Joule Thief

[Pirate88179]

Proton:

Very nice light fixture there.  That is really cool looking.  It looks to be pretty bright too....my cfl's never seemed all that bright to me.

I have no idea what happened on your board.  We learned a long time ago that both the AA and the AAA cameras come in the exact same box.  I have not seen them mix the boards that have the same switches on the cameras but then, I have not purchased a Fuji in quite some time and it is quite possible that they would do this.

How did you modify your board?  Did you remove all of the usual components or, did you wire the output to where the big cap was?

Again, great job on your light.  I always like those clear containers that show the insides...to me it makes it more interesting.  What did you use for your container?

Bill

[protonmom]

The cube I used for that cfl light is just a plain, clear cube that slides apart into two sections.  I found mine (four of them altogether) at the Goodwill store.  I am sure Michael's or some other craft store would carry them.  I added the diffuser using hot glue...just swirled it on.  The glue gives the cube a rubbery feel and makes it slip proof.  I have also used that hot glue on the INSIDE of things, such as light globes and that makes the glass look marbled.  I love using the glue because if I make a mistake, I can just peel it off and re-do it.

On the board, it is just the normal modified fuji.  No caps, no neon, the side resistor gone, the diode cut.  Nothing special about it. 

[protonmom]

And yes...leads to load connected at old large cap solder points.

[Pirate88179]

And yes...leads to load connected at old large cap solder points.

OK, that is what I suspected.  That is not the normal Fuji mod, that was an easier alternative thought up from one of our members.  I don't think the output is as high doing it that way but, your light looks plenty bright so who cares?

I am working on one now that removes even more of the components and parts of the circuit board.  I am trying to make it as small as possible.  It seems to work so far as I have received some healthy zaps from it.  Should have it completed in a day or two.

Bill

[Pirate88179]

Here is my completed MiniFuji.  It works well and, as best I can tell, is outputting over 500 volts.  (It pegged my meter on 500)

I am going to use this on my jug light so I can either plug into the wall, or move it outside and run off of an AA battery.  It lights it very well.  I will post pics and possibly a video when I get it mounted to the light.

I took everything off of the board that was not needed.  I even clipped the board itself and looking at the traces to see if it would break the circuit.  This board had a different number on it and it was a bit different from my other ones but, it was not too hard to locate where I need to place the wires.  It is really small and the container could have been a lot smaller too but I did not have anything else lying about.

Not a big deal really but it was fun to make as I had 2 Fuji cams new in the box just sitting around for about a year.

Bill