My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Sun Jan 30 2011, 10:35AMSome days ago i decided to dig up my plans about building a tesla coil that i couldn't finish in the past. This time i think it is going to be easier, since i am more motivated an relaxed.
So, up to now i have made the driver circuit. It consists of a camera flash board, power by 2xAA batteries, which in turn powers a CW voltage multiplier(10x1nF@1000V caps. 10xUF4007 diodes and a 1kΩ resistor).
The Hv out and the GND wire produce a nice small arc about 5mm.
According to Dr.2N3055 this is about 8000V when the cw voltage multiplier is a 6 stage one and since mine has 5 stages the output would be a bit lower than his.
So my questions are the following. Do i have to add another stage to the voltage multiplier or is it fine that way? How do i construct the coil(diameter, number of windings of the secondary and primary coil, former material etc.)? Am i going to need a toroid?
Here is the original post by Dr.2N3055.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Dr. ISOTOP, Sun Jan 30 2011, 11:14AM
IMHO such an exotic project is not a good way to get started with coiling. At such tiny powers, any losses become significant, and it is difficult to achieve output.
You're better off with a flyback powered coil, or better yet a coil powered by a 9KV/30mA NST.
If you want to figure out the parameters for this coil, use JAVATC.
If you can make a spark gap that functions at your voltages, you do not need a 6th stage.
Dr. ISOTOP, Sun Jan 30 2011, 11:14AM
IMHO such an exotic project is not a good way to get started with coiling. At such tiny powers, any losses become significant, and it is difficult to achieve output.
You're better off with a flyback powered coil, or better yet a coil powered by a 9KV/30mA NST.
If you want to figure out the parameters for this coil, use JAVATC.
If you can make a spark gap that functions at your voltages, you do not need a 6th stage.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Sun Jan 30 2011, 02:20PM
I would prefer a bigger and more powerful coil as well, but since i am a newbie, getting away with minor burns seems better than having a major accident.
As a matter of fact, i've already got a flyback and all the components for a ZVS but i am not going to construct it until i have enough experience in the field. I am a bit afraid of such high outputs.
Michalis.Biochem, Sun Jan 30 2011, 02:20PM
I would prefer a bigger and more powerful coil as well, but since i am a newbie, getting away with minor burns seems better than having a major accident.
As a matter of fact, i've already got a flyback and all the components for a ZVS but i am not going to construct it until i have enough experience in the field. I am a bit afraid of such high outputs.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 03:50PM
So, i got secondary former with diameter 4cm and height about 30cm. It is going to have about 600 windings of 0,2mm wire. The primary coil consists of 6 windings of about 1mm wire. It has a diameter of about 6cm.
I hope they are ok
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 03:50PM
So, i got secondary former with diameter 4cm and height about 30cm. It is going to have about 600 windings of 0,2mm wire. The primary coil consists of 6 windings of about 1mm wire. It has a diameter of about 6cm.
I hope they are ok
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Dr. ISOTOP, Mon Jan 31 2011, 04:06PM
Well, now that you have your primary and secondary wound, you need to compute the size of the capacitor such that the primary and secondary will form a resonant circuit.
Dr. ISOTOP, Mon Jan 31 2011, 04:06PM
Well, now that you have your primary and secondary wound, you need to compute the size of the capacitor such that the primary and secondary will form a resonant circuit.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 04:52PM
How do i do that?
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 04:52PM
bwang wrote ...
Well, now that you have your primary and secondary wound, you need to compute the size of the capacitor such that the primary and secondary will form a resonant circuit.
Well, now that you have your primary and secondary wound, you need to compute the size of the capacitor such that the primary and secondary will form a resonant circuit.
How do i do that?
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
HV Enthusiast, Mon Jan 31 2011, 07:59PM
Check out my paper on How to design tesla coils. It can be found here:
This is a pretty no-nonsense method of designing a simple SGTC.
HV Enthusiast, Mon Jan 31 2011, 07:59PM
Check out my paper on How to design tesla coils. It can be found here:
This is a pretty no-nonsense method of designing a simple SGTC.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 09:12PM
Sooo, i Think i made a tesla coil. I havent installed a topload though. I powered the thing up and when i got the 2 wires that protrude from the coi, near each other a faint arc appeared. But, when i got one of these 2 wires near the coil a larger arc appeared. Almost 3cm. Is that even normal?
Oh, and btw one of my hard drivers rebooted for no apparent reason.
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 09:12PM
Sooo, i Think i made a tesla coil. I havent installed a topload though. I powered the thing up and when i got the 2 wires that protrude from the coi, near each other a faint arc appeared. But, when i got one of these 2 wires near the coil a larger arc appeared. Almost 3cm. Is that even normal?
Oh, and btw one of my hard drivers rebooted for no apparent reason.
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 09:14PM
Oh, and thanks for the info!
Michalis.Biochem, Mon Jan 31 2011, 09:14PM
EastVoltResearch wrote ...
Check out my paper on How to design tesla coils. It can be found here:
This is a pretty no-nonsense method of designing a simple SGTC.
Check out my paper on How to design tesla coils. It can be found here:
This is a pretty no-nonsense method of designing a simple SGTC.
Oh, and thanks for the info!
Re: My first tesla coil(SGTC)
Michalis.Biochem, Tue Feb 01 2011, 09:59AM
I also want to add an rf choke. I read that it need to be installed on th hv out of the transformer. Since my xformer connects directly to cw voltage multiplier, do i have to connect it on the hv out of the voltage multiplier or the xformer's?
Michalis.Biochem, Tue Feb 01 2011, 09:59AM
I also want to add an rf choke. I read that it need to be installed on th hv out of the transformer. Since my xformer connects directly to cw voltage multiplier, do i have to connect it on the hv out of the voltage multiplier or the xformer's?
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