$25 @ a store Re: <VV> Christmas Lights

[werp knarly]

cool setup!!! but alas,,, cheap inverters can be had for about $25 now

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <JVHRoberts at aol.com>
To: <n3lkz at yahoo.com>; <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 5:35 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> Christmas Lights


>
> Ah, got it now. Reminds me of a constant lighting setup for my Dad's train
> layout. Same deal, except TO 220 transistors operating in a square wave
> configuration at about 150 kHz. This was pumped into the rails, and the 
> lamps in
> the trains were coupled to the trucks through capacitors. The lamps stayed 
> on
> even when the train was stopped, and at 150kHz, the motors looked like 
> near
> open  circuits!!
>
> Anyhow, sounds like fun!
>
> John
>
> In a message dated 12/1/2006 8:33:29 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> n3lkz at yahoo.com writes:
>
> I  guess I didn't express the Christmas lights scheme clearly enough, so
> here's  another try:
>
> The power source is a fully charged 12  volt battery separate from the
> Corvair electrical system. It's nestled in the  well of the luggage 
> compartment in
> its own battery box. No attachment to the  car's alternator.
>
> Attached to it is a homebuilt  inverter using a pair of TO-25 transistors 
> on
> a huge heat sink. It puts out a  square wave waveform @ 110 volts and will
> allow a current draw of about 500  watts.
>
> The chaser lights don't give a fig about  the square waves. only rotating
> armature devices care.
>
> The inverter is inefficient....it draws about two amps to create  about a
> half amp of AC. Yes, the battery will run down, but since it's a  separate
> battery  the only downside is that I'll haul a dead battery  home. There 
> are no
> circuit breakers in this system, just brute force. I know  better than to 
> ask it
> to deliver more current than it's designed for and the  best load tester 
> is a
> hand on the heat sink
>
> I'm  sure the 110 VAC output could be dangerous to an old man with a bad
> heart  standing in a puddle of salt water with a wire in each hand, but I 
> was
> taught  practical electricity by Harry Thomas who always checked if a 
> light socket
> was  'live' by sticking his finger into it. Yes, you get a shock, but the
> electricity only flows from the tip of your finger to about the second
> phalange, not across your chest.
>
> The system has  been tested --- clip inverter to battery, plug in lights,
> flip switch, watch  chaser lights --- chase.
>
> You could probably do the  same thing with a store-bought inverter, but it
> would cost a lot more and be  plagued with circuit breakers because the 
> average
> bozo who buy 'em figures he  can just plug in his sump pump and worry no 
> more.
>
> hope that explains what is a decent, simple, kluge it is.
>
> Arjay
>
>
>
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