Hello All - New Member here

[trinitrotexan]

I really love all the youtube vidoes and such.
Very fascinating stuff
I am an electrician with 20yrs+ of commercial/industrial experience. Lots of experience with high-voltage/high amperage switching, standby systems, voltage transformers, etc.

However, I'm ham-strung by a complete lack of knowledge in the electronics field

Could anyone here point me toward some really good entry level electronics studies/courses so that I can attempt to understand the design and operation of some of the "pulse circuits" demonstrated here? (i.e. links, archive references, or even archive search suggestions)

I have some great ideas - access to just about any type of materials - and the willingness to do my own study and design

Just hoping someone here can steer me in the right direction
Thanks for any help you can share.

[rave154]

trin,

as a start, here is an online circuit simulator, you will need Java in your browser...

http://www.falstad.com/circuit/

As a first project, you might want to build a simple 555 PWM circuit, this will almost certainly come in handy for lots of tests you may wish to do with other things...at least until such time as you decide to buy a function generator......(note that where the ignition coil is positioned...you can place whatever load here that you want... some other coil....a bulb..etc)

Also note that the reason there are TWO 12V supply is because this circuit OPTO-isolates the 555 part of the circuit from the "power / HV" side of the circuit....to protect the 555, so you can happily use ignition coils, HV coils and the like.

http://www.energeticforum.com/attach...-circuit-4.jpg



and lastly and totally unconnected.....you may care to watch this...

Purina Animal All Stars

[Aromaz]

Could anyone here point me toward some really good entry level electronics studies/courses so that I can attempt to understand the design and operation of some of the "pulse circuits" demonstrated here?

trinitrotexan, hope you enjoy, have fun and reach new heights.

May 2007 I felt like you - Lost. This edutorial got me up and running.
I can really recomend spending time and go through all;
it is easy, practical and worhwhile. Might take 2 to 3 months but then you
will have a very sound foundation.

All About Circuits : Free Electric Circuits Textbooks

[citfta]

Thanks Aromaz

Thanks Aromaz. That is a great find. I have a couple of young guys that are wanting to learn about electronics and I have been looking for an online tutorial for them. This will be a real help in getting them started.

Carroll

[trinitrotexan]

Way Thanks everyone.....
Especially for the cute kitten video - my cat loved it! OK...I did too.

The online tutorial looks very promising. Thus far, I've just been using the AARL 2010 handbook as a reference guide to understand what some of the parts are as well as a general description of their function.

I'm further very interested in the "Rodin" style coils - will be scrounging the archives to see how you folks are energizing these devices.
I was blessed enough to be able to visit with Marko a couple of weeks ago and would like to begin experimenting based upon some e-mail documents which he was kind enough to share.

Further, are there any discussions involving the mod9 mathematics on this site?
I think I have discovered an inherent geometric relationship in the math which makes it easy to understand without performing complex mathematical calculations. In other words, most of this can be done with sketches and manipulation of simple geometric principals. I believe this is the reason that Mr. Rodin even bothered to return my call - I could possibly be onto something and would like to discuss some of these ideas with minds greater than my own. BTW, I joined here at Marko's suggestion - you folks have a real advocate out there!

Thanks again for the replies~
TNT
tri-nitro-texan

[rave154]

trinitro,

glad we could help, i have a feelign we may be able to help more..and you us.

nice to see someone else interested in Rodins work... you may care to check out this thread...

http://www.energeticforum.com/renewa...ighlight=rodin

its a little bit haphazard, basically everybody trying this & that in an attempt to crack this nut.

I personally would be REALLY interested in your findings & thoughts on the Rodin coil ( I have 3 myself, 2 "classic" Rodin coils and one Randy powell style 36-18 coil ). I have spoken with Marko on Skype perhaps 3 or 4 times on the subject of both how the coil should be wound and also how it should be energised. I welcome any insights you may have.

[trinitrotexan]

Humbled and asking for help

Okay....
So - I've studied, read, and experimented

For the life of me, I cannot get this circuit to perform what I imagine it should do so I'm humbly asking for assistance.

http://www.energeticforum.com/attach...-circuit-4.jpg

I built the circuit - per the required specs - with the exception of the 4N25"opto-isolator" For those attempting to replicate this circuit - You won't find it at Radio Shack
I'm only powering the circuit with a 9v battery (standard off-the-shelf 9v commonly used in remote control devices and the like) and have smoked a handful of timers and MOSFETS in frustration while using an 18v Dewalt cordless drill battery in a mad attempt to achieve something.

I've tried an IRF730 MOSFET, a 2N3055 NPN transistor

I get continuity throughout the entire circuit
Voltage reaches the coil and induces a reaction on the target magnet
Yet the voltage doesn't seem to oscillate or pulse - voltage measured from the output of the 555 timer (terminal 3 to negative) remains stable or constant while energized
I can accomplish the same effect by simply connecting the coil directly to my voltage source.


Am I mis-interpreting the purpose of this circuit?
I really thought this was how the "spin" effect was being accomplished when energizing a Rodin-style coil with a spherical neodymium magnet used as a target

I've even asked a friend - who works for a local semi-conductor manufacturer - to take a look at this circuit and he was unable to offer any advice. He tried to point me toward several ideas using ready-built industrial circuits, even offered to take this idea to work and run it by the local brain trust, but I really would like to build this myself if it can be done
Feed a man a fish or teach a man to fish for himself....

I must admit, I'm a bit discouraged
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Farmhand]

hi trinitrotexan, try not to get too discouraged, I don't know much about 555 circuits I hope someone else can help you troubleshoot your circuit. Are you after an adjustable square wave to drive the coil or just a 50/50 on-off ?

This page might help, if you scroll down to the 555/556 Astable section, there is a lot of info there and a basic circuit that appears to be the one you have I cant see why the oscilator part of that circuit won't work.

Do you get a frequency signal between the 300 and 200 ohm resistors ?
I'm no expert but you may want to try swapping those around.

555 and 556 Timer Circuits

There are also table's for the necessary capacitor values there.

Cheers

[pattester]

hi trinitrotexan,
you may want to try removing the ignition coil part of the circuit and just testing the 555 part to make sure its working ok. simply replace the opto with a standard LED. This should flash at your set pulse rate. I think you really need the opto in this circuit to seperate to high voltage side from the low voltage timer. you could use a H11D2 instead. H11D2 High-Voltage Phototransistor [OPTO-COUP-H11D2] - $0.600 : Welcome to SemiElectronics, Your electronic component headquarters!

hope this helps

happy holidays

Pat

[trinitrotexan]

Thanks for the replies

This link is very helpful
555 and 556 Timer Circuits

A special thanks also for the suggestion of replacing the OPTO with a LED

I'm still too new to electronics to give up just yet
But even having tested the suggested troubleshooting technique (inserting the LED in place of the OPTO isolator) still no luck

It appears as though I must be having trouble with the capacitor
The circuit "charges" or goes high but refuses to "flip" internally
Tried a new 555 timer to no avail

Perhaps my choice of capacitor is the culprit. I'm using a .1 pico-farrad film capacitor
Will have to go chase a new/different type cap. in the future as time allows
Just another mention - All of the resistors I'm using are in the 1/4 watt category? Don't know if this could be a problem too since this was an arbitrary choice - my material supplier (not Radio Shack) supplies them in 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 watt values - just presenting all the facts - I know how hard it is to help without having "hands-on"

This is just another neat hobby - nothing serious
I'm really good at following directions having taught myself how to cultivate mushrooms from spores (sterile media prep., aseptic technique, sterile environment construction - very tedious, detailed work where failure is the most likely outcome if everything isn't just perfectly executed)
In other words, I think I'm up to the task and won't give up easily.

thanks again for the ideas
I'll keep crunching on this

[Rubberband]

coil driver

Hello TNT, I'm new too. This site might help? rmcybernetics.com/projects...Wally

[HairBear]

May I suggest looking into building yourself a simple Joule Thief circuit as a starting point in your quest to learn electronic circuits. The parts required can be as little as 4-5 components that can be salvaged from most household devices. My first Joule Thief was made from junk around the house and to this day, it is the best version I have made. Another suggestion, if I may, is when you have the opportunity, any broken or junk electronics headed for the garbage should be disassembled to see how they work and parts may be salvaged for your research if needed.

Good luck!

[mikrovolt]

What I see here are many people making some progress then for some reason revert to textbook and the circuit is whacked into meaningless abstraction that can never be replicated.

So for the creative minded amateur experimenter more emphasis should be on recognizing those principles that are not widely accepted.

If you watch this video you will get a different slant on radio waves.
many projects are hybrids of radio principled circuits.

YouTube - What is radio wave and how is radio wave produced?

I will put this one in here just because its hands on
YouTube - How to get electricity from the air?


much success in your project building