Made a simple variable relaxation oscilator

[zeal422]

Hey! And yes, I am still a noob in electronics, but learning... Here it is... https://i.imgur.com/FgzsZ8u.mp4 It's so cool to know the potential of these old babies, basically they're a vacuum tube (of sorts). I was thinking of making a random pattern blinking lamp but if you have more neat ideas in mind, please let me know, cheers! 

[RoGeorge]

 
Song title?

[zeal422]

Song title?

TOOL - Fear Inoculum 

[Zero999]

A reverse bias oscillator.

Note this circuit puts the transistor under a lot of stress and will reduce its h_FE, so you might not want to use Q1 for other circuits.


EDIT: I forgot, D1 should be an LED and I accidentally used a PNP symbol.

[zeal422]

A reverse bias oscillator.

Note this circuit puts the transistor under a lot of stress and will reduce its h_FE, so you might not want to use Q1 for other circuits.

I wasn't using any transistors in this one, just straight small 18VAC variac to a reverse 12-0-12 transformer to control the mains voltage more precisely to get a variation from 0 to 260

[Zero999]

A reverse bias oscillator.

Note this circuit puts the transistor under a lot of stress and will reduce its h_FE, so you might not want to use Q1 for other circuits.

I wasn't using any transistors in this one, just straight small 18VAC variac to a reverse 12-0-12 transformer to control the mains voltage more precisely to get a variation from 0 to 260

I know. I'm familiar with the circuit. It uses the neon lamp as a switch. When the voltage exceeds a certain point, the lamp arcs over and discharges the capacitor, the lamp goes off, once the current drops below a certain value and the cycle repeats.

The frequency of the flashing will probably vary with the ambient lighting: it'll speed up in bright light and slow down in the dark.

You said you wanted ideas, so I posted one.

[zeal422]

A reverse bias oscillator.

Note this circuit puts the transistor under a lot of stress and will reduce its h_FE, so you might not want to use Q1 for other circuits.

I wasn't using any transistors in this one, just straight small 18VAC variac to a reverse 12-0-12 transformer to control the mains voltage more precisely to get a variation from 0 to 260

I know. I'm familiar with the circuit. It uses the neon lamp as a switch. When the voltage exceeds a certain point, the lamp arcs over and discharges the capacitor, the lamp goes off, once the current drops below a certain value and the cycle repeats.

The frequency of the flashing will probably vary with the ambient lighting: it'll speed up in bright light and slow down in the dark.

You said you wanted ideas, so I posted one.

Oh yeah, absolutely, thank you! It's a pretty neat and simple circuit, I didn't know neons could be this simple yet complex