Bob Boyce Hex Controller

[PaulLowrance]

If there's a circuit that requires common components & chips such as 555 timers, then I'd love to replicate one. I have a lot of nanocrystalline & amorphous cores from Metglas & Hitachi if that helps.

What I like about this claim is the guy in the youtube video actually seems like he knows what he's doing, a professional.

Where can we find the circuit drawing.

Regards,
Paul

[sterlinga]

If there's a circuit that requires common components & chips such as 555 timers, then I'd love to replicate one. I have a lot of nanocrystalline & amorphous cores from Metglas & Hitachi if that helps.

What I like about this claim is the guy in the youtube video actually seems like he knows what he's doing, a professional.

Where can we find the circuit drawing.

Regards,
Paul

The project is being run through http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Bob_Boyce_Hex_Controller

And the official forum is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/B-Hex
requiring filling out a survey and agreeing to a quasi NDA due to the dangers involved in the technology.

Here is a message I sent to that list today:
"Those of you on this list need to be patient because the people with the know-how are presently very busy with other responsibilities.  We look forward to when they can take the time to share the particulars of how to replicate this technology."

[xee2]

@ corona

Hopefully I'll be able to build this and write the firmware in the not too distant future.

I read that you can buy the real circuit. I would think that it would be better (and probably cheaper) to buy an actual unit since if your design does not work you will not know if the fault is in your design or not.

[corona]

From what was said in the original information Bob Boyce is not publicly selling his hex controller, he has just sold it to a very few trusted experimenters, and even then for a price over $1000. For something with approximately $30 in parts I don't see that as a bargain, especially as I frankly think the PWM3X range of controllers is extremely slow and highly unstable. The mosfet driving design is especially bad from a speed and control perspective, sure it's simple but really isn't at all suitable.
I am a lot more confidant about my own mosfet output stage than even the few details that have been mentioned about the hex controller one. I'm not saying the hex controller is bad by any means, and for sure it's the control side of it that's the most important, but when the program for the hex controller needs to be re-written to suit this style purpose anyway I would much rather buy my $30 in parts and build it myself.
Any besides the mosfets, I know atmels, I used to use them, and I don't anymore. For what you get they're expensive and not as capable as many other alternatives. The luminary mico I've chosen is just fabulous, the only reason they're not yet as popular in the community is that the programming environment is still far less streamlined to set up, but I'm working on fixing that too.

If any further information is released about the hex controller in the future I would love to share my mosfet and microcontroller experience and try to improve both designs for the good of this community, but until then, or if it never happens, I would like to have something to work with myself.

Andrew

[corona]

If there's a circuit that requires common components & chips such as 555 timers, then I'd love to replicate one. I have a lot of nanocrystalline & amorphous cores from Metglas & Hitachi if that helps.

Oh yeah and Paul, what you're looking for is the PWM3x range of controllers (I think the latest is PWM3G although last time I checked only PWM3F had it's full schematic/pcb design released, although they're essentially the same). While I personally don't like the design, many people seem to have had success with it in the electrolysis bob boyce stuff, it's just never going to have the frequency stability and automatic tunability of a micro based design.
It should happily enough work for this, as far as I can tell you basically want three outputs, which will make pulses as thin and sharp as possible, each 120 degrees out of phase. Then you need to adjust frequency, probably pulse widths, and probably the phase angles a bit too (to counter inconsistencies in the physical layout of the coils).
I still don't know this for certain as it hasn't all been clearly documented publicly that I can find, but that's the best I've been able to ascertain.

Andrew

ps sterlinga, I would love to discuss all this on your new forum, but as I still haven't been accepted, I'll happily work through this forum and the Waterfuelforall one.