A Lightweight High Voltage DC Power Supply

A Lightweight High Voltage DC Power Supply
The LW-HVPS v1.0
created on April 4, 2002 - JLN Labs - Last update April 17, 2002
All informations in this page are published free and are intended for private/educational purposes and not for commercial applications

You will find below a detailled diagram of a compact and lightweight HV power supply ( LW-HVPS v1.0 ) for the Lifter experiments. This diagram has been initially designed by Saviour. A such power supply has been used successfully by Saviour in his RC-Balloon Lifter experiment. The LW-HVPS is able to run up to 30 mn on common rechargeable NiMh batteries ( type HR22 ).

I have build and tested myself this power supply and it works very fine. Comparing to the previous basic 30KV power supply that I have presented in this web site, the LW-HVPS is lighter, more compact and cheapless. No HV triper is required and this use only common components.

Technical note from Saviour ( 04-05-02 ):

In the original design the transistor used was BU508D. The difference between this and a BU508A or BU208A is that it has a built in damper diode. If you use the 'A' versions, then connect a fast switching TV damper diode such as BY228 or BY448 across CE to protect the transistor against high reverse voltages. Without this diode the circuit may still work fine, as long as your lifter does not arc, but better be safe.

I would prefer to use the plastic packaged (fully isolated) transistor (lighter and insulated) however if you have to work with the metal cased transistor make sure you insulate the case (collector) as this is connected to the high voltage dc supply. Note insulation in JLN's photo.

Also, try not to leave any metal part of the circuit unconnected. In particular, the core of the transformer is preferable connected to the common 0v of the circuit. Just connect a short wire from the steel spring holding the core together, to 0v. Any unconnected metal may charge up to hv and at any time may discharge in the form of a spark to any part of your circuit. Also, remember that once your circuit is not connected to ground, the 0v is no longer at your body's potential, so it might not be pleasant to touch anything when switched on. Same applies to the lifter 0v.

Regards,
Saviour

BE CAREFUL, USE EXTREME CAUTION !!!, this device use High Voltage, ALWAYS switch off the input and discharge the output to the ground through 10k/2W resistor before touch it. These plans are not intended for the inexperienced. User of this document should be very carefull and experienced in High-Voltage electronics to try anything out ! If you do it the risk of any results is just yours. I take no responsibility of anything that might happen.

ATTENTION !!!, Faites preuve d'une extrême prudence, Vous manipulez ici de la Haute-Tension, TOUJOURS arrêter puis déconnecter votre alimentation ou le moniteur et décharger la sortie Haute Tension à travers une résistance de 10Kohms/2W avant toute manipulation.. Les plans et les conseils présentés ici, ne sont pas destinés à des débutants. Vous devrez procéder avec soin et prudence et avoir l'habitude de manipuler de la Haute-Tension avant d'envisager une telle expérience ! Si vous décider de réaliser cette expérience, ceci est à votre propre risque et je décline toute responsabilité en ce qui concerne les éventuels dommages matériels ou physiques causés.