on *unfiltered, partially-rectified power,* which is DC with an AC component. That is easily achieved by putting a large-ish resistor in parallel with the one diode used for half-wave rectification. Caveat: Not all coil driver circuits will be happy with that kind of relay powering!

[@H4zuZazu]

You realy need an Isolation Transformer.

[@kensmith5694]

Yes, and on with an on/off switch so things can be plugged in then switched on/off from a small distance. I used to have a box with a 110/220 switchable transformer and a variac. It sadly got lost in the great flood.

[@H4zuZazu]

I have in the Shed a 4kVA (230) to 250V) Isolation transformer, but and Heavy as Fork.

[@Chuckiele]

Why? Hes always isolated from earth anyway.

[@kensmith5694]

:) I have one arm permanently longer than the other from something like that :) I lifted it and carried it a ways and then quite suddenly a bad thing happened that it took months for my arm to recover from.

[@andymadden8183]

*really

[@TheMrMarkW]

I used to have a touch light switch made by Vari at B&Q that also used to do similar tricks with a remote control. In my case it worked with a Sky remote, so in my bedroom I could press the ? button on the sky remote and it would turn on and off the lights :)

[@sajkik2098]

Wireless earth pin. Shouldn't be conected to plastic housing bcoz of safety reason? ;)

[@phils4634]

Use hot-melt glue to "bond" it! (I've heard hot-melt described as "the solder of the plastic world!")

[@sajkik2098]

Hey, why not to start reading emoticons? ;)

[@Gooberslot]

I miss your giant calculator.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I should use it more.

[@andymadden8183]

Said someone else, "How could you lose that calculator?! It was about the size of a door!".

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

If the external EEPROM needs 3 signal wires, the μC would need at least 9 pins (2 power, 2 inputs, 2 outputs, 3 memory). So that external memory cost them the ability to use an 8-pin μC. Also, the standby power is a bit high even though it meets the 1W max standard. Maybe some arrangement with a second capacitive dropper could allow a supply that doesn't draw the full current when off. Talking redesign, the LED could share the window with the IR sensor for simpler casing and extra isolation.

[@krishna34674]

The little splash of solder is from dip soldering, when they dipped the pcb the solder went over the edge.

[@Slikx666]

Can't wait to see what you're going to make it into.

[@dr_jaymz]

I'd like to see Clives take on the sonoff devices, basically inline 240v switch for a fiver, works with Alexa etc. Looks ok, but there are things that can go wrong. I used two in the kitchen light units.

[@D3faulted1]

What is the world coming to when Clive can buy the cheapest thing he could find and it's not a complete death trap........

[@Chuckiele]

Well, it includes the classic deathdapter that allows you to plug in earthed devices into an unearthed socket or even plug your devices in wrongly so that you make their casing come live at mains voltage and it includes a horribly underrated relay that would break quickly and could even set your house on fire. But apart from that its quite neat.

[@lumpyfishgravy]

This is though.

[@greenaum]

It overheats, is badly made, and lacks safety features. It's a pretty decent sized death trap even if it's not a complete one. Prob why it's best not to buy mains stuff off Ebay from China. Or anything that matters, really.

[@Chuckiele]

But cheap mains stuff from Ebay is always so much fun.

[@amphetamineblue4172]

I love your videos, but please can you put the Hopi out of shot when not actually in use ? Watching on a big screen the flickering gives me a headache and I have to switch off :(

[@devilsknight]

Hi Clive. I have some of the *broadlink* brand wifi ones of these. What do you think of these as they are really cheap too. Also got the in wall rf light switches

[@grassulo]

I wonder if you could put in a better beefier Zener diode so it wouldn't get so hot, the remote plugs I bought don't get hot at all when off but we have 120v ac in USA so that might be a factor in that. The ones I bought make a very loud click so they might be using quite a big 120v relay and another supply for the RF circuits probably a switch mode chip of some type.

[@TheBlackadder-Edmund]

Does it keep the memory when unpluged? There are some IR "plugs"you can buy on ebay to control the TV from the smartphone and a specific app (the are several, normally they have a Database of TVs and remote set-ups). The "plug" could be easily done with a LED apparently without buying on ebay. Maybe check the IR function from a smartphone?

[@yagoa]

so here in Brazil it won't last with ambient 32C probably 140C with the housing closed at terminal temp, I would just solder on some piece of copper on the zener right?

[@fortuner123]

Great entertainment for 2.65. Chips confuse me. I can understand the circuit but I could never design one. I couldn't describe it either but when you describe it I can follow, sort of! Thanks.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It all falls into place over time. Modern chips are literally a black box. The dedicated microcontrollers used in these things have hidden software inside that is optimised for that specific task.

[@UndercoverFerret404]

When using the IR camera, just remember that all the things have different emissivity and you can't necessarily assume that your camera shows the correct temperature.

[@Window_Hero]

How bad is the worst remote socket on Ebay? Remarkably, pretty good.

[@stinkycheese804]

While I understand and appreciate the economy in validating whether the cheapest version of some widget is acceptable, to me it often makes sense to spend a bit more for (hopefully) less corner cutting. If a thing lasts 3 years but one that costs twice as much, does the job better with more features for 6 years, it seems money well spent to go with the latter.

[@ddzwiedziu]

4:39 I think I have radio sockets that also hold some unspecified amount of codes. I thought that they hold only two codes, but with what you're saying now, and how much trouble I had when I wanted to remove a code (TL;DR: I've almost gone bonkers) makes me think that they could be built with the same logic if not the same parts.

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's usually easier to delete all the codes and then reprogram the valid ones.

[@ddzwiedziu]

@@bigclivedotcom This is (probably) exactly what happened. I just wonder did I had to put a third code or the 17th code? Unfortunately I have only one pilot and it can do three pairs of on-off (so I hope it was three ;P).

[@AiOinc1]

calling it now the button is just straight to the IR output line if it's a separate module if it's built into the micro then it's probably on a different circuit

[@RandyDarkshade2]

My stepdad bought one from Amazon to use on his shop vac just so he didn't have to keep running to one end of the shop to turn it on/off when ever he was using the table saw etc, however it didn't last long before it just.....died. Not sure what failed on it nor am I sure what it's load rating was but I don;t think I'd use these on heavy loads like power tools.

[@Aerospacesmith]

LifeOfAnEnglishman thanks would have been an inductive load. Most of these remote sockets (wifi included) are made for low resistive loads only. The motor in the shop vac probably killed the relay.

[@stonedsavage7814]

Aerospacesmith that happened to my powerbank as i tried using it on a water pump only 3watts so i thought it would be fine but i guess not.

[@sugarbooty]

They have special relays rated in horsepower for inductive loads, if you change it out and make sure that it can handle the power through the board then that would remedy the problem. The smaller relays tend to arc over with larger inductive loads and oxidize the contacts so they don't make connection anymore or weld the contacts together

[@lumpyfishgravy]

Am I right in thinking a "shop vac" is a dust extraction system? Probably the startup current killed it, if not the running current.

[@pizzablender]

The wires will also heat up of a 16 amp load is plugged in. Having such a device pass certification is not that easy for that kinf of reason (but in the UK one could have a 4 amp fuse in it and pass, probably).

[@uzaiyaro]

I wonder if it was actually cheaper to use two ICs dedicated for their own tasks instead of a single oddball IC, being why they did so.

[@MarkTillotson]

Using a bistable relay would mean much smaller capacitive dropper would be needed, but perhaps a slightly larger 24V electrolytic - most bistables take 50ms to switch and consume no current otherwise. But I think it would double the BOM cost to use such a relay.

[@coilsmoke2286]

The 'earth pin' connection could be used to detect a ground fault / leakage in devices that have proper grounds .

[@nuclearcat]

My guess MCU is STM or some STC. As cap/diodes might fail, is there any fuse? Maybe i missed this moment in video, but this is i believe critical part of safety for any capacitor-transformerless power supply.

[@YodaWhat]

+nuclearcat -- Sure, it has fuses... The relay is a smoke-emitting fuse, the diodes are smoke-emitting fuses (and/or noise-emitting fuses), the circuitboard traces are smoke-emitting fuses. Some may even emit fire. ;) At least the 78L05 has internal protection, unless it's a cheap knock-off.

[@hobomnky]

it would be helpful if you included a link to where you bought it

[@18000rpm]

Would this really be safe to use with a 500W appliance?

[@binky_bun]

Evening Clive, I have a couple of sets of those recalled B&Q ones and I'd love to see you tear one down and maybe test to destruction. I'm curious if the recall is just because they're only rated at 1KW and I'd guess people might have a tendency to use them on electric heaters and the like and over load them. Maybe they do just spontaneously burst into flames. I've had mine hooked up to my shed lights and never had an issue. I was going to tear them down myself but you'd do a much better job and it might make for an exciting vid. If you're interested I'll post them over to you

[@LAHegarty]

I've never seen him reply to a post.

[@binky_bun]

LAHegarty I very rarely comment on a video and never read other comments unless I have a good reason to.

[@LAHegarty]

I've never seen Clive reply to a post.

[@0xbenedikt]

I have seen him replying to quite a few comments actually. But this is not Ben's lucky day.

[@binky_bun]

Benedikt Müssig I guess not but I'll still tear them down. They are infected with the cancer that is tri-wing screws. I'm in the middle of moving house at the moment though.

[@MadScientist267]

These things always scare me for use with line equipment but I have a small pile of the boards from this kind of thing because the guts are fine with an external supply. Based an entire communication system years ago on similar such salvaged crap, that used RF instead of IR... Never had the first problem with it but wouldn't have wanted to use any of it as originally designed

[@nigeljames6017]

I probably missed something, but I guess the zener was dropping voltage from the bridge rectifier, but what is the five volt reg dropping it’s voltage from ? The relay would be operating at 12V so even at a small current 12 - 5 = 7V drop would get that L05 very hot.

[@Chuckiele]

The regulator doesnt actually drop voltage, its like a tiny non isolated power supply.

[@nigeljames6017]

Chuckiele I’m sorry to have to disagree with you, but the main function of a voltage regulator is to drop voltage. The regulator in the video above is equivalent to a LM78L05. This device has a maximum input voltage rating of thirty volts, but the output remains at five volts. The more current you draw, and the greater the voltage difference between input and output means more heat dissipation, W = (Vo - Vi) * I. www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm78l.pdf#page4

[@bigclivedotcom]

The quiescent current is just a few milliamps so it would equate to roughly 24V - 5V = 19V x .004A = 76mW. The relay is not powered through the regulator.

[@nigeljames6017]

bigclivedotcom Thanks for your reply, I’m honored ! I realized that in my comment I had not included the four milliamps to keep the device operating, and also that the relay was not powered from it, but that still leaves the current drawn by both the micro and the memory. Probably insignificant, but I didn’t catch where Vi came from, so I couldn’t “guestemate” the power dissipation. Anyway thanks for the reply no need to respond to this drivel !

[@jonsnell4751]

The Ir detector usually has a pull up resistor to the 5v rail. Nominal 10k.

[@Clinton_Cann]

Is it the type that will turn on when transmiting at 5watts on a Two radio. It's always fun driving past homes talking on a radio as the radio transmissions set off peoples security light's due to electricians failing to install RF chokes in lighting circuits.

[@rushthezeppelin]

Been learning alot about electrical engineering from this channel (among others like electroboom) but I'm confused about this. Why does it have a bridge rectifier if it's input and output are AC? I'm assuming it's because the internal workings require DC? How is it converted back into AC for the output?

[@bigclivedotcom]

The DC is for the circuitry. The output is just switched by a relay contact.

[@chaos.corner]

The earth pin metal may not be *completely* useless. It does provide a little bit of friction.

[@rudimentaryganglia]

who makes that magnifier you use Clive?Or is it chinesium? Looks pretty well made if it is

[@bigclivedotcom]

Common illuminated magnifier from Chinese eBay sellers.

[@Zadster]

Yet another Chinese product that is crap purely by design. A cheap ballast resistor and re-routing of the power + earth lines would greatly improve this product! (Not to mention a 250vac relay) Interesting that you should mention microwave oven power usage Clive. The QI Elves on Twitter today said that over time a microwave oven consumes more power on it's clock than it does cooking. As ever, no citations. Any chance you could put your Microwave oven on the flickery Hopi and see what the standby power is? A mental calculation seems to make nonsense of the claim, but some data would be nice.

[@bigclivedotcom]

I just did that and the standby power was just under 1W. That equates to a standby cost of about £1 a year.

[@Zadster]

Thanks, much appreciated. 1W was the ball-park figure I had in mind. That would be 168 Wh a week, or 13 minutes 40 seconds of 750W microwave oven usage per week. Which seems remarkably low.

[@LunaticCharade]

Well, id guess that i use my microwave between 10-20 min a week, so its still very significant!

[@YodaWhat]

To completely cut off the 'ghost power' you *could consider* getting an old-style mechanical timer, either built-in to the microwave, or an external unit.

[@paulsengupta971]

My old microwave oven doesn't have a clock. It has a mechanical rotary timer and goes ping at the end.

[@EsotericArctos]

Does cheapy Chinese stuff even have a warranty? I found trying to get a warranty repair usually involves paying for return postage, which costs more than the unit does to purchase.