Tesla Coil Build Thread

[Sigurthr]

SG coils can handle no breakout point just fine. That's how they were originally designed to operate by N. Tesla. Streamers are a waste of energy, and he designed and tuned his parameters to create a huge E field with no breakout.

The reason a DRSSTC can't run without breakout is the energy transfer rate to the secondary is too high. You wind up building up more power in the resonator sloshing around than you are dissipating and eventually the thing overloads as resonant rise in current exceeds what your switches can handle. A well built single resonant coil can run with no breakout if generous engineering overhead is given because there is a non resonant primary to limit current build up.

 

[Sigurthr]

Update:

White Noise Gen has had its own thread made here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f60/simple-true-white-noise-generator-86761.html

Both the BOM and .Sch for my universal driver have been completed. All components save one can be purchased through Digikey. The special capacitors which make a huge difference in operation are only available at retailers of WIMA Caps (I use Mouser).

Just waiting on Fiddy to select a means of file transfer and I'll send it out his way. Should you be unable to source said caps, Fiddy, I'll send you some when I send your manufactured (but unpopulated) board your way.

As soon as I figure out how to watermark a schematic image I'll post it here for the benefit of all. (If you want it sooner, reply with how to do said watermark!)

 

[Speedy78]

Cant wait for this board!

 

[Fiddy]

awaitng email from Sigurthr, my email address is: titsoutfortheboys@thisisajoke.net:na:

 

[Speedy78]

Throw an @ in there and a . And it htmk links it lol.

 

[Sigurthr]

Lmao. Email is sent.

 

[Fiddy]

email received! should be able to whip something up on night shift tonight

 

[Sigurthr]

I suspect the most difficult part will simply be pulling up the pin pitches and solder mask / stencil sizes. The circuit is deceptively simple, aside from the crazy routing of the Vcc and Gnd lines to the three ICs.

 

[Fiddy]

Do not worry comrade, double sided board will take care of that

 

[Sigurthr]

Haha, yeah doing it on protoboard using solder-bridge traces was a bit of an uphill battle. Iirc I managed it by using only one or two jumpers on the top side.

If anyone knows various PCB manufacture companies I can get quotes from once I have the eagle files please list them. I only know of ExpressPCB and OSHpark (though I've never used either, but hard good things). I see no reason to spend more than I must on these, but I think that having a good quality solder mask and outline stencils are important if people other than myself are to be populating the boards, haha.

 

[Fiddy]

Ive started the design, getting ready to plot the components and start the traces!

Ive used OSHPark and ITEAD.

OSHPark = High Quality Higher Cost
ITEAD = Medium Quality, Lower Cost

 

[Speedy78]

The things we find on the tube

 

[DashApple]

Qcw tc ftw

 

[Sigurthr]

That's Steve Ward on the left, the man most of us have to thank for accessible SSTC and DRSSTC designs.

For those interested in my driver here is an update. Fiddy has been exceedingly awesome and has been working tirelessly on the PCB CAD. I've had a few revisions for him and he's just been plugging away each time. I'd +rep him more if I could. A lot of this project comes down to his hard work in the CAD software. That being said; I think you'll all be quite pleased...

 

[Speedy78]

Jepordy music...

 

[Atomicrox]

Steve Ward is Tesla reincarnated.