Yup. The main solenoid is wired like a doorbell buzzer, and the resonator is a series LC across the switch. So the current starts flowing, and after a while the switch opens. The current then has no choice but to charge the C in the resonator (about 0.1 or 0.15uF through the 10 turn winding of the resonator. When the current drops below the critical point, the contacts close, shorting out the resonator series LC circuit. There is a secondary on the resonator of about 1100 turns, which is responsible for the HV output. I just want it to work at 12V. Seems like not too big a demand. Total power consumption is about 40W. Around the turn of the century, they made these things in 220V, 110V and 32V (for farm users) but that's when they were sold as "medical" devices. Now it's my ESD tester. The 50kV output is impressive, and any non-disposable electronics should stay well clear. An inverter would almost certainly get fried as it's in the path of the return current. On Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 7:07 PM, Ryan O'Connor wrote: > So it's some kind of crazy design where a solenoid switches itself (as > an inductor) to an output very briefly? > > Ryan > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .