Let's see if we can figure out what is wrong with this Xiaomi 10,000mAH USB Power Bank and try to fix it. Power bank link on GearBest: http://www.gearbest.com/mobile-power-bank/pp_187685.html I've had this power bank for about 6 months when one day it stopped outputting power. Sometimes I could jiggle the USB cable and get it to work, but not anymore. Looking inside the USB socket, I noticed the two side contacts appeared to be bent backwards and looked different than the two data pins in the middle. Prying off the white plastic cover, revealed 4 small screws. Removing those revealed 2 more screws holding the plastic face plate in place. Prying that off revealed the power and ground pins had indeed been pushed out the back of the USB connector shell. Exercise care if opening the case as the exposed battery terminals are capable of a high discharge current. I pushed them back inside, then carefully bent the contacts up to restore the same profile as the data pins. I used a small ceramic bladed (non-conducting) screwdriver to do this to avoid creating a short circuit. Then to prevent a re-occurrence I fitted a piece of plastic behind the USB connector to prevent those pins pushing backwards again. I've tested the power bank capacity from about 1/4 full and measured 7778mAH on my YZXStudio power meter, so I think it's fairly close to the rated specs. It does 2A@5V and 2.1A@5.1V output and uses 3 - LG 18650 cells in parallel. It's easily able to power my Raspberry Pi touch screen computer. I'll be improving that in an upcoming video, so stay tuned for that... Be sure to rate, comment and share And as always, thanks for watching SOUNDTRACK: Lousiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUOvH1cdwUw

Let's put on some Xray glasses and see how this FlexPlate works. Comment from BuildTak: "We certainly tested many prototypes to determine the optimal magnet quantity and layout - the magnets were carefully arranged to provide enough attractive force across the whole surface of the FlexPlate, especially while heated (when the FlexPlate naturally wants to bend) - but there was no deliberate arrangement of polarities, as suggested in Part 4. We also have to admit that the circuit pattern on the bottom of the magnetic base is a purely decorative pattern which does not impact functionality at all!" It seems that the FlexPlate base is designed with a series of magnets of one polarity around the edge and then the rest of the magnets with the opposite polarity. This creates a a strong magnetic field around the edge of the base plate to hold the steel flex plate down. At least this is what I observed, but per BuildTak, it may be a random arrangement. So rather than using something like a magnetic rubber sheet where one side is N and the other S, this uses alternating N-S magnet pairs near the edge to put a strong field close to the plate. This is because the flex plate is rather thin steel and thus needs the tight field to attract it strongly. TAM FlexPlate kit: https://store.typeamachines.com/products/buildtak-flexplate-system Magnetic viewing film: http://www.ebay.com/itm/322415795397 PolyMagnet site: http://www.polymagnet.com/ To be continued, some BuildTak tips and tricks: https://youtu.be/LEqzvcO690U Be sure to rate, comment and share And as always, thanks for watching SOUNDTRACK: Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR4qx_qppk8

I decided to add a 2nd fan to help with the garden shed cooling. Also, more details on modifying the dryer vent. While 1 fan did a decent job of cooling the shed, on very hot days, I felt more air flow could help. So I built up a 2nd fan to install on the right side of the shed. The pair of fans pull less than 500mA and are easily powered by the solar charge controller that can bring in up to 1300mA. Since the shed walls are thin, it's necessary to remove the 4" vent flange on the vent. Cutting around the outermost molding mark results in a perfect hole size to match the fan ID. The holes in the fan don't line up with those on the vent, so new holes need to be drilled. The upper two holes are the hardest, you need to make sure and fit them just on the edge of the recess molded into the vent. Of course if using the vent on a thicker wall, you may not need to remove the flange. The shed wall is just single wall vinyl material. I showed the fan/vent installation in the earlier video: https://youtu.be/sKZMGEg2PRk In summary, use the 4 vent screws to attach the vent to the outside wall of the shed with some sealant. Then use the 4 fan screw holes to pull the fan up to the inside of the shed wall. I added a steel grill to the new fan as it's right next to my garden tool hanging area. The modified fan controller is working great. It does get somewhat warm during the day when the solar PWM MOSFET is switching. But as the sun sets, that cools off and the thermostat in the controller shuts off once the temps drop below the set point. I have it set to turn on around 90*F. This way the fans run from around noon until about sunset. Inside temps stay at ambient temps until early afternoon, then rise until the house shadow hits the shed in late afternoon. It's much better if I do need to get something in the shed than it used to be. Before I would often delay getting something until the following morning due to the inside heat. The added ventilation should also help control the humidity which was a bit of an issue before. Arctic 120mm PC case fan affiliate link: http://amzn.to/2rdR8x1 5-pack: http://amzn.to/2rxJCwA Deflecto Dryer Vent: http://amzn.to/2qdeMFq Be sure to rate, comment and share And as always, thanks for watching Intro: Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnkvk5Sqg-Q

After about 5 years use, my Barista Express finally fell victim to the buzzing solenoid problem. Let's see if we can fix it... Should also apply to the Sage brand machines. Even in my original video from Dec. 2014, you can hear the solenoid acting up: https://youtu.be/oFChUn60Td8 Back then it was very intermittent. Lately it became nearly constant, time to see what's up. Gaining access to the machine wasn't too hard. 2 screws in front, 5 across the top of the back panel and 3 along the base. Lift off the top, disconnect the hopper switch and pop off the rear panel. 2 screws hold the water tank valve into the back panel, best removed with machine on it's side. Un-clip and remove 3 hard plastic lines, cut the tie wrap holding the larger tube to the diffuser on the side. Remove the red, orange, 2 blue and 2 green wires from the solenoids. Finally unscrew the solenoid block and maneuver it out around the other wires and hoses. Solenoid Block: https://www.ereplacementparts.com/solenoid-valve-assembly-p-629955.html It took about 8-9 weeks for the part to arrive, you might want to order one before you need it. 2019 cost about US$63.00 with shipping. You can find replacement single solenoids on eBay for US$40-50 delivered in ~2 weeks from Germany. Part numbers for the older Olab solenoids: 2 port is Olab 5878 3 port is Olab 9200H https://www.ereplacementparts.com/breville-bes870xl-the-barista-express-parts-c-116052_116055_290179.html I don't have the Ceme part numbers separately aside from the new solenoid block assembly:Breville SP0020444 LAI video on water pump and solenoid repair: https://youtu.be/-KOMX4zOUfI More to come, we'll test the old and new solenoid blocks side by side to see if we can find out what the problem is and later, we might even repair the old solenoid that failed: https://youtu.be/yYJRQu3ZUik Subscribe for more content like this Comment, rate, share & click the bell icon And as always, thanks for watching #breville #bes870 #bes860 #solenoids #sage ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96IuKiuIB5A