Nice design - shame about the penny pinching (Patreon)

Published:

2023-01-04 03:49:22

Imported:

2023-02

Content

This is so frustrating. It's a rechargeable lithium powered hand warmer that has literally skimped on one of the most important components.

The circuitry is actually very good, with some interesting twists for reducing pin count and standby power. But it's like the work of the engineers was destroyed by the work of the accountants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHWJvT51-fg

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Such a weird product. Really good circuitry sabotaged by dumb penny-pinching. I had high expectations that this design was going to be minimalist and very crappy. But it's not. The circuitry is actually pretty good, which makes the cost motivated economy of just one component a bit perplexing. The listing was notable for saying it has a 5000mAh cell (it doesn't), has low risk of explosion (which is always good), heats on both sides (it doesn't) and can be used to heat your feet and other body parts too. People like us with technical skills could upgrade this unit by beefing up the lithium cell to something more sensible. But the use of a flat heater panel jammed against a concave plastic case just doesn't quite transfer heat as well as the posher version with metal heat plates does. On a plus note, the circuitry is nice with a couple of good educational parts to inspire other designs. Mid-play video-adverts are annoying in technical videos, so I don't enable them. If you appreciate that and enjoy my content then you can help support the channel with a contribution of a dollar or two a month on Patreon. That also lets you critique the (advert free) videos before they are released, gives a more direct means of communication with me and also gives access to the regular relaxed Patreon live streams. https://www.patreon.com/bigclive #ElectronicsCreators