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Fixing (and cleaning) IKEA solar lights for my brother Ralfy.

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My brother Ralfy has quite a few solar lights in his garden, most of them custom modified and made more weather resilient. These standard IKEA ones have been pretty good, but I noticed that some were misbehaving and decided to take a look to see what was up.
I got the "straw hat" LEDs from this seller on eBay:-
www.ebay.com/sc...
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...

Опубликовано:

28 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 432

@nutsnproud6932 7 лет назад

Clive, I put silicone grease around the joints and switches of our garden lights to keep the insides watertight. I also brushed a little on both sides of the PCB to act like a conformal coating. I hope that helps other viewers too.

@tinytonymaloney7832 3 года назад

All I can say is you have some patience. I think I would have slung them out and bought new ones. Wish I had a brother like you. Great video 😁👍

@tinytonymaloney7832 3 года назад

Hey Clive, I was leaning out the window tonight just after sunset waiting for the lights with built in photocells to come on when I thought, I wonder how them electronic ballasts work for the compact fluorescent tubes. If you recall they came along some time in the late 80s to 90s to replace the old magnetic ballast. I would love to see a video where you break one down in your usual manner and explain how each part works. I stripped them down in the past, broken ones, and wondered what actually causes them not to work. Of course they are becoming obsolete now with the taking over by LED lamps but the electronic ballasts have always fascinated me, and yes I need to get out more 😊

@d0cjkl 7 лет назад

Clive sells C cells by the sea shore.

@neiltheplayer 5 лет назад

ROFL.....now that was classic and extremely funny

@aaronbrandenburg2441 3 года назад

@@neiltheplayer 10-4

@brentengelhart5 2 года назад

Please ask Clive to explain how purple burglar alarms function.

@PhalosSouthpawsBastelstube 7 лет назад

Watchmakers use silicone grease on the seal for the bottom of the watches, to keep the water and moisture out more efficiently. I'm sure it will cause a good result to use it on the garden lamps as well.

@Tman0517 7 лет назад

Maybe because I was that kid that took everything apart and put it mostly back together, but clives videos are just so relaxing

@canadianavenger 7 лет назад

I would consider not sealing it, in fact adding a vent/drain hole where the switch was, and then conformal coating the PCB. As you said, as it heats and cools it will draw in humid air from outside, and then condense on the inside. So instead of trying to prevent it, which is a losing battle, allow it to happen, but control what it can come in contact with. By adding the vent/drain, you should minimize what actually accumulates inside.

@blubbspinat9363 7 лет назад

For the cleaning and scraping i recommend using a glass fiber pen. It works wonders to oxide layers ad other kinds of shmoo that resists isopropanol or distilled water.

@aaronbrandenburg2441 3 года назад

I was thinking about mentioning using a fiberglass pin to clean the solder joints as well that would definitely work

@iandeare1 2 года назад

Used them a lot cleaning brass instrument solder joints: recommended that you wear gloves, probably nowadays an air suction system, or mask would be recommended too

@tripsadelica 7 лет назад

Love the new channel icon! LOL! I am the doyen of solar lights here in my suburban street in Australia. I have them everywhere in the garden and I also use IR-triggering solar-panel powered security floodlights for my carport. Some hints for those wanting to buy solar lights: - Before using take the batteries out and put them in a charger so they get a good charge first before the intermittent charge they'll face in gardens. - If the solar panel is flat on the top of the light run a bead of clear silicon around the edge of the panel as temperature change, as Clive points out here, will cause water ingress as the plastics expand and contract. - You can always use an battery engraver to poke a little hole into the base of the circuitry cradle to allow condensation to fall away with gravity. - If the unit has a switch I usually get rid of the switch immediately and just bridge the circuit to always "on" to avoid the corrosion the switches usually generate. - Think about dumping the battery each year as the ability to recharge eventually drops away, especially with Ni-Cads. Dispose of the batteries at your local collection point.

@stevengill1736 2 года назад

Yes.

@trustnoone81 7 лет назад

Now I'm thinking there's an ongoing a battle betwen Clive and his gardening neighbour, where the latter makes more and more complex topiaries and landscaping and Clive responds by displaying increasingly elaborated LED lighting projects.

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

His garden is immaculate and mine is not.

@tin2001 7 лет назад

bigclivedotcom Start describing your garden as "abstract" and then it becomes a work of art.

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

I like to think of it as a "wildlife sanctuary" with an unusually high number of LED lights.

@olafmuller4506 7 лет назад

bigclivedotcom garden tour video? 😘

@RWBHere 7 лет назад

+Olaf, that glow in the middle of the Irish Sea at night which can be seen in some ISS photographs is Clive's garden!

@loup754 7 лет назад

"Giving two flux now". Comment of the day! Thank you sir.

@twotone3070 7 лет назад

He always gives more than a flying flux.

@wilhobbs207 7 лет назад

Lou P Many Flux Given.

@MalleusSemperVictor 7 лет назад

Go flux yourself.

@karlmcdonnell5838 7 лет назад

That's two more flux than I today...

@Gameboygenius 7 лет назад

People who fail at soldering mostly do so because they don't give two flux.

@TalasDS 7 лет назад

Well, the new channel icon is cool. Nice video as always, Clive

@Landrew0 7 лет назад

Normally I'd agree, but this one seemed a bit too long.

@jdod64 7 лет назад

Landrew0 I guess you haven't been around for his hr long videos?

@dirk4926 7 лет назад

I do like the new icon, avatar, thingy.

@thatsunpossible312 7 лет назад

It was less than 15 minutes?

@PuchMaxi 7 лет назад

Last summer I "weatherproofed" our solar garden light. Put tape over the solar cell, coated the PCB with nail polish. Put petroleum jelly around the switch/gasket. Sealed the external wires for the LED with hot melt glue. And sealed the seams using nail polish. After the winter it was totally dead, water had found its way in anyway (from the external wires) and could not get out. The legs on the chip were corroded and the chip was kaputt. I think it's better to drill a hole in order to let the enclosure "breathe" and let the water get out again.

@ethanpoole3443 7 лет назад

It is often a lost cause trying to truly fight moisture ingress and it often works out best to design for minimal moisture ingress and then design a proper path for that trapped moisture to readily escape. Otherwise, in a nearly perfectly hermetically sealed enclosure you just wind up forever collecting water as it ends up easier for moist air to find a way in and condense each night than it is for that now condensed moisture to find a way back out, so it just slowly builds up and gets into everything over time. Sometimes the simple addition of a drain hole added to the lowest point winds up the optimal solution versus trying to seal something perfectly. Moisture can be a particularly insidious foe! I just finished repairing an outdoor garage door opener keypad for my sister that had suffered considerable water damage and many traces and vias had completely corroded away. All of the damaging moisture was from condensed moisture in the air (central Florida) which had no other way out once it was condensed. The vias had especially suffered severe corrosion with many missing their plating entirely. I fixed the traces and repaired the vias and filled them all with leaded solder to keep water out of the vias and sealed the repairs with nail polish to replace the solder mask I had to grind away to repair the damaged traces. I can not do a silicon conformal coating of the board since the carbon keypads would no longer work but I will be suggesting my sister drill a small hole or two in the base of its enclosure to allow future trapped moisture to escape more freely and hopefully avoid further damage in the future.

@mavos1211 7 лет назад

I hope Ralfy appreciates what you do for him.

@RWBHere 7 лет назад

He's a Scot, and it cost him nothing, so of course he'll be happy! jk

@Rizon1985 7 лет назад

Dry solder joints are SOOOOOOOO much easier if you just have a flux pen/syringe. It eats away rust, oxidation and when you put your solder iron on, it immediately helps the solder to flow like it's fresh.

@smithleon 3 года назад

good tip for cleaning little garden solar light panels that go hazy and opaque is Autosol metal polish. Bit of elbow grease with a few dobs of that and they are practically good as new.

@FireSwordl 7 лет назад

One of the things I like most about your videos - they put me to sleep so well.... Thanks!

@BritishBoy1971 7 лет назад

It's always best to use some Vaseline when you've got a tight fit like that. Especially too, when there's a lot of expansion and contraction, causing a lot of pumping action to go on outdoors, as Clive said. :-O

@TheModernVictorian 7 лет назад

I did this to some two yearold shell garage specials recently.. It will be my first modification to any other sets I buy.

@JerryEricsson 5 лет назад

We use that tape to reinforce the plastic that we cover our windows with for the winters here in the Dakota's it is great, then we can simply staple through that tape and she holds up against the worst winters with very high winds and sub-zero temps, wind chills down to -50 F. Today the high was -8F windchill -35F

@johnyyonehand 7 лет назад

I envy your brother Ralfy. I wished I had a brother like Clive!

@NeilVanceNeilVance 7 лет назад

Love it when he get right down to tacks!

@ekummel 3 года назад

That's a very well put together solar light. Here in the States, I can get these things for about a buck fifty a piece..so when they die, it's not worth the effort to fix. I usually buy them in bulk and replace as necessary!

@celticlightning9703 2 года назад

It's all the minor details that make the difference. The in between mess that's rarely shown. Most vids do a step by step of the action itself but knowing the small mundane details makes it all the more comprehendible .

@MetalheadBuser 7 лет назад

I still can't belive, that Ralfy, one of the best Whisky RU-vidrs and Clive, one of the best electrical RU-vidrs are actually brothers. Guess putting out great content is in the family.

@edenfrawley9247 7 лет назад

You have come a bloody long way. Been subscribed since 1.5k. Keep on going. The new icon is sweet

@leberkassemmel 7 лет назад

The IKEA things are most of the time fairly nice designed. If they are Power supplies, Garden lights or Furniture.

@Stuntman707 7 лет назад

Found some of that weatherproof tape in Wilko's for £1. Got some lights, shot glasses and Tommy Walsh approved resin from Poundland. Going to be a nice little weekend project.

@bubblet321 7 лет назад

Great video. If you do decide to use Vaseline, you should revisit it in the future to see how it went against the weather as well as the tape (was in need of this stuff too).

@97Giorgos97 7 лет назад

The new channel icon rocks!

@milcotto4153 5 лет назад

I think I must have been Ikea's best customer on this solar light. I am glad I still have many extra of them, because they have stopped selling them here. It is the best solar light they have had, in my opinion. They give a good light with a warm color. And they all light up just about the same time. You can even use them indoors in south facing window sills if you have an offgrid cabin. They have lasted longer then the other solar lights I have had. A couple of them got the same problem as shown in the video. Now I know how to fix them, and I won't be throwing them away. I think I can manage to do this. I just have to learn how to solder first - without burning my fingers off, haha!

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 5 лет назад

Definitely have a go at fixing them. Even if you screw up the first few you'll soon be comfortable fixing (and customising) all your solar lights.

@douro20 7 лет назад

The solar cell design is one introduced by Sunpower about 4-5 years ago and licensed to several Chinese manufacturers. It is significantly more efficient than regular amorphous silicon cells.

@andrecastillo2774 7 лет назад

I use a tiny Dremel diamond burr mounted in a handle to clean oxidised solder, works a treat. 😀

@timw1971 7 лет назад

Loving the new channel icon. Breaking Big Clive.

@rayray1527 7 лет назад

just a thought, would it be beneficial to instead of completely sealing where that switch protrudes, use a rubber bit of sorts to create a diaphragm where during the day the air inside expands due to warming, moves that diaphragm instead of exiting the fixture and thus preventing it from drawing in moisture when it cools inside as the diaphragm relaxes ?

@alexanderwingeskog758 7 лет назад

Clive! I have an idea (maybe you have already done it...) Get a "box" buy about 10 at 1 pound solar lights and make a USB solar charger of them. I guess it needs regulation and stuff (USB connector) but would be a fun project... I think (in Sweden) my "1 pound" solar lights have 360 ma/h batteries in them... a 3600 ma/h USB charger for "10 pound"... ah well usb connector and some other chips might add a couple of "pounds" but anyway...

@Jeff121456 7 лет назад

Might try stuffing a silica gel bag in with it. It will get overwhelmed eventually but might extend their lives.

@RWBHere 7 лет назад

It will be saturated within a couple of days.

@ArlenMoulton2 7 лет назад

i love solar lights(or any lights for that matter)that are covered in mud and moss and algae, the idea of "being lost and abandoned" appeals to me.

@-AnyWho 6 лет назад

FYI - the solar cell itself can be polished to new condition (the side that is exposed to the weather) with meguiar's PlastX - clear plastic cleaner & polish or i imagine any headlight cleaner polish would work as well ... i did it to my lights and it will clear any weathered cloudy look on the cell therefor increasing the performance a bit ...

@wimwiddershins 7 лет назад

I like Ikea garden lights. Worth repairing.

@theKEVman011 6 лет назад

"oh I shouldn't of sniffed that" We've all been there.

@abriwin 7 лет назад

Many thanks Clive, I have three that have stopped working completely and one that only gives out a dull light. As a total beginner at least I think I might have a go at getting mine repaired having watched your video. BTW what about trying the hot glue gun on that empty switch hole?

@yup-nope-yep Год назад

Good restoration, thank you 🙂

@gateway8833 7 лет назад

That new Icon fits you well Sir.

@heyarno 7 лет назад

I also had some good results cleaning stuff with a toothbrush. Alcohol, soap water, acetone, petroleum, lighter fluid, hydrochloric acid and WD40 are helping too depending on the type of dirt.

@jockywochy 7 лет назад

I use a set of Dentists tools to clean the crud and grunge off solder on circuit boards, Good for tracing bridges between tracks too.

@melkiorwiseman5234 5 лет назад

"My Brother Ralfy" sounds like the title for a bad sitcom series. :) Those solar garden lights never last very long. They're usually not sealed well enough to keep out the damp so they rust out, and even when they're new, the dinky little solar panels almost never provide enough charge over a full day to get the battery anywhere near full, so they last only an hour or two before going dark. Or a couple of minutes if the day was cloudy.

@GiovanniCarloIglina 7 лет назад

Very, very stylish account image!

@snubbelbuff1471 5 лет назад

"Oh I shouldn't have" ...the warcry of the Grate Scotts!

@jonlaws4493 7 лет назад

Clive, Telecom cabinets and Basestation Antenna use little membrane spots from Gore ( Goretex) to allow air expansion without allowing moisture to pass. One of these would work a treat in a solar lamp.

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

+Jon Laws I took something apart recently that had a membrane dot in it. Can't remember what it was in though.

@grandpaseed 7 лет назад

your a wonderful brother good on ya

@RcNerd 7 лет назад

good old Clive. cheers.

@richbooth8948 7 лет назад

+BigCliveDotCom I'm guessing that you are correct about thermal expansion. The heat expands during the day and contacts during the night. Night air is typically cool and as looking to give up moisture (that's when dew forms). That pumping you mention expels dry air and sucks in moist air. I would surmise the wee switch is corroded because the moisture collect on the bottom and tries to find its way out through the switch. I wouldn't Vaseline the seam. Now that the switch is gone, the moisture has a place to go, and perhaps won't allow a vacuum to build.

@electrobob 7 лет назад

Had one in my parents' garden that had an ant colony growing in it.

@azranariff73 3 года назад

hi, would like to know, is it bright at night? thanks

@Norselila 7 лет назад

best logo ever

@avejst 7 лет назад

thanks for sharing this. Good to know this pumping effect on dealers casing..👍😀

@davidbalfour3390 7 лет назад

You could try adding silica gel, beads or pack to soak up the moisture. It looks like there is plenty of void to take it.

@BerndFelsche 7 лет назад

I have a toothbrush-sized brass brush to clean away corrosion after the the real toothbrush has cleaned away the softer crud. (neutral cure silicone is good)

@philmerrifield1163 4 года назад

Better option than scraping off the corrosion (if you have it) is a fine grit sandpaper I have used it to repair a fuse box on a car with soldered in relays just a suggestion, however a screwdriver works too

@kenw.1112 2 года назад

Being a professional electronics technician for 40+yrs I can't get over how many people who solder don't keep their soldering iron tips clean and tinned. When you use flux and keep the tip thinned soldering is far more fun and efficient.

@pleasecho2 2 года назад

Go further when resurrecting devices with outdoor PCB's - clean it up then spray the trace side with clear coat/acrylic to prevent future corrosion

@justinh8810 4 года назад

Does anyone else feel like Big Clive is the Bob Ross of electronics? He has the little saying's down that no one else says, carrie's on conversations with himself and he seems like the nicest guy in the world! Only thing that's different is, his afro is on his chin! 😂🤣😂🤣😂✌️lmao

@twocvbloke 7 лет назад

Nice new channel icon there, and as for the lights, water always seems to make it's way in, whether it's a light from Poundland or Ikea (both of which I can get to on the same bus ticket!!)... :)

@chancho00 7 лет назад

One big improvement would be to apply some resin,epoxy or liquid tape on the circuit board to make it weatherproof , this should be done on both sides and also on the led leads also you don't have to worry about future soldering on it since this kind of circuit practically never fail for electrical related problems, just moisture is the problem

@Crux161 7 лет назад

1:44 it's quite a tight fit, and Bigclive likes it that's way :) lol gotta love those blue-collar bears

@OAleathaO 7 лет назад

12:48 - "And I used a toothbrush that I keep dedicated to clean printed circuit boards." Remember to always brush your teeth with a generous amount of flux after every meal. LOL

@gorillaau 7 лет назад

Aleatha Vogel No, no. Brush with solder paste before rinsing with hot water.

@PIXscotland 7 лет назад

Lidl UK (Edinburgh) has this all-weather tape on sale right now. I bought a couple of rolls just because.

@davidfalconer8913 2 года назад

A trick with solar lights is to disassemble after buying ( who does ! ) and conformal coat the pcb BEFORE putting in a wet UK garden ! ( many are designed in California , hot and dry and LOTS of sun ! ! )

@jackstockbridge6273 7 лет назад

Well designed solar garden lights seems to be an untapped market... quick, to kickstarter!

@cjhification 7 лет назад

the rechargeable batteries are sold in 4 packs in either AA or AAA, have bought many of them as I'm very close to one of their store's.

@OPENXAIMER 7 лет назад

I like the new icon

@blackstork9504 7 лет назад

Well it's aboot time you fixed those lights cause Ralfy's only been asking you to do it for like a week now!

@StreuB1 7 лет назад

Water ingress is the bane of my existence. Design engineer for an OEM that makes equipment that lives in washdown food production facilities.

@maletil 7 лет назад

I think your new icon is cool buy I personally prefer your previous one

@deedubbs4412 7 лет назад

That mark on your finger looks like the ones on a hotdog when it gets left on the grill without being flipped xD

@coondogtheman 7 лет назад

I got a bunch of these that are broken kicking around. I'm going to pull the solar panels out of all of them and when I get enough I'm going to wire them together to make a solar phone charger.

@Darieee 7 лет назад

Ha ! I'm proud to have seen the white background channel logo too xD

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

i thought it looked a bit bare, so added a splash of colour.

@grahamrdyer6322 7 лет назад

I get given loads of those things, and after trying to fix them I give up and bung them cause there cheap as chips but some times I get given the square solar panels with a string of LEDs and do I fix them...yes I do but with different LEDs.....blue being my favorite.

@MilesMetal 7 лет назад

Excellent video, Clive. The new profile image is brilliant!

@themlotproductions 7 лет назад

How about adding a 'breath hole' attached to a pipe/straw? The end of which could be positioned safely so no water can permeate the circuitry.

@DoRC 7 лет назад

Big Clive: Small outdoor light forensics and repair:)

@dimitar4y 7 лет назад

Hmm... So if you seal it, give it a rubber wall somewhere, to handle the contraction and expansion, to prevent sucking in moisture? Some desiccant to absorb the moisture that *is* inside? Oil/Grease on cap/body, and make the cap/body joint somewhere where moisture couldn't collect to wick up?

@brunselltorp 7 лет назад

bigclivedotcom you should drill a little hole in the bottom of the little dome. it's impossible keeping water out, easy to drain water out. =)

@gunnish1337 7 лет назад

Yes that is a standard IKEA NiMH LSD cell, albeit not the one they are selling now, but the unit is old.

@dirk4926 7 лет назад

I've never seen that tape before, gonna have to pick up a roll.

@PlanetRuncorn 5 лет назад

a good idea is when you buy new ones, is to take apart and spray board with some clear lacquer

@Tom_Losh 7 лет назад

For those terribly crusty solder joints I have a toothbrush size stainless steel brush that I use to de-crust them. Don't remember where I picked 'em up, but they obviously came in a little pack of two...

@eddiespencer1 7 лет назад

Digging the new logo, man!

@frogz 7 лет назад

i grabbed a soldering iron by the thin end earlier today... you arnt alone!

@cardboardboxification 7 лет назад

Frogz you always remember 750'

@pauljs75 7 лет назад

Seems like it'd be tempting to spray that with conformal coat and seal it before putting it back together. Surprising they don't do that, given how much some yard lights cost.

@FixUntilBroken 7 лет назад

Those lights are ALIVE!

@igotes 7 лет назад

Neat tip fluxing the desoldering braid. I tend to find it's pretty useless so I'll give that a go!

@CarltonDodd 7 лет назад

igotes I use liquid flux. I keep a small amount (few drops) in an open container, and dip desolder braid or wire ends in before using/tinning.

@jaycee1980 7 лет назад

Good braid will have flux in it. Cheap shitty braid usually doesnt, but a wipe with a flux pen before you use it solves that problem

@Mentorcase 7 лет назад

The trouble with that is the wick will suck that pen dry in no time, better to dip into flux container.

@robertbackhaus8911 7 лет назад

It makes a real difference. I have a block of solid resin that I use - use the iron to melt a touch of resin into the braid, and it works like magic.

@Chuckiele 7 лет назад

Yeah, desoldering braid is pretty bad without flux.

@Furiends 7 лет назад

To get to the cruddy solder joints use acid. You can use flux or even vinegar.

@billbrowning3021 7 лет назад

New logo? Sweet.

@Bigrignohio 7 лет назад

I was thinking "Clive needs to take a page from Rossman's book and flood that thing with flux". And there you went.

@Enjoymentboy 7 лет назад

You can always tell that someone has been soldering for many years when the smell of burnt pork doesn't bother them. :)

@Viscid 7 лет назад

Would be cool if you could zoom in or magnify the circuit board you're working on.

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

I usually do, but got so engrossed in the task I forgot this time.

@bub_lite_6361 7 лет назад

BigClive: What about wrapping the waterproof tape around the seam where the light unit attaches to the base to sear out moisture?

@virmontisfbg 7 лет назад

In my experience spraying the PCB and all metals with WD40 prevents corrosion quite well.

@pileggitech 7 лет назад

Cool new channel icon!

@MyBigThing2010 7 лет назад

Clive! CONGRATS on breaking 250K subscribers! BTW, I'd love to see what type of projects would come from your noggin if you brought Arduino to the channel! ...I also bet that Arduino content would get you to 500K pretty quick, especially with the propensity of the projects being flammable HAHA. again, congrats man! n thanks for all the help!

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

I've got a few Arduino's here, but have not really clicked with them yet. I'm too used to writing code in PIC assembler.

@MyBigThing2010 7 лет назад

omg...if you know pic then Arduino would be cake for ya ..i don't know any coding and I can get stuff to work after fiddling a bit...never coded anything in my life.. if you want I can take pics of my Arduino starter book pages and send u the link for the demo circuits that match it somehow...I'm actually sitting here now messing with analog stuff...got a baggie of 100 RGB LEDs yesterday and I have two breadboards, one pot for each color, a 9V, some resisters and wires everywhere and I've been occupied with changing the color and the circuit for almost 3 freaking hours now haha...simple things for simple people I guess haha btw...all that is mainly because of you and your channel inspiring me to learn about shit that I thought I could never understand and was alien tech only for way smart people. you breaking things down and the vids where you simplify and dumb down a trinket/circuit is what took the initial fear away and motivated me to tackle this angry pixie wrangling learning

@user-gx6jb6wc5g 7 лет назад

One day I'll sit down and start playing with the Arduino modules more. Good to hear you're getting into electronics. And time really does fly when you're having fun.

@MyBigThing2010 7 лет назад

bigclivedotcom yea, I've learned way more in the past two months than I thought I'd ever know about electricity, components, circuits, motors and ICs...n i have a pile of gear, components, breadboards, LEDs, sensors, Arduinos, motors, servos, switches etc. growing here from eBay because, mainly, of you and your channel. I've watched other channels since finding yours but I have found myself watching a video and it being shit, wishing it was done by you cuz it would be proper and understandable. I never thought I'd own a big ass container of resistors, diodes and capacitors and now...well...it's slightly embarrassing lol...so yeah, thanks for that! HAHA I try to mess with something new everyday to learn...n I won't move on to something new on the breadboard until I'm bordered from thoroughly understanding what I built and how it works. I'm now getting to the point where I'm getting pissed at the garbage breadboard that I initially bought way back two months ago that I have to fight with to get legs in the holes and I think I wanna buy like 5-8 GOOD QUALITY breadboards but I don't know what vendor to trust and I don't wanna pay for garbage again...I'd like to have a few boards to bounce back and forth and run multiple circuits/projects on at the same time that I don't have to disassemble all the time and rebuild. I'm about to break down and buy a soldering station (something else I thought I'd never buy) but I'm looking for a GOOD cheap one with hot air and an iron...and I need to upgrade my multimeter situation (it's BAD)...I've been using two free ones from a local tool store I got with coupons and it's not doing it for me anymore. This is getting expensive really fast...n I don't know, if I should just go and get a FLUKE, 'cuz I'll prob want/need one as I grow in the next year or if I should get two cheaper ones SO I have the flexibility to do voltage and current...I dunno, I seen one on eBay that's got good reviews on RU-vid it's a AN8001, 8002 or RM101 (xx101: search "101 multimeter" n you'll find out on eBay" ..... it's like a FLUKE knockoff for under $15 U.S. so for $30 I can get two but I'm not sure. I bet you'd LOVE to rip one of those apart and tinker with it...there's no way I'd trust anything but a name brand with higher voltage/current...but for messing around with tiny circuits, chips, audio, Arduino, motors and LEDs it might be fine. I'm just sick of buying junk...so I dunno if I should just "buy once and cry once" or buy something to just "get me by" for the interim....wish I could find grandkids selling their dead relatives stuff just to get rid of it and get everything I need at a fair price ALL at once....OH and I still need a bench power supply...I'm working off battery cobbled together for every project I wanna tinker with and it's a giant pain in the ass haha...n i can't control current on demand, I'm stuck I what the batteries/boost/buck modules wanna give me ....ugh...I'm friggin torn on some of this equipment acquisition stuff...n that's stressful...BUT the hobby itself is REALLY fun and VERY interesting...I find circuits that intrigue me VERY easy and they keep me very occupied, confused, feeling like a dumb ass and eventually give me the satisfaction of the "AH HA" moment...n that's when all of the above is worth it!