In Transformer Corner Part 3, I looked at how to choose materials for a custom HV transformer. One way was to pull stuff from the junk-box – I did this in my early Prototype. The much, much better way was to use an off-the-shelf core with documented specs.
Let’s look at winding up the transformer. It’s amazingly easy to get a workable result!
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In Transformer Corner Part 2, I looked at the power supply used in my early Prototype, and showed how to determine the key requirements for the HV transformer.
Now, let’s see how I could choose the materials and design the transformer – without any pesky mathematical formulae!
The end goal – a hand-wound HV transfomer!
The first challenge was to find a suitable core from my junk box. First off, recall from Part 1 that this couldn’t be iron (too ‘slow’ for 151 kHz), and it couldn’t be air (too ‘weak’ for 25mA). I suppose I could have tried plastic, milk, or even beer – but I knew better. I knew about a substance called Ferrite.
In Transformer Corner part 1, I introduced one of the key parts of the Oscilloclock – the HV transformer, and tried to illustrate some of the concepts and history behind it.
Next, let’s explore the Prototype’s power supply configuration. This will tell us a lot more about the transformer I had to wind!
My greedy little Oscilloclock wanted lots of different voltages…