If you’re recovering from a respiratory problem, chances are you may have had your oxygen levels checked with a pulse oximeter. Pulse oximetry is the non-invasive measurement of the oxygen saturation (SpO2). Oxygen saturation is defined as the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood, based on the detection of Hemoglobin, Hb, and Deoxyhemoglobin, HbO2. The […]
Teardowns
Teardown: When it comes to germicidal lights bought online, buyer beware
During the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a lot of interest in using germicidal lamps to disinfect surfaces rather than hosing everything down with bleach or disinfectant. But there have been reports that a lot of the germicidal lights based on LEDs are actually fake. So we did a little test. We went online and bought […]
Teardown: Induction crystal ball gyrocopter toy
A little toy made in China called the Induction crystal ball uses a pair of coaxial rotors to rise in the air, helicopter-like. It powers the rotors enough to rise for a few seconds, then cuts the power back to gently float down until a proximity sensor in the base of the plastic body comes […]
Teardown: Dr. Pocket TENS therapy pain relief kit
The electronic TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) therapy pain relief kit called Dr. Pocket uses electronic pulse stimulation via TENS to deliver electric impulses through electrodes in a pad that sits on the user’s skin. This device has multiple modes of different pulse frequencies covering transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and powered muscle stimulation which are […]
LED bulbs then and now: Teardown of the EcoSmart, Feit, and Sylvania 60-W equivalent LED bulbs
Compared to the LED bulbs of only a few years ago, modern-day versions are simpler and assembled via more automated methods. Leland Teschler, Executive Editor If you tore down an LED bulb manufactured a few years ago you’d likely find evidence of hand soldering a bit of kludgy design practices. We found both these practices […]
Teardown: Simple approach characterizes modern LED bulbs
LED bulbs we examined are often simpler than those made four years ago, sometimes employing discrete transistors to handle tasks once done via chips. Leland Teschler, Executive Editor Back in 2015, we examined LED bulbs putting out the equivalent of 60-W incandescent bulbs. We recently obtained several new LED bulbs to see how things have […]
Teardown: Rexing V1 dash cam
The Rexing V1 is a simple wedge-shaped dash camera that films in a 1080-line progressive scanning format. The lens is made of six glass layers and is fish-eyed to capture a 170° view of whatever it sees. There’s also a built-in vibration sensor, called a G-sensor in the promotional literature, that automatically locks any files […]
Teardown: Inside bouncing LED balls
We cut one of these balls apart so you needn’t destroy yours to get a look at its internals. If you’ve ever attended a trade show, you might have seen a booth give-away item that consisted of a see-through bouncing ball with a flashing LED or two inside and sometimes a noise maker. When you […]
Teardown: Inside the PlayStation 4 game box
We take a look at the venerable Sony game box with an eye toward power handling and architecture. Chances are that if you’re a gamer, you’re experiencing your video games on a Sony PlayStation 4. To date, over 75 million PlayStation 4 boxes have sold. The closest competitor is the Xbox One (36.03 million) and […]
Teardown: Anki Cozmo, distant relative of Vector
Cozmo is a palm-sized robot from San Francisco-based Anki, the same company that makes an intelligent racing robot system called Overdrive that we’ve torn down previously. Cozmo is actually an earlier version of an Anki robot called Vector. Vector has more capabilities in the area of artificial intelligence, thanks to its use of a processor […]