Hi Sue: I told you about an electronic device
that clears lymphs (The Beck Lymph Pulser).
Here's one that looks much easier and cheaper
to build and may be more effective.
From: "Richard E. Loyd, Ph.D."
Subject: Auto Thumpy update
I have been asked about Mr. Thumpy or Auto Thumpy.
This device is described at http://www.keelynet.com/
It looks like Mr. Thumpy or "Auto Thumpy" as the inventor calls the latest version may be
a good substitute for and possibly an improvement on the Beck magnetic
pulse generator. I will describe how I put one of these together.
If you do not know what a capacitor is or how to discharge one, please do not try this without help. High voltage is involved and you could get hurt or worse, even if the unit is not plugged in. The unit must be unplugged, and the capacitor discharged before you begin work. The party strobe was purchased at Radio Shack. Part number 42-3009. The smaller unit, part number 42-3048 is much more compact and may work as well. Both list at $35. I chose the 42-3009 because it would flash a bit slower (more time to charge may mean a stronger pulse) and because it was on sale for $29.99. I removed the back and shorted out the capacitor. It did not have a charge. After identifying the positive and negative side, I removed the capacitor, and carefully reamed the holes out a bit larger. In what had been the positive hole, I soldered a 4 inch piece of 18 gauge insulated hook up wire. The other end of the wire I soldered onto the positive wire of the capacitor. I ran a 4 foot length of 16 gauge speaker wire through one of the holes in the back of the unit, and tied a knot in it to keep it from pulling back out. One wire goes to the negative hole where the capacitor had been, and the other wire goes to the negative side of the capacitor. The capacitor can be fastened down as desired. I am taping it to the line cord to keep it from flopping around. On the far end of the speaker wire is the coil, MCM part number 50-940 (as used in Beck magnetic pulsers).
So the coil is now in series with the capacitor. Where the speaker wire attaches to the coil, the solder joints are protected with heat-shrink tubing and the coil and connections are wrapped in electrical tape. The back was replaced on the strobe box. After plugging the box in, I turned it on and turned the knob until the strobe began to flash. It can be slowed down to about 1 flash per second. It would be desirable to cover the strobe cover with something opaque. I have a flat washer that I use to test magnetic pulsers. A Beck-type pulser based on a Vivitar 1900 will loft the washer a foot or so after a 10 second charge. Auto Thumpy can only move it an inch or so.
Not surprising in view of the fact that the Vivitar
has a 250 mf 330 volt capacitor compared to the Radio Shack unit's 47 mf
and 160 volts. I tried to buy a bigger capacitor from Radio Shack, but
they have to be special ordered. I later picked up a 330 mf 160 volt capacitor
at Supertronix and installed it. The unit now puts out a good strong pulse,
almost as strong as the original Beck magnetic pulser. I turned up the
rate until it was pulsing many times a second. It still produced a strong
pulse. After a minute, the large resistor on the unit began to smoke. At
a reduced rate of about one pulse per second, the resistor runs hot, but
not excessively hot. It might run cooler if the coil were in series with
the flash tube, but I doubt it. And it is easier to change the plug-in
flash tube if needed this way as I have not soldered to its leads as the
original builder did. This device has 2 advantages - it is line powered,
and puts out a lot of
pulses per hour. The Vivitar uses a lot of batteries,
and needs frequent rests every hundred pulses or so if powered by an AC
adapter.
Dick
From: "Richard E. Loyd, Ph.D."
Subject: Super Thumpy
Not being one who leaves
well enough alone, I went out and bought the small party strobe from Radio
Shack, part number 42-3048. I turned off and unplugged the unit, and then
took out the 4 screws that hold the cover on, the 4 screws that hold the
printed circuit board down, and the 2 screws that hold the strobe cover
on. The strobe housing and chassis slip right out without disconnecting
any wires. (Please do not try any of this if you do not know how to identify
a capacitor or discharge it. These strobe units are dangerous even when
not plugged in due to the charge in the capacitor.) I made sure the capacitor
was discharged, and cut the wire leading to one end of the flash tube,
leaving enough length on each end to attach the 4 feet of 16 gauge speaker
wire that goes to the coil. It is important to cut a wire leading to an
end, not the middle ot the tube. Making sure that nothing was shorted out,
I plugged in the still disassembled unit and turned it on. The pulse was
rather feeble as expected. The large capacitor is a 9 mf at 600 volts.
I measured the voltage on the capacitor. It was just over 250.
The contact near the center of the printed circuit board is the negative end, by the way. I wanted a 200 or so mf at 600 volts, but was unable to find one at Supertronix. In any case, it would probably be too big for the case. So I settled on a 100 mf at 450 volts. With the device unplugged and the capacitor discharged, I removed the capacitor and replaced it with the new one. All connections were insulated, and the coil wrapped with electrical tape, as this is an experimental magnetic pulser, not a shock therapy device. I also put black electrical tape over the clear strobe cover. With credit cards and other magnetic material removed from the area, I tried out the modified device. Very nice pulse. Looks better than the Radio Shack strobe in the larger box. The circuit board also looks much more robust and the capacitor fires the strobe directly, so there is no series resistor overheating in this one. Much better device.
Dick