Joule Thief

[Groundloop]

I have my universal printed circuit board for the AMP-2 soldered now.
Next step will be connecting a antenna and ground and
start measuring the output.

GL.

[stprue]

What type of germanium diodes are you using?  Are the caps Code 204 (200nf)?

[synchro1]

@Groundloop,

                   Looks fantastic! A good rule to remember is that output is directly proportional to the antenna dimension. The A.C. neutral line looks like a massive one.

[Groundloop]

stprue,

I'm using NTE109 germanium diodes, 1nF 500 volt ceramic capacitors and 2,2uF 100 volt electrolytic capacitors.
(That was what I had, so I used that.)

synchro1,

The mains neutral in Norway is the same as the ground (often the metal water pipes is used as ground).
We do not use distributed ground on the mains in Norway. So there is no difference in the electrical ground
or the outside ground since the electrical ground is connected to the metal copper pipes where I live.

I will do a test on the mains ground anyway to see if I get any output. Then I will try a antenna and outside ground.

First test of AMP2:

Mains ground to circuit ground, Earth ground to circuit antenna = 0,00 Volt over 470 Ohm load.
Earth ground to circuit ground, mains ground to circuit antenna = 0,00 Volt over 470 Ohm load.
Inside house 4 meter copper wire antenna to circuit antenna, Earth ground to circuit ground = 0,00 Volt over a 470 Ohm resistor.
Inside house 4 meter copper wire antenna to circuit ground, Earth ground to circuit antenna = 0,00 Volt over a 470 Ohm resistor.
Inside house 4 meter copper wire antenna to circuit antenna, Earth ground to circuit ground and unloaded circuit = 0,01 Volt.

Circuit antenna input connected to cable TV ground and circuit ground connected to Earth ground, gave 7,5 volt unloaded.
A green LED did blink dimly each time I connected the LED to the circuit.  The circuit capacitors did charge back in under 0,5 second.

GL.

[stprue]

Thanks GL.

I look forward to your results.