Okay, so this started as akula lantern4 and Lasersaber joule looper (tesla torch)...
Like a kacher; a low inductance drives a high inductance, and the self-feedback tunes oscillation.
L1 is Primary
L2 is Secondary
D1 is base diode
D2/D3 are load diodes
C1 is Power supply
C2 is the topload capacitor
B1 is battery (optional external power source)
Topload would be equivalent to a tesla coil topload.
Top load of kacher coil is a capacitor that allows a high voltage to be produced at the load.
The low end of the secondary that goes to the base of the transistor has a diode to ground, this reduces power draw significantly by dumping excessive low voltage back to the low side of the circuit. It doesn't seem to bother an NPN transistor to have a negative voltage on its base, but it's a point of recovery that can be used.
The output beyond he capacitor, the positive part goes back to the positive power side of the circuit. This turns out to be a very tiny current, but again, it's otherwise a loss that can be recycled into the system. The other side generates a low voltage that drives LEDs from negative power back to ground.
The tuning of the top-load capacitor will depend on the ratios of inductance and voltage driving the system. If a large ratio is used, then there will only be a small current flo w and the capacitor should be small. This allows a large potential to develop in that capacitor. If the capacitor is too large, it will flatten out the voltage.
If a small ratio is used (1mH:3mH for instance) this capacitor should be larger since a larger current will develop in the secondary. It is possible that the capacitance becomes irrelavent at certain transformer ratios; however for all tested scenarios it has always reduced current draw to have a capacitor there.
To the left is the power supply capacitor/battery/.... It is meant to be a very large capacitor that has a stored energy in it for the system to run. If a battery is used, a capacitor should remain there to allow the load/output to recharge a low impedance source.
All diodes should be as fast as possible... but may be slower depending on the transistor. I did have a successful version that used a 2n2222 and 1n400x diodes.
The original Brovine Kacher circuit has some resistors around the base to power and ground, a high resistance connection from power rail to the base may be required for starting the system; I have occasionally had to touch the diode on the base to start the system manually.
This circuit easily generates -100V from 2.7V input. The voltage against the collector is not very high, unless a high voltage load is created and a low ratio coil is used.
The voltage against the base is also almost always very low, because as soon as the transistor starts conducting, the secondary attached to the transistor goes low.
If the circuit is configured to supply a high voltage chain of LEDs, you may find that connecting fewer LEDs will increase their brightness; however this will increase the current requirements of the circuit... the greater the load, the lower the required current, but the less current flows through the load; Up to a point... at a certain point, further series LEDs added will increase the current draw, but not lower in brightness. C2 May be changed to tune this appropriately.
There is no effective resonance in the system... topload capacitor tuning is purely a direct relation to current generated by the secondary, and requirements of the load. You might be able to enable a resonance in the secondary by removing D1; this will immediately create a higher current draw.
Low voltage version...
Meant for up to 2.7V input (supercap input)
TL494 external oscillator
While measuring this circuit, I ended up finding that there was a continuous 15mA draw from my battery. I wanted to see how long 2 AAA batteries would last in this, and it turns out it will be something like 3 days (76 hours).
I found that the capacitor used will affect the input current used from external sources. C1 can be reduced in size if a external source like batteries are applied.
The scope shot shows a continuous draw from the battery into the capacitor. THere is a peek draw when the transistor starts conducting and the primary in turn starts conducting, which is the lead-in spike; this action causes the secondary to generate a low voltage to the base of Q1 immediately stopping the conduction of L1; After this the system needs to relax, and it's actually the start of a second oscillation of the system that starts it conducting again.
(approximate events. Phase 1 generates a low current through the topload to the real load through D3, phase 2 is a relaxation that provides a slight positive potential increase for C1 through D2)
1) Q1 base goes high
2) Q1 collector goes low (down from supply voltage); starts conducting
3) Q1 base goes low; secondary has induced current from C2 to Q1 base; excess current is drained to ground
4) Q1 collector goes higher than supply voltage; primary continues forward conduction after Q1 is opened (stops conducting).
5) when the secondary stops having a current, there is a positive potential in C2 that causes the secondary to start another current, this generates a positive on the base of Q1. (goto 1)
I've used several NPN transistors for kacher circuits, and really since this is no different, I see no reason that an appropriately scaled higher current transistor cannot be substituted for other configurations. This could be an air core, or small ferrite core...
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Attached image the yellow trace is the current draw from the battery into C1.
Tried to break out a separate graph of the current to label phases (T1/T2 ...) and figure out 1) when the base actually goes high, and 2) why there was a constant current draw.
I subsequently learned that the type of capacitor used for C1 in conjunction with a battery/power source can have an impedance that requires a consnant supply, but there are capacitors that immediately relax, in the middle low current phase, when the current is going through D2.
The base goes high because the topload has a resisdual charge in C2 from the prior phase... and that is actually a delay from phase 2 completing...
Quote from: d3x0r on July 24, 2014, 11:14:47 AM
Okay, so this started as akula lantern4 and Lasersaber joule looper (tesla torch)...
Like a kacher; a low inductance drives a high inductance, and the self-feedback tunes oscillation.
L1 is Primary
L2 is Secondary
D1 is base diode
D2/D3 are load diodes
C1 is Power supply
C2 is the topload capacitor
B1 is battery (optional external power source)
Topload would be equivalent to a tesla coil topload.
Hi d3x0r,
It seems to me you could achieve the same outcome with less noise and vastly reduced cost using an off the shelf step-up from the likes of On-Semiconductor, Torex or TI. You would also have massively lower quiescent current too.
In my opinion, and I use converters all the time, is that the circuit is a highly inefficient version of something which many semiconductor manufacturers made extremely efficient some time ago.
Do correct me if I am wrong, I am just struggling to see what the purpose of the circuit is.
Could be there's a package the accomplishes the same thing; just from lack of experience I wouldn't know how to search out and locate such a thing....
This is a TL494 variation, and has some features I recently discovered make this work better...
Oops clicked post too soon.
There was another version that used a mc34063(something) that's a switching inverter chip; need to locate that...
(rough version attached, I guess nothing was actually released from akula for this one)
--
SJR looper is part of the core
ФОНАРЬ №4 D.R.. Is the load portion...
But in itself as a hybrid this is a pretty good circuit... better than joule thieves I've made even though it has a complexity of parts, it's only $5 and most of that is in the capacitors.
Older implementation ... experimenting with coils....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHqlfgXNYZU
30W akula schematic is close; I had swapped for TL494 driver instead of self-driving kacher style; had to reverse the LEDs. ... It's uhmm positive voltage based so the secondary coil is reversed.
Quote from: d3x0r on July 24, 2014, 07:30:37 PM
Could be there's a package the accomplishes the same thing; just from lack of experience I wouldn't know how to search out and locate such a thing....
This is a TL494 variation, and has some features I recently discovered make this work better...
The TL494 is from TI and its a DC-DC controller.
Farnell is a good place to source parts and has a good search function.
I am struggling to make sense of the Russian(?) schematic - looks to me like a strangely designed DC-DC converter. It has a start and stop momentary switch, is the idea for it to be started and then it runs, generating power without the battery? If so, it won't work, but do try it because what do I know!
As for your circuit, it looks like your intention is to just generate more volts than are input - for the purpose of lightning higher voltage LEDs or strings of LEDs? This can be achieved for about $1 and much more efficiently than shown. As I suggested, a search on Farnell for DC-DC converters or step-up converters will yield results.
And so I am trying :) ; have come a long way from 100mA to 15mA with more output (earlier things not really documented because it was obviously poor in efficiency)
mc34063; was a lower power version...
cannot find video/backtrace of фонарь 30W(Lantern 30W) above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleTYEVZaxs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleTYEVZaxs) (fail)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C4vzlW0Oxw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C4vzlW0Oxw) (fail)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_iutxqAz_M(success? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_iutxqAz_M(success?))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwCS15pRtH0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwCS15pRtH0) (analysis)
Schematic has a reversed diode...
The other 30W videos that would be from akula are the dual tl494 version... Hmm maybe he's only using one side of it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK_23dpv-Zg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK_23dpv-Zg)
But anyway I see no akula vids that resemble the large heatsink with fan.
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My issue would be, that scheme has no return-to-ground path.... Except the single foil winding... which is OK since a open resonsant system can transfer power, it must be that the magnetic field is the electron allowed to reform on the secondary. (although I guess by this time I ended up using a ground for better output https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ymt5HrgVU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ymt5HrgVU) for some output it wasn't required; guess I should redo those experiments)
Modified original schematic, can capture power on the positive side also; reduces current draw. (shortens original spike) reduces secondary kickback.
reduces power generated on negative side; ends up balancing it.
I would be inclined to return the LEDs on the left to the low side of the battery instead of the high side. It shouldn't make a difference power wise, but would likely make the circuit a bit quieter.
Quote from: MarkE on July 25, 2014, 07:20:03 AM
I would be inclined to return the LEDs on the left to the low side of the battery instead of the high side. It shouldn't make a difference power wise, but would likely make the circuit a bit quieter.
That's the second one that's commented about noisy circuit. There's no noise; well, no more noise than is present in a peice of wire attached to a scope probe set to high sensitivity. Most likely the cause of noise is that I have a clip-lead extension from the scope probe to the circuit; just because it's more flexible and easier to reattach to various points.
The return to power increase positive potential and allows recirculation of power; which slighly decreases power draw from the source.
I grabbed a couple 555 timer chips, and configured them for a short duty cycle variable frequency...
a very short duty cycle draws a lot of power (ends up using a low resistance on the charge side); will probably add a hex-inverter in after the drive, and use a large duty cycle instead... and I expect the issue to remain after this change.
When the duty cycle is long enough to (close) the transistor and get a good current through the coil, at the shutoff side, there is a HUGE amount of noise introduced. I added the resistor & capacitor in series with another capacitor to ground (supposedly adjustable, but I'm just breadboarding so it's all adjustable) like in akula lantern 4... (attached)
is it the transistor I've used that makes this unavoidable? Is there a way to make it less noisy?
I added a diode between the inductor (to collector of transistor) because apparently the transistor used by akula must have such a character, because the feedback is progressively lower, and with every transistor I have if the collector is lower than the base, then it conducts... that's how I meter them to see they are still good... so there must be a internal blocking diode for the signal to remain.... or an omitted part...
but anyway; about the noise?
Quote from: d3x0r on July 29, 2014, 02:17:35 PM
I grabbed a couple 555 timer chips, and configured them for a short duty cycle variable frequency...
a very short duty cycle draws a lot of power (ends up using a low resistance on the charge side); will probably add a hex-inverter in after the drive, and use a large duty cycle instead... and I expect the issue to remain after this change.
When the duty cycle is long enough to (close) the transistor and get a good current through the coil, at the shutoff side, there is a HUGE amount of noise introduced. I added the resistor & capacitor in series with another capacitor to ground (supposedly adjustable, but I'm just breadboarding so it's all adjustable) like in akula lantern 4... (attached)
is it the transistor I've used that makes this unavoidable? Is there a way to make it less noisy?
I added a diode between the inductor (to collector of transistor) because apparently the transistor used by akula must have such a character, because the feedback is progressively lower, and with every transistor I have if the collector is lower than the base, then it conducts... that's how I meter them to see they are still good... so there must be a internal blocking diode for the signal to remain.... or an omitted part...
but anyway; about the noise?
If you have transistors turning inductors on and off rapidly, then it becomes important to have a controlled place for the inductor current to keep flowing. This affects both circuit design and layout. If you have a bunch of stray inductance in the switched path, then the inductor current being switched will have to overcome that stray inductance, and it will with a huge dv/dt.
Quote from: MarkE on July 29, 2014, 03:01:37 PM
If you have transistors turning inductors on and off rapidly, then it becomes important to have a controlled place for the inductor current to keep flowing. This affects both circuit design and layout. If you have a bunch of stray inductance in the switched path, then the inductor current being switched will have to overcome that stray inductance, and it will with a huge dv/dt.
Hi,
I asked earlier but, what is the purpose of the cct?
Cct 1 (the Russian sch):
Is the energy passed into the storage cap at 'start' apparently less that what goes into the load?
Cct 2 (joule thief?):
This looks like a std step up dcdc converter (joule thief?), something which can be achieved much more efficiently with a $0.25 converter off the shelf...plus a small $0.25 inductor.
Have I got the wrong end of the stick here?
Making our own inductors, transformers and oscillators is fun (and a great learning exercise) but whats the underlying purpose of the Akula 'thing'?
Quote from: MarkE on July 29, 2014, 03:01:37 PM
If you have transistors turning inductors on and off rapidly, then it becomes important to have a controlled place for the inductor current to keep flowing. This affects both circuit design and layout. If you have a bunch of stray inductance in the switched path, then the inductor current being switched will have to overcome that stray inductance, and it will with a huge dv/dt.
Okay I did just run into a note about a driver board for these color LEDs where the signal switch time is 1.5us; and it was said that the matching resistors should be mounted as close to the board as possible. I do still have original long leads on the parts... and maybe that's enough inductance to cause an issue. I did see that the internals of the 555 are better for driving a signal than a tl494 since it's both a pull up(pnp) and pull down(npn) system instead of a single transistor...
But specifically I had removed the excess parts, so it's just the primary coil from power to the collector (with a diode between the inductor and collector but that didn't change anything). I started with simply the 555 pin 3(output) to the base of a transistor, the coil and ground. Not a lot of complexity. The secondary is open (not conducting). THis was a 3 inch long jumper wire though... but when brought to ground, the 555 should be an NPN conducting to ground for the base... which means the only current really being stopped is against the collector.... I dunno I guess I have some extra inductance on the ground side, could add some filter caps near the drive transistor
Quote from: Madebymonkeys on July 29, 2014, 03:45:02 PMHi,I asked earlier but, what is the purpose of the cct?Cct 1 (the Russian sch):Is the energy passed into the storage cap at 'start' apparently less that what goes into the load?Cct 2 (joule thief?):This looks like a std step up dcdc converter (joule thief?), something which can be achieved much more efficiently with a $0.25 converter off the shelf...plus a small $0.25 inductor.Have I got the wrong end of the stick here?Making our own inductors, transformers and oscillators is fun (and a great learning exercise) but whats the underlying purpose of the Akula 'thing'?
(edit2: cct1: yes, but why. and cct2: just part of the cct1 that's self oscillating and simpler part count...)
To break a simple supposed long running device into its parts to see why it might work. (some claim it's a supercap rebranded to look like a 2200uf cap; but I have caps that have 3 lines in a triange which they claimed was 'telltale signs' it was a supercap. It means nothing. I have some that have 6 (kinda like >-+-< .. a split X with a | in the middle) )
given a breakdown of the remainder of the circuit as applied to a self pulser (laser saber teslamaker.com flashlight variation) with additional paths for feedback to keep the high side high and the low side low, although it helped was not an end-all solution)
The next area to investigate is Melnichenko supposed effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT9ynJ2_6Ng (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT9ynJ2_6Ng)
all 3 images, yellow is gate, blue is collector.
image 1 : base goes high, collector to 0, gate goes high, collector goes high, nothing special, this is a pot core, no gap. This is also how I've seen every air core work.
image 2 : akula's device during build demonstrating... (flyback core) base goes high, collector goes low, collector pulses high, and results in a voltage below 0.
image 3 : my own flyback core, base goes high, collector goes low, and after a short time gets a kickback pulse (actually many in quick succession), but never in a voltage below 0.
Should be getting my bobbins and E cores today to try some variations in genuine melnichenko style... just was trying to find a better pulser, the TL494 idles at 10ma draw... the 555 timer can already beat this easily...
---
3rd time's the charm... first time image was too big for upload, second time it thought I already submitted this message... so here goes 3
Edit: yes, it's kinda fun, yes it's definatly a learning XP, but a canned part is also already known to not work continuously on 2200uF power... not saying one can't be built, but they don't yet build them.
Quote from: d3x0r on July 29, 2014, 04:52:44 PM
(edit2: cct1: yes, but why. and cct2: just part of the cct1 that's self oscillating and simpler part count...)
To break a simple supposed long running device into its parts to see why it might work. (some claim it's a supercap rebranded to look like a 2200uf cap; but I have caps that have 3 lines in a triange which they claimed was 'telltale signs' it was a supercap. It means nothing. I have some that have 6 (kinda like >-+-< .. a split X with a | in the middle) )
given a breakdown of the remainder of the circuit as applied to a self pulser (laser saber teslamaker.com flashlight variation) with additional paths for feedback to keep the high side high and the low side low, although it helped was not an end-all solution)
The next area to investigate is Melnichenko supposed effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT9ynJ2_6Ng (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT9ynJ2_6Ng)
all 3 images, yellow is gate, blue is collector.
image 1 : base goes high, collector to 0, gate goes high, collector goes high, nothing special, this is a pot core, no gap. This is also how I've seen every air core work.
image 2 : akula's device during build demonstrating... (flyback core) base goes high, collector goes low, collector pulses high, and results in a voltage below 0.
image 3 : my own flyback core, base goes high, collector goes low, and after a short time gets a kickback pulse (actually many in quick succession), but never in a voltage below 0.
Should be getting my bobbins and E cores today to try some variations in genuine melnichenko style... just was trying to find a better pulser, the TL494 idles at 10ma draw... the 555 timer can already beat this easily...
---
3rd time's the charm... first time image was too big for upload, second time it thought I already submitted this message... so here goes 3
Edit: yes, it's kinda fun, yes it's definatly a learning XP, but a canned part is also already known to not work continuously on 2200uF power... not saying one can't be built, but they don't yet build them.
Got it. Do you have any measurements for power in vs power out?
LEDs are a nice visual load but they illuminate down to a very low current - a resistor is a great load (especially if connected low side) as you can measure V with a scope across it and calculate power.
Also, I guarantee that you would be able to find an oscillator which operates with a lower Iq than a homebrew ;) The TL494 and 555 aren't suited to high efficiency converter applications at all. Choose a chip from this century from the likes of ON Semiconductor, Torex or Linear Tech and you will see a difference in Iq of a huge amount. If you need something for simple pulses - use an inverter and a crystal (or RC).
Finally, 'gate' (along with drain and source) is typically used with field effect transistors, base (along with collector and emitter) with BJT's - mixing two naming conventions can cause confusion to those who don't know what you 'really' mean. Please don't take this the wrong way, I really am not trying to be an ass! :)
As for the supercap thing and 2200uF 'power' - a canned/packaged part can run happily on whatever (within reason!) input you provide...just depends on the load current vs time. Many packaged parts have extremely low Iq (and dropout) and will run down to voltages well below your BJT cct. The http://www.linear.com/product/LTC3108 for instance, can run as a step up converter happily down to 20mV.
If you do the math on input power vs output power then you will realise that there is no OU. It may be close...but no cigar. To get closer to a theoretical 100% efficiency you should embrace some off the shelf semi's - do one cct with and one without, see the difference with your own eyes.
@d3x0r
QuoteTo break a simple supposed long running device into its parts to see why it might work. (some claim it's a supercap rebranded to look like a 2200uf cap; but I have caps that have 3 lines in a triange which they claimed was 'telltale signs' it was a supercap. It means nothing. I have some that have 6 (kinda like >-+-< .. a split X with a | in the middle) )
That's right, the pressure-relief scores on the tops of the capacitors can be in various styles and don't indicate anything in particular.
But... consider this. I've demonstrated that these circuits can run a long time on tiny batteries, much longer than on any reasonable supercap. The required battery or batteries could be concealed inside a potentiometer housing or inside a capacitor can. I'm sure I can get enough batteries into a typical can to run any of the LED devices for hours, if not days. Turning it on by a brief contact with an external battery is easy to manage.
However.. I have also demonstrated that similar circuits, especially if they involve a lot of inductance, are quite good at working without onboard power at all, just by picking up power that might be in the ambience... like in the near field of a powerful radio station's antenna and transmitter, or like near one of my very simple wireless power transmitters. Again, it would be a relatively simple matter to put a transmitting loop all the way around an entire room and have the wireless transmitter in a closet or even a small unnoticed box sitting around.
This is one possible explanation for why nobody has been able to make any self running devices using the circuits published. They don't have batteries in their cap cases or live close to their local hard-rock FM station.
Quote from: Madebymonkeys on July 29, 2014, 03:45:02 PM
Hi,
I asked earlier but, what is the purpose of the cct?
Cct 1 (the Russian sch):
Is the energy passed into the storage cap at 'start' apparently less that what goes into the load?
Cct 2 (joule thief?):
This looks like a std step up dcdc converter (joule thief?), something which can be achieved much more efficiently with a $0.25 converter off the shelf...plus a small $0.25 inductor.
Have I got the wrong end of the stick here?
Making our own inductors, transformers and oscillators is fun (and a great learning exercise) but whats the underlying purpose of the Akula 'thing'?
You Tube hits.
Quote from: Madebymonkeys on July 29, 2014, 06:45:53 PM
Got it. Do you have any measurements for power in vs power out?
just been focusing on power in > 0.
Quote from: Madebymonkeys on July 29, 2014, 06:45:53 PM[/font]Finally, 'gate' (along with drain and source) is typically used with field effect transistors, base (along with collector and emitter) with BJT's - mixing two naming conventions can cause confusion to those who don't know what you 'really' mean. Please don't take this the wrong way, I really am not trying to be an ass! :)
dangit I thought I got all gate references replaced with base.
Quote from: MarkE on July 29, 2014, 11:25:26 PM
You Tube hits.
Not likely since he keeps making them private and didn't enable commercials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyJKRuzFLw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyJKRuzFLw) engrish translation about ferroresonance principle.
(just for archival)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRVEE_9uTc0
Ruslan replication (http://matri-x.ru/forum/index.php/topic/1769-%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80-%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%83%D1%85%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0/page__st__360#entry289478)
Hmm was just saw a ruslan video on this; but seems that channel no longer exists... he was mostly complaining that he's made 0 money and it works and people call him a faker so he seemed frustrated... maybe it was a goodbye video(?)
Addtional diodes notation ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0R2T_JRGrI
"Hmm was just saw a ruslan video"
Are you sure it was ruslan
Quote from: profitis on October 03, 2017, 10:45:12 PM
"Hmm was just saw a ruslan video"
Are you sure it was ruslan
ya. Was surprised... but youtube is kinda an obsession of mine so I check my subscriptions a few times a day. This is a the last message had a repost of a video by dragonlord, but it's not the video I saw when I first saw the added diode notes. I didn't think to grab it at the time because I was thinking it would have stayed up.
pretty sure it was on the topruslan channel; but that doesn't exist anymore... and it wasn't in my history.
Hi if your interested Arunes published a (T1000) shared some interesting information a while back on this device on how to wind the coils I don't think it made a difference but he later mentioned some dialogue with Akula (Roma) that the he alters and experiments with the core material Barium oxide and making cavity bubbles and holes in the ferrox material and finding it's resonant frequency and the constructor should bear in mind that the energy must have to come from some where if not from the actual core material then one should ask ones self 'where' ?
Note the advert bellow, not all material has barium in it (chem trails do 8) :o :-X :-\)
https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/barium-ferrite-magnet.html
let me know how you get on PS I made a pcb for this device years ago I think it went in the bin ;)