NiCd Zapper

[Frogface]

Here's a zapper I found stuck in an old erector set I got at a garage sale. I don't know where it came from but it looks better thought out than some of the other zappers I've seen. Everything’s straightforward except for a couple of transformers. He calls them:

T1 White Dot Inverter Transformer, and (Electronics Goldmine #N1703)
T2 Red Trigger Transformer (Electronics Goldmine #N1700)

Electronics Goldmine no longer stocks the parts, and there's no other identifying data for the transformers. Does anybody have an idea on what little transformers would work here?

I'm attaching the circuit, the parts list and the circuit explanation. They're pretty interesting.

 

[duke37]

This is very much like a flash circuit in a camera. I managed to beg a used disposable camera from a shop that did the developing. The shop assisstant told me to be careful since it could bite - she was right!

 

[Resqueline]

Yes, those are all the parts normally used in a photoflash. Just get an old flash and wire a NiCd cell holder in series with the flashlamp.

 

[(*steve*)]

"Several Amps" should probably be "Several tens of amps".

You could get an old disposable camera with a flash and place the batteries in series with the flash tube.

Personally, I think that will result in far too much energy, and would advise connecting the batteries across the capacitor after you have charged it up to an appropriate voltage (may be under 50V). Of course that does cause a bit of arcing and some risk of exposure to the voltage on the capacitor (*OUCH*).

 

[shrtrnd]

Electronics Goldmine used to have manufacturer's data sheet for their items.
Did you happen to ask if they had the data on those two transformers they used to sell?
I built one of these things 30 years ago. It passes a high current through the battery, to
burn-off material that tends to short the NiCad over time. They work, but the batteries
never did last much longer after I 'zapped' 'em anyway. Just letting you know.