Inside Electronics - User contributions [en-gb]

User:Tim

2024-06-23T14:00:33Z

Tim:

I originally created this site in 2002, and then redesigned it using MediaWiki.

If you want to contact me you can either [[Special:Emailuser/Tim|E-mail me]] or try one of the methods listed on [[timstyles:User:Tim|my user page]] on my own website.

Main Page

2024-06-23T13:54:32Z

Tim: /* See inside more electronics at these sites: */

<div style="float:left;">
<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Minidisc_front2.jpg|Minidisc player|200px|thumb
default [[Sharp MD-MT161E Minidisc Player]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Mouse_top2.jpg|Computer mouse|200px|thumb
default [[Microsoft Computer Mouse]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:NKCoxBox_Side2.jpg|NK Cox Box|200px|thumb
default [[Neilsen Kellerman Cox Box]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Psion_Bottom_2.jpg|Psion series 5|200px|thumb
default [[Psion Series 5]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:IC-R2_Back3.jpg|Radio scanner|200px|thumb
default [[ICOM IC-R2 Radio Scanner]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Fluorescent_Starter_3.jpg|Fluorescent starter|200px|thumb
default [[Fluorescent Starter]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Nokia8210_Back3.jpg|Nokia 8210|200px|thumb
default [[Nokia 8210 Mobile Phone]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:IXUS400_Front3.jpg|Canon IXUS 400 |200px|thumb
default [[Canon IXUS 400 Digital Camera]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:HDD_lid_off.jpg|Hard Disk Drive|200px|thumb
default [[Hard Disk Drive]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:SP100_lid_off.jpg|SP100 Amplifier|200px|thumb
default [[SP100 Amplifier]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:PVR9200_lid_off.jpg|Humax PVR 9200|200px|thumb
default [[Humax PVR 9200]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Tag_coil.jpg|Security Tag|200px|thumb
default [[Security Tag]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Marantz_front.jpg|Marantz Cassette Deck|200px|thumb
default [[Marantz Cassette Deck]]
</imagemap></div>

<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
File:Toothbrush_lid_on.jpg|Toothbrush|200px|thumb
default [[Toothbrush]]
</imagemap></div>
</div>

<div style="float:left">
==== See inside more electronics at these sites: ====
* http://www.electricstuff.co.uk
</div>

Taking Apart A Neilsen Kellerman Cox Box

2022-07-04T19:36:04Z

Tim:

The following are guidelines only, and if you think things are going wrong you should send the unit to a service company such as http://www.oarsport.co.uk

The general idea is to take the screws out the bottom and push the contents up and out of the white cup shaped case. If you've taken the allen screws out the front panel then e-mail me again as the spacers may have fallen out of place, even if the allen screws went back in.

# Remove the string handle.
# Make sure the rim around the front panel is circular as the front panel must slide out through it.
# Clean inside the rim around the edge of the front panel and add a little vaseline to help it slide out.
# Take the screws out the bottom and remove the plastic washers.
# Put the screws most of the way back in leaving a 3mm gap.
# Push the base of the cox box down on a hard surface so that the screws are pushed up into the bottom of the cox box. This should push the front panel up slightly.
# Push the front panel back down and remove any dirt that was pushed up the side of the rim.
# Loosen the screws to increase the gap to 6mm and push down again.
# The front panel should slide up further - push it back in and clean any dirt. Repeat until the front panel can be pushed up and down easily.
# Remove the screws and insert longer screws or some rod, or whatever you can find to push the front panel all the way out.

(Pushing the base down on a hard surface may be assisted by a rubber mallet or wooden block if nothing is moving)

If you have a compressed air supply there is a neat method described here:
https://thomsoneu.blogspot.com/2017/06/cox-box-repair.html

You'll probably need to replace the batteries. You should use Ni-Cad cells as Ni-MH don't like being left on charge. The cox box only has a simple charging circuit.

[[Neilsen Kellerman Cox Box|<< Back to the Main Article]]

2010-02-19T12:01:28Z

Tim:

<gallery widths=200>
Image:IXUS400_Front1.jpg|Front of IXUS400 camera
Image:IXUS400_Front2.jpg|Front cover removed
Image:IXUS400_Front3.jpg|Front cover removed
</gallery>
<gallery widths=200>
Image:IXUS400_Back1.jpg|Back of IXUS400 camera
Image:IXUS400_Back2.jpg|Back cover removed
Image:IXUS400_Top.jpg|Top of IXUS400 camera
</gallery>

== Links ==
* [http://www.ciao.co.uk/Canon_Digital_IXUS_400__Review_5353504 Review] - including details of the capabilities of the Canon IXUS 400
* http://www.canon.co.uk/

2009-09-21T16:53:29Z

Tim: Spelling corrections

A few years ago I replaced my walkman with a minidisc player. This is the Sharp MD-MT161E, which takes two AA batteries and is capable of recording for two hours from a digital or analogue signal. It can playback for five hours or more to headphones or to the line input on a sound system. Although the minidisc player did not come with a remote control, the facility is available and it is possible to make a remote controller or to control the minidisc player via the parallel port on a PC using a [[timstyles:Minidisc_Control_Lead|minidisc control lead]].

The photos below show the front of the minidisc player, starting with all the covers in place. The front hinges upwards to allow a minidisc to be inserted. The minidisc is then held in a steel frame, which is suspended inside the unit on rubber mounts with the reading and recording heads attached to the frame. The rubber mounts provide the mechanical first form of shock protection, and damp out small vibrations. This allows the reading and recording heads to continue tracking the minidisc while the unit is shaken (e.g. in a car or on the train).

<gallery widths=200>
Image:minidisc_front1.jpg|Front of MD Player
Image:minidisc_front2.jpg|Front cover removed
Image:minidisc_front3.jpg|Screen removed
</gallery>

The second photo shows what is directly under the front cover. The screen and keypad are connected to circuit boards in the lower half of the unit via two ribbon cables. There is no disc inserted in these photos, so the laser head can be seen under the magnetic head to the right of the screen. This window in the steel frame aligns with the window in the minidisc, which is opened when the disc is inserted. The third photo shows the same view, but with the screen and keypad removed. The magnetic head rests on top of the minidisc during recording and forms a magnetic field around the area of the disc being written to. The laser reads and writes to the disc from below. During playback a weak laser illuminates the track on the minidisc, in the same way as a CD player does. The reflection from the disc passes back through the same lense and is separated by a prism onto a receiver. During recording the power of the laser is increased and the magnetic field is applied. The receiver is still used to make sure the track on the minidisc is being followed, as it must align with previous and following tracks.

The photos below show the back of the minidisc player, starting with all the covers in place. The second photo shows what is directly under the back cover. At the top the three ribbon cables from the screen, keyboard and magnetic head can be seen, with the yellow power connector between them. The two AA batteries are to the right, with the audio connectors down the left hand side. The large chip in the centre of the board is the control chip for the minidisc player. It connects to the keyboard and screen, as well as the other main chips in the unit. Ribbon cables to the analogue board and the laser head connect to the bottom of the board, with the power control circuitry to the bottom right. The other side of this board is shown later.

<gallery widths=200>
Image:minidisc_back1.jpg|Back of MD Player
Image:minidisc_back2.jpg|Back cover removed
Image:minidisc_back3.jpg|Digital board removed
</gallery>

The third photo above shows what is under the digital board. The unit has been rotated so that the analogue board and audio connectors are to the right, and the gap to the left is where the AA batteries were. In the centre is the motor, which is used to spin the minidisc and move the heads. The laser head and magnetic head are connected through the hinge so that they are always aligned, and they can be moved across the disc using the worm gear under the analogue board. The magnetic head is lowered during recording by gears from the same motor, this action also locks the lid closed so that the minidisc cannot be removed before the buffer has finished being written and the table of contents (TOC) has been updated.

The first photo below shows what is under the analogue board. The back of the laser head can be seen, with the worm gear at one end. The teeth that mate with the worm gear are mounted on a spring, so that if the worm gear turns when the head is trapped, the teeth will not be damaged. The second photo shows the underside of the digital board. The springs for the AA batteries are in the bottom left, with a micro-switch between them. The switch detects if the special Sharp rechargeable battery has been inserted. If the switch is not depressed, then normal AA batteries have been inserted, and the minidisc player will not attempt to recharge them. I have fitted a black rubber sleeve over the switch so that it is always depressed. This allows normal rechargeable batteries to be charged by the minidisc player when the mains adaptor is connected.

<gallery widths=200>
Image:minidisc_back4.jpg|Analogue board removed
Image:minidisc_board1.jpg|Digital board
Image:minidisc_board2.jpg|Analogue board
</gallery>

The round devices on the left side of the digital board are capacitors and inductors. These allow a stable supply of 5v to be generated from the AA batteries or the 4.5v mains adaptor supply connected to the yellow socket at the top. The large chip in the centre is probably the ATRAC encoder and decoder. The third photo above shows the under side of the analogue board. The chips are analogue to digital and digital to analogue converters. The red socket to the left is for connecting a microphone, while the black socket in the centre is the line input. At the back of the line input socket is an optical sensor, which reads digital signals sent via an optical cable (TOS link). The socket to the right is for headphones and can be used as a line output. The slots to each side are symmetric and are used by a remote controller. (e.g. the minidisc control lead).

One final point of interest is the [[Sharp MD-MT161E Service Mode]]. This can be entered by holding down Display and Enter, then pressing Play. Stop is used to exit the service mode. It is possible to navigate the service mode menus and change the contrast, bass boost levels and most other parameters. Needless to say, it is also possible to stop the minidisc from working altogether, and I haven't found a facility to 'Return to default settings'.

== Links ==

* [[Sharp MD-MT161E Service Mode]] - A description of some of the service mode settings
* [[timstyles:Minidisc_Control_Lead|Minidisc control lead]] - A PC link lead for controlling the Minidisc player and titling minidiscs
* http://www.minidisc.org - Everything about the Minidisc system and technology
* [http://www.minidisc.org/aes_atrac.html ATRAC Compression] - A particularly good page about the compression used by Minidisc systems

Main Page

2009-09-19T15:40:51Z

Tim:

Help:Contents

2009-09-19T15:40:12Z

Tim:

You are encouraged to create additional pages and edit existing ones. Please create an account so that contributors can send each other messages.

* Create an account by clicking on [[Special:Userlogin|Log in / create account]].
* Start by [[Special:Upload|uploading a photo]] for the main page.
* Edit the [[Main Page]] and copy an existing entry to make a new one.
** Set the filename to the uploaded photo
** Set the topic name to a new topic

<pre>
<div style="width:250px; float:left;"><imagemap>
Image:Uploaded_photo.jpg|Wigit|200px|thumb
default [[New Topic]]
</imagemap></div>
</pre>

* Click on the new image on the main page to be taken to an empty page for the new topic.
* Edit the empty page to add the contents.

The edit page has a link to [[Help:Editing|Editing help]]

2009-08-31T12:51:17Z

Tim: Front of Canon IXUS 400 digital camera with cover and RF interference screen removed.

Front of Canon IXUS 400 digital camera with cover and RF interference screen removed.

File:IXUS400 Front2.jpg

2009-08-31T12:50:53Z

Tim: Front of Canon IXUS 400 digital camera with cover removed.

Front of Canon IXUS 400 digital camera with cover removed.