EER Joule Thief using an earth battery to start a joule thief.

[Rapadura]

This is what I call a environmentally friendly energy source!!!

Great work! I hope it can be scaled up more and more, with more plants and more LED's!

[jeanna]

Ah, Rapadura, this is what is sooo fabulous about the joule thief.

Since this does work with the 2N3904 and with 2 secondaries, I happen to have a circuit that lights 30 leds from this much as a starter.

I do not have those circuits free at the moment, but this is free er well, I found it in the shoebox being ignored...

anyway, since the joule thief circuit can be used as a pulse generator driving a secondary (aka pickup ) and since it matters not to the battery how much is on the secondary, it will be enough for any kind of jtc that works with the little transistor, so the "world light" with the tiny orange toroid which lights 42 leds is a good example. While it is not a reading light it is a lotbrighter than a night light.

I actually do not know the limits, so there will be more and more tests coming from this corner.
I see a lot of others doing this too, and I am smiling! 

Here is the schematic for the circuit in the above picture with 2 lights. [note, there is NO memory cap here!]

jeanna

[ElectricGoose]

Ah, Rapadura, this is what is sooo fabulous about the joule thief.

Since this does work with the 2N3904 and with 2 secondaries, I happen to have a circuit that lights 30 A from this much as a starter.

I do not have those circuits free at the moment, but this is free er well, I found it in the shoebox being ignored...

anyway, since the joule thief circuit can be used as a pulse generator driving a secondary (aka pickup ) and since it matters not to the battery how much is on the secondary, it will be enough for any kind of jtc that works with the little transistor, so the "world light" with the tiny orange toroid which lights 42 leds is a good example. While it is not a reading light it is a lotbrighter than a night light.

I actually do not know the limits, so there will be more and more tests coming from this corner.
I see a lot of others doing this too, and I am smiling! 

Here is the schematic for the circuit in the above picture with 2 lights. [note, there is NO memory cap here!]

jeanna

@Jeanna

I didnt think the EB had enough volts to switch on the 2n3904     What is the voltage current delivered by the 'planter cell' Jeanna (non load AND under load)?  The wierd thing is, I have made hybrid batteries out of all sorts of things that have enough juice to light up a 3 volt led (dimly) but will NOT turn on the transistor.

What am I missing here?

E-Goose

[jeanna]

I was never able to get this or the germanium based transistor to switch on either.
Bill did with his big block of Magnesium.
Then Lasersaber did with his magnesium ribbon.

Copper to zinc is not enough to start up the germanium transistor even though the meter would suggest that you could.
I will try the germanium jtc outside with my C-Zn EER again just to prove that it won't work.
I never did go back and try it with zero resistance at the base, and I want to do that.
Last summer, I thought it was working, but I was seeing the neighbor's spotlight reflecting from the jtc led, so this is the first for me.

My meter is telling me I have 1.44v across the Cu-Mg potted EB.
I do not know how many mA, but it is at least a few, or the 2N3904 would not turn on.

To begin to understand what I am doing, it is essential to separate the jtc with and withOUT a light at the transistor.

With the led at the C-E of the transistor the jtc is the real thief.
When there is no led across that C-E junction, the jtc with a secondary is a pulse generator, and uses way less mA.

I think.
I mean, I think this is the reason.

A magnesium firestarter is a good and safe source of magnesium.
It only starts a fire when it is crumbled into magnesium dust.
I think if you attach a copper wire to the mg firestarter, the best galvanic voltage will be happening where they meet. I always had it in the middle of the copper lead, not realizing the difference. (I was a very green beginner when this all started! ).
How to do that?? I do not know.

There are a lot of questions in my mind and therefore many more experiments to continue to make.

jeanna

[jeanna]

Here is my newest video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BER7FTW1FfA

thanks to lasersaber and Shannon for making this latest success possible!

jeanna