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Generating AC

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nicksydney

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Hi,

I'm in the middle of learning about AC circuits and I want to generate sine waves for testing, I don't want to use the AC from the wall as it's too high voltage and don't have the proper equipment to step it down. Anybody have any suggestion on how to generate AC for testing. Looking at around 5V or something lower and anything below 5 or 10Hz should be fine.

Thanks
 
1. Hack apart an old CD or DVD drive and retrieve the motor. It is useable as a 3 phase AC generator. Use a single phase. Drive it with a small DC motor.

2. Hack a small magnetic speed pickup or wind your own and spin a gear below it.

3. Build a solid state wein bridge oscillator.

If you are in the middle of learning AC circuits I suggest you start getting creative. Think about AC generators and how they work.

Ron
 
How much AC current do you need?
 
Hi,

I'm in the middle of learning about AC circuits and I want to generate sine waves for testing, I don't want to use the AC from the wall as it's too high voltage and don't have the proper equipment to step it down. Anybody have any suggestion on how to generate AC for testing. Looking at around 5V or something lower and anything below 5 or 10Hz should be fine.

Thanks

What kind of "testing" are you planning to do? Why does the AC have to be below 5 or 10 Hz for this "testing"?
 
1. Hack apart an old CD or DVD drive and retrieve the motor. It is useable as a 3 phase AC generator. Use a single phase. Drive it with a small DC motor.

2. Hack a small magnetic speed pickup or wind your own and spin a gear below it.

3. Build a solid state wein bridge oscillator.

If you are in the middle of learning AC circuits I suggest you start getting creative. Think about AC generators and how they work.

Ron

I'm looking for something quick and not planning to spend too much time in ripping things apart. You suggestion is good when I start to learn the basic for now my mission is different. Thanks for the suggestion :)
 
What about a small 5v AC-AC (transformer) adapter?

Higher than your 5-10Hz but safely isolated.
 
I was looking around on eBay for something like a step down transformer and I saw this **broken link removed** was wondering if this is suitable for what I'm trying to achieve ?

Thanks
 
No. You cannot use this type of transformer. The output is DC with a background of 50kHz to 150kHz. It is an electronic transformer.
 
All electronics shops in Australia have small transformers. You can get one from an old mobile phone, cordless phone, ding dong doorbell, battery charger, op-shop, junk shop or the tip.
I have hundreds of them.
 
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