A few newbie questions.

[kingstingtin]

why do you want a varistor?

Because neon lamp burns instantly.

just build it like the book says

So I did ... nearly

there is not one in the circuit. the bulb is just so the machine stays in tune in the trigger as the battey charges.

I understand. But thanks to my sloppiness, I accidentally run the device without secondary battery. And I have no chance to save the transistor in such a situation. I would feel confident if I was some sort of insurance.

at 24 volts the spike gets to big for the neon to protect, unless you add resistors to it... the neon protects the gate of the transistor.

If I will protect a neon lamp with a resistor, then I most voltage its activation and burn transistor. I'm wrong?

your switching power suppply may work, it may get blown up, it may get degraded. two batteries is the best way to run the SG

Charge cycle in the secondary battery lasts about 31 hours. The device consumes 330mA. Unfortunately I do not have such a battery that could power the the device. If my power supply is burned, it is not a pity, all the same I have no alternative.

PS Yes by the way, I have a at once to a second cycle, the efficiency of the battery was 1.08. In the third 1.10, fourth 1.12. Is this normal?
Here is my table SSG COP CSB_1.zip

[kingstingtin]

just build it like the book says,

You are recommended to stop charging after reaching 14.75 V.
But in the book is written, you have to stop charging when the voltage of the secondary battery stop growing. It can grow up to 16V.
How to do it right?

[Tom C]

You are recommended to stop charging after reaching 14.75 V.
But in the book is written, you have to stop charging when the voltage of the secondary battery stop growing. It can grow up to 16V.
How to do it right?

this is not a right or wrong..... so let me be clear on a few things.

1- if you cannot charge 1 for 1 there are problems with your SG. mechanical or otherwise. I cannot tell you what they are.
2- it will take a very very long time to get to 16 volts, the top of the curve is hard to get to, especially at the knee. it is only a well conditioned battery that is used to pulse charging that will charge to 16 quickly. so charge to 14.75. as the battery is cycled it will charge faster. then you can ramp the charge termination voltage up.
3- your cops should slowly climb as the battery gets conditioned.

Tom C

[kingstingtin]

Thank you, Tom, for the detailed response.

1- if you cannot charge 1 for 1 there are problems with your SG. mechanical or otherwise. I cannot tell you what they are.

I think that in this case, all the fault of my stubborn, because I have to discharge the battery to approximately 50%. If I discharge the battery by 20-30%, then it would be able to fully charge it from battery.

2- it will take a very very long time to get to 16 volts, the top of the curve is hard to get to, especially at the knee. it is only a well conditioned battery that is used to pulse charging that will charge to 16 quickly. so charge to 14.75. as the battery is cycled it will charge faster. then you can ramp the charge termination voltage up.

Yes, now I understand. Just not the time for such a charge.

3- your cops should slowly climb as the battery gets conditioned.

Yes, this is similar to what is happening. Recharge time is rapidly declining, and the discharge time is almost unchanged.
When I complete 20 cycles, then I will lay out my results here.

[AMPPMEUPP]

I have a question about the Heat Sink??? Can I just use a piece of aluminum let's say 3/16 inch in thickness and cut it to fit between the wooden stands at bottom of wheel support?

Also does the heat-sink have to be finned.

Can I get some PC board material some where and use it to mount the components above the heat-sink as shown? I will check Mouser Electronics for PC board material.

Thanks, and Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Richard

[James Milner]

I have a question about the Heat Sink??? Can I just use a piece of aluminum let's say 3/16 inch in thickness and cut it to fit between the wooden stands at bottom of wheel support?
Richard

Yes, I just use some left over aluminium sheet

Also does the heat-sink have to be finned.
Richard

No, there needs to be adequate cooling for your device though. You can tell by how warm it gets! My multifilar has all matched components and runs cold, ie ambient temperature. When I was running a bifilar it was also running cold until I tried to slave another coil to make things work "better". As the coils were using slightly different wire sizes and unmatched components it got hot. But not so hot as to exceed a standard heatsink for a 2n3055 transistor. By the way the unmatched coils ( wire size and length) did not improve performance. Matched ones did

Can I get some PC board material some where and use it to mount the components above the heat-sink as shown? I will check Mouser Electronics for PC board material.

Thanks, and Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Richard

Richard, my first bifilar was just alligator clips, second direct soldered. When I stepped up to multifilar I used strips of Unetched pcb, veriboard would be fine! I now use a etched board of my own design.
It looks better but doesn't perform much better than the strips of circuit board. I've seen others just solder to left over r60 welding rod, you know mild steel coated in copper!, and it works just fine. As long as you solder as much as possible to improve connections and keep them as short as possible you will do just fine!
James

[Tom C]

I have a question about the Heat Sink??? Can I just use a piece of aluminum let's say 3/16 inch in thickness and cut it to fit between the wooden stands at bottom of wheel support?

Also does the heat-sink have to be finned.

Can I get some PC board material some where and use it to mount the components above the heat-sink as shown? I will check Mouser Electronics for PC board material.

Thanks, and Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Richard

make sure you use insulators for the transistors if you are attaching them to a common heatsink.

Tom C

[AMPPMEUPP]

Thanks a lot for the info.

Richard

[AMPPMEUPP]

I was reading the John K thread and he said that he used no screws when building the wooden stand.

When I built the wooden stand for the beginners SG I used Tite Bond Glue and anodized deck screws.

Should I remove the decks screws and why?

Richard

[John_Koorn]

I was reading the John K thread and he said that he used no screws when building the wooden stand.

When I built the wooden stand for the beginners SG I used Tite Bond Glue and anodized deck screws.

Should I remove the decks screws and why?

Richard

Richard,

Are they attracted to a magnet? If not, you're OK but if they are it probably does not make a big difference. I just wanted to eliminate any variables.

John K.

[AMPPMEUPP]

Thanks John K.

When I get it running I will remove them and see if it makes a difference. They are magnetic.
Don't know enough yet and am doing it as presented in the SG book and not deviating from that.

Experimentation will come in due time.

I like what you have done.

Richard.

[kingstingtin]

Try to find the screws made of stainless steel, they do not have the magnet. But you need to check them, because there are magnetic alloys.

[AMPPMEUPP]

Thanks Konstantin:

I can also get polymer plastic screws that are not magnetic at all and are very strong. They are probably expensive but not many needed.
Thanks for your reply.

Richard.

[kingstingtin]

Not at all, AMPPMEUPP. I would be glad if my information is useful to you.

[kingstingtin]

Meanwhile, goes tenth charge / discharge cycle. I'm afraid to ask that question again. COP is around 1.1. But there is no increase in capacity of the battery, on the contrary it is a gradual decrease. Please calm my hysteria, say that it should be.