/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2396227
Most likely your Q factor of the system is too low. You're not modelling parasitic resistances which are really important when determining if circuit will oscillate or not. Even couple of 1/10 ohm could be a difference between the thing working or not. Inductors have wire resistance, capacitors have ESR and you need to include all of them if you want your simulation to be more than a pretty theoretical example.

If you're feeling brave you can write out complete transfer function of tank circuit with ESR included, pic related only includes inductor parasitic resistances. This will give you Q and frequency which you can then use to determine which components you have to change to get enough Q - amplitude when transient occurs. From what I've tested the best thing is to keep resistances as low as possible and increase tank inductance. You need that peak to give you enough voltage for oscillations to sustain themselves.
>It seems like the only troubleshooting advice out there on the internet for these circuits is to make sure you're using a fast start power supply
Yes, you basically need to switch it on fast enough to generate necessary frequency components in resonance.