Mikohn Power supplies

[StatFreak]

Yikes!  What if that came flying at ya?
I wouldn't wanna be anywhere near that sucker!!!

The grounded iron maiden style cage that he's in acts as a Faraday cage, keeping him safe. It still could be an unnerving experience.

[uniman]

Tesla coils are very cool! 
Bunker, would'nt that look good on a haywire?
Just don't ask me to play it. 

[stayouttadabunker]

Are you suggesting that I install one of those on my Double Diamond Haywire machine....



ARE YOU NUTS!!!!!!???    (just kidding... )

[uniman]

Are you suggesting that I install one of those on my Double Diamond Haywire machine....



ARE YOU NUTS!!!!!!???    (just kidding... )

No, I am not suggesting you build one of these. Just messing with you! 
Tesla Coils are really something, but I sure wouldn't try to build one. They can be pretty dangerous if you don't know what your doing.

Nuts? No, but that guy in the wire cage is!!!!!

[jay]

Radio shack used to sell these screw in light bulb thingys that basically had a coil in the middle and shot sparks to the outside of the bulb.
They used to have some cheezy name like Electrical Storm.....
I know Spencers sells something similar too.
They were designed so you could put your finger on the bulb and the electric energy would go in that direction.

You could easily make one of these into a safe topper.

[cadillacpro]

I DO NOT!!!! recommend touching the sparks

Unless one of your other projects was building a defribulator

[uniman]

Radio shack used to sell these screw in light bulb thingys that basically had a coil in the middle and shot sparks to the outside of the bulb.
They used to have some cheezy name like Electrical Storm.....
I know Spencers sells something similar too.
They were designed so you could put your finger on the bulb and the electric energy would go in that direction.

You could easily make one of these into a safe topper.

I think you maybe talking about a plasma globe, I've seen those on eBay.

Question; What do they call those electrical or plasma discharges under glass like I saw at Quark's Bar at Las Vegas Hilton's Star Trek experience? Big one's on the wall, little ones on the bar top that were in some sort of silica sand. And where are they available?

[StatFreak]

Radio shack used to sell these screw in light bulb thingys that basically had a coil in the middle and shot sparks to the outside of the bulb.
They used to have some cheezy name like Electrical Storm.....
I know Spencers sells something similar too.
They were designed so you could put your finger on the bulb and the electric energy would go in that direction.

You could easily make one of these into a safe topper.

As Uniman said, those are plasma spheres.

I began a project to build one back in the early '80's when very few people knew what they were. I had a 12" sphere made to order. The sphere itself was stock Corning used in laboratory equipment and I gave the supplier my specifications for the inner tube and ball, and had a glass rod attached to the bottom to allow connection to a rubber tube to evacuate the air and replace it with inert gas. This glass extension would then have been sealed once the sphere were filled.

One can use any of the noble gases to get different colors (except Radon, because it's radioactive) and elemental metal contaminants (such as gold, mercury, etc.) can be added to change the color and properties of the plasma as well. The heavier (and therefore, more rare) the gas, the more expensive. As I recall, at that time, a small tank of compressed Xenon was $900, compared to almost nothing (maybe $40) for a huge tank of helium. Neon was also pretty inexpensive. For those interested, pure Xenon plasma is sort of a silvery white color. Pure Krypton is essentially white, but if you mix the two in the sphere, you get a greenish-turquoise color with white overtones.

Unlike neon tube lighting, these spheres need to be filled to 70-80% atmospheric pressure or more, as I recall.  (It's been over 20 years, so excuse my CRS). I had also found someone with experience to help me design the PS. The main design issue was careful placement and orientation of components on the board and proper shielding. It's also not a bad idea to design it with a VFO because different gases and combinations require different different frequencies to properly excite them. The frequency needed can range from 5khz to as high as 100khz. After realizing what could be done, I decided to get a 24" sphere and really do it right. Unfortunately, some life issues came up, as they often do, and I never got the project finished.

[brichter]

One can use any of the noble gases to get different colors (except Radon, because it's radioactive) and elemental metal contaminants (such as gold, mercury, etc.) can be added to change the color and properties of the plasma as well.

 

So what would happen if you did use Radon? Mushroom cloud?

[StatFreak]

One can use any of the noble gases to get different colors (except Radon, because it's radioactive) and elemental metal contaminants (such as gold, mercury, etc.) can be added to change the color and properties of the plasma as well.

 

So what would happen if you did use Radon? Mushroom cloud?

No, radon is a noble gas and is essentially non-reactive with other elements. Most likely nothing will happen to you if you had a sphere filled with radon, since you wouldn't be breathing it and because it has a fairly short half-life. But no one is going to sell it to you. Long term exposure causes lung cancer, and exposure to it is more common that most people think. In fact, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., second only to smoking cigarettes. According to the officials, 21,000 people a year in the U.S. die from radon induced lung cancer.

It is created by the decay of radium which is formed as part of the decay process of naturally occurring uranium. It seeps into homes from the ground and usually goes undetected. Radon can build to dangerous levels because houses are deliberately built to be as air tight as possible, and this prevents the gas from escaping. Home detection kits are readily available, but this particular issue gets almost no press.

I hadn't intended to end up pointing out the dangers of radon gas, but as long as you asked, it is something to think about.

So, now we've gone from Mikohn progressive systems to Tesla coils to plasma spheres to radon gas poisoning...

We do bounce around, don't we..

[CaptainHappy]

Why didn't you use Hydrogen??? 

Unfortunately, some life issues came up, as they often do, and I never got the project finished.

I guess that things just blew up in your life???

 

CH

[StatFreak]

Why didn't you use Hydrogen??? 
...

, I wanted to, but I was in the wrong column at the Periodic checkout Table.
Besides, I was running short on neutrons -- I even had to borrow a mole from my next-door neighbor.

Unfortunately, some life issues came up, as they often do, and I never got the project finished.

I guess that things just blew up in your life???



 

CH

What a yarn I could spin -- Oh, the humanity! This thread has definitely unraveled.

 

[brichter]

One can use any of the noble gases to get different colors (except Radon, because it's radioactive) and elemental metal contaminants (such as gold, mercury, etc.) can be added to change the color and properties of the plasma as well.

 

So what would happen if you did use Radon? Mushroom cloud?

No, radon is a noble gas and is essentially non-reactive with other elements. Most likely nothing will happen to you if you had a sphere filled with radon, since you wouldn't be breathing it and because it has a fairly short half-life. But no one is going to sell it to you. Long term exposure causes lung cancer, and exposure to it is more common that most people think. In fact, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., second only to smoking cigarettes. According to the officials, 21,000 people a year in the U.S. die from radon induced lung cancer.

It is created by the decay of radium which is formed as part of the decay process of naturally occurring uranium. It seeps into homes from the ground and usually goes undetected. Radon can build to dangerous levels because houses are deliberately built to be as air tight as possible, and this prevents the gas from escaping. Home detection kits are readily available, but this particular issue gets almost no press.

I hadn't intended to end up pointing out the dangers of radon gas, but as long as you asked, it is something to think about.

So, now we've gone from Mikohn progressive systems to Tesla coils to plasma spheres to radon gas poisoning...

We do bounce around, don't we..

I just wanted to know what would happen if I passed a massive high frequency electrical chrge through it. That's what everybody wonders about, right?

[StatFreak]

I just wanted to know what would happen if I passed a massive high frequency electrical chrge through it. That's what everybody wonders about, right?

 

           ♫    ♫  "And if you ever saw it," ♫   ♫
  ♫♫ "You would even say, 'it glows!'" ♫♫ 
                       -
               ♫    "All of the other gasses "   ♫
         ♫     "Used to laugh and call it names"      ♫
             ♫ ♫ "They never let poor Radon" ♫ ♫ 
              ♫   "Join in any plasma games." ♫       

[Thor777]

He's now a poet!

 

[CaptainHappy]

He's now a poet!

 

Yeah, what's next????

CH

[stayouttadabunker]

LOL .......he's gonna be singing and dancing on youtube....

[cadillacpro]

Did your package arrive today? And in one piece

[stayouttadabunker]

Remember what you warned me about?

I forgot! LOL   
I walked in the door, brought it into the living room and opened it up.
All over the living room floor...my wife picked it all up because
we were in a hurry to get out to go do some xmas shopping...LOL
Holy Crap!!!
How many boxes did you use????
No wonder the guy brought it back to ya!
Thank you very much for it...now I gotta get the Supreme and Super Controller in
and try out that baby!

[cadillacpro]

I take it arrived in one piece Tell the wife I am sorry for the mess but I wanted it in one piece for you Have fun!!!!

[cadillacpro]

What info do you have on this board???

[stayouttadabunker]

I have a whole thread on it...LOL
I can't communicate with it.
Something doesn't work with my serial connection cable configuration.
I've tried several different ways to get it going but I haven't had any luck with it.
The Supreme manual talks about it and so does the Mikohn Download program.
For the time being, it sits by my desk awaiting for me to figure out how to "talk" to it.
Here's a link to the thread on the Mikohn Animation Mark2 board.>>>

http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=5361.msg47011#msg47011

[cadillacpro]

I got 15 panels and that board arriving soon. Cheap Guess that is our next project!

[stayouttadabunker]

I seen that auction during the week! Cool !

[cadillacpro]

Sucker need Christmas money and I low balled him and he bit