Many electronics enthusiasts are a bit afraid of analog electronics as they find it somewhat difficult to understand. Therefore, they limit themselves to microcontrollers reading a sensor and switching a relay or driving a motor. This is a shame as many fun things can be accomplished with a few discrete parts soldered together in a clever way.

In this video* we show you how to build a voltage inverter that can light a 230-VAC lightbulb from a tiny 1.5 V button cell. This may sound fantastic and complicated, but actually it isn’t that hard to accomplish. The circuit presented here uses only seven parts including the button cell.

You Too Can Build This Voltage Inverter

Because the voltage inverter circuit is so simple, it isn’t necessary to design a printed circuit board for it, or assemble it on prototyping board. All the components can simply be soldered directly to each other like they did up to the fifties of the previous century. The result is pretty amazing and shows that you too can be an analog electronics design hero.

Warning: this circuit produces potentially lethal voltages. Handle with care!
 

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* This video was first broadcast on Elektor TV on April 1, 2022.