Static grass in my water bottle.

[wcfn100]

Here's someone who used the same ion generator.

He has both white wires to the screen and an additional red from the battery negative to the applicator.

http://40khobbyblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/homemade-static-grass-applicator.html



Jason

[Chris333]

I'll give that a try.

Since I cut the plug. Is the striped wire the negative on a wall wart?

[Chris333]

Well it still doesn't do a thing. Wired it forward and backwards, got nothing. Hooked it up to a MRC power pack, got nothing, both ways. All 3 generators.

Flyswatter FTW.

[peteski]

Well I hooked up the power to a wall wart that was giving 13 volts and tried to spark the 2 white wires together... nothing. I've spent like $50 bucks on ion generators that aren't working and my $5 fly swatter is still running. 

And you are 150% sure that you got the polarity correct (on the 12V side)? If you hooked it up in reverse there would not be any spark, and they unit will most likely be now toasted.

If you did have the polarity correct then hook up the low voltage side to the wall wart again but put an ammeter in the circuit (in series) to see if there is any current draw.  Put the meter on the 200mA DC range.  Looking at the specs you should see about 20mA being drawn.  If not then the unit is defective (see if you can get it exchanged for another unit).

[Chris333]

Have no idea of the polarity, but I tried it both ways with 2 different power sources. Other than diodes and caps what in DC needs polarity?

My fly swatter will spark like crazy if I touch the 2 ends (and shock the crap out of you) and this is supposed to be much stronger.

It would seriously take me an hour to check the current draw.

[peteski]

Have no idea of the polarity, but I tried it both ways with 2 different power sources. Other than diodes and caps what in DC needs polarity?

My fly swatter will spark like crazy if I touch the 2 ends (and shock the crap out of you) and this is supposed to be much stronger.

It would seriously take me an hour to check the current draw.

All the semiconductor components and most electrolytic and tantalum caps are polarity sensitive!
A diode can actually be used to protect an electronic circuit, but I wouldn't expect a circuit like the low-cost high-voltage generator to have any protection.  If the first time you hooked up the power to it backwards, you probably fried some transistors inside it.   So, if you randomly connected the power to that device you had a 50/50 chances of blowing it up. You really need to pay attention to DC polarity.

You right about the spark. 6kV would produce a spark couple of millimeters long.

[Chris333]

Oh well so much for simple.

[peteski]

Oh well so much for simple.

Think of it like setting up a piece of track on a table with one end right at the edge.  Put a locomotive on the track, close to the edge. Then take wires connected to your DC throttle (turned all the way up) and then touch the wires to the track (without paying attention to polarity).  You have 50/50 chance that your precious model will roll off the track and end up on the floor.  Polarity matters. 

[Chris333]

But it still works either way 

I pay no attention at all when wiring up a locomotive, the power pack has a direction switch.

When I used to hook up car stereos the speaker wires with the line on them were always the negative. I don't think DC is the same way.

[peteski]

But it still works either way 

Not after it falls on the floor, as in my example. 

I pay no attention at all when wiring up a locomotive, the power pack has a direction switch.

When I used to hook up car stereos the speaker wires with the line on them were always the negative. I don't think DC is the same way.

Good question - I never pay attention to tha,t since I use my multimeter to make sure I have the polarity correct.    It probably is true (again 50/50 odds) but I don't have any DC wall warts with the connector cut off to verify. So dig out your multimeter and check whether this is true on your wall wart.  You know, for someone who used to hook up car stereos (thus have some basic electrical knowledge) you seem to be too casual about this electric polarity thing. 

[wazzou]

Are the Electronic Goldmine Negative Ion Generators no longer available?

[peteski]

Are the Electronic Goldmine Negative Ion Generators no longer available?

Why do you think that?  The one Chris was just discussing was from the Electronic Goldmine.
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/products.asp?dept=1480

[wazzou]

Because it's much different than the one I ordered from them when I built mine a few years ago, cost about $15, had fewer wires and works flawlessly.

[peteski]

Because it's much different than the one I ordered from them when I built mine a few years ago, cost about $15, had fewer wires and works flawlessly.

They are a surplus dealer, they get new items all the time, and many of their items never get restocked.

EDIT:  I just got an email from them and they have a special on the negative ion generator combo:
http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G21325