Har funnet litt mer info om denne konstruksjonen rundt om på nettet:
Kan se ut til at det en gang i august var et bilde av innmaten på nettet, men at denne har blitt slettet fram til i dag.
Det påståes at komponentene består av 4 stk. EMI kondensatorer og 1 liten trafo, 2 motstander og en diode.
Iflg. Paul Mcgowan/PS Audio fungerer den slik at kondensatorene "trekker" strøm fra hver av nettkontaktene og lagrer dette helt til det er nok spenning til å gi lys til en lysdiode.
(Dette er fritt oversatt...)
Konseptet ar da at strømmen blir ladet ut av kondensatorene inn i lysdioden; mao. fra støy til lys.
Greia er visstnok også at produktet fungerer i diskantområdet, dvs. ca. 10 ganger lavere i frekvens enn lignende produkter.
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speco2003
08-05-06, 10:06 PM
So I popped the lid off this thing took it back up to the electric shop. It has 4 little capacitors here is the page for the part
http://www.epcos.com/inf/20/20/db/fc_05/X2_B32921_926_305V.pdf
You can find these in the Newark catalog for around 20 cents each.
They are even cheaper at Mouser
http://www.mouser.com/catalog/627/658.pdf
A small transformer to convert to DC for the little lite and 2 resistors, and a gob of silicon
They say the reason it sometimes lights right away and sometimes takes awhile to fill the capacitor.
Her var meldinger fra Paul Mc Gowan selv:
” What's inside a Harvester? Well, basically you have a transformer that connects the line noise with the Harvesting components through its magnetic interface. Then you have a means of converting that noise energy into DC, a bunch of storgae capacitors to collect and store the noise, and a tricky circuit that releases the stored energy when the caps are full.
The transformer? Well, we have to have a way to isolate the Harvester circuitry from the line as it would be dangerous to have it connected directly. Also, the transformer forms part of what's known as a tank circuit - a tuned circuit that grabs only what we want in terms of frequencies.
I don't have schematics to release because we don't want it ripped off. Not that you'd do that. Just explain to your father we are transformer coupling the line noise about 8kHz to a tuned tank circuit, converting that AC noise energy into DC, charging a capacitor until it reaches a certain voltage level and then discharging the capacitor into an LED. In this way, the noise energy is converted to light rather than being shunted off to the neutral or without having to add impedance to the line to isolate noise. ”
Posted by Tweekeng ( A ) on August 07, 2006 at 07:54:31
Just thought you all might find this interesting. Someone from another board opened up a PS Audio Noise Harvester.
Well what do ya know... Four EMI caps and an inductor comprise the "active components".
You would think with the profit margin in these they could afford to pot the entire assembly to help contain the secrets.
http://homepage.mac.com/weiss99/iMovieTheater37.html (Open in New Window)
Posted by Tweekeng ( A ) on August 07, 2006 at 13:03:09
In Reply to: Re: PS Audio Noise Harvester secrets exposed posted by paulmc on August 7, 2006 at 11:20:02:
So beyond the blinking LED gimmik, the Harvester boils down to a noise filter.
Since you seem to imply there is no way anyone could ever duplicate it why don't you tell us how it works.
Not that it matters to me as I work for a ups and line conditioner manufacturer and have everything I could ever need to build my own noise filters. Including access to an industry standard test lab that provides full EMI, ESD, EFT, and surge testing.
09-14-06: Willster
Well, from the comments about the guy that cut one open, it is probably a parallel line filter. The usual reason for combining 3 or 4 caps in parallel is to reduce ESR (equivalent series resistance) which also changes the resonant point of the circuit. The capacitive value adds when they are paralleled (the opposite of risistors). If you really think this helps, make your own with some capacitors. It will be a LOT cheaper that way. As a starting point make the combined capacitance around 1 microfarad. If you like diy you might want to connect them across the back of the duplex outlet so you don't use up a socket.
Not having seen the inside of this thing it is also possible, since there was an inductor in it, that it is what's called a pi filter. It's called that because when you draw the schematic it looks a little like the symbol for pi. A little googling should provide you with more detail than I want to put into this thread. It's amazing how much is charged for things like this considering what simple circuits they are. There is nothing new about these filters other than marketing them to audiophiles for a lot of money.
They work because the electrical circuits in your house tend to act like antennas. The filters roll off the high frequencies (rfi). To optimize them you should figure out where the first and last outlets are on each of your house circuits (not just the ones you are using for your stereo) and place one at both locations on all your circuits.
This is the reply from PS Audio regarding the Harvester vs the audioprism product:
"The Audioprism Quietline does not work like the Harvester. The AQ works by using a capacitor to transfer the noise from the hot lead of your AC line to the neutral lead. Yes noise has a bit less bearing when on the neutral but it is still there and still affecting you sound. It only operates in a very small frequency around 200k.
The Harvester uses a capacitor to pull noise from the hot and neutral lead. We store this energy until it is enough to power a light. Once there is enough energy the light blinks thus converting the noise to light energy. The noise harvester operates in a frequency 10 times lower than the AQ. By operating at this frequency we can remove the actual noise and not the 4th and 5th harmonics of the noise. When we remove the actual noise all the harmonics (or multipliers) of the noise are also eliminated. The Harvester is the only product in the world that eliminates noise, and it is also the only product that works in the 8-15k frequency."
