High voltage entertainment provides a lot of fun and little benefit. This means we definitely need to collect something like this. Probably the most simple circuit Tesla coil power supply is Brovin's kacher. It can be assembled on a lamp, on a regular or field effect transistor. The circuit is unpretentious - it works without configuration.
There are many legends around the catcher Brovin because of the non-standard connection diagram of the transistor, which operates in extreme modes - it breaks down inside itself and is immediately restored. We will not describe a dry theory, we only need the result.
I will give two diagrams for connecting the camera.
For NPN transistor:
For field effect transistor:
It was decided to assemble the second circuit on a field-effect transistor because There were no other powerful transistors at hand.
My circuit consisted of: resistor R2 - 2 kOhm, resistor R1 - 10 kOhm, field-effect transistor VT1 - IRLB8721 (was attached to a powerful radiator because it gets very hot). The circuit was powered by 12 Volts.
I wound the secondary coil on a sewer pipe with a thin wire. Approximately 800 turns. I clamped the pipe into a screwdriver and wound as much as it would fit.
The primary winding was made with 1.5 turns of thick copper wire. It is better to make the winding diameter larger than the secondary one. It is better to select the position and number of turns experimentally in order to select the maximum voltage output.
An increase in discharge power can be achieved not only by tuning the antenna and selecting resistors, but also by connecting a powerful choke with a large capacitor to the power input. Increasing the supply voltage proportionally increases the length of the discharges.
The ketcher turned out to be not super powerful, but it was enough for pampering. In the air it hit up to 7 mm. I confidently lit gas-discharge lamps 20 cm from the winding and produced beautiful coronary discharges in incandescent lamps.
It was decided to test the first circuit using the KT805AM transistor with the same resistor values as for the field one (2 kOhm and 10 kOhm). Surprisingly, the power of the discharges doubled, and a coronal discharge burned steadily in the air. Since it was so bad, I designed the installation as a finished device.
Brovin's kacher is an original version of an electromagnetic oscillation generator that can be assembled using various active elements. At the moment, bipolar or field-effect transistors are most often used in its construction, and radio tubes, both triodes and pentodes, are used somewhat less frequently. This device was invented by Soviet engineer Vladimir Ilyich Brovin in 1987 as part of an electromagnetic compass of his design.
Brovin:
In 1987, I decided to design a compass that would allow me to determine the cardinal directions using hearing rather than sight. I imagined that it must be an audio frequency generator that changes the tone according to its position relative to magnetic field Earth. As an audio frequency generator, a blocking generator was used, assembled according to the classical scheme, but with a circuit feedback, where amorphous iron was used as an inductance core, which changes its magnetic permeability at magnetic field strengths comparable to the Earth’s magnetic field.The audio compass worked as intended when changing orientation. The pulse repetition rate changed fivefold when the orientation changed.
Analysis of the properties of the resulting circuit revealed many inconsistencies in its operation with generally accepted concepts. It turned out that the signals at the electrodes of the transistor, measured on an oscilloscope relative to both the positive and negative poles of the power source, had the same polarity (npn transistors had a positive signal polarity at the collector, pnp negative). The inductance located in the collector circuit had a resistance close to zero. The generator continued to operate when approaching the core of a strong permanent magnet, which saturates the core, and the blocking process should have stopped due to the lack of transformation in the feedback circuit. There was no hysteresis in the core; I was unable to detect it using Lissajous figures. The signal amplitude at the collector turned out to be five or more times higher than the voltage of the power source.
Kacher (from “reactivity pump”) is usually called a simple, funny device, invented by a certain Brovin, and supposedly produces more energy than it consumes in terms of power. In fact, it is a very strangely made self-oscillator on a single transistor, with the main advantage in the form of phenomenal simplicity of design, being almost the simplest HV device known
Kacher - possibilities and methods of application
High-frequency demonstration high-frequency field generator, Kacher, also known as a self-generating single-cycle Tesla Coil.
A simple and reliable circuit consumes ~20W from the network (modified 12V 2A network adapter included), and converts them into a field with a frequency of about 1 MHz (as well as into a small streamer) with an efficiency of about 90%. The Kacher is a black plastic tube measuring ~80x200 mm, closed on both sides, having a spring as a discharge terminal and a power connector. The entire electronic part is hidden inside the pipe. The primary and secondary windings of the resonator are wound on the outer surface of the pipe. The circuit is completely stable and can work for tens or hundreds of hours without interruption.
The device is capable of lighting unplugged energy-saving and neon bulbs up to 70 cm away, and much more, and is a wonderful demonstration device for any school or university laboratory, as well as a tabletop device for entertaining guests or an amazing magic trick device for those who is not indifferent to such scientific toys.
How to melt copper using an electric arc and other experiments with Brovin's kacher
A very interesting device called the “Brovin Kacher” is very popular among radio amateurs. With its help you can observe spectacular corona discharges, lightning, and plasma arcs. Many people on the Internet call the kacher a Tesla coil, but these two are completely different devices with different operating principles. In this article we will talk specifically about the Brovin quality device, perhaps the simplest high-voltage device that you can think of.
Brovin's quality scheme
The circuit is extremely simple, containing only one transistor, a pair of resistors and a pair of capacitors. Capacitors serve to filter the supply voltage, one of them should be electrolytic with a large capacity (470-2200 µF), and the second ceramic or film with a low capacitance (0.1-1 µF), to smooth out high-frequency interference. Two resistors form a voltage divider, one of them should have a small resistance (150-200 Ohms), and the second should have about 10-20 times more resistance. In this case, a trimming resistor can be placed in series with the high-resistance resistor to adjust the quality to the maximum discharge length. There is a mounting location for it on the printed circuit board attached to the article. Almost any powerful transistor can be used in the circuit n-p-n structures. Transistors KT805, KT808, KT809 have proven themselves well. You can also experiment with field ones and install, for example, IRF630, IRF740. The length of the discharges largely depends on the choice of transistor. The transistor must be installed on a radiator, because it generates a large amount of heat. L1 in the diagram is the primary coil, and L2 is the secondary coil, the high-voltage discharge is removed from it.
Device board
The payment is made using the LUT method, a printable file is attached. Terminal blocks are provided on the board to connect power wires and coil outputs.
Download the board:
(downloads: 201)
Manufacturing of a secondary (high voltage) coil
First of all, you need to make a secondary coil. With it, everything is simple and concrete - the more turns, the greater the voltage, and, accordingly, the longer the discharges. You can use enameled copper wire with a cross section of 0.1 - 0.3 mm. It is very convenient to use as a frame for the secondary winding sewer pipe, the optimal diameter is 5-7 cm. You need to wind the wire turn to turn, as carefully as possible. It is advisable to use a single piece of wire so that there are no joints. But if the wire breaks during the process, it’s okay, you can solder the torn piece to it, carefully insulate it and continue winding the turns, it will work in any case.
To speed up the winding process, you can install the pipe on two supports on the left and right so that it rotates freely on them. This will make winding the wire much easier. If you need to leave during work, you can secure the tip of the wire with tape, then you can come back, peel off the tape and continue winding. Under no circumstances should you let go of the tip of the wire, otherwise the tension will disappear, the turns will separate and you will have to start all over again.
After the coil is wound, the turns of wire must be fixed to the pipe. It is best to use a transparent varnish, then the reel will look very beautiful. I coated the coils with regular wax, it did the job, now it will be much more difficult to accidentally damage the thin wire.
A regular wire should be soldered to the lower end of the wire and carefully fixed at the edge of the pipe.
At the upper edge of the pipe there is a so-called “terminal” - the place from which the corona discharge will “emanate”. It is advisable to make it sharp, then the discharge will be concentrated at the tip of the needle. I secured a bolt to the edge of the pipe, and screwed a dart tip onto the bolt, as can be seen in the photo. The secondary coil is ready.
Making the Primary Coil
The primary coil contains 2-5 turns of thick copper wire, with a cross-section of 1.5 - 2.5 mm. It should be located around the secondary coil, its diameter should be 2-3 cm larger. For the frame of the primary coil, you can again use a sewer plastic pipe, you just need to take a piece of pipe with a diameter and length greater than for the secondary one. At a distance of 10 cm from the top of the pipe, two holes are drilled through which the copper wire is threaded. The length of the discharge strongly depends on the number of turns, so their number is selected experimentally.
The wire from the turns themselves must be brought to the bottom of the coil, passing them inside the pipe. Be sure to fix it with glue. The primary coil is ready.
Assembling the Brovin quality
After the coils are wound, you can put everything together. Two round pieces with holes in the center are cut out of penoplex. The secondary coil should fit tightly into the central hole, and the outer diameter of the workpieces should match the diameter of the primary coil.
We place the round blanks inside the large pipe, and then insert the secondary coil into them. If necessary, you need to fix them with glue. The wire from the secondary coil must be routed to the bottom of the large pipe.
Two holes are drilled at the bottom of the large pipe, one for the power connector, the second for the toggle switch.
Now all that remains is to connect the board to the power supply, placing a toggle switch in the positive wire gap, and connect the coil leads.
When all wires are connected, you can check the functionality of the device. Carefully apply voltage to the board. If a small light appears on the terminal, it means the camera is working. If the kacher refuses to work even when the supply voltage increases, the leads of the primary coil should be swapped. Now you can experiment with the number of turns in the primary coil, move the coils relative to each other, finding a position at which the discharge will be maximum. The power supply voltage range of the camera is very wide - a small discharge appears already at 12 volts. As the voltage increases, it increases, and along with it, the heat dissipation on the transistor increases. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor the temperature of the radiator, because an overheated transistor will not work for a long time.
The last thing that remains is to install the board with the radiator inside the large pipe, in its lower part, and place the toggle switch with the connector in the already drilled holes.
This camera looks very impressive even when turned off. You can touch the corona discharge with your finger, it is quite safe, because the current from such a discharge flows along the surface of the skin without penetrating inside. This effect is called the skin effect, it occurs due to the high frequency of the camera. During long-term operation, a large amount of ozone is released, so you should turn on the power generator only in ventilated areas. Also, do not forget about the strong electromagnetic radiation that is created around the device. It can damage other electronic devices, so you should not leave phones, cameras, or tablets nearby. The electromagnetic field created is so strong that gas-discharge (or, more simply put, energy-saving) light bulbs light up on their own near the coil.
IN good time We live - electronics and radio stores have everything. It even somehow became uninteresting. As soon as you get the urge to assemble some kind of laboratory power supply or multi-channel charging, it turns out that the Chinese have already done everything, and at an inexpensive price. But fortunately, their marketing minds have not yet penetrated everywhere. A device like ( high voltage generator - lightning), they haven’t thought of launching it for sale yet, but I think it’s a matter of time. This means you can try to assemble such a thing yourself, especially since the circuit is so simple and reliable that it can be soldered in an hour. Of course, not counting the winding of the coil.
Only 7 details separate you from an interesting device that produces real lightning bolts 5-10 centimeters long (and for some, even 15). The circuit can be safely recommended for beginner radio amateurs who already know how to handle 220V voltage. It is from him, directly, that the kacher feeds. On the one hand, this simplifies the matter, but on the other, it increases the risk.
I won’t write for the hundredth time that if a device has mains power, then you need to keep an eye out and play it safe. I will only say one thing - when you first start up, carry out experiments with a 2-5 ampere fuse and a 100-200 watt incandescent light bulb connected in series with 220V. With it, the qualityr works less well, but you can already understand what works. But in case of accidental short circuits there will be no explosions, but the lamp will simply light up at full power.
Field effect transistor - any high-voltage Mosfet. Found it in a box SSH5N90(900V 5A) - I installed it. Before you put the whole thing in the case, you need to solder it by overhead mounting on a table and achieve reliable operation with maximum spark. At the same time, you will find out whether the selected parts work or not.
The circuit itself is soldered in an hour (with smoke breaks), but the coil takes longer. The primary winding is 4-5 turns of copper wire 1.5-2 mm. It can be even thicker, for stability, because it will hang in the air. The direction of winding is not important, the location on the axis is the same - both at the base and in the center of the secondary it started well. Secondary, that is, high-voltage - 500-1000 turns of PEL 0.3. I used 500 and it worked great, I didn’t even cover it with epoxy. Pipe diameter - 30 mm.
Where should I put it all?
The eternal problem is a good body. Despite a couple of computer power supplies in which some install such circuits, I decided not to use metal. For better electrical safety. After all, we’re not assembling a flashing light!
After some thought, I took as a basis a piece of plastic pipe 120x200 mm, from a kitchen hood. It's round and looks good. It will contain a circuit, a field-effect transistor with a radiator, and a primary circuit. And a secondary with a sharp copper knob will stick out from above.
The top of the case is closed with a lid from a box in which they sell seaweed :) It fit perfectly in diameter.
A slot is made in the lid for the coil, and so that they do not look inside, it is covered with black self-adhesive tape.
The coils were attached to the body through a fiberboard strip left over from the renovation of the balcony, with mounting posts for connecting the three necessary wires.
When designing, keep in mind that the radiator for the transistor requires more than a pack of cigarettes; a small one will get very hot, so you won’t run the heater for a long time. I stopped at 50x100x5 mm, but after 10 minutes it becomes hot.
The second most important thing, after the coil, is throttle. A lot depends on him. A choke inductance of more than 1 Henry and a current of 1 ampere are required. I tried primary ones from network transformers: up to 50 watts it doesn’t work at all, 50-100 watts is good, 100-200 is excellent. It was just a pity to install such powerful ones, I limited myself to 60 watt TN42.
We place everything in a housing on a metal base, to which a throttle, a radiator, and, if anyone wants, are screwed printed circuit board. I didn’t bother making it - I assembled it by hanging it.
The outside of the body is also covered with self-adhesive tape, and the coil is wrapped with black electrical tape. I was afraid that it would work poorly with her, but it worked out.
After placing it in the case, we turn it on again not directly to 220V, but through a fuse lamp. There may be no sparks with it, but the rumbling of the circuit and the glow of the neon light near the coil will tell that everything all right.
It's better to see once
We finally assemble the body, wait for darkness, and watch an amazing spectacle, inaccessible to mere mortals :) Sparks - just like electroflower. Beauty! Friends came and stuck in with awe :))
It’s a shame that with such simplicity, a pitcher on one unfortunate field worker works better than a whole one. Although maybe she was just in a bad mood...
Discuss the article KACHER ON A FIELD TRANSISTOR
Kacher Brovina is an original version of an electromagnetic oscillation generator. It can be assembled using various active radioelements. At the moment, when assembling it, field or, less commonly, radio tubes (triodes and pentodes) are used. The Brovin Kacher was invented in 1987 by Soviet radio engineer Vladimir Ilyich Brovin as an element of an electromagnetic compass. Let's take a closer look at what kind of device this is.
Unknown capabilities of semiconductor elements
Brovin's kacher is a type of generator assembled on a single transistor and operating, according to the inventor, in abnormal mode. The device exhibits mysterious properties that date back to the research of Nikola Tesla. They do not fit into any of the modern theories of electromagnetism. Apparently, Brovin's kacher is a kind of semiconductor spark gap in which the discharge electric current passes through the crystalline base of the transistor, bypassing the stage of formation (plasma). The most interesting thing about the operation of the device is that after a breakdown, the transistor crystal is completely restored. This is explained by the fact that the operation of the device is based on reversible avalanche breakdown, in contrast to thermal breakdown, which is irreversible for a semiconductor. However, only indirect statements are given as evidence of this mode of operation of the transistor. No one, except the inventor himself, has studied the operation of the transistor in the described device in detail. So these are just assumptions by Brovin himself. So, for example, to confirm the “black” mode of operation of the device, the inventor cites the following fact: they say, no matter what polarity the oscilloscope is connected to the device, the polarity of the pulses shown by it will always be positive.
Maybe kacher is a type of blocking generator?
There is also such a version. After all, the electrical circuit of the device strongly resembles an electrical pulse generator. Nevertheless, the author of the invention emphasizes that his device has a non-obvious difference from the proposed circuits. It provides an alternative explanation for the occurrence of physical processes inside the transistor. In a blocking oscillator, the semiconductor periodically opens as a result of the flow of electric current through the feedback coil of the base circuit. In quality, the transistor must be constantly closed in a so-called non-obvious way (since the creation of an electromotive force in the feedback coil connected to the base circuit of the semiconductor can still open it). In this case, the current generated by the accumulation of electrical charges in the base zone for further discharge, at the moment the threshold voltage value is exceeded, creates an avalanche breakdown. However, the transistors used by Brovin are not designed to operate in avalanche mode. A special series of semiconductors has been designed for this purpose. According to the inventor, it is possible to use not only bipolar transistors, but also field-effect and radio tubes, despite the fact that they have fundamentally different physics of operation. This forces us to focus not on research on the transistor itself in the quality, but on the specific pulse mode of operation of the entire circuit. In fact, Nikola Tesla was engaged in these studies.
Inventor about the device
In 1987, Brovin was designing a compass that would allow the user to determine the cardinal directions not through sight, but through hearing. He planned to use a changing tone according to the location of the device relative to the planet's magnetic field. I used a blocking generator as a basis, improved it, and the resulting device was later called Brovin’s kacher. The reliable generator circuit turned out to be very useful: it was built according to the classical principle, only a feedback circuit was added based on an inductance core based on amorphous iron. It changes the magnetic permeability at low strengths (for example, the magnetic field of a planet). The audio compass worked when the orientation changed, as intended.
By-effect
An analysis of the properties of the assembled circuit revealed some inconsistencies in its operation with generally accepted concepts. It turned out that the signals received at the electrodes of the semiconductor transistor, measured with an oscilloscope relative to the positive and negative poles of the voltage source, always had the same polarity. So, the npn transistor produced a positive signal at the collector, and pnp - a negative one. It is this effect that makes Brovin’s kacher interesting. The device circuit contains inductance, which during operation of the device has a resistance close to zero. The generator continues to operate even when a powerful permanent magnet approaches the core. The magnet saturates the core, as a result the blocking process must stop due to the cessation of transformation in the feedback circuit of the circuit. At the same time, no hysteresis was detected in the core; it could not be detected using Lissajous figures. The amplitude of the pulses at the collector of the transistor turned out to be five times higher than the voltage of the power source.
Kacher Brovina: practical application
Currently, the device is used as a plasma spark gap to create electric current pulses without arcing in experimental devices. The duo most often used is the Brovin kacher and This is due to the fact that the arc arising in the spark gap, in principle, serves as a broadband generator of electrical oscillations. This was the only device for creating high-frequency pulses available to Nikola Tesla. In addition, the inventor has created measuring devices based on the kacher, which make it possible to determine the absolute value between the generator and the radiation sensor.
Scientists shrug their shoulders
The above description of the device and the principle of its operation (and this is visible visually) contradict traditional science. The inventor himself openly demonstrates these contradictions; he asks everyone to work together to understand the paradoxical measurements of the parameters of his device. However, the position of openness on this issue has not yet led to any results; scientists cannot explain the physical processes in the semiconductor.
It is important
The description of the Brovin kacher effect in nearby space may turn out to be a way of reversing the spins of the atoms of surrounding substances. This is indicated by the author of the invention in an experiment with enclosing the device in a sealed glass vessel, from which the air was pumped out to reduce the pressure level in it. As a result of the experiment, there is no over-unit effect that would allow the device to be classified as not (with the exception of real experiments on energy transfer through a wire). This was first demonstrated by Nikola Tesla. However, possible incorrect power meter readings are explained by the pulsed, very inharmonious nature of the current flow in the power consumption circuits of the power supply. While measuring instruments such as testers are designed for either direct or sinusoidal (harmonic) current.
How to assemble a Brovin kacher with your own hands
If, after reading the article, you are interested in this device, you can assemble it yourself. The device is so simple that even a novice radio amateur can make it. The Brovin Kacher (diagram shown below) is powered by a modified 12 V, 2 A network adapter and consumes 20 W. It converts an electrical signal into a 1 MHz field with an efficiency of 90%. For assembly we need a plastic pipe 80x200 mm. The primary and secondary windings of the resonator will be wound on it. The entire electronic part of the device is located in the middle of this pipe. This circuit is completely stable, it can work for hundreds of hours without interruption. The self-powered Brovin Kacher is interesting in that it is capable of lighting unconnected neon lamps at a distance of up to 70 cm. It is a wonderful demonstration device for a school or university laboratory, as well as a tabletop device for entertaining guests or performing magic tricks.
Description of the electrical circuit assembly
The author of the invention recommends using a bipolar transistor KT902A or KT805AM (however, you can assemble a Brovin kacher on a field-effect transistor). The semiconductor element must be mounted on a powerful radiator, having previously been lubricated with thermal conductive paste. You can additionally install a cooler. It is permissible to use constant resistors, and exclude capacitor C1 altogether. First, you should wind the primary winding with a wire of 1 mm (4 turns), then the secondary winding with a wire no thicker than 0.3 mm. The winding is wound tightly turn to turn. To do this, we attach its end to the beginning of the pipe and begin to wind it, coating the wire with PVA glue every 20 mm. It is enough to make 800 turns. We fix the end and solder an insulated conductor to it. The windings should be wound in one direction, it is important that they do not touch. Next, you need to solder a sewing needle into the upper part of the pipe and solder the end of the winding to it. Next, we solder the electrical circuit and place it together with the radiator inside the plastic pipe. This elementary device is Brovin’s kacher.
How to make an “ion engine”?
We start the assembled device with a minimum voltage of 4 volts, then gradually begin to increase it, while not forgetting to monitor the current. If you assembled a circuit using a KT902A transistor, then the streamer at the end of the needle should appear at 4 volts. It will increase as the voltage increases. When it reaches 16 volts it will turn into a “fluffy”. At 18 V it will increase to about 17 mm, and at 20 V the electrical discharges will resemble a real ion engine in operation.
Conclusion
As you can see, the device is simple and does not require large expenses. You can assemble it together with your child, because children love to play with “pieces of iron.” And here there is a double advantage: not only will the baby be busy, he will also gain confidence in his abilities. He will be able to participate in a school exhibition with his creation or show off to friends. Who knows, maybe, thanks to the assembly of such a basic toy, he will develop an interest in radio electronics, and in the future your child will be the author of some invention.