Previous thread: Flyback transformer
So, in short, I'm attempting to build a flyback transformer. The schematic I am using is this:
And the flyback core looks like this:
Upon recommendation from the previous thread, I got an actual ferrite core from a TV and wound it myself, 10x 80 turns of 0.125mm copper wire (as in 800), each layer (composed of 80 turns) separated by insulation tape. The primary coil (5 turns) was wound underneath these. All the turns are over the airgap in the flyback core.
The circuit is running to an extent. There's a high pitched squeal when it turns on, and the MOSFET heats up. But no arc. I haven't tried measuring output voltage because I'm worried about frying the multimeter, but it should produce an arc.
I'm really not sure what's going wrong here. I can confirm that the circuit is assembled correctly. The flyback core was damaged when trying to take it out (one of the bars snapped in two), but I glued it back together, having been told that would fix it, and I don't see why that would not be the case.
My power supply is 12V, provided by a 9V and 2x1.5V in series, as required.
I have been told before that the circuit schematic given is not very efficient (as shown by the MOSFET heating up). I'd like to point out that at this stage, getting the circuit to work at all is a greater priority for me than efficiency. I don't want to shell out on new components or build a whole new circuit until I'm sure that that's the issue here.
Overall view of the circuit build:
Okay, got round to testing it. Anda aka were right about the power supply. When running, the PD across the batteries drops to ~9V. I tested it with 15V - dropped down to 10. At 12V the output current was about 0.2A. Makes sense I guess.
Question is: what could I use to fix this? I'd rather still use batteries due to portability.