Joule Ringer!

[Nick_Z]

Totoalas:
I only filled 1/2 of the coil with 28 gauge, and the other half with about 14 gauge insulated stranded copper wire. But, I would recommend to fill the whole core with the secondary, and also fill the whole core with the primary on top of the secondary. That will ensure that more than just one bulb can be connected up to this inverter. The cost of wire is minimal. Remember to put something between the gap of the two halves, or you'll see why he named it "Joule Ringer". It may still ring in any case, but to separate the two halves didn't work for me.
My meter is not working on the higher mA setting so I can't tell what the draw is.
The MJE 3055 transistor is stone cold while lighting the 65 watt Cfl on 14 volts and one amp input from a AC-DC wall adapter. But, the actual draw is unknown. I do think that this system can take more voltage/current than I'm currently giving it.
Running this from a 12v 10 watt solar panel would be ideal, as each panel can output about 600mAs, and can be bought with free delivery for about $27 now. The battery and voltage controller would be additional.

[br0ns0n77]

Nick - I see you aren't using the 2n3055 transistor that Lasersaber used in his setup - any reason why? Reason I ask is because I'm using an 18v drill battery inputting to my circuit and lighting CFLs, the 2n3055 gets hot, esp when lighting the larger wattage bulbs. Using the LED bulbs it stays cooler, but just wondering why no one else is mentioning the transistor running hot? Thanks!

[Nick_Z]

I can't get the 2n3055, and RS here does carry the TIP (MJE) 3055T.
The transistor heat depends on what load it is running, the coil winds, and voltage/current levels. Also if the Led or Cfl is gutted, or not. My coil the way it is right now will only light incandescent bults, like a 50 watt, dimly, and the transistor does heat up. But, a 65 watt Cfl ungutted produces no heat.
This is all very tricky to deal with. You have to experiment with what bulbs work for you. Some will work without producing any transistor heating issues, and some will heat up immediately. Some will light up easily, and some won't light at all.

My main objection to resolve now is the ringing when the bulbs are fully lit or close to it. Some may find this unbearable...
All in all we still need a lot more work to discover a real useable combination, one that will not ring to high heaven. We need to work together on this, and share what works, to help others not waist time in repeating the same steps.
The best approach is to follow Lasersaber advice to the T, for now, or one may find oneself spending untold hours, days, or weeks, to discover the right combination. Even if you find the right working combination, the ringing can still drive you up the wall. An insulated sound proof box to house the coil in, may be the only solution when using higher wattage lights, or to seal it in E-poxy resin or something similar to sound proof it.

Here is a very short video of my Joule Ringer Lamp. If the volume is too low on the video, just turn it up, as this camera sometimes has low volume levels. I'll upload another longer video in a day or two as I get further along.

Joule Ringer Lamp- replication 001 - YouTube

Nick_Z

[Zardox]

Hi Nick
You said earlier that you added an earth ground. Just wondering where you connected it?

[Nick_Z]

Zardox:
The earth ground is connected to the transistor collector, or to the screw that fixes the transistor to the heatsink. Depending on the load this is or is not needed. but I find it very useful as I already have an earth ground connection.

I didn't have much luck with hooking up my solar panels to the ringer lamp. Although the small panels will light the big 65 watt bulb directly with out a battery, the bulb lights somewhat dimmer than when using the 14v wall adapter. As the solar panels are too low in current output, and can't drive this circuit directly. It will work fine once the panels are connected to a proper 12 volt battery, and the battery is fully charged.

[br0ns0n77]

From my experimentation which is an exact replica of the LS 3.0, the transistor is running warm running a 13w CFL, but not terribly hot. Put two CFLs in the mix and it gets hot quickly or running a 40w incandescent makes it heat up as well. When running a 9w LED bulb the transistor wasn't ice cold, but room temperature. I would like to see how many 9w LEDs can be lit together on this thing to see if the transistor gets hot since that seems the most economical route to take power-wise. CFLs drain the battery much faster than the LED bulbs.

I'm just thinking that running multiple CFLs on this particular circuit seems out of the question at least from what I've experienced.

Are there alternative transistors that wouldn't heat up as much?

[Wistiti]

@brOnsOn77
How much turn do you have on primary vs secondary?
Thank's

[br0ns0n77]

I wound it the length of the rod on both primary and secondary until I ran out of wire :/ Lasersaber's model has both primary and secondary the full length of the rod.

[Nick_Z]

BrOnsOn77:
I have been trying different wall adapters and batteries, to see which ones work best with my ringer lamp. The 15 volt one amp wall adapter is the one that is giving me the best results so far.
I will also try a different connection on my solar panels to see how it goes. Two panel in series, two more panels connected in series, then connect the first pair in parallel with the second pair. Who know this might work better. It has been suggested, so I'll give it a try.

You might also want to try the Cfl gutted if you have some available. Each bulb is different so you have to try different ones.

One thing that I don't understand is that in Mangetictist's video he is stating that the 60 watt incandescent is only drawing 600 mAs. It is almost 10 times more current draw (normally) than the 7.5 watt Led that he compares with it. Or the 550mA draw from the 14 watt Cfl, which has twice the normal loading compared to the Led, yet the Cfl only draws 50mAs more in his circuit. And the 60 watt incandescent only draw 100 mAs more than the Led bulb. Doesn't make sense to me, so we really need more tests on all of this. And to find a working combination that does not ring, at all. My wife can't hear the ringing, but my kids can't stand it, and I really can't stand it either, as it's very quiet here at night, otherwise.
Any ideas are always welcome...

[br0ns0n77]

Nick - I hear the ringing as well but only when I'm using the CFLs or incandescents. I'm wondering if multiple LEDs would cause the circuit to ring as well? I don't have any LED bulbs as I blew the last one and they are so darn expensive - so I'm kinda stuck on the testing. Heck I can't even keep the transistor from getting hot with the 13w CFL. I'm thinking about trying a heat sink to see if that would help the heating issue. I ran a wire to ground from the collector and also tried a resistor from secondary to base and it still heated up. That seems to be the main issue for me with the CFL bulbs. I have some magnets coming soon, maybe I'll try tweaking the circuit with those or maybe a pot on positive and neg from the battery to adjust the input?

[Nick_Z]

The house wiring dimmers that are sold for house lighting may also work on this circuit.
Also try to obtain some bad Cfls, and gut them to see if they'll work better than ungutted. As I can light the 65 watt Cfls with no heat issues, and it is without the internal circuit. The transistor is just luke warm.

Just using 1/2 of a yoke may work better, producing less ringing, and possibly better results than what the full yoke does. This all needs to be tested.

[WIRELESS BONES]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post.

I'm sort of a newb at all this transformer winding.

I would like to wind a LARGE torroid i have, its 4 3/8" wide with a hole in the middle 1 3/4" and its about 3/4" thick

I am not too sure what it came from, a friend saved it for me.
he thinks it came from some sort of a/v equip.

if i can figure out how i will post a pic.

so my question is..how can i wind it ( primary secondary feedback )

i have a few 2n3055 transistors

I also have a problem getting a E core i wound to do anything

I wound it similar to the 2.0 vid but its not the specific transformer and i am not sure of the wire size as i salvaged it from some other coil

is there some thing that i am missing? i have some little 2n2222's and a few 2n3904's and 2n3055's

any suggestions?


i appreciate everything you guys do here and any feedback would be a major help.

[Nick_Z]

Here is some more very interesting information on the 3.0 version, and the draw and effects of using different crt yokes, ferrite rod, RS transformer, etz...
International Alternative Energy Center - Joule Ringer experiments - Powered by ForumCo.com - The Forum Company

Also another video by Lynx Steam:
Joule Ringers that don't Ring - YouTube

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, also want to warn others about using a resistor on the base, it caused the 2n3055 to fry instantly in recent test, whereas moments before, at 12volt input, it was lighting up a 13 watt non-modified cfl to full brightness or beyond, blinding.
A resistor on the base of too high a value, may cause some kind of voltage buildup effect, where instead of going into the load by induction from the primary, goes directly into the base and fries the base, though the emitter and collector seem fine and not shorted.
peace love light
tyson

[Nick_Z]

I also noted something similar when adding a diode between the collector and the Emitter. Which does improve the performance of some of the bulbs, but the transistor got hotter. I'll have to check that further though, just thought I'd mention it.
I also found that by putting a diode between the wire on the bulb back to the control the coil ringing was totally stopped, but it does drop the light intensity somewhat, also.