Tesla coil not working trouble shoot advice needed

Thread Starter

dante_clericuzzio

Joined Mar 28, 2016
246
I am trying to make one tesla coil using 9 volt battery + 2222a transistor + 22k resistor and tesla coil that i wounded on the pvc pipe...but when connecting to the battery it only produce around 30 volt and sometimes up to 60 volt and for that reason i have some questions

1. What is the voltage to light up light bulb using the telsa coil?
2. Why is the voltage keep fluctuating from 0 to 35 volt and sometimes 65 why not consistently producing the same voltage
3. After few times of trying it then no longer can possibly wrong with it

See this video the voltage fluctuate randomly

 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
1. What is the voltage to light up light bulb using the telsa coil?
Do you mean a fluorescent bulb? You can light an LED with as little as 1.5V. No coil needed.
2. Why is the voltage keep fluctuating from 0 to 35 volt and sometimes 65 why not consistently producing the same voltage
You're seeing some sort of artifact. It's hard to tell what's going on without a schematic. How are you oscillating the signal to the coil?
3. After few times of trying it then no longer can possibly wrong with it
You're coil is probably draining the battery very quickly. With no power applied, measure the resistance of your coil primary.
 

Aswinth

Joined Nov 1, 2016
30
I am aware that this thread is old, but I still want to make a reply because future visitors might get benefited by this. The circuit suggested here (using 9V battery, 2V2222A) is the most common and easy circuit that can be used to build a Tesla Coil.

But, many people dont get it to work properly due some misconceptions. I tried the project myself and got it working although only after lots of head breaks and hence decide to document it here for people trying this out. So the basic things to keep in mind while building this circuit is given below and the complete guide can be found here
  1. Do not use a normal transistor in place of 2N2222, unless you know to select an exact equivalent for this transistor.
  2. The resistor 22K need not be exactly the same it can be anywhere from 12K to 30K.
  3. Make sure the 9V battery that you are using is brand new, because the cheap batteries will not last more than 5 minutes with this circuit, If you have an Arduino or something which can source you +5V you can also use that.
  4. It is completely fine for your coil to have any number of turns, but it should have a minimum of at least 150 turns, you dint have to be very accurate with the count.
  5. The circuit can work from 5V to 10V. However don’t push more than 500mA through it
  6. The LED has a different purpose other than glowing, it is actually used to switch the transistor so do not ignore it, a RED colour LED will work fine.
  7. Your LED might or might not glow when the Circuit is powered, you do not have to be worried about it.
  8. You might or might not get a spark (arc) at the free end of Secondary coil, you do not have to worry about that either. If you get an Arc do not touch it.
  9. Always check if the circuit is working only by using a normal CFL bulb.
  10. Adding a metal load (foil paper) on top of secondary coil is optional, but it sure will improve the results but not mandatory to get a basic working output.
  11. There is a very little chance for you to hear any hissing sound, so don’t expect it.
 

Thread Starter

dante_clericuzzio

Joined Mar 28, 2016
246
Actua
I am aware that this thread is old, but I still want to make a reply because future visitors might get benefited by this. The circuit suggested here (using 9V battery, 2V2222A) is the most common and easy circuit that can be used to build a Tesla Coil.

But, many people dont get it to work properly due some misconceptions. I tried the project myself and got it working although only after lots of head breaks and hence decide to document it here for people trying this out. So the basic things to keep in mind while building this circuit is given below and the complete guide can be found here
  1. Do not use a normal transistor in place of 2N2222, unless you know to select an exact equivalent for this transistor.
  2. The resistor 22K need not be exactly the same it can be anywhere from 12K to 30K.
  3. Make sure the 9V battery that you are using is brand new, because the cheap batteries will not last more than 5 minutes with this circuit, If you have an Arduino or something which can source you +5V you can also use that.
  4. It is completely fine for your coil to have any number of turns, but it should have a minimum of at least 150 turns, you dint have to be very accurate with the count.
  5. The circuit can work from 5V to 10V. However don’t push more than 500mA through it
  6. The LED has a different purpose other than glowing, it is actually used to switch the transistor so do not ignore it, a RED colour LED will work fine.
  7. Your LED might or might not glow when the Circuit is powered, you do not have to be worried about it.
  8. You might or might not get a spark (arc) at the free end of Secondary coil, you do not have to worry about that either. If you get an Arc do not touch it.
  9. Always check if the circuit is working only by using a normal CFL bulb.
  10. Adding a metal load (foil paper) on top of secondary coil is optional, but it sure will improve the results but not mandatory to get a basic working output.
  11. There is a very little chance for you to hear any hissing sound, so don’t expect it.
Actually i got the circuit working long time ago but i see it's just for fun no practical purpose to me personally for now so i left it and never look back again.....i am currently working on RF signal project so to improve my 4G internet signal which is more purposeful so far
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
I am aware that this thread is old, but I still want to make a reply because future visitors might get benefited by this. The circuit suggested here (using 9V battery, 2V2222A) is the most common and easy circuit that can be used to build a Tesla Coil.

But, many people dont get it to work properly due some misconceptions. I tried the project myself and got it working although only after lots of head breaks and hence decide to document it here for people trying this out. So the basic things to keep in mind while building this circuit is given below and the complete guide can be found here
  1. Do not use a normal transistor in place of 2N2222, unless you know to select an exact equivalent for this transistor.
  2. The resistor 22K need not be exactly the same it can be anywhere from 12K to 30K.
  3. Make sure the 9V battery that you are using is brand new, because the cheap batteries will not last more than 5 minutes with this circuit, If you have an Arduino or something which can source you +5V you can also use that.
  4. It is completely fine for your coil to have any number of turns, but it should have a minimum of at least 150 turns, you dint have to be very accurate with the count.
  5. The circuit can work from 5V to 10V. However don’t push more than 500mA through it
  6. The LED has a different purpose other than glowing, it is actually used to switch the transistor so do not ignore it, a RED colour LED will work fine.
  7. Your LED might or might not glow when the Circuit is powered, you do not have to be worried about it.
  8. You might or might not get a spark (arc) at the free end of Secondary coil, you do not have to worry about that either. If you get an Arc do not touch it.
  9. Always check if the circuit is working only by using a normal CFL bulb.
  10. Adding a metal load (foil paper) on top of secondary coil is optional, but it sure will improve the results but not mandatory to get a basic working output.
  11. There is a very little chance for you to hear any hissing sound, so don’t expect it.
Sorry to break your bubble, but what you have built is not a Tesla coil. Quote, "The Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit". From, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil
 

Aswinth

Joined Nov 1, 2016
30

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
Not in the truest sense of a Tesla coil. Where is the "tank" part of your circuit? What you have made is just a glorified ignition coil, sorry.
 
I am aware that this thread is old, but I still want to make a reply because future visitors might get benefited by this. The circuit suggested here (using 9V battery, 2V2222A) is the most common and easy circuit that can be used to build a Tesla Coil.

But, many people dont get it to work properly due some misconceptions. I tried the project myself and got it working although only after lots of head breaks and hence decide to document it here for people trying this out. So the basic things to keep in mind while building this circuit is given below and the complete guide can be found here
  1. Do not use a normal transistor in place of 2N2222, unless you know to select an exact equivalent for this transistor.
  2. The resistor 22K need not be exactly the same it can be anywhere from 12K to 30K.
  3. Make sure the 9V battery that you are using is brand new, because the cheap batteries will not last more than 5 minutes with this circuit, If you have an Arduino or something which can source you +5V you can also use that.
  4. It is completely fine for your coil to have any number of turns, but it should have a minimum of at least 150 turns, you dint have to be very accurate with the count.
  5. The circuit can work from 5V to 10V. However don’t push more than 500mA through it
  6. The LED has a different purpose other than glowing, it is actually used to switch the transistor so do not ignore it, a RED colour LED will work fine.
  7. Your LED might or might not glow when the Circuit is powered, you do not have to be worried about it.
  8. You might or might not get a spark (arc) at the free end of Secondary coil, you do not have to worry about that either. If you get an Arc do not touch it.
  9. Always check if the circuit is working only by using a normal CFL bulb.
  10. Adding a metal load (foil paper) on top of secondary coil is optional, but it sure will improve the results but not mandatory to get a basic working output.
  11. There is a very little chance for you to hear any hissing sound, so don’t expect it.
Thank you for this info. I’m doing a science fair experiment. Can you help me understand why an led with the same wattage equivalent as a 60w fluorescent bulb and a 60w incandescent bulb won’t light up but the fluorescent one will?
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
Both LED and incandescent require current. Bulbs like fluorescent and neon can be excited by the presence of a high number of electrons.

Built an RC circuit using mains power, a diode, a resistor, a capacitor and a neon bulb. When powered the capacitor would charge slowly through the resistor. When the voltage got high enough the neon bulb would flash. I then observed that if I placed my finger NEAR the glass neon bulb the rate at which it flashed would change. That was due to the presence of static electricity raising the level of voltage present in the vicinity of the bulb, making it flash sooner, or at a lower capacitor voltage.

Discussions of using mains power in any circuit is prohibited on this website. So don't ask for details on how to build such a simple thing. It's dangerous, and can cost you your life. Back when I built that circuit I was young and dumb. I'm no longer young. And a little bit wiser.
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,853
That is basically what was in the old, can type florescent lamp starters.
Yeah. They would create a draw across the filaments of the fluorescent tube, generating heat to vaporize the mercury in the tube and allow the high voltage to flow through the air space from end to end of the fluorescent tube. The high voltage would excite the phosphorus and the lamp would glow. When placed near a high voltage the phosphorus will glow, that's why in the video the tube lit up.
 
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