Small Spark Gap Tesla Coil

[@RimstarOrg]

See my small spark gap Tesla coil in action. Can do some awesome looking stuff with this one! Enjoy!

[@GianniPirolaFaidate]

Fantastico !!!!!!

[@RimstarOrg]

Gianni Pirola Fai Da Te Thanks!

[@bougagaga71]

RimstarOrg how can i increase the distance so the fluorescent light will glow

[@RimstarOrg]

omar bentaleb You'd need a more powerful power supply for the input to the Tesla coil.

[@bougagaga71]

RimstarOrg please answer

[@RimstarOrg]

+Jared Evans I just make sure the needle is in contact with the topload and the sparks appear. A well tuned Tesla coil will create a high enough voltage that it's able to break down the air. Ideally the sparks would come from the topload itself, but my voltage isn't high enough to break down air from such a curved object. The needle, with its sharp point, can break down the air with a lower voltage.

[@jaredevans8518]

Thanks, and my power supply runs off of (2) 6 volt batteries, and it's a joule thief that converts the 12 volts to 10 thousand. So by adding a needle, you actually make it easier to get the topload to spark on its own. Again, thanks.

[@jaredevans8518]

And I was able to get it to work with batteries because I used a flyback transformer capable of both AC and DC.

[@juliannortheast2271]

Nice electric spark sounds great

[@CoolDudeClem]

Nice to see you got it it going! A little advice, it's best to actually have the primary's resonant frequency at just a little bit less than what the secondary's is to compensate for how the streamers are going to effect the secondary's frequency.

[@RimstarOrg]

CoolDudeClem Yup. I've heard 10% less is a good rule of thumb. Another reason I've heard is to compensate for the spark gap heating up.

[@pesmobile5106]

thanks for these kind of knowledge you gave. really helpful 😀😀

[@cavemanelectronics9611]

im glad to see you succeed! i still think it had more to do with just turning up the power than crunching numbers, but it doesnt hurt.

[@RimstarOrg]

jeremy gwilt I'm on the fence about that. In developing this I also made a secondary coil that was half the height of this one. The numbers said all I needed to change in the primary circuit was to cut the capacitance from 4nF to 2nF. Then both circuits would resonate at around 1500kHz. But at one point while it was producing streamers and working well, I realized I forgotten to change the primary capacitance; it was still 4nF! I then changed it to 2nF and the output was better, but not a huge difference like a doubling. In the defense of the numbers, I see a lot of well powered but untuned tesla coil videos out there that produce only one topload spark per primary circuit spark-gap spark. However, if I recall correctly, they also have a tight coupling between primary coil and secondary coil; the primary coils are wrapped directly on the secondary.

[@cavemanelectronics9611]

RimstarOrg yes! there is some merit to the math...dont get me wrong. i see it as a rough guide though. i mean, the formulas were written through observation in the first place, right?! i was put off from playing with these coils for a long time due to the attitudes of those building successful versions. insisting on proper math, etc and jaded by the years they have spend researching and tuning their own systems.i finally just stopped listening and went about it my own way, and learned tons. i must admit, they are a blast to play with....both spark gap and solid state slayer towers.

[@RimstarOrg]

jeremy gwilt Oh, I agree. For me, the math gets you in the ballpark, then the tuning brings it home. But this is my first Tesla coil, so I'm still learning. Even when I do the how-to-make video, I suspect the Tesla coil will have changed. I'm thinking of trying a bare wire spiral primary coil so that I can tune it better. I wish I had a signal generator so I can measure the secondary circuit's resonance frequency. I'm also with you.. definitely a blast to play with.

[@jaredevans8518]

How did you make sparks appear on the topload like that at the beginning of the video with the needle?

[@Ramash440]

Nice video! I wonder when wireless energy "powerlines" will be a thing. I heard it could be done by ionising the air via the use of charged particles, but a Tesla coil works too, I suppose.

[@RimstarOrg]

+Itz Yash No, a bug zapper isn't powerful enough. I tried that first.

[@GoRepairs]

Very cool! I keep meaning to build myself one of these, I just never get round to doing it. Great find with that coil calculator site by the way. :)

[@RimstarOrg]

GoRepairs Thanks! There's no time like the present! :) Yeah, JavaTC seems to be a very popular Tesla coil calculator. It seems to be the calculator of choice for a lot of Tesla coil builders.

[@brfisher1123]

I wish I could try this on my fluorescent tube UV lamp or "black light" as some call it.

[@MrShadow12622]

This is awesome! Is a tesla coil just a transformer with a topload?

[@RimstarOrg]

MrShadow12622 No, there's a lot more too it. The primary circuit consisting of the parts I showed all resonate together. The secondary circuit also resonates. Put the two resonating circuits together and get them both resonating at the same frequency then you have a Tesla coil. What's going on is actually quite different than a normal transformer. There's also a loose coupling between the two coils. Notice the air gap between them. A normal transformer, on the other hand, needs a strong coupling, with something like ferrite to help. When I've had enough experience making them work then I'll put together a video explanation. Here's an excellent page in the meantime www.richieburnett.co.uk/operation.html

[@cognophile]

I'd be interested in seeing your take on the Otis Carr patented Amusement Device, a.k.a. OTC-X1. Building and testing one could be a fairly complicated project, though.

[@power-max]

Awesome coil! I attempted this with a photoflash circuit long ago, I was only able to get one cm really dim sparks, and I made a capacitor with 2 aluminum pie pans separated with paper and a block of wood. Now that I look back upon it, I see everything I did wrong! Maybe I will attempt this again!

[@RimstarOrg]

Power Max Thanks! Sounds like my attempt using the fly swatter. I guess we could build up the energy in the capacitor over 15, 30, ... seconds and then get a fraction of a second (?) streamer and then wait another 15, 30, ... seconds. I actually did hook my fly swatter to this version of the Tesla coil to charge up it's 4nF of capacitors but stopped when I realized nothing was happening because it was charging up the 4nF of capacitors. Didn't even wait for the spark.

[@power-max]

RimstarOrg I think the problem is that the capacitor value need to be small, so that it resonates with L1 at a high enough frequency, and unfortunately you just cannot store much energy in a small value capacitor at low voltages. The only way to get lots of energy into a small value capacitor is to either increase the capacitance so it stores more energy for a given voltage, or ramp up the volts higher, which you did for here. (BTW, did you know that doubling volts will quadruple the energy! the formula is energy = 0.5*C*V^2) I will see if I can get my 60KV singing arc project to power it too! (I will probably need to reduce the voltage because I do not have a 60KV capacitor, and never plan to make them again after getting a really bad shock from one)

[@marknesselhaus4376]

Woah, thanks for the JAVATC link. I have been working on my first few TC's and using other calculators online but this JAVATC covers just about all the bases at one go. My DIY cap for the primary is glass and foil and around 2nF ( 5 - 5x7in glass plates and 4 foil layers) so planning on making a few more as I am aiming for 8nF and a lower freq resonance. On a side note, my cat is absolutely terrified of my spark gap Lol

[@KyleMakeStuff]

RimstarOrg Now that is what I call success. Great job, Nice streamers, and keep up the best work. Try adding a few more capacitors to see if the streamers are larger. amazing work. -Kyle

[@RimstarOrg]

Kman Meteor Thanks. I think I'm already pretty close to matching resonant frequencies already. I actually use the grounded needle as a measurement of how close they are. When I lower the primary coils to the wooden base or when I raise it as high as it will go on my support cylinder then I have to decrease the distance between the needle and the topload to get solid sparks. But when I have the primary coil where it is in the video then I get have the biggest distance that I can have and still get solid sparks. If I had a signal generator then I could figure it out precisely. But I don't have anymore HV caps anyway. I think my days of playing with Tesla coils is just starting. :)

[@KyleMakeStuff]

RimstarOrg Well you're off to a great start. where did you get the capacitors from?

[@RimstarOrg]

Kman Meteor Information Unlimited aka www.amazing1.com I also bought my first power supply from them many years ago. These days you can also find the capacitors on ebay. Mine are 20kV, 1nF ceramic. I used 4 in parallel.

[@KyleMakeStuff]

RimstarOrg seems like they are out but you can try extracting them from old electronics.

[@josipzlk8019]

Nice Tesla coil !

[@Fezezen]

is is possible that you could turn this into a truly wire less charger? you could try charging something (not a phone) and see if it works, but I think it will most likely break it.

[@brfisher1123]

Funny thing is we can get that same exact effect with light bulbs by placing them in a microwave oven though this is a better and less risky way of doing the effect.

[@raymondbivens5787]

I love them things. I started playing with and can not stop. Anyone be warned! Highly addictive. People dont just build one of em

[@RimstarOrg]

Raymond Bivens I've begun to realize that! :) I've never been on to enjoy sparks for sparks sake, but I'm really enjoying what I can do with this as well as all the physics.

[@efiant5334]

Wow, well done! I would like to construct this for my project too. How much will this cost to build?

[@RimstarOrg]

I have no idea of the cost. I use a lot of things I already have and reused parts that I take from things so it's hard for me to say.

[@efiant5334]

Thank you! As for the power supply, is there any other option, except of "the cube" that you used? Or a simpler way for supplying the Tesla coil with power?

[@RimstarOrg]

There's also my 30kV power supply but that's a little more complex than the cube. Lot's of simpler ones will cause the sparks at the spark gap but the problem is that you need something powerful enough to keep a rapid stream of sparks. So all I know of are things that are of similar complexity to the cube, a power supply built around a neon sign transformer for example.

[@MongrelShark]

That worked really well. Streemers where not quite as long as my SGTC attempt with similar PSU, but much brighter and more regular. How much capacitance did you end up using on the primary?

[@RimstarOrg]

Mongrel Shark Thanks. I ended up using 4nF on the primary.

[@MongrelShark]

Thats a good size for a home-made cap. Plastic and foil from the tea laser project would be ideal. Hmmm. I wonder if you could combine the tea laser with the Tesla coil? 4th of July is coming up....

[@RimstarOrg]

Mongrel Shark Oh, they're not homemade caps. I used 4 1nF, 20,000V, ceramic caps connected in parallel. You can see them at 0:33 into the video. I bought them a while ago from here www.amazing1.com/capacitors.html though I think I've seen them on ebay as well. One nice thing is that they don't heat up noticeably even after a few minutes running. Now I'm trying to put together some sort of makeshift 1MHz to 1.3MHz signal generator so I can measure the actual resonant frequency of the secondary. So far a 555 timer circuit isn't doing it, but that may be because there I am using a homemade 50pF cap that may not be up to it. The best I can get is around 220kHz with horrible duty cycle. I'll have to run out and get a ceramic one or something.

[@MongrelShark]

Could be the cap. Could be the 555 too. I got 20 of them for $4 a while back (paid about 4 times that much for 1 or them 20 years ago). They don’t do much over 200khz. Tried to make one do 1mhz and it let out the magic smoke. Got some at local store for $3.50 ea. They go to about 1mhz before the heat gets bad and the smoke comes out. Conclusion. Cheap ones are not so good for HF work. Also 50pf sounds big for 1mhz 555 stuff. Maybe try 10pf if you can find one. You cant just put a 100x scope probe on the secondary where it connects to ground? Or clamp some foil in the probe tip and hold it a foot away? Would be intresting to see if the spark gap was doing the same freq. You could see when its firing with a solar panel on the scopes other channel.

[@RimstarOrg]

Mongrel Shark Thanks for the insight re the different 555s. That was one of my suspicions but now I know the reality of it. I'll abandon that route. I tried other means of watching it while running but that was probably back when I was playing with the fly swatter as PSU. I'll try again.

[@medusamamba7905]

Why do you use dc source instead of ac source, don't you need ac source for frequency? can you answer please

[@power-max]

I should note though that adjusting the spark length does not actually change the 1MHz frequency you calculated, but rather, the timing when the spark gap fires, and when it does, it basically stays conductive for some time and the power gets bounced back and forth between the L1 coil and the capacitor, so it has it's own resonant frequency, and that has to be set to the resonate also to the L2 coil for best sparks (can be done by changing the capacitor value, the # of turns on the primary, or you can change the resonant frequency of the secondary, since it is also a capacitor (topload) and inductor, too! So although the tank circuits operate at really high MHz frequencies, the relaxation oscillator part (capacitor charging and discharging through the gap) is much less in terms of frequency. It is firing at the low end of the audible frequencies, in this case, it sounds like 100Hz.

[@RimstarOrg]

Power Max Yup, I'm quite familiar with all that. It'll just have to wait for a dedicated How-it-Works video given that it takes a lot of tricky animating (e.g. How do you animate what's happening to the charge on the topload all that time? Or the C in the secondary coil? I don't have clue how to illustrate those.) If you look carefully at the em waves I animated in this video you'll see the primary waves ramp down while the secondary waves ramp up, and then reverse after the first primary notch. This is all during a single spark, so those waves represent the 1MHz frequency (not to scale). I blew it in the animation after the spark where I have just the primary wave ringdown. It was supposed to be the secondary wave since the primary circuit is open at that time. Usually with Tesla coils we illustrate only what the voltage is doing so it was a real mind-bender translating that to what the em waves would be doing and I didn't even try animating the C parts of the two resonant circuits. Re the spark gap length not changing the 1MHz frequency, I've read it both ways. Some say it adds (or subtracts) capacitance, but I can't imagine it's much. I actually use the grounded needle facing the topload to tune, since I can go by how far the needle has to be to get solid sparks. Adjusting the spark gap had an effect on that, though that may also be just due to the energy difference.

[@power-max]

RimstarOrg Ahh. I just thought you said you were able to tune it by adjusting the spark gap, which does change the firing rate, and how far the capacitor charges, but I don't think it has much effect on the running frequency, although I am not an expert, I really don't know. Maybe for animating voltage, I would make blue and red haze on the parts, so the more positive things are relative to ground, the more blue, and the more negative, the more red. For animating the capacitors, if you use a the schematic symbol, maybe make one side get more and more and more red (HV negative output from the flyback) then when the gap fires from enough potential, you show how the capacitor dumps energy into the coil, then the coil's reactance causes a back EMF spike to charge the capacitor, then the capacitor, charged, discharges into coil again... and the oscillation at 1.15MHz dies away, or dampens, because of losses in the capacitor and wires and spark gap, but also because the coil reactance does not return as much energy back because some it it got "sucked away" into the L2 coil and leaked away as sparks.

[@power-max]

You know, I really love the nature of the sparks that come from the SGTC, they are thin and hairy, and just different from anything else. The streamers from solid state coils and slayer exciters, although about as long as an inch from mine, they are thick, dense, and tend to be stationary. I think the reason a DRSSTC is a bit more SGTC-like is that although the resonant oscillator section work the same way as a SSTC, the power to it is modulated on and off at audible frequencies so that the oscillation does not grow too large where the switching transistor may become damaged. I think that is why it has similar characteristics.

[@RimstarOrg]

Power Max I don't think the spark gap size has much effect on the running frequency either, but I've read both that the capacitance of the spark gap does, and I've read that it has no effect but without mention of the capacitance. I decided to go with it, though the capacitance must be miniscule. I like the red/blue color idea on the coils. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

[@humanperson7459]

Hey Rimstar - would you consider making a musical tesla coil? Ive made a few smaller tesla coils (slayer and spark gap), and I'm hoping to make a musical one soon because they look like a lot of fun, but there isn't a lot of information online. Do you have any suggestions

[@RimstarOrg]

I don't have any suggestions. I did try once to feed the signal from a portable CD player into the input coils of my Cube power supply (the same one I use for this Tesla coil) with the hope of getting music out through the arc but something, maybe feedback, broke the CD player. I haven't tried again since.

[@GodBoredWas]

that is so awesome, i used your earlier video to make my wimshurst machine :)

[@RimstarOrg]

God Was Bored Thanks. And cool. Glad to hear it helped.

[@SunilKumarBCL]

what are the names of all the components in the cube

[@Plasma.Prince]

In JavaTc, under the toroid topload option. There are the settings Major Diameter, Minor Diameter, and center height. Can you tell/show me how to measure these?

[@RimstarOrg]

On the JavaTC calculator page click on the orange/brown word "TOROID" at the top left of the section with the toroid settings. That brings up a window with a diagram explaining all the dimensions.

[@Plasma.Prince]

@@RimstarOrg Thank you! I love your channel!

[@lorenzograndi184]

How are the primary coil and the secondary coil connected? Sorry for the silly question and thanks for the answer

[@RimstarOrg]

+Lorenzo Grandi They're not physically connected. The primary coil induces current to flow in the secondary coil through electromagnetic induction alone. That's the two sets of electromagnetic fields I show animated in the video starting at 0:47.

[@lorenzograndi184]

Awesome, really thank you

[@samadzamiri392]

I connected the first wire of the secondery winding to the top lod, but i don't know where to connect the other end of the secondery winding.

[@RimstarOrg]

I either connect it to ground or I leave it loose, it doesn't seem to make much difference. You can see this in my how-to-make video at around 9 minutes in kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoTEdoONlM6AfJo

[@vijay-lu1wk]

Wow awesome how did u do that?

[@CapnHolic]

Any thoughts on Tesla's moving current through the ground to power lights? Possible while impracticable? Or just a legend?

[@RimstarOrg]

CapnHolic Nope, no thoughts. :) I'm aware of it but that's all.

[@thevoltageguy1689]

nice tesla coil :)

[@itzyash4359]

Can I use a bug zapper transformer for the power supply... If YES then plz tell me how to connect it to the tesla coil.... . .

[@hansrajramteke5749]

please tell me how I could increase the spark gap distance

[@RimstarOrg]

My spark gap is made using two nails whose heads are facing each other. They're held in place by being a tight fit in a bottle cap. So I can just push the nails farther apart. See my video where I show the making of this Tesla coil kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoTEdoONlM6AfJo.

[@sohamgumaste]

I've heard that resonance takes place only when the frequency of the driving force EXACTLY matches the resonant frequency of the driven object(here, the coils). So according to this (at 1:21) only one of the coils is resonating, which you contradicted by saying both are resonating. Can I get some clarification?(I dont mean to be rude or anything, just pointing out...)

[@RimstarOrg]

Soham Gumaste At 1:21 in the calculator the secondary resonant frequency and the primary resonant frequency should be the same but I didn't bother trying to get them the same. That's because once you've built the real thing there will be imperfections and other factors not taken into account that will result in different frequencies anyway, but hopefully not too different. At that point you want to have some form of tuning built into the device so that you can bring them into resonance. It's questionable if adjusting the spark gap makes much difference, but adjusting the height of the primary coil should, and did seem to. I'm going to try making a different type of primary coil that should be even more tunable. One thing that may cause confusion, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it in this video, is that there are three resonances going on here. The primary capacitor and primary coil resonate together at one resonant frequency. And the inductance in the secondary coil and the capacitance in the secondary coil also resonate together at another resonant frequency (I'm not sure how much the topload's capacitance comes into this.) Those are the two numbers you see in the calculator and are the two resonant frequencies that we try to get the same. The third resonance is the influence of the primary coil on the secondary coil.

[@sohamgumaste]

RimstarOrg Thanks for your reply. I should've understood the practical aspects of this. Its pretty obvious that evry experiment requires some fine tuning whatever the calculations say, just didnt think of that...so when is the SSTC (as you said in an earlier reply)coming?

[@RimstarOrg]

Soham Gumaste I don't have any estimate for when I'll do the SSTC right now. At this point all I know is I'd like to do one. There certainly does seem to be interest so that helps.

[@sohamgumaste]

RimstarOrg I'll stay tuned! I intend on building an SSTC soon, so I interested in your design....

[@electronicsNmore]

Excellent video. :-)

[@aashukumar4423]

why we don't get shock even after high voltage spark at the top

[@poutsospoutsa8418]

Do you need to ground the secondary circuit?

[@RimstarOrg]

I grounded mine. You can see that in my video about making this Tesla coil kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoTEdoONlM6AfJo at around 9 minutes in. Note that I connected to household ground which is not always a good idea because it can introduce high voltage into your household wiring. This random page has some good tips highvoltageforum.net/index.php?topic=277.0

[@ChrisPBacon-rs9iv]

rim man, can you do more vids on telsa coil ?

[@RimstarOrg]

I was going to do a solid state tesla coil but I hear that the expensive parts break easily if you're not carefully... so I've held off.

[@ChrisPBacon-rs9iv]

+RimstarOrg any textbooks ud recommend

[@RimstarOrg]

Nothing I'm familiar with specifically for Tesla coils. For electronics in general, Grob's Basic Electronics is good.

[@ChrisPBacon-rs9iv]

+RimstarOrg thanks found a electronics textbook from the 80s got me interested but, i fear it may be outdated.

[@RimstarOrg]

My Grob's Basic Electronics is from the 70s and I find it very useful. It's missing a lot of digital electronics and semiconductors, but all the capacitance, resistance, voltage, inductance, resonance, ... is still valid. That stuff doesn't change.

[@charlesevans963]

How much voltage are you using on the output ? I'm about to order a power supply and I want to make sure that I get the right one.

[@RimstarOrg]

I don't know exactly how much voltage. I was using my Cube power supply (kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3ypmXWMm9WZetk) which has a flyback and diode at the end so the output is pulsed DC. It's roughly 20kV.

[@charlesevans963]

ok. so an adjustable output of 0-120 v, 0-5 amp wouldn't work ?

[@RimstarOrg]

No, it won't work. You need a high voltage for the spark gap.

[@ishrathparvin8359]

Hey, I'm about to try your spark gap tesla coil just wanted to know how much voltage is required as input?

[@RimstarOrg]

Ishrath Parvin Not a lot of voltage is required, probably less than 10,000 volts. You basically need whatever voltage is required to create sparks across the spark gap. However, you also want to create many sparks quickly in a row. That requires a powerful power supply, one that that keep up a lot of current too. So for example, my fly swatter had the voltage but the sparks were feeble and infrequent. The same would apply to a Wimshurst machine or Van de Graaff generator. Power supplies with flyback transformers tend to meet the requirement.

[@coctakiesmaster4513]

What transistor and resistance you have used

[@RimstarOrg]

I don't know which transistor and resistor you're referring to. Maybe the video on how I made this Tesla coil will help kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZoTEdoONlM6AfJo. The power supply I used is this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3ypmXWMm9WZetk.

[@windchester3614]

I see that you are interested in high voltage technology. And that you understand and can built transmitters and reservers on the AM frequency. So why don't you build a spark gap transmitter?

[@RimstarOrg]

wind chester I've had it on the todo list for a while now. It's just an awfully long list. :)

[@windchester3614]

Okay, cool!

[@jonguitar102181]

Dear Rimstar - thank you for posting this video. I too made a Tesla coil out of a microwave oven transformer, refrigerator copper tubing, and Microwave oven capacitor. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it to fire - but it did blow a breaker once. I will measure it's dimensions and put it in the online program you recommend. Those MOTs are kinda scary. Hopefully, it will help me figure it out. Thank you for this series of videos. It really taught me a bunch. :) I did notice - some people are using Patreon.com as a sponsorship for their KZbin channel. If you start one, I will contribute. Thank you for all the cool science videos. It's really helpful & impressive. Sincerely, jonguitar102181

[@RimstarOrg]

Hi jonguitar102181, I'm glad to hear my videos are helping. And I agree, MOTs are scary. :) Regarding patreon, I have an account here www.patreon.com/user?u=680159. Thanks for your support! Steve

[@ЛазарБелић]

RimstarOrg Awesome! I'm trying to make wireless headphones, and i need a advice how to start? If it's even possible to make them. Do you have idea? Thanks very much!

[@gyorgykomaromi994]

Лазар Белић You ring at the wrong door, sir, just attach a bluetooth usb dongle to them and a couple of batteries to power them...

[@blackbird1234100]

I like...next can you do a small SSTC or DRSSTC with audio modulation? AKA singing tesla coil.

[@RimstarOrg]

Random_rapper20 Thanks. Singing Tesla coil is something I'd like to try sooner rather than later. SSTC or DRSSTC are further in the distance, but I'd like to try that too.

[@blackbird1234100]

OK. Also i was wondering if you could do a video on a simple/cheap flyback driver, and i was also wondering if you could do one explainting how transistors/mosfets work, because that has always confused me.

[@fluteplayerify]

RimstarOrg In my tesla coil making experience i have never seen a singing spark gap tesla coil. Check out Onetesla.com! I built a drsstc that produced about 2 foot sparks off their plans! (check under the downloads tab)

[@blackbird1234100]

i didnt mean singing sgtc...but that would be neat

[@hareeshr3979]

what is your input voltage

[@RimstarOrg]

+how to make science and technology (hareesh raji) I didn't measure it. But it's really set by the spar gap width. I'd estimate it at only few kV, probably around 10kV. However, that doesn't mean any 10kV power supply will run it. You also need the current. I'd tried with a flyswatter power supply and that was too low a current.

[@hareeshr3979]

RimstarOrg thanks for your useful information

[@ucsikz2]

can i ask some questions? what is the role of a spark gap?

[@RimstarOrg]

+ucsikz2 The spark gap is an air gap, and so it's a break in the circuit. Since it's a break in the circuit, that allows the voltage to build up across the spark gap and more importantly, it allows energy to build up in the capacitor. But once the voltage gets high enough across the spark, that's when the spark occurs. During the spark the air in the gap is now conductive and all that stored energy in the capacitor can be released into the part of the circuit containing the primary coil. The spark looks quick to us but it actually lasts long enough for the energy in the capacitor to go back and forth through the coil many times. It's that back and forth that creates a fluctuating magnetic field that induces a fluctuating current in the secondary coil, ultimately resulting in the streamers and other effects.

[@ucsikz2]

Thank you for your fast and clear answer, have a nice day

[@KUSH_23]

How much volt is required

[@RimstarOrg]

The input voltage is determined by the width of the spark gap and the shape of the electrodes at the spark gap. I didn't measure mine but I'd guess it was only a few thousand volts. But you also need enough current to make the spark strong and frequent. For example, I tried with an electric fly swatter/racket zapper. The voltage was high enough to create sparks but the sparks were thin and not very frequent because the current was low.

[@KUSH_23]

@@RimstarOrg we are making this for school science exhibiton but on a low level so is there any way that the spark gap will work on 50 v or other option we have is 220 v ac direct from our sockit plz help me understanding low buget good alternatives and also what is the whole all 3 box u used in the video as power source btw thanks a lot

[@RimstarOrg]

50v or even 220v AC are too low for a spark gap. You need a high voltage power supply of some sort. The box that I used as a power supply is this homemade one kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGKaYpJun7-krZY . Also, I have a series of videos that go into detail on making this tesla coil here kzbin.info/aero/PLFsZmHTZL-zkOQJFZBYkkpbmttm-qV2Y9

[@KUSH_23]

@@RimstarOrg is there any other way other than spark gap to make Tesla coil and btw thanks for that info

[@RimstarOrg]

The is something called a solid state tesla coil that doesn't use a spark gap. Unfortunately I don't know anything about them. However, if you do a search for solid state tesla coil then you should find something.

[@bhubesh.m8999]

Can i get a circuit diagram of this?? And How much voltage must the DC Power Supply have??

[@RimstarOrg]

It's strange that I didn't put a diagram in the video, I usually do. Anyway, I just added one to my webpage about it rimstar.org/science_electronics_projects/tesla_coil_spark_gap_small.htm. As for the voltage, it really depends on the spark gap. In my case, a very rough estimate based on that is 12kV. But it also has to be fairly high current too. I tried a fly swatter power supply and it produced a spark only every second or so because the power supply was so weak. The power supply I show in the video is my Cube power supply kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3ypmXWMm9WZetk which is capable of up to 20kV. It wasn't producing 20kV when in use with the Tesla coil because the current draw pulls the voltage down.

[@bhubesh.m8999]

Tq for taking sometime to reply for me.

[@bhubesh.m8999]

Also is there any Alternate Cheaper way for The Cube or the Power Supply??

[@RimstarOrg]

Not that I know of. There are comparable power supplies. There are also plenty of videos that claim to be Tesla coils or do similar things but don't really resonate like a Tesla coil and those use small power supplies. But if you want streamers coming out of the topload, then you'll need a good power supply.

[@RimstarOrg]

Look for something called a slayer and you might find something similar but easier to make.

[@shubhamchowdhury9643]

How much is the volt given by ur cube?

[@RimstarOrg]

I didn't measure it. Really I'd measure the voltage across the spark gap, so I'd guess around 2,000 volts to 10,000 volts. Keep in mind that it also has to be able to supply a useful amount of current in order to produce the sparks frequently, and for the sparks to be strong. I don't have a number for that either but I did try a power supply from a fly swatter and that was too weak.

[@aroundtheworld1044]

where we have to connect the end of secondary coil

[@yashsaini3410]

Gnd

[@Therookie184]

How much voltage does it need

[@RimstarOrg]

I didn't measure the input voltage. Based on the spark gap it's probably in the 2000 to 10,000 volt range. Note that you also need a decent amount of current so that the sparks can be frequent. So not just any high voltage source will do. For example, I tried a fly swatter power supply but the sparks were only every few seconds.

[@vrichmarketingrenewableene9418]

How much power / amp it consumes?

[@RimstarOrg]

vrich marketing renewable energy I haven't measure it yet.

[@darrellfreeman5501]

put a toroidal transformer around the base to see if the voltage increases..

[@RimstarOrg]

Darrell Freeman Do you mean instead of the helical primary coil? Why do you suggest that?

[@darrellfreeman5501]

RimstarOrg yes, or try to integrate them both some how.. eddy current * flu.. who knows?.. experts rite

[@videoinducation7289]

How much voltage need for tesla coil

[@videoinducation7289]

For primary

[@RimstarOrg]

Videoinducation7 I don't know. It's all put away now so a measurement will have to wait a bit.

[@Krummers1]

Excellent! ^_^

[@JS-kv8ey]

Please make a Tesla coil from a fly swatter !

[@RimstarOrg]

jai samarth I tried. Not enough power. That's unfortunate since then it'd be a LOT easier for anyone to make this.

[@gautamsingh7163]

Is this safe?

[@RimstarOrg]

+gautam singh With this small Tesla coil it's safe to touch the ball. I'm sort of doing it in the video when I get sparks to my hand from holding the CFL. But touching the output of the power supply where it connected to the Tesla coil can be dangerous, or at the very least, painful. The output of larger Tesla coils can be harmful though.

[@vijay-lu1wk]

I love it!!!! Van i get one like this ..? B-)

[@RimstarOrg]

vijay ram sri ram Thanks! I'll finish putting together a video showing how to make it step-by-step in the next few weeks, so you'll be able to make one! :)

[@vijay-lu1wk]

Thank uuuuuuuuu!!!!!!

[@RimstarOrg]

vijay ram sri ram Keep in mind that it requires a high voltage power supply. So the Tesla coil part is easy to make but the power supply is the hard part.

[@vijay-lu1wk]

Ooh where can I find such kind of high voltage power supply? (:-(

[@vijay-lu1wk]

RimstarOrg can i connect two or more fly swatter for high voltage power supply

[@theedge5584]

Wheres the slo mo

[@jonguitar102181]

Rimstar - any ideas on how to build Tesla's magnifying transmitter? They recently started manufacturing Tesla's light bulbs for sale - www.lightbulbs.com/blog/tesla-light-bulb. I don't work for them, but I thought you may find it interesting.

[@RimstarOrg]

I'm aware of the magnifying transmitter, and have read about it when reading his biography but it's not something I've ever contemplating building. Interesting light bulb - personally I'm a fan of the blue light and buy lights more in the 4700K range, but interesting anyway. Maybe there are some fun hacks to be done with them.

[@harshu6674]

I am very dissapointed. I have been waiting for "how to make a tesla coil" video since a long time and you have not uploaded it on may 8th

[@RimstarOrg]

harsh bawari Sorry about that. The instructables bike contest came up and that was time critical. I have worked a lot on the "how to make a tesla coil" video so I could get it out by May 8th, but by midday Thursday I realized it still wouldn't be ready, so I shuffled my plans a bit. I considered releasing a watered down version of the video instead but decided to do it right and give it another week and do a much more thorough one instead. So it's mostly just bad estimating on my part. A single video can potentially take 3 weeks work, believe it or not. I just didn't realize that the tesla coil video was like those. Plus, as a result of comments from this video, I wanted to try some more things first, some of which didn't work out. In general, for a how-to video I multiply the time it normally takes something to build it by 5 to get a time estimate. The script is written and modified as each step is made, then there's setting up the shot, both foreground and background so that it's a clear shot, then the lighting and audio if any (wait for car traffic to die down), then multiple takes. That all takes much longer than just putting something in a vice and cutting it, even 15 minutes to a half hour sometimes! Repeat that for each 5 or 10 second shot in the video. And that doesn't include any additional animations, screen captures or explanatory material, rounding out the script, recording the voiceover, and then two days editing it all together.

[@RimstarOrg]

harsh bawari Oh, the magnetic viewing film video was also quicky video to make up for the fact that the tesla coil video was taking longer than expected.

[@somaaa5554]

Can you touch it with your hand?

[@RimstarOrg]

I can touch this small, not very powerful one with my hand. For larger Tesla coils it's more dangerous.

[@mentessemlimites66]

Mentes sem limites

[@vijay-lu1wk]

*can

[@MrScooter46290]

RimstarOrg Will you send a spark to water and salt water. I think it will create H H O gases.

[@RimstarOrg]

Scott Walters I think a friend and I played with that a long time ago. We didn't get any noticeable HHO but our spark wasn't very strong and we didn't spend too much time at it.