Jacob's Ladder PCB

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CDB462sc
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Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by CDB462sc »

I cannot seem to find the Desktop Jacob's Ladder PCB anywere. I have checked the sites listed in the magazine, but I can't find anything. Can any help me?<p>thanks
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dacflyer
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by dacflyer »

pcb...what do you mean
origional jacobs ladder never had a pcb?<p>its just basically a twin stiff wire in a "V" shape , and a neon transformer powers it...<p> \~~~~~~~~~/ <---<< SPARKS
\ /
\ /
\ / <---<< LADDER ELECTRODES
\ /
-----|-|------ BASE
| |
/ \
/ \ <----<< WIRES FROM
/ \ TRANSFORMER
| |
|>|xxxxx|<
>|xxxxx|< <----<< TRANSFORMER 15KV @30MA<p>SORRY NOT A GOOD ARTIST... hope this helps
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dacflyer
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by dacflyer »

Hmmm... the post seemed to take out all my dashes
so the pic i tried to make isn't working..sorry...<p>take a look here.. you can see one here..and more !<p>http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~wwl/electric.html
perfectbite
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by perfectbite »

The website given at 'thinkbotics.com' for the Printed Circuit Board (PCB)for the control of the Jacob's Ladder device given in the December issue of N+V mag. doesn't show the PC Board or respond to e-mail questions about its "promised" avilability. I really don't want to get into making my own PC board (I try to stay away from corrosive chemicals) but if I have to I will. Figure 4 on page 68 of Dec. 2002 mag looks simple enough. Any ideas? Anyone? anyone? Thanks in advance.
skrallman
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by skrallman »

I've made the circuit using a radio shack proto board, but I can't get it to work for more than a few seconds. After that the 556 and the MOSFET are dieing. I'm wondering if there are some high voltage surges taking them out?
I've seen similar circuits that use a capacitor between the positve supply and ground and capacitors from the control pins to ground.
I haven't tried it yet. I'm out of 556's.
Any thoughts?
Scott
skrallman
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by skrallman »

I got my ladder to work. I put the timer and the coil on separate power supplies with a common ground. I also put a capacitor across the timer's positve power and ground, but I think the separate power supplies is what really did the trick.
If you can't get the pcb, wire it point to point on a proto board. Its not that bad since there aren't many components.
Scott
perfectbite
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by perfectbite »

Way to go Scott. Was it worth the hassle? For projects like this I am a little like Fabius Maximus, I tend to collect everything that I need before trying to build anything. Your info is part of that collection. Of course in real life situations such pre-project assimilation ain't possible so it is a luxury. Thanks.
skrallman
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Re: Jacob's Ladder PCB

Post by skrallman »

Yeah, it was worth it. I'm a relatively inexperienced hobbiest, but it was quick and within my abilities. Its a neat project, but it isn't super spectacular. The sparks are only 1/4", but I still got oooo's and ahhhh's. It kind of makes you want to build something bigger - got me interested enough that I've been surfing Tesla Coil sites the last two days :eek:
Scott
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