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How to Use a Transistor to Switch to a Higher Voltage

An alternating current electrical signal is often used to transmit electrical energy from one point to another with minimal loss of power. However, if there are long runs between the signal generation device and the destination, it may be necessary to increase the signal voltage by amplifying the signal. One way to achieve this signal voltage increase is by using a Class-A amplifier. This type of amplifier uses a single transistor to increase the total power of an AC signal.

Things You'll Need

Electrical wire
Electrical pliers
Bipolar junction (NPN) transistor
1-megohm resistor
Electronic solder
Soldering iron
100-kiloohm resistor
1500-ohm resistor
2 Solder-type ring terminals
24-volt DC power supply
6-volt AC power supply
Electrical grounding source
Voltmeter

Instructions

- 1
  Cut eight pieces of electrical wire, with each wire segment being 6-inches long. Strip off 1/2-inch of insulating material from the ends of each wire segment.
- 2
  Twist one end of the first wire together with the base lead from the transistor, and with one of the leads from the 1-megohm resistor. Melt a drop of solder to this electrical joint, and smooth out the soldered joint until it is shiny and free of lumps.
- 3
  Twist together one end of the second wire with the loose lead from the 1-megohm resistor and solder this connection.
- 4
  Twist one end of the third wire together with one end of the 100-kiloohm resistor, and with the collector lead from the transistor. Solder this connection.
- 5
  Twist together one end of the fourth wire with the free lead from the 100-kiloohm resistor. Solder this connection.
- 6
  Twist together one end of the 1500-ohm resistor with the emitter lead from the transistor and solder this connection. Twist together the free lead from the 1500-ohm resistor with one end of the fifth wire and solder this connection.
- 7
  Place a ring terminal over one end of the sixth wire and solder this terminal to the wire. Place the remaining ring terminal over the loose end of the third wire and solder the wire to the terminal.
- 8
  Connect one end of the seventh wire to the negative terminal on the DC power supply. Connect the loose end of the first wire to one of the terminals on the AC power supply. Connect one end of the eighth wire to the remaining terminal on the AC power supply.
- 9
  Connect the loose end of the fourth wire to the positive terminal on the DC power supply. Connect the loose ends of the second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth wires to the electrical grounding source.
- 10
  Turn on the voltmeter and set the measurement scale to "Volts AC." Place the red probe on the ring terminal attached to the third wire. Place the black probe on the ring terminal attached to the sixth wire. Turn on the AC power supply. The voltage will be greater than six volts.

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