Mini Tesla Coil Plasma Speaker Kit - 12v Solar Shed

[@rodgermoore0007]

Thank you so much for doing this build. I am going to make one for my dad and play with it at Christmas. He loves Tesla tech and the man himself. The kids will get a huge kick out of this thing with the music and the lights too. Super cool.

[@cmj20002]

These are transistor driven, they don't need a spark gap. You can build a Tesla coil with vacuum tubes or transistors as well. It is a tesla coil, but not in the traditional sense. When Tesla made his coils he didn't have transistors to use or he may have.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+C MJ That’ll explain it - thank you very much.

[@markawbolton]

You need a cuppla thousand volts on the primary for a spark gap to work.

[@I.____.....__...__]

For anyone who can't get it to work, specifically, those that are seeing only LED2 turn on, try replacing the red primary coil with a wire with fewer turns. Newer versions of this kit say to use 2-3 turns, but try trimming it down from 3 to 2, and if that still doesn't work, from 2 to 1 turn. I had 3 turns, then cut it down to 1 turn and it worked with no other changes.

[@Icy_Wresth]

does yours smell like ozone because of corona discharge?

[@AndersJackson]

The spark gap is not an important part of the tesla coil. The important part is the primary low turn and secondary high turn coils. Thumb ups! That is exchanged with the electronics. So it is like the spark plugs in a car. Modern cars does use electronics instead of a mechanical switch.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Cheers.

[@mauromauro1384]

the important thing is the resonance of the primary circuit

[@davidca96]

I just put one of these together an hour ago, its a fun lil gadget its not powerful at all but does light up CFLs and has about a half inch spark.

[@GadgetAddict]

Very cool little kit!

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Gadget Addict It's fun isn't it. Congrats on the 20k subs by the way.

[@zenzen9131]

on plugging your iPhone into a kit from China" . . . in for a penny in for a pound . . " love it :)

[@orange70383]

I really like those inexpensive kits. I have the same resistor, cap, trans, diode and whatever else tester as well, I use it all the time it's great.

[@acevehe]

I got a lot on Amazon and it came with no instructions. It's fairly self explanatory so I put it together. Only the blue LED lights up. No power comes off the coil. I'm using a 24v 2A power supply. I have no testing equipment like seen on this video. Any ideas how I can troubleshoot it?

[@sc0or]

An air gap is needed for an automatic selection of a resonance frequency. Because a spark produces quite a wide spectrum. If a schematic is tuned perfectly, the gap is not needed.

[@togethereasy]

Hi Adam, what could be the problem with mine? The red LED doesn't light up, only the blue and aside of the LED nothing happens...

[@jadencadwising9368]

What was used as a power supply? Also, did the kit come with the cable to supply power? Final question, what are some alternative power supplies, maybe a laptop?

[@kieranlyons2686]

Hi, there folks have just finished building one of these today but cannot get it to work. One led light is coming on but the charge is not going through the coil to excite the bulbs. I am not the best at soldering but have all the pieces in place . I followed this youtube guide but unable to figure out what the problem is. very disappointed after this effort. Anyone have any idea what the problem could be. I think something to do with the coil and perhaps enamel on the coil. Any advice would be appreciated. I am going to send for another one on ebay and build from scratch. Eagerly awaiting any advice.

[@CornishMiner]

A fun build! Perhaps you could add a ping ping ball (or similar) wrapped in foil to act as a top load?

[@deangreenhough3479]

finally built it, thanks Adam, I enjoyed the background info too. She is a beast, mine appears to oscillate in a circle, groovy.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Good to hear. Well done Dean.

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

So, does the ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ or ‘Corona’ dancing on the end of that thin copper lead, do the two leads from the ends of the primary winding need to be close to one another. I see you’ve made certain that there is proper contact and soldered the bottom end of primary winding wire to the hole in the PCB, but can you just cut that lead flush to the board after you’ve soldered it? I’m only wondering because I don’t have schematic, and I’m having troubles getting my kit to work. I thought that the spacing between the ends in the primary coil need to be within a centimeter if one another, and the blue spark will go between these two ends of wire. Is this the case, or does the spark just dance on the end of the coil’s upper free lead? Thanks for sharing. Cool piece of kit.

[@standishgeezer]

The description on this item I viewed says (sic) "Not to phone, mp3 and other electronic equipment near the coil. The coil generates high frequency magnetic field would otherwise interfere with such mobile phone, mp3 other equipment failure or damage" ...Hope you kept your ipad a good distance from the coil :-) Fun item though.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+standishgeezer The iPad was a fair distance - although electrically connected. My iPhone was a fair bit closer videoing it. All working as they should - thankfully.

[@ripppage2316]

Great, works on burnt out fluorescent bulbs/tubes too.

[@abjurian]

Hello, How are you? Good, I hope! Nice job on circuit. I was wondering I see there is a place to connect a fan for the MOSFETs do you know what voltage fans it uses? Also how hot does it get when running for some time? Thanks.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Pretty sure the fan will run straight from the input voltage and that’s noted as 15-24 volts. It work best at 24 volts and does get very hot.

[@abjurian]

Adam Welch I just finished my kit and you are correct that the fan connector follows the input voltage and running it at 24 volts it gets very hot. I think I will do a 12v regulator to run fan from the connector or something. Neat little kit though.

[@tomekjanasinski370]

do you get the cable?

[@thediydude4110]

where do you buy the power supply for this?

[@benjaminmecham6250]

This was a fun build, but mine doesn't make music. Just the same, constant blue spark whether the audio jack is plugged in or not.

[@DudeWhoSaysDeez]

How do you get a power supply with such high voltage?

[@DavidWatts]

Ha ha, nice video mate. Mine is still in the post, really looking forward to it.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+David Watts Thats good - you'll have some fun with that. Top tip: a higher input voltage makes the output more impressive. Cheers.

[@DavidWatts]

***** I am sure I will screw it up somehow :-)

[@krzygmr99]

Any tips on how to power this? Not exactly an electronics or circuitry expert. Don't know if there's any battery set up i could make/use.

[@AdamWelchUK]

You could hook it up to a twelve volt battery - but I remember it working better at closer to 24v DC. However it did get warm at the higher voltage. A typical mains adapter (a wall wort) of 12-24v should get it running as long as the polarity is correct in the barrel connector. Some ideas there for you.

[@krzygmr99]

@@AdamWelchUK Thank you!

[@krzygmr99]

@@AdamWelchUK managed to hook it up to a 15V 2.5A power supply. LEDs are lighting up but I'm not having any discharge from the coil. Not sure what to do...

[@Razorrule]

Hey , i got this too but when i give power to it, only the one LED lights up so it does not work for me have you any ideas to fix mine? i checked for leds polarity and also for continuity of the coils?!

[@AdamWelchUK]

I have seen another version of the schmatic where the LED at the bottom of the secondary coil is the wrong way around - all the energy immediately goes to ground via the led rather than via the discharge. Does your schematic in the paper work match mine?That's the correct way.

[@Razorrule]

Adam Welch... it was my fault there is Another solder point near the primary.. i soldered the sec. to this point instead of soldering to the point where ot has to be :/ anyway it works well. thank you!

[@oxidelayer7699]

I got 1 whatdid for 3 week put it together and I don't work the LEDs tune​ on but no spark

[@richardboyce4921]

Fun little kit, good choice.

[@C4mpblor]

I ordered this kit and I'm missing the blue LED :( Haven't got anything to put in it's place!

[@XenonBeats]

Ive just got one and its not working. The leds light up but no sparks. Ive also put everything in the correct place and im sure about that

[@Chris.n.a]

Can you also light up a single led

[@SpeccyMan]

No.

[@togethereasy]

So annoying... my second one doesn't work. So the first one I screwed up bad. I mixed up the resisters and put in the LEDs wrong. But I learned from it and by the second time I really did all good. The LEDs light up, but it doesn't give a spark and doesn't light up bulbs around it..... :( pretty frustrating after waiting for it for almost 2 months.

[@kieranlyons2686]

Hi there I'm new to this and have bought this kit but how do I distinguish between the two 10k resistors and the two 2k resistors. Thanks

[@7jeytee7]

www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-resistor-color-code-5-band but if you have mutimeter it would be better and quicker way :D

[@petenewton5028]

Can someone help me. I built this and the Tesla coil works, but it will not play music. I think I must have done something wrong but the Chinese instructions are no help. Any help pinpointing the problem would be greatly appreciated.

[@jefflauer2980]

how did you power it

[@Blindcorner01]

hi there i like all your videos and lots of good info keep up the good work. i had a question maybe you could help out i have a epever tracer seriesA 4210 my panels are 48 volt panels i wanted to see how the charger works before i run everything but when i connect 1 panel the 1st time around the carousel it shows 48 volts coming in then when it goes around or i if i click through the display it shows 14 volts at pv and only 0.2 amps coming in thats in full sun i just had 1 battery connected to it like i said just to try it out. am i doing something wrong or does it have to do with common possitive im not even sure. or is this something that can be changed within the parameters in the computer station i had to order the cable should be here soon any help or suggestions would be great thanks so much

[@AdamWelchUK]

I did a video last week which talks about this ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6DamHV5oZZ5Z6s ). The EPEver Tracer A (and it seems many others of the tracers) doesn't do MPPT unless there is more than 10 watts coming in. However at 48v * 0.2a = 9.6 watts you were close so it may not have been that issue. The other possibility is that your test battery is quite small and well charged. The whole point of a charge controller is to control the charge into the battery so if it was fully charged (or so small it didn't take long to charge it) the charge controller will reduce the power coming in to prevent an overcharge situation. Once you've built your system, start using and monitoring it you'll probably find things settle down and become more self explanatory.

[@Blindcorner01]

great i will try that thanks for your help i thought i was doing something wrong the battery was a smaller one i just figured by connecting a 320 watt 48volt panel i would see some action hehee thanks

[@Drewboo1968]

I swear that when that glue spilled, you were about to say "bollocks". My wife assures me that when she excites my coil, she also sees a little discharge at the top. Lmao, I couldn't resist.

[@ELECTROHAXZ]

Drewboo 1968 You funny xD

[@mehedihassan8944]

Only the red led is lighting up.what could possibly be wrong?please help

[@yusefshah14]

Mehedi Hassan ur other leds are broken

[@yusefshah14]

Or ur coil is a bull ( because bulls are attracted to red )

[@maulanafadhli1078]

How to use adapter

[@尼古拉特斯拉-d1d]

In fact, this is not the same with the EMP Jammer? Have to achieve the effect of interference haha

[@stephenrchinn]

mine came with a glue stick that I assumed was for soldering the parts together, however mine isn't working.. should I have used other material to solder?

[@mryee9001]

I think the glue stick was just for holding down the coil bit ,it's plastic sad it was 3 years ago

[@DusteDdekay]

I might have missed it, but which supply voltage did you give it ?

[@AdamWelchUK]

Originally about 18v I think - but I did find it worked better at 24v - however the transistors got quite hot quite quickly.

[@mrjohhhnnnyyy5797]

I thought they would use that MOSFET to amplitude modulate the output. I won't feel good connecting my phone or laptop in such fashion :/ I think they swapped GND and Rin places, it doesn't look right.

[@AdamWelchUK]

The iPad survived and it seemed to work as well as expected.

[@nathanw851]

I'm having a mare with this kit. I never get plasma, but on a 9v battery it will illuminate the neon lamp at a very close range. At 18v (two PP9s in series) it doesn't work at all, though the "on" LED lights up. 12v (YUSA lead acid battery), doesn't work. Same with 24v - it draws about 400ma and the MOSFET and BJT get HOT, but no plasma. Anybody got any ideas? I was wondering if my lack of a proper ground/earth reference might be causing a problem, but not working at all above 9v seems very odd.

[@nathanw851]

Sods law. I've been scratching my head for hours, then having just wrote that had an idea and solved it with some metering. The secondary solder joint hasn't made a proper connection. I guess it hadn't melted the enamel properly when I soldered it. Very odd that the 9v cell works though. I'm well above my electronics pay grade here but maybe the crap solder joint created a tiny spark gap... That doesn't explain the lower voltage being better though. Maybe it oscillated slow enough to allow some sort of capacitive coupling, with the enamel acting as the dielectric. I wanna know, I'm just too scared to put my only crappy oscilloscope anywhere near this circuit. hehe.

[@nathanw851]

err, sorry to spam (and talk to myself) but for the benefit of other electronics noobs, and completion, I can confirm this was the problem. I cranked the iron up to 470 deg c and resoldered the secondary winding. It's working fine now. The joint originally felt perfectly sturdy. Lessons learned: always meter joints, just in case. HIGH temp soldering needed to destroy enamel on magnet wire... and electronics involves some voodoo I'll perhaps never understand. :)

[@roberteliassen5020]

Fun indeed!

[@rodgermoore0007]

Hey guys i broke the clear led near the bottom of the project. Is this just a regular led or do i need a special part for this piece?

[@AdamWelchUK]

+robert demarest Any clear or blue bright led should be fine

[@Shazzkid]

You don't even need the LED lol just bridge the circuit gap nd carry on lol

[@oxidelayer7699]

I got 1 I put it together but it don't work

[@Edmorbus]

Thanks for sharing

[@dusnoki]

Awesome stuff. I definitely have to get my hands on one of these for my future videos :) thnx for the cool vid.

[@steveclay260]

It looks like a Slayer Exciter

[@Pownyan]

you are correct

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Pownyan I did mention this in the video however it is sold as a tesla coil.

[@youtuuba]

I am not a Tesla expert, but further down the same Wikipedia Tesla article as was cited in this video, several Switched Solid State Tesla Coil circuits (SSTC) circuits are identified as legitimate variants of Tesla coil circuits. The version in this kit is identified as Single Resonant Solid State Tesla Coil (SRSSTC). The only real differences between the circuit schematic given for the STSSTC and the circuit for this kit are that instead of a direct drive of the switching transistor from the DC power rail, the kit circuit uses the power MOSFET as a driver (constant current and/or current limiter?), and of course the option to couple in an AC modulation from the audio source. Not noted in this video, but somethings I noticed when building my own copy of this same kit: - The photos in the instructions showed which color LED goes where. - The PCB silk screen misidentifies the pin-out of one of the power transistors (the MOSFET)

[@CNKayutube]

When using a translator the blue and red LEDs are called out. Music volume however is super low and almost unauidible. @15v .65A @24v .8A. Heat sinks get very hot within minutes. It a good stocking stuffer for an electronic experimenter but not a useful item imo

[@diydude6769]

I falloed your intuitions and watch you and in rosted my sercit board thanks

[@wavecreatures]

Loved it...great video wished you had turn the lights off! 🙏🏻

[@tochiavi2329]

Kit ka name kya hai

[@nor4277]

Mins didn't come with a schematic or the thermal paste,which I have plenty,but I could use some help with someone that could send me a copy I can download and print,I would be grateful for the help.

[@BeetleJuice1980]

can it light a laptop ccfl tube?

[@AdamWelchUK]

I guess it could but the listing does state to keep it away from electronics!

[@SimplyChem32]

I've seen other videos of this same kit, and it does :) Quite nicely, in fact.

[@dash8brj]

Also does one of those 10-12inch camping flouroescents quite well, and even laser tubes (of course they don't lase) :)

[@loucostello3111]

Great video. Cool accent.

[@Luke-san]

Haha, assembling as we speak. You have the red and blue led mixed up. Google camera translate came to the rescue. Btw I hate superglue. It has ruined so many of my pants and shirts.

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Luc Peeters Did I? I wonder if that makes much difference? Probably only have a slight difference in forward voltage. It works much better running from close to 24 volts I found - although it does get hot at that voltage.

[@Luke-san]

Not sure if it makes any difference at all. I was staring at the manual but then I thought about using crazy 2K's technology. Google translation seriously surprised me in a positive way. Have you had time to test that small universal solar charger yet?

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Luc Peeters Not yet sadly. Been on with other projects.

[@尼古拉特斯拉-d1d]

It's really great

[@kirillchuprina2041]

I did the soldiering and did everything right still not working

[@chqp3977]

the 2 transistors are different one bipolar one mosfet

[@senseiyoda]

Cool thanks for that and funny too. Right I am off to buy one ;-)

[@tomuchvoltage7826]

Not all of them use a spark gap

[@bestamerica]

' hi A W... try use a LED bulb or any color LED light... will it light ???... try use a circuline light or compact fluorescent light bulb or incandescent light bulb... will it light again ???... one last question is... can use the android cellular smart phone touch on the coil... what happen this smartphone ???... next time turn off the ceiling lights and see better on the coil grow low electric airfire

[@independentliving252]

If you ever build the real one mate. Move the capacitor to the opposite side of the spark gap. The known version of it was made for show by Telsa. The one that pulls energy out of the air has the cap on the opposite side of the spark gap. If you do that it will convert high voltage low amps that is in the air to low voltage - high amps.

[@dash8brj]

Don't be embarassed - I did the SAME with the damn super glue. Just waiting for it to set, then I can solder my secondary tail, primary coil and see what tubes I can light up with mine :)

[@AdamWelchUK]

+dash8brj hope you have fun. I found later running it at 24v gave a nicer effect - but the transistor and mosfet get quite warm.

[@dash8brj]

Well I bought mine for a more specific purpose - testing laser tubes to see if they're good. They glow if they're gas intact just like the neon and the fluoro, although its not enough energy to make them lase :)

[@noisytapp9835]

This is not the new version of the kit

[@ion_q]

Damnit! My kits missing a mosfet! Arrrgghh

[@florinbaciu2325]

An link to schematics

[@bangkokhomes]

I love your video's Adam. Mike bkk

[@AdamWelchUK]

+Bangkok Homes Cheers Mike.

[@wolfgangboettcher3126]

Ok later

[@Shazzkid]

Lol 2A 15V somehow only 15W😂😂 lol try double that.

[@AdamWelchUK]

Did I make a mistake? Oh well, they happen. :-)

[@Shazzkid]

Adam Welch not you, the manufacturer who said in the booklet that 2 amps and 15 volts equates to 15 watts when the equation is literally 2x15...

[@sophusandreassen2723]

mosfet

[@tomuchvoltage7826]

You need to do a little more research

[@choirudinabdulgani6351]

Buatan cina murah dan high teknologi , kalau orang bule pelit teknologi , nyatanya spt itu mulai dari vcd , dvd kalau bukan cina wong nusantara gak punya playernya dengan harga murah , cina gak ikut perjanjian maka dia gak kena penalti

[@tochiavi2329]

Btaooo ro hi like krenge or subs...