12VDC Fluorescent Lamp Driver

A number of people have been unable to find the transformer needed for the Black Light project, so I looked around to see if I could find a fluorescent lamp driver that does not require any special components. I finally found one in Electronics Now. Here it is. It uses a normal 120 to 6V stepdown transformer in reverse to step 12V to about 350V to drive a lamp without the need to warm the filaments.

Schematic

Parts

Part Total Qty. Description Substitutions C1 1 100uf 25V Electrolytic Capacitor C2,C3 2 0.01uf 25V Ceramic Disc Capacitor C4 1 0.01uf 1KV Ceramic Disc Capacitor R1 1 1K 1/4W Resistor R2 1 2.7K 1/4W Resistor Q1 1 IRF510 MOSFET U1 1 TLC555 Timer IC T1 1 6V 300mA Transformer LAMP 1 4W Fluorescent Lamp MISC 1 Board, Wire, Heatsink For Q1 Note Q1 must be installed on a heat sink. A 240V to 10V transformer will work better then the one in the parts list. The problem is that they are hard to find. This circuit can give a nasty (but not too dangerous) shock. Be careful around the output leads.