Lance

also the primary coil can be a flat spiral or like and upside down cone (the sort I use) or even another cylinder type former around it in PVC tube

Yes, also when tuning raising and lowering the secondary can help.

Phew, with all that typing I think its time to go get high on ozone.

Oh ya, I almost forgot. If you have breathing problems don’t operate a tesla coil in badly ventilated areas.

Well nearly every part of my coil is temporary because of my lack of money. Not only that but the capacitor bank I used which was already too small is now 40% dead. My max spark length is 14" while it should be more than 24" with my power supply. I bought the wrong type of magnet wire so my secondary is to skinny and short.

Other than that, I’m happy with it.

Despite what people say, tesla coils can be made with just about anything. (Mine is a good example.)

Basically you have a power supply, capacitor bank, spark gap, primary, and secondary. The power supply charges the caps, breaks down the spark gaps and drains the caps through the primary inducing a charge in the secondary. Because the bottom of the secondary is grounded it acts like a cap to the ground. The toroid increases capacitance to the ground.

Power supply

So first just find a power supply. If you live in a city there is probably a neon sign shop around. They will normally give you a free neon sign transformer (NST) that is damaged. Try to get one that is rated at 12kv or 15kv. You can also buy one on ebay for about $20 and another $20 for shipping (they are heavy).

Secondary

Then find some PVC pipe and magnet wire, 4" dia. is the best for the PVC. The magnet wire can be just about any size from 22AWG to 28AWG. Just wrap the wire around the PVC tell you have 800-1400 turns. You will need a few pounds of the magnet wire so ebay is your best bet. After you wind it just spray on a few coats of polyurethane varnish to make in nice and shiny.

Primary

The primary can be just about anything as long as it has about 15-20 turns. Most people use copper refrigerator pipe from a hardware store. It is normally wound flat on a board. I made one like that but it only had 8 turns which was not enough so I just wound some high voltage wire vertically on a plastic container that had Chinese soup in it. It’s only temporary but it works.

Spark gap

Anything! Two nails sticking out of a board would work. Although it’s best to use more than one segment so it stays cool. You could also vacuum the spark gap. I get MUCH better performance with a vacuum on my single gap.

Capacitor bank

Ah, now for the hard part. After you build everything else download teslamap . Then just input all your specs and it will tell you the resonant cap size. You should try to make your bank that size for best performance but it’s not a requirement. Also remember that your caps have to survive the PEAK voltage of your transformer. A 15KV NST will have a peak of 21KV; it would also be a good idea to have the bank rated much higher. 30KV would be nice. You can build "saltwater caps" with clear beer bottles and saltwater or you can buy a large pulse rated cap or you can build a multi mini capacitor bank (MMC). I would suggest The MMC because it can be altered very easily. Your best bet would be here. Tesla map has a built in capacitor calculator so you know exactly how many caps in series and parallel you would need.

Toroid

Your toroid can be just about anything too. I prefer aluminum ducting in a donut shape on top of the secondary. Wielding two metal bowls together would probably work too.

Tuning

After you put everything together you have to tune it to get the maximum spark length. Basically you just play with all the parts. The primary has to be "taped" in different areas. The position of the toroid also makes a difference along with the distance of the spark gap. Just move everything around and turn it on and off seeing as to what makes a difference.

WARNING

Every part of a tesla coil circuit can be lethal! You MUST have bleed resistors across EVERY capacitor. Also the secondary of the tesla coil can build up a static charge whish is not directly dangerous unless you freak out and fall on something sharp.

Note my Signature:D

check out this wesite:

http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/exhibit-3.html

Have you ever seen high-speed photography? There are some cool pictures of bullets in mid-air and such.

I could leave today and nobody would ever wonder where I went.Nor PM me or an e-mail...

Oh I think we would all wonder, but we probably wouldn’t PM you for fear of you returning.

I used to but nobody was ever on.

I think hes talking about his laptop? The battery of his laptop got low?

Do you think he actually believes the words that come out of his mouth?

How about it? That way users can post links to ebay auctions and stuff. Although I would recommend a minimum post count before you can post there.

Maybe I've missed the boat here (I've been away a while) if anybody has a spare invite I'd be very grateful.

If I ever get any invites I would be happy to send you one. As for the rest... ebay!

I gota say I am really happy with it. I really like the way it groups "conversations" so you can see a mesage in its proper context.

Ya, I have never seen the need for an html etitor. I just use notpad or netscape composer.

Hey, real men code in binary.

I just got one too.

Sorry' date=' Lance, it had to be done. I use humor to cover up my jealousy of the fact that you guys have laboratories in your basement and I have dollhouses, storage shelves and boxes of toddler clothes.

 

My little girl is 5 now, so I'm looking forward to starting HER lab down there soon. Can you suggest some pieces I could start collecting?[/quote']

 

It’s ok, no offense taken.

 

I would think about installing some extra ventilation. I think I’m going to cut a hole in the ceiling and add one of those fans you find in bathrooms with some ducting to the outside. The hardest part to find is just space, after you get the space it really doesn’t matter.

 

Picture is of my other lab.

Ah, nice.... Now how about a picture of some labs?

On an off note, if you ever need any caps, I have a large supply.....free as always. Mostly 2700/1000 uf 400 v dc

[Nearly chokes] Did you say free? I might be willing to pay for some sometime in the future.

Anyway heres a picture of my tesla coil with a breakout point (nail) and a ground rod.

Hey do you have any pictures? Its always cool to see another persons work. I'll upload some of mine in a few minutes.

Hmm... Maybe tungsten electrodes? Also I think if you used blunt electrodes the ionization voltage would be lower and you could space them closer and waste less energy in the spark gap.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=67063&item=3822869649&rd=1

Edit: Also I should probaly tell you Im no tesla coil expert, Im still working on my first and it only gives small arcs.

nice setup, is that a sort of van de braff thing on the back left? if i can get my digi camera to work ill take a picture. mines in the garage and is mostly things borrowed from school and bottles of reagents / things ive made. pretty make shift until i can find a UK lab suppiles company.

Naw Its a tesla coil. My lab used to just be a desk in my room (alot of it still is...)

Here's a link to a virtual tour of my work area. It's located under the July 12' date=' 2003 entry. Enjoy. Workspace of doom [/quote']

Nice tour... I might have trouble sleeping tonight.

I think most people use a few vertical copper pipes. If you use multiple segments it won’t heat up as quickly too.

There are tons for less than a doller.

If one person bought an account wouldn’t they be able to invite everybody from Science forums...?

I think its google email. It says its not open to the public though. Is there anyway to get into the beta testing? An Invite?

I heard that a student stole some sodium and when he got home he left it in his pants. His mom went searching through his room for pot and flushed the sodium down the toilet.

Lets all upload a picture of our lab whether it’s fully loaded or the corner in your bedroom.

I just cleared out a spot in the basement complete with lots of extra room for testing. I still haven’t started moving things down though.

Fight club

28 days later

Gladiator

Zoolander

Evolution

Three kings

Austin powers

Matrix

There’s something about Mary

Saving Silverman

Terminator

Those are only a few right off the top of my head... Ill think of more later.

Edit: 3,000 miles to Graceland

A beautiful Mind

Christmas Vacation

Conair

Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo

Forrest Gump

Joe Dirt

A knights Tale

Lord of the Rings

Memento

O'Brother Where Art Thou

The patriot

Swordfish

The thomas Crown Affair

Get Shorty

Gone in 60 seconds

Have you seen this website?

This guy made his own Collection. So far he has 109 elements.