If you’re hunting for a bench power supply, you’ll quickly notice options dry up above 48 V or so, and you definitely won’t find a 330 kV supply on the shelf at your local electronics shop. But with just a few parts, [Mircemk] has crafted a high-voltage source from a modified PC power supply that delivers electrifying results.
The sparks arcing over a foot of thin air are a dead giveaway, but let’s be clear: this project is not for beginners. High voltage — defined as around 1,000 V and up, with this project hitting 350 times that — carries risks of severe injury or death. Only tackle it if you fully understand the dangers and take precautions like proper insulation and never working alone.
This project showcases a Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier, a clever setup using diodes and capacitors to step up voltage. The capacitors charge and discharge in an alternating pattern, doubling the voltage after each diode pair. [Mircemk] uses 3 mm thick Plexiglas as an insulator, providing both structure and electrical isolation for the diode-capacitor cascade.
To achieve the 330,000 V output, [Mircemk] starts by modifying a standard PC ATX power supply, removing the Schottky diodes from the secondary winding’s output to produce a roughly 15 V square wave. This feeds into another transformer, boosting the voltage before it enters the Cockcroft-Walton multiplier. At first glance, the multiplier’s sides look identical, but their opposite polarities create a massive potential difference across the spark gap.
[Mircemk]’s benchtop exploration into high-voltage territory is a shocking success. If this project lights up your curiosity, dive into our other high-voltage adventures, like DIY Tesla coils or plasma speakers, for more electrifying inspiration.
okay, impressive sparks, what could possibly go wrong here…
Why are there so many people putting videos online with “this video is sponsored by…”. Why are they selling their soul for a free PCB. In this case it’s even worse considering that the video/project has not a single PCB in sight. It makes it all look so cheap for no reason.
How is being sponsored by a wholesome PCB company selling your soul? Just because no PCBs feature in this video doesn’t mean all those who watch it won’t be interested in getting their own PCBs made.
It’s certainly less controversial than some certain sponsors and less annoying than the VPN sponsors that push the idea of anonymity and security by using their VPN – in most cases your ISP isn’t spying on you so by letting VPN provider see your data you’re effectively letting them spy on you should they choose to do so. The VPN doesn’t make any difference, simply means a different entity sees your unencrypted data first. I guess the real uses for VPNs are too taboo for youtube so they can’t be mentioned…
‘These people’ are not ‘selling their soul’ if they include sponsorship in their videos. I guess if you dig a little deeper you’ll find they do that because they get money for it. For me, that is an acceptable tradeoff: either this video with sponsorship or no video is an easy choice for me. I hope he does not mind me skipping 1min if I see sponsorship stuff?
I’ll avoid discussing the existence of ‘souls’, or why you think things look cheap in a video you got for free.