The full Sharp Plasmacluster video.

I can't wait till Clive gets his first piece of alien tech to reverse-engineer

Gordo

I was just thinking the same thing... other ion generators keep running without replacement

At 29:41. The outer peripheral plate is a leakage protection area. So when the inner plate receives charge, the Op-Amp which is running in unity gain sets the outer peripheral plate to the same voltage. It prevents surface tracking on the circuit board and hence stops the inner charge collection area voltage from drifting. It's not for oscillation.

Influenza is a Virus and doesn't grow in a Petri dish

Why are the modules lifed I wonder

I think that extra small gold "antenna" is a driven guard to block leakage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driven_guard It looks to me like that circuit is trying to measure the current of negative ions, which is extremely small, so it's easy for some other leakage path to swamp it out. But I'm not quite sure where the leakage would be going to. Is the plastic housing perhaps slightly conductive to avoid building up a static charge?

John Hiesey

Just FYI electrons are negatively charged, so negative ions are the ones with extra electrons and positive ions are the ones short of electrons.

Berkeloid

Wow that was a really interesting and informative read! It says they use optical-grade silicone for some of the lenses so it doesn't break down under the UV light which answers some of the questions around that. I didn't realise there were already so many UV-B and UV-C options for LEDs!

Berkeloid

We have one, it's a lot larger and doesn't have removable modules. When it's on high there's definitely a slight ozone small occasionally.

Earl Plotner

I think it's a generator in disguise.

Michael Thompson

negative ions are short an electron and make organic molecules they come in contact with 'sticky,' as you know from your experience with old school ionizers. Passing those molecules through a filter, especially a positively charged one, reduces the organic molecules in the discharged air. The mystery secondary circuit board is an ion level detector very similar to available Chinese ion detectors, quite similar to your multimeter test. Do positive Ions (those with an extra electron) form of water molecules? maybe. They can certainly handle and extra electron better than an individual atom. no idea what they might do. I offered you some of these that I got at auction (a different brand) but you said you had too many ionizers already. These are very similar but much more flat, all potted. i've had a great deal of fun building filters for them, flowing air past variously charged plates and through HEPA filters. Next project is a particulate filter that passes air through an array of alternately charged 10kV plates after the air is ionized in one polarity or the other. Too much COVID time on my hands I suppose.

Bill Kerr

Circuit board has 0938 printed on it, which matches the chip date code. So everything points to it being from 2009ish.

Great video Sidac n all !!

William Nimmo

Then they later discovered that the seaside smell was not actually ozone and just a similar aroma. But the holiday and lack of work related stress probably did wonders.

Big Clive

This unit does indeed seem to be 10 years old, I found this Korean article about it, when translated the date comes up as May 2010. http://kr.aving.net/news/view.php?articleId=155755

Matt Tester

As a kid in the sixties, the old' uns used to say to people that were unwell " get to the seaside and get some ozone in your lungs, that'll cure you!" and it did!

Mike Hughes

Fine video, as usual Clive.

Wait until you see the price. Mine was a bargain at £30 new. I think it was old stock being cleared. But it does make you think about the role ozone has in normal ambient air.

Big Clive

Damnit Clive... now I want one. 😂 Good video, very through as usual. ✌️

Ginger Spice

I'm not sure how well that would work, since the original needle position relative to the metal ring is important.

Big Clive

Does the ozone smell increase once you add some carbon fibre filaments to the pins (like the underfloor heating wire you have used before)?

Simon York

interesting article after your other videos on UV stuff https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/uv-leds-for-disinfection-and-sterilization-from-ils?cm_mmc=GB-EM-_-DSN_20200629-_-DM302387-_-TWIN_URL1&cid=DM302387&bid=1082478039&dtm_em=9563692ca7da85f4800da3e82f6dc0ba9cc3542ceed69d08356af6fd8a30d7d3

John Catterall