Tesla coil

[WizardKing]

My first Tesla coil .  .  .  worked on the first attempt  ;D : : : ;D

I thought I'd plant some 'bulbs' in my garden and power up .....

 

[potatorage]

how do ya make one of these?

 

[Razako]

how do ya make one of these?

It's not hard to make a small one. You just need any NST or OBIT and some other easy to find parts. I made a small tabletop coil from a 3KV 30mA NST. For the coil I just unwound a microwave oven fan motor and wound the wire onto a 1 inch diameter PVC pipe. I put on around 500 windings and then spray painted the thing with acrylic. Then I put the secondary in a used fireworks tube and wrapped the primary around the tube. For the spark gap I used 2 nails and I used some random 10KV hv caps that I got from a broken oscilloscope. It's not perfect or pretty, but it works. I get streamers and lots of corona going about 1 inch from the tip of the secondary and it can arc about two inches to a screwdriver.

If you want I can post some pics and a small guide.

I also have a larger SG coil that I built from a kit. It puts out nice 8inch+ streamers and can arc 10+ inches to ground.

 

[potatorage]

Where can you buy these "kits"?

 

[Razako]

Where can you buy these "kits"?

Lots of places. What's your budget?

 

[potatorage]

I'd say $100 max

 

[Razako]

I'd say $100 max

If you buy the parts separately then you can get more for your money.
Here's a secondary that you can buy
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-5-Tesla-Coil-...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
NST
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-000-V-Neon-O...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50
If you buy those then you really just need to get some copper tubing for the primary and find some good HV caps. For a spark gap 2 nails will work if you have a tight budget. You don't need the fancy tungsten ones.

Here's a complete coil/kit for $125
http://cgi.ebay.com/110-kV-Tesla-Co...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

 

[potatorage]

What are these used for? Are they fun? my paypal is locked up atm but I think I really want to make one What would HV caps mean? Is ~220v 300uf HV(probably not)

 

[WizardKing]

What are these used for?

Similar answer applies when asked about a laser, for me . . .


Are they fun?

. . . answer = hell, yes !!


What would HV caps mean? Is ~220v 300uf HV(probably not)[/quote]

Capacitors, the very things that interupted my build [for an entire decade!]

Good HV capacitors [upwards of 10KV] are still very, very expensive. Several hundred to £1000 seems to be their price range
A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon the solution that many coilers have used, MMC.
i.e.
Multiple, mini capacitors. I immediately obtained 30 x 1.5KV, 47nf caps and built three parallel strings of 10 [entire guesswork re;values, arrived at by seeing how many I could get for £20]
They are the only part I bought, everything else came from skips .

Are your caps electrolytic, by any chance ? [aluminium cans]
If so, they're for DC only. AC makes them explode at their rated voltage, so don't feed them with 5 to 10KV !

There are tons of useful sites, search for 'Tesla coil, MMC, NST' and read all given warnings, please.

 

[Razako]

High voltage capacitors for coils...
http://www.amazing1.com/tesla2.htm

 

[potatorage]

Holy... $60 for their cheapest capacitors? That's... Expensive~!

 

[jamilm9]

Some day i want to make a giant Tesla coil for Security protection. For now i want to make a mini one that can't kill someone doesn't cost much($150) and can be moved around.

 

[Razako]

If you want a small and relatively safe coil then this is for you.
http://cgi.ebay.com/110-kV-Tesla-Co...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
$125+ shipping. Unless you build one you'll have a hard time getting a TC cheaper.

 

[jamilm9]

might get something like that some day

Edit; is there something about that price i could get but a kit for more money per volt

 

[Linkreincarnate]

Dude now go make it sing. You can even modulate it using a laser!!!

Here's a band that did it already. I've seen them live and they are amazing.
http://www.arcattack.com/

And heres the schematic for the control box.

 

[WizardKing]

Thanks for the link, Link

Those guys put on an impressive show, don't they?

Lucky you, seeing it live.
Next time you see them, take a mini fluorescent strip light with you. You could let some cutie dance with it, just like a glow-stick !!