Dr Stiffler SEC 1 AA battery setup

This is a modified Dr. Stiffler SEC that I have working on (1) AA battery. While waiting on a critical part to arrive, I adjusted the circuit to run two LEDs on 1.5 volts by using the parts that I had on hand. I also adjusted the arrangement of two of the inductors to make it work. This is NOT the correct method nor the circuit needed to achieve good results like Dr. Stiffler has. It is just something I came up with that somehow worked to light up a pair of LEDs.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Dr. Stiffler SEC
• Energy Electronics
• Lighting

[Pirate88179]

Lid:

Great replication with a few twists there.  I have followed Dr. Stiffler's work but have not tried to replicate yet. Great job!

Bill

[Lidmotor]

Bill-- Try this one. There are similarities to the Joule Thief but it is very different and a facinating circuit. You need an MPSA06 transistor to make it work right. You can get them online (even on Ebay) for about $6 for 100. They also run in a JT circuit just fine. The 2n2222 can't handle this circuit. They burn up quick. The TIP3055 worked for me if I changed the coil configuration to the wrong way. Others have not gotten it to work at all. I have alot to learn about this circuit.

[lvecsey]

I have this large (3" diameter by 6" height or so) 6volt 22 Farad capacitor. I think that's the capacity since it had a large 22,000 number on it. Maybe I can charge it up and run a 12volt camera (150ma draw) for a while, or for some other project. I haven't checked the forums for the Stiffler but would like to hear more about the intended goal. By the way I enjoyed the Silent Running movie and your past vids, I saw the movie per your recommendation.

[Lidmotor]

Ivecsey---- That capacitor is probably a 20,000uf (micro farad). That is a big cap but not a super capacitor. I would not run anything very long. Maybe an LED would work.

[horta1212]

I don't get it....what's the point? You're matching the inductor frequencies so they resonate so they can transfer the energy. But it's wasting energy, and it won't transmit far. You're likely operating at high frequencies which would allow a capacitor to act as a ground for the LEDs. Earth ground is best. The bread board itself has a decent amount of capacitance though. Nothing magical going on.

[foxiprouter]

Good Kacher!

[Lidmotor]

If I don't get the fluorescent lighting how I want it on this circuit, then the LED approach makes the most sense on this one.

[Drevtoobe]

It may be that over-driving the LED with a 5% duty cycle (or 1% etc) will be "banging" away at the PN junction and may reduce it's life. However, that may not be significant for your application since LEDs last indefinitely if you are nice to them.

Anyway, that's just me going into engineering mode once in a while. My gut feel is that you may be able to get 50% more apparent brightness out of an LED by over-driving it. It's sorta like overclocking your PC gaming rig!! lol

[Drevtoobe]

Of course, nothing is stopping you from "pushing the envelope" if you want to.

For example, if you are pulsing an LED with short "on" spikes and leaving it off 95% of the time, you have the option of over-driving the LED to make it flash extra extra bright. The brief "on" current would actually burn up the LED if if was always on. But since you are spiking, your average power is low enough for the heat to dissipate out of the LED PN junction.

[Drevtoobe]

It's that second graph that you should pay close attention to. I am assuming that you will see that above a certain current level, the increases in current consumption do not give you nearly the same increases in intensity. That is our good old friend, the "Law of Diminishing Returns" coming into play here. The conclusion being that you may not want to over-drive your LEDs to make them brighter because you may have to pay too high a price in current consumption.

Nutshell version: Sweet spot

[Drevtoobe]

Mr. Lidmotor, since lighting is your forte, I have a few generic thoughts on LEDs for you. If you look at an LED datasheet you may see the graph of the "IV" curve, showing you the relationship between the voltage and current through the diode. As per any diode, the current starts to shoot up as you go above 0.6 V or 1.2 V depending on the LED.

There may also be a graph showing you the LED intensity vs. current consumption also.