Basic Soldering Guide for Kindle now in Australia

Good news for readers down under, my Basic Soldering Guide Kindle Edition is now available for download from Amazon Australia. Remember, you don't need a Kindle tablet to read it as free readers for PC & Mac are available.

It's sponsored by Antex (Electronics), the leading UK manufacturer of soldering irons. Taking in feedback and questions from readers over more than 15 years, my guide has been totally rewritten and has 80+ new colour photos showing everything you need to get started in electronics soldering successfully.

Why not read a sample of the all-new Basic Soldering Guide now!

http://www.amazon.com.au/Basic-Soldering-Guide-Alan-Winstanley-ebook/dp/B00E8NEGAA

Energy Supplier Switching Fraud

UK businesses, especially start-ups, should beware of the latest fraudulent scam doing the rounds along the following lines.

You may be bombarded by unsolicited phone calls from a scammer claiming that your business doesn't appear to be "registered" and in passing they ask who your current energy supplier is. (Such people simply buy databases of new phone numbers and target the new owner.) The scammer may cite “credit history problems” at the previous address or with the previous occupants.

Hence, some time later someone phones up claiming to be from your current energy supplier. They spin a yarn saying that due to problems with your credit history (for example), you have to renew your energy deal and may also have to pay a deposit of say £500. The scammer puts you through to a "broker" who offers to "register you" with an energy supplier that doesn't need a deposit. You might find yourself put through to "utility meter registration".

Basically the scammers impersonate an energy broker, sign you up over the phone and they pocket their commission on the sale. Before you know it, you've been conned into switching to a more expensive supplier. The verbal contracts appear to be impossible to undo. I know of several firms targeted by this scam and unfortunately one fell for it.

As at November 2013 the supplier BES Commercial Electricity is putting out this warning:

WARNING: It has come to our attention that a fraud is being perpetrated regarding Security Deposits.
Customers of gas suppliers are being contacted by telephone by a purported representative of the supplier and have been asked to provide a Security Deposit when one is actually not required by the supplier. If you are contacted by an alleged representative of BES requesting such a deposit please would you take the details of the caller and then terminate the call without paying the said deposit. Please would you then call us directly to verify whether we have actually made the request? We thank you for your assistance as we wish to help to eradicate this fraud.

• Also check this link:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1695429/Small-firms-tricked-by-electric-switch.html

It seems impossible to reverse such a fraud and at least one small startup now has an energy deal he did not want or need.  If you have recent experience of this, please get in touch.

WHSmith's greenwash...

WHSmith's meanest, tiniest polybag weighs 1.37 grams... (click to enlarge)I’ve been having fun with a set of digital scales designed for measuring tiny amounts, down to 0.01 grams. You can get them from Chinese gadget websites such as www.goodluckbuy.com  or www.ahappydeal.com for just a few pounds and they’re pretty impressive for the money.

Firstly, I couldn’t believe WHSmith charged me 1p. for a tiny (the smallest) thinnest rubbishy polythene bag for a small book costing £10.99, in a move that’s just pure lunatic greenwash.

So I set to work with my digital scales. They can measure to 0.01 grammes, so.... Smith’s tiny tot carrier bag weighed 1.37 grams, meaning that Smiths is penalising us to the tune of £7.30 per kilo or £7,300 per tonne.  I wondered if I got my money back when I recycled it. B&Q was as bad, charging (10p. I think) for a rubbishy recycled black polybag that had zero carrying capability and was only good for throwing away.

While in Smith's I noticed too how they want £66 (yikes, that's $100) for a set of HP 56 & 57 black & colour cartridges to fit my inkjet printer, when you can buy a whole new All-In-One for that. Is that intended to stop us buying inkjet cartridges? I bet they’re just flying off the shelves. Nor did they have the Yorkshire Post newspaper. Do we need a WHSmiths any more?

The next question I tackled was, approximately how many Hundreds & Thousands cake decorations are there in a standard 100 gram tub?

I tipped some 100s and 1000s onto the scales until they registered, and I got a weight of 0.16 grams. Turns out there were 143 of them. So 100 grams = 143 / 0.16 x 100 = 89,375 on average. I make that 1.1 milligrams each. A metric tonne would contain 893 million of them, which is a lot of cup cakes.

Readers' prototypes

Following the intermittent appearance of my ‘potted history’, regular reader and friend of EPE Thomas Stratford got in touch to say that he’d recently built a couple of my legacy electronic projects! Thomas’s projects include the Uniboards Touch Switch and more recently, the Continuity Test Unit. If you've tried any of my projects, it would be great to hear from you. Read more and see a slideshow...

Interview Part 5: Give me a break

It’s the mid 1980s and after my Digital Thermometer and Controller debacle (see part 4) I decided to keep things simple and try to re-establish a flow of smaller projects. You can download more free project reprints and see my notes about the actual prototypes used in the magazine. Read more...

Chinese Domain Name scams - beware!

Looking for details of the latest campaigns, and comments from other users? Please see my ongoing thread here.

Twin USB Mains Adaptor/ Charger with suppression

Masterplug Surge Protected Twin USB Mains Charger with pass-through mains socketI stumbled across this USB Mains Adaptor from Masterplug which boasts several handy features: firstly it has twin 5V 1,000mA USB sockets into which you plug your choice of USB lead, so you can charge two devices at once. Handily it also has a pass-through mains socket so you don’t lose the use of a mains outlet.

Unlike other chargers, this adaptor also has mains suppression to help protect your precious phone(s) from damage caused by e.g. motors, surges or the effects of lightning. Once a suppressor "blows" then the unit should be discarded.

It sports two garish LEDs indicating that power is on and the suppressor is intact. The unit is sealed for life and there is no accessible fuse carrier.

The Masterplug SRGAUSBPB (black) or SRGAUSBPW (white) Surge Protected Mains USB Charger is available from Amazon, Argos, B&Q, ebay and more for approximately £9.

Unfortunately, my first one failed because it wasn’t that good a fit and the earth pin got pushed inside! The replacement has been fine so far.

Startech USB Combi lead has mini and micro connectorsYou might also like the Startech USB Combo Cable – it’s a useful Mini USB and Micro USB to USB lead that you flip over depending on what size your phone needs.

The lead is available in black or white, see http://uk.startech.com/Cables/USB-2.0/Micro/3foot-USB-to-Micro-USB-and-Mini-USB-Combo-Cable-A-to-B~USBHAUBMB3. I also spotted it for sale on Amazon, but typical ebay seller prices were silly so don't pay over the odds.

Update on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 1:51PM by Alan W

Pass me that screwdriver...

Internals, showing the suppressors (blue MO varistors, heatshrunk) and gas discharge tube to earth. In fact two fuses are onboard as well.I wanted to know why the Earth pin of one of mine sank into the plastic body. The charger's tamper-evident label concealed a tamperproof screw, so a quick twizzle and the case was prised open (invalidating the warranty).

Only take switched-mode adapters like this apart after allowing plenty of time (e.g. overnight) for high-voltage components inside to discharge, and even then be wary of high voltages lurking within. I've fried a fingertip this way before now.

Generally the construction is far better than many Chinese ones I've seen. My photos (click them to view) show the suppressor components. There are two MOVs (Metal Oxide Varistors) and also two fuses (F1 and F2 on the silkscreen) all heatshrunk together. A Gas Discharge Tube (GDT) nearby connects to Earth. When the suppressors are intact an l.e.d. glows.

Earth pin solder joint (circled) on p.c.b. Click to enlargeWhen fitted together the Earth pin is held in place laterally in all directions by the plastic moulding. However it's soldered to a thin strip (only) of p.c.b. copper foil which is subjected to insertion forces of the Earth pin. A small spigot of plastic on the cover therefore clamps the Earth pin down when the case is closed up, to "brace" it.

I guess mine had a dry solder joint and the Earth pin came away from the p.c.b., or that section of the p.c.b. broke altogether.

Something to bear in mind, the Earth assembly is not hugely strong so don't be rough with it when you're plugging it into a mains socket.

Interview Part 4: All the Muscle You Need!

Part 4 of my potted history kicks off with some more ambitious projects, starting with the Bench Power Supply of March 1981. You can download reprints of all my published project articles and read my background notes, as well as seeing photos of the original prototypes that still exist today, as well as one or two projects that were never published. Read more...

Counterfeit mains cable warning

Approved Cables Initiative will publicise details of fake or counterfeit cableThe UK is being deluged with tens of thousands of kilometres of dodgy mains cable – sub-standard, counterfeit mains cable is entering the supply chain from overseas and is passed off as genuine product.

However, the fake cable's actual specification and quality are anything but safe, and they could burn out and cause dangerous electrical fires or even worse. They may all bear authentic markings but even ordinary flexible mains flex can be faked, using under-rated copper cores that have a higher resistance; these will overheat and burn out under load.

Cables destined for emergency lighting or alarm systems that should withstand heat for hours can burn out in a few minutes and emit poisonous fumes at the same time, because cheap PVC insulation is used instead of fire-resistant materials.

Up to one in five reels of electrical cables sold in the UK could be fake and about 20 million meters of this dangerous, non-compliant electrical cable were seized in just nine months by UK trading standards. It's shredded and the copper is recycled.

High metal prices have made it more attractive for disreputable manufacturers to cut corners on cable quality. One well-known UK DIY chain has been struggling to ensure that sub-standard Turkish-made cable had been withdrawn from sale. Some product slipped through the safety net and the same Atlas Kablo brand of cable may also have been used in the trade by electrical contractors.

The Approved Cables Initiative (ACI) has been established in the UK to address the issue of unsafe, non-approved and counterfeit cable entering the UK marketplace. Thay say their role is to investigate and publicise the findings of cables found to be faulty, counterfeit or non-compliant with British, European or International Standards.

It's hard to tell whether cable is genuine or not, so buy from reputable sources only that have a quality-controlled supply chain. More details, news and videos on the ACI website at http://www.aci.org.uk.

Hang on to your cables...

I’ve a multitude of computer and photo peripherals, mobile phone accessories and electronics that all have to be plugged into something or other. USB mice, Firewire video cameras and scanners, mains adaptors for mobile phones, cameras and radios... a problem I often have is how to keep the USB cables or power leads handy and stop them disappearing behind the desk when I disconnect them for any reason.

Handy stick-on cable-clips stop PC connection cables from disappearing off the deskI found these handy stick-on cable clips that will retain any leads up to roughly 6mm diameter. You can stick them on the desk or tabletop and feed the cables through them, and the connector plug will always be to hand and won’t vanish, whip-lash style, out of view the moment you unhook it.

They keep the PC lead for my camcorder handy, as well as my wireless mouse mains adaptor, portable radio PSU lead, USB extension leads too. They also tidied up some errant wires that trailed down from the top shelf.

The soft and rubbery plastic clips are available in bright colours and sized just over 1” diameter, fitted with double-sided foam disc. You can buy them on eBay for a couple of pounds for twelve. I repeated my order for a dozen more of these handy things.

They could also be used to grip pens, CF memory cards or maybe the edges of card etc. What else could you use them for?