I created a strobe light circuit that I can trigger from a PIC 18F4550 USB interface I created.
I can only manage to get this strobe to flash at a rate of about 2 per second. I am wondering if someone can take a look at the circuit and pose some suggestions as to ways to speed up the repeat time. I would like to see this unit firing at about 20 per second max.
the circuit can be found here:
TIA, Tim
"Finite"
** No it can't...... Phil
The SCR trigger current (0.34mA) is about 20 to 30x too low, at least for common SCRs I'm familiar with. You could try changing R3 to 33k.
As for a faster repetition rate, you could reduce R1, which limits the flash-capacitor C1 charging current. You can also increase C2 to insure fully charging C1.
But watch out, for an optimal 340V and 22uF, E = 0.5 CV^2 = 1.3J, which means 20 flashes a second could be 25 watts of power going someplace, multiple places. Only a little of the energy will be converted to light.
I agree. I would suspect the SCR as well. And I must admit, the C106 is by far NOT my favorite part, even though they are pretty common. There are better choices out there....
And obviously, make sure your power supply is keeping up and that you have a good flashtube. Good luck. -mpm
"mpm"
** C*ck sucker....Peeeeeeeeukkkeeeeeeeeeeeee
.... Phil
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