InTheMail | Voltlog #446

Welcome to another exciting edition of “In The Mail” where we unbox and explore the latest electronics goodies that have arrived at my doorstep. This time around, we have a diverse array of items ranging from radio modules to antennas, charging solutions, wiring essentials, and even some handy tools.

Let’s kick things off with the CC1101 sub-GHz radio module, a popular choice for wireless communication projects. I plan to connect this module to an ESP32 and explore platforms like Tasmota, ESPHome, or others to create an RF bridge to Home Assistant. This will allow me to capture signals from devices like smoke detectors with built-in radio signaling capabilities.

Moving on, we have a couple of USB-C charging modules that promise to upgrade our charging game. The TP4057 module with a USB-C connector and an integrated battery protection chip looks promising, while the second module offers switch-mode charging and boosting capabilities, all packed into a tiny SOT23.5 chip.

Speaking of USB-C, I’ve also got some handy adapters to bridge the gap between USB-C and USB Type-A, ensuring seamless connectivity across devices. And for those times when you need to extend your charging reach, I’ve got a couple of 1-meter USB-C extension cables, albeit a bit thicker than expected due to their high-speed data and power delivery ratings.

Wiring is an essential part of any electronics project, and I’ve stocked up on some silicone and PVC wires in various colors and gauges. These will come in handy for quick prototyping and testing, and having multiple color options makes it easier to keep track of connections. For my LoRa and LoRaWAN adventures, I’ve acquired a couple of antennas, including a beefy 55cm 12dBi 868MHz antenna and its smaller 37cm sibling.

I plan to put them through their paces with a nano VNA to test their center frequencies and SWR performance. Rounding out the mailbag, we have some handy tools like a J-Link PCB adapter for ARM microcontroller debugging, specialized screwdriver bits for electrical work and security screws, an electric engraving tool for PCB modifications, a sturdy syringe booster for dispensing viscous materials, and a multifunctional flume wrench kit for tight spaces.

Voltlog #223 – Is The Paron JX-D5 Crimping Tool Any Good?

If you are a frequent viewer of the channel you’ve probably heard me say that I need a crimping tool and people recommended I should get the good stuff, Engineer being a recommended brand, those being more expensive but having precision machined jaws that produce perfect crimping every time. Other people recommended some cheaper alternatives but I went with none of those options, I got this Paron branded crimping tool, from banggood which sent the product for free for this review.

This particular crimping tool is model number JX-D5 and has a total of 5 crimping dies in the kit, allowing you to crimp a good majority of the crimps you will encounter and this was the thing that really made me wanna order this tool because I don’t want to keep 5 different crimping tools, it’s more convenient to have one of these with interchangeable heads.

Voltlog #177 – Installing BLTouch Auto Bed Leveling On The Creality CR-10 3D Printer

Today I’m gonna show you how I installed a bltouch sensor on my creality CR10 3d printer. But first to give you a bit of info, if you are a frequent viewer of the channel than you know I have tried a bunch of different sensors, inductive, capacitive but they either didn’t have enough sensing distance to cover the glass I’m using on top of the aluminium bed or they weren’t giving me repeatable results so they all ended up disconnected.

I had a bunch of adhesion problems because I couldn’t level the bed properly, my bed doesn’t look very good, in fact I’m gonna overlay a picture of my bed after the auto bed leveling has been installed and you’ll see it’s far from being flat so it was really difficult for me to print something that was bigger than a couple of cm’s because the bed wasn’t flat.

Then I found this bltouch sensor or more correctly a clone of the bltouch sensor on aliexpress for just $14 and I said why not, let’s try this one as well and ordered one. And boy was I impressed how much better the printing got after installing it.