Hello,

I've had 3 year of electronics and always dabbled with circuits and the like, but I generally get confused with circuits that utilize transistors and transformers. These two circuits intrigue me, but I can't seem to figure out how current flows in each circuit (including back emf).

One is called a "joule ringer", the other a "slayer exciter". I successfully created the joule ringer, except I used a C9014 transistor and it can only be on for a few seconds before it gets too hot. I used a 2n3055 as it mentioned, but it wouldn't even light a small bulb (that's probably due to my poor transformer design, it was 15T primary, 203T secondary on a 3/4 steel bolt).

Super Joule Ringer:


Slayer Exciter:


So, here are my questions:

(1) What is the difference in operation between these two circuits?
(2) How does current flow in each circuit (including back-emf)?
(3) Which circuit is more power efficient (assuming both run on a 9V battery)?
(4) People have mentioned that you should "tune" both circuits, how do you do that?


Thanks,

- Ben

 

I'ts not at all clear what you ultimate goal is here.

Are you tying to light a bulb- or what?

I cannot possibly evaluate any of this based on what you have provided.

 

I'ts not at all clear what you ultimate goal is here.

Are you tying to light a bulb- or what?

I cannot possibly evaluate any of this based on what you have provided.

Yes, a CFL bulb, whatever the equivalent to a 40W incandescent bulb (the wattage doesn't really matter since both circuits can power much higher wattage bulbs with the right transformer and tuning)

 

From what i know and tested the two circuit actually almost similar but the output are different where the joule thief amplify the amp and the slayer exciter is to increase voltage from for example 3 volt up to 500 volt..

The joule thief = using toroidal or inductors
Slayer exciter = using step up transformer.

Slayer exciter usually use for mini tesla coil that amplify voltage from 9 volt to perhaps like 1000 volts

For both circuits, I've seen homemade transformers made from an iron core, such as iron pipe, where the thinner secondary is wound first, and then the thicker primary is wound on top of that, in the same direction and spiral as the secondary. That is how I built my first transformer (step up), and I successfully got the joule ringer to work with a small dc motor and a small 3V incandescent bulb, both operated at near peak power without burning out either one. My first transformer was weak, 15T to 203T, I intend on making a better one, possibly 10T to 1200T (for the slayer circuit using copper pipe and magnet wire) and 170T to >500T (for the joule ringer, using magnet wire and maybe 14G wire).

 

the wattage doesn't really matter since both circuits can power much higher wattage bulbs with the right transformer and tuning

Pretty sure the wattage matters a lot.

ak

 

Pretty sure the wattage matters a lot.

ak

When read in context, I was talking about how I wanted to use light bulbs saying that the equivalent wattage of the bulb doesn't matter, not the wattage of the system. I know the wattage of the system matters.

 

Whatever the transformer is i tried the one from the faulty flourescence bulb....there is one inductor transformer small one you can modify it by adding primary about 36 turns...it can amplify 3 volt up to 5 volt using 555 timer + TIP41C

Actually, I think I have a 555 from an old circuit board, I've never used it though, how would I hook that up?

 

Actually, I think I have a 555 from an old circuit board, I've never used it though, how would I hook that up?

Follow the schematic as in this video and by the way you see the transformer is a modified one from a faulty flourescence bulb add another 36 turns as primary

 

So far, no one has explained how current flows (including back-emf) in these circuits, can someone help out on that?

 

UPDATE / HELP !!!:

So I created the Slayer Exciter Circuit, but it did not work. I tried everything from switching the Primary coil leads, switching the Base/Emitter leads, switching the LED to make sure it is in the correct direction (Never lit up either way), also replaced the LED with a Diode. I tried it with a c9014 NPN transistor (got extremely hot, very quickly), I tried it with a 2222A NPN transistor (got extremely hot, very quickly), and also my 2n3055 NPN power transistor. Nothing worked!! My primary and secondary are also correctly wound (4T primary, 753T secondary, and they are wound in opposite directions). I really don't understand what is wrong. I tested voltages across the circuit and got these measurements, can someone suggest what is wrong?




Thanks,
- Ben

 

Take your multimeter and measure whether there is current flow to the coil thats the first step to check whether its working...if there is current flow (voltage) its working....but how much does it produce? The first time i did was only around 35 volt which is nothing...to be able to light up something using the slayer exciter it must be in the range of 200 volt to 400 volt to emanate the electromagnetic field. If you see the slayer exciter voltage like 0 - 60 volt alternately fluctuating that meant either the transistor or the battery not giving enough power...to oscillate fast

but if you meant spark or arc coming out it need to be around few thousand volt but be careful

These were my voltages (in the chart). I got 0 VDC on both the Primary and Secondary windings, I don't understand why. I even checked for AC and got 0V as well on EVERY component. So I assume it is not oscillating, but it's driving me mad as to why not. What's crazy is that any transistor I hook up, it gets hot, so I know voltage/current is going through it. The low-power transistors get dangerously hot so I stop the circuit. My higher-power 2n3055 transistor will get pretty hot, but I've only ran it for maybe 10 seconds max.

 

That means there is something wrong with the connection somewhere...Switch your connection wire on the primary sometimes this is where the fault is...usually i will start simple and once it is working than you can modify it to a more complicated one...you don't 700++ turns...perhaps 275 turns for the secondary is enough and use 2n2222a transistor which is cheap few cents. Once this is working then you can replace the 2n2222a or wind more coil up to 700 turns like you....by that way you can understand it step by step and solid with all your test

I just checked all of the connections with my multimeter, all are correct and all of them are closed. It's not the primary, I've switched it several times. The LED works and lights up when checked outside the circuit. I checked it again with the 2n2222A transistor I have, all it does is get so hot it burns you and I have to turn the circuit off after 3 seconds, else it will melt/catch fire. Does the primary have to be tuned to the secondary? Is that why it is not oscillating? I read this quote from this site (http://www.instructables.com/id/SLAYER-EXCITERS-TESLA-COILS-everything-you-need-to/) that said:

Are you getting output from your coil but the LED isn't lighting up? This is because your circuit is struggling to tune itself. Yes the slayer circuit can usually tune itself, but if your coils are too far from naturally resonant, it might cross the line where it can no longer be resonant, and your performance will drop considerably. Try putting several more turns on the primary coil and see if that works.

So I'm working on trying to turn the primary using JavaTC, but it still didn't work.
dfdf

 

If the circuit is close how much voltage flow to the secondary coil? that one you should measure to ensure current is flowing...LED is nothing because it only needs few volt to light up...the coil need few hundred volt in order to produce the electromagnetic wave that can light up something from few cm distance

secondary reads 0 volts, primary reads 0 volts

 

(3) Which circuit is more power efficient (assuming both run on a 9V battery)?

Super Joule Ringer is a self-oscillating voltage booster and it use all of the energy in a single-cell electric battery where Slayer Exciter is comparatively low power efficient.