tickle stick

[High4Volts]

As i was thumbing through a new catalog from Ramsey. I noticed a "tickle stick" kit in the "mini-kits" section of there catalog that was said to produce a pulsing 80 volts. Anyone have a schematic for making one of these?

[terri]

Use a new feather duster. No batteries rqd.<p>Probably the simplest (KISS) way to do this is to make a buzzer out of a relay and take the HV off the coil --just to verify the effect you desire:<p>One supply pole to the normally-closed contact of the relay, the other supply pole to one end of the coil. Other end of the coil goes to the movable contact (armature contact) of the relay. Apply enough voltage (polarity immaterial) to make the relay buzz. Output is directly off the coil to whatever terminals or probes desired. Whilst buzzing, the rapidly-collapsing field of the coil will generate enought voltage to light a small gaseous tube (NE-2 to NE-51, eg.) Apply enough input voltage and you can get a small flourescent tube to light.<p>On a 'scope, I measured 320 volts spiking off the coil with 3 volts applied (this was when I was a kid and someone had just given me a Hickox 505A 'scope. Mucho fun, that 'scope.)<p>Some early automotive ignition systems used this kind of circuit to kick the primary of an HV spark coil.<p>Unless you use a real BMF relay, the output will be pretty harmless but unpleasant just applied to the skin. Use lower voltage to get to the "tickling" range. Don't apply to someone with a pacemaker --I'm sure the kit supplier will have all kinds of cautions like this. Use common sense.<p>For silent operation, I'm sure someone will come up with a 555 circuit, or just an xsistor oscillator/inverter.<p>Or use a feather duster --which I will not describe in detail.<p>[ December 23, 2004: Message edited by: terri ]<p>[ December 23, 2004: Message edited by: terri ]</p>

[dacflyer]

i'd use a 555 timer circuit in osolator mode
and one of them 1000 to 8 ohm transformers that the shit shack sells (radio shack) pin 3 output to the 8ohm side..the 1000ohm side will create the tickle you'd desire..its low current too.
Is that easy enough?