Run A Mains Lightbulb With AA battery and a Digital Camera..

[The Mighty Volt]

I am sure you guys have heard of this hack....can anybody explain the theory behind it to me. Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Qo68HvxoE

 

[amberwolf]

I can't load the YT page, but my guess is they are using the charging circuitry from the camera flash (which uses high voltage, in the 200-300V+ range, often enough) to run the bulb instead of charging the capacitor to discharge across the flash tube.

If your digicam uses an LED flash it wouldn't work.


But if that's what they're doing, you don't need a digicam--you can use ANY old style camera flash, including those disposable cameras, or all the pile of old junk Goodwill has on their shelves every time I ever go to one.


Just keep in mind that the circuit usually isn't meant to run continuously, so you'd have to add heatsinks to various parts, or actively cool them in some way, and also remember that Wh is still Wh, and a tiny AA battery won't run a high-wattage bulb very long.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

Hi Amberwolf. how are things.

I made a major error in the thread camera....it is supposed to say DISPOSABLE camera in the thread title.

Sorry.

If you youtube-google the {corrected} title, you should get a few examples.

Thanks.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

So..can nobody shed any light on the theory behind how this works and what it shortfalls might be.....it seems too good to be true.

There are lots of websites explaining how to do the trick, but none explaining how it is done or what the science behind it is.

Thanks.

 

[Drunkskunk]

It's just a DC/DC converter. In the camera, it's used to charge up some high voltage capacitors for the flash strobe. here they're just using it to power the bulb.
Those circuits aren't 100% efficient, and they aren't designed for continual use. They're going to get hot trying to run a bulb. I wouldn't expect them to survive long.


An AA battery doesn't have much power, 2-4 watt hours maybe, depending on the type. That's not going to run a 4 watt bulb for too long, even if the circuit does survive.

 

[The Mighty Volt]

It's just a DC/DC converter. In the camera, it's used to charge up some high voltage capacitors for the flash strobe. here they're just using it to power the bulb.
Those circuits aren't 100% efficient, and they aren't designed for continual use. They're going to get hot trying to run a bulb. I wouldn't expect them to survive long.


An AA battery doesn't have much power, 2-4 watt hours maybe, depending on the type. That's not going to run a 4 watt bulb for too long, even if the circuit does survive.

Thanks for that. I felt it was too good to be true.

Maybe I could have a few of them and use them alternately.

 

[amberwolf]

So..can nobody shed any light on the theory behind how this works and what it shortfalls might be.....it seems too good to be true.

There are lots of websites explaining how to do the trick, but none explaining how it is done or what the science behind it is.

Thanks.

This didn't help?

I can't load the YT page, but my guess is they are using the charging circuitry from the camera flash (which uses high voltage, in the 200-300V+ range, often enough) to run the bulb instead of charging the capacitor to discharge across the flash tube.

<snip>

Just keep in mind that the circuit usually isn't meant to run continuously, so you'd have to add heatsinks to various parts, or actively cool them in some way, and also remember that Wh is still Wh, and a tiny AA battery won't run a high-wattage bulb very long.