Joule Ringer!

[xee2]

@ TinselKoala


After studying your circuit some more, I do not think it is a variation of the slayer exciter. Your base resistor is not connected to the battery plus terminal directly and your added components significantly modify the circuit. So I think it should be considered as something new.


When you are lighting the filament bulb brightly in the video I think the meters are reading 10.3 volts and 1.8 amps. Is that about the correct values (about 18 watts in)?

[Billxx]

The oscillation that lights up the CFL and makes my fingers burn isn't a normal transistor triggered oscillation. It doesn't seem to matter what I do at the base, during this oscillation. The fact that it is perfectly sinusoidal, rather than a pulse like normal, makes me think it is a resonant feedback oscillation rather than a triggered, transistor-switched pulsation.

@TinselKoala

Excellent observation, seems the entire circuit is oscillating and tuned to a certain frequency based on a certain voltage?

Just inquiring, thanks.

[NickZ]

  It appears that your rattler is what is making a difference, similar to Johhy Davro's piezo buzzer idea.
Your Cfl is still not being lit 100% though, even at 20 volts and almost 2 amps. It may be the neon that is helping to keep the transistor from frying at those high voltage/current levels.
  I'm going to try something similar using a 2.5 inch crt monitor ferrite yoke, as I can't get the big rods, nor want to spend that much on them if it can be done much cheaper, or for free.  The E-cores will work fine in any case, but it's ferrite that's the key to being able to use much smaller coils to get the same effect generation.
  I really see no point to being able to have a wireless circuit, as it can only be use within a couple of feet from the source. On the other hand a one wire connection can be taken to light bulbs throughout the whole house, if needed.
  Thanks for sharing.

   NickZ

[TinselKoala]

I've put a switch and a 3.3 nF cap in series with the neon/diode now. The additional cap seems to make a big difference at higher voltages, but maybe it's just fooling my regulated power supply into going out of regulation.

The circuit has at least three modes of operation. I'll show a video a bit later on today. But when it's making the nice sinusoidal oscillation, the frequency doesn't seem to depend on the input voltage. The frequency is constant at around 220 kHz and only varies slightly with input voltage, but the p-p output voltage is dependent on the input. But in the low-current mode with the NE-2, making the usual transistor spike pulsations, this frequency is very dependent on voltage, and varies from 40 kHz to 60 kHz or so, and the output voltage is less dependent on input.

Then there is the "supernova" mode, where something about the circuit messes with the regulation of my power supply and strange things happen, the neon glows extremely bright and hot and gets kind of purplish or pinkish rather than orange..... this happens during the high-voltage oscillations.

This is the schematic I'm looking at now, and what I'll show in the next video. Thanks for comments, I would really like to understand this circuit.

[NickZ]

  I also get the very high pulses at times, which changes the color of the neon to purpleish-white, and burns the transistors which can't handle the much higher current, that will burn ones fingers, with hot current, not just RF.  It may be some type of resonance kicking in at times. I get this when I hold a diode and touch it to parts of the circuit. This happens when I use a wall adapter at about 14v, so I suggest to try a 12v battery instead, so that your power supply output  is not being influenced by the circuit.
 
   Here is Jonny's video on the buzzer idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PNgpWUJGB4&feature=channel&list=UL