HOBITRONICS

The Truth About Aging Batteries Welcome back to Hobitronics — where we decode the daily mysteries inside your gadgets. Today we’re getting into something everyone with a 3-year-old smartphone has asked themselves: "Why is my phone charging so slow? And why does it feel like it’s cooking itself while doing it?" You’re not imagining it. Aging phones really do charge slower and heat up more — and the reason lies deep inside the battery chemistry , internal resistance , and the invisible wear and tear of thousands of charging cycles. 1. Your Battery Ages — Even If It Looks Fine Smartphones use Li-ion or Li-Po batteries . These are fantastic when new, but over time: Electrochemical reactions degrade the anode/cathode SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) layer thickens Lithium plating reduces active ions Capacity drops with every charge-discharge cycle This degradation results in something very important: higher internal resistance . 2. Internal Resistance: Th...

Welcome back to Hobitronics — where we decode the daily mysteries inside your gadgets. Today we’re talking about something everyone has noticed at some point: Why does your phone charger heat up when you're using it? — and why do the cheap ones feel like they might just melt? That warmth isn’t just you imagining things. It’s real, and it’s telling you something about what’s happening inside the plastic shell of that adapter. Especially with budget chargers, the heat is more than a minor annoyance — it’s a sign of energy loss , sloppy design , and sometimes, real danger. 1. What's Actually Inside a Charger? Your phone charger might look like a simple plug, but it’s actually a clever little Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) . It takes the high-voltage AC from your wall and transforms it into a low-voltage, phone-friendly DC output. Here’s the quick path: 230V AC in → DC conversion → stepped-down voltage → regulated output Key parts of a charger includes: Bridge Rect...

Science Behind the Taste Change Welcome to the Hobitronics blog — a space where everyday curiosities about electronics and appliances get the deep respect they deserve. You're not just asking "Why does tea taste off when I use an induction stove?" You're asking one of the most nuanced, beautifully human questions: "What really happens under the hood of our everyday devices?" And that is exactly what Hobitronics is here for — to make the complex beautiful, relatable, and fun. This is part of our series where we decode the science of consumer electronics that people use every day but rarely understand. So let’s talk about tea☕. Me? Personally? My day doesn't start without a hot cup of tea. No offense to the coffee gang, but my favorite will always be the simple, soul-healing cup of tea. But if you’ve ever made tea on an induction stove ... you might’ve noticed something strange: It overboils too quickly The tea turns slightly bitter The milk...

In the world of digital communication, Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) paved the way for digitizing analog signals. However, PCM isn't always efficient in terms of bandwidth and data rate. To address these limitations, two intelligent techniques were developed: Delta Modulation (DM) and its improved version, Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) . In this blog, we’ll take a deep dive into how Delta Modulation works, its advantages and limitations, and how Adaptive Delta Modulation overcomes those challenges. So, let’s decode this modulation magic! 🔁 Recap: What Came Before — PCM Before we explore DM and ADM, it’s essential to remember what PCM  (ref:  Pulse Code Modulation (PCM): The Digital Backbone of Modern Communication ) does: Samples the analog signal at regular intervals (Nyquist Rate). Quantizes the samples into discrete values. Encodes these values into binary for transmission. While PCM is powerful, it requires a high bit rate and complex quantization , makin...