Re: Xenon Short Arc Igniter Help? (fwd)

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Original poster: <sroys@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 22:22:45 -0800
From: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>, hvlist <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Xenon Short Arc Igniter Help? (fwd)


> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 10:01:06 -0700
> From: robert heidlebaugh <rheidlebaugh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Xenon Short Arc Igniter Help?
>
> Xenon flash lamp trigger coils are made to fire photo flash lamps and
strobe
> lamps many photo labs can supply old camera flash assemblies or you can
> order just the trigger coil for under $5 and power then off line voltage.
> They produce a 3000 v trigger voltage,
>    Robert  H
> --
But then you're faced with the problem of coupling it to the lamp.  Unlike
the usual flash lamp, most short arc tubes don't have a separate trigger
electrode.  You have to do what's called "series triggering".  And, you
might need a whole lot more than 3-5 kV to trigger it, depending on just how
"short" the gap is.  Arc lamps run at fairly high pressures (compared to a
xenon flash lamp at 450 torr)

A great reference on this sort of thing is Edgerton's book "Electronic
strobe flash" (or maybe it's "Electronic Flash, Strobe").. anyway, it's <$20
from MIT press and well worth it if you're going to be doing much with this
sort of thing.

You also might be able to find out lots of useful stuff if you check out the
tube manufacturer's websites (Philips used to make flash tubes, and Perkin
Elmer has what used to be EG&G.  I think Osram also makes short arc
tubes...).  While there's a fairly large variation in envelope shapes and
sizes, there's not a huge variation in actual operating method.

Jim Lux

> >> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> >> Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 21:21:39 -0500
> >> From: Charles Brush <cfbrush@xxxxxxx>
> >> To: High Voltage list <hvlist@xxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Subject: Xenon Short Arc Igniter Help?
> >>
> >> Hi everyone,
> >>
> >> I have a 750w xenon short arc aviation lamp that I bought on ebay a
> >> few months ago, and I am trying to piece together a power supply for
> >> it.  The lamp requires about 41 amps at 18 volts DC, so I thought a
> >> small DC arc welder might make a good supply for it.  There are some
> >> pretty cheap inverter models that are very light, and have
> >> continuously variable current.  The problem is what do I use as an
> >> igniter circuit to initiate the arc?  I gather about 30kV is
>
>