Self Running Micro TPU, with closed loop.

[EMdevices]

Yes, I charge the capacitor to 5 volts and plug it in on the board and off it goes.Ã,  I had it running for half an hour and then I had to get to bed.Ã, Ã,  I also discharged the capacitor and pluged it in, which is what surprised me when it started running on it's own.Ã,  But we know that electrolitic capacitors come back in voltage somewhat, and this thing can run at 1 volt or less, that's how efficient it is.Ã, Ã,  I also noticed that at low voltages it enters a mode where the light becomes brighter, seemingly fighting back to stay alive, and charges the capacitor slightly higher.Ã,  It's really bizzare.Ã, Ã,  Somebody asked what frequency, and it's around a few cycles per second, they are so seldom my digital scope doesn't latch on to the quick spikes so I can't tell what the period is exactly, but I would guess between 5 to 10 cycles per second.

EM

[wattsup]

@EM

I had put up a small circuit recently on the Discussion thread using a control coil and a collector coil driven with one transitor or relay. Your device reminds of this as I was trying to see if the coils themselves could control the transistor operation naturally instead of using a timer. Are you using a timer on the transistor or is this action totally dependant on the coils? WOW. Even if this is using some power, this is critical in the potential magnet start up of  a TPU. You may try with your cap discharged and add an inductor parallel to the cap and magnet to see if it will start it. WOW again, and again.

[EMdevices]

There is no timer IC, wattsup,Ã, 

"..it's a knowledge of the coils (and transistor) and how they interact with each other... "Ã,  Ã,  LOL

EM

[hartiberlin]

Hi EM,
looks like your circuit seems to be simular to the Joule Thief circuit ?
http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

Maybe with some feedback  and much lower frequency ?

What kind of core did you use ?

Please don?t let us wait to long with a few answers,
we are already very curious about your genuine circuit !
Wow, if this could be scaled up this would be a real winner !

Regards, Stefan.

[EMdevices]

yes, that circuit is very simular, it's the basic blocking oscillator topology I've been experimenting with.  However, that circuit works at high frequencies like 10 kHz, and it varies depending on the saturation of the core.  What I stumbled on is a low frequency mode of operation that's supper efficient.
I'll get home in about 3 hours and I'll take a high resolution photo.
But please understand that I first need to determine if I have something novel or not, and to just understand it's operation, if it's something trivial that's been published before I'll be more then happy to disclose full diagrams.
I also would like to think that we can scale this thing up.
To answer your question, the toroid is just a ferrite, not sure what kind of properties it has. I bought it at a electronic parts recycle shop.

EM