If you need assistance, please send an email to forum at 4hv dot org. To ensure your email is not marked as spam, please include the phrase "4hv help" in the subject line. You can also find assistance via IRC, at irc.shadowworld.net, room #hvcomm.
Support 4hv.org!
Donate:
4hv.org is hosted on a dedicated server. Unfortunately, this server costs and we rely on the help of site members to keep 4hv.org running. Please consider donating. We will place your name on the thanks list and you'll be helping to keep 4hv.org alive and free for everyone. Members whose names appear in red bold have donated recently. Green bold denotes those who have recently donated to keep the server carbon neutral.
Special Thanks To:
Aaron Holmes
Aaron Wheeler
Adam Horden
Alan Scrimgeour
Andre
Andrew Haynes
Anonymous000
asabase
Austin Weil
barney
Barry
Bert Hickman
Bill Kukowski
Blitzorn
Brandon Paradelas
Bruce Bowling
BubeeMike
Byong Park
Cesiumsponge
Chris F.
Chris Hooper
Corey Worthington
Derek Woodroffe
Dalus
Dan Strother
Daniel Davis
Daniel Uhrenholt
datasheetarchive
Dave Billington
Dave Marshall
David F.
Dennis Rogers
drelectrix
Dr. John Gudenas
Dr. Spark
E.TexasTesla
eastvoltresearch
Eirik Taylor
Erik Dyakov
Erlend^SE
Finn Hammer
Firebug24k
GalliumMan
Gary Peterson
George Slade
GhostNull
Gordon Mcknight
Graham Armitage
Grant
GreySoul
Henry H
IamSmooth
In memory of Leo Powning
Jacob Cash
James Howells
James Pawson
Jeff Greenfield
Jeff Thomas
Jesse Frost
Jim Mitchell
jlr134
Joe Mastroianni
John Forcina
John Oberg
John Willcutt
Jon Newcomb
klugesmith
Leslie Wright
Lutz Hoffman
Mads Barnkob
Martin King
Mats Karlsson
Matt Gibson
Matthew Guidry
mbd
Michael D'Angelo
Mikkel
mileswaldron
mister_rf
Neil Foster
Nick de Smith
Nick Soroka
nicklenorp
Nik
Norman Stanley
Patrick Coleman
Paul Brodie
Paul Jordan
Paul Montgomery
Ped
Peter Krogen
Peter Terren
PhilGood
Richard Feldman
Robert Bush
Royce Bailey
Scott Fusare
Scott Newman
smiffy
Stella
Steven Busic
Steve Conner
Steve Jones
Steve Ward
Sulaiman
Thomas Coyle
Thomas A. Wallace
Thomas W
Timo
Torch
Ulf Jonsson
vasil
Vaxian
vladi mazzilli
wastehl
Weston
William Kim
William N.
William Stehl
Wesley Venis
The aforementioned have contributed financially to the continuing triumph of 4hv.org. They are deserving of my most heartfelt thanks.
Registered Member #1523
Joined: Sat Jun 07 2008, 02:05PM
Location:
Posts: 97
I am currently working on my first coil gun
It has ten Photoflash capacitors, being charged by a Minuritized Flash charging circuit being run at 3V.
Problem is, my Charging circuit is overheating up. (Reason is obvious, it wasn't build for 3v)
It have already lost one transister to it (now replaced) and I currently have a small peice of metal bolted to my curent transister to try to extend its life, but I am afraid that it is only a matter of time before this one burns out as well.
Is their anything that can be done to improve the likly hood of my transister surviving?
I could use 1.5 volts (like it was desined too) but this would double the charging time, which is unnacceptable.
Would a bigger heatsink work better? (and what is the best way to do this?)
I also inteand to add a Laser to the circuit as well. This should slow down the charging (but not double it). Would just adding the laser now be a good idea?
I may just go ahead and buy a more hearty transister.
Registered Member #543
Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992
Take the good bits off the PCB - the dinky transformer and the capacitor/s - and put the rest in the dustbin. Make yourself another charger with a much meatier transistor, but don't overdo it or you may get STDS - (sudden transformer death syndrome, formerly known as Swine Flu )
Registered Member #1523
Joined: Sat Jun 07 2008, 02:05PM
Location:
Posts: 97
ah, so you advocate a stronger Transister.
I think I have one that will work...
I unfortunaltly can not seperate the flash from the PCB. This particular flash design apparently has some wierd Control circuit thing, and the components are surfaced mounted. And I really don't know enough to go about desining my own Charging cicuit.
(Though if I thought hard about it I probably could. Lord knows I have learned alot about charging circuits these past few days)
But I will try switching out transisters.
Thanks for the heads up about STDS, lol, I never would have figured a better transister would fry a transformer...
Registered Member #1525
Joined: Mon Jun 09 2008, 12:16AM
Location: America
Posts: 294
You could try paralleling two or more charging circuits. I'm not sure what effect that would have, but it could be worth a try. Make sure that you use diodes to prevent one circuit from charging the other.
The best thing to do, IMO, is to try building Uzzor's boost converter. It's very simple to make and should be able to charge your bank in a snap.
Registered Member #1525
Joined: Mon Jun 09 2008, 12:16AM
Location: America
Posts: 294
You can do it! I didn't understand it at all myself when I first saw it. But I put it together and tested it (today actually) and it worked on the first try.
All you have to know is how to plug a DIP chip into a protoboard and the understanding can come later. I say go for it. If you have any question Uzzor has a great explanation on his web page, and he also frequents these forums and is usually very helpful in answering questions.
This site is powered by e107, which is released under the GNU GPL License. All work on this site, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. By submitting any information to this site, you agree that anything submitted will be so licensed. Please read our Disclaimer and Policies page for information on your rights and responsibilities regarding this site.
Charging Circuit Problem
)
