Hi,
Ok I'm working on a project that is powered by USB, I have the majority of it working, however, I want to be able to power a CFL bulb from USB. I was looking into Joule Thief circuits and managed to get a CFL to run from a single AA battery, I have tried running it from USB for a short time and it is fairly bright, however the transistor gets very hot and I'm guessing it's not designed for 5V.
Basically I want to know is there a circuit that can help boost CFL's brightness and are there any pre-built circuits I could buy?
I know it will not ever run at full brightness, I just want to make it as bright as possible. And I know LED would be a better choice, but I want to try CFLs.
Thanks
Ok I'm working on a project that is powered by USB, I have the majority of it working, however, I want to be able to power a CFL bulb from USB. I was looking into Joule Thief circuits and managed to get a CFL to run from a single AA battery, I have tried running it from USB for a short time and it is fairly bright, however the transistor gets very hot and I'm guessing it's not designed for 5V.
Basically I want to know is there a circuit that can help boost CFL's brightness and are there any pre-built circuits I could buy?
I know it will not ever run at full brightness, I just want to make it as bright as possible. And I know LED would be a better choice, but I want to try CFLs.
Thanks