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Registered Member #1834
Joined: Mon Dec 01 2008, 01:10AM
Location:
Posts: 2
Hi everybody, Been reading quite a handful of infos over the net about this and decided to try and initiate myself to electronics with this kind of project. I know it's probably a bit overkill for a beginner but thats what get interested ;)
Now, I've been interested to electronics/electrecity for a long while but never got my hand into it for real, so I know some of the basics but that's about it.
So on a whim I decided to subscribe to this forum and humbly ask you guys some pointers/advices/tips and what not. I do hope some of you will be glad to help me develop this growing interest! :)
Obviously I should start small, but I' like the project to get somewhere (a good sounding "speaker" and eventually a stereo set)
I've read about flyback, Tesla coils and other HV power sources. What are the advantages and disadvantges of each solutions? What woul be a somewhat simple design but still sounding good?
Lastly, depending on your will to help me out, if anyone could give me a list of needed components and give a quick description about what does what I'd appreciate it greatly.
I know it's a of questions, sorry about that, and thanks a LOT in advance for all your answers.
Registered Member #1403
Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968
(There might be pieces missing in my reply)
You should start small :)
I suggest that you first get some experience with the high voltage sources, for a plasma speaker a used flyback transformer from a tv or monitor is perfect as its rectified already.
DC is needed for a stable and silent flame.
You will need to find a suited driver circuit depending on how long you want the arc to me, the longer it is, the harder it is to keep stable. Even the slightest change in the air is enough to make it flicker and become noisy.
The arc itself is very hot and produces quite alot of ozone, so you will need proper terminals that can handle the heat.
About sound quality, the more complex circuit the better quality. So if suggest you go for a simple and cheap first prototype and expand from that.
Its easier to gain experience on simple circuits that work and you can fairly fast understand than sit with a microprocessor controlled circuit that doesnt work and you are absolutely lost.
Most important things you need are
Flyback transformers, best if you can 2 of the exact same type for a stereo set so you dont have to build two different drivers, the ressonance frequency are not the same for all flybacks.
Mosfets, Ive been using irfp250 and irfp460 mosfets for the flyback drivers I have build.
To obtain audiomodulation you need a circuit that can be affected by a audiosignal. The simplest is a 555 timer that is modulated on the 5th pin which is the upper voltage comparator in the IC. Its simple and sound quality is rather low.
To get better quality and higher volume look into drivers using bigger ICs and maybe a amplifier on the audio input.
Remember to add protection to the audio input device, or use something you can be without, I recently killed my ipod shuffle with a plasma speaker circuit :)
Registered Member #1834
Joined: Mon Dec 01 2008, 01:10AM
Location:
Posts: 2
Thanks for hou reply Mads When you say a Flyback is "better" because it's already rectified (meanin it already convert AC to DC right?), is it the only reason or is it better because it yields better results too? What would be the benefits/disadvantages of using a flyback instead of a Tesla Coil ?
Registered Member #1451
Joined: Wed Apr 23 2008, 03:48AM
Location: Boulder, Co
Posts: 661
Flybacks are very easy to get going, where as a solid state Tesla coil (needed for audio modulation) is pretty difficult to get working well even for an extremely knowledgeable person. All a flyback needs is a square wave pulsed into it's primary. The voltages are also much easier to handle on a flyback circuit, being as low as 12 volts compared to around a hundred or more!
It might also do some good to build a flashing led or tone generator with a 555 to get to know how it works.
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Newb: Yet another plasma speaker thread
