haxor5354 wrote ...

hi-five im also working with a MOT right now. just modified it yesterday to output 24V AC center tabbed.
I dont have the balls to directly short it out yet.
i'd expect atleast 10A, when short it out with a 10A breaker to the 24V side, the bridge rectricfier went up in smokes in 2 seconds and the breaker didnt pop.
If you want to draw arcs with the HV secondary, make sure you connect a ballast in series with the primary (a 100W light bulb will do)

haxor5354 wrote ...

hi-five im also working with a MOT right now. just modified it yesterday to output 24V AC center tabbed.
I dont have the balls to directly short it out yet.
i'd expect atleast 10A, when short it out with a 10A breaker to the 24V side, the bridge rectricfier went up in smokes in 2 seconds and the breaker didnt pop.
If you want to draw arcs with the HV secondary, make sure you connect a ballast in series with the primary (a 100W light bulb will do)

Inducktion wrote ...


Yeah... If you're going to play with high voltage, and want to learn how that stuff works, start small. The very first circuit I made was a simple 555 timer flyback driver, and it worked pretty well, and I learned a TON off of such a simple circuit. I learned what a square wave does, how a capacitor works, how a flyback works, (since it was always one of those mysterious things inside tube tv's) and a lot of other things about basic electronics. A MOT, well, that's something entirely different. I'm not going to repeat what everyone else said, because its quite simply true, and it's been hammered into you enough as it is. However, you can do something useful with MOT's, asides from making high voltage. If you take out the secondary, you can wind your own and make a nifty power supply. Each turn = around 1 volt. Thicker wire = more current.

Also, I'm 17, so I sort of understand where your coming from. Less than half a year ago I knew basically nothing about electronics, asides from the fact that it hurts if its high enough. But again, I'm not going to crush your hopes and dreams. The big things that make pretty sparks are great, but they're also deadly, and its definitely not a learning experience if it kills you. Start smaller, learn, and slowly make your way up the chain. Flybacks are a great way to learn about high voltage, because for the most part, their current isn't high enough to kill you, just hurt like hell and maybe knock you back a few feet

Arcstarter wrote ...

Yup, im also 17 and knew nearly nothing about electronics about 3-4 years ago. So, i know how it goes, regarding ones age being held against them. You say you are smart, which that is definitely helpful, but it won't keep you from making stupid mistakes. I would know, i have had a bit of a scare with a dual MOT stack with resonant capacitors.

In short, the PVC pipe i used as a chicken stick, though over 3 feet long, was wet with sweat (summer in Texas, gotta love it), and it conducted enough to start a carbon track. You might as well say i connected myself directly across the MOTs. It made me puke. Apparently when electrocuted bad enough, my brain decides that it is time to get rid of some food... It felt completely different than a 120v shock, probably because i blacked out. Not sure why i didn't die, it entered through my right arm and exited through my left leg, and i have some nerve damage on my toe.

The worst part is that i did not do anything wrong other than not checking the PVC for conductivity. Any little mistake can be bad...