Oscillators without transistors

Guest
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael
 
On 10/17/18 3:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael
Click to expand...

The neon bulb thing only works because the bulb turns itself off
abruptly at low voltage, then doesn't turn on again immediately as the
voltage recovers. This hysteresis is why it works.

Other non-transistor, non-tube oscillators:

Electromechanical buzzers
Mechanical clock balance wheels
Coffee percolators
Baseball cards in bike spokes
Thermoacoustic refrigerators
Dog whistles
Ocarinas
Blowing over a beer bottle
Slinky going downstairs
Bay of Fundy
Internal combustion engine piston

Tunnel diode oscillator
SCR relaxation oscillator

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com
 
Negative resistance spark gap ?

High frequency alternator ?
As I recall, Fessenden used a 100 KHz generator to transmit music and
voice in 1906.

David



mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael
Click to expand...

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On 17/10/18 20:33, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s
Click to expand...

Tunnel diodes
Gunn diodes
 
On Wed, 17 Oct 2018 12:33:19 -0700 (PDT), mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:

Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael
Click to expand...

When I was in high school I built this rather elaborate relay
oscillator to dial a pulse type telephone. One relay developed
pulses, another was rigged as a monostable to time the pulse train to
dial a particular number. A rotary stepper relay could read the holes
in cards and cycle through some crude punch cards to dial (worked but
not well)

Scr's can be made to oscillate, of course unijunctions, some negative
resistance diodes like tunnel/gunn, electro-mechanical toys using
magnets and leaf/reed switches or transistors to energize coils,
old-time magnetic earphones and carbon mikes to develop feedback,
tuning forks with feedback drivers, propagation delay devices, arc
lights, early radio transmitters that used motors driving many-pole
alternators, spark-excited Tesla coils...
 
On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 12:47:33 PM UTC-7, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 10/17/18 3:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael


The neon bulb thing only works because the bulb turns itself off
abruptly at low voltage, then doesn't turn on again immediately as the
voltage recovers. This hysteresis is why it works.

Other non-transistor, non-tube oscillators:

Electromechanical buzzers
Mechanical clock balance wheels
Coffee percolators
Baseball cards in bike spokes
Thermoacoustic refrigerators
Dog whistles
Ocarinas
Blowing over a beer bottle
Slinky going downstairs
Bay of Fundy
Internal combustion engine piston

Tunnel diode oscillator
SCR relaxation oscillator

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com
Click to expand...


Ah ok, thanks. While I was at the university I was under the impression that one could create an oscillator with a combination of resistor, inductor and capacitor, but now I see most electronic oscillators require a transistor of some sort.

Michael
 
On 2018-10-17, mrdarrett@gmail.com <mrdarrett@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect
Click to expand...

needs a gas discharge tube, spark gap, sidactor, tunnel diode, PUT, or
UJT etc - something with a negative resistance region, LED won't work.

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s
Click to expand...

tesla coil. (and other spark gap oscillators)

car horn, dc electric bell (I guess these are really relay oscillators)

electric motor

hot-wire (wire heats up due to current and gets longer)
eg: automotive blinker unit

bimetallic (metal changes shape in response to heat from an electric
heat source)
eg: stovetop simmerstat

carbon microphone feedback (I guess this is an accoustically coupled
analogue relay oscillator)



--
Notsodium is mined on the banks of denial.
 
On 17/10/18 20:47, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 10/17/18 3:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or
vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would
it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long
at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael


The neon bulb thing only works because the bulb turns itself off abruptly at low
voltage, then doesn't turn on again immediately as the voltage recovers.  This
hysteresis is why it works.

Other non-transistor, non-tube oscillators:

Electromechanical buzzers
Mechanical clock balance wheels
Coffee percolators
Baseball cards in bike spokes
Thermoacoustic refrigerators
Dog whistles
Ocarinas
Blowing over a beer bottle
Slinky going downstairs
Bay of Fundy
Internal combustion engine piston

Tunnel diode oscillator
SCR relaxation oscillator
Click to expand...

And, of course, there are a range of purely chemical oscillators
As good a starting point as any is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_oscillator
 
On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 7:32:04 PM UTC-7, mrda...@gmail.com wrote:
Ah ok, thanks. While I was at the university I was under the impression
that one could create an oscillator with a combination of resistor, inductor
and capacitor, but now I see most electronic oscillators require a transistor
of some sort.

Michael
The spin-torque oscillator is magic. It is a thin film structure with nanometer-thick layers of normal conductors, ferromagnetic materials, and antiferromagnetic materials. Apply a dc current, and it continuously produces microwave oscillations. No active gain elements or resonators are required.
Click to expand...
 
On 10/18/18 8:12 PM, jfeng@my-deja.com wrote:
On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 7:32:04 PM UTC-7, mrda...@gmail.com wrote:
Ah ok, thanks. While I was at the university I was under the impression
that one could create an oscillator with a combination of resistor, inductor
and capacitor, but now I see most electronic oscillators require a transistor
of some sort.

Michael
The spin-torque oscillator is magic. It is a thin film structure with nanometer-thick layers of normal conductors, ferromagnetic materials, and antiferromagnetic materials. Apply a dc current, and it continuously produces microwave oscillations. No active gain elements or resonators are required.
Click to expand...

There are also Gunn and IMPATT diode microwave oscillators.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs


--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com
 
On Wed, 17 Oct 2018 15:47:25 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:

On 10/17/18 3:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearson-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael


The neon bulb thing only works because the bulb turns itself off
abruptly at low voltage, then doesn't turn on again immediately as the
voltage recovers. This hysteresis is why it works.

Other non-transistor, non-tube oscillators:

Electromechanical buzzers
Mechanical clock balance wheels
Coffee percolators
Baseball cards in bike spokes
Thermoacoustic refrigerators
Dog whistles
Ocarinas
Blowing over a beer bottle
Slinky going downstairs
Bay of Fundy
Internal combustion engine piston

Tunnel diode oscillator
SCR relaxation oscillator

Cheers

Phil Hobbs
Click to expand...

Carbon microphone and speaker.

Pendulum clock.

Arc oscillator (once used for broadcast transmission)

Violin.

Clarinet.

Zener diode.

Gunn diode.

Fingernail on blackboard.


--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics
 
On 10/17/2018 2:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearso There n-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael
Click to expand...

There used to be signs that used movement to get attention, it could
be as simple as a waving hand. The hand was setup as a pendulum and when
the battery was installed you could give it a push, this would close a
switch, energizing the solenoid and giving the pendulum a kick this
would also open the switch. The pendulum would go through its swing and
then come back and close the switch, repeating the cycle.
I searched but could not fid a sign or a circuit, but I'm sure there is
one somewhere online.
Variation of the relay oscillator.

Mikek

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The vibrator in an old car radio. Not only does it oscillate without transistors or tubes, some rectify without diodes. A second set of contacts make for a synchronous rectifier.
 
On Monday, October 29, 2018 at 5:34:29 AM UTC-7, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:
The vibrator in an old car radio. Not only does it oscillate without
transistors or tubes, some rectify without diodes. A second set of contacts
make for a synchronous rectifier.
If you ever opened one, you would find it is basically an electromagnet configured as a buzzer, just like the one you probably built in grade school science or shop class, and just like the one you mentioned a couple weeks ago.
Click to expand...
 
On Monday, October 29, 2018 at 5:34:29 AM UTC-7, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:
> The vibrator in an old car radio. Not only does it oscillate without transistors or tubes, some rectify without diodes. A second set of contacts make for a synchronous rectifier.

Amazing!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrator_(electronic)

How long did they last? A year or so?

Thanks!

Michael
 
On 10/28/2018 10:40 PM, amdx wrote:
On 10/17/2018 2:33 PM, mrdarrett@gmail.com wrote:
Hello,

What are some examples of oscillators which don't require transistors
or vacuum tubes?

So far I found relay oscillators and the Pearso There n-Anson oscillator.

Does the Pearson-Anson oscillator require a high-voltage neon lamp, or
would it work on LEDs as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%E2%80%93Anson_effect

Relay oscillators look neat too but I don't imagine they would last
very long at high frequencies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuG4nOyF99s

Thanks,

Michael


  There used to be signs that used movement to get attention, it could
be as simple as a waving hand. The hand was setup as a pendulum and when
the battery was installed you could give it a push, this would close a
switch, energizing the solenoid and giving the pendulum a kick this
would also open the switch. The pendulum would go through its swing and
then come back and close the switch, repeating the cycle.
 I searched but could not fid a sign or a circuit, but I'm sure there is
one somewhere online.
 Variation of the relay oscillator.
Click to expand...

The really fun one was the box with a trap door on top and a big toggle
switch on the front. When you turned on the switch, a motor whirred and
a plastic hand came out of the box, turned the switch off again, then
went back into the box before the motor actually turned off.

I had a piggy bank that worked like that--you put the coin in a shallow
slot with two contacts at the bottom. The coin completed the circuit,
and the hand came out and collected the coin.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs


--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
https://hobbs-eo.com
 
On 2018-10-29, mrdarrett@gmail.com <mrdarrett@gmail.com> wrote:
On Monday, October 29, 2018 at 5:34:29 AM UTC-7, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:
The vibrator in an old car radio. Not only does it oscillate without transistors or tubes, some rectify without diodes. A second set of contacts make for a synchronous rectifier.

Amazing!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrator_(electronic)

How long did they last? A year or so?
Click to expand...

a car won't last a year if operated continuously: at 60 km/h that would be
half a million kilometers

I had one in my car for a couple of years and never had a problem.
that was maybe 400 operating hours.

I expect they got a couple of thousand hours out of those units about
the same as we see quoted for cheap electrolytic capacitors and LEDs.



--
When I tried casting out nines I made a hash of it.
 
On Monday, October 29, 2018 at 1:01:10 PM UTC-7, Jasen Betts wrote:
On 2018-10-29, mrdarrett@gmail.com <mrdarrett@gmail.com> wrote:
On Monday, October 29, 2018 at 5:34:29 AM UTC-7, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:
The vibrator in an old car radio. Not only does it oscillate without transistors or tubes, some rectify without diodes. A second set of contacts make for a synchronous rectifier.

Amazing!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrator_(electronic)

How long did they last? A year or so?

a car won't last a year if operated continuously: at 60 km/h that would be
half a million kilometers

I had one in my car for a couple of years and never had a problem.
that was maybe 400 operating hours.

I expect they got a couple of thousand hours out of those units about
the same as we see quoted for cheap electrolytic capacitors and LEDs.



--
When I tried casting out nines I made a hash of it.
Click to expand...

2000 hours! That durable, huh!
 
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