Can you please make a video on "how-to" harness the Fuji circuit from the disposable cameras? I'm unsure on exactly what parts to use and what not to use.
There is a great how to video on modifying the Fuji on here somewhere. I can't recall who did it but he did a great job. A search will find it. Yes, be very careful of that capacitor and discharge it safely using an insulated tool. Even if you never turned on the camera, it can still have a charge in it.
That is very cool stuff. I want to make stuff like that for my wife.
I found that Walgreens Pharmacy stores will give you the used disposable cameras; however many that you want. -Just go over to their photo lab and ask for them. I prefer the Fuji Brand.
Have you done the longevity test comparison between these three bulbs? If so, what were the results?
"Tupperware Torchlight for two in a tent" -- I love it! Your innovations will bless the less fortunate in developing countries where using a single AA battery for reliable bright light can mean the difference between life and death. Thank you!
@jmjpowerjoule I'm also hoping Pirate has time for a large close up of the schematics as I couldn't read them on screen. Lots of our Solar CITIES colleagues in Africa and the Mid East and in Nepal are eager to start applying his genius solution, particularly because it makes use of "throw away" "dead" batteries. Great for sustainable development in the "third world."
@Pirate88179 No I just meant that to the human eye it takes 4 times as much light in order for it to be twice as noticeably bright. The human eye works on a power scale, I wasn't referring to the webcam. As far as your website, I was just asking if you had one =D
hahaha that part about the schematic had me cracking up! That's some pretty cool stuff! Unfortunate that it takes 4 times the amount of light to produce twice the amount of noticeable light though. Out of curiosity, do you have a website?
I do not understand what you mean here. If you are referencing the amount of light in the video, please know that any video cam shutter ramps down as ambient light is increased. If this is not what you meant, let me know.
Yes, schematic did NOT show up as I had hoped. My website is for my business which is not related to the JT. All info is over at overunitydotcom in the many joule thief topic areas. Great ideas over there.
@Pirate88179 Thats great. I was going to remove the ballast and solder directly to the wires. But you are correct much more usefull with them intact. I will have to build a few using them instead of the cfl's. They seem much brighter. :O)
I was going to take one apart at first but it appears very hard to do so I just tried it as is and it works well, even though I am not sure why. It might be even brighter with the base removed but, I have not tried that yet. It also might be dimmer, ha ha. That's what experiments are for I suppose. Let me know how you make out.
LOL for the schematic!! That last picture was lost due to the video encoding.
I agree on using LED's over CFL's for your reason (more light) and for more safety since CFL's contain toxic Mercury. If they break, they contaminate a house with poison.
There was some high-pitched noise near one of your lights... was that the CFL? If the LED's were quieter, that would be a 3rd reason to choose LED's.
Yes, you are correct. the 1,000 volt circuit I used for the CFL makes a lot of noise. you are correct about the mercury in the tubes and cfls's which is why I have now switched to leds for all future lighting experiments
@Pirate88179 Glad you are switching to LED's. Me, too. I still have some aging CFL's but when they die, I will replace them with LED's.
Since the government passed a law effectively outlawing incandescent bulbs starting next year, I fear many more CFL's will work their way inside homes, will break, and result in Mercury poisoning. It's going to happen. We had a lamp fall over in our house a couple weeks back and broke the bulb. Luckily it was an incandescent. If it had been CFL, ouch!
Yes, if you break a CFL you have to call the hazmat folks...pretty stupid if you ask me. Plus, to me there is no savings as I have had like 6 of them burn out in less than a year...2 actually caught fire!! I never leave them on when not at home. LEDs are the way to go.
@Pirate88179 CFL's caught fire!? Wow. I agree with you that they don't last as long as advertised. I have already had multiple CFL's go dark after less than a couple years of use. One good thing about them: they contain toroids. :-) As you know, those are used in the Joule Thief, so at least CFL's contribute that needed part, although care must be used to extract them without letting Mercury out.
The toroids in the cfls I have taken apart are not ferrite but powdered iron and do not work as well for the JT circuit from my experience. I like using ferrite toroids that have high permeability for best results.
@Pirate88179 Interesting. I have two JT's running with toroids from broken CFL's. Since I have nothing else to compare them to, I thought they were functioning great. Next time I build a JT, I'll have to use a different toroid to see what you're talking about. I'm not sure I understand the difference yet, but thanks for the tip.
That is good. Many folks in our research group have tried those powdered iron toroids and failed, and the ones that got them to work, they did not work efficiently at all. I suppose it all depends on the windings, wire sizes, transistor, etc. So, if yours are working, you did a great job. Plus, are they not very small? Mine were and would not allow many windings at all. Possibly we have different toroids in our cfls? Do you have a video of your circuits?
@Pirate88179 Yes, I did make a video. It's called "Joule Thief from Scrap Parts". I made the video 4 months ago and every day since then, including right this moment, the JT continues to power a blue LED on my bench. That demonstrates that the toroid from a CFL is working here. I would love for you to take a look. Maybe you will see something different that might open up CFL's as a possible choice for toroids for you, if you have a need for them.
could you add a solar pannel if you wanted to? and how would you do that?
theonelinerkid 4 days ago
@theonelinerkid
Yes. Lasersaber did just that a while back. Check his videos here on youtube.
Pirate88179 4 days ago
Can you please make a video on "how-to" harness the Fuji circuit from the disposable cameras? I'm unsure on exactly what parts to use and what not to use.
Are there any precautions to take when doing so?
jmjpowerjoule 1 month ago in playlist More videos from Pirate88179
@jmjpowerjoule
There is a great how to video on modifying the Fuji on here somewhere. I can't recall who did it but he did a great job. A search will find it. Yes, be very careful of that capacitor and discharge it safely using an insulated tool. Even if you never turned on the camera, it can still have a charge in it.
Bill
Pirate88179 3 weeks ago
That is very cool stuff. I want to make stuff like that for my wife.
I found that Walgreens Pharmacy stores will give you the used disposable cameras; however many that you want. -Just go over to their photo lab and ask for them. I prefer the Fuji Brand.
Have you done the longevity test comparison between these three bulbs? If so, what were the results?
Keep up the excellent work.
jmjpowerjoule 1 month ago in playlist More videos from Pirate88179
"Tupperware Torchlight for two in a tent" -- I love it! Your innovations will bless the less fortunate in developing countries where using a single AA battery for reliable bright light can mean the difference between life and death. Thank you!
tculhane 7 months ago
As for posting your schematics; could you please post a large close-up of each schematic one at a time, so that I could see them better?
Thanks.
jmjpowerjoule 8 months ago
@jmjpowerjoule I'm also hoping Pirate has time for a large close up of the schematics as I couldn't read them on screen. Lots of our Solar CITIES colleagues in Africa and the Mid East and in Nepal are eager to start applying his genius solution, particularly because it makes use of "throw away" "dead" batteries. Great for sustainable development in the "third world."
tculhane 7 months ago
@Pirate88179 No I just meant that to the human eye it takes 4 times as much light in order for it to be twice as noticeably bright. The human eye works on a power scale, I wasn't referring to the webcam. As far as your website, I was just asking if you had one =D
Krb68691 8 months ago
hahaha that part about the schematic had me cracking up! That's some pretty cool stuff! Unfortunate that it takes 4 times the amount of light to produce twice the amount of noticeable light though. Out of curiosity, do you have a website?
Krb68691 8 months ago
@Krb68691
I do not understand what you mean here. If you are referencing the amount of light in the video, please know that any video cam shutter ramps down as ambient light is increased. If this is not what you meant, let me know.
Bill
Bill
Pirate88179 8 months ago
@Krb68691
Yes, schematic did NOT show up as I had hoped. My website is for my business which is not related to the JT. All info is over at overunitydotcom in the many joule thief topic areas. Great ideas over there.
Bill
Pirate88179 3 weeks ago
Hi pirate did you remove the led bulbs from the ballast or connect directly to the bottom pins?
Armookie 8 months ago
@Armookie
I used them "as is" without taking them apart. This allows me to use them on grid power, or on the JT which is very handy.
Bill
Pirate88179 8 months ago
@Pirate88179 Thats great. I was going to remove the ballast and solder directly to the wires. But you are correct much more usefull with them intact. I will have to build a few using them instead of the cfl's. They seem much brighter. :O)
Armookie 8 months ago
@Armookie
I was going to take one apart at first but it appears very hard to do so I just tried it as is and it works well, even though I am not sure why. It might be even brighter with the base removed but, I have not tried that yet. It also might be dimmer, ha ha. That's what experiments are for I suppose. Let me know how you make out.
Bill
Pirate88179 8 months ago
LOL for the schematic!! That last picture was lost due to the video encoding.
I agree on using LED's over CFL's for your reason (more light) and for more safety since CFL's contain toxic Mercury. If they break, they contaminate a house with poison.
There was some high-pitched noise near one of your lights... was that the CFL? If the LED's were quieter, that would be a 3rd reason to choose LED's.
field16b 9 months ago
@field16b
Yes, you are correct. the 1,000 volt circuit I used for the CFL makes a lot of noise. you are correct about the mercury in the tubes and cfls's which is why I have now switched to leds for all future lighting experiments
I appreciate your comments here.
Bill..
Pirate88179 9 months ago
@Pirate88179 Glad you are switching to LED's. Me, too. I still have some aging CFL's but when they die, I will replace them with LED's.
Since the government passed a law effectively outlawing incandescent bulbs starting next year, I fear many more CFL's will work their way inside homes, will break, and result in Mercury poisoning. It's going to happen. We had a lamp fall over in our house a couple weeks back and broke the bulb. Luckily it was an incandescent. If it had been CFL, ouch!
field16b 9 months ago
@field16b
Yes, if you break a CFL you have to call the hazmat folks...pretty stupid if you ask me. Plus, to me there is no savings as I have had like 6 of them burn out in less than a year...2 actually caught fire!! I never leave them on when not at home. LEDs are the way to go.
Bill
Pirate88179 9 months ago
@Pirate88179 CFL's caught fire!? Wow. I agree with you that they don't last as long as advertised. I have already had multiple CFL's go dark after less than a couple years of use. One good thing about them: they contain toroids. :-) As you know, those are used in the Joule Thief, so at least CFL's contribute that needed part, although care must be used to extract them without letting Mercury out.
field16b 9 months ago
@field16b
The toroids in the cfls I have taken apart are not ferrite but powdered iron and do not work as well for the JT circuit from my experience. I like using ferrite toroids that have high permeability for best results.
Bill
Pirate88179 9 months ago
@Pirate88179 Interesting. I have two JT's running with toroids from broken CFL's. Since I have nothing else to compare them to, I thought they were functioning great. Next time I build a JT, I'll have to use a different toroid to see what you're talking about. I'm not sure I understand the difference yet, but thanks for the tip.
field16b 9 months ago
@field16b
That is good. Many folks in our research group have tried those powdered iron toroids and failed, and the ones that got them to work, they did not work efficiently at all. I suppose it all depends on the windings, wire sizes, transistor, etc. So, if yours are working, you did a great job. Plus, are they not very small? Mine were and would not allow many windings at all. Possibly we have different toroids in our cfls? Do you have a video of your circuits?
Pirate88179 9 months ago
@Pirate88179 Yes, I did make a video. It's called "Joule Thief from Scrap Parts". I made the video 4 months ago and every day since then, including right this moment, the JT continues to power a blue LED on my bench. That demonstrates that the toroid from a CFL is working here. I would love for you to take a look. Maybe you will see something different that might open up CFL's as a possible choice for toroids for you, if you have a need for them.
field16b 9 months ago
good light is always good, plus those bulbs always remind me of the Coneheads =)
Magneticitist 10 months ago
@Magneticitist
Yes, me too. (On the coneheads) There is a lot of light here for very little energy.
Bill
Pirate88179 10 months ago