Greetings, John:
The trick is not to use reed switches, like some do, to turn on drive voltages (although you do get some nice sparks with concomitant radiant spikes). The trick is to use reeds to send only bare minimum turn-on voltage to power transistor bases. Thus you can use almost no current and very low voltage through the reeds, and they function much like Hall sensors this way, without using even the small power the Halls need. When a reed is open, you really have NO current drain at all. The reeds run fast and last a long time when used only for minimum turn-on voltages.
Warmest regards
Carl Hurst
The trick is not to use reed switches, like some do, to turn on drive voltages (although you do get some nice sparks with concomitant radiant spikes). The trick is to use reeds to send only bare minimum turn-on voltage to power transistor bases. Thus you can use almost no current and very low voltage through the reeds, and they function much like Hall sensors this way, without using even the small power the Halls need. When a reed is open, you really have NO current drain at all. The reeds run fast and last a long time when used only for minimum turn-on voltages.
Warmest regards
Carl Hurst
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