Generator

Ok, here's a design for a small tesla coil HV generator (the first stage).

I built this when I was an apprentice at UKAEA winfrith. It is originally

derived from a design in Practical Mechanics 1963.

Use a robust 12v Car ignition coil, usually rated at about 50W. This

design uses mains electricity 240V UK. Get from RS or any component 19689fgo66ivs7d

supplier, a solid state phase angle switching circuit. I don't know the

stock No. but they are basically a light dimming circuit using a triac

and an inductor within a single 3 pin chip. They come in a variety of

current ratings, I used 6A which is probably way over the top, but better gv689f9166ivvs

safe than sorry. You need to get a 1Meg variable resistor to vary the

phase angle. So connect up the phase angle device, with 1 meg resistor

and place a 3 microdfarad cap in series with the output (use >250 volts

rated cap). Now connect to + and - terminals on the coil. You should be

able to run the spark gap directly from the HV terminal of the coil. I

have got sparks about 30mm (approx 30KV) from this arrangement. **BE

CAREFUL** I have seen a 15 stone man thrown across a room while foolishly

trying to see if the spark was hot enough to melt solder! You can use this

to drive a tesla coil.

I use a 500pF cap at 30KV rating and a flat spiral primary with about 26

turns. Secondary is about 1200 turns on a 300mm long form, diameter 2".

Output from this is about 70Kv.

A good trick to do with a tesla coil is to get a sheet of plastic or

wood, about 2" x 3" and either paint it in luminous paint(Phosphorescent)

or get luminous powder and mix with clear silicone sealant (polysiloxane)

and spread it like butter over the p lastic or wood substrate. BEFORE the

paint or sealant dries, get copper or metal filings and sprinkle evenly

and sparsely over the surface of the drying paint / sealant. Press gently

to ensure secure fixing of the filings. Allow to dry (24 hrs). Then fix

the bottom of the wood to the HV tesla terminal. The sparks now track for

up to 6 times the distance of tracking in dry air - and also where the

sparks track ove the surface, they leave an image of a ghost spark that

remains visible for a few seconds. This looks fantastic in the dark and

increases the apparent power of a small tesla coil. I am currently

building a large tesla coil, using a 1KW 26KV transformer as the driving

stage. I welcome any tips from people who have the arcane knowledge and

experience in these things.

Hold tight cyberpunk technopagans