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PG13

 

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Ramsey Electronics Model No.     PG13 

Have you ever wanted to play with a controlled substance? Now 
you can! It is called plasma, and it is easily generated by this 
nifty high voltage kit. This is the same though more powerful 
supply that is used in Plasma Balls and neon art, and can be 
used for all sorts of high voltage experiments! Turn a standard 
light bulb into a plasma sphere! 

Perfect for driving a Jacob’s ladder. See plasma at work! 

Can light many feet of neon tubing 

Perfect for driving plasma balls, even make a standard light bulb 
into a plasma sphere! 

Optional 12VAC transformer and this kit are all you need to begin 
experimenting! 

Can generate sparks up to 2 inches. 

Very thorough manual on high voltage safety, many neat 
experiments, and lessons learned along the way. 

Can produce many of the same effects as Tesla Coil, on a smaller 
scale. 

Great for science fairs! 

DANGER

HIGH VOLTAGE

See instruction manual before operation

Summary of Contents for PG13

Page 1: ...a plasma sphere Perfect for driving a Jacob s ladder See plasma at work Can light many feet of neon tubing Perfect for driving plasma balls even make a standard light bulb into a plasma sphere Option...

Page 2: ...ctance Capacitance Meter RAMSEY AMATEUR RADIO KITS HR Series HF All Mode Receivers QRP Series HF CW Transmitters CW7 CW Keyer CPO3 Code Practice Oscillator QRP Power Amplifiers RAMSEY MINI KITS Many o...

Page 3: ...rcuit Operation 12 Learn As You Build 16 Parts List 18 Assembly 19 Schematic 24 Power Supply 25 Testing 28 Troubleshooting 31 Experiments 32 Component Placement 42 Warranty 43 KIT ASSEMBLY AND INSTRUC...

Page 4: ...HE most dangerous household appliance to service There is high voltage up to 5 000 V or more at high current more than an amp may be available momentarily This is an instantly lethal combination TVs a...

Page 5: ...be sure that it is also safe Don t work alone in the event of an emergency another person s presence may be essential Always keep one hand in your pocket when anywhere around a powered line connected...

Page 6: ...reference end of the meter or scope to the appropriate ground return so that you need to only probe with one hand Perform as many tests as possible with power off and the equipment unplugged For examp...

Page 7: ...highest ohms range to measure the resistance between the Hot Neutral prongs of the wall plug shorted together and with the power switch on where one exists to ALL exposed metal parts of the equipment...

Page 8: ...r of 15 ms The frequency at which action potentials fire is governed by this recovery So action potentials can fire about 60 times per second Stimulation at higher frequencies would for all intents an...

Page 9: ...a perfect experimenter s coil No more stopping at the side of the road at an old console TV to see if the flyback is usable So what the heck is plasma you may ask No it s not the plasma in your blood...

Page 10: ...uum pump at home when I was a kid and a large green wine bottle The best I ever got was 4 streamers at the very bottom which were white due to the quantity of water vapor coming back through my hose W...

Page 11: ...ms Argon Streamers are violet lavender The ends are blue violet lavender Argon and neon A mixture of around 99 5 percent neon 5 percent argon has the lowest voltage requirement but may not look as goo...

Page 12: ...ave been perfect to get 12 volts up to 25kV using a low number of turns on the primary but the resonance was around 13kHz The sound this emits is intolerable for any length of time The coil also had t...

Page 13: ...k start for the oscillator These resistors provide some current to turn the transistors on Because no two transistors are perfectly alike one will turn on before the other providing an imbalance In Fi...

Page 14: ...nd out what we have for output voltage is a simple matter of turns ratios See the chart below to see the transformer secondary windings that were in the different models of transformers that I sampled...

Page 15: ...ich can also be described as overshoot Typically under varying load conditions the overshoot will change about 20 or in other words add about 3 5kV to our output 17 066 KVAC 3 5 KVAC 20 56KVAC This ri...

Page 16: ...both wires and pads simultaneously Apply the solder to the iron and the pad when the pad is hot enough to melt the solder The finished joint should look like a drop of water on paper somewhat soaked i...

Page 17: ...ow the PC board drawing and the written directions for all parts especially when there s a right way and a wrong way to solder it in Diode bands electrolytic capacitor polarity transistor shapes dotte...

Page 18: ...larger than ceramic C5 6 1 10uF Electrolytic capacitor C2 2 3300 or 4700uF Electrolytic capacitors C3 C4 Transformer 1 High voltage transformer winding Marked CHT 0126G XFMR1 2 U cores 2 0 25mm nylon...

Page 19: ...the other 0 1uF Mylar capacitor marked 104 10 Install D2 one of the 1N5408 rectifier diodes Note the end of the diode with the line or band This is the cathode end Current can only flow into this lea...

Page 20: ...r lines up with the center hole of HS1 22 Using one of the 4 40 x 1 4 screws and a 4 40 lock nut secure the tab of Q1 to the heatsink Tighten the screw securely so that the tab of the transistor is fl...

Page 21: ...for you to grip while switching on the power so your project doesn t slide around when trying to turn off the power 39 Using the 6 32 x 1 2 screw thread it through from the bottom of the board to the...

Page 22: ...you come in contact with it Use the utmost caution on this step and grab the emergency oven mitt if needed 42 Looking at the transformer you ll see that it has a wire coming out of it Cut the wire so...

Page 23: ...hey look nice and clean with no questionable connections 4 Check all hardware for a nice mechanical fit and that the heatsinks are securely attached to the transistors Now on to the fun Testing the PG...

Page 24: ...PG13 24 PG13 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM...

Page 25: ...end of your grounding wire to the PG13 s J1 hole marked GND Wrap the ground wire around the power lead of the transformer back to the transformer for neatness so that things don t become tangled On th...

Page 26: ...fications Voltage range 5 volts or less to 15 volts maximum Current capability At least 3 amps continuous 5 amps preferable Regulation Non critical does not need to be regulated You may not want to de...

Page 27: ...l and earth ground on your power supply Otherwise use the center screw on a wall plug face plate Cool Pictures These two pictures were taken with the camera on a tripod so that the shut ter could be l...

Page 28: ...eter into AC mode DC for DC Note the polarity connections above With nothing touching the high voltage terminal switch on the power The first thing you should notice is the LED lighting Hopefully the...

Page 29: ...draw you a few simple diagrams to show you where this current flow is going 0 1pF 40pF through soles of shoes 100 300pF into the air 0 1pF 20pF through handle C u r r e n t Flow C u r r e n t F l o w...

Page 30: ...ects are interrelated however so here is the basic principle of the neon bulb circuit and why it lights The advantage of using a neon bulb in this fashion is that neon ionizes quite easily In the case...

Page 31: ...your high voltage section PROBLEM It was working fine for a while when I ran it off of 16 VAC or more then it quit SOLUTION You are on your own here but I will give you some pointers With the power of...

Page 32: ...f silly putty gum or even tape A pin all metal no plastic pin heads allowed 1 Turn off the power 2 Affix the pin to the top electrode so the pin point is facing upward Make sure it is mechanically sou...

Page 33: ...om the point Now if the point is able to move we know from physics that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction Therefore when the ions are repulsed from the sharp point the sharp poi...

Page 34: ...to cut a piece of thin sheet metal or soda can to the appropriate size Towards the back of this manual there is a stencil you may use to make your own pinwheel Cut it out or copy that page and use it...

Page 35: ...pieces of wire to about 1 foot long These need to be fairly straight for the most part and stiff to hold the shape you will put in them See diagram on the left 2 Bend each wire identically as shown Th...

Page 36: ...u could draw a hotter spark The problem is that we also run into other problems too like power dissipation the heatsinks would no longer be adequate and strange oscillation effects caused by the varyi...

Page 37: ...of the tips of the filament holders The best you will see is the entire light bulb lit up by purple and orange streamers Try holding your hand near the bulb and watch the streamers reach to your fing...

Page 38: ...referably brass or aluminum and round one end to a semi circle Otherwise use 1 8 rod up to the sphere instead A U shaped wood routing hand tool that has a shape approximately that of the lip of the gl...

Page 39: ...h and things will stay together 11 Use a permanent marker to put alignment marks on the dome and vinyl base This will allow you to remove and replace the dome as needed for experiments Silicone sealan...

Page 40: ...suddenly the arc will go through the glass rather than around it This shows why you do not want to lean any objects on your light bulb plasma display The glass will become hot enough to melt and then...

Page 41: ...periments Go to the Ramsey Electronics web site and go to the bulletin board under hobby kits We will have a forum on the Plasma Generator kits where people will share design ideas and experiments Pin...

Page 42: ...PG13 42 Component Placement...

Page 43: ...be assured that the 1K ohm resistors are actually the missing 10 K parts Hum m m I guess the red band really does look orange Ramsey Electronics project kits are packed with pride in the USA If you b...

Page 44: ...TOOLS Soldering Iron Ramsey WLC100 Thin Rosin Core Solder Ramsey RTS12 Needle Nose Pliers Ramsey MPP4 or RTS05 Small Diagonal Cutters Ramsey RTS04 OR Technician s Tool Kit TK405 ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED...

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