Tesla coil project | tesla coil

What is tesla coil ?

• Tesla coil was invented by scientist Nikola tesla. It is a device that is used for creating high frequency high voltage at very low current. The credit for inventing remote control, Alternating current, neon bulb and induction motor also goes to Nikola tesla.
• In simple words tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer that can produce super high voltages in the output.
• It was the first ever device that created hope for wireless electricity all around the world.
• The high frequency electromagnetic waves around the tesla coil can easily excite the gas present inside fluorescent lamp and neon bulbs.

Gather these components if you want to make your own tesla coil project at home ( slayer excitor )

• Tip31c or tip 35c transistor
• 12v 2A transformer or SMPS
• Bridge rectifier ( 5408 diode or any 3Ampere diode )
• Filter capacitor ( 4800 micro farad, 25 V )
• Resistor of resistance between 10k ohm – 67k ohm 0.5 W
• Primary wire 1.5mm insulated
• Secondary wire of 28 gauge to 36 gauge ( magnet wire )
• Vero board
• Aluminiun heat sink
• PVC pipe 20mm diameter, length according to your need
• PVC pipe 30mm diameter, length 100mm.
  

  

 

Suggestion

1. We need 12v dc input to the circuit. Current may be 0.5A, 1A or 2A. You don’t need to have bridge rectifier & filter capacitor if you use SMPS.
2. If you are using transformer as power supply then you need to add full wave rectifier followed by a filter capacitor.
3. I used plywood as base for my project. You can use any non-conducting material like plastic or acrylic sheet.
4. Magnet wire can be found inside transformer, relay coils and motors, you can even buy new one from the market.

Tutorial

1. Start winding your secondary coil around 20mm diameter PVC pipe. Number of turns can be between 300 to 3000, you didn’t have to be accurate about the turns . Wind the coils as close as possible and do not overlap. It’s a time consuming process, have patience and build quality work.
2. Make all your connections according to the circuit diagram
3. The positive terminal of the power supply is connected to resistor which is further connected to base pin of the transistor.
4. The positive terminal is also connected to one side of primary winding, the other side of primary winding is connected to collector pin of the transistor.
5. The emitter pin of transistor is directly connected to negative terminal of the power supply.
6. The lower side of secondary winding is connected to base pin of transistor and the upper end is attached to top load.
7. The primary winding can be between 2 to 5 turns around 30mm diameter PVC pipe.
8. For top load use any lite weight metal structure or a plastic ball wrapped in aluminium foil.
9. At last connect the power supply and your tesla coil is ready to be used.

Bring a good working cfl bulb close to top corner of secondary coil and it will glow without any connection on its own. Adding a top load will enhance its output.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will happen if I increase / decrease the number of turns in either primary or secondary ?

• Changing the number of turns can disturb your coil resonance that can minimize your output.
• If the resonance luckily gets balanced then,

1. Increase in ratio will increase the output voltage – Suppose you increase the number of turns in secondary or decrease the number of turns in primary or you do both, in all of these case voltage will increase.
2. Decrease in ratio will decrease the output voltage – Suppose you decrease the number of turns in secondary or increase the number of turns in primary or you do both, in all of these case voltage will decrease.

2. Why is transistor heating up ?

• It is normal for transistor to get warm but it should not get overheated. Attach an aluminium heat sink to the transistor.

3. Can I charge a battery or my mobile with tesla coil ?

• No, to charge a device wirelessly a well designed circuit is required on both transmitter and receiver side.

Discover more projects –

1. Tesla coil not working ?
2. LiFi project

Author

Akash Sharma

Visit YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dX1CdUukCshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlLcG5zUatAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU3VVFXNHnE