I'm going to be honest, I am a COMPLETE newbie when it comes to electronics, I have only been tinkering/creating small circuits for a month or so. I need help with my flyback transformer wiring. I am being EXTREMELY cautious when it comes to safety considering I have basically 0 HV experience.

Anyways, a few days ago I was able to get a 9v Automotive Relay flyback driver to work, only creating about .5-1.0 cm arc. Today I finally got my 555+510 driver to "work". However with my 555 driver I am only getting about the same arc distance as I was with the 9v relay. The frequency is much higher, but I am still hoping for something I bit more than a 1 cm arc. My final goal in the project is to have a 16 bit DAC plasma speaker, however that is far down the line. For now I am just looking to get a 555 driver with a few inch arc. Can anyone go through and tell me what you think I can do to improve?

Parts list:

Radioshack 555CN timer
2x 10k POTs
2x 1k Ohm
100 Ohm
330 Ohm
16 Ohm 7W
.01 uF Ceramic Cap (103)
C1815/C2827 (I get a more consistent/stronger arc with the 2827) transistor used as a MOSFET driver
IRF510 MOSFET



Here is the schematic I am using. Only thing differing between mine and the schematic are the NPN transistor and the 10 Ohm resistor to the MOSFET gate (mine being 16 ohm).

http://www.eleccircuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/fly-drv2.gif


I have run the breadboard at 3 different (working) voltages. 12, 15.3, 17. I always run the FBT at 12v. When I tried hooking the breadboard and the FBT to 24v my old MOSFET flew across the room... literally.



Anyways, some help or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!

 

What is the coil? I don't see it in your list of materials.

 

I have a picture of the sticker on the flyback.
Flyback Model FSM27A001/QQH0028001

I also included a picture of the pinout for the flyback from the PCB.

 

Well, I managed to get my hands on a brand new NTE 2394 MOSFET and an NTE36 NPN and NTE37 PNP transistors. Can anyone help me edit the schematic to allow for as much current as possible?

 

The 330 ohm pull-up resistor will not drive the MOSFET properly. Best to replace the transistor and resistor with a proper MOSFET driver.

Something like the MC34151
http://uk.farnell.com/on-semiconductor/mc34151pg/driver-high-speed-dual-34151-dip8/dp/9664459

 

Ok, would it be possible to drive the MOSFET via either a cmos or/nor gates? IC # 4025B/4071B? I have spent the past 2 hours of prototyping on my breadboard trying to figure a way to wire them into my MOSFET's gate, but I can't find out how. If it is, can anyone point me to a schematic?

Much appreciated!

 

The 555 could directly drive the MOSFET better than the transistor and pull-up resistor. It sinks and sources about 200mA which is OK if the MOSFET does not have to switch too fast.

 

...
IRF510 MOSFET...

I have run the breadboard at 3 different (working) voltages. 12, 15.3, 17. I always run the FBT at 12v. When I tried hooking the breadboard and the FBT to 24v my old MOSFET flew across the room... literally.

You may have exceeded the Max. gate-source voltage for the Mosfet.

The NTE max gate volts is 20VDC, so driving with 12 volts is ok, 24 not so much...

Direct drive as JDT suggested might work just fine, Using the small value 10/16 ohm gate resistor is a good idea to prevent unwanted oscillations.

 

I also have a few other MOSFETs laying around. NTE2394, NTE67, Samwin SW50N06, an IRF510.

Out of those which would be the most reliably run off of an audio modulated 555 + 12v source?

Edit:

I was also able to get around a 3cm+ arc off of an NPN driven center tapped flyback, so atleast I know everything works. It was entertaining, to say the least, to be able to light a candle with an electrical arc.