What to do with new toy... 6000V power supply.. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2013, 06:13:53 am
content: So the ebay gods shined upon me, and I scored a 6000V 200mA (or 200W whichever comes first) programmable current limited power supply for 25bucks USD shipped to my door.(Thermo Scientific) E-C Apparatus EC6000PHere are the quick specs:http://purco.qc.ca/ftp/Equipment%20Manuals/ec600-90/221.pdfIt's originally intended for electrophoresis:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ElectrophoresisIt appears to be an older model and it took all of my google skills just to find a poor quality scanned user manual.I plugged it in and it appears to work fine. The only meter I had around at the time only went to 600V so I've only actually measured it to 500V but the internal display was accurate to within 100mV. The internal display says it reached the higher voltages with nothing connected.It's programmable in 1V, 1mA, or 1W increments from the front panel (no PC connection). The modes are constant voltage, constant current, and constant power. There are apparently a bunch of program steps that you can setup with timers to step from one setting to the next at designated times. The output is through 4 sets of standard banana plugs on the front (all in parallel).I took some pictures but my lighting is terrible and my phone camera is terrible so the pictures look... well... terrible...I borrowed these photos from another ebay auction. It looks the same as mine.It was an impulse buy based on the price and I don't have any real use in mind.So the big question is........What cool stuff can I do with a 6000V power supply?**besides the obvious.... electrophoresis(and yes I know 6000V is dangerous, and yes I know to be careful, and yes I know the sky is falling....)

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2013, 06:28:54 am
content: Where are the arc pics?

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2013, 06:44:19 am
content: I have 2 powersupplys that do 2000V , but only 5 and 1 mA. For tube work I have a heathkit upto 450V and something like 200mA from the topof my head.So you can use it for tube measurements, to make a DC bias when using bridges (many bridges go upto 300 or 600V)I bought the 2000V HP to test caps for DC leakahe and reformimg HV electrolityc caps and caps from CRT cascades.

author: ElectroIrradiator
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2013, 07:32:59 am
content: Build a high repetition rate, high average power, ultravioletNitrogen T.E.A. Laser.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2013, 06:46:53 pm
content: Cool ideas. Ever since I found out about the huge capacitance dependance on bias voltage of some caps, I've been meaning to get a means of measuring that. What bridge would you recommend? I'm mostly interested in under 100V for cap biasing but having the capability to do 6000 is pretty cool.Does anyone know of a low power probe/attenuator in the range of 100:1 to 1000:1 that doesn't look like a giant stun gun?

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2013, 06:56:36 pm
content: GR1608, GR1650, GR1617, HP4260, GR1620, Marconi TF1313 etc, almost every bridge can do this.I have all those bridges and some more, exept the 1617, but I would love to have the GR-1617 That bridge measures leakage too, very cool

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2013, 08:43:54 pm
content: Glad someone else got one; you'll find on my old posts I got my 3kV EC for $10, $20 for shipping IIRC. My intended purpose was #1, destructive testing of components and insulation checking and #2, testing voltmeter limits. They are SMPS, FYI, so they are far noisier than linearly generated HV.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2013, 09:38:55 pm
content: I think the deal is it's classified as a "Medical Device" in ebay, and that's not something most people search through when you are looking for a power supply. I think I just searched for "power supply" and waded through the junk.Have you destroyed anything fun?

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2013, 12:14:12 pm
content: In a way destroying them is fun because it pops [ no louder than snapping a soda can open] and smokes, but being able to truly see the limits of components per their rating, is a great way to build confidence in a purchased batch from eBay if you fear counterfeit parts as I do. I test resistors, capacitors, fuses, insulated wires to failure, to name a few, and that's with every batch I purchase from an unknown source. So in some ways its a never ending task.One thing I've learned doing it is you can eye ball counterfeit with good confidence, if it looks screwy it probably is, and the EC can confirm it.Quote from: Smokey on August 12, 2013, 09:38:55 pm

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2013, 12:17:57 pm
content: Can we see the inside?

author: KD0CAC John
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2013, 12:55:51 pm
content: " One of these days "I have been telling myself to build a tester for RF amplifier tubes , most of the amps I have worked on run around 2,500 - 4,500 volts and low amps .The tube testers do not have enough power to test these tubes , so the idea of building a tester with variable voltage in that range to be able to really test tubes without having the amp for the tube in question .

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2013, 06:20:11 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on August 13, 2013, 12:17:57 pmThat'll cost you extra!!I took the cover off and the top board isn't very interesting. It looks like the real guts are buried pretty deep.

author: ElectroIrradiator
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2013, 06:58:06 pm
content: Quote from: KD0CAC John on August 13, 2013, 12:55:51 pmNot sure if we are talking about the same thing here, but I would recommend *not* using standard receiving tube testing techniques on large transmitter tubes. Large tubes, which has been in storage for many years, frequently needs to be brought back to a serviceable condition *slowly* and methodically.If you just hammer them with full power, they will frequently fail in more or less spectacular fashion. That is part of the reason for the many failures among for instance NOS radiation cooled glass tubes.