Tesla Coil Pic

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
Right, not talking about the coil, or the energys involved, just the picture...

Anyway, I've been a little absent lately, this is why-

Comments?
Questions?

[EDIT]
ugg, giant image, just click on it
........|
........V
 

Attachments

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
I'm actually going to build a tuner tonight so I can tune it, I think I need to increase the cap bank to reduce the required inductance for the primary, because it seems like the tune point is outside the current number of turns.

And hey, I wouldn't say evil genius, :p
I'm not sure I'm evil and I'm not sure I'm a genius ;)
 
Last edited:

Markd77

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,806
I can't quite work out what's going on there, it looks a bit like there is a 3 inch spark and a big glowing tube.
I hope you are wearing UV eye protection because it's going to be giving off quite a lot of UV.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
I'm actually going to build a tuner tonight so I can tune it, I think I need to increase the cap bank to reduce the required inductance for the primary, because it seems like the tune point is outside the current number of turns
A simple 555-based tuner is really easy to make. Not sure if you have plans already, but this may be worth checking out:

http://www.freeenergyinventions.com/diy_tesla_coil_tuner.html

Keep up the good work!
Der Strom
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
I can't quite work out what's going on there, it looks a bit like there is a 3 inch spark and a big glowing tube.
I hope you are wearing UV eye protection because it's going to be giving off quite a lot of UV.
It's terribly out of tune at the moment, so it doesn't output very much energy at all.
I'll wear sunglasses when it gets working better

A simple 555-based tuner is really easy to make. Not sure if you have plans already, but this may be worth checking out:

http://www.freeenergyinventions.com/diy_tesla_coil_tuner.html

Keep up the good work!
Der Strom
I can't see that like ATM because of the schools annoying firewall, but I was planning on using something like this - http://www.rmcybernetics.com/projects/DIY_Devices/homemade_tesla_coil_tuner.htm
 

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
I can't quite work out what's going on there, it looks a bit like there is a 3 inch spark and a big glowing tube.
I hope you are wearing UV eye protection because it's going to be giving off quite a lot of UV.
Oh, yeah, looks like the arc is only a couple of inches and it's lighting up a fourescent bulb. I thought it was a 4' arc at first. I was wondering how much ozone he was breathing in standing there in front of it.
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
Yea, a large bulb being struck and a smaller one that I'm holding in my hand
The spark gap puts off much more ozone than the toroid.
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
Ah, I see now that it is.
I'll post some more pics when I get it tuned :)

question- in order to calibrate the tuner I would use my oscilloscope to measure what frequency it's at without it connected to anything, correct?
 
Last edited:

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
Ah, I see now that it is.
I'll post some more pics when I get it tuned :)

question- in order to calibrate the tuner I would use my oscilloscope to measure what frequency it's at without it connected to anything, correct?
If you follow the schematic exactly, there's a calibration disc on the site already. Just print it out and put it around the pot shaft and you should be set.
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
I followed it almost exactly, but I lacked the 1.8nF cap, so I used a 2nF, so I wanted to be sure of the calibration
not that it's really that big of a deal, I'm just going to tune it to the same place for both
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
Hmm, when tuning your primary, did the tuner only light up when you had it turned as far as possible?
It worked fine for my secondary, but when I try the primary it says I have a frequency of like 10khz, no matter how much I decrease the capacitance...
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
Hmm, when tuning your primary, did the tuner only light up when you had it turned as far as possible?
It worked fine for my secondary, but when I try the primary it says I have a frequency of like 10khz, no matter how much I decrease the capacitance...
I think that happened at one point... It's been a long time, so I don't recall exactly. Did you remember to short the spark gap?
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
yhup
I think it might be because the 9 volt can't properly charge the saltwater bottle capacitors

am I correct in thinking that if I add more capacitance I can reduce the inductance and get the same resonant frequency?
 

Thread Starter

magnet18

Joined Dec 22, 2010
1,227
OK, I... changed... the problem :/

I re-did the primary circuit, putting the bottles in a bucket full of water with oil on top to stop the corona losses, And I tried to measure it again, (shorting the spark gap and attaching a lead to each side of the capacitor) this time it remains lit during the whole sweep, except for going dim at around 125ish khz

Still works for the secondary.

I think I'm going back to guess and check on the primary coil :p

[EDIT]
IT WERKS!!!!!
I'll post pictures after Dr Who :D
 
Last edited:
Top