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Anything that gets people's minds working and interested in learning is a great thing! I spent many years repairing coin-op games and pinball machines with skills that came from my interest in electronics. It's been sad seeing "Radio Shack" become what it is today. Surface Mounted devices made it a lot harder to work in tiny spaces. Good for mp3 players; bad for hobbyists. This is one project that can show the basics of some electronic principles and be useful at the same time. win/win
That's why I'm going to try to build this. I have a pretty good knowledge of electricity and good mechanical aptitude but very very basic in electronics. As long as I have someone to 'show me the way' I'll trod through.
Steve
Dig this. I just tried welding 30g silver to 28g kanthal, 30g silver to 28g kanthal, 32g nickel to 30g silver, 32g nickel to 28g kanthal, 32g nickel to 32g kanthal, 30g silver to 32g kanthal, 32g nickel to 34g kanthal, 30g silver to 34g kanthal. ALL AT 35v! So you can desolder the trim pot if you like but I wouldn't waste your time putting anything back in its place
Or you can leave it in there and still not have to turn the turn a pot or use a dmm...That said, I would be happy to look at the pot to see if I could tell you what it said but you can see from the pics I posted it is going to be impossible to read, and that was the only component I used loctite on (the good stuff from work no less), so it's not coming off.
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That is good to know - I wasn't sure if the 35V was going to be high enough or not for the most common wire combinations. One could probably get past any limitation of it though by adding a little higher capacitance; it would increase the relative charge available.
I really like that LM2577 board for its compact size...
Dig this. I just tried welding 30g silver to 28g kanthal, 30g silver to 28g kanthal, 32g nickel to 30g silver, 32g nickel to 28g kanthal, 32g nickel to 32g kanthal, 30g silver to 32g kanthal, 32g nickel to 34g kanthal, 30g silver to 34g kanthal. ALL AT 35v! So you can desolder the trim pot if you like but I wouldn't waste your time putting anything back in its place
That said, I would be happy to look at the pot to see if I could tell you what it said but you can see from the pics I posted it is going to be impossible to read, and that was the only component I used loctite on (the good stuff from work no less), so it's not coming off.
THIS is awesome. thank you gsa, can't wait to get my parts.
For anybody that wants to build two of the LM2577 kits...or thinks that they might screw up one of them and wants a spare...the same seller has a 2 pack for $9.95:
2X LM2577 3A DC Step Up Adjustable Breadboard Module Power Supply Converter USA | eBay
2X LM2577 3A DC Step Up Adjustable Breadboard Module Power Supply Converter USA | eBay
Just FYI for those using the LM2577; if you're interested in making a box mod, check out the LM2596 buck modules:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/battery-mods/259577-just-lm2596-users.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/battery-mods/259577-just-lm2596-users.html
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How about a mosquito zapper welder? Handle makes a good case, holds 2 AA, led and PB switch. Could I just change the cap?
Cap says 630v
Cap says 630v
BJ43 - that may work! You could change the cap, but you need a charge button between it and one lead pulled from the board (that junction would then be the positive lead) - the stock switch will just turn it on and off. You need to be able to control the amount of charge to the cap, otherwise you'll end up with hundreds of volts each time you turn it on. A resistor in series with the cap would also slow the charging time to be able to get to the desired charge voltage more accurately.
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From the pics (and it is an educated guess), the positive end of the cap appears to be the green wire. To actually determine which end of the cap is positive, fire it up as is and measure across the cap with a voltmeter. When you find the positive end, pull that up from the board. Solder one end of your pushbutton into that hole and the other end to the pulled up cap lead - that junction of switch and cap becomes your positive weld lead. You could add a resistor in series with the switch and cap for a delayed charge.
I would try it with the original cap first, without replacing it and see if it works - from the pic it appears to be a 474µF cap and the voltage rating is excellent. There should be a marking on the cap itself which would indicate its value.
I would try it with the original cap first, without replacing it and see if it works - from the pic it appears to be a 474µF cap and the voltage rating is excellent. There should be a marking on the cap itself which would indicate its value.
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Finally got a Sparky Camera together (One of these days things will go smoothly and as I expect them too - then I'll fall over with a heart attack from the surprise).
Tacked two pieces of nichrome together as a test, it sparked, I jumped and the wires were joined.
Here it is - there's a 'door' on the bottom for easy battery replacement
ETA:
The flash 'activator' was actually a slide switch, so I had to install the momentary switch.
(One of these days things will go smoothly and as I expect them too - then I'll fall over with a heart attack from the surprise).Tacked two pieces of nichrome together as a test, it sparked, I jumped and the wires were joined.
Here it is - there's a 'door' on the bottom for easy battery replacement
ETA:
The flash 'activator' was actually a slide switch, so I had to install the momentary switch.
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Since no one has mentioned it there is probably a reason, but I'm going to throw it out and let the more informed educate me.
Is there a reason why the camera flash circuits couldn't be used with a larger capacity slower discharge capacitor and limit the voltage being applied to 35v/etc to the capacitor?
The LM2577's are cheap enough, but the cameras can be free and I have a few to experiment with.
Is there a reason why the camera flash circuits couldn't be used with a larger capacity slower discharge capacitor and limit the voltage being applied to 35v/etc to the capacitor?
The LM2577's are cheap enough, but the cameras can be free and I have a few to experiment with.
I would have to say that there certainly is no reason why you couldn't do just that. The extra capacitance should provide more of a spark charge to compensate. You would certainly need a resistor to delay the charge rate, so you could reach that lower voltage more accurately. I have noticed that with a 330µF cap, I only need about 50 volts join the wires.
May try this later; would be easy enough to add the cap externally for testing out.
Edit: The only thing where the LM2577 may have an edge is that its cap will be 100% fully charged; the flash camera cap will only be about 15% charged - not sure if it makes any difference in actual application.
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What resistor should I put between the PB and the cap to slow it down?
It depends on the cap value. The formula for fully charging a capacitor is 5(R*C). For example, a 1000Ω resistor and a 1000µF cap would take 5 seconds to become fully charged (5 * 1000 * .001000 = 5 secs). And it is not a linear charge rate: see this capacitance page Charging a Capacitor
Edit: You would want a fairly large time constant, since the board outputs about 300 V. I would want to use at least a 10kΩ - 20kΩ resistor; in the first 1/5 of the charge cycle the cap will charge up to about 70% of the applied voltage. Make sure that the switch, resistor and cap are in series and make the weld leads directly across the cap.
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Wow, that's pretty gnarly looking, TC. LOL 
Here I am trying to make mine look all professional and everything. Yours works, right? Ya gotta love it.
Here I am trying to make mine look all professional and everything. Yours works, right? Ya gotta love it.
Finally got a Sparky Camera together
Tacked two pieces of nichrome together as a test, it sparked, I jumped and the wires were joined.
Here it is - there's a 'door' on the bottom for easy battery replacement
ETA:
The flash 'activator' was actually a slide switch, so I had to install the momentary switch.
I was thinking about using a 1000uF 50v cap. I know I found some at work when I was rummaging around looking for 330v caps (just don't know where I seen them). Then possibly using something on the front end to limit the voltage...a zener diode maybe? About zener diodes....Could 4 12v zener diodes be used in parallel to achieve 48v or 3 for 36v? I' not sure what we have at work but I know radio shack stocks 12v.
You would have to have the diodes in series and read across all 4 to achieve that.
Edit: I have never verified if that works, though... I've always used the right size diode.
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