Power supplies?

Thread Starter

Adjuster

Joined Dec 26, 2010
2,148
I've noticed quite a few requests for detailed information about power supplies, mainly with quite high output voltages, from people who seem to be trying to make impossible "energy systems".

What seems rather strange to me is that so many folk are hoping to turn physics upside-down, without knowing enough about electronics to design a power supply, or even to adapt something that is not just exactly what they want. Some even come asking about basic methods for increasing voltage, as if this was some great mystery.

Actually, we know that it is easy enough to make contraptions which step up low voltages to dangerously high ones. This is something that some of us may have enjoyed tinkering with when young and reckless, however ill-advised it was. Perhaps if more of these jokers had done likewise, they might have learned enough about energy not to be taken in by these crackpot schemes.
 

tom66

Joined May 9, 2009
2,595
Another thing I find odd, is the amount of guess work involved in HHO and other schemes. Is there not a golden point?

One poster suggested a 2-150V range at up to 5 amps would be necessary. Not only is that a whole lot of power (750W peak!), but it's an extremely wide range. On top of this, a "pwm" is used. I don't understand the point of that, given that you are varying the voltage already, any PWM is unlikely to have a significant effect as chemical reactions are quite slow and the PWM would just be another voltage control at low frequencies. But I digress.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
The scammers like to throw hard numbers to make their scams look more legit. I suspect Beenthere concluded that you really can't inform these folks, which is why they subject is simply banned instead.
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
It is interesting to look at Stan Meyers' "patents". No component values are stated. The "hard" information states the electrochemical cell voltage. As this does not work, the latter day scammers keep putting out misinformation with increasing voltages, despite the fact that that is the only firm information given. Another thing that gets fudged quite a bit is the operating frequency. Old Stan gives one range, modern scammers want to use much higher ones.

Neither the scammers nor the true believers engage in a conversation. Either we are accused of having sold out to the oil interests, or they complain about conspiracies. Discussion is simply a waste of time. Check the stickys if you wish to see how angry thy can get.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I actually helped a physician friend make one of these devices, with the warning that it was a perpetual motion machine. (The schematic he had was incomplete.) One of the conversations included the fact that a frequency was divided by 19. I told him that using prime numbers was just part of the scam because a prime number looks "important". I just doubled the frequency and divided by 38 to get an equal amount of time on both halves of the wave. Never did find out if he finished building it or what the results were.

I guess part of my philosophy is that I will help if I can, and the fact that the whole project is useless is his problem, but he can waste his time as he sees fit. I warned him. That is the limit of my obligation as a friend.
 
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