**The High Voltage Generator: A Terrible Device**

I have a question. Who in their right mind would sell this on Amazon? I mean, this is ridiculous! You can get this high voltage generator for under 10$ from Amazon and I can guarantee you that it will hurt pretty badly when you touch the high voltage arcs.

So, that basically means it is some kind of taser, right? But that means that here in Germany where I live, it needs to come with a certification mark to be considered legal. And guess what? There is no mark to be found on the device. So they are using the only "for science experiments" excuse to sell those things, which I think is terrible.

Because high voltage can be such a beautiful thing to explore if you know what you're doing. I mean, yes, you can create some scary arcs with Tesla coils. But this device is not just about entertainment; it's also a safety hazard. And Amazon should not be selling it without proper certification.

**The HV Transformer: A Powerful Tool**

Now, let's talk about the HV transformer. This thing is a powerhouse! With its ability to produce high voltage and current, it can be used for various applications, from testing to industrial use. But, as I mentioned earlier, it needs to be handled with care, as it can cause serious injury if not used properly.

In my experiments with the HV transformer, I've found that it's a great tool for testing purposes. You can use it to test your electrical knowledge and see how different frequencies affect its performance. But, be careful, because even with proper precautions, you can still get hurt.

**The Flyback Converter: A More Efficient Circuit**

One of the circuits I built using the HV transformer is a flyback converter. This circuit is more efficient than others, as it uses a MOSFET to switch the current on and off. And, with its ability to produce high voltage and current, it's perfect for testing purposes.

But, what's even better about this circuit is that it can be used to create an arc at different frequencies. And, I've found that at around 80, 120, and 250kHz, it's easy to create an arc while with other frequencies, it's a lot more difficult if not impossible.

**The ZVS Circuit: A Powerful and Efficient Circuit**

For my last circuit, I wanted something more powerful and efficient. So, I built a Zero Volt Switching (ZVS) circuit. This circuit is notorious for achieving high efficiency due to its switching behavior. And, with its ability to produce high voltage and current, it's perfect for industrial use.

I set the frequency of this circuit at 80kHz, which is suitable for my transformer. And, as you can see, I'm using a capacitance of 133nF and the inductance of my primary coil is around 113uH, which would equal a resonance frequency of only 41kHz. But, with an arc formed, the inductance decreases, and I was able to reach my goal frequency of 80kHz.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, these experiments with the HV transformer and different circuits were not only entertaining for me but also educational. And, I hope that by sharing this knowledge, you can learn from my experiences and avoid making the same mistakes.

If you did enjoy this video, consider supporting me through Patreon. As always, don't forget to like, share, subscribe, and hit the notification bell. Stay creative, and I will see you next time!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI have a question.Who in their right mind would sells this onAmazon?I means this is ridiculous!You can get this high voltage generator forunder 10$ from Amazon and I can guaranteeyou that it will hurt pretty badly when youtouch the high voltage arcs.So that basically means it is some kind oftaser, right?But that means that here in Germany whereI live it needs to come with a certificationmark to be considered legal and guess whatthere is no mark to be found on the device.So they are using the only for science experimentsexcuse to sell those things which I thinkis terrible because high voltage can be sucha beautiful thing to explore if you know whatyou are doing.I mean yes you can create some scary arcswith tesla coils, but then you can also makemusic playing plasma arcs, arcs that you canuse as a lighter or arcs that you can eventouch without getting shocked.So let's ignore this garbage device and insteadfocus on this small high voltage transformerthat you can also get for cheap from the internet.With it you can experiment properly and createall kinds of different arcs which is exactlywhat I will be showing you in this video.Let's get startedThis video is sponsored by Altium.If you are looking for a professional PCBdesigner software that can fulfill all yourPCB design wishes then look no further thanthe Altium designer software.After getting used to it, it offers prettymuch everything you could ever need when itcomes to designing a PCB.So feel free to test the Altium Designer forfree by yourself by following the link inthe video description.First off let's have a closer look at thetransformer.After removing the adhesive tape, it was clearthat its ferrite core consist of 2 piecesthat hold two primary windings and one secondarywinding.But by simply measuring the resistance ofthose coil pairs we can not determine thewinding relation between the primary and secondarybecause the high voltage side uses way thinnerwire.But by assuming that the circuit transformsaround 4V on the input to 15.000V on the output,we can calculate an approximate relation of1 to 3750 which is quite a bit.And I think the plastic fins exist in orderto isolate high voltage sections from oneanother so that nothing unintentionally arcsover.Because as you might know in air we need above1kV per mm in order to create an arc or plasmatunnel.Due to the isolation of magnet wire howeverthis voltage can go up to for example 3kVand with such plastic fins or for exampleepoxy resin which often gets used for suchpurposes, the breakdown voltage can go upto 20 to 40kV.The fin design however does comes with someweak points.But enough already with the theory and let'sget to something more practically becauseoften times the transformer comes as a kitwith suitable driver circuit.So after soldering all the obvious componentsinto place, I got to the two primary windings.Now the markings of the PCB made it look likeI had to short the two inner wires but thatwould have definitely not made any sense.So I did a small test with my interpretationof how to hook things up and that worked flawlessly.The solution was to short the far left wirewith the second one from the right in themiddle.This way the final result on the PCB lookedlike this and the schematic for the circuitlooks something like this.And after powering the circuit with an inputvoltage of 4V and a current of 2.8A, we successfullycreated an arc, awesome.Now this is the kind of arc that will shockyou quite a bit and is capable of being usedas a lighter.But before I was able to investigate the circuitto show you why exactly this arc shocks you,the circuit just abruptly died on me.It seems like the used transistor burned out;so I replaced it with a same model one andpowered the circuit once again while havinga look at the most important voltage waveformsand measuring the temperature of the transistor.And as it turns out it overheats way too fastwhich was actually not a surprise since weare dealing with an NPN BJT that due to itshigh collector emitter voltage drop dissipatesquite a lot of heat.Combine that with the fact that the transistorhas to withstand big voltage spikes when itturns off and you start to realize why itgot destroyed so soon.Now you might be thinking: “Why not justreplace the BJT with a MOSFET that comes witha low drain source voltage and a high breakdownvoltage to solve those problem?Well, I actually tried exactly that but hadto find out the hard way that this circuitpretty much only works best with BJTs.The reason is the way this circuit works whichas soon as voltage gets applied, let's currentflow through the feedback coil into the baseof the transistor and thus let's current flowthrough the main primary coil.This not only induces a voltage into the secondarybut also in the feedback coil which opposesthe input voltage.That means at some point the current throughthe base stops and the primary current fallsabruptly.Afterwards there is no more opposing feedbackvoltage and thus the cycle repeats.And because of the dependence on feedbackcurrent and the low voltage levels on theprimary side, this circuit is not a good fitfor MOSFETs.Also it is self oscillating at currently afrequency of around 19kHz which we can noteasily change in this circuit.That would be desirable though because withdifferent frequencies the transformer as awhole does not only react differently dueto its impedance but at a certain frequencyand above arcs no longer shock us but onlyburn our skin which I definitely wanted totry out.So I built up a basic flyback converter circuitwith a MOSFET according to this schematic.I will be using my function generator to controlthe gate but a basic 555 timer circuit couldeasily do this job and even include a bitof audio modulation if you want your arcsto sing.But never forget to add an RC clamp to themix which limits the voltage spikes acrossthe MOSFET that would otherwise destroy iffairly quickly.And after this obligatory pre banter it wastime to play around with different frequenciesand it was quite fascinating to see how thecurrent draw decreased with a higher frequencydue to the impedance of the coils while stillfeaturing frequency plateaus in which thecurrent draw increased probably due to someresonance behavior.I also found out that at around 80, 120 and250kHz it was easily possible to create anarc while with other frequencies this wasa lot more difficult if not impossible.And while the arcs shocked me at frequenciesbelow 200kHz it was truly weird to find outthat at 250kHz the arc no longer shocked meand only burnt my skin which was still a bitpainful.So all in all this circuit is pretty awesomefor testing but the arcs were not super powerfuland the MOSFET also heated up noticeably.That is why for my last circuit I wanted notonly a more efficient one but also powerfulone and I was able to build one in a matterof seconds because I actually created it beforeduring my Induction Heater video.It is a ZVS circuit or Zero Volt Switchingcircuit which are notorious for achievinga high efficiency due to their switching behavior.The frequency at which it oscillates is setby the inductance of the transformer and theutilized capacitance and I wanted to go witha frequency of 80kHz since I knew from earlierexperiments that this was a suitable frequencyfor my transformer.But as you can see I am using a capacitanceof 133nF and the inductance of my primarycoil is around 113uH which would equal a resonancefrequency of only 41kHz.And after powering the circuit with 12V wecan see that the oscillation frequency isclose to the theory but what we have not consideredyet is that the inductance decreases whenan arc is formed and thus I was able to reachmy 80kHz goal frequency without a problem.Needless to say this kind of circuit is waymore powerful than anything before so nowI have to warn you that dealing with highvoltage can lead to fatal injuries if nothandled correctly.But anyway I am super happy with this circuitsince the input power is reasonable, the createdsine waveform is beautiful and the MOSFETsalso stay pretty cool .So all in all those experiments with the HVtransformer and the different circuits werenot only entertaining for me and hopefullyfor you but also educational which is waymore than you could ever expect from the HighVoltage generator we started with.So I hope you enjoyed this video and if youdid then consider supporting me through Patreon.As always don't forget to like, share, subscribeand hit the notification bell.Stay creative and I will see you next time.