Development is continuing! Here are a few blurbs about recent design work.
Control Board Design 95% Complete
The main control board design has been generally completed. A few minor tweaks need to be implemented (primarily related to the high-power DC converter, which hasn't been designed yet). Some testing has been performed with the prototype board and the MIC2171 flyback converter I found on eBay
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High-Voltage Boost Converter
The MIC2171 has been working great for charging the capacitors, but there are a few problems. The transformer was optimized for higher voltages, and the converter control isn't ideal. I found the MIC3172 is very similar, but has an ENABLE pin. I designed a converter based on the MIC3172 and a Coilcraft DA2032-AL transformer, which is ideal for 120-volt output. The entire package is a little less expensive than the eBay converter, but unfortunately adds some work for manufacturing.
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Active Light Probe & Integrating Sphere
I need to plug NQTRONIX and his active light probe. It has been perfect for taking direct measurements of the light output with the new control board. A paper mache'd exercise ball makes a reasonably good integrating sphere. The light output on a bank of three LED's is a bit too bright for the light probe, so more recently I added a mount for a 77mm ND filter. I have a 6-stop and a 10-stop filter, so eventually I can measure the output of the entire flash.
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Test Data Available On Github
I'm making an effort to upload all of my test data for Edgerton and the Mark 2 to github (https://github.com/td0g/high_speed_flash/tree/master/R%26D). This can hopefully be useful for anyone else interested in working with high-speed LED pulses.
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