Making ballasts DIY

[lasagafield]

I've looked around online for information on making your own magnetic ballasts but there's little in the way of information on it (or it's been flooded with convert to electronic advert rubbish).
Anyone know anything about it?

[Slyspark]

You'd probably he best speaking to Ash about this. I think he's probably the resident expert there.....

[Kev]

As far as I know ash is seriously looking in to this. Are you coming to the meet as I have invited ash and he is trying to make arrangements

[Ash]

I am looking into this myself, but i think not in the same way you (Lasagafield) want to. Here are your options :

1
Make them using parts for DIY transformer construction - E/I plates and bobbin

Advantage : The best quality ballast you can make (without special equipment)

Problem : Ballasts need an air gap of a determined size in the core. In transformers the design goal is opposite, to eliminate the gaps as much as possible. The laminations (steel plates for the core) made for transformers are specifically designed for the latter. There are ones designed for devices with a gap, but are not as widely available

2
Make them in the "big gap open core" design (cheap crude FL chokes from the 60s/70s)

Advantage : Very basic design, simple, forgiving to bad precision, probably forgiving to bad quality steel

Disadvantages : Not precise (lamp current may be off the mark), very leaky magnetically (so tend to be buzzy)



The design/calculation theory is straightforward, but still, i guess we gotta be prepared to waste some copper wire and possibly blow a tube or two in the first attempts

There indeed is no material about ballasts, but there is about transformers, so that should give you a start

Here is one : https://ludens.cl/Electron/trafos/trafos.html

Check out the stuff and think what you actually want

[lasagafield]

As far as I know ash is seriously looking in to this. Are you coming to the meet as I have invited ash and he is trying to make arrangements

Afraid not.
Don't drive so everywhere I go's local.
I am hoping to get a car next year so if plans don't fall through.

Ash that's a fantastic find.
Thank you for that.