Joule Thief

[TheNOP]

i propose 3 good reasons for why there should be additional current drawn when a cap is in parellel with a battery

1. you now have 2 power sources in parallel available to deliver current twice as fast
2. a capacitor discharges faster than a battery therefor should provide additional current
3. a battery now has to charge a cap and power the curcuit thus creating extra draw

with these reasons there was still no additional draw seen on the battery and doesnt make sense.

you can propose what you want, it won't change how it work.

the cap is not a source.
in parallel with a DC source, it is a storage place for the current.

a cap is only a load when it is charging, once charged no more current will flow.
the fact that a cap can provide current does not change that.

the energy is took from the cap only when the battery can't provide the current fast enough.
well..., its not exactly true, it is a bit more complicated then this.
but the end results are alike.

a cap is mainly use for 2 things when connected in parallel.
-provide lots of currents in time of needs.
ex: car amplifiers caps use for subwoofer peek performances.
-or current filtering(smooting).

[Pirate88179]

Jeanna:

Nice work there!  I think the problem with your photos on macro is not enough lighting (no pun intended) in the room.  Your shutter stays open longer to gather enough light and, even when I use a tripod, it can still get blurry, if there is any movement at all.  If you can take a light or two and place them near your subject, or use a bright flashlight like a floodlight, I believe you will get more clear photos.  You could try out my theory on a sunny day outside.  Take the same photos of your box project on macro outside and see if it is not more clear.  Maybe this will help.

Bill

[jeanna]

@Bill,
Thanks I will look into this.
Here is what worked before, so, I just edited that post and exchanged the last blurry pic for 2 more sharp ones, one with camera flash and the other with leds on.
I have to put the camera on 5MPixels and rest the camera on something, in this case the table, so when I push the shutter the camera cannot move, then majorly enlarge and crop it.

I wanted to take this picture, mostly because I used the newbie wire for the primary bifilar. It is 24 awg and in red and green. This is a very nice winding thickness. The secondary is 17 or 18 turns with 30awg from radio shack.
It isn't as purty as Hazens, but the newbie wire sure helps.

The switch is bad. It doesn't always turn off when off and doesn't always turn on when on. And I think there is a leak. I can read 0.042V across the battery when the switch is off.

Back to the drawing board.

There seems to be enough room in this box to add a charging circuit.

I will also scrap the homemade battery holder too. It is too bad - it is sooo close. The box should be holding the ends of the battery tight enough, but it doesnt.

So, please have another look.

Thank you,

jeanna

EDIT,
Oh bye the way, the base resistor is 2.2k (like dog812's) and the amps draw appears to be 100uA. Not too shabby for 5 lights, eh?

[Pirate88179]

Jeanna:

Very nice pictures!!  Very well done with that package design.

Bill

[xee2]

New record for me, neon bulb lit with only 4.4 mA from AAA battery.