[ARC5] ARC-2 power supply

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 3 Jun 2012 at 16:21, David Stinson wrote:

> A few people asked me about the non-isolated, voltage quadrupler
> ARC-2 power supply shown in Oct 1961 73 Magazine.
> I've scanned the diagram, but I must again urge you 
> not to build this thing.  You're asking to get dead.
> But it's your bacon, so fry it how you like:
> 
> http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/ARC2KillerPS.jpg

Yeah. That's the one: the Dutch underground used that same design in a PS 
they used with a "spy transmitter" during WWII.

ONE of the bigger problems with that design is that HV current is only limited 
by the destruction-current of the diodes: probably "quite a number" of amps, 
not milliamps.

However, there are other safety problems with it too.

Even so, in a real, life-threatening emergency, it might SAVE a life or two. It 
certainly did during WWII...

Oh...one more thing: the Dutch Underground version used 220 VAC as the 
primary...  :-(

Ken W7EKB