Connecting high-voltage fuel assemblies. High voltage source from TDKS

I came across a very cool thing on the Internet - plasma ball from an incandescent lamp. The bottom line is that high voltage from a high-voltage generator ionizes the gas in the bulb of an ordinary glass light bulb (maybe even a burnt one).

Despite the abundance of complex converters, I decided to come up with a simpler circuit - for beginner radio amateurs. We couldn’t come up with anything special, but we managed to simplify the assembly process to the limit. I used ballast from an energy-saving lamp as a basis. Block diagram of a homemade plasma lamp:

It is best to take a 40-watt CFL lamp - it works quite stably; I turned it on even for an hour and it works without problems. As a step-up high-voltage transformer, I used a ready-made horizontal scan transformer TVS 110PTs15. I connected it to pins number 10 and 12. Such line transformers can be found in old Soviet TVs, although you can take a new one, only they are produced with a built-in multiplier.

There are two outputs from the transformer: one is phase, the other is zero, the phase comes from the coil, and zero is the very last leg on the transformer (it is number 14).

We connect the phase to an incandescent lamp, and the other wire coming from the zero leg should be grounded. In general, in the next photo everything is painted and drawn in detail.

If you still don’t understand something, watch this training video in HD quality:

Also, if you connect a voltage multiplier to the outputs of the fuel assembly, you will be able to observe the glow of a fluorescent lamp from the created explosive field.

Assemble a generator high voltage at home is not difficult, in this article we will consider a simple self-oscillator circuit, the distinctive features of which are simplicity and high output power.

A self-oscillator is a self-exciting system with feedback, which in turn ensures the maintenance of oscillations. In such a system, the frequency and shape of oscillations are determined by the properties of the system itself, and are not specified by external parameters.

The device diagram is presented below:


The device is a push-pull self-generating converter. Field-effect transistors VT1, VT2 are turned on alternately, for example, if transistor VT1 is turned on, the voltage at its drain decreases, diode VD4 opens, thereby the voltage at the gate of transistor VT2 decreases, preventing it from opening. Protective diodes VD2, VD3 protect the gates of transistors from overvoltage. The shape of the pulses on transformer T1 is close to sinusoidal.

The main element of the circuit is the high-voltage transformer T1. Linear transformers (TVS) from Soviet-made tube black-and-white TVs are best suited. The magnetic core of such transformers is ferrite and consists of two U-shaped parts. The high-voltage secondary winding is made in the form of a solid plastic coil, as a rule, located separately from the block of primary windings. I used a magnetic core from a TVS-110L4 line transformer (magnetic permeability 3000NM), and removed the high-voltage winding from a TVS-110LA transformer. The original primary winding must be dismantled and a new one wound from enameled copper wire with a diameter of 2 mm, a total of 12 turns with a tap from the middle (6+6). During assembly, between the U-shaped parts of the magnetic circuit, at the junction, it is necessary to lay cardboard spacers, approximately 0.5 mm thick, to reduce saturation of the magnetic circuit.

Inductor L1 is wound on a ferite W-shaped magnetic core, 40-60 turns of enameled copper wire with a diameter of 1.5 mm, a 0.5 mm thick gasket is laid between the joints of the magnetic core. Ferrite rings or the U-shaped part of the magnetic circuit of a horizontal transformer can be used as a core.

Capacitor C3 consists of 6 parallel-connected capacitors of the K78-2 brand 0.1 μm x 1000V, they are well suited for operation in high-frequency circuits. It is better to install resistors R1, R2 with a power of at least 2W. High-frequency diodes VD4, VD5 can be replaced with HER202, HER303 (FR202,303).

To power the device, an unstabilized power supply with a voltage of 24-36V and a power of 400-600W is suitable. I use an OSM-1 transformer (overall power 1 kW) with a rewound secondary winding of 36V.

The electric arc is ignited from a distance of 2-3 mm between the terminals of the high-voltage winding, which approximately corresponds to a voltage of 6-9 kV. The arc turns out to be hot, thick and stretches up to 10 cm. The longer the arc, the greater the current consumed from the power source. In my case, the maximum current reached 12-13A at a supply voltage of 36V. To obtain such results, you need a powerful power source, in this case this is of primary importance.

For clarity, I made a “Jacob’s ladder” from two thick copper wires, in the lower part the distance between the conductors is 2 mm, this is necessary for an electrical breakdown to occur, higher the conductors diverge, the letter “V” is formed, an arc is ignited at the bottom, heats up and rises upward, where it breaks off. I additionally installed a small candle under the point of maximum approach of the conductors to facilitate the occurrence of breakdown. The video below demonstrates the process of arc movement along the conductors.

Using the device, you can observe a corona discharge that occurs in a highly inhomogeneous field. To do this, I cut out letters from foil and composed the phrase Radiolaba, placing them between two glass plates, and additionally laid a thin copper wire for electrical contact of all letters. Next, the plates are placed on a sheet of foil, which is connected to one of the terminals of the high-voltage winding, the second terminal is connected to the letters, as a result, a bluish-violet glow appears around the letters and a strong ozone smell appears. The foil cut is sharp, which contributes to the formation of a sharply inhomogeneous field, resulting in a corona discharge.

When one of the winding terminals is brought to energy saving lamp, you can see the uneven glow of the lamp; here the electric field around the terminal causes the movement of electrons in the gas-filled bulb of the lamp. The electrons, in turn, bombard the atoms and transfer them to excited states; upon transition to the normal state, light is emitted.

The only drawback of the device is the saturation of the magnetic circuit of the horizontal transformer and its strong heating. The remaining elements heat up slightly, even the transistors heat up slightly, which is an important advantage; however, it is better to install them on a heat sink. I think even a novice radio amateur, if desired, will be able to assemble this self-oscillator and conduct experiments with high voltage.

The device in question generates electrical discharges with a voltage of about 30 kV, so please exercise extreme caution during assembly, installation and further use. Even after turning off the circuit, some voltage remains in the voltage multiplier.

Of course, this voltage is not fatal, but the switched on multiplier can pose a danger to your life. Follow all safety precautions.

Now let's get down to business. To obtain high-potential discharges, components from the line scan of a Soviet television were used. I wanted to create a simple and powerful high-voltage generator powered by a 220-volt network. Such a generator was needed for experiments that I carry out regularly. The generator power is quite high, at the output of the multiplier the discharges reach up to 5-7 cm,

To power the line transformer, LDS ballast was used, which was sold separately and cost $2.

This ballast is designed to power two fluorescent lamps, each 40 watts. For each channel, 4 wires come out of the board, two of which we will call “hot”, since it is through them that the high voltage flows to power the lamp. The remaining two wires are connected to each other by a capacitor, this is necessary to start the lamp. At the output of the ballast, a high voltage with a high frequency is generated, which must be applied to line transformer. The voltage is supplied in series through a capacitor, otherwise the ballast will burn out in a few seconds.

We select a capacitor with a voltage of 100-1500 volts, a capacity from 1000 to 6800 pF.
It is not recommended to turn on the generator for a long time, or you should install transistors on the heat sinks, since after 5 seconds of operation there is already an increase in temperature.

The line transformer was used type TVS-110PTs15, voltage multiplier UN9/27-1 3.

List of radioelements

Designation	Type	Denomination	Quantity	Note	Shop	My notepad
	Scheme of prepared ballast.
VT1, VT2	Bipolar transistor	FJP13007	2			To notepad
VDS1, VD1, VD2	Rectifier diode	1N4007	6			To notepad
C1, C2		10 µF 400 V	2			To notepad
C3, C4	Electrolytic capacitor	2.2 µF 50 V	2			To notepad
C5, C6	Capacitor	3300 pF 1000 V	2			To notepad
R1, R6	Resistor	10 ohm	2			To notepad
R2, R4	Resistor	510 kOhm	2			To notepad
R3, R5	Resistor	18 ohm	2			To notepad
	Inductor		4			To notepad
F1	Fuse	1 A	1			To notepad
	Additional elements.
C1	Capacitor	1000-6800 pF	1			To notepad
	Linear scan transformer	TVS-110PTs15	1			To notepad
	Voltage multiplier	UN 9/27-13	1

Nowadays, you can often find outdated CRT TVs in the trash; with the development of technology, they are no longer relevant, so now they are mostly getting rid of them. Perhaps everyone has seen on the back wall of such a TV an inscription in the spirit of “High voltage. Do not open". And it hangs there for a reason, because every TV with a picture tube has a very interesting little thing called TDKS. The abbreviation stands for “diode-cascade line transformer”; on a TV it serves, first of all, to generate high voltage to power the picture tube. At the output of such a transformer you can get constant pressure magnitude as much as 15-20 kV. The alternating voltage from the high-voltage coil in such a transformer is increased and rectified using a built-in diode-capacitor multiplier.
TDKS transformers look like this:

The thick red wire extending from the top of the transformer, as you might guess, is designed to remove high voltage from it. In order to start such a transformer, you need to wind your primary winding on it and assemble it complex circuit, which is called the ZVS driver.

Scheme

The diagram is presented below:

The same diagram in another graphical representation:

A few words about the scheme. Its key link is field effect transistors IRF250, IRF260 would also work well here. Instead of them, you can install other similar field-effect transistors, but these are the ones that have proven themselves best in this circuit. Between the gate of each transistor and the minus of the circuit, zener diodes are installed for a voltage of 12-18 volts; I installed zener diodes BZV85-C15, for 15 volts. Also, ultra-fast diodes, for example, UF4007 or HER108, are connected to each of the gates. A 0.68 µF capacitor is connected between the drains of the transistors for a voltage of at least 250 volts. Its capacitance is not so critical; you can safely install capacitors in the range of 0.5-1 µF. Quite significant currents flow through this capacitor, so it can heat up. It is advisable to place several capacitors in parallel, or take a capacitor for a higher voltage, 400-600 volts. There is a choke in the diagram, the rating of which is also not very critical and can be in the range of 47 - 200 µH. You can wind 30-40 turns of wire on a ferrite ring, it will work in any case.

Manufacturing

If the inductor gets very hot, then you should reduce the number of turns, or take a wire with a thicker cross-section. The main advantage of the circuit is its high efficiency, because the transistors in it hardly heat up, but, nevertheless, they should be installed on a small radiator for reliability. When installing both transistors on a common radiator, it is imperative to use a heat-conducting insulating gasket, because the metal back of the transistor is connected to its drain. The supply voltage of the circuit lies in the range of 12 - 36 volts; at a voltage of 12 volts at idle, the circuit consumes approximately 300 mA; when the arc is burning, the current rises to 3-4 amperes. The higher the supply voltage, the higher the voltage will be at the output of the transformer.
If you look closely at the transformer, you can see the gap between its body and the ferrite core is approximately 2-5 mm. The core itself needs to be wound with 10-12 turns of wire, preferably copper. The wire can be wound in any direction. The larger the wire, the better, but a wire that is too large may not fit into the gap. You can also use enameled copper wire; it will fit into even the narrowest gap. Then you need to make a tap from the middle of this winding, exposing the wires in in the right place as shown in the photo:

You can wind two windings of 5-6 turns in one direction and connect them, in this case you also get a tap from the middle.
When the circuit is turned on, an electric arc will occur between the high voltage terminal of the transformer (thick red wire at the top) and its negative terminal. The minus is one of the legs. You can determine the required minus leg quite simply by placing the “+” next to each leg in turn. The air breaks through at a distance of 1 - 2.5 cm, so a plasma arc will immediately appear between the desired leg and the plus.
You can use such a high-voltage transformer to create another interesting device - Jacob's ladder. It is enough to arrange two straight electrodes in a “V” shape, connect a plus to one, and a minus to the other. The discharge will appear at the bottom, begin to creep up, break at the top and the cycle will repeat.
You can download the board here:

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