Monday, October 29, 2012

Reverse-engineering and testing an x-ray filament supply

I bought a set of x-ray equipment on eBay, which included an x-ray head unit, 50KV supply, and filament power supply. The filament supply has a 25-pin connector, and no data or markings on the case or board. I spent some time reverse-engineering the circuit, and determined how it should be connected to make an emission-controlled x-ray system. I tested the whole thing, and it appears to be working as intended at 50KV / 1 mA.  The head unit produces a beam of about 25 degrees total angle.


Monday, October 15, 2012

Turning a laminated wooden vase on the lathe

I've made a series of wooden vases and similar items by laminating contrasting boards, then turning them on the lathe. I like to use walnut, maple and either bloodwood or padauk to create a white/black/red theme. I almost never use stains, instead I just finish the wood with clear wipe-on polyurethane, using two coats for a fairly matte finish.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Measuring the voltage, current, and light output of a strobe flash lamp (Speedotron 4803)

I wired up a high-power photography strobe light to my oscilloscope and made some measurements of the input voltage, current and light output.