For engineering questions involving consumer electronics. Support / troubleshooting questions about consumer electronics are off-topic and will be closed.
Questions tagged [consumer-electronics]
95 questions
54
votes
13 answers
Are toasters really electrified inside of the "slots"?
My mother was born 1950. Me in the mid-1980s. All my life, she's been saying that I must never stick a metal object, such as a knife, into the toaster, because it will electrocute me.
I've always been scared of this, even though it seems highly…
Anupam Strane
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15
votes
2 answers
What is this small rotating part from a cell phone?
What is this tiny rotating piece of hardware that I found inside my Samsung GE1202? It has E9C written in blue on it.
PyRoss
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14
votes
2 answers
Why does the manual to a 1989 TV dedicate almost a page to the "pin assignment" of the SCART connector?
It is a bit unclear whether this is the "user manual" or the "service manual", the latter may have only been used by service people, but nevertheless, why would it go through the specifics of the SCART connector, naming the purpose of each pin?
Yes,…
M Clouden
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8
votes
1 answer
Why do modern phone cameras apparently have three or even more different camera lenses in almost the same spot?
I saw this today:
It's not the first time I see it, but I wonder what this is about. Why do they have three big what I assume are camera lenses? And what's the two smaller "spots" in the same area?
Are they for making some kind of "3D" view or…
Karanveer H
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8
votes
2 answers
Unknown metal-piece connected to the case of an iPod Nano 2
I disassembled an iPod Nano 2 yesterday and was surprised to find a round brass-coloured plate glued to the back. I didn't find any mention of it at the teardown over at ifixit.com, as they didn't cut the case in half. The back of the logic board…
eugen_e
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4
votes
2 answers
Does a transformer use power when devices aren't attached?
I have just purchased a 45 W 12 V transformer with an integral photocell for landscape lights. I measured the voltage while it was plugged in and the photocell closed the circuit (off) and there was still about 3 volts across the terminals.
The…
John
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3
votes
1 answer
Analog addressing flat panel display
Cathode ray tubes (CRT) are analog addressing displays because you can light a point on its surface applying a continuous electric or magnetic field to deflect electrons beam. Virtually, there is no limit on the resolution that CRT can reach. On the…
user3368561
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3
votes
2 answers
How do 120V AC dimmable LED bulbs advertised as "flicker free" work?
I'm a layperson, not an engineer, so forgive the ignorance. I want to replace some dimmable 120V AC G8 xenon bulbs with LED bulbs, but so far three different LED bulbs I've tried, all advertised as "dimmable", flicker badly when the light fixture is…
Tim
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3
votes
2 answers
Why are LED blinking?
If you carefully look at LED in flashlights, they are blinking at fast rate despite the batteries are DC. It's even more obvious on flashlights with separate R,G,B LED (to allow the control of color) when you move it fast.
Why is it so ?
( It's also…
Fabrice NEYRET
- 177
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2
votes
2 answers
Identifying affordable alternatives for low-frequency high-current DC-DC solid state relays
Please note, this is not a shopping question; this is a what type of component works best for this scenario question.
I have an induction heater circuit and a 5A max. / 24V wall wart, and I'd like to switch off / on the output of the wall wart so…
Daniel Donnelly
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2
votes
1 answer
Does MEMS/Optical Gyroscope record Earth's Rotational and revolutional angular velocities
I am using a 3 axis gyroscope (Android device) to record angular velocities using a sensor data logger application.
When the device is placed stationary, the gyroscope recorded the following values:
X: 0.003
Y:0.00042
Z:0.0045
At an instantaneous…
Akash Sagar
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2
votes
1 answer
Why do most lithium batteries have 4 terminals?
Most consumer devices that have lithium single-cell batteries have 4 connections. I've noticed the following diverse types of devices, this is true:
Samsung smartphone with removable battery
GoPro camera
Laser barcode scanners
Nikon DSLR…
BetterSense
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2
votes
2 answers
How is it possible that "fiddling around with" batteries can apparently give them more power?
I have a flashlight which I use when I have to get up in the night in the pitch-black room. It takes three AAA batteries.
Recently, it has been rather dim, so I assumed that I would have to switch batteries soon. First, I took the current batteries…
Doran
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2
votes
1 answer
What version of Bluetooth does the Echo Show 5 support?
Title says it all. I can’t find the Bluetooth version, only that it supports Bluetooth. Also, forgive me if this question is off topic here.
Evan93
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2
votes
5 answers
Why Sony headset's charging station doesn't charge other NiMH batteries rather than which came with it?
I've got a Sony MDR-RF4000 wireless headset, which is already 7 years old, so obviously its NiMH battery (Sony BP-HP550-11, basically a pair of AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries tied together) shows the signs of age.
The battery compartment has a note…
Megan Caithlyn
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