Captret - Capacitor and Electret

[altrez]

You do not use the + rail in that diagram. The Captret is acting as a resistor.

-Altrez

[NickZ]

    Guys:
    The first picture is of my 10 capacitor Captret set up, lighting 12 leds at about 3/4 brightness.  The second is a 4 captret system (made today) lighting the same group of leds, but connected using NO positive rail, like Stefan suggested.
  They both have about the same brightness, I'll see how long the last one with no positive rail connection lasts...   
  Thanks again for the suggestion.
                                                   NZ

[hartiberlin]

You do not use the + rail in that diagram. The Captret is acting as a resistor.

-Altrez

Yes, this is what I meant.

In my experiments it did not matter, if I connected the positive pole of the capacitor,
it had no effect on the brightness of the LED.
So I left it unconnected and then the captret is just a series resistor.

But maybe it depends on the safety or wellness of the internal
chemical reaction, if one connects the positive rail or not ?

Will it decompose faster then or not at all ?

I did not very long tests with my captrets, only
an hour or so and I did not see any leaking of the caps.
I had a 10 Volts DC power supply only.

Regards, Stefan.

[hartiberlin]

Hi NickZ,
did you put your captrets in series or in parallel ?
For to get more current flowing you would need
to put them in parallel as one acts just as a series resistor
and 4 series resistor in serie will put up the resistance too high...

Do you also have your 12 LEDs in parallel ?
Maybe you should change this also by using only 6 x (2 in series) in parallel.

This will raise the threshold level to around 5 Volts and needs less current.
Regards, Stefan.

[NickZ]

    All:
    In the last 4 cap set up the leds are all in parallel.  It may not be as bright that way, but I have burnt most of my leds when I connect them in series, as I use 3 or 4  9 volt batteries.  If I use only one led, and one 9 volt battery, like Stefan, the light is dim... but does normally last overnight, and sometimes longer.  I don't see the point if there is no light, or a dim light.  The effect of the Captret is weak,  but present, although it is not a battery charger, it is more like a charge maintainer.  I've been trying to upgrade it, and see if I can make something useful from this.
  My next test is with 15 AA batteries together forming an straight dipole. I've made it to see it I can get the metal caps and metal batteries to combine and work together to pull some more Aether into the Captret system.  More on that in a day or two.
   Stefan:  In order to see the capacitors leaking and bulging effects,  20 to 30 volts will do it. Just leave the captret running alone for a few days...  I've been running tests now for over a month, since I first saw Ibepointless2's first video. The results have been a bit frustrating, but also alot of fun.
   The new 4 cap set up that I made today with 12 leds, and no positive post connections, is still on and running, although slightly dimmer, and with 1/2 volt lower voltage.  We'll see if it makes it through the night.   Previous tests have shown that more than 2 or 3 leds is all it can normally handle without overloading, and quickly draining the batteries charge. I would think that more capacitance and higher voltages are needed to have a longer lasting brighter light.
  It may end up being the Captret Ringer...