Corey's Tesla Coil Page
Updated 09-22-2003


The latest run...floor-to-ceiling arcs!!
Look closely and you can see where the arc forms a "spider web" from hitting the ceiling in the upper right-hand corner of the animation, a nice floor strike, and a white-hot blast to the garage door.  All the time the garage door opener (black box at top) hangs precariously above the magnetic mayhem.



 THE NEWEST RUN - 

THE LATEST WORD - NEW!

 



NEON SIGN TRANSFORMERS - 
        ORIGINAL 12,000 VOLT / 120 mA
        NEW 9,000 VOLT / 450 mA  (Oops!...better make that 490mA)
        PLANNED 20,000 VOLT / 450 mA
 
 

CAPACITORS - 
        SALT WATER MAKES 13nF
        HOME-MADE LDPE MAKES 24nF
        MULTIPLE MINI CAPACITORS (MMC) 34 - 82nF
        MMC RECONFIGURED FOR 133nF
 
 

SPARK GAPS - 
        ORIGINAL RICHARD QUICK STYLE (RQ) GAP
        FANCY LEXAN DISASTER
        26 ELEMENT GAP ON CERAMIC FLOOR TILE
        4 ELEMENT WATER COOLED GAP
 
 

PRIMARY COIL - 
        45 DEGREE PRIMARY
        FLAT (0 DEGREE) PRIMARY
 
 

SECONDARY COIL AND TOROIDS - 
        6.275 X 24 INCH PVC
        8.500 X 34 INCH PVC - THE LATEST VERSION - NEW
 
 

MY TWO CENTS -  - NEW!
        SOME RAMBLINGS AND THOUGHTS AFTER BUILDING AND
      MODIFYING THIS COIL OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS
 

COIL PERFORMANCE - W/ PHOTOS

- 18 INCH RUNS (THE EARLY TRIALS)
- 40 INCH RUNS (MAXIMUM WITH 45 DEGREE PRIMARY)
- 51 INCH RUNS (FLAT PRIMARY MORE TOP LOAD)
 Sorry no pix  - 60 INCH RUNS (MMC ALLOWS MORE SPARK GAP)
- 67 INCH RUNS (9,000 VOLT/450 mA NST ADDS MORE "BANG")
- HALLOWEEN 2001 RUNS NEW 8.5 X 34 SECONDARY

 - OR -

Click on pic to see more from that stage of coil development



ALL THE FUN STUFF - COIL BUILDING TOOLS AND LINKS


Questions or Comments?  me!

A little bit about me - 

Sister pages - DIY Homebuilt Welder - 
                     - 1967 Chevelle Malibu Restoration/Customization -  - Coming Soon
                     - Corvette Racing /Performance Upgrades -  - Coming Soon
                     - CRX B16A Hybrid,  160HP in 1800 lbs of fun -  - NEW!!
 



SOFTWARE

Download THE Tesla Coil Designer Version 3.0 .zip file (121k)* (See Note)
Download THE Tesla Coil Designer Version 3.0 .xls file (201k) - 
Revised 1/31/2000- A calculation program I originally downloaded from the net. I added many new calculations.  Additionally I added some calculations concerning building hybrid or saucer primaries.  The 1/31/2000 Revision should make calculations easier by showing possible conflicts with conditional formatted cells, so you can instantly see how changing components affects this system.  Also, I added a MMC capacitor calculator and several comments to help guide the user through the calculations.  Check out Ross-O's page for a "lite" version that doesn't require as much computing power.

Note:  Mike Hammer recently reported trouble downloading the .zip file with NS Navigator.  If you experience this trouble, generally characterized by a file that is only 6-8KB instead of the normal 121KB, the .xls file should work for you.
 
 



LINKS

The Tesla Coil Mailing List -
All you ever wanted to know about TC's, and then some! (mostly by guys who know what they're talking about)  Some free downloads, great instructional "how to" texts, etc.  General operation and advanced theories are discussed on this list.

The Tesla-2 Mailing List - 
Never constructed a Tesla Coil...Curious about what you would need?  The best advice is to try the Tesla-2 list and get some of the basic questions answered.  Remember...there are generally no set "Plans" for a Tesla coil.  They can be made from relatively common components found in most hardware stores.  If you need step-by-step instructions, you DO NOT need a Tesla coil!  You will be much better off (and safer) to do some research into coil operation and build one from your own knowledge...start here.

Ross-O's Coil -
- A guy working on a coil with similar dimensions and power levels as mine. So you know his TC has to be great, too!  Check out his pulse cap for making "small change" Also, a true master of Lexan!
 

 McMaster-Carr Supply Co. -
- If you're having trouble with local supplies, aluminum "dryer duct" toroids, copper tube primaries, copper ribbon, sheet plastics, these guys have (almost) EVERYTHING.
 

SETI@Home -
-  OK, OK, I know this has nothing to do with Tesla Coils, but if you're tired of that idiotic "flying windows" screen saver, you may want to check out the SETI@Home site, download their screen saver, and join the largest distributed computing project launched to date.  When your computer is idle, (ie. screen saver comes on) it will start sifting through actual data captured from the radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and performing calculations to determine if there is any intelligent pattern to the data.  Check it out!  They explain in much more detail than I can here.  And if your computer acquires an actual confirmed intelligent signal, can you say "NOBEL PRIZE!!"
 





[Skip Prev] [Prev][Next]
[Skip Next] [Random][Next 5] [List Sites]
[ Join the Tesla Coil Web Ring ]

THE END




 
 




















































THE BASEMENT