Need help powering up a small-medium Tesla coil?

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Jarn9767
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 11:15 pm

Need help powering up a small-medium Tesla coil?

Post by Jarn9767 »

I got the Tesla coil set up but I need to find a way to power it up how it is supposed to be. The picture I added is similar to the one I made the difference is the size of the tube it is only around 2ft. tall and around 1in. thick. Is there any suggestions besides those expensive transformers.
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jcgoodman
 
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Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:03 pm

Re: Need help powering up a small-medium Tesla coil?

Post by jcgoodman »

One of our students built a tesla coil similar to yours (but larger) a few years ago. I've been teaching and tinkering with it since he graduated. In my experience: yes, you really do need to spend the money on a neon sign transformer. There are some other cheaper options, but they're unreliable at best, dangerous at worst.

Second, the picture shows "beer bottle" capacitors. These are a dirt-cheap option, but I found they dissipate a lot of power and are ugly (and messy, once the electrodes start to rust). I had good success with the "MMC" (Multiple Mini Capacitor) technique.

Finally, remember that Tesla coils work using resonance. if you changed the length and diameter of your secondary (the tube) from someone else's design, you'll have to change the shape and size of the primary coil and/or the capacitor bank to "tune" the coil. This calculator can help you make sure your design will work.

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