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MAKE A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY IN 5 MINUTESby Biotele on June 8, 2008

Table of Contents

intro:   MAKE A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY IN 5 MINUTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1:   Some Info on CFLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 2:   Some Info about Flyback Transformers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3:   The Finished Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 4:   Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 5:   Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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intro:  MAKE A HIGH VOLTAGE SUPPLY IN 5 MINUTESIn this Instructable you will learn how to make a High Voltage High Frequency power supply in 5 minutes and for less than $20.

All you need is a compact fluorescent light (CFL) and a flyback transformer.

Flyback transformers are found in TVs and CRT monitors. They make the high voltage, high frequency current necessary to trace the electron beam across the screen.They are small and compact, and you can take them out from an old computer monitor or TV.

CFLs are very popular high efficiency fluorescent lights. They are similar to their ancestor the fluorescent light tubes but use electronic ballasts instead of the big andheavy ballasts in the old technology.

The electronic ballast works by generating high frequency currents that are fed to a tiny high frequency transformer that boost the voltage and run the fluorescent tube. Itis the high frequency that makes the assembly compact.

The electronic ballast generates less than 1000 volts. But by replacing the fluorescent bulb of the CFL with a flyback transformer, spectacular voltages can be achieved.

Video

Check out my other Instructables:Hack The Spy Ear and Learn to Reverse Engineer a CircuitSuper Easy E-mail Encryption Using Gmail, Firefox and WindowsMake a Voltage Controlled Resistor and Use ItMake a Ball Mill in 5 MinutesMake a Rechargeable Dual Voltage Power Supply for Electronic ProjectsSODA CAN HYDROGEN GENERATOR

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step 1: Some Info on CFLsCFLs can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Generally the bigger the wattage the larger the voltage output. For this Instructable I got a 65 Watts light bulb.

Most CFLs have a similar circuit topology. All of them have 4 wires coming out of them. The wires are in pairs, and each pair connects to a filament inside the light bulb.

The CFLs I came across have the high voltage on the outer wires. You only need to connect the outer wires to the primary coil of the flyback transformer.

You will find a comprehensive description of CFL circuits on this page

Image Notes1. Replace fluorescent with flyback transformer.2. feedback transformer, looks like a small ring with wires wrapped around it.3. Resonant capacitor and inductor, this is what makes the high voltage for lightbulb.4. The transitors in a push pull configuration. This will drive the flyback at highfrequency.5. Rectifier input circuit. Converts AC into DC.

step 2: Some Info about Flyback TransformersFlyback transformers come in all different shapes and sizes. Pick a big one.

The challenge with the flyback transformer is to find 3 pins out of 10 to 20 pins. One pin will be the high voltage ground the other two pins will be that of the primary coilthat will connect to the CFL's electronic board.

If you can get the schematic of the flyback transformer that will save you time. However you can figure out the pins by following the instructions here.

Danger - if you are going to get the flyback from a TV or CRT you need to discharge it. It can hold a dangerous charge even days after the TV or CRT is turnedoff (see picture for details).

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Image Notes1. Connect a voltmeter to the output of the high voltage secondary coil. Connectthe other lead to the battery pack. Connect the battery pack to each pin one byone, looking for a volatge read out on the voltmeter.2. connect three 9 volt batteries in series to look for the pin of the high voltagesecondary coil.3. The ground pin of the high voltage secondary pin can be anywhere at the baseof the flyback transformer.

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step 3: The Finished SetupThis is how the finished high voltage supply looks like.

Remember, this is a DC supply. The output from the thick wire is positive. In TVs and CRTs this high voltage output drives the negative electrons from the filament to thescreen.

If you need AC high voltage, you have to remove the built-in diode or find an old flyback transformer that does not have a built-in diode.

step 4: TroubleshootingThe first time I build the circuit, it worked immediately. I used a 26 watt CFL.

Then I decided to get a bigger CFL and I build it exactly like the first circuit. It didn't work. I was disappointed. I thought that the CFL electronics were shot.

But when I reconnected the fluorescent tube to the four wires, the CFL worked again. I realized that this type of CFL circuit needed to "sense" the filaments in order tooperate. Remember, I was only using the outer wires and leaving the two inner wires alone.

So I put a resistor across the outer wire and the inner wire. The circuit worked! But within seconds the resistor was in flames.

So I decided to use a capacitor in place of resistor. The capacitor allows AC currents but blocks DC while a resistor allow both AC and DC currents to flow through it. Alsoa capacitor does not heat up because it provides a low resistance path for AC currents.

The capacitor worked great! The arcs produced were very big and thick.

So in summary there two things that can go wrong:

1. You wired it wrong, either on the CFL side or the flyback side.2. The CFL electronics needs to sense the filament and you can use a capacitor as a substitute.

Use a high voltage rated capacitor. Mine was 400V and I got it from another CFL circuit.

While troubleshooting, be very careful, you are dealing with very high voltages and high currents.

When soldering, disconnect the circuit from the power outlet.

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step 5: DisclaimerThe circuits in this Instructable use very high voltages and currents.

These currents and voltages are deadly! You can easily hurt yourself, as well. Build this circuit at your own risk.

This type of high frequency high voltage current is used in surgical cauterizers. So if you get shocked you will burn yourself and cut your flesh. There is also aconsiderable fire hazard from the circuit.

Use the Nikolai Tesla's safety techniques when working with high voltages:

1. Only use one hand (put your other hand on your lap or pocket)2. Wear insulating shoes3. Use a dead man stick or insulated pliers when touching or manipulating the circuit.4. Use a power bar with a thermal fuse rather than sticking the circuit directly in the socket. This will limit the current that will go through your body.5. When soldering, disconnect the circuit from the power outlet.

Generally, in electricity it is the the current that kills. if the currents are low there is little danger even if the voltages are very high (think of Tesla holding the his Tesla coil).

This circuit has high currents which makes it considerably dangerous.

a 65W CFL can deliver 65mA easily (65W/1000v).

And if you look at the picture below, at greater than 50mA the little guy is dead.

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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 317 comments

 zaphappyprimate says:  Dec 1, 2008. 12:26 AM  REPLYso I am attempting to build this work of art, I have all the parts, I try and get nothing. Am using 13w ballast. When I look at the cap for the heater line u use, Isee in the schematic u have that there is a cap between pin 2-3, but it is not powered by anything, then I see that the loop into the globe should bepin1>element1>pin2>cap>pin3>element2>pin4. Now your photo in step 4 shows connections to the rest of the board, whereas mine has onlypin2>cap>pin3, so there is no point in connecting a cap to middle pins. am I missing something here, or is my CFL of a slightly different design?

here is the flyback. I think I am correct in that pins 2 and 4 are the inputs and 7 is the HV ground?

http://www.krabitvrepair.com/images/flyback/46246.gif

this is where I found the part ID, after hours of looking.http://www.krabitvrepair.com/asp/cf_2.asp

hope thats useful.

(love the robovoice....give it a battery from me)

http://www.instructables.com/id/MAKE-A-HIGH-VOLTAGE-SUPPLY-IN-5-MINUTES/

 Biotele says:  Dec 1, 2008. 2:42 AM  REPLY13 watts will give you a small spark. the input pins on the flyback is 1 and 2. 7 is the HV ground and the output is the one that says HV.In step 4, the cap is between pin 1 and 2 on the board. Try running your set-up without a cap first. The cap replaces one of the filament. Did you removethe fluorscent tube? It is not clear how you connected to the board.

 zaphappyprimate says:  Dec 1, 2008. 3:36 AM  REPLYI connected the outermost cfl pins to pins 2 & 4 of the fbt. The tube was removed and I had not put a cap as per step 4. So I will now try 1 & 2. 13W isone I had lying around, thought it best to start small, get an idea of what im doing. Will go bigger once confident.

 Biotele says:  Dec 1, 2008. 7:57 AM  REPLYgood idea.

 zaphappyprimate says:  Dec 3, 2008. 6:46 AM  REPLYI got a new bulb 20W. No effect, with or without the cap. (223k, 630V) If I leave the bulb on while testing, it will not light. If I disconnect the fbt,the light still works. (No, im not disconnecting while it is on.....). Could I have fried the fbt? Is it possible that the frequencies are "off" in someway? Are there just incompatible parts?

 Biotele says:  Dec 3, 2008. 10:14 AM  REPLYYes. The circuit is not in resonance. Is the fluroscent tube still connected to the board? If so disconnect it. Then try different capacitorvalues. While testing make sure the high voltage output is near the ground so it can produce an arc and you can see it is working. Isuggest using alligator clips to switch configurations fast.

 zaphappyprimate says:  Dec 3, 2008. 7:53 PM  REPLYI scavanged a 100V 1n5, 160V 223, 1200V 332 & 250V 473. None have any effect acros 1-2 or 3-4. I might look for another flyback.would it matter that this one is from a PC monitor, not a tv?

 Biotele says:  Dec 5, 2008. 6:33 AM  REPLYA flyback from a monitor is as good as one from a TV.

 ColdPlasmaDevice says:  Oct 28, 2008. 8:30 PM  REPLYI LOVE THIS Instructable! I plan on using the power supply for making a Cold Plasma Device. I LOVE those things to. Once I finish building it, if it works,I might write an instructable about it.

P.S. thanks for writing this, I needed a power sup. +30KV and I couldn't figure out how to do it myself. This stuff REALLY scares my parents. I'll have to buildit outside(they don't understand that Cold Plasma is completely harmless).

 Coffee bean says:  Dec 4, 2008. 6:46 PM  REPLYlol same here

 Biotele says:  Oct 29, 2008. 9:13 AM  REPLYI made this instructable especially for people like you that need an easy to build HV supply. Enjoy and looking forward to your Instrutable.

 Sick_Lullaby says:  Nov 19, 2008. 4:21 PM  REPLYwhere can i go to learn how to read the blueprints on step 1. Ive always wanted to learn, but cant find any sites, though i havent felt like searching for morethan 10 minutes at a time :)

 Biotele says:  Nov 19, 2008. 5:39 PM  REPLYElectronic blueprints are called schematics in electric engineering. Just Google "how to read a schematic".

 lordofthedonuts says:  Nov 19, 2008. 1:34 PM  REPLYI've made your thing, everything is finished, the wiring is ok, I checked it.It made sparks (about half inch long). There's always a leaking sound coming from the base of the electrodes, I've looked at it in the dark, it's what I'd call"plasma" (the same purple light coming from a plasma globe/lamp thingy) is it normal and there's always some "plasma" at the tip of the electrodes, iseverything normal? Do a bigger CFL would make a bigger spark ?

http://www.instructables.com/id/MAKE-A-HIGH-VOLTAGE-SUPPLY-IN-5-MINUTES/

 Biotele says:  Nov 19, 2008. 3:22 PM  REPLYYes this is normal. Every time you double the rated wattage of the cfl, you quadruple the spark length (which is proportional to the output voltage).

 dont_touch_that says:  Nov 18, 2008. 8:10 AM  REPLYis it ac or dc that operates the primary coil in the fly back?

 Biotele says:  Nov 18, 2008. 12:46 PM  REPLYIt is resonant AC on the primary. Most modern flyback have a diode build in. So the High voltage side is DC

 warriors_adair_me says:  Nov 13, 2008. 9:02 PM  REPLYwould a capacitor from a microwave work

 Biotele says:  Nov 14, 2008. 7:00 AM  REPLYYes. But it is very big. If you have another broken CFL the capacitors in there will work as well.

 tscrackn says:  Oct 4, 2008. 3:01 AM  REPLYWould it be possible to create a plasma speaker using this same method??????

 Xellers says:  Nov 11, 2008. 12:07 PM  REPLYThere is an instructable.

 Biotele says:  Oct 4, 2008. 8:43 AM  REPLYYes absolutely. You have to place a switch someplace in the circuit. It should switch on and off the power at at a very high frequency. You can use aswitching scheme like PWM. This is very similar to a singing Tesla coil.

 mad_electrics says:  Oct 20, 2008. 2:57 PM  REPLYcan i make a telsa coil with this?

 Xellers says:  Nov 11, 2008. 12:05 PM  REPLYUnfortunately, I'm quite sure that you need a power supply with AC output. A NST would work well for a Tesla coil.

 Biotele says:  Oct 20, 2008. 6:23 PM  REPLYI suppose you can. You can use the high voltage to run a spark gap.

 norge says:  Nov 8, 2008. 9:30 AM  REPLYdo ya think i can use a capacitor like these?and does it have to be 2 capacitors, 1 for each out-inner pin?

 norge says:  Nov 10, 2008. 6:53 AM  REPLYall of them are rated to 400V, but do I need 2 capacitors? one between each outer-inner pin?? or just 1 capacitor?

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 Biotele says:  Nov 10, 2008. 7:27 AM  REPLYOn my circuit I only needed one. It all depends on the type of circuit. Mine worked from the first try. However, I recommend using alligator clips andexperimenting with different value caps and different positions. Once you get a satisfactory result you can solder it in. Also keep the HV output closeto the ground pin to see if it is work. When it works you can increase the gap between the HV output and ground to see how well it works. Biggerlonger and thicker sparks is better.

 Biotele says:  Nov 8, 2008. 12:22 PM  REPLYYou can use the one with 400V on it. If it blows try a higher rated capacitor. Best if you scavenge a capacitor from a used CFL (they look like greenChiclets).

 ozetzioni says:  Oct 31, 2008. 11:32 AM  REPLYHey, I am building a pedal generator bike with a battery. at the end of the day i want to transfer the electricity i made of riding into a bigger battery and thenuse it for lighting equipment... anyone knows of a method to transfer the electricity from one battery to a bigger one without losing voltage or too muchenergy???

 Biotele says:  Oct 31, 2008. 2:17 PM  REPLYtry something like this

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/SolarCharger/SolarCharger.html

 ColdPlasmaDevice says:  Oct 30, 2008. 2:24 PM  REPLYum... what did you use for the wires that the arc is jumping to from?

 Biotele says:  Oct 31, 2008. 3:55 AM  REPLYI used the High Voltage wire from the transformer and a wire soldered to the High voltage ground pin on the transformer.

 flyboy1983 says:  Oct 23, 2008. 4:15 PM  REPLYI have a 4 foot fluorescent electronic ballast. Is that ok to use?

 AnarchistAsian says:  Oct 21, 2008. 4:52 PM  REPLYha hai love the last pic, it's great!

 ubr.bzkr says:  Oct 15, 2008. 6:37 PM  REPLYI have a smaller 300ma 1300 20W ac120v/60hz type fluorescent light bulb from IKEA. do you think this will work or will I need a larger one like yours?

 Yenmangu says:  Oct 21, 2008. 4:26 PM  REPLYIkea lol, sory this is totally irelevant but i had jump in at the logo of Ikea, my house is basically an ikea house lol, 1ce again, sorry for the irrelevance of mycomment. :)

 invintive says:  Oct 17, 2008. 4:23 AM  REPLYI have a 4 foot fluorescent ballast. Can I use this?

 Biotele says:  Oct 17, 2008. 7:56 AM  REPLYNo. You need an electronic ballast.

http://www.instructables.com/id/MAKE-A-HIGH-VOLTAGE-SUPPLY-IN-5-MINUTES/

 Biotele says:  Oct 16, 2008. 3:55 AM  REPLYIt will work. The spark will be smaller than that in the video. The voltage output of the circuit increase in a square fashion. The spark of a 40W is 4 timesthe length of a 20W cfl.

 ubr.bzkr says:  Oct 20, 2008. 2:27 PM  REPLYOK I have a flyback transformer and I am testing the leads. if your multi meter has a continuity test function wont that work or do you need to use thebattery's?

 Metiz says:  Oct 17, 2008. 11:20 AM  REPLYI have a flyback here that by eye looks exactly like the one you have used - same pin layout etc. is it save to asume that my pins are the same as yours?

 Biotele says:  Oct 17, 2008. 12:51 PM  REPLYmost flyback look alike. I doubt they are the same. It is better to test the pins.

 kev717 says:  Oct 3, 2008. 5:31 PM  REPLYHi,I tried building this circuit but when I turned the power on, instead of laughing madly, I was screaming like a little girl because the circuit from the CFL blewup... is there a way to prevent that from happening (or would a better light work)? I was using a 13 watt bulb purchased from the dollar shop for $3, so I thinkit may have been the bulb... and I've checked, the outputs and inputs on the flyback transformer were all correct and the transformer still works... I just needa new light I guess...sorry for the long comment and/or for placing it in the wrong place, this looks pretty cool so I'm not giving up just yet.-kev

 Biotele says:  Oct 4, 2008. 1:06 AM  REPLYLol! The CFl you got is poorly designed. You can prevent it from blowing p by putting an incandescent light bulb in series with the flyback. The lower therated wattage of the incandescent light bulb the the more resistance it has. Higher resistance protects the circuit more but limits power of the HV output.There is also the possibility that you misidentified the primary coil pins. You can experiment more to find the correct pins while you got the incadescentlight bulb in the circuit. Once you find the pins that gives you the biggest spark you can remove the incandescent light bulb.

 kev717 says:  Oct 4, 2008. 5:55 AM  REPLYwell, luckily for me I had a camera trained on it so I've got a pretty cool video of a CFL circuit exploding...also, I'm certain that I have the correct outputs, I've tried it with a few AAs in series and it made my arm jump. Next time I'll probably put anincandescent lamp in series with the flyback.

 Biotele says:  Oct 4, 2008. 8:45 AM  REPLYThat sounds awesome! Can you post the video?

 kev717 says:  Oct 5, 2008. 9:25 AM  REPLYSure... just don't laugh at the setup beside a Commodore PET 4016...

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 Biotele says:  Oct 5, 2008. 4:12 PM  REPLYROFLMAO! That's a classic.

I studied your video and one of the problem that you need to address is not having a proper workspace, because this circuit is a firehazard. Had you succeeded there is very good chance that the high voltage would light up something. High voltage high frequencycurrents have an uncanny ability to make a path of least resistance by carbonizing organic matter, like the wood floor and clothing. It alsolooks like you are playing twister when plugging the cord.

I also suggest to place the high voltage output close to the high voltage ground in order to produce a spark on startup. That will reduce thechance of blowing up your circuit. In some CFL if there is no load on the output(spark in this case), resonance of the circuit builds upvoltage greater than the transistors rated voltage and the transistors breakdown. In other words, the cfl was not designed to run without aload.

 kev717 says:  Oct 5, 2008. 5:33 PM  REPLYya... I figured I was doing something wrong... I'm going to probably move the experiment over to my Lab... and the floor is not made ofwood, its coated with a laminate material that ignites at over 1000 degrees centigrade...I'm not sure if this matters, but the spark gap was about 1CM away at the nearest, I'm not sure what the best distance is... Where itlooks like I was playing twister, I was getting a fire extinguisher for "Just in case" and I didn't plug in the cord, it was on a switch.

I've had my clothes set on fire before, so I know what it's like... nothing much to worry about there (My right leg is not in greatcondition)The fact that there may have been no load explains why there was a funny smell in the air, why I had a transistor without a coverafterwards, and why I found bits of plastic on the floor...thanks for the tips

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