How to Increase Voltage without Batteries

You will need a digital multimeter to measure the output voltage of this circuit.

An AC electrical circuit may be stepped up in voltage without using batteries or any other extra external power supply. Because AC electricity changes polarity on a specified frequency, this allows an AC signal to pass through an electric device called a transformer. This device contains two sets of windings around a common core and is capable of increasing the voltage in the circuit while maintaining the same AC signal power level.

Things You'll Need

• Electrical wire
• Electrical pliers
• Electronic solder
• Soldering iron
• 6V/12V transformer
• Two solder-type ring terminals
• 6-volt AC power supply
• Digital multimeter

Instructions

1. Cut four pieces of wire, with each wire piece being six inches long. Strip off 1/2 inch of insulating material from the ends of each wire piece.

2. Place one end of the first piece of wire on one of the electrical terminals on the 6V side of the transformer. Melt a small drop of solder to both the wire and the terminal. Smooth out the soldered joint with the tip of the soldering iron, making sure that the soldered joint is shiny and free of lumps. Use this procedure to solder one end of the second wire piece to the remaining terminal on the 6V side of the transformer.

3. Solder one end of the third wire to one of the terminals on the 12V side of the transformer. Solder one end of the fourth wire to the remaining terminal on the 12V side of the transformer.

4. Place a ring terminal over the loose end of the third wire and solder the terminal to the wire. Place the remaining ring terminal over the loose end of the fourth wire and solder the wire to the terminal.

5. Connect the loose end of the first wire to one of the electrical terminals on the AC power supply. Connect the loose end of the second wire to the remaining electrical terminal on the AC power supply. Turn on the power supply.

6. Turn on the multimeter and set the measurement scale to "Volts AC." Connect the red multimeter probe to the ring terminal at the end of the third wire. Connect the black multimeter probe to the ring terminal at the end of the fourth wire. Check the multimeter display; the voltage has been stepped up from 6 volts AC at the power supply to 12 volts AC across the transformer.

References

• Georgia State University: Transformer
• "Principles of Electric Circuits"; Thomas Floyd; 1996