Post by thread:[OT] PIC driven H.V. ignitor

If you want the thrill of doing it yourself, then you have these choices; 1 use a standard ignition coil and make and break 12 volts on it. You may find that the range of spark gaps is limitted. 2 Use a standard ignition coil and build a CDI type switching supply to join to it. You will have a broader range of spark gaps, and if you strike with a stream of pulses, you get a dramatic display of spark. The camera flashes and high energy CDI ignitions are both somewhat similar in topology. The switcher is typically a flyback switcher operating in the discontinuous mode, and you charge a 1uF cap up to 300 to 500 VDC. Then you stop the switcher long enough to discharge the cap over the coil primary. The CDI is a bit goofy, where the cap is wired in series with the coil +, and the other end of the cap (where the flyback dumps charge) is the point where you attach an SCR to ground. The coil - goes to ground as well. There is a bit more, such as an inductor to limit rise time, and some flyback diodes to terminate the discharge after one pulse, so it doesn't ring for a long time. You will have to design a flyback (usually the point were most folks veer off of this track). Chris Eddy William Chops Westfield wrote: > I need a H.V. circuit design. The circuit must produce a spark in the > range of 6 to 10 K.v. to ignite propane gas. Perhaps a camera flash >