Body
Hi Dave,
The diode BYT03 https://www.bucek.name/pdf/byt03.pdf is an ultrafast recovery diode having reverse recovery time of 25ns. They generate less reverse current than slow diodes.
The experiments done on live mains are potentially dangerous. Instead of using just a variac autotransformer an isolation variac must be used or at least a separation transformer must be used. The capacitors between live parts and ground must be class Y safety capacitors (https://blog.capacitorfaks.com/safety-rated-capacitors/ https://blog.capacitorfaks.com/safety-rated-capacitors/).
Instead of feeling the voltage by sliding fingers on live parts use an AC voltmeter or even better an oscilloscope.
In the following circuit from here http://www.resonantfractals.org/Levitation/Tensor.htm http://www.resonantfractals.org/Levitation/Tensor.htm the Joe Cell is charged when both PB switches are closed. The three diodes in series with the Joe Cell discharges the plates of the Joe Cell through the lamp when the voltage across the lamp gets below the voltage of the Joe Cell. This happens each time the AC voltage crosses the neutral voltage.
The reason for the lamp getting brighter in the next figure from the same page shown below is probably because of HF generated by the lamp dimmer. The HF is damped by the inductance of the loops formed by the circuit wires. By connecting yet a separate wire to ground the impedance (inductance) of the wire loop is decreased to let through more HF current to the lamp. This is my guess. A measurement could confirm or deny that. Or carefully lay out the wires such that the extra ground wire follows the same path and length as the neutral and groud wires. I.e. minimize any loops formed as they have inductance which has high impedance at high frequency.
Regards
Ole
---In [email protected], <libra_spirit@...> wrote :
Warren,
Unfortunately the lamp dimmer burned up on the third trial out. It was the smallest one they had back then.
I replaced it but never worked on this again.
Looks like the Autotransformer likely does have an iron core of some kind, don't know why I thought that when I took it all apart back then. I do remember the toroidal width of the coil inside it is 4" outside diameter.
Most all these component concepts came from Floyd Sweets diagrams, and videos.
The diodes are - Mouser pn 511-BYT03-400 [ 3 Amp 400 volt ultra fast damper ]
Dave L