well my jt is still going battery voltage 0.50v and the output voltage into the led is at 2.50v
it may as well be off as at the present it isent giving enogth light to do what i wont it to
i just dont know were to go from here as no matter what i seem to do i can not get it to run longer at the light level i wont
ppl on here have these working for dats weks and month wish i could

ok i have started again
11 base 11 collector
2n3904
1k resistor (5x5k resistors in parallel to get 1k)
1led
current draw is 35ma
battery 2500mah at 1.26 volts
will be started at 1 am lets see how long this lasts
no diode and cap this time for mesuring output voltage

dasimpson:

You may be hurting yourself with your toroids.  If we have all learned nothing here, we have learned that not all toroids are created equal.  Using an unknown toroid from a power supply means you have no idea as to its permeability, and therefore how or IF it will perform.

You really can't beat those 5 for $1 one inch toroids from goldmine.  A lot of us have used them to good effect.  Are there higher permeability toroids around?  Sure.  Is one of them in a power supply, probably not, but, of course, anything is possible.

So, what I am trying to say here is that since you are not getting the performance others have achieved, and you are not happy with it, then chances are that your toroids are not the best choice.

Also, be advised that some of us have also seen a wide difference in transistors even of the same part number.  I have about 40 2N3904s around here and ones I got from one source, work differently than ones obtained at another.  Mostly, I see that I can take a battery or cap down lower with some then with the others.  I forget the term for this at the moment.  It has to do with the least voltage a transistor will turn on and off with.

I admire your continued efforts over here and am only offering you some, hopefully, helpful suggestions.  Someone gave me good advice here on this OU site a long time ago....and that was to replicate someone's circuit exactly, same components, wire, materials...everything...getting it working just like the original and then, of course, try to improve it.  But then change only one thing at a time, and if your performance goes down, you know you went the wrong way.

I hope this helps.

Bill

@ All:

I was looking back through our topic here trying to find out how to make an AV plug led rf tester and came across an old post of mine back on page 50.

It was a source for 4" OD toroids for $50.00 ea.  Well, I decided to hit the link to check the price and it is now down to $21 ea.  These are about 4.1" OD and, I know a lot of folks were looking for the large toroids....including me so..here is the link:

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1481978-ferrite-toroid-102mm-od-b64290a0084x830.html

Bill

@ All

Here is photo's of my   "Solar powered  JT power supply box"

Box contains only 1x JT lighting the "Main Bedroom" at the moment, I will be adding more
JT's in the box with 400Fcaps, when I can afford it.

With these 2x meters, I can monitor the Solar Panel output or just switch on Charge switch and
I can monitor the 1st Jt with 400F Cap and watch it charge up by the volt meter, when the Cap
reaches about... 2.2 to 2.4v, on volt meter, I can then switch off Charge switch to the 1st Jt.
It only takes around 5-8 minutes to charge Cap up, then run Main BR light at night for about
2 hours, of course if I want it very bright it will be less than 2 hours or not as bright it will then last
much longer than 2 hours, I have a small variable resistor in Jt.

Photo 1 = I can put the switch into volts position, and monitor "Solar Panel" output,
               or to the Amps position which will give me output in Amps.
               
Photo 2 = Full side view of box.

Photo 4 = Full front view of box, with "2x meters" and "Solar charge switch" for 400F cap.
               And small switch for "Main bedroom" light.

Photo 5 = Inside look of box, there is room for 3x Jt's  across top and 3x Jt's across bottom.

Photo 6,7 = Close up view of Jt with 400F cap.

Photo 8,9 = LED bulb mounted on ceiling beam, lit with Jt in box, however I took this photo
                  when power in Cap was fairly low at about 1.2 to 1.4v, much brighter at 2+ volts.

Photo 10,11 = Close up view of "volt meter" showing Cap voltage.

Photo 12 = Close up view of side of box switch.

Photo 14,15 = Close up view of front box with top switch "OFF / CHARGE"
                      and small switch "OFF / MAIN BR"

Photo 16,18 = Close up view of left side of box with "MAIN BR" next to screw terminal that has
                      twin wire going to ceiling light.