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Registered Member #2838
Joined: Fri Apr 30 2010, 07:55PM
Location: tehachapi, CA
Posts: 333
Hit up a local welding supply and get one tungsten electrode. They are vary cheap and you could make several spark gaps out of a single electrode. I recommend getting the pure tungsten with the "green" end. Sharpen the gap end to a fine point especially if you are running a lower voltage it will help the gap fire slightly.
Registered Member #3215
Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780
the tungsten rod idea is NEAT
and I have a decent source of equivalent things...
have you ever dismantled old cdrom or diskette drives? there are two nice slider bars made out of equivalent metal (not sure however if they are tungsten ones)
be aware that when machining or burning tungsten, you may breathe tungsten carbide which is carcinogenic and acts partly like depleted uranium (in the way particles are formed), partly like asbestos fibers (in the way they are trapped in lungs)...
I'm currently testing some laser gear for a sale I'm doing, so I might give a try this afternoon (good thing I'm home for a pharyngitis ^^)
Registered Member #3215
Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780
I'm slowly considering the flyback approach, as I have gathered more parts than what is necessary for making high current flyback drivers for laser tubes
I have several UCC3581 which should give a nice driving scheme for a 1:1 primary+feedback and has nice qualities
remember I'm trying to get uber small sparks at first, then I might consider powering my NST and maybe finally my pig poles, but I want to be able to cope with smaller designs first, be it solid state or not
there shouldn't be too many problems as I'm graduated in electronics & IT systems
I can also say I'm working in an industrial engineering company and could have the opportunity to gather interesting components (I usually work in manufacturing engineering systems, supervision and PLC systems, and it is closely related to power electronics sometimes... lately I worked on a 15kV 5MW production system) so if I have special needs, I could cover them
anyway, glad to be here and see this great atmosphere...
I was tired of the "laser show" topics found on laser forums, being more into physics, optics and high voltage, and it seems it is well discussed here :D
I could maybe rejuvenate my old N2 TE cartridge (same as a TEA laser but sealed enclosure, corona preionizing rails, nice capacitors and small triggered spark gap... 10KHz firing rate)
Registered Member #96
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4061
i have combined CCFL outputs using a very simple circuit consisting of a series diode string on each +HV output (used photoflash diodes * 6 but any high speed ones will work) and a low value 1KV rated resistor from -HV of the winding to ground.
this worked but i had to fiddle with the resistor values a bit.
the LCD TV boards can be used but be aware that they are not set up to run unloaded, and shut down if run in this condition. i have found a workaround in using a suitable linear CCFL as a load (watch the heat though!) or sometimes a spiral bulb will do the trick if it is salvaged from a CCFL bulb with a broken driver circuit.
Registered Member #1403
Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968
Conundrum wrote ...
i have combined CCFL outputs using a very simple circuit consisting of a series diode string on each +HV output (used photoflash diodes * 6 but any high speed ones will work) and a low value 1KV rated resistor from -HV of the winding to ground.
this worked but i had to fiddle with the resistor values a bit.
the LCD TV boards can be used but be aware that they are not set up to run unloaded, and shut down if run in this condition. i have found a workaround in using a suitable linear CCFL as a load (watch the heat though!) or sometimes a spiral bulb will do the trick if it is salvaged from a CCFL bulb with a broken driver circuit.
hope this helps, -A
You could also look up the datasheet of the driver IC and tie the DTC to ground, did this on a CCFL inverter, it runs always at max then, so watch for over heating :)
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Entering the field with a small flyback SGTC
