building a Tesla Coil and how it works?

[DashApple]

i made a simple zvs driver and made a induction heater with it you can make it run a tesla coil too if you replace the caps with a 0.1uf bipolar cap

 

[Abray]

ok let's say I wanted to set up a WTB thread for some of the parts, would I post it here or in the buy sell trade section?

buy sell trade seems like it's specifically for lasers, not other electronic goods...

 

[Volfram]

Ah, that first link explains why my Jacob's Ladder is so very, very wimpy.

Well whadaya want from a broken mini Ionic Breeze?

I wanna build one of these for some friends in a heavy metal band I know.

(more musical Tesla fun)
YouTube - Zelda played on Twin Musical Tesla coils
YouTube - Musical Tesla Coils Play Intro, 2001: A Space Odyssey, et al @ Penguicon 2008 (8a1)
The way it was meant to be played?
(John Williams and Nikola Tesla: two great tastes that go together!)

 

[Shogoki]

that is probably the coolest thing i have ever seen..

 

[Flaminpyro]

Have you tryed the tesla coil forum yet ? there is all knids of info on how to build tesla coils there try looking in the right place, but since you are here if you are interested in some 1/4" tungston electrodes for your spark gap PM me I can set you up, I also have the right type of cap's (30,000 volt) for a tesla coil. later Pyro... :eg:

I think I have enough money to buy the stuff for a tesla coil. With that said, a while ago I took time to try and read up on how a tesla coil works, and how you go about creating one. Now since the only real electronics education I've gotten (until next year when I'm taking physics) is from these forums, none of anything I read made sense. If I know what kind of electronics I'm dealing with, it makes it ALOT easier for me to build one. I don't want to have to buy all the parts at some overpriced store just because I need to stick to a set design. I work better if I can change the design a little for what I'm willing to buy. However I also know not to cut corners with safety features in the design.

with that rant over, has anybody here built a tesla coil that could give me any tips and does anybody know of an easy to understand description of how to build a tesla coil and what all the parts do?

I'd really like to truly understand how these things work before I try to build it. I think you guys would agree.

 

[HIMNL9]

Heh, perhaps those guys re-discovered the old 27MHz plasma speaker built in 1950 ..... just "a little bit bigger"

 

[Things]

4hv.org has a crapload of information on tesla coils.

SGTC is the easiest, although a RSGTC (Rotary Spark Gap) offers more control over the output.

Capacitors can be made from thin glass sheets with foil inbetween, glass bottles, plastic sheets, almost anything!

Winding the secondary is time consuming, but certainly doable. Not for the faint hearted though, the wire can he hair thin, and if you break it, joining it again so it doesnt stick out is a huge pain in the ass. Any lump in your secondary has the potential to arc, burning a carbon track thru your secondary and shorting it out!

Also consider what you are going to drive it with. With SSTC's (Solid State) they do not require high voltages, but if you are going with VTTC (Vacuum tube), SGTC or RSGTC you will need a high voltage DC (MUST BE DC!!!) or your caps wont charge.

MODERN flybacks are a good source of HV DC (older ones dont have internal rectification), but are only suited for small tesla coils, as they cant handle much power for long.

NST's are also a good choice, but you will need diodes to rectify it.

MOT's are deadly, and I wouldnt recommend using them untill you are 100% safe working with HV, MOT's will kill you cold (If you dont sizzle ) if you get a hit from them, no matter what. They require rectification as well.

Pole transformers are very high powered drivers, but like MOT's, these things will kill you AND fry you, and also require rectification, heavy, draw craploads of power and hard to get.

 

[brtaman]

Yeah listen to Things:

Here are some VERY important links for building an SGTC:

-http://4hv.org/
great forum. all the info you need. They are strict about questions though, so make sure to search through the forum and attempt to find your answer yourself.

-http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/tesla.shtml
all the theory you will need and then some.

-http://www.classictesla.com/java/javatc.html
the best TC simulator. Will help you greatly if you go with an NST/MOT power supply. Will help with primary geometry, optimum MMC tank capacitance etc. (very very usefull).

I would suggest going with a ZVS driven Flyback TC as your first coil. NSTs and especially MOTs are deadly if one is not acquainted with HV.


Here is my small (6x1inch secondary) ZVS driven Flyback TC, power to the driver is supplied with a PC PSU and input is only 120W-ish:






Finishing up a large SSTC atm, then a large MOT SGTC or DRSSTC is on the platter. If you have any questions during your build feel free to PM me.