Tools
25 July 2018Static Applicator - Portable
I've seen a few interesting articles on creating static applicators instead of purchasing commercial units, a particularly good one being this video by Luke Towan, so here's my attempt at that...
This is a small version, that might be a little under-powered, but it does mean it can run from a battery or a USB power source.
Parts Required
Construction
| 1x | Air Ionizer Airborne Negative DIY Ion Anion Generator Wired DC12V Output UK | eBay | £4.79 |
| 1x | 12V Step-Up/Step-Down Voltage Regulator S10V2F12 | HobbyTronics | £4.08 |
| 1x | Small Sieve | eBay | £2.59 |
| 1x | PP3 Battery Lead | HobbyTronics | £0.24 |
| 1x | Crocodile clip | HobbyTronics | £0.49 |
| 1x | Momentary Push Button Switch | eBay | £2.25 |
| 1x | Micro USB Male to Female Panel Mount Extension Adapter Cable | eBay | £1.49 |
| Total | £15.93 |
Consumables
| Static Grass | eBay | £2.89 |
Build
The Ion generator has the following specs:
| Power requirements | DC 12V |
| Output voltage | -4kV ~ -6kV DC |
| Power use | <1W |
| Anion quantity | 15million pcs/cc air at distance 5cm |
The properties of the ionizer are fairly vague, and as it's made of pure Chinesium there could be a fair amount of variability. Taking the power and voltage at face-value gives us a rough current requirement of about 80mA.
So that we don't have to use a chunky 12V power supply, we'll use a step-up power regulator. These little modules can take any input voltage between 2.5V and 18V, and output a fairly accurate 12V. They're also tiny. The main specs are:
| Input voltage | 2.5V - 18V |
| Output voltage | 12V ±4% |
| Continuous current | 200mA |
| Size | 10mm x 15mm x 3mm |
It should be a fairly simple case of connecting a battery to the regulator, the regulator to the generator, with a switch between so we can turn the thing off.