WAT IZZ IT?
Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2020 8:58 pm
Being in electronics since day 3, we get dumped on for all sorts of odd problems.
Recently, a friend dropped off a rather interesting 'gizmo' and a story to go with it. He ordered a 'fiber optic light kit' quite some time ago and just got around to getting into it. What he found in the box is a bit of a puzzle. First there was a real el-cheapo fiber light which was a small hand full of fibers and a toy-like pink plastic base that held 3 batteries and a couple of colored LED. Put in the batteries push in the fibers and the colored lights flash making a feeble attempt to light the fibers. Amazon has them right now, for ...$0.99 +shipping..No kidding.
But..
Also in the box was a poly bag with a PCB, a small hand full of parts, and a coil wound with a single strand of fine wire, about .75" diameter and 2" long. The instruction papers are all printed in, I think, Chinese. Gratefully there was a board schematic but no other information. The circuit appears to be an oscillator, with a couple of small transistors, and power transistors, two 3.5mm Jacks, helpfully marked J1 and J2. There’s a couple of pots, a pinch of resistors with a sprinkling of some small value caps. The board screening has a circle the size of the coil so it looks like the coil stands tall on the board.
Looking at the schematic, it appears to be an oscillator, probably RF. Since the coil is just a single layer without a primary, it is likely not high voltage, but it does have one longer wire tail?
So far this looks like it has absolutely no relationship to the enclosed fiber lamp, aside from both being in the same box.
It gets better, there's more....
In another box was a carefully wrapped 3-4" solid glass globe that has a neck, similar to a typical old-school light bulb. The neck has a recess in the bottom and there is a short solid glass stem with a metal cap? Ah-ha! Maybe that cap is related to the long tail on the coil? And No. this is NOT an evacuation tip. This bugger is solid glass and heavy. Looking carefully at the globe, inside there appears to be some flakes of material in a ring, or constellation like pattern, and there are more random flakes of whatever it is, scattered about.
So, from all this, I surmised that the material in the globe may illuminate, glow, twinkle, sparkle, or whatever, when it is excited in the presence of an 'energy field' from the PCB.
There was nothing else. No housing stand or other treasures inside the China Post package..... It sure looks like someone just swept the floor, tossed it all in the box and away it went across the pond.
Although I found the cheap fiber lamp online, nothing that resembles the rest could be located. He is trying to get a refund for his $149.00... but because in the time that passed since the order was received, he has lost the paperwork and is being stonewalled by PayPal. If he fails to get a refund, then I'll assemble the board and let you know what happens..unless It 'Beams Me Up' !
If you have ever seen such a thing, or are so inclined to comment, I would certainly appreciate anything to 'shed light' on this .....thing!
Recently, a friend dropped off a rather interesting 'gizmo' and a story to go with it. He ordered a 'fiber optic light kit' quite some time ago and just got around to getting into it. What he found in the box is a bit of a puzzle. First there was a real el-cheapo fiber light which was a small hand full of fibers and a toy-like pink plastic base that held 3 batteries and a couple of colored LED. Put in the batteries push in the fibers and the colored lights flash making a feeble attempt to light the fibers. Amazon has them right now, for ...$0.99 +shipping..No kidding.
But..
Also in the box was a poly bag with a PCB, a small hand full of parts, and a coil wound with a single strand of fine wire, about .75" diameter and 2" long. The instruction papers are all printed in, I think, Chinese. Gratefully there was a board schematic but no other information. The circuit appears to be an oscillator, with a couple of small transistors, and power transistors, two 3.5mm Jacks, helpfully marked J1 and J2. There’s a couple of pots, a pinch of resistors with a sprinkling of some small value caps. The board screening has a circle the size of the coil so it looks like the coil stands tall on the board.
Looking at the schematic, it appears to be an oscillator, probably RF. Since the coil is just a single layer without a primary, it is likely not high voltage, but it does have one longer wire tail?
So far this looks like it has absolutely no relationship to the enclosed fiber lamp, aside from both being in the same box.
It gets better, there's more....
In another box was a carefully wrapped 3-4" solid glass globe that has a neck, similar to a typical old-school light bulb. The neck has a recess in the bottom and there is a short solid glass stem with a metal cap? Ah-ha! Maybe that cap is related to the long tail on the coil? And No. this is NOT an evacuation tip. This bugger is solid glass and heavy. Looking carefully at the globe, inside there appears to be some flakes of material in a ring, or constellation like pattern, and there are more random flakes of whatever it is, scattered about.
So, from all this, I surmised that the material in the globe may illuminate, glow, twinkle, sparkle, or whatever, when it is excited in the presence of an 'energy field' from the PCB.
There was nothing else. No housing stand or other treasures inside the China Post package..... It sure looks like someone just swept the floor, tossed it all in the box and away it went across the pond.
Although I found the cheap fiber lamp online, nothing that resembles the rest could be located. He is trying to get a refund for his $149.00... but because in the time that passed since the order was received, he has lost the paperwork and is being stonewalled by PayPal. If he fails to get a refund, then I'll assemble the board and let you know what happens..unless It 'Beams Me Up' !
If you have ever seen such a thing, or are so inclined to comment, I would certainly appreciate anything to 'shed light' on this .....thing!