Building A Tesla Coil

Tesla Coil file:///C:/Users/HP-home/Documents/BACKUPS_USB_2009-FEB/SCIENCE/ELECTRONICS/b...
For my grade 12 communications project, I chose to explain,

build and demonstrate a Tesla Coil. This Web page is part of
that project. It contains almost every aspect of the project,
including a video of the actual coil demonstration.
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The project contains a proposal, several optional activities that

go along with the main project, a presentation and this Web
page. Below is the first part of the project; the proposal.
Proposal
Proposal For Tesla Coil Project
After brainstorming, I have decided that my major

project is to be a Tesla Coil.
What A Tesla Coil Is
A Tesla Coil (often shortened to "TC") is a high

frequency, resonant step up transformer. The coil is
driven by a lower-high voltage and a spark gap
resonator. Since the coil is so perfectly tuned, a fairly
small turns ratio (around 1:100) can cause a large
increase in voltage. The coil I plan to build will be
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able to produce about 250KV (250,000V) at a

frequency of about 500KHz. At this frequency, the
voltage is almost completely safe, and much fun to
play around with.
The Project
The project involves a fairly large amount of work in

electronics and mechanical construction. There are a
few problems associated with this activity though.
First, there is always a danger when high voltage is
involved. Although the coils output poses no real
problem, it is the primary circuit (sometimes called
the "tank circuit") that carries dangerous (but much
lower) voltages that come right from mains. The
problem is easily solved by just enclosing that circuit.
The other problem is one of materials. The coil uses
some rather exotic (read: expensive) parts. One of
those is the wire. The secondary requires about 800'
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if 28 AWG wire to be wound onto a round form. This

amount is about $45 on the roll. This is not that big of
a thing when compared with the transformer. To drive
the high voltage section, a lower, but still considered
high voltage neon sign transformer is used. There
seems to be an odd shortage of used neon sign
transformers in London, and new ones go for about
$150. I don't even want to go into how hard it will be
to find a 0.005uF 10KV capacitor. These part related
problems are easy enough to solve. Information
Unlimited offers a TC kit for a very good price, which
is what I am going to use. The only other real
problem is the high frequency high voltage disrupting
computers and such. Because of this, I will be unable
to use my digital camera to take pictures of the coils
operation because it simply won't work. These
problems should are easy to solve by just not
operating the coil around computers, and using an
old fashioned camera and then scanning the pictures
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afterwards.
Support Activities
There could be many support activities for this

project. Below is a small sampling:
History On Tesla
Solid State Tesla Coil Demonstrations
Building Of An Output Terminal Or Triode To
Increase Output
Tesla Coil Video (With RealVideo Or Vivo)
Pictures (Digital, Of Course)
Effects Of High Voltage
Study On Much Larger Coils
Four Optionals
1. Solid State Tesla Coils:
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Solid State TCs are almost the same as a

traditional TC, except that instead of a spark
gap oscillator, they use transistors or
MOSFETS. This allows them to run on much
less power and be built much smaller then a
regular TC.
This activity will involve an explanation and

demonstration of how a solid state TC works (I
already have one built).
2. Building Output Terminal Or Triode:

An output terminal/triode allows a regular Tesla
Coil to output a much higher voltage by
accumulating electrons. It also provides a
uniform and smooth surface from with to draw
arcs.
The terminal/triode will most likely be made
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from metal automotive tubing (in the case of a

triode) or Styrofoam ball coated with tinfoil (in
the case of a regular terminal). It then gets
mounted on the top of the secondary.
3. Video:
Of course, the video will have to be made after
the actual coil. It will include video footage of
the assembly, tuning and operation of the coil.
There will also be some video showing really
neat arcs and the affects of high voltage on
people (glowing eyes and such).
4. Tesla Coils In Use Today:

This optional will look at the use of TCs or their
modern equivalent in electronics and industry
today. There will be a section on some of the
more modern devices like TVs, monitors, etc.
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Building Report
After I wrote the proposal, I began building the coil. The whole
construction took about two and a half weeks. The construction
process is described below.
This is the first step in

the construction. The
mounting brackets for
the primary are
installed in the cover
of the case. The
primary brackets are
made of plastic and
secured with plastic
ties. The primary
winding slips through
holes in the brackets.
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Next I would the

primary windings.
There are actually two
parts to the primary; a
non-insulated section
and an insulated
section. The insulated
section makes up
most of the winding.
The non-insulated
section is there for
attaching the
adjustible tap lead.
The end cap to
support the secondary
was also installed at
this point. Electrical
connections for the
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two grounds needed

in this part of the
circuit were then
made.
I then assembled the

case and installed the
capacitor, spark gap
and transformer. Note
that no electrical
connections between
these components
have been made yet.
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The spark gap

observation windows
were installed next.
Notice the black tape
holding it on. This was
removed once the
epoxy dried. On the
back window, there is
a small threaded hole
into which a plastic
screw in installed. This
screw serves to adjust
the distance between
the spark gap
electrodes.
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After the observation

window, I installed the
RF choke. This
protects the
transformer secondary
from nasty RF
generated by the rest
of the coil. Note that
nothing has yet been
wired.
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I then wired the circuit

and installed the
switch, power cord,
neon power on lamp
and attached the top
to the base. The top
makes a ground
connection to the base
by a section of wire
that is brought into
contact with the base
once the top is
screwed down.
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After that, all I did to

complete the coil was
to attach the
secondary, output
terminal and place the
high voltage warning
stickers. Note the
doorknob used as a
temporary output
terminal. Once the coil
was completed, I
brought it home and
tuned it.
Solid State Tesla Coils
After building the actual coil, there were 4 optional activities that
needed to be completed. The first of these optionals was a small
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writing on Solid State Tesla Coils. This activity is presented here.
Solid State Tesla Coils
This activity will examine the area of Tesla Coils

known as "Solid State Tesla Coils". These coils are
used in many places in which high voltage is
required, such as TVs, gas discharge LASERs, etc.
This activity will also look at how they are
similar/different to "traditional" Tesla Coils.
The first thing about Solid State Tesla Coils is that

they are not truly Tesla Coils. In fact, Solid State
Tesla Coil is sort of an oxymoron, as in order to be a
true Tesla Coil, the machine needs a spark gap. This
spark gap is obviously not solid state. That aside,
there are a few similarities and differences that
should be pointed out.
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Solid State Tesla Coils are similar in the respect that

they use the same basic principle of operation; a high
frequency resonant transformer. Because the primary
and secondary are so perfectly tuned, there is a huge
increase in voltage. For example, my favourite Solid
State Tesla Coil schematic, located at
http://www.aaroncake.net/circuits/hvgen.htm can
generate over 30,000 volts of high frequency AC from
a very low 12VDC.
This is basically where the difference ends though.

Perhaps the most major difference is in how the
transformer is constructed and driven. As the name
implies, Solid State Tesla Coils are not air core
transformers. Instead, they are usually wound on a
ferrite form, much like a regular transformer (execpt
that regular transformers are usually wound on an
iron core). This is how TV flyback transformers are
made.
16 of 32 4/2/2011 4:01 PM
The other way they differ is how they are driven.

Instead of a spark gap, Solid State Tesla Coils use
transistors or MOSFETs. Below are a few examples of
the different configurations used. Bear in mind that
there are others. This is just a general simplification.
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Notice the use of all solid state components.

Compare that to the traditional spark gap coil below.
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The traditional coil uses a capacitor/spark gap

combination to get the high frequency necessary for
operation. Also, notice that an air core transformer
with an adjustable primary is employed. This is more
or less a standard schematic. The coil I built (and
many others) use a choke between the
capacitor/spark gap and secondary of the
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transformer. This serves to protect the transformer

from dangerous RF.
So as you can see, traditional Tesla Coils and Solid

State Tesla Coils have a few similarities and many
differences. These differences are so great that Solid
State Tesla Coils are not really Tesla Coils, but merely
high frequency transformers.
Learning Log
Exercised knowledge of Tesla Coils and

transformers. This knowledge will be used
when I design and build my big Tesla Coil this
summer
Finally learned how to draw the symbol of a
MOSFET properly
Practiced writing skills
Learned the various ways Solid State Tesla
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Coils are driven
Output Terminal
After I completed the section on Solid State Tesla Coils, I chose

to build an output terminal for the coil. This termainal replaces
the temporary terminal (a doorknob) the coil was built with.
Output Terminal
Proposal
An output terminal is a necessary part of a Tesla Coil.

Coils built without an output terminal of some kind
often have poor performance and just generally look
bad. This being the case, my coil also requires an
output terminal. The terminal I plan to build will
replace the temporary door knob terminal that is on
the coil now. It will either be a triode or just a regular
22 of 32 4/2/2011 4:01 PM
round terminal.
Technical Report
The terminal I have decided on will be a regular

round terminal. I chose this because the materials
are much easier to get and much less expensive than
those of the triodial terminal.
This terminal is made of two stainless steel salad

bowls fastened together. Originally I planned to
solder them, but that proved impossible due to the
stainless steel used. That was not much of a problem
because the school has a fair amount of welding
equipment. I tried to weld it, but because the bowls
did not form a perfect seal, that also didn't work. I
finally ended up just taking it to a welding shop and
having them do it. A bolt on the bottom attaches it to
the top of the secondary coil. A picture of the finished
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terminal is below.
Learning Log
Learned how output terminals benefit Tesla

Coils
Figured out that stainless steel cannot be
soldered
Learned about the different types of welding
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Demonstration Video
After the output terminal was completed, I was finally ready to

give a good demonstration of the coil. The demonstration was
filmed so that I could use that video for this activity.
Tesla Coil Demonstration Video
Proposal
This will be a video of the demonstration of the coil to

the class. It will include all the neat stuff that can be
done with the coil. The video will be recorded in
analog form then captured to a computer and edited
there. It will then be compressed for streaming over
the Internet.
Technical Report
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The video recorded without any problems, aside from

some background noise from the wood shop class
next door. The real problems began when I went to
capture and edit the video. First off, I had to wait
about two weeks for Adobe Premiere to come in. After
that was settled, it took a whole period to install the
thing. After installing it, I found that I had to use the
ATI capture card's software to do the actual capture
before the editing could begin. The video captured
fine, but the audio did not. It took two periods to
figure out that I needed to use the sound card to get
the audio instead of the capture card. This is strange
because that card has stereo audio inputs. After the
video was captured, I needed to edit it. Adobe
Premiere has got to have the worst interface I have
ever seen. They completely ignored the standards
when they programmed it. It took a week to figure out
how to edit. After it was finally edited, there were a
few problems saving the finished video, but those
26 of 32 4/2/2011 4:01 PM
were easily cleared up by changing compression

schemes.
I used The Vivo Active Producer to compress the

video for transmission over the Net. This had a few
problems, but those were solved by using a copy of
the Producer from my hard drive instead of the one I
downloaded at school. After 20 minutes of
compressing, I FTPed the resulting 1.24 meg file to
myself. The video is about 12 minutes long and can
be viewed with the Vivo Active Video Player plugin.
View The Video
Learning Log
Practiced presentation skills

Learned how to use Adobe Premiere (importing,
editing, saving, compressing)
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Got practice in selecting the right compression

format for the right job
Tesla Coils In Use Today
The last optional I did was a little paper explaining the practical
(and sometimes not-so-practicle) use of Tesla Coils today. This
included the use of traditional spark gap type coils as well as
solid state coils.
Tesla Coils In Use Today
Even though the Tesla Coil is an old invention, there

are still many uses for the devices today. This
optional will take a look at some of those uses and try
to peer into the future to uncover other potential
uses.
The traditional coil has been delegated to mostly
28 of 32 4/2/2011 4:01 PM
demonstration purposes these days, as what used to

require large amounts of wire, power, a spark gap
and other large components can new be done with
smaller solid state components. Small coils like the
one I built are usually found in schools, museums,
magic shows, etc. Of course, they are an easy way to
get a high voltage for home expirementing. Even
though the high voltage can be gotten more
effectively with solid state components, these
components are usually way out of the budget of the
average expriementer. Traditional coils can literally be
lashed together with parts available at every
hardware store. Movies also use small coils like mine
as well as larger coils for special effects. Take a look
at the time travel scenes in Terminator and Terminator
2 to see what I mean. The sparks you see are from a
large Tesla Coil.
As for solid state coils, they are is very widespread
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use. Every TV, Computer monitor and most other

things that use a cathode ray tube use what is
generally referred to as a solid state Tesla Coil. Of
course, from reading my optional on Solid State Tesla
Coils, you know that they are not actually true Tesla
Coils. Even so, they are referred to as such. So
called Solid State Tesla Coils are easy to produce in
small modules. Even though modern TVs and like
equipment have shyed away from modules, these
high voltage modules can still be found in older TVs.
They are also a great expirementer's item. Solid State
Tesla Coils are usually used when a high voltage is
required for other devices because of their small size.
The cousin of the Solid State Tesla Coil, the flyback
transformer, is used in computer power supplies and
other switching suplies. However, this is used to step
down a higher voltage instead of increase a small
voltage.
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There will most likely be a surge in usage of at leat

the solid state variety of Tesla Coils in the next 10 to
15 years. The reason for this would be the increased
use of particle accelerators as we try to learn to use
antimatter (a particle accellerator is a good way to
make antimatter). One of the cooler uses would be in
the so called ion motor. This is a motor that is
powered by the force of ions expelled from some kind
of orafice.This type of drive promisses to enable
space craft to attain near light speed. As for other
uses, they are only limited to the imagination. We will
just have to wait and see what the future turns up.
Learning Log
Learned some uses of solid state and traditional

Tesla Coils
Found out about ion motors and some other
cool future engines
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Learned about special Tesla related effects in

movies
Practiced research and writing skills
And so ends this project. If you haven't already, you can View
The Video of the demonstration. Note that you will need the
Vivo Active Video Player in order to see the video.
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Building A Tesla Coil

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Tesla Coil file:///C:/Users/HP-home/Documents/BACKUPS_USB_2009-FEB/SCIENCE/ELECTRONICS/b...

For my grade 12 communications project, I chose to explain,

The project contains a proposal, several optional activities that

Proposal For Tesla Coil Project

After brainstorming, I have decided that my major

What A Tesla Coil Is

A Tesla Coil (often shortened to "TC") is a high

able to produce about 250KV (250,000V) at a

The project involves a fairly large amount of work in

if 28 AWG wire to be wound onto a round form. This

There could be many support activities for this

1. Solid State Tesla Coils:

Solid State TCs are almost the same as a

This activity will involve an explanation and

2. Building Output Terminal Or Triode:

The terminal/triode will most likely be made

from metal automotive tubing (in the case of a

4. Tesla Coils In Use Today:

This is the first step in

Next I would the

two grounds needed

I then assembled the

The spark gap

After the observation

I then wired the circuit

After that, all I did to

Solid State Tesla Coils

writing on Solid State Tesla Coils. This activity is presented here.

Solid State Tesla Coils

This activity will examine the area of Tesla Coils

The first thing about Solid State Tesla Coils is that

Solid State Tesla Coils are similar in the respect that

This is basically where the difference ends though.

The other way they differ is how they are driven.

Notice the use of all solid state components.

The traditional coil uses a capacitor/spark gap

transformer. This serves to protect the transformer

So as you can see, traditional Tesla Coils and Solid

Exercised knowledge of Tesla Coils and

Coils are driven

After I completed the section on Solid State Tesla Coils, I chose

An output terminal is a necessary part of a Tesla Coil.

The terminal I have decided on will be a regular

This terminal is made of two stainless steel salad

Learned how output terminals benefit Tesla

After the output terminal was completed, I was finally ready to

Tesla Coil Demonstration Video

This will be a video of the demonstration of the coil to

The video recorded without any problems, aside from

were easily cleared up by changing compression

I used The Vivo Active Producer to compress the

View The Video

Practiced presentation skills

Got practice in selecting the right compression

Tesla Coils In Use Today

Tesla Coils In Use Today

Even though the Tesla Coil is an old invention, there

The traditional coil has been delegated to mostly

demonstration purposes these days, as what used to

As for solid state coils, they are is very widespread

use. Every TV, Computer monitor and most other

There will most likely be a surge in usage of at leat