Battery-Powered Magnetron

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  • čas přidán 19. 11. 2023
  • In this video I'll explain how a Magnetron works, collect some current/voltage numbers on a typical household magnetron from a microwave oven, and show how to power one off a 12V battery.
    Typical DIY magnetron videos only show how to remove the transmitter from the microwave oven and run it with its original circuitry off mains power. Here, I'm basically building a high frequency inverter circuit to run off DC so that the entire device is portable. To do this, I have a ZVS oscillator driving a transformer primary, and the secondary coil is connected to a voltage doubler / rectifier to provide about 3.6 kV DC. There's also a low voltage / high current winding on the transformer to provide power for the Magnetron cathode filament.
    One of the biggest frustrations of this project was trying to deliver enough current to the Magnetron cathode filament with my ZVS flyback transformer. It took a lot of messing around until i discovered that the filament has some RF chokes in series with it, giving it about 2.8 uH of inductance. At 40 KHz, this inductance resulted in too much impedance for enough current to flow. Fortunately, the fix was as simple as adding about 7 uF of capacitance in series with the filament to cancel out the inductive reactance.
    With a proper waveguide, the microwaves could theoretically be focused into a relatively narrow beam, due to their small wavelength. However, that's a project in and of itself, which I'm not going to tackle in this video.
    Output power of the 12V circuit in this video is only around 50-60W, but it can easily be increased by using a larger capacitor value in series with the voltage doubler on the transformer output. Be sure to use metal shielding around yourself and valuable electronics if you do this.
    Schematic Link:
    drive.google.com/file/d/1MyQg...
    Music Used:
    Local Forecast - Elevator
    Kevin MacLeod - Bossa Antigua
    Kevin MacLeod - Lobby Time
    Topher Mohr and Alex Elena - Fortaleza

Komentáře • 973

  • @AsymptoteInverse
    @AsymptoteInverse Před 6 měsíci +553

    I'd like to take just a moment to appreciate that this is the first time I actually feel like I understand how a magnetron works.

    • @chimerahitman
      @chimerahitman Před 6 měsíci +6

      True, always baffled me.

    • @BurnerJones
      @BurnerJones Před 6 měsíci +11

      Same, this has been the best explanation I have ever seen.

    • @wbeaty
      @wbeaty Před 6 měsíci +17

      During WW2, when the UK paperwork arrived at MIT days before the UK inventors did, the physics group tried to figure out the magnetron from first principles.
      I.I. Rabi got it right, saying "why, this is nothing but a whistle!" Others chimed in: "Suuure Rabi, now please explain how a whistle works!"
      (Yep, it's just some beer bottles, with wind blowing across the openings, but using electrons rather than air. Well, more like a many-kilowatts air-raid siren, which can set fires in acoustic absorber materials placed nearby.)

    • @wbeaty
      @wbeaty Před 6 měsíci +9

      @@BurnerJones The difference is, he gets it right. Every textbook I've ever seen gets it wrong, by claiming that it uses resonant microwave cavities (halfwave in diameter).
      No, they're way smaller than GHz half-wave. Instead, they're just like he says: one-turn nH inductors, in parallel with pF capacitors. Tank circuits! (An LC circuit can be far, far smaller than one wavelength.) The rotating electron-beam looks like a spinning wagon-wheel, and it zaps each little capacitor-gap as it zips by, to keep up the CW ringing.

    • @BurnerJones
      @BurnerJones Před 6 měsíci +4

      @@wbeaty It took me a moment but I knew I recognized your name. A friend sent me your website a few weeks ago and I've been reading your articles before bed. Despite being an electronics hobbyist for a long time there were a number of things that didn't make sense to me that do now - thank you for that

  • @madrigo
    @madrigo Před 6 měsíci +848

    Ladies and gentleman, THIS is what I'm talking about. True maker video right here. Technical, but didactic. Easy to follow with basic electronics knowledge and still going WAY beyond the boring flashy stuff you see on other channels. Packed full of content, building a cool idea, troubleshooting the many challenges and still, all withing 15min. Bravo! Amazing content as always Pirate, cheers!!!

    • @rodrigo_dm
      @rodrigo_dm Před 6 měsíci +13

      and hella funny as well!

    •  Před 6 měsíci +24

      The explanation is one of the best, I agree, but I'm missing a safety warning. There have been numerous cases of people causing themselves neural damage, or going BLIND from accidental exposure to an operating microwave oven magnetron. And it's not like the waves go in one direction, they reflect. And it generates so much crap, it's a really bad idea to run this anywhere near an urban area. And not to forget, playing with MOTs alone kills more people than any other projects you find online.

    • @Enderdragon91
      @Enderdragon91 Před 6 měsíci +12

      ​@and let's not forget the dangers of pissing off your local Ham operators with all the radio spikes up and down the spectrum you cause with an unshielded class III device! The horrors as they hunt you down and give you a stern letter or talking to!

    • @NIOC630
      @NIOC630 Před 6 měsíci +4

      Do you have links to those cases? I have never seen one. @

    • @pixieflitwit1516
      @pixieflitwit1516 Před 6 měsíci +4

      @@NIOC630 My instant thought is that it is a stupid idea regardless if you are a ham or not and regardless of whether or not hams might or might not hunt you down (they likely would eventually). It is a stupid idea. Good for nothing more than malicious purposes.

  • @zyeborm
    @zyeborm Před 6 měsíci +302

    Just to mention it. One of the big risks with this kinda RF is it can heat your corneas, you don't have the ability to feel heat there so you won't know it's happening. Once they get above ~40C or so the protein that makes up the lens of your eye will cook and at best you will lose the ability to focus your eyes. Generally you will get cataracts as well fairly rapidly after.
    This isn't the kinda stuff to muck around with casually.

    • @cebruthius
      @cebruthius Před 5 měsíci +49

      THIS should be displayed in a card for 10 seconds before a video like this. Or at least the channel owner should pin this.

    • @paulmaxwell8851
      @paulmaxwell8851 Před 5 měsíci +45

      I agree. I lost my vision to cataracts at a fairly young age due to lifelong exposure to ultraviolet, radio waves, microwaves and x-radiation while tinkering in my basement. It was no fun going blind. I lost the ability to drive a vehicle and my wife had to take over. I even lost the ability to read a magazine or work online. It was truly awful. In the end, I was eventually able to get cataract surgery and life is pretty good now, although I never regained the close-up vision I once had. Tinkering and experimenting is fun, but be careful, and make sure you understand the dangers!

    • @user-lp3cf5yn5b
      @user-lp3cf5yn5b Před 5 měsíci

      ​@@paulmaxwell8851yes. I seem to remember rf safety being covered in the technician class amateur radio tests back in the day, and not looking into waveguides or operating VHF and higher amps with covers removed was a question.

    • @wbeaty
      @wbeaty Před 5 měsíci

      @@paulmaxwell8851 I can SEE my own cataracts, with DIY cataract-viewer. Every year they're slightly bigger. To do this, look at a distant LED in a dark room, then place a powerful converging-lens over your eye. (I use the tiny lens on my swiss army knife.) The bright point LED turns into a bright disk. Any material in your eye will then cast shadows. You'll see "floaters." But if you see any apparent hunks of glass, those are incipient cataracts.
      A better DIY device would have an LED shining through a single optical fiber. Then place the end of the fiber within a few mm of your eye surface. Put it in a dark-painted cup, which correctly positions the fiber when the cup is against your face.

    • @thomasslone1964
      @thomasslone1964 Před 5 měsíci +3

      yea seems like I would only play with this if I had proper shielding and something that could detect rf leakage

  • @christophertelford
    @christophertelford Před 6 měsíci +413

    Exposure to an unshielded magnetron can result in permanent blindness pretty quickly. In the sense that a little exposure can produce a lot of damage. But you won't necessarily realise until a day or two afterwards. A friend of a friend lost 40% of their vision doing this. They were fine straight afterwards and then their vision went cloudy the next day. They didn't recover.

    • @colibrizzonnzzo
      @colibrizzonnzzo Před 6 měsíci +7

      ¿Como me puedo proteger?
      Algún traje especial o gafas?

    • @aaejaebrown5889
      @aaejaebrown5889 Před 6 měsíci +57

      @@colibrizzonnzzo don't mess with it

    • @kyonsmith5203
      @kyonsmith5203 Před 6 měsíci +17

      That sounds more like damage from lasers, not magnetrons.

    • @HoorGuvLabs
      @HoorGuvLabs Před 6 měsíci +73

      ​@@kyonsmith5203 it can cook your eyeballs to medium rare

    • @solarsynapse
      @solarsynapse Před 6 měsíci +19

      WiFi is the same frequency and can do the same thing at high power and close range or lower power for a prolonged time. Don't have a WiFi router at eye level on your desk shelf!!! Some public places install large (As large as 5 feet.) antennas behind walls and ceilings to have good coverage in large areas. I know because I have installed them and questioned the safety. I was told that nobody cares as long as the signal is good. You could be sitting right beside one of the walls. If your back is to the wall, your body will absorb it. If you are facing it, your eyes are being damaged and you don't even feel it.

  • @christopherleubner6633
    @christopherleubner6633 Před 6 měsíci +128

    Ah why your transformer burned out was that when you balanced the impedance you nullified the cathode chokes that are hidden under the rear cover of the magnetron, the mismatch reflected the energy back into the magnetron and the cathode created a ready made antenna. Also the pink insulators are aluminum oxidide doped with either chromium or manganese. The BeO version is bright white and AFAIK the only commercially made oven magnetron that have those are super high power industrial ones or those from early 70's microwave ovens made by Amana.❤

    • @felipel.r.637
      @felipel.r.637 Před 6 měsíci +4

      This comment deserves a pin!

    • @nathanieljames7462
      @nathanieljames7462 Před 6 měsíci

      why does stack exchange say BeO ceramic magnetrons are pink then?

    • @coler154
      @coler154 Před 6 měsíci +5

      @@nathanieljames7462 its better to assume it is and treat it as such.

    • @nathanieljames7462
      @nathanieljames7462 Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@coler154 Agreed.

    • @theterribleanimator1793
      @theterribleanimator1793 Před 6 měsíci +3

      @@nathanieljames7462 Aluminum oxide mixed with chromium will generate a pink solid. Those are a packet of microscopic sinthetic rubies. Berilium oxide is just pure white.

  • @mhyzon1
    @mhyzon1 Před 6 měsíci +21

    I have a Masters in physics. I have taken I don’t know how many electromagnetism courses. This is the first explanation of a magnetron that has made sense.

    • @Immadeus
      @Immadeus Před 3 měsíci +3

      I mean its physics, it doesn't usually make sense when you learn it, it only makes sense when you use and apply the concepts yourself

    • @ihtsarl9115
      @ihtsarl9115 Před 3 měsíci +2

      yip me too I have M.S Electrical Engineering and admit that he very well fed us the theory with a spoon.

  • @thomasthecrunkengine3512
    @thomasthecrunkengine3512 Před 6 měsíci +37

    “Curse this autism of mine.” I FELT THAT SHIT

    • @fun-wi9ke
      @fun-wi9ke Před 3 měsíci

      Being autistic isn't a bad thing

  • @icghost2
    @icghost2 Před 6 měsíci +40

    Something I rarely see mentioned (and occasionally not noted on the component itself) - the white plastic oval connector on the magnetron is actually a 15kv DC capacitor. Yup. I dont know if it routinely includes an integrated discharge resistor (with mgf variations i suppose its best to assume it doesnt unless you can confirm otherwise), but standard microwave tinkering rules apply - use caution! Obviously this can throw math when adding/subtracting capacitance and should be factored into resonance/tank circuit calculations and dont overlook these when salvaging components. Many thanks for the vids - I definitely appreciate a similarly twisted sense of curiosity, particularly when its going first lol

  • @MiguelDeMarchena
    @MiguelDeMarchena Před 6 měsíci +39

    Give the next transformer and voltage multiplier a generous coat of epoxy resin to avoid the (13:51) issue. For all the idea it is a masterpiece of ingenuity.

  • @AlexanderBurgers
    @AlexanderBurgers Před 6 měsíci +41

    13:35 can be beryllium oxide or aluminium oxide. Although given the price of beryllium v/s the price of the whole microwave appliance, I'd say the chance of it being beryllium is *very* low, but it's always good to err on the side of caution if you're not sure. Now if you were disassembling megawatt military radar systems...

    • @thunderlord1263
      @thunderlord1263 Před 6 měsíci +6

      Berrylium is white whilst aluminium oxide is pink most microwaves recently built use aluminum oxide, its cheaper and safer.

    • @T3sl4
      @T3sl4 Před 6 měsíci +12

      @@thunderlord1263 Cool fact, pink aluminum oxide is basically polycrystalline ruby -- the color is chromium doping.

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Před 6 měsíci +5

      Yup they add manganese or chromium to the aluminum oxide to make it pink so that they will know which is which at the end of life.❤

    • @TiSapph
      @TiSapph Před 6 měsíci +6

      There's almost definitely no beryllium oxide in consumer microwaves. Too expensive and not necessary.
      The pink ones are alumina with a little bit of chromium to improve its mechanical properties. The dust of that is still bad to breathe, like with any ceramic dust particles. But at least it won't immediately give you berylliosis and turbocancer or something

    • @SeanBZA
      @SeanBZA Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@TiSapph Yes true, you only will use the beryllium oxide for the absolute best thermal performance, where price is not an option. not on a cheap $40 consumer grade microwave, where the OEM who made it in China only had a $10 budget to assemble it, make all the cavity and case, and ship it to the port, and still expect to make a few cents profit. That big a chunk of beryllium oxide would be more than $40 alone, right from the manufacturer. Plus it will be white, though some are marked with a pink stripe to identify them, though not all are marked, just the part number is.

  • @GerinoMorn
    @GerinoMorn Před 6 měsíci +112

    Also, magnetron + waveguide = EMP gun. IIRC those exist and work perfectly well cooking all unshielded electronics at a fair distance. And small animals. I used to be obsessed with this tech couple decades ago :D

    • @cerberes
      @cerberes Před 6 měsíci +17

      I can’t tell you how many times I wanted one pointed out the back of my car while driving on the freeway. Damn tailgaters!!

    • @WhenIWasAKitten
      @WhenIWasAKitten Před 6 měsíci +11

      Yay Havana syndrome for everyone!!

    • @derpinbird1180
      @derpinbird1180 Před 6 měsíci +3

      @@cerberes The us have experimented with this idea for crowd control and pursuit....with mixed results lol

    • @siajomee
      @siajomee Před 6 měsíci

      Better save it in case it get taken down, I bet this is what powers all these military handheld anti-drone guns. Maybe not with consumer magnetrons if it has to be a rifle, not shotgun, but now it's available for everyone. In few months someone else will try it, make another video, repeat until it gets perfected and some florida man will get jailed for shooting down government/air force/uap objects

    • @Minacious_Shenanigans
      @Minacious_Shenanigans Před 6 měsíci +1

      Do you have a schematic anywhere? (Asking for a friend)

  • @jeanesus
    @jeanesus Před 5 měsíci +4

    One of the simplest most straight forward explanation of the working of a magnetron I've come across.

  • @eDoc2020
    @eDoc2020 Před 6 měsíci +16

    I'm surprised more people haven't corrected you yet, but when a vacuum tube's grid is at zero volts the current is not cut off. To cut off the electron flow you need a negative voltage. For an anecdote, I was working on a guitar amplifier with poor contact to the output tube's grid pin and in less than a minute the anode started to glow red due to the uncontrolled current.

  • @Timey
    @Timey Před 6 měsíci +187

    It'd be interesting to see if you can turn a microwave magetron into radar. Seeing how the story of how microwaves were made is cause some guy was messing with radar when it melted the chocolate in his pocket.

    • @railgap
      @railgap Před 6 měsíci +9

      They don't turn on and off fast enough for anything short range such as an amateur tinkerer would have available.

    • @Kevin-xy2tu
      @Kevin-xy2tu Před 6 měsíci +15

      Old radars used to be like 20 meter wavelength, am sure there a consumer way of building it.
      We don't have to enter nanometer/millimeter wavelength to have a functioning radar. :')

    • @Clancydaenlightened
      @Clancydaenlightened Před 6 měsíci +14

      It's has been tried, the problem is how they design microwave magnetrons, the problem with using the magnetron in radar or rf transmission is that the magnetron cannot be tuned, it's physical construction incorporates it's tuning characteristics
      So if your magnetron operates at 2.6ghz you can't detune and get a 2.1 or 3ghz rf signal out of it
      And becomes unstable when trying to tune it externally

    • @HA7DN
      @HA7DN Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@Clancydaenlightened The frequency can be changed around a bit via modulating the anode current (quite possibly even more with the filament) but that is a small range.

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Před 6 měsíci +3

      You could do this, all you need to do is store the HV in a capacitor and dump it in with a fast switch, then use a pulse timer and a return detector, then take the time traveled and multiply by light speed to get your distance. A Gunn diode with a fast rectifier works well for the detector.

  • @teresashinkansen9402
    @teresashinkansen9402 Před 6 měsíci +31

    Ive messed with high power microwaves and you definitely feel the heat effects, its actually not that different than being close to a bonfire except the heat is not just on the skin, it has a few cm of penetration. The hands and fingers is were this is more noticeable, you feel them warm but instead of feeling immediate cooling as if you removed your hand from an IR source, with microwaves (2.45GHz) feels hot for longer because your whole finger warms up instead of just the surface.

    • @pizzablender
      @pizzablender Před 6 měsíci +22

      The problem is with the eyes, as they have little means to get rid of the heat. And overheated eyeballs would not be fun, in fact, they could mean blindness.

    • @PsRohrbaugh
      @PsRohrbaugh Před 6 měsíci +1

      Oh now I want to play with high power microwaves.

    • @beryllium1932
      @beryllium1932 Před 6 měsíci +5

      @@pizzablender It is speculated that leakage from MOs causes some cataracts.

    • @solarsynapse
      @solarsynapse Před 6 měsíci

      @@beryllium1932 And strong WiFi with 5 foot antennas or weak WiFi at very close range for long times like having a WiFi router on your desk shelf!!!

    • @karlharvymarx2650
      @karlharvymarx2650 Před 6 měsíci

      Popular Mechanics or a similar magazine once had an article about someone trying to invent a system of indoor heating that used microwaves. I think you were supposed to use it like a portable heater, aim it at yourself while you watch "I Love Lucy." I don't know what problem lead the inventor to give up.

  • @andrewhaychemistry
    @andrewhaychemistry Před 6 měsíci +13

    What a brilliant explanation of a magnetron. Best I've ever seen, thanks.

    • @fredfred2363
      @fredfred2363 Před 6 měsíci

      Totally. 👍🏻
      I'd like to see his way of explaining displacement current for antenna theory.

  • @adelinyoungmark1929
    @adelinyoungmark1929 Před 6 měsíci +13

    just learned this recently, but the tube within the magnetron can be used to produce x-rays. its a vacuum tube and with a sufficiently high enough voltage it can produce x-rays, but in a cone out the front and back of the tube, rather than the side because most of the soft x-rays get blocked by the thick copper walls of the tube.

    • @GeoffryGifari
      @GeoffryGifari Před 6 měsíci

      With a microwave magnetron? it won't fry the electrodes?

    • @combycat
      @combycat Před měsícem

      There’s a vacuum tube in it? I thought it was just some other stuff

    • @adelinyoungmark1929
      @adelinyoungmark1929 Před měsícem

      @@combycat the whole inside of the magnetron tube is under vacuum, and it can be brute forced to produce x-rays if you feed it high enough voltage. essentially the magnetron tube is a vacuum tube.

    • @combycat
      @combycat Před měsícem

      @@adelinyoungmark1929 I genuinely didn’t know that. Thanks!!

  • @xmlisnotaprotocol
    @xmlisnotaprotocol Před 6 měsíci +3

    The filaments have 2 RFCs in the can too. That's where most of that inductance comes from. Great video

  • @manitoba-op4jx
    @manitoba-op4jx Před 6 měsíci +11

    what a wonderful and concise explanation of vacuum tubes. thank you for doing them justice

  • @D4RKBRU73
    @D4RKBRU73 Před 6 měsíci +2

    This is by far the best explanation of how a magnetron works that i have seen, well done!

  • @andersjjensen
    @andersjjensen Před 6 měsíci +26

    It's a lot harder to commit piracy in hyperspace than I initially anticipated. You need a whole lot of special gear for that! I can't wait for the episode on the actual hyperdrive, but seeing we're still sorting out the cooling of that, along with basic logistics like heating space rations, I'm guessing that's still a fair ways out. That said, a detour into weaponising the lunch box of death seems in order. Pirates don't just ask politely after all.

    • @mikehorrocks2909
      @mikehorrocks2909 Před 4 měsíci

      Cooling off the hyperdrive? Wouldn’t it be possible to use dry ice for that?🤪

    • @andersjjensen
      @andersjjensen Před 4 měsíci

      @@mikehorrocks2909 I'm assuming a hyper drive needs super conductors, which means cryogenic cooling is required.

  • @rorypenstock1763
    @rorypenstock1763 Před 6 měsíci +4

    This is a better explanation of how magnetrons work than any other I've seen on CZcams. At least, it works for me. Thank you!

  • @leozendo3500
    @leozendo3500 Před 5 měsíci +1

    would not be surprised if this guy got more knowledge than a phd. Not many people can explain the magnetron so well while having the civil/mechanical engineering background on hvac

  • @arkohmay
    @arkohmay Před 6 měsíci +2

    Fantastic video and demonstration. I achieved something similar by running a couple lithium cells into a constant current regulator for the filament, and another battery pack through a zvs circuit driving the primary of a flyback transformer from a CRT TV to lightly and port-ably power a magnetron. However, this setup doesn't allow my magnetron to run at it's conventional power so I made a car battery (power bank from lithium cells) to run an inverter. The catch is, the guts of the newer "Inverter Microwaves" was used instead so no heavy dangerous MOT or HV cap. (instead its a light inverter circuit in a flyback configuration)

  • @chemicalvamp
    @chemicalvamp Před 6 měsíci +5

    You didn't mention how microwaves can damage your eyes. Glad you can still see!

  • @NoPegs
    @NoPegs Před 6 měsíci +16

    You've truly gone insane... Good job.

  • @ElectronicsFreakEF
    @ElectronicsFreakEF Před 6 měsíci +1

    Dude.. You did some real justice to explain magnetron to the audience. Awesome video!👍

  • @vne5195
    @vne5195 Před měsícem +1

    Remember the important rule from the amateur radio test: "Never gaze into the waveguide."

  • @michaelmoorrees3585
    @michaelmoorrees3585 Před 6 měsíci +24

    2:20 - It depends, on grid placement. If close to cathode, it will still conduct at ground, an a negative grid voltage is needed to stop the current flow. In VFD (vacuum fluorescent displays) the grid is closer to the anode, and then a positive grid voltage is needed for conduction.

  • @tenlittleindians
    @tenlittleindians Před 6 měsíci +7

    Interesting project. Perhaps the builder was unaware of 12 volt microwave ovens already being sold commercially?
    I got a 12 volt microwave. They were even sold at large truck stops here in the USA to be used by truckers while on the road.
    They come with an adapter to power them from a normal wall outlet too. They have a set of battery jumper cable style leads to connect to a 12 volt car or truck battery and these cables do get quite warm while heating up your food.

    • @HomelabExtreme
      @HomelabExtreme Před 6 měsíci +3

      Considering it would have to pull something approaching 100A, no wonder the cables get hot.

    • @wbeaty
      @wbeaty Před 5 měsíci

      I had a recent version opened up. It had 250 watt MOSFET modules! 2.45 GHz as usual.
      Instead of an oven, this was actually a microwave plasma-lamp, used to produce daylight in "grow ops." I wonder if the truck-stop microwave ovens use transistors in place of magnetrons? The efficiency might be much higher. The size might be the same, what with massive heatsink needed. Heh, but with transistors, we could add audio modulation, and see if we hear little voices when sticking our heads into the beam. Much like Woody Norris' "sound-laser," but not blocked by wood or sheetrock walls.

  • @robert5
    @robert5 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Mind blowing stuff.... Sometimes it is fun to listen and watch stuff you don't understand.... lol. i wish this guy was my neighbor. Maybe If I brought ever enough good beer and hung out with him enough I might eventually gain a tiny bit of understanding about electricity and and all these magic things strung together to make it do cool things like this.

  • @user-ek3yi3en6e
    @user-ek3yi3en6e Před 3 měsíci +1

    Very good description of the magnetron. The best I have seen ❤

  • @sivalley
    @sivalley Před 6 měsíci +5

    The reason you had trouble with filament inductance is because there are actual emi chokes on the filament leads in the lower can of the magnetron where the connections reside.
    Additionally only very old magnetron tubes use beryllium in the output antenna insulator bushing. Newer tubes that do use it have to be labeled from the factory as such. The pink alumina color is just from the manufacturing process. TIG welding gas lens cups are also the same pink alumina.

    • @gorak9000
      @gorak9000 Před 6 měsíci

      But is there a good way to tell, without like one of those hand held x-ray spectroscopy scopes that can identify elements? Best to play it safe and treat them all as if they're beryllium

    • @jetstreamsham4968
      @jetstreamsham4968 Před 6 měsíci

      If its not using beryllium then what is using in its place?

    • @sivalley
      @sivalley Před 6 měsíci

      @@gorak9000 True, it's best to err on the side of caution, bit being an alarmist can backfire too

    • @gorak9000
      @gorak9000 Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@jetstreamsham4968 pink alumina - aluminum oxide with a little bit of chromium, that gives it the pink color and makes it harder / more durable - aka "polycrystaline rubies". There's actually a good thread I found on eevblog, "Beryllium Oxide vs Alumina - is there a way to identify?". Seems that ALL of the pink insulators on magnetrons are alumina and not beryllium, as beryllium oxide is white, not pink - time to go smash up and breathe in the dust of that box of magnetron insulators I have been collecting in the garage... the internet has lied to me for YEARS

    • @flat-earther
      @flat-earther Před 6 měsíci

      @@gorak9000 hi gorak, have you become a flat earther yet?

  • @edgeeffect
    @edgeeffect Před 6 měsíci +7

    I'd love to see you do something about high level infrasound... I was always fascinated by Throbbing Gristle's research in this area but they didn't actually publish that much at all on the subject.

    • @wbeaty
      @wbeaty Před 6 měsíci +3

      @edgeeffect maybe I shouldn't say this (because maybe it might work,) but we can slow the speed of sound way down by adding mass to the air, as long as it doesn't create an absorber. Loosely-stacked paper will do this. Also, loose foams do this. If you have an ancient yellowpages, or a digikey catalog, try tapping on it with your fingertips. It goes "doonk," because the slightly-spaced paper sheets are forming a resonant acoustic chamber, where sound-velocity is extremely low. Similar things are heard when you make egg-white meringue with high-speed beaters in a bowl (you start hearing deep bass notes.) What good is this? Slower sound-waves, at constant frequency, mean smaller resonant chambers. Infrasound needs resonators, such as hundred-foot sewer pipes. With the correct "slow-wave medium," maybe we could make a 20Hz resonator which is under a meter long. To create an infrasonic whistle, next you need a "virtual trumpet horn" made of *graded* slow-wave material, to couple the outside air with the wattage from the resonator.
      Now go play with safer devices. Like H-bombs triggered by TNT. Ya just gotta get the topology right, no?

  • @brianwhelehan9769
    @brianwhelehan9769 Před 3 měsíci

    It's truly amazing amount of things the magtromiter can be used for is mad

  • @Viper2026
    @Viper2026 Před 6 měsíci +1

    this is the most informative video i have come across regarding microwave oven magnetron operation (and I've watched a few)

  • @tannerbass7146
    @tannerbass7146 Před 6 měsíci +5

    Remember kids, the first sign of high energy microwave exposure is blindness.

  • @JohnSmith-gm4fj
    @JohnSmith-gm4fj Před 6 měsíci +3

    Very impressive!! Nice work! Your explanation of cavity magnetrons was much better than most everything out there.

  • @markwarburton8563
    @markwarburton8563 Před 5 měsíci

    That parting shot cracked me up! Well played, sir!

  • @wearyspecter
    @wearyspecter Před 4 měsíci

    I typically watch YT videos at twice the speed because people either speak too slowly for me or convey too little or redundant information in there speech ( commonly known as "rambling"). This is the first time in a long time where I actually have to watch at normal or x1.25 speed. Any faster and I can't keep up.
    I seldom leave comments, but I had to point that out.
    It is much appreciated to have a decent flow of information in digestible chunks for one's brain.
    Also, I like the humour.

  • @EZcarryINC
    @EZcarryINC Před 6 měsíci +15

    does it work on honeybuns?

    • @Some_Beach
      @Some_Beach Před 6 měsíci

      Spider-Man tier molten honeybun auto homeless targeting system

    • @ShlamTorray
      @ShlamTorray Před 2 měsíci

      If you can cook it in a microwave, you can cook it with this. You could design one special just for honeybuns "

  • @matthewellisor5835
    @matthewellisor5835 Před 6 měsíci +5

    Outstanding video and the best basic explanation of "how a magnetron works" I've ever seen!
    Now, we still need the names of the fallen devices who gave up their Silicon so that we might learn. Maybe etched into a wafer?

  • @BVLVI
    @BVLVI Před 6 měsíci

    Wow!!!!!!! High five man!! Awesome!!!!!! Night hawk in light level content. Yet you have far to go as far as presentation, the core of this is very concise and brilliant! This is something you should rightly be very proud of. well done

  • @Remowylliams
    @Remowylliams Před 6 měsíci +2

    You are crazy trying this without a faraday cage. Your BT and Wifi equipment deserve better. But with all the crazy stuff you've done on this channel, I will put this in B tier crazy. Cheers thanks for the video.

  • @mercury8961
    @mercury8961 Před 6 měsíci +3

    Amazing work. Includes tons of physics. Magnetron is a really interesting device. Only missing thing in the video is puspose of the beryllium. Once I searched how this thing is work and found nothing explanatory in youtube. You explained really well. I wonder whats is the power limits of this device. Can this thing amplify any RF signal?

  • @alexwang007
    @alexwang007 Před 6 měsíci +14

    These magnetrons behave like zener diodes where they clamp at around 5kV consistently. Constant current control would be required if you want to control the power, because they won't really transmit much below the threshold voltage.
    This also means you can pulse them (i.e. capacitor or PFN) and create EMP with huge power levels
    Edit: check comments, there are people more knowledgeable in the subject

    • @Magic_Tee
      @Magic_Tee Před 6 měsíci +2

      Unfortunately, the oven magnetron is not capable of delivering decent power in pulsed mode, even with a greatly increased anode voltage and replacement of magnets with stronger ones. The point is the low emissivity of the directly heated cathode and the jumps to other oscillation modes at short pumping times. There is also a moment of current limitation in saturation due to the Schottky effect.
      Even high-power pulsed magnetrons with an output power of 300-1000 kW with a narrow beam antenna are short-range toys. Real EMP-sources are relativistic microwave devices - vircator, MILO, gyroklystron, wiggler source, rela-BWO, ubitron, gyrotron, Cherenkov generators and so on.

    • @railgap
      @railgap Před 5 měsíci

      IT's not anything like EMP or an UWB pulse. Magnetrons are very narrowband.

  • @AboveEmAllProduction
    @AboveEmAllProduction Před 6 měsíci

    This is how you make a video!! Awesome!!! Perfectly illustrated and explained.

  • @en2oh
    @en2oh Před 6 měsíci +1

    great video! What is confirmed is the relationship between microwave exposure and cataracts.

  • @joeofloath
    @joeofloath Před 6 měsíci +2

    This is a really good explanation but needs an up-front safety disclaimer, the inside of microwave ovens is not a safe place for hobbyists to be sticking their fingers...

  • @Sven_Dongle
    @Sven_Dongle Před 6 měsíci +6

    Is it possible the impedance mismatch of the horn is causing standing waves to be reflected back into the drive circuit and adding a resonant cavity for impedance matching might fix it? Something akin to the original mu-wave cavity coupled to the horn?

  • @TheRailroad99
    @TheRailroad99 Před 2 měsíci +1

    That was one of the best explanations of a magnetron!

  • @ihtsarl9115
    @ihtsarl9115 Před 3 měsíci

    Very well presented theory of the Magnetron.Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

  • @MrTurboturbine
    @MrTurboturbine Před 6 měsíci +5

    I'm curious if the Makita cordless microwave uses a small magnetron like...

  • @BiglyWeenis
    @BiglyWeenis Před 6 měsíci +5

    Awesome stuff! I've been wanting to make a sulfur lamp, which are powered by microwave RF! I'd be very curious to see if one could be powered with this setup.

    • @ericlotze7724
      @ericlotze7724 Před 6 měsíci +3

      I posted another comment on this exactly pre-reading this! Open Source Sulfur Lamp HYPEEEEE

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Před 6 měsíci +4

      You would need a small quartz tube and fill with a little bit of sulfur and argon. The arc tubes from mercury or halide lamps work OK. You need to open it up at the filling pip and bond a silica tube to it, then add about 30mg of sulfur to it. After this fill to about 15 torr of argon and reseal the tube. The two electrodes can be used as a starter by bridging with wire. Then put the tube in a waveguide with screen in front. Initially it will glow violet then greenish white.❤

  • @morareduard
    @morareduard Před 6 měsíci

    I started following right about when the cryocooler series started and wanted to say that your content is really entertaining!

  • @RZ-zv3jr
    @RZ-zv3jr Před 3 měsíci

    Best explanation of a magnetron I've ever seen.

  • @WizardTim
    @WizardTim Před 6 měsíci +14

    Fantastic explanation of how a magnetron works, certainly the best I've seen. Also a pretty cool device, but how much RF power do you think it was transmitting? Seemed to me like the filament was the part doing the most heating, but I agree the RF heat is far cooler to play with.

  • @user255
    @user255 Před 6 měsíci +7

    13:37 Actually, in microwave oven magnetrons they are alumina or pink alumina. Not beryllium oxide. Radars etc might be different thing.

    • @nathanieljames7462
      @nathanieljames7462 Před 6 měsíci

      false.

    • @user255
      @user255 Před 6 měsíci

      @@nathanieljames7462 What is false? The beryllium myth?

    • @nathanieljames7462
      @nathanieljames7462 Před 6 měsíci

      @@user255 You can insist it's a myth but there's plenty enough evidence of pink BeO sintered ceramics online that I'm not going to assume everyone else is lying or misinformed about it based on a youtube comment.

  • @hobomaster6237
    @hobomaster6237 Před 5 měsíci

    love it , youre production quality have gotten so much better than your first videos ( i love'em ) i benged watched them months ago

  • @3ffrige
    @3ffrige Před 6 měsíci +1

    This is like the safest project ever on youtube

  • @waifulhu9898
    @waifulhu9898 Před 6 měsíci +5

    as for the directional cone, i think it might work better if you directed the other side of the magnatrons emission into an angled cavity so that it cancels it out
    this is instead of reflecting it down the main cone for emissions since the overlapping microwaves can cause interference issues with each other
    ill admit im not an expert so i dont know the depth or how and why but it might be something good to look into for the next video in the series,
    i had a lot of fun myself trying to make a microwave 'gun' a few years ago and was doing something similar

    • @railgap
      @railgap Před 6 měsíci +1

      "I'll admit I'm no expert" - no need, your other words made no damn sense anyhow.

    • @waifulhu9898
      @waifulhu9898 Před 6 měsíci

      @@railgap

  • @EvilElmooo
    @EvilElmooo Před 6 měsíci +6

    That ceramic actually isnt beryllium, use of beryllium in such appliances is prohibited by beryllium regulations. And even if it was used, such appliances have to have warnings

    • @AlexanderBurgers
      @AlexanderBurgers Před 6 měsíci +2

      also have you seeeen the price of beryllium? No way anyone would put that in a $100 appliance.

    • @EvilElmooo
      @EvilElmooo Před 6 měsíci +1

      @@AlexanderBurgers exactly

    • @radishhat5736
      @radishhat5736 Před 6 měsíci

      If it's an older microwave, it''s probably beryllium, also you don't need to have warnings on that kind of stuff because noone is going to reasonably get acess to it unless you tear apart a microwave.
      could also be aluminum oxide since that's cheaper but it kinda depends on the source of the component.

    • @EvilElmooo
      @EvilElmooo Před 6 měsíci +2

      @@radishhat5736 idk if really old (20y and more) microwaves had berylium inside but this one definitely isnt old magnetron. Warnings are also for classified repair personnel so warnings of devices containing berylium are as important as high voltage warnings, also datasheets have to tell you that the device contains berylium (for example old hemts)

  • @ferriswhitehouse1476
    @ferriswhitehouse1476 Před 6 měsíci

    what a banger of a video. youre a hero for putting all this together

  • @haydenparsons5783
    @haydenparsons5783 Před 6 měsíci

    Every video, I am even more convinced you are a mad scientist, and I am here for it

  • @nikodemgorka834
    @nikodemgorka834 Před 6 měsíci +3

    a few years ago i got a broken microwave that i took apart nearly killing myself 3 times. 1st didn't discharge the capacitor thank god it wasn't charged. also i said smh like: eh don't know what that is ill just throw it in the trash, also grabing the contacts. 2nd smashed the magnetron with a hammer breaking it open and inhaling the gas or smh. 3rd breaking that beryllium part cuz i thought its just ceramic. now that magnetron sits in an drawer in my room. i should note that i was like 11 years old. and i didn't know practicly anything about safty and electronics. a year ago i got another microwave this time tho i did everything correctly and got a nice transformer. sadly my dad told me to throw the capacitor away :(

  • @inductor1.77
    @inductor1.77 Před 13 dny

    After I saw you wind the transformer I thought to myself "he better pot that thing in epoxy" lol I love high voltage but its hard to keep anything I make with it from burning out after a while. Although epoxy has bubbles and Ive still had things arc over that way. Dipping it in lacquer a few times and then epoxy helps a bit because the lacquer works its way in a bit better. Candle wax is cheap quick and easy and works surprisingly well.

  • @msmith2961
    @msmith2961 Před 6 měsíci

    Trust you to come up with another insane video idea! Interesting stuff as always!

  • @silentvoiceinthedark5665
    @silentvoiceinthedark5665 Před 4 měsíci

    Your speech pattern is perfectly synced to my brain. I wish all people spoke the way your do.

  • @AiOinc1
    @AiOinc1 Před 6 měsíci

    You are one bad day away from being a mad scientist and I can't say just how much that makes me smile

  • @specialservicesequipment393
    @specialservicesequipment393 Před 6 měsíci

    Nice! Love the filament impedance correction.

  • @AuTo69420
    @AuTo69420 Před měsícem

    I love your videos particularly because you say "If you want to try this yourself." You're damn right I do.

  • @NHOrus
    @NHOrus Před 6 měsíci

    Man, you are very mad engineer. In the best possible way.

  • @jeffrydiamond
    @jeffrydiamond Před 5 měsíci

    Great lesson! Thank you and thank you for sharing the schematic.

  • @gertbenade3082
    @gertbenade3082 Před 6 měsíci +2

    I wasn't a subscriber before this - but now I am fully rectified!
    Great project with perfect technical detail, explanations and just enough safety warnings...
    Thanks Pirate! Keep up the good work!⚡⚡⚡
    Oh: Might I just add that taking this specially packed lunchbox through an airport terminal might get someone suspicious!
    (Now where is that Hello Kitty box I had lying around.... 😎)

  • @TheDevilzAngelz
    @TheDevilzAngelz Před 2 měsíci

    I think the most impressive part of this video is that at 11:18 you display an empty 1 lb spool of solder. Congratz! LOL

  • @WagTsX
    @WagTsX Před 6 měsíci +1

    immediately subscribed, what an underrated channel

  • @WarkWarbly
    @WarkWarbly Před 6 měsíci

    This was really fun to watch. Hopefully you had a lot of fun making this project and the video.
    Also...
    You're one step closer to a maser.

  • @stevecann3394
    @stevecann3394 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Best magnetron explanaion ever.
    Very cool gadget 👍😀

  • @beansontoast9323
    @beansontoast9323 Před 6 měsíci

    10/10 Beans, This was a great breakdown.

  • @hardencryption
    @hardencryption Před 6 měsíci

    Can´t wait for microwave in a box 2.0.
    Great content as always!

  • @RD-cw9ik
    @RD-cw9ik Před 6 měsíci

    Thanks for a great informative and technical video.

  • @vacantspace333
    @vacantspace333 Před 6 měsíci

    You melted my brain with this thing bro

  • @cazadordetormentasmendoza7258
    @cazadordetormentasmendoza7258 Před 6 měsíci +1

    I'm waiting for the waveguide section, or at least the theory. I have been trying to make a microwave waveguide for years.
    Thank you.

  • @testpilotmafia862
    @testpilotmafia862 Před 6 měsíci +1

    If you have a vacuum chamber you can pot the secondary in epoxy, those HV pie windings looked great.

  • @reversefulfillment9189
    @reversefulfillment9189 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Amazing! I rescued a magnetron from an old microwave for a project like this. But lets be honest, it will sit in a box in the shop and will be thrown out one day.

    •  Před 6 měsíci

      Hey, if you keep it long enough you may convince yourself to finally do something stupid one day. 😋

  • @rafdjislampura6454
    @rafdjislampura6454 Před 5 měsíci

    Awesome. Very educational. Thanks

  • @DIfromTCS
    @DIfromTCS Před 6 měsíci +2

    WHat an intresting video but you lost me at diode I come here to see you build stuff...... GOOD VIDeO👍

    • @spadress
      @spadress Před 6 měsíci +1

      I guess this video is directed at a more educated audience, or at least meant to teach a little bit 🤷

    • @DIfromTCS
      @DIfromTCS Před 6 měsíci

      true@@spadress

  • @SailingBritaly
    @SailingBritaly Před 2 měsíci

    Your subtle truth bombs are the best part of these (excellent) videos. I understand the line you're walking, and you do it beautifully, while maintaining the ability to keep your reach. Well played mate, Chris 👍

  • @ppentertainment2351
    @ppentertainment2351 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Great stuff. Makes me remember my electronics course material.

  • @MarcelSchr
    @MarcelSchr Před 6 měsíci

    I love the style of the video, good job😁

  • @mylittleparody2277
    @mylittleparody2277 Před 5 měsíci

    Very interesting video!
    Thank you

  • @Chems7308
    @Chems7308 Před 6 měsíci

    Very very good explanation

  • @themanhimself3
    @themanhimself3 Před 6 měsíci

    This guy is badass. Great video man.

  • @mbainrot
    @mbainrot Před 6 měsíci

    omg i have another DIY project to have a crack at now 😅
    Thank you thou for the indepth and detailed explaination. Esp with the capacitance bit, that'll be handy for making a mains powered microwave run on 12 volts

  • @Vibraza
    @Vibraza Před 6 měsíci +1

    Brilliant content like always

  • @Vinzmannn
    @Vinzmannn Před 6 měsíci

    When I watch your videos I feel inadequate

  • @gyrogearloose1345
    @gyrogearloose1345 Před 6 měsíci

    Very interesting and exciting! I won't be doing this myself, and please may I remind everybody - DANGER!
    What will be extremely interesting - High Power Infrasound !!! Hope you will do it Mr Pirate. Many thanks!

  • @xntumrfo9ivrnwf
    @xntumrfo9ivrnwf Před 6 měsíci

    Finally back to the high voltage stuff!

  • @virtualizeeverything
    @virtualizeeverything Před 6 měsíci

    I have learned more from your videos then I did in High School

  • @naturejab
    @naturejab Před 7 dny

    Cool stuff - I love magnetrons