need fluor. inverter

6V is a little low to find some data sheet/application note circuit to do this, so I suspect you'll have to whip something up yourself. Linear Tech has a long application note by Jim Williams on driving CCFLs that will help, even though your bulb is apparently? a hot filament style.

You can in the sense of reducing the bulb's life (eventually it'll become impossible to start with the voltages specified by the manufacturer), but that's about it. (If you SERIOUSLY overpower it, you can probably heat it up enough to break the glass...)

Try these (as well as the application notes from the likes of Linear Tech, Zetex, etc.):

---Joel Kolstad

Why not just go to the auto parts or RV store and get a little off-the- shelf ordinary 115V power inverter for, say, $30.00

, and plug the lamp into it?

Good Luck! Rich

If you really want to get into this (design something yourself), Abraham Pressman's book on switching power supply design is easy to follow, will teach you all you need to know about the magnetics, and has a section on driving fluorescent lamps (although it's aimed at those making electronic ballasts for standard overhead office lights, but still...).

Winding coils yourself is -- at least for me -- really a lot of fun. Coils are one of the few areas left where you generally really can't just buy something better and cheaper off the shelf (in onesies/twosies)... well, coils and maybe stuff like the homemade high power capacitors you see in peoples' homebrew 1.5kW HF antenna tuners... :-)

I need help in locating a design for an efficent battery powered inverter to power an 8 watt fluorecent ring light.

This ring light is my viewing light source (ac operated) on my stereo microscope, and I am beginning to use it more and more to take digital photos also. I need to be portable on this, though, so have removed the AC cord and supply.

I have tried a few inverters from 8 and 9 watt portable work lights and a battery operated closet light, and they are not too bad (at least they are simple), but I think they all are under powering the light somewhat. They all run on 12 volts. I do not know what frequency they operate on.

What I need it a good small battery powered inverter that will efficiently light this bulb, and preferably run on 6 volts or so. The use is intermittent; a few minutes at a time. Not knowing a lot about fluorescent lights, I don't know if you can damage the bulb by overpowering it a little, but understand that underpowering it will turn the ends black.

Can anyone lead me to a design or maybe a kit to do the job?

Thanks

Here's a fairly simple and efficient inverter

which should do the job.

Oatley Electronics in Australia have a kit

for AUD24 (USD18.50) if you don't want to find all the bits locally.

Note that it will run all ballast type flouro tubes but not CFL lamps designed for the US, so disregard that part of the title if you are in that country.

I just recall that I think IR has something on driving compact flourescents.

Graham

Boo-boo. Shame on you Ross. The Oatley kit is only for CFL's and not standard ballast type flouro tubes.

The article I meant to point to was

however that is probably and overkill for an 8W tube.

I've looked at these app notes, but except for some interesting general design info, they aren't too useful to me. They don't have info on component values or coil info.

Jim

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