Description

Download Dyna-Meter User Guide

Every plasma artist knows the moment: you’ve filled the vessel, fired the transformer, and the glow is almost right—but you’re chasing it by feel. The Dyna-Meter gives you something to see.

Made for plasma light sculpture, the Dyna-Meter opens a window into the invisible relationship between your gas mixture and the transformer driving it. Instead of guessing at fills and matching, you get a real, readable measurement of the high-voltage output shaping your light—so you can tune with intention and come back to what worked.

Built on the trusted designs of Steve Ward (Ward Power Electronics), it pairs a calibrated high-voltage probe with a pocket-sized oscilloscope in a kit you can carry to any bench or studio. Under the hood, a capacitive voltage divider reads the fast, high-voltage AC signals plasma lives in—5 kHz to 500 kHz, ±5% accuracy, up to 20 kV, at a 1000:1 ratio. (It’s tuned for plasma’s high-frequency world, so it won’t read DC or wall-outlet AC.)

The result is simple: less mystery, more mastery. See how each gas loads your transformer, refine your process, and push your sculptures toward the light you’re actually after.

For the working artist. The Dyna-Meter is built for plasma artists, technicians, and scientists who already know their way around evacuating and filling vessels. If you’re comfortable at the manifold, this is the tool that finally lets you measure what you’ve been sensing.

Why you’ll reach for it: It’s portable, affordable, and refreshingly easy to use—a compact, grounded setup that turns a mysterious craft into a repeatable one.

In the kit (hard case included):

• Dyna-Meter probe with HV hook clip and grounding plug
• FNIRSI DSO-152 pocket oscilloscope
• MXC-to-BNC connector
• 6 ft RG9 BNC cable
• USB to USB-C cable
• FNIRSI DSO-152 user manual

Made for experienced high-voltage users. Requires grounding to a grounded outlet for safe, accurate readings.

The Dyna-Meter was funded in part by a 2025 Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator (CEA) grant, administered by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council on behalf of Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.