The transactor: A self-saturated transformer - Part I

The operation and characteristics of the saturable transformer1 and the saturating magnetic reference type of transformer2 have been presented in past articles. The advantages and shortcomings of the self-saturating magnetic amplifier circuits have been explored at length. It is the purpose of this paper to start with the elementary concept of a magnetic switch and develop a magnetically controlled self-saturated transformer. The magnetic system developed possesses many of the desirable operational characteristics of both the saturable and saturating transformers. An adjustable a-c or d-c output is obtained which is also voltage-stabilized. At the same time, the self-saturating transformer retains the gain and response characteristics of the self-saturating magnetic amplifier, although a number of the disadvantages of the magnetic amplifier are eliminated.