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Net Work Alan Winstanley This month’s column proves how power supply glitches can catch out even seasoned home network users, suggests some cheap and cheerful workshop tools available direct from China, and there’s a quick roundup of space news as well. R ecent Net Work columns have described some power supply considerations for home technology users, suggesting some small uninterruptible PSUs that would keep peripherals running during power failures, and I also unravelled the multidimensional mysteries of DC power connector plugs. A recent problem in my home office reminded me not to take everything for granted. My Brother-branded P-Touch label printer has an LCD display problem (missing pixels), but was it the LCD itself or the main board that was causing this? I gambled £15 on an old labeller being sold on eBay for spares or repairs. After swapping the LCD I still had the same problem and the donor main board was no good either, so the hunt for spare parts continues. In addition, the label printer uses a 9.5V power brick with a unique feature: unlike every other mains adaptor I’ve ever come across, its DC Positive ID: this simple polarity checker by Minwa is handy for quick installation checks on DC leads, CCTV supplies, mains adaptors... connector is centre-negative, but this is unlabelled, so the printer could well have been ruined altogether if I’d tried an ordinary 9V adaptor on the bench without double-checking the polarity first. A simple polarity tester made by Minwa (part no. MW 229) is sold online that checks the supply at a glance. Probably my all-time favourite piece of home network equipment is a Synology network attached storage (NAS), which hosts twin hard disks offering RAID-like backup security, and it’s also fitted with gigabit Ethernet and three USB ports, so I use it as a Windows network printer server as well. Being DLNA-compatible I can stream multimedia onto a smart TV and network media player, and a handy Android app helps with server file management. I find its slick and thoughtfully designed software is almost sublime in places and, unbelievably these days, although the NAS is over 12 years old it is still going strong and supported by Synology, something I would soon come to appreciate, as I’ll describe next. A NASty surprise I’ve been trialling a 12V mains adaptorstyle UPS and a multi-voltage compact type on my home office network, as shown in Net Work, December 2023. I had a sticky note on my busy desktop reminding me to consider UPS protection for the Synology NAS sometime as well. Then, just a few days before I penned this Going for broke: the author’s Synology NAS server (yellow status LED) warned of a ‘degraded volume’ after some power cuts. month’s column, the mains electricity supply failed at midnight without warning. The ‘juice’ was then restored before flashing on and off again at least half a dozen times over the following half hour. Happily, the 9V and 12V UPS supplies powered the modem and router without complaint, but after 30 minutes of disruption I heard a forlorn beeping sound emanating from the Synology NAS. An ominous flashing amber LED warned of a ‘degraded volume’, as Synology’s 1554 Polycarbonate IP68 Learn more: www.hammondmfg.com/1554 uksales<at>hammondmfg.com • 01256 812812 10 Practical Electronics | February | 2024 online resources explained. In other words, the repeated power cycling had corrupted a hard drive or maybe crashed it completely. If so, hopefully the NAS had done its job, as data would still be intact on the other disk, I prayed, though a total hardware failure could not be ruled out. I found data was still accessible over the network, a promising sign that one disk was still functioning. Something I’ve learned the hard way over the years is that if a disk drive is still working under these circumstances, it’s wise not to power it down in case it doesn’t boot up again, so it’s best to keep it spinning. Synology’s online resources and its user-friendly software made the job of troubleshooting easier, especially at two o’clock in the morning! Error messages confirmed that one 1TB disk was down, although its condition was described as ‘healthy’ and the other disk was spinning as normal. There were options to ‘repair’ the damaged data but they advised replacing the degraded drive, which is what I chose to do rather than risk a total data loss. A welcome touch was Synology’s ‘Locate disk’ feature that flashed the dodgy disk’s LED to make sure the correct drive is swapped out, guided by their commendably clear online instructions. Hard disks are graded for performance by the end-user’s application, eg for everyday desktop PCs, always-on NAS use or constantly thrashed surveillance systems. I again chose Western Digital’s ‘Red’ NAS drives, but the minimum capacity I could find had increased to 2TB, so I needed to upgrade both disks at a cost of £175. This just goes to show that power outages can hit anybody – the rigmarole was an expensive and timeconsuming problem to sort out. To round off the subject, although the NAS has a 12V 5A laptop-style power brick, the spec. sheet quotes power consumption of just 25W (1TB disks, 10W idle). Since a lead-acid UPS would The Yihua 929-D is a 30W desoldering iron and suction pump, costing just £10. EU and US voltages available. (AliExpress) Practical Electronics | February | 2024 be too big and costly for this always-on application, I’ve ordered another iPowerDC2 UPS (see previous columns) to go between the mains adaptor and the NAS. This multi-voltage (9V / 12V/ 24V) UPS promises up to 2.5A at 12V (30W) for at least 30 minutes of backup. The UPS consumes 6W itself, making 36W in total, so the mains adaptor should be rated accordingly. I’m reaching some limits here, so I’ve built a DC lead ‘breakout box’ in a small Hammond enclosure allowing me to check the current with a multimeter – assuming I can sort out those DC connectors! Readers might be interested in the manufacturer’s data sheet at: https://bit.ly/ pe-feb24-power1 and a block schematic of the UPS with some very interesting design notes is at: https://bit.ly/pe-feb24-power2 Note that previously published URLs linking to these products have since been updated by the manufacturer, and are shown in my blog at: electronpublishing.com Spoilt for choice These days, many readers source products directly from China and the range of merchandise sold by the likes of AliExpress and Temu is dizzying. One thing that’s undeniable is the tempting pricing, and a discerning hobbyist who knows what he’s looking for, and doesn’t mind a little bit of a gamble, can often bag a bargain. It seems as if AliExpress and Temu are slugging it out for trade, and I discovered that, if you can accept a few oddities or rough edges here or there, AliExpress offers some interestinglooking and unusual tools and equipment at almost silly, giveaway prices that will help constructors to get more out of their hobby. One example that recently landed on my doormat was a combined desoldering iron and suction pump, branded the Yihua 929-D, which cost about £10 delivered to the UK. This 30W iron has a hollow point allowing molten solder A ‘plastic welder’ uses hot staples to melt and stitch ‘unglue-able’ plastic panels and parts back together again. It could easily pay for itself after one job. (AliExpress) to be drawn up into the pump and it’s proved perfectly acceptable, making short, one-handed work of desoldering some PCB pin headers provided care is taken not to ‘fry’ the board. The PVC flex can get in the way due to its shape memory, which makes for quite a wrestling match at times, and it’s also fitted with an EU 2-pin Europlug (similar to a UK shaver plug), which is nothing that an EU travel adaptor doesn’t cure. Even so, it’s been a useful time saver and a handy addition to the toolbox. A 110V version is sold for the US, and kits of different diameter hollow tips are also available for just a pound or two. Models incorporating an electric vacuum pump are also sold, from about £20. While you’re at it, why not treat yourself to a heat-resistant silicone benchtop work mat as well (£3.15). Other budget-priced handy tools I spotted online include a ‘plastic welder’. These are designed to ‘hot-staple’ damaged plastic products such as car bumpers back together, or plastic bins or boxes (including, in my case, the large bin of my office shredder). As certain thermoplastics like nylon, polypropylene (PP) and highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) can’t be glued, hot-stapling them could be the answer. A cheap and cheerful ‘welding gun’ (like the old Weller 100W solder guns) carries a metal staple (several styles are available) which heats up in seconds and it can then be melted into the plastic. Don’t overdo it but hold it steady and allow it to cool, and the gun can then be removed leaving the plastic ‘stitched’ together. The wires ends can be snipped off and, depending on the type of plastic, the repair can be dressed and filled if necessary. A 50W welding gun and kit only costs about £10-£12 imported direct from China, and spare staples are in plentiful supply. It could easily pay for itself in just one repair job. They will also be found on eBay. As constructors doubtless know, when stripping the ends from multistranded wire, stray copper whiskers can be a This complete wire ferrule crimping kit includes a lifetime’s worth of ferrules for under £10. (AliExpress) 11 The popular 858D hot air reworking tool is designed for working with surfacemount devices or heatshrinking, among other applications. (AliExpress) menace as they can short to neighbouring terminals or the chassis. Wire ferrules are used to dress the ends of such wires neatly, and I noticed AliExpress lists a complete ferrule crimping kit including 1,200 ferrules for just £5.61 plus shipping and tax. Search for ‘Crimping Pliers HSC8 6-4A Tubular Terminal Crimper’. Ratchet-type tools are sold for car-type blade crimp terminals, eg ‘SN Series Crimping Pliers SN-48BS’ for just £7.39 + taxes etc. At these sort of prices, not many will mind adding them to an order to make up a postage-free order value, as they might come in useful one day. A lot of hot air With the advent of surface-mount devices and the need to service equipment such as smartphones or laptops, another useful soldering tool for a busy workbench is a hot air reworking tool. These can simultaneously melt larger areas of surface mount joints to enable BGA chips or components to be replaced. For hobbyist users, the popular ‘858D’ type is ridiculously cheap on AliExpress, and many clones are available from £22 + tax. The temperature and fan speed are variable and different size nozzles can be fitted. Some models include a soldering iron, and spare exhaust fans and handles can be had for pocket money prices. If the idea of making your own battery packs appeals, then small but powerful welders are sold that will spot-weld nickel strips into place on, say, 18650type rechargeable cells. Small units start at about £20 and I sourced a compact handheld one with an OLED display, for under £40. They are USB rechargeable and produce quite an alarming kick that belies their small size. Strangely, the term ‘gear’ is commonly used to describe power levels; ‘gear adjustment’ can offer, say, ‘30 gears’ of energy. The necessary nickel strip for welding connections together is sold separately in various gauges. These devices are emphatically not for casual workers or the faint-hearted 12 and, because of the variables involved, individual spot-welds can sometimes be hit or miss. Without exception, extreme care must be taken to safeguard against glare or ‘welder’s arc eye’ – I speak from experience after administering first aid (special eyedrops) t o s a v e a w e l d e r ’s eyesight in years gone by. As these devices sometimes belch out a big, fat spark, metal spatter is another hazard: it will damage plastic spectacle lenses as well as your eyesight, so suitable weldinggrade tinted safety spectacles or googles have to be worn. I noticed that some models now have a A very compact but powerful spot welder is used for making foot pedal control too, up battery packs using nickel strip. This model has an OLED which is a good idea. display. Tinted welding safety spectacles are absolutely essential. If you’re looking to add to your workshop toolkit, plenty of on ‘bare’ tools, and in the US more than choice is available at budget prices but 250 tools are now available, although the when ordering, keep an eye out for added choice in Europe is more limited. sales tax and postage costs, remembering For smaller soldering jobs I’ve that delivery can sometimes take many abandoned gas-powered soldering irons weeks. You can sign up for an account altogether – these temperamental and at: aliexpress.com unwieldy, fire-breathing tools vent lots of hot air making it too easy to cause collateral damage. For quick soldering Back in the workshop tasks I now bring out Ryobi’s 18V One+ I’ve written before about the rise in cordless soldering iron, which performs popularity of rechargeable power tools, decently enough on the bench. It’s well with Ryobi’s range of mid-range, midbalanced and the battery charge lasts a priced One+ 18V tools expanding all the reasonable time but the choice of bits time; they’ve been used in my workshop supplied is very limited – just a conical for nearly 20 years. The 18V batteries and type and an oversized 5mm chisel chargers are bought separately for use Ryobi’s R18-RT rotary tool uses a One+ 18V battery and its flexible drive provides variable speed operation of mini tools for crafters and hobbyists. Practical Electronics | February | 2024 Artificial influencers No-brainer: Aitana Lopez is an entirely AIand Photoshop-generated ‘influencer’ who has gained more than 120,000 ‘followers’. blade. I’m currently investigating some compatible types. Another recent arrival was Ryobi’s cordless multifunction Rotary Tool (R18RT) which has a variable benchtop speed controller and 90cm flexible drive shaft. A One+ 18V battery powers the 4,000 – 35,000 rpm motor and the workstation offers the usual mini-style grinding, engraving, sculpting, slicing, sanding and polishing actions, although for more demanding work I still revert to my mains-powered, Bosch-owned Dremel instead (and I’ve burnt out several of those, as well). Last, a handy Ryobi USB adaptor is available that converts an 18V battery into a USB powerbank. Although they have a built-in rundown timer, I’ve modified one to add a strangely omitted ‘power on’ LED; construction details are on my online blog. The full Ryobi One+ range is readily available in DIY stores or online, but prices vary so it pays to shop around. It’s rare that a day passes by without the term ‘AI’ cropping up in the news. This overblown buzzword has captured mainstream culture and examples of ‘AI’ are cited everywhere. Artificial intelligence boils down to machines and software simply doing the job that humans have pre-programmed them to do. AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can converse in a way that’s indistinguishable from human interaction, and deepfake videos are surfacing that contain frighteningly realistic, AI-generated dramatis personae. I once quipped that, at the rate things are going, one day there would be computer-generated movie stars or pop idols, and they might even have their own fan club. That’s exactly what has happened: a Spanish agency called ‘The Clueless’ has created a sassy AI/Photoshopped ‘influencer’ character called Aitana Lopez who, according to Euronews – http://tinyurl.com/44phc7m4 – has garnered over 120,000 Instagram followers. She has even been asked out for a date by an unknowing admirer. Aitana earns the agency upwards of €3,000 a month as a ‘presenter’ and such is her success that a second AI star called Maia Lima is now on the payroll as well. You can see Aitana’s portfolio (NSFW) at: https://bit.ly/pe-feb24-aitana Microsoft’s Copilot AI-powered assistant is now installed firmly in its Edge browser and Bing search, and it does admittedly make a refreshing change from mindlessly trawling through classic Amazon now uses AI to create balanced product reviews derived from user feedback. search results. As they state: ‘Microsoft Copilot is powered by AI, so surprises and mistakes are possible.’ Both Amazon and eBay are keen to harness AI as well: Amazon now generates AI-powered product reviews that try to summarise an item’s pros and cons, based on user feedback. When listing an item for sale, I noticed that eBay now offers an AIgenerated product description as a starting point for sellers to modify further. Space news Regular readers will recall the sad demise of Virgin Orbit’s ambitions to offer a 747-based satellite launching service that would have flown from an ordinary runway instead of needing a vertical launchpad. A make-or-break flight of the ‘Cosmic Girl’ 747 from Cornwall in England last year failed to deploy its payload and the company subsequently collapsed. Cosmic Girl lives on, however – the aircraft has now been acquired by Stratolaunch, a Californian-based air launch company, where she is now known as ‘Spirit of Mojave’. (If you use an aircraft tracker such as flightradar24.com, the 747’s registration is N744VG.) The firm is also developing the world’s largest aircraft, a twin-fuselage six-engine ‘Roc’ launcher vehicle originally intended to launch customer payloads into space, but there are now major ambitions to launch hypersonic vehicles as well. Incidentally, the port-side cockpit is a dummy and is known as the ‘mockpit’. More details at: www.stratolaunch.com The first commercial runway-landing spaceplane to be built by the private sector is now complete and is soon to undergo trials at NASA. The Dream Chaser space vehicle (see Net Work, August 2023) is named ‘Tenacity’ and has been built by Sierra Space to provide at least seven flights to the international space station. An orbiting three-storey space habitat pod called LIFE is at the design concept stage, and would be the first commercial space structure of its type. A proposed ‘Orbital Terrington Components • Project boxes designed and manufactured in the UK. • Many of our enclosures used on former Maplin projects. • Unique designs and sizes, including square, long and deep variaaons of our screwed lid enclosures. • Sub-miniature sizes down to 23mm x 16mm, ideal for IoT devices. MADE IN BRITAIN www.terrington-components.co.uk | sales<at>terrington-components.co.uk | Tel: 01553 636999 Practical Electronics | February | 2024 13 The Dream Chaser spaceplane ‘Tenacity’ is undergoing testing with NASA and is destined to service the international space station. Reef’ space station hosting multiple pods is described as a ‘mixed-use space station in low Earth orbit for commerce, research and tourism’ and is promised by the end of this decade. You can learn more at: https://bit.ly/pe-feb24-sierra Amazon’s launch of two test satellites for its Kuiper program proved successful with all systems meeting or exceeding expectations, they say. Two-way video calling and 4K video streaming were demonstrated. Mass production of Kuiper satellites has begun and beta testing will be offered to selected customers later in 2024. Kuiper has signed up SpaceX, among others, to deploy satellites and they have also commissioned rides on Europe’s longoverdue new Ariane 6. The heavy lifter’s first mission won’t be until the end of 2024; until then, Europe lacks any independent access to space. Returning to last month’s Ecowitt weather station topic, out of interest I tested a wire-ended WN30 temperature probe on a deep freezer last month and the screenshot of the mobile app shows how it fell from +19.4°C to −18°C and then clearly recorded the cycling of the fridge compressor (and me opening the door). Data is also uploaded to the Ecowitt cloud server. Finally this month, while surfing around I stumbled across a USB dongle with a difference: far from being a benign flash drive, it contains a voltage-doubler circuit and a bank of capacitors that are designed to test (and/or destroy) a USB host by injecting high ‘killer’ voltages onto the data bus. I’m highlighting this to make readers aware of the ‘USBkill’ dongle, a device intended to stress-test hardware. It contains a rechargeable battery and can be operated wirelessly to ‘test’ laptops, smartphones, smart TVs, monitors, iPhones and more, and it can easily destroy vulnerable electronics in their entirety. Some bad actors are fabricating similar devices themselves, which is one more reason not to plug untrusted dongles into your hardware. You can see it in action at: https://youtu.be/I6bRoSK39io That’s all for this month’s Net Work. Don’t forget to visit the online summary where the above links are ready-made for you at: electronpublishing.com The author can be reached at: alan<at>epemag.net The Stratolaunch ‘Roc’ is the world’s largest aircraft, and will air-launch payloads including hypersonic craft. Screenshot of the temperature data captured by an Ecowitt WN30 wireended probe, tested on a deep freezer. 14 Practical Electronics | February | 2024