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stun gun ignition help

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:32 pm
by spudmatic
I recently purchased a 150,000 volt stun gun and made a 4 spark setup in my chamber. Now, the problem i face is, it wont spark :x . Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong? And no the gaps are 1/8 in or less big so that isn't my problem and im using terminals to connect the wires so I know there should not be a problem there.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:00 pm
by DYI
Does the stungun spark when you disconnect it from the terminals and use it's default gap? Assuming that you've already checked the batteries, connections, gap lengths, etc..., the only thing I can think of is that the board's fried, and you need a new stungun.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:03 pm
by TurboSuper
Are the spark gaps in series or parallel? They should be in series I believe.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:09 pm
by STHORNE

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:21 pm
by sjog
Stun guns are over rated. Fail over nothing.They are kinda sexy but shit the bed way to easy.
Battery BBQ is the way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





edit: I was trying to figure why it took so long to load :idea:

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:25 pm
by DYI
Well I was trying not to insult his intelligence by asking if the gaps were in series like they should be.

Now that we're in the insulting mood:
Are the batteries charged?
What was the initial gap length of the stungun?
Are the gaps in series?
Are you using high-resistance wire?
Is the battery inserted properly?
Are you sure there's not arcing somewhere other than the gaps?

And I'd have to say that low ESR medium-voltage capacitors charged with disposable camera circuits and discharged through ignition coils are the way to go for beginners.

If you have some electronics experience, things like flybacks (and by extension high voltage Marx generators) are a good idea.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:25 pm
by STHORNE
quite the contrary. when wired right, stun guns are quite reliable for producing a healthy spark and work 99.9% of the time.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:29 pm
by sjog
A spark is a spark. It doesn't have to be "big"
And I'd have to say that low ESR medium-voltage capacitors charged with disposable camera circuits and discharged through ignition coils are the way to go for beginners.
Beginners??

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:33 pm
by DYI
Considering that all my method requires is a disposable camera, an old ignition coil, and a few feet of wire, yes, it is the best for beginners.

That, and if you get the ignition coil free, it's cheaper than a piezo clicker, much less a battery powered sparker or stungun.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:28 pm
by TurboSuper
So I'll assume you got that ignition coil circuit working, DYI? :D

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:30 pm
by STHORNE
DYI having ignition coil circuit problems?!








there is no god.......

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:57 pm
by DYI
Hey, the board of the first one was fried completely.

And on a more useful note, here's the working version.

Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:09 pm
by spudmatic
Sorry for the wait but yes if you have ever heard of the website advanced spuds I used his basis to make my screw setup and im not sure about the wire because im using an old extension cord, so im sure there should be no problem with the resistance of the wire. Yes the battery is brand new (uses 9v). I may have found the problem though, the screws I am using may be made of an alloy(high resistance) as they are metal screws. I am going to change them tomorrow, thanks for the quick accurate responses guys!

Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:13 am
by jimmy101
If you disconnect the stungun from the gun does the stungun still fire across it's default gap? If not, try using a short piece of wire to shorten the default gap and see if it'll spark. If it still doesn't spark then your stungun is dead.

Make sure the wires are all well seperated. Appliance cord won't work if the two wires are still a bundle. The insulation of standard 120V appliance wire won't stand up to tens of KV. Separate the wires.

It is unlikely that an alloy screw is going to behave any differently than a steel screw, the resistance just isn't that much different. It is possible that your screws have a non-conductive coating (to protect them from rusting). You can clean the coating off with a wire brush. If you have a volt-ohm meter you can just measure the resistance of the screws. The resistance should be less than an ohm or so. (The circuit really doesn't care a heck of a lot about the resistance as long as it isn't more than a few tens of ohms.)

Sharp electrodes will usually spark at lower voltage, and/or across a larger gap distance, than will blunt electrodes.

Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:26 am
by jimmy101
DYI wrote:Considering that all my method requires is a disposable camera, an old ignition coil, and a few feet of wire, yes, it is the best for beginners.
Ya, and if a bunch of ducks fly out of yer butt then you have a flock.

How many people have an ignition coil laying around? It is much more likely that a person has an old piezo laying around as it is that they have an ignition coil. Generic long nosed fire place lighters have the the piezo, trigger, wire etc. Takes five minutes to convert to an ignition system. You have to go to the hardware store anyway for your PVC so you might as well pick up a $15 BBQ piezo or a $5 fireplace lighter.
That, and if you get the ignition coil free, it's cheaper than a piezo clicker, much less a battery powered sparker or stungun.
But, the ignition system ways a ton. A $15 piezo is pretty hard to beat for a beginnner. I've been using the same one for about 6 years now. A $20 stungun is pretty hard to beat if you need higher voltages (for multigaps or a hybrid).

Besides, I suspect a 330V 120MFD cap stepped up to tens of KV is probably potentially lethal. Probably not a good thing for a beginner to be dicking with.