OT what is it?

Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

 

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:03:35 AM UTC-4, Boris Mohar wrote:

On Mon, 19 Oct 2015 06:51:59 -0700 (PDT), ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

It could be automotive timing light.
--
Boris

Ahh OK, That's a good guess.

Thanks,
George H.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

 

[pfjw@aol.com]

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:

Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction trigger device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

 

[Boris Mohar]

On Mon, 19 Oct 2015 06:51:59 -0700 (PDT), ggherold@gmail.com wrote:

Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

It could be automotive timing light.
--
Boris

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

 

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:

pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

 

[Tom Miller]

<pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:

Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

 

[pfjw@aol.com]

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:56:59 PM UTC-4, Jon Elson wrote:

Really, really, cheap timing lights, like from the J. C. Whitney of old,
were just two pieces of spark plug wire with a coiled neon tube in the
middle. The spark plug and the coil were the current limiter. They were
very dim, and you could get chopped up by the fan trying to get them close
enough to the timing marks to see anything.

That too. But a trigger electrode could also be down in the base somewhere.

Back when I drove carbureted VWs, I used a christmas tree light for a static timer. Seemed to work fine. I also had a neon timer such as you describe - and it had that big fat lens as in the pictures. The inductive lights did not. Might be as simple as a neon strobe head...

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

 

[Jon Elson]

pfjw@aol.com wrote:

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Really, really, cheap timing lights, like from the J. C. Whitney of old,
were just two pieces of spark plug wire with a coiled neon tube in the
middle. The spark plug and the coil were the current limiter. They were
very dim, and you could get chopped up by the fan trying to get them close
enough to the timing marks to see anything.

Jon

 

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.

 

[Tom Miller]

<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.

Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?

What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug events.
Then the coil arcs internally.

Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

 

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:

ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?

Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.

What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.

 

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 10:41:16 AM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:

ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and
the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.



Just take clip leads to the highest voltage winding (primary?) to the tube.
Then use the battery to "flash" the lowest voltage winding. Think about how
the points work in an ignition circuit.

No, do not use a variac.

All you want is to get a discharge through the tube and see what color is
produced. Red says it might be Neon, blueish white may be Xenon, other will
be who knows.

Thanks Tom, I got nothing with my big transformer.
(I don't have enough current to get any significant voltage across the low voltage windings. It could also be that the tube is dead.
I'll try with my tractor at home tonight.

George H.

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Tue, 20 Oct 2015 08:17:35 -0700, ggherold wrote:

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 10:41:16 AM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller
wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4,
gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/
AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was
a pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely
a stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were
other parts associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have
an induction trigger device, usually, as one example. + &
-attached to the battery, and the inductor clamped to #1
cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you
hit it with some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark
plug? See what the discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself it
was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark after all. I wanted
to see how much voltage I was getting so I hooked up my DMM
(though a series resistor), Pulled the cord to turn over the
engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any of my
working motors. (The last thing I want is to blow out the spark
drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying. Is it ok to put a
dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this past
summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to put in a new
one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark
with say a 9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll
need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.



Just take clip leads to the highest voltage winding (primary?) to the
tube.
Then use the battery to "flash" the lowest voltage winding. Think about
how the points work in an ignition circuit.

No, do not use a variac.

All you want is to get a discharge through the tube and see what color
is produced. Red says it might be Neon, blueish white may be Xenon,
other will be who knows.

Thanks Tom, I got nothing with my big transformer.
(I don't have enough current to get any significant voltage across the
low voltage windings. It could also be that the tube is dead.
I'll try with my tractor at home tonight.

George H.

Be a lot simpler to just to use one half of the tranny and use the back
EMF from interrupting the circuit instead. Breaking the current through
the longest winding should give enough of a spike to see if the lamp
flashes.

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:00:36 -0700, pfjw@aol.com wrote:

> Might be as simple as a neon strobe head...

Yes, but if it's a neon type you might as well bin it; they're so weak as
to be virtually useless. I don't think this one is though, from what I
can make out in the pictures.

 

[Tom Miller]

<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and
the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.

Just take clip leads to the highest voltage winding (primary?) to the tube.
Then use the battery to "flash" the lowest voltage winding. Think about how
the points work in an ignition circuit.

No, do not use a variac.

All you want is to get a discharge through the tube and see what color is
produced. Red says it might be Neon, blueish white may be Xenon, other will
be who knows.

 

[Tom Miller]

<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1fd8c44b-87be-47ae-9770-2c1e10a6ecd6@googlegroups.com...

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 10:41:16 AM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4,
gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery,
and
the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit
it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what
the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll
need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.



Just take clip leads to the highest voltage winding (primary?) to the
tube.
Then use the battery to "flash" the lowest voltage winding. Think about
how
the points work in an ignition circuit.

No, do not use a variac.

All you want is to get a discharge through the tube and see what color is
produced. Red says it might be Neon, blueish white may be Xenon, other
will
be who knows.

Thanks Tom, I got nothing with my big transformer.
(I don't have enough current to get any significant voltage across the low
voltage windings. It could also be that the tube is dead.
I'll try with my tractor at home tonight.

George H.

Just be careful. Getting hit with the HV can really hurt.

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:01:39 +0100, Ian Field wrote:

ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4,
gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/
AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an
induction trigger device, usually, as one example. + & -attached
to the battery, and the inductor clamped to #1 cylinder
spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit
it with some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug?
See what the discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself it
was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark after all. I wanted to
see how much voltage I was getting so I hooked up my DMM (though a
series resistor), Pulled the cord to turn over the engine, and
promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any of my
working motors. (The last thing I want is to blow out the spark
drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying. Is it ok to put a
dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this past
summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a 9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

When you touch the battery across the low voltage winding, it builds up
lines of magnetic flux around the core - when you break the current, the
lines of flux collapse onto the core and induce a high voltage spike in
the big winding.

Most 9V batteries are very low energy density and won't keep up the
current through a low voltage winding - and doing that wouldn't serve
any useful purpose anyway.

Hook one wire of the low voltage winding to one battery terminal, then
hook a loose length of wire to to the other end of the winding and just
flick it on the other battery terminal.

You might get a small back emf spark as you break the primary current,
but you should be able to rig a gap for a half-decent spark from the big
winding.

The coil from a relay might be a better idea than a tranny. Some of those
have a great many windings of fine gauge wire which would put less of a
load on a 9v battery. I've got some here showing over 400 ohms resistance.

 

[Ian Field]

<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...

On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery, and
the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

When you touch the battery across the low voltage winding, it builds up
lines of magnetic flux around the core - when you break the current, the
lines of flux collapse onto the core and induce a high voltage spike in the
big winding.

Most 9V batteries are very low energy density and won't keep up the current
through a low voltage winding - and doing that wouldn't serve any useful
purpose anyway.

Hook one wire of the low voltage winding to one battery terminal, then hook
a loose length of wire to to the other end of the winding and just flick it
on the other battery terminal.

You might get a small back emf spark as you break the primary current, but
you should be able to rig a gap for a half-decent spark from the big
winding.

 

[Ian Field]

<ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1fd8c44b-87be-47ae-9770-2c1e10a6ecd6@googlegroups.com...

On Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 10:41:16 AM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4,
gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack
rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts
associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an induction
trigger
device, usually, as one example. + & -attached to the battery,
and
the
inductor clamped to #1 cylinder spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit
it
with
some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug? See what
the
discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself
it was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark
after all. I wanted to see how much voltage I was getting so
I hooked up my DMM (though a series resistor), Pulled the
cord to turn over the engine, and promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any
of my working motors. (The last thing I want is to
blow out the spark drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying.
Is it ok to put a dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this
past summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to
put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a
9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

I've got a 120-24 (6A) tranny, how much voltage would you guess I'll
need?
I could run that backwards from a Variac.

George H.



Just take clip leads to the highest voltage winding (primary?) to the
tube.
Then use the battery to "flash" the lowest voltage winding. Think about
how
the points work in an ignition circuit.

No, do not use a variac.

All you want is to get a discharge through the tube and see what color is
produced. Red says it might be Neon, blueish white may be Xenon, other
will
be who knows.

Thanks Tom, I got nothing with my big transformer.
(I don't have enough current to get any significant voltage across the low
voltage windings. It could also be that the tube is dead.
I'll try with my tractor at home tonight.

If you're trying it with a 9V radio battery - they can't shift much current.

One of those 6V 996 lantern batteries with the springs on top would stand
more chance.

 

[Ian Field]

"Cursitor Doom" <curd@notformail.com> wrote in message
news:n06aoo$8o2$1@dont-email.me...

On Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:01:39 +0100, Ian Field wrote:

ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa224646-0b5f-4e79-8e12-895f8a277660@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 10:04:36 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
ggherold@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:569db2d6-bbd5-44e8-aa02-d51a43286510@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 2:45:30 PM UTC-4, gghe...@gmail.com
wrote:
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 12:53:45 PM UTC-4, Tom Miller wrote:
pfjw@aol.com> wrote in message
news:0a9cc775-024d-49fe-b559-a79df434006a@googlegroups.com...
On Monday, October 19, 2015 at 9:52:07 AM UTC-4,
gghe...@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all, I found this thing.. see pictures

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sxd1cq8qbdyali4/
AAA6O9NqKQPvbX4QLzNAK-Vaa?dl=0
In the back of a drawer at my house. The previous owner was a
pack rat,
who also worked for the phone company.
It looks like some high voltage flashlight.
What sort of voltage do I apply to the leads?

Thanks,
George H.

As per Boris - yes, it could be a timing light - but definitely a
stop-action device of some sort. I expect that there were other
parts associated with it - strobe-type timing lights have an
induction trigger device, usually, as one example. + & -attached
to the battery, and the inductor clamped to #1 cylinder
spark-plug wire.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But there is no trigger electrode. It might be Neon. Can you hit
it with some high voltage, maybe from a lawn mower spark plug?
See what the discharge spectrum looks like.

Hmm OK, I could try that.

I'm a little leery of mixing electronics with my lawn mower.
Way back when, a motor wouldn't start, and I convinced myself it
was a spark problem. I couldn't see a spark after all. I wanted to
see how much voltage I was getting so I hooked up my DMM (though a
series resistor), Pulled the cord to turn over the engine, and
promptly blew up my DMM. :^(

George H.

Tom, Sorry I chickened out and didn't put it across any of my
working motors. (The last thing I want is to blow out the spark
drive... I'm not really sure, what I'm saying. Is it ok to put a
dead short across my briggs and stratton?

George H.


Doesn't the spark plug do just that when it fires?
Yeah, I didn't say my fear was rational.
I had a bunch of old engines, I think most were "re-cycled" this past
summer.
Hmm, OK I'll hook it up to my old tractor.
(Ferguson to-20) If I blow out the coil it's easy to put in a new one.


What damages magneto ignition systems is open circuit, wire off plug
events.
Then the coil arcs internally.


Don't you have any kind of transformer that could make a HV spark with
say a 9 volt battery? A filament transformer maybe?

9V battery and transformer? (how does that work?)

When you touch the battery across the low voltage winding, it builds up
lines of magnetic flux around the core - when you break the current, the
lines of flux collapse onto the core and induce a high voltage spike in
the big winding.

Most 9V batteries are very low energy density and won't keep up the
current through a low voltage winding - and doing that wouldn't serve
any useful purpose anyway.

Hook one wire of the low voltage winding to one battery terminal, then
hook a loose length of wire to to the other end of the winding and just
flick it on the other battery terminal.

You might get a small back emf spark as you break the primary current,
but you should be able to rig a gap for a half-decent spark from the big
winding.

The coil from a relay might be a better idea than a tranny. Some of those
have a great many windings of fine gauge wire which would put less of a
load on a 9v battery. I've got some here showing over 400 ohms resistance.

Back emf is good - but a step up ratio is *MUCH* better.