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Registered Member #62265
Joined: Sat Apr 28 2018, 11:26AM
Location:
Posts: 24
I recently bought a tiny Chinese "Tesla Coil" out of interest, and it prompted me to build a bigger version from some old plastic waste pipe, copper wire reclaimed from a discarded CRT-style TV, and an old metal slinky spring for a top load. I boned up on the Slayer Exciter circuit and built one to drive my coil. It resonates, and the coil causes fluorescent tubes to glow, but now I'm interested in getting some sparks from this thing. The dilemma I face is that I suspect that the Slayer Exciter is not powerful enough to get the sparks, and the alternative spark-gap driver would need to be tuned to the coil (which is an inconvenience that I avoided by using the Slayer Exciter). Any guidance for a complete novice would be greatly appreciated.
Registered Member #6038
Joined: Mon Aug 06 2012, 11:31AM
Location: Salado, TX
Posts: 248
My best suggestion is to become very knowledgeable on the electrical principals of TCs and resonant circuits. Then understand the components needed before putting one together. There is a wealth of information on this forum to get you going. Getting a TC working well is not simple and requires a pretty deep understanding.
Registered Member #2099
Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716
Applause for the slinky spring toroid!
Probably seen before, but not by me. I bet the electrical and magnetic properties of spring steel won't be a significant issue, if most turns are electrically connected in the middle. Is your Slinky "clamped" by a wire, string, or elastic cord threaded along its axis (before the slinky bend was made)? What's the electrical path between the secondary winding and the slinky turns?
Registered Member #62265
Joined: Sat Apr 28 2018, 11:26AM
Location:
Posts: 24
klugesmith wrote ...
Applause for the slinky spring toroid!
Probably seen before, but not by me. I bet the electrical and magnetic properties of spring steel won't be a significant issue, if most turns are electrically connected in the middle. Is your Slinky "clamped" by a wire, string, or elastic cord threaded along its axis (before the slinky bend was made)? What's the electrical path between the secondary winding and the slinky turns?
Thanks for the applause klugesmith, but undeserved I'm afraid. When I have a novel requirement I hunt around for something that might do the trick, and on this occasion the hunt turned up an old slinky spring that had been knocking around for a few decades. Seemed like it might fit the bill. You make a good point, though... all I did was hot glue it to a plastic cap from a can of fly spray, and connected onto it at a single point. I will definitely update that now.
Registered Member #61983
Joined: Fri Dec 08 2017, 12:07AM
Location:
Posts: 22
Congrats on wanting to experiment with a tesla coil, definitely a hobby to learn about resonate circuits. I would say definitely try a Spark gap coil yeah you have to tune it constantly but that's the fun of it. Just always remember safety. Keep your left hand in your pocket just as a precaution when going to touch anything after using the coil make sure your caps have resistors at least upwards for 5 mohms. You probably know this but feels better to just say it just in case. What are your questions about a spark gap coil or the slayer exciter version. Have you used the
To get an idea of what your coil parameters are. For sparks have you added a break out point like a thumb tack on the outside of the slinky or a clothes hanger sticking out. Also top load comes into play too big of a top load will effect if it can produce a spark.
Registered Member #62265
Joined: Sat Apr 28 2018, 11:26AM
Location:
Posts: 24
Gordon wrote ...
Congrats on wanting to experiment with a tesla coil, definitely a hobby to learn about resonate circuits. I would say definitely try a Spark gap coil yeah you have to tune it constantly but that's the fun of it. Just always remember safety. Keep your left hand in your pocket just as a precaution when going to touch anything after using the coil make sure your caps have resistors at least upwards for 5 mohms. You probably know this but feels better to just say it just in case. What are your questions about a spark gap coil or the slayer exciter version. Have you used the
To get an idea of what your coil parameters are. For sparks have you added a break out point like a thumb tack on the outside of the slinky or a clothes hanger sticking out. Also top load comes into play too big of a top load will effect if it can produce a spark.
Thanks for the reply Gordon, and for the link (looks like a site that's worth more investigation). I've been playing with Marx generators so I'm quite familiar now with the way that even small capacitors can store enough energy to get you "conditioned" so to speak (I spend a lot of time with horses and have become just as conditioned to avoid electric fencing as they are!) Speaking of SGTCs, from what read the spark gap itself can be a big problem (wear and cooling)… got me wondering if the spark plug from an internal combustion engine might be a good choice. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to spending more time on the TC stuff (real life is getting in the way), so very happy to have found this site and will be back for more advice in due course.
Registered Member #61983
Joined: Fri Dec 08 2017, 12:07AM
Location:
Posts: 22
Never thought about a spark plug but I'd be afraid of the current melting and blowing the electrode off. Most people use bolts and a set up they can change easily yeah they do corrode but nothing a quick hit with a brillo pad can't fix. The best so far I have found is brass to be quite resistant to corrosion. But with a SGTC you can get some pretty good archs and it's a great feeling of achievement after tuning it. Check out this out
Registered Member #61983
Joined: Fri Dec 08 2017, 12:07AM
Location:
Posts: 22
Here are some cheap capacitors that work they haven't blown up yet but they work they ship from China so it takes awhile to get here but using these you have to parallel resistors to each capacitor. TOOGOO(R) 100pcs CBB Metallized Polypropylene Capacitors 104J 0.1uF 1600V Font color white, black random
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