Companion note to the WiFi Pineapple Mark V repair. The dead part in that repair turned out to be a Fitipower FR9888 step-down converter — a chip I’d never heard of, on a board with no obvious markings pointing to it. Finding and reading its datasheet is what actually solved the repair, so here’s what…

Companion note to the DVD-burner laser diode extraction project. That project pulls ~100mW diodes out of old DVD burners — well past the point where “just don’t look at it” is an adequate safety plan. Here’s what the class ratings actually mean and why it matters. The IEC 60825-1 classes, briefly Laser products are classified…