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Tesla coil on a car

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nrhoades

Thu Jun 07 2007, 02:26AM

Registered Member #610 Joined: Wed Mar 28 2007, 09:44PM
Location: Middletown, RI
Posts: 110

Has anyone every heard of anyone mounting a coil on a car or truck? I wonder what that'd look like driving down the freeway.

Firnagzen

Thu Jun 07 2007, 03:12AM

Registered Member #567 Joined: Tue Mar 06 2007, 10:55AM
Location: Singapore
Posts: 147

*Cough*

I don't know if you can drive it with the coil on the car, but there it is. I reckon, though, that you should've searched the internet before asking; Peter's Tesla-on-a-car is everywhere.

nrhoades

Thu Jun 07 2007, 03:48AM

Registered Member #610 Joined: Wed Mar 28 2007, 09:44PM
Location: Middletown, RI
Posts: 110

I figure that this community is friendly enough not to criticize anyone's questions, so I don't regret asking. Thanks for the link though :)

Tesladownunder

Thu Jun 07 2007, 04:36AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

The link just given was for my old and very small TC on a car.
I am hoping to get a 2.5kW generator set to make my 4 inch coil mobile to some degree. It is a rather cumbersome setup at present and a nice DRSSTC would be preferable with much less weight, control and efficiency issues.

I have also had megalomaniac ideas of putting this one on a truck along with a hired 10kW generator.

TDU

1181190912 10 FT26464 Tesla18sauron22ft600

Firnagzen

Thu Jun 07 2007, 05:48AM

Registered Member #567 Joined: Tue Mar 06 2007, 10:55AM
Location: Singapore
Posts: 147

Well, it does have a link to your other tesla on a car stuff, whereas the other stuff doesn't link back here, so to make sure he sees it all...

And anyway, 10kW tesla coil on your truck? I am glad I don't live anywhere near you. (Though I used to, actually, because I define Sydney as a bit too close for comfort!)

Ps. I don't suppose you've ever played Red Alert 2? It's a RTS, and they have a unit called a tesla tank. Your ideas are starting to remind me of those...

GreySoul

Thu Jun 07 2007, 06:04AM

Registered Member #546 Joined: Fri Feb 23 2007, 11:43PM
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 239

nrhoades wrote ...

I figure that this community is friendly enough not to criticize anyone's questions,

Bad assumption :) I can understand why certain members want to make new members pass a test before they can join :\

The down side is it makes relative newcomers like me hesitant to ask certain questions... but that's my problem.

Anyways...I've got an NST I could run in my truck.... but I would be a little worried about the trucks electronics. Also keep in mind that in many countries it is illegal to electrify a vehicle as a theft/vandalism deterrent. HV circuits should be monitored at all times anyways, but who knows.... after my car was torched I was thinking about hooking up a 194uf/10KV cap to my trucks body and waiting. A quick google search of the law dismissed that idea rather quickly... so before you put a tesla coil on a car consider that it would have to be monitors at all times.... (duh?)

Anyways, take pics....

-Doug

...

Thu Jun 07 2007, 06:18AM

Registered Member #56 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445

It is easy to get power on a car, but ground can be trickier. You could use the car as a counter pose, but then you would be floating at some probably reasonably deadly voltage (which of course is HF so you can't feel it). It would probably also do considerable damage to some of the electronics in the car.

If I were going to try it, I would probably use my sand rail, which doesn't have a single transistor in it to blow out (well, cept the tachometer but who cares about that). And I would probably get a 20' plastic rod to turn the variac with....

Kinda along those lines, one of these days I am going to build a DRSSTC that is powered by a small nitro RC engine (about 2.5hp out of a .15cc engine!) running into some type of generator (probably a high current output car alternator) feeding a fullbridge of 40n60s, with an optical interrupter. Pound in the ground rod, pull the starter cord, stand back and let spark fly... just the noise it would make

Terry Fritz

Thu Jun 07 2007, 01:20PM

Registered Member #393 Joined: Tue Apr 18 2006, 12:30AM
Location:
Posts: 297

I think the GeekGroup actually did it. Just have to be careful not to fry the car's electronics. There are laws to about having a "distraction" on your car that might cause an accident.

Just use a very cheap care and the hood is the ground plane.

Cheers,

Terry

CT2

Thu Jun 07 2007, 11:58PM

Registered Member #180 Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:12AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 187

I think the tires might light on fire if you used the car as ground for the coil. I had an old go-kart in my garage and I was screwing around and lit it's tires on fire with a NST... so I'm not sure how well the car would work as the ground.

Tesladownunder

Fri Jun 08 2007, 02:08PM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I wasn't planning to drive on a road with a runing TC. Perhaps just to a different unpowered place rather than in front of my shed which is the backdrop to everything for me.
You could probably get some sort of ground and save your tyres with some copper braid straps that dangle down to the ground like the old static straps.
You can see a lot of my ground returns from sparks to my ladder for example that spark to the bitumen like in the pic below. Any question of poor contact, just add a bucket of water to the road surface when you are stationary.

When I did the TC on a car shot, I earthed the car body to a large Al sheet on the ground which if nothing else will give capacitative coupling to ground. It was also grounded to the shed and earth, but some 10 feet away.

Yes I have played Red Alert. And my wife still did too until about 6 months ago. I still have thoughts of a Tesla trooper costume mockup. Would make a great shot. Thing is with great shots, people think they are photoshopped.

TDU

1181311648 10 FT26464 Tesla18week2fullbright1000 Small

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