Victron BlueSolar MPPT Repair | Voltlog #487

Are you a DIY enthusiast or a renewable energy hobbyist? If you’ve ever encountered issues with your Victron BlueSolar MPPT75/10 charge controller, this repair guide is just what you need. In this comprehensive tutorial, we’ll walk you through the process of disassembling, diagnosing, and fixing a common problem with these popular charge controllers – a blown fuse.

The video begins by introducing the Victron BlueSolar MPPT75/10, a budget-friendly yet capable charge controller that can handle up to 75V solar panel input and 10A of current. Despite its affordability, this unit packs a punch with features like a serial interface for configuration and compatibility with the Victron Connect app.

The disassembly process is meticulously explained, highlighting the challenges of working with a glue-sealed enclosure. Using a spudger, the presenter carefully separates the blue plastic case from the black acrylic back panel, revealing the internal components and the conformal coating that protects the PCB.

Upon closer inspection, the root cause of the issue becomes apparent – a blown 20A automotive fuse responsible for protecting the battery port. The presenter replaces the fuse, and voilà, the charge controller springs back to life, much to the relief of DIY enthusiasts everywhere. But the tutorial doesn’t stop there.

It also addresses a potential design flaw in the terminal arrangement, which could lead to accidental polarity reversal and subsequent fuse blowouts. The presenter offers valuable insights and tips to avoid such mishaps in the future.

How To Disable Apple AirTag Speaker | Voltlog #440

Apple’s AirTag has been a game-changer in the world of tracking devices, allowing users to keep tabs on their belongings with precision and ease. However, one feature that has proven to be a double-edged sword is the AirTag’s speaker, which emits sounds to alert users of its presence. While this feature is designed to prevent illegal tracking, it can also be a nuisance for those using AirTags for legitimate purposes.

In this blog post, we’ll explore a simple and effective way to disable the AirTag’s speaker, giving you the freedom to track your belongings without unwanted audible alerts. By following a few straightforward steps, you can safely disassemble the AirTag and remove the magnet from the speaker, effectively silencing it.

The process involves carefully prying open the AirTag’s enclosure with a utility knife, taking care not to damage the retaining clips. Once opened, you’ll have access to the speaker assembly, where you can gently remove the magnet using the knife blade. This simple modification will prevent the AirTag from emitting sounds, allowing you to track your items discreetly.

It’s important to note that this modification should only be performed on AirTags you own and for legitimate tracking purposes. Misusing AirTags for illegal tracking activities is strictly prohibited and can have serious legal consequences. By disabling the AirTag’s speaker, you’ll be able to take full advantage of its tracking capabilities without the risk of unwanted audible alerts, ensuring a seamless and discreet experience.

Whether you’re tracking your bicycle, luggage, or any other valuable possession, this simple hack will give you peace of mind and control over your AirTag’s functionality.

InTheMail Stats For 2020 – Voltlog #346

Welcome to a new voltlog, this is the annual review to present some stats on the number of orders and spending with regards to my activity. The InTheMail videos are my most popular videos so as you can imagine there is quite a bit of spending and orders placed behind the scenes. Same as last year, please let me know in the comments if you have any stats on your own purchases, I would love to get a feel for how everyone else is doing.

This year I’m not going to show any stats for ebay, I’ve stopped using ebay, I do most of my orders on aliexpress.com starting with 2020 and I also place a few orders on banggood.com. In fact I’ve also stopped placing links to ebay items in my mailbag videos because I don’t really use the platform anymore.

Voltlog #296 – Microscope Camera Focus Issue Fixed!

Welcome to a new Voltlog, as you may remember in Voltlog #282 I got a new trinocular microscope and then in Voltlog #292 I got a new camera because the one shipped with the microscope had issues. Banggood till this day did not replace the camera which I believe is defective, they kept asking me to try these various settings in the camera menu to improve the brightness but none worked.

Now to get a good image and have both the camera in focus and the eyepieces you will need some kind of reduction, an optical adapter between the camera and the microscope port. So first I got this SZMCTV 0.3X adapter, after reading some reviews who were claiming this will give the best field of view.

After installing this adapter I noticed the field of view was almost the same as through the eyepiece which is great but I couldn’t get it in perfect focus with the limited adjustment available on the adapter and I was getting this tunnel vision which I couldn’t quite explain but it was obviously not what you want to see.

And so I got this newer wide body 0.5 adapter and installed it on my microscope and the problem was solved I could now get my camera into focus at the same time with the eye pieces but with a loss in the field of view due to the 0.5x adapter. Getting the SZMCTV 0.5X adapter would probably also work, that’s a bit cheaper, but I went with the recommendation of getting the newer type of adapter with better optics.

Voltlog #295 – Weekend Update

Welcome to a new Voltlog, this will be just a short weekend update video, to let you know what I’ve been doing in the past couple of weeks. So I’m staying at home and only going out for important stuff, which gave me more time to tinker and work on projects. I hope you are doing the same because social distancing is a good way to slow the spread of this disease.

One of the things I’ve been thinking of doing for a long time is a bench tool holder, the kind that will hold my tweezers, soldering iron tips, flux syringes, stuff like that. So far I’ve been keeping them in one of these pen holding cups but they fill up and it’s hard to grab the thing you need quickly. So I’ve started designing my own in Fusion 360, I included 6 deep pockets, 2 shallow ones in the front and 5 tubes for holding syringes. 

The next thing I did with my 3d printer is related to the current pandemic, as you may know, medical staff in many countries which have been hit hard are lacking protective equipment, they just don’t have enough mask or suits or face shields, not to mention enough ventilators which are desperately needed for those in critical condition. 

In parallel I’ve been designing the battery monitor circuit for the power drill I reviewed in Voltlog #285, this is the first revision of the PCB, the circuit works as expected but I’m still waiting on some parts to be delivered and I’ll do a separate video on this subject. It probably needs a second revision of the PCB because this one doesn’t quite fit in, the way I thought it will.

I also started designing a T10 automotive LED bulb. It’s using a linear  constant current driver and some decent LEDs, because what I’m currently using in my car are the aliexpress bulbs which kinda start dying after a few months of usage. I’ll probably place an order for this panel today but who knows when I’ll receive it.

Voltlog #294 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail, the series that will touch both your passion for electronics and your bank account at the same time. Before I get started I’m gonna take a second to remind you to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell notification icon because that’s the only way you will know for sure when I upload new videos. 

Depending on which part of the world you live in, you might be dealing with the same isolation measures as I am, the government is recommending we stay inside as much as possible here in Romania, to avoid contact with other people. So that gives me more time to work on projects, learn new stuff and of course discover and order stuff from the internet.

I’m gonna start with this notebook which has a retro looking leather cover, I think it’s quite neat looking, I’m not sure if this is real leather or not, description just said leather. I always keep a notebook around the workbench, it can be useful for drafting a quick schematic, some dimensions or just for writing down some measurements. Another cool feature of this notebook is the binder style clips you have inside, which allow you to insert or remove paper and what’s even nicer is that you can find this type of paper with different grid styles and they’re very affordable.

Voltlog #293 – Buying From Banggood and Ebay Tips & Tricks

Welcome to a new Voltlog, this is a continuation of Voltlog #291 where I shared some tips and tricks about buying from Aliexpress, if you haven’t seen that video, I will link it on screen right now. Today I’m gonna share my experience with buying from Banggood or Ebay. These are my secondary buying channels, some of the stuff you see in my mailbag videos comes from Banggood or Ebay.

Voltlog #292 – Hayear Full HD 34MP Microscope Camera Review HY-1139

Welcome to a new Voltlog, you might recognize this, the trinocular microscope which I reviewed in Voltlog #282, it’s a great tool to have especially if you start to feel your eyesight is getting weaker but also if you have good eyesight you can’t possibly solder 0402 passives comfortably or you can’t spot very small problems on soldering joints without something like this.

However I had an issue with the camera, the image is too black and so far there has been no solution provided by Banggood but I am still in contact with them and they’ve told me they are working with the supplier to find a solution but due to the whole Coronavirus (COVID-19) issue, there’s been delays.

So I’ve asked them to send another camera for review, it’s a Hayear branded microscope camera, it’s capable of up to 2K at 30fps and 1080P at 60fps, it has HDMI and USB 2.0 output as well as SD card storage support. The USB output is capable of 1080P at 30fps but that’s okay, cause I will be using this on it’s HDMI output on the 1080p 60fps setting.

Voltlog #291 – Buying From Aliexpress Tips & Tricks

Welcome to a new Voltlog, today I’m gonna share with you some tips and tricks about buying from Aliexpress and I might follow up with another video about Ebay and Banggood. I received requests for doing such a video several times as the subject was brought up and I think I can share a few useful things with you because as you may know, some of my most popular videos are my InTheMail videos where I show you the stuff I purchase from China and I get a lot of stuff which allowed me to learn a few tricks over the years. 

Voltlog #289 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail, the series that will touch both your passion for electronics and your bank account at the same time. Before I get started I’m gonna take a second to remind you to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell notification icon because that’s the only way you will know for sure when I upload new videos. 

I must say I’m noticing delays in delivery of these packages from China, it started with orders placed mid January and I’m probably going to see some packages lost and never delivered so i recommend you keep an eye on your orders and request a refund when the protection time expires.