How do I simulate this unconventional Joule Thief?
In the vacuum tube days, for car radios they used 'vibrating coils' to make the chopped voltage, which was then fed to a transformer, boosted then rectified to make the B+ (plate) power. This idea could be adapted for making a transistor-less supply I think - maybe a buzzer or suchlike.

That said, a boost topology would probably work better, even with a mechanical switch.



Try this:







simulate this circuit &ndash; Schematic created using CircuitLab

The 'RLY2' is wired as a buzzer; instead you can use an actual buzzer rated for the low input voltage needed. The flyback from the buzzer coil will boost the input voltage.