Welcome
Username or Email:

Password:


Missing Code




[ ]
[ ]
Online
  • Guests: 79
  • Members: 0
  • Newest Member: omjtest
  • Most ever online: 396
    Guests: 396, Members: 0 on 12 Jan : 12:51
Members Birthdays:
All today's birthdays', congrats!
Mathias (41)
slash128v6 (52)


Next birthdays
02/01 Barry (70)
02/01 Snowcat (37)
02/01 wylie (43)
Contact
If you need assistance, please send an email to forum at 4hv dot org. To ensure your email is not marked as spam, please include the phrase "4hv help" in the subject line. You can also find assistance via IRC, at irc.shadowworld.net, room #hvcomm.
Support 4hv.org!
Donate:
4hv.org is hosted on a dedicated server. Unfortunately, this server costs and we rely on the help of site members to keep 4hv.org running. Please consider donating. We will place your name on the thanks list and you'll be helping to keep 4hv.org alive and free for everyone. Members whose names appear in red bold have donated recently. Green bold denotes those who have recently donated to keep the server carbon neutral.


Special Thanks To:
  • Aaron Holmes
  • Aaron Wheeler
  • Adam Horden
  • Alan Scrimgeour
  • Andre
  • Andrew Haynes
  • Anonymous000
  • asabase
  • Austin Weil
  • barney
  • Barry
  • Bert Hickman
  • Bill Kukowski
  • Blitzorn
  • Brandon Paradelas
  • Bruce Bowling
  • BubeeMike
  • Byong Park
  • Cesiumsponge
  • Chris F.
  • Chris Hooper
  • Corey Worthington
  • Derek Woodroffe
  • Dalus
  • Dan Strother
  • Daniel Davis
  • Daniel Uhrenholt
  • datasheetarchive
  • Dave Billington
  • Dave Marshall
  • David F.
  • Dennis Rogers
  • drelectrix
  • Dr. John Gudenas
  • Dr. Spark
  • E.TexasTesla
  • eastvoltresearch
  • Eirik Taylor
  • Erik Dyakov
  • Erlend^SE
  • Finn Hammer
  • Firebug24k
  • GalliumMan
  • Gary Peterson
  • George Slade
  • GhostNull
  • Gordon Mcknight
  • Graham Armitage
  • Grant
  • GreySoul
  • Henry H
  • IamSmooth
  • In memory of Leo Powning
  • Jacob Cash
  • James Howells
  • James Pawson
  • Jeff Greenfield
  • Jeff Thomas
  • Jesse Frost
  • Jim Mitchell
  • jlr134
  • Joe Mastroianni
  • John Forcina
  • John Oberg
  • John Willcutt
  • Jon Newcomb
  • klugesmith
  • Leslie Wright
  • Lutz Hoffman
  • Mads Barnkob
  • Martin King
  • Mats Karlsson
  • Matt Gibson
  • Matthew Guidry
  • mbd
  • Michael D'Angelo
  • Mikkel
  • mileswaldron
  • mister_rf
  • Neil Foster
  • Nick de Smith
  • Nick Soroka
  • nicklenorp
  • Nik
  • Norman Stanley
  • Patrick Coleman
  • Paul Brodie
  • Paul Jordan
  • Paul Montgomery
  • Ped
  • Peter Krogen
  • Peter Terren
  • PhilGood
  • Richard Feldman
  • Robert Bush
  • Royce Bailey
  • Scott Fusare
  • Scott Newman
  • smiffy
  • Stella
  • Steven Busic
  • Steve Conner
  • Steve Jones
  • Steve Ward
  • Sulaiman
  • Thomas Coyle
  • Thomas A. Wallace
  • Thomas W
  • Timo
  • Torch
  • Ulf Jonsson
  • vasil
  • Vaxian
  • vladi mazzilli
  • wastehl
  • Weston
  • William Kim
  • William N.
  • William Stehl
  • Wesley Venis
The aforementioned have contributed financially to the continuing triumph of 4hv.org. They are deserving of my most heartfelt thanks.
Forums
4hv.org :: Forums :: Tesla Coils
« Previous topic | Next topic »   

AC or DC coils. Plus beginner help needed

Move Thread LAN_403
Guyfrom7up
Fri Jul 25 2008, 02:34AM Print
Guyfrom7up Registered Member #817 Joined: Mon Jun 04 2007, 01:33AM
Location:
Posts: 15
I want to say this first, I've never built a tesla coil before, I've never really done anything too HV. I'm working on my first tesla coil (it's a mini desktop one cause I can't afford too much). My source of High Voltage is an ignition coil (I made a driver, I get nice long sparks from it). And I have a lot of equipment that would be good for tesla coils (100MHz oscilloscope, LCR meter, multimeter).

Now to the question part. What's the difference between an AC or DC Tesla coil. Like after your NST or Ignition coil it's AC, right? Do you need to rectify that into DC? Is one better than another?
Back to top
coillah
Fri Jul 25 2008, 03:23AM
coillah Registered Member #1517 Joined: Wed Jun 04 2008, 06:55AM
Location: Chico CA
Posts: 304
From one newb to another, welcome!

DC coils tend to be much more complicated and more expensive. But you can do really interesting things with them, ie some people have built coils that can be run off of an audio signal. I saw a video of a guy who actually hooked his up to his electric guitar.

An AC coil is well suited for newbs like us. I am making a spark gap TC. They are capable of making decent sparks with a low budget. They are a good way to get your feet wet with building coils.
Back to top
Guyfrom7up
Fri Jul 25 2008, 01:15PM
Guyfrom7up Registered Member #817 Joined: Mon Jun 04 2007, 01:33AM
Location:
Posts: 15
ok, thanks

oh, and what's so much more expensive about a DC coil, don't you just need a minimum of 1 HV diode (preferably 4 for a bridge?)?

If that's not a problem isn't it the same as an AC, just with a diode?

I'd rather not get my feet wet while building tesla coils ;)
Back to top
Dr. SSTC
Sat Jul 26 2008, 08:41AM
Dr. SSTC Registered Member #1407 Joined: Fri Mar 21 2008, 07:09AM
Location:
Posts: 222
i believe dc tesla coils have a much more bushy streamer appearance, and i believe they use resonant charging
Back to top

Moderator(s): Chris Russell, Noelle, Alex, Tesladownunder, Dave Marshall, Dave Billington, Bjørn, Steve Conner, Wolfram, Kizmo, Mads Barnkob

Go to:

Powered by e107 Forum System
 
Legal Information
This site is powered by e107, which is released under the GNU GPL License. All work on this site, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. By submitting any information to this site, you agree that anything submitted will be so licensed. Please read our Disclaimer and Policies page for information on your rights and responsibilities regarding this site.