The Canon LS 120PC (USB calculator, not what most of us think of as "LS-120") is fairly dopey by comparison to the Lexibook. It, too, advertises LEDs that it does not physically have.

But if NumLock is off, it simply refuses to go into "PC" mode at all, and remains stuck in calculator mode. So either one must configure NumLock to be initially set on, or have another keyboard with shared state that one can use to turn NumLock on.

It's an alternative way of handling the NumLock problem for calculator keypads. But a worse one, I think. One never has "Oh, the mode switch key isn't working because I forgot to set NumLock on. Again." moments with the Lexibook's approach.

#ComputerProgramming #HardwareRepair #BigClive #USBHID

This has led to two interesting, albeit expected, discoveries about the Lexibook USB Calculator:

1. Even though it physically has no lock keys nor LEDs, it knows about the NumLock LED and advertises via its USB report descriptions that it has LEDs.

This is so that it can track NumLock state; and when it sends (say) a "9" digit, it fakes a NumLock keypress to turn NumLock on before sending the HID usage for the "9" key on the calculator keypad.

I can see the NumLock flashing briefly on, on the other keyboard that I have configured to share the modifier state; as well as the codes in the USB input reports.

2. Even though it has a "00" key, even though it is a USB-only device, even though USB defines a HID usage for a "00" key on a calculator, and even though that appears to have been in the spec since 1996 … it still sends two successive [0] keypresses.

It doesn't send the right HID usage for its [±] key, either.

#ComputerProgramming #HardwareRepair #BigClive #USBHID

Beware programmers that carry screwdrivers!

I take a certain small amount of joy in the fact that, having discovered that my problem when testing my new USB HID program was that the test device itself was broken, I unscrewed the device's case, cleaned out some gunge, took the plastic shipping protection tab off the battery (sic!), put it all back together again; and it is working.

I'm not sure whether it was the muck or the lack of power that was the problem. I'd been operating it with only host power for some years, it has transpired; and maybe that was not quite enough to properly drive the keyboard matrix. (The optical mouse part was still working on host power.)

Now I can type digits on my USB calculator in its "PC" mode and see them come up on the computer screen. Hurrah!

I was on the verge of going to e-Bay and paying some bloke in Manchester a tenner for a new one. (-:

#ComputerProgramming #HardwareRepair #BigClive #USBHID

So what is China going to do? Retaliatory #tariffs? Possibly.

But the smart move for China here is to quietly lubricate trade networks that simply bypass the U.S.A., and possibly #Canada and the U.S.M. too unless they manage to disentangle themselves from chains that criss-cross the U.S.A. borders.

No sabre-rattling. Simply "build it, and they will come".

More products for #BigClive to take apart, I suppose. (-:

#economics #USPolitics #Mexico

ASMR - The geeky way! 🥰

Here is #BigClive presenting
"The CURSE of white LEDs" 😱

#BigCliveDotCom #LED
#NorskTut #Allheimen
#GoodNight

https://youtu.be/a5bsQ6obXgQ?si=rB1xF22agEY3Pz3R

Just a brief #factoid to perhaps save other #electronics #hobbyists some time.

#BigClive frequently uses a particular type of crimp-contact-and-housing as a universal socket for LEDs and other leaded components. Not just any such connector will do; various #JST, "#Dupont", and others won't work, because they only grasp pins of one particular size and/or shape. If the lead is too big, it won't go in, and if it's too small, it won't stay in.

If you want to use these connectors - and note you can get the housings with more than 2 contacts, so you can use them for transistors or weirder things too - the magic search term is "KF2510".

The reason these work as universal sockets for leaded components is because the contact is a spring that pushes from only one side of the housing, pressing the inserted contact or lead against the far side of the housing, and therefore provides a friction fit for any size lead (within reason). Most crimp connectors instead have particular shapes for their contacts and will only "grab" something the right size and shape.

#KF2510 #CrimpConnector #crimp #socket #component #leaded #connector #solderless #universal #contact #housing

⚡️⚠️ Just watched "The most deadly project on the Internet" by bigclivedotcom, and it's a real eye-opener! If you're into electronics, this video highlights the dangers of working with Microwave Oven Transformers and the importance of safety precautions. Stay safe out there! 🔌💡
👉 Watch it here: https://youtu.be/FBeSKL9zVro or Invidious: https://invidious.reallyaweso.me/watch?v=FBeSKL9zVro)
#Electronics #SafetyFirst #DIY #BigClive #lichtenberg #fractalBurning #Woodfracking

Der YouTuber #bigclive (#bigclivedotcom) hat einen #Greifer aus einem #Greifautomat zerlegt. Die (dunkle) Magie liegt allerdings in der Ansteuerung.

"Inside a crane claw, and how the crane plays YOU"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2kyek_P644

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greifautomat

#YouTube #CraneClaw #ClawCrane #ClawMachine

For anyone interested in electric tinkering I highly recommend #BigClive over at YouTube for disassembly of weird electronics. He also does weird but interesting streams at twitch.tv

I wish he could also be in the fediverse. :)

It is amusing to see #BigClive surprised in two different ways when plastic turns out to be … plastic.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VgltUGzLodc

#chemistry #physics

@afewbugs I wonder whether #BigClive will be more pleased or disappointed.

#RechargeableBatteries #batteries

@VE2UWY @va3db

I do. He featured mine in a number of his livestreams when I first started putting the kits together.

#BigClive #supercomputer #light #prop

@matt303

It all depends, also, from how much you like channelling your inner #BigClive. (-:

@RhinosWorryMe

If you have never heard of #BigClive before, xe will be a similar inspiration. (-:

https://mastodonapp.uk/@JdeBP/110243318406204124

@Archie8 #batteries

@NanoRaptor
There should be a #BigClive video about that.

@gozzy

Supporting anecdote:

Someone I know needed a surgical knife for treating a wart, the hospital told xem. So xe went to a #Tesco pharmacy and two branches of #Boots. The best xe got was that xe could shop on-line for one.

Interested, I went to #eBay and picked "UK only" as the filter. I found that *all* of the results on the first search ("wart knife") were for Chinese manufacturers that had wangled eBay into listing them as the U.K..

#AliExpress #BigClive #economics

@gozzy

Let me BigCliveify that for you:

For some consumer products, the only places left in the world that make them are the manufacturers in Chinese Special Economic Zones that sell them on #eBay and #AliExpress.

#economics #BigClive

#BigClive should introduce himself as the Lock Picking Carbonator from now on.

https://youtu.be/YW2B4Yzr5c0

#BigClive has convinced me to never buy electronics at #Poundland. Not that I’d ever have the opportunity….

The Simple Tech Behind Hidden Camera Detectors https://hackaday.com/2024/01/12/the-simple-tech-behind-hidden-camera-detectors/ #digitalcamerashacks #hiddencamera #ledflasher #LEDHacks #bigclive