Fireflies in a Jar (Steampunk Version)

I was completely amazed by the projekt of the user meenzai and his fireflies this great project inspires me to a steam punk version.
I used the same circuit 20 times and wired it together with some steampunkisch materials like a vintage meter,  Bakelite switches, some brass and wax stained MDF.

The ciruit is very simple. From the left to the right.

2 Resistor Networks with 1MOhm each resistor.
The resistors are needed due to the mains Voltage of 230V in Germany.
A switch to switch the two 330KOhm Networks parallel. This will run the fireflies faster.
The meter DC 0.5 mA.
The Diode 1N4001
The R/C combination with the Neon bulb.

I tried some neon´s with phosphor coating but something must be different. For a couple of seconds they will flicker and then they will start to glow constantly.

The meter shows (switch open) 0,25 mA, (switch closed 0,4) mA.

Thank you meenzai for the nice idea!

The case was made of MDF.
You can see the two holes for the switches.
The four bolts are for mounting the top plate and the jar.
I fitted everything together and than I sanded everything and stained it with wax stain.

I glued the 20 capacitors together to make the handling and mounting of the components easier.
Than I soldered the diode and the resistors and the capacitors together.
For test purposes I used 4 resistors instead of 2x3.
I used thick copper wires to build the common connector for the bulbs.
Thin Teflon insulated wires where used for the connection between the bulbs and the capacitors.

Some brass nuts and a bit wax stain and the fireflies are ready for take off.

Have fun!


Horatius Steam