What started as a simple desire for a better arc lighter got carried away and I ended up making the scariest device I've ever built.
In this video I tested a plasma lighter and attempted some modifications to it. I tried hooking it up to a voltage multiplier as well as raising the input voltage, but my results weren't that impressive. So, I turned to the sketchiest schematic I've ever come across, the "HFVTTC".
The HFVTTC is a circuit that operates sort of like a Tesla coil, but considerably more scary and with a flame like output. There is very little on this circuit in English, so it felt like a wild goose chase trying to figure out how they work and how to build one. Thankfully, the KZfaqrs Zilipoper and Teslista555 had well documented videos detailing their builds of the circuit, and I relied heavily on those clips to figure out how to bring my circuit to an operating state. I would like to give a big thank you to them. Be sure to check out their channels as they have a BUNCH of cool high voltage vids!!
Zilipoper: / zilipoper
Teslista555: / teslista555
Furthermore, I'd like to thank Vidduley for providing key information on this type of circuit. I was ripping my hair out trying to find English literature on this circuit, but it turns out most of the documentation is in the Russian language. A big thank you to him for this as well as the other info I've used from him in past videos!
Vidduley: / @vidduley
I built my torch circuit using the soviet GU-5B triode vacuum tube that I scored on eBay, and I used a bunch of soviet surplus doorknob capacitors in the build as well. The PSU transformer was a used pull from an old flashlamp pumped laser, and I built the PSU voltage doubler using chains of 10A10 diodes potted in wax.
The output electrodes turned out to be both tricky and interesting in this project. As the device melted through copper, steel and many other materials, it was hard finding something that wouldn't turn to a puddle on the output, but luckily graphite held up well enough for fairly long term use. I then added salts like cesium and lithium chlorides to the electrodes, as well as metals like magnesium and zinc.
It was a very fun project, but also quite involved. The RF emissions had to be shielded so I built a large copper Faraday cage for the project. This took a bunch of time, but it's worth not being hunted down by local hams in the area.
Social media sillyness:
shorts channel: / styropyroshorts
patreon: / styropyro
backup channel and b-side videos: / @drakeanthony1155
discord: / discord