Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Topics - Andy Kay

Pages: [1]

General Chat / Strange exhibit

« on: February 18, 2023, 02:54:05 PM »

Can anybody tell me anything about what this is and how it works? (see attachment)
Thanks
Andy

Transformer (Ferrite Core) / Problem with LOPT

« on: July 07, 2018, 08:37:42 PM »

I have a ZVS driver and flyback transformer driving a 5-stage Marx Generator, producing nice fat sparks.

I stripped the LOPT out of an old (but functional) computer monitor and wound a 5+5 turn primary on the core (just as is the case with the flyback supplied with the ZVS driver), then located the HT ground pin by finding which pin gave me a plasma arc. I replaced the flyback transformer with the LOPT, but no sparks from the Marx. The HV secondary terminals happily drive a fluorescent tube in Cold Cathode mode, but not the Marx.

Before I bin the LOPT, is there anything I might be overlooking that could make this work?

Solid State Tesla Coils (SSTC) / Newbie on a learning curve

« on: June 12, 2018, 08:45:57 AM »

I recently bought a tiny Chinese "Tesla Coil" out of interest, and it prompted me to build a bigger version from some old plastic waste pipe, copper wire reclaimed from a discarded CRT-style TV, and an old metal slinky spring for a top load. I boned up on the Slayer Exciter circuit and built one to drive my coil. It resonates, and the coil causes fluorescent tubes to glow, but now I'm interested in getting some sparks from this thing. The dilemma I face is that I suspect that the Slayer Exciter is not powerful enough to get the sparks, and the alternative spark-gap driver would need to be tuned to the coil (which is an inconvenience that I avoided by using the Slayer Exciter). Any guidance for a complete novice would be greatly appreciated.

Voltage Multipliers / Voltage Multipliers keep destroying drivers

« on: June 06, 2018, 08:13:56 PM »

I've been playing with Cockcroft Walton and Marx configurations, and I've been running them from a 12V car battery in order to avoid getting high voltage spikes on my mains electrical system. I've used various kinds of devices for stepping up the 12V to provide a feed for the multiplier, such as CCFL inverters, ionizer circuits, and SS Tesla coil drivers, and every time the system works for a short time before the drive stage for the transformer primary coil burns out. Is there a standard way of dealing with this problem?

Voltage Multipliers / Marx Generator misfiring

« on: May 15, 2018, 10:47:24 PM »

Hi guys, I've been busy building my first ever Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier and my first ever Marx Generator. I don't know if it's permitted to supply video links here but if so then I can show provide a link to a YouTube video that shows the setup. My question concerns misfiring. I'd like to understand what is happening in the Marx Generator when it occasionally misfires, with the minor spark gaps showing weak sparks (or maybe they are just plasma paths). I can't see any obvious shorting pathways, so I'm wondering where all the energy is going on the misfires. Thanks for reading.

General Chat / HV phenomena

« on: May 05, 2018, 09:03:32 PM »

Whilst playing around with HV I've noted three different kinds of phenomena:

1. The basic spark.. small lightning strike and accompanying sharp crack
2. Beautiful violet arc that may be silent and may hiss
3. Cream-coloured arc that looks more like a flame and sounds more like a hum or buzz

Can anyone enlighten me as to the physics of these phenomena -- i.e. what is happening at the molecular level? I'd like to know what to expect under what conditions.

Thanks for reading.