Tesla Coil Build Thread

[Fiddy]

Wow thats crazy arc length for a that size coi!

Need a board design for that interupter Sig?

 

[Sigurthr]

Hehe, if I had the capitol to invest in another board I'd be barkin' up your tree, rest assured mate. Unfortunately I'm pretty damn broke, lol, so no. I'll just be selling pre-programmed ICs. Perhaps eventually though =).

 

[Fiddy]

looks like a easy foot print to layout, id suggest getting them made by ITEAD, heaps cheaper than OshPark and get more boards.

 

[Sigurthr]

If I can move these USSTCC boards and some MCU chips (I still need to order more) I'll see about making an interrupter board.

Speaking of moving boards; THEY ARE AVAILABLE NOW! See my signature for links!

 

[Speedy78]

Ill wait for a board lol. It would be one ugly interupter otherwise.

 

[Sigurthr]

Lol, no don't do that. It will be months most likely. Besides, I've sent you some protoboard too.

 

[Speedy78]

Ahh. Ill see what I can do then. No promises. Lol.

 

[Sigurthr]

No worries, I'll walk you through every step, it really is quite simple. =)

 

[Sigurthr]

Considering making my Big 3kW coil into a DR since I'm rebuilding it anyway. Just got the primary former and base supports in the mail today.

Here's the parameters I'm proposing:
J A V A T C version 13.2 - CONSOLIDATED OUTPUT
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 6:22:30 PM

Units = Inches
Ambient Temp = 68°F

----------------------------------------------------
Secondary Coil Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
Current Profile = G.PROFILE_LOADED
2.25 = Radius 1
2.25 = Radius 2
3.5 = Height 1
21.25 = Height 2
1505 = Turns
30 = Wire Awg

----------------------------------------------------
Primary Coil Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
Round Primary Conductor
3.125 = Radius 1
3.125 = Radius 2
1 = Height 1
2.8 = Height 2
10 = Turns
12 = Wire Awg
0 = Ribbon Width
0 = Ribbon Thickness
0.047 = Primary Cap (uF)
30 = Total Lead Length
12 = Lead Diameter

----------------------------------------------------
Top Load Inputs:
----------------------------------------------------
Toroid #1: minor=3, major=12, height=24.75, topload

----------------------------------------------------
Secondary Outputs:
----------------------------------------------------
172.12 kHz = Secondary Resonant Frequency
90 deg° = Angle of Secondary
17.75 inch = Length of Winding
84.8 inch = Turns Per Unit
0.00177 inch = Space Between Turns (edge to edge)
1773 ft = Length of Wire
3.94:1 = H/D Aspect Ratio
181.4684 Ohms = DC Resistance
63705 Ohms = Reactance at Resonance
0.54 lbs = Weight of Wire
58.906 mH = Les-Effective Series Inductance
60.636 mH = Lee-Equivalent Energy Inductance
58.794 mH = Ldc-Low Frequency Inductance
14.515 pF = Ces-Effective Shunt Capacitance
14.101 pF = Cee-Equivalent Energy Capacitance
23.583 pF = Cdc-Low Frequency Capacitance
7.23 mils = Skin Depth
10.1 pF = Topload Effective Capacitance
261.8198 Ohms = Effective AC Resistance
243 = Q

----------------------------------------------------
Primary Outputs:
----------------------------------------------------
157.6 kHz = Primary Resonant Frequency
8.44 % high = Percent Detuned
90 deg° = Angle of Primary
16.36 ft = Length of Wire
25.99 mOhms = DC Resistance
0.099 inch = Average spacing between turns (edge to edge)
1.075 inch = Proximity between coils
0 inch = Recommended minimum proximity between coils
21.434 µH = Ldc-Low Frequency Inductance
0.0394 µF = Cap size needed with Primary L (reference)
0.266 µH = Lead Length Inductance
104.31 µH = Lm-Mutual Inductance
0.093 k = Coupling Coefficient
0.131 k = Recommended Coupling Coefficient
10.75 = Number of half cycles for energy transfer at K
33.93 µs = Time for total energy transfer (ideal quench time)



J A V A D R C - CONSOLIDATED OUTPUT
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 6:47:40 PM

Data Inputs:
0.047 [uF] = Single Cap Capacitance value
1 [qty] = Number of Caps in Series String
1 [qty] = Number of Strings in MMC
1414 [Vac] = Single Capacitors AC Voltage Rating
22 [uH] = Primary Inductance
170000 [Hz] = Secondary Resonant Frequency
90 [Amps] = Expected Peak Current
350 [uS] = Silicon Pulse On Time
100 [pps] = Silicon Pulses per Second

----------------------------------------------------
Data Outputs:
0.047 [uF] = Total Cap Bank Capacitance
2000 [Vp] = Cap String Rated Peak Voltage
1947 [Vp] = Expected Peak Voltage
97 [%] = Percentage of Cap String Rating to Expected Peak Voltage
0.09 [joules] = Peak Energy at Expected Current
21.64 [ohms] = Tank Surge Impedance
156516 [Hz] = Primary Resonant Frequency
170000 [Hz] = Secondary Resonant Frequency
8 [%] = Primary to Secondary Percent Detuned
14 [Amps] = RMS Current Per Silicon On Time and PPS

 

[Sigurthr]

Finally got around to shooting this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-gZW4aPa-A

 

[Speedy78]

Toroid and extra caps for my MMC are in the mail. New NST (12x30). Tungsten rods came in the mail today so I went ahead and built my spark gap.

Used a cpu heat sink cut in half. This one was nice because there was enough copper to drill and tap and then the fins to dissipate the heat. Built it up on a plexy stand so there wont be any worries about arcing to anything. Will bolt the wires to those two outer lugs for the connection. Will also have a huge fan cooling the gap and the extra air will flow through the fins. Should keep the temps more under control.



Will be set just shy of 10mm for the 12x30. Had it hooked up to my 7.5x30 in the garage for a test run. After about 5 minutes of running the rods felt warm and everything else was cool if not cold. I know this is nothing compared to when its hooked up to the MMC and all but earlier I burnt my finger on one after about 15 seconds of running and no heatsink so definitely an improvement.

 

[DashApple]

Nice spark gap : D ,

, Just threw together a 811A coil that's synced interrupted by a SCR in the cathode . Secondary is 2" x 5" and output is 11 inches to ungrounded object and 12" to grounded object , Frezz is around 550 KHz

I could try for longer arcs will better tuning , but its more than fine as is xD





12" to target ^^


IMG_0346[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr


IMG_0351[1] by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Nice. I didn't think an SCR could turn off at 550kHz. Or is it unfiltered pulsing DC coming in?

 

[Sigurthr]

Awesome work!! VTTCs are awesome. Rather expensive though =\


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sigurthr]

The SCR pulses the cathode to ground effectively turning the coil on and off as an interrupter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DashApple]

Thanks , We'll the SCR is triggerd at the AC peak by the controller and then the SCR turns off when the tube stops conducting due to the grid circuit and current though the SCR is below it's holding current