Xtal Locked Timing Circuits for Tesla Switch's.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

This thread is Dedicated to the research and development of a Crystal locked timing circuit. To control, The Tri-Symmetrical 3 Battery Tesla Switch, 4 Battery Bedini Tesla Switch or the Ron Cole Bipolar Switch.

I have a Microchip PICKit2, with a PIC16F690 Microprocessor, which I am still learning to program.

With the Tri-Symmetrical 3 Battery Tesla Switch, 4 Battery Bedini Tesla Switch or the Ron Cole Bipolar Switch it takes time for the first set of transistors to turn on, and it takes time for them to turn off and the next set to turn on.



Crystal locked accuracy will be used for timing the Dead zone in real time, so the Dead Zone will be a fixed time delay, that won't vary with frequency, so you are always maximizing on the fastest switching between switching positions(switching between batteries, etc), without the overlaps. Even if the overlap is in microseconds/picoseconds, it will reduce, your switching transients.

The program flow chart for the Tri-Symmetrical 3 Battery Tesla Switch, is very simple, something like this

Output1 - Dead Zone - Output2 - Dead Zone - Output3 - Dead Zone - Output1, etc

It needs to go a low Frequency like 3Hz to 500hz, I could either use an encoder wheel, (Like the encoder wheel volume control on some stereos), or a potentiometer to control the frequency. It would be good to have a coarse frequency adjustment and a fine frequency adjustment.

The encoder wheel frequency adjustment would be best, and have a switch, to switch between coarse frequency adjustment and fine frequency adjustment.


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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

I now have the PIC16F690 micro controller driving the Tri-Symmetrical 3 Battery Tesla Switch with variable frequency adjust and real time dead zones (dead zones don't change with frequency).



I have added a 20MHz external crystal, for precision timing accuracy, and have also added a 7805 voltage regulator, to supply the micro with 5V.

I am using the PICKIT2 Low Pin Count Demo Board, with a PIC16F690 micro. I am driving the opto-couplers directly from the micro, and it is switching perfectly.

I have written the code in assembly language. The code 3 flash as_ASM.txt note. change file extension to *.asm

It is very simple to change the code, so this can drive a 4 Battery Bedini Tesla Switch or a Ron Cole Battery Switch.

The Potentiometer on the PICKIT2 Demo Board, varies Resistance with temperature, wiper contact, etc. So this is a weak link that can cause the frequency to drift. I would like to use an encoder wheel or UP/DOWN buttons to change the frequency.

So far So Good


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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[John_Koorn]

Nice work Nityesh ����

John K.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

John_Koorn Thankyou for your comments, The PIC micro-controllers are wonderful chips.

I have an idea that I think might just work. It would be very convenient to have 3 voltage displays, indicating the voltages of the 3 batteries, as the switch is running, Live Monitoring. Here is the Program flow.



The Dead Zone Time delay is in micoseconds, while the User, Time Delay Adjust is changed from turning the rotary encoder, and has an approx time delay adjust of 1 second to milliseconds, which controls the frequency.

When the Tri-Symmetrical 3 Battery Tesla Switch, 4 battery Bedini Tesla Switch and the Ron Cole Switch is tuned, there must be something you can measure to indicate, that the Battery Switch's are properly tuned.

That can be used to create a self tuning feedback loop, (a digital phase locked loop or something).

Enjoy

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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[John_Koorn]

Hi Nityesh, that's a good idea. I remember Jeff Wilson and I played around with that type of thing a while back when we were researching the 4 Battery Tesla Switch.

A common problem we ran into was that the PIC chip requires a common ground in order to use the ADC inputs to take measurements. (We were using the ADC inputs to read the battery voltages and then display them on an LCD and also to determine when to switch). It's a bit tricky to do, but can be done. You just need to think it through, which I'm sure you have already done

John K.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

A common problem we ran into was that the PIC chip requires a common ground in order to use the ADC inputs to take measurements. (We were using the ADC inputs to read the battery voltages and then display them on an LCD and also to determine when to switch). It's a bit tricky to do, but can be done. You just need to think it through, which I'm sure you have already done
John K.

John_Koorn Thank you for your reply

Yes you are right about, the PIC chip requires a common ground in order to use the ADC inputs to take measurements.

To take these measurements, all 3 battery Sample and Hold Circuits, require optical isolation, to interface with the micro. I have some ideas on some circuits that can do this.

Something like this.



Where the voltage of the battery determines the brightness, of the LED inside the Batt. Read opto.

But this opto is not linear, between the voltage of the Batt. Read LED and the Batt. Read output.

So I will have to design an optically isolated Linear DC amp, to interface to the ADC inputs, I think this is achievable.

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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[John_Koorn]

HI Nityesh, that's an interesting concept. I've never thought to do it like that. I hope it works.

John K.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

Here are some solutions to measure an isolated voltage,

I could use this circuit.



But I think it would be best to use this IC "HCPL-7510 linear isolation amplifier", or similar, since it is very difficult to get the optocouplers, to be linear.
http://www.avagotech.com/pages/en/op...ier/hcpl-7510/It would be good if this chip had DC to DC converter, in it.


This website addresses the solution of measuring isolated DC voltages.
http://electronics.stackexchange.com...nically-isolat

It looks like live battery monitoring is very achievable, on a battery switch. Since the difficulties of measuring an isolated DC voltage has already been solved, with the use of specialized ICs.

The only other thing to consider, is, are these isolated measuring ICs fast enough, to give analogue samples to the ADC inputs to the PIC micro.

If I can get the voltage monitoring to work, it would be a great achievement, it will level up my electronics skills.

super cool and ultra awesome

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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[John_Koorn]

Hi Nityesh, that's one way to do it. Another way, which is probably quite simple, is to use a small relay which is controlled by the PIC as well.
Then it's just a matter of programming the PIC to switch in the relay when you want to read the battery voltage.

John K.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

John_Koorn Thankyou for your reply

Using a 1:1 pulse transformer, will give you a more accurate voltage reading than optos, because voltage in equals voltage out (minus losses).



Since the pulse is short, and the PIC is running at a clock frequency of 20Mhz, there is lots to time to sample, and read the battery voltage from the pulse transformer. I may have to remove C1 and replace with a resistor, since this capacitor may change, it's average voltage at different frequencies, giving a false reading. Maybe best to sample the voltage in real time (live) from the pulse transformer without being damped by a capacitor (or averaged out).

Tell me what you think.


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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

Hello BobZilla
What is the chip on your Arduino, Have you ever programed your Arduino to decode the grey code from a rotary encoder.
Does your Arduino have an I2C (I squared C Bus) interface.
I love your posts.

Thankyou in Advance

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Nityesh Schnaderbeck

[BobZilla]

Hi Nityesh,
I appreciate all of your contributions to the group very much as well.

Rather than me babble on I think you would find this more useful:

http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/RotaryEncoders

Be sure to scroll all the way down past the code examples because there is more good info in the chip itself.

To be honest with you I mostly use mine for fairly simple tasks.

[Nityesh Schnaderbeck]

Thankyou BobZilla

[Darren Parrish]

I wonder if I might ask for help? I've noticed that there is a growing number of Tesla,Brandt,Bedini switches, which ever you want to call it. Anyway, I have the Ron Brandt, 4 battery, 6 Transistor,8 Diode Switch that I intend to build and I have found a simple 2 Transistor Flip Flop circuit that I would like to drive the 6 switch transistors with. I have 4- 5AH Batteries, 6 MJL21194's & 8 - 8A Diodes for the switch circuit and I know ya'll are familiar with the transistor flip flop circuit. 10 piece - 2 transistors, 4 resistors, 2 led's & 2 capacitors. Any way, I,m trying to figure out hoe to connect them or if i even can use that flip flop circuit for a driver. If I can i would like to know if 2n2222's will do or if I need something larger and how do I connect it. If not I have a 4017 that I had considered. Any way I would greatly appreciate some input.

[John_Koorn]

Hi Darren,

As long as you have a driver circuit that will produce square waves out of phase with each other you'll be fine.

For the 4 battery Tesla Switch, you will need to use optocouplers (or audio transformers as John Bedini used initially) in between the driver circuit and the transistors.

John K.