Do-it-yourself Tesla coil: simple instructions and diagrams on how to make a transformer

A couple of years ago, @C0NTEMPLATOR came to visit me in St. Petersburg, he was delighted with the half-bridge DRSSTC that I had then and expressed a desire to have such a miracle at his dacha to entertain guests. In general, this request was gradually forgotten, but one fine September day I had nothing to do and wanted something epic. And I decided to build SGTC (Spark Gap Tesla Coil), because 1) the price of the components tends to zero 2) construction and debugging is simple and fun 3) the probability of error is minimal and poses almost no threat. Moreover, I have never assembled a single normal coil on a spark gap before. I will not describe the principles of operation of a resonant transformer and copy-paste the description of a spark gap generator in order to make the article seem smarter and longer. Only hardware, only hardcore!

Principle of operation

The Tesla transformer consists of two windings - primary (Lp) and secondary (Ls) (they are more often called “primary” and “secondary”).
An alternating voltage is applied to the primary winding and it creates a magnetic field. With the help of this field, energy is transferred from the primary winding to the secondary. In this respect, the Tesla transformer is very similar to the most common “iron” transformer. The secondary winding, together with its own parasitic (Cs) capacitance, forms an oscillatory circuit that accumulates the energy transferred to it. Part of the time, all the energy in the oscillating circuit is stored in the form of voltage. Thus, the more energy we pump into the circuit, the more voltage we get.

A simple diagram of how a Tesla coil works.

Tesla has three main characteristics - the resonant frequency of the secondary circuit, the coupling coefficient of the primary and secondary windings, and the quality factor of the secondary circuit.

The reader should know what the resonant frequency of an oscillatory circuit is. I will dwell in more detail on the coupling coefficient and quality factor.

The coupling coefficient determines how quickly energy is transferred from the primary winding to the secondary, and the quality factor determines how long the oscillating circuit can retain energy.

Seesaw analogy

In order to better understand how an oscillatory circuit accumulates energy, and where such a large voltage comes from in a Tesla, let’s imagine a swing that a huge man is swinging. The swing is an oscillatory circuit, the man is the primary winding. The speed of the swing is the current in the secondary winding, and the height of the rise is our long-awaited voltage.

The man pushes the swing, and thus transfers energy into it. And so, after a few pushes, the swing swayed and flew as high as possible - it had accumulated a lot of energy. The same thing happens with a Tesla, only when there is too much energy, an air breakdown occurs, and we see our beautiful streamers.

Naturally, the swing should not be swayed anyhow, but in exact accordance with its own vibrations. The number of times the swing oscillates per second is called the “resonant frequency.”

The section of the swing's flight path during which the man pushes it determines the coupling coefficient. If a man constantly holds the swing with his hefty hand, he will swing it very quickly, but the swing can only deviate by the length of the man’s arm. In this case, the coupling coefficient is said to be equal to one. Our swing with a high coupling coefficient is an analogue of a conventional transformer.

Now consider a situation where a man pushes the swing just a little. In this case, the coupling coefficient is small, and the swing deviates much further - the man now cannot hold it. The swing will take longer to swing, but even a very frail man can handle it, pushing it a little each period of oscillation. Such a swing is an analogue of the Tesla transformer. The higher the coupling coefficient, the faster energy is pumped into the secondary circuit, but at the same time the output Tesla voltage is lower.

Now let's look at the quality factor. Good quality is the opposite of friction in a seesaw. If the friction is very high (low quality factor), then the man will not be able to swing them with his weak pushes. Thus, the coupling coefficient and the circuit quality factor must be matched to achieve the maximum swing height (maximum streamer length).

Since the quality factor of the secondary winding in a Tesla transformer is not a constant value (it depends on the streamer), it is not very easy to reconcile these two values, and therefore they are simply selected empirically. A brief description of the operating principle of the transformer can be seen in the video.

Coil device

The Tesla transformer, the diagram of which will be presented below, consists of two coils, a toroid, a protective ring and, of course, grounding.

Tabletop CT sketch

It is necessary to consider each element separately:

• The primary coil is located at the very bottom. Power is supplied to it. It must be grounded. Made from low resistance metal;
• secondary coil. For winding, enameled copper wire of approximately 800 turns is used. This way the coils will not unravel or get scratched;
• toroid. This element reduces the resonant frequency, accumulates energy and increases the working field.
• protective ring. It is an open loop of copper wire. Set if the length of the streamer is greater than the length of the secondary winding;
• grounding If you turn on an ungrounded coil, streamers (current discharges) will not shoot into the air, but will create a closed ring.

CT drawing

The principle of operation of the Tesla generator

The presented generating device operates under the influence of external processes or the environment. Sources of energy include water, wind, various vibrations that create oscillations and other factors. This is its main operating principle.

The simplest magnetic generator consists of a coil with two windings. The work of the secondary element is carried out under the influence of vibration, as a result, the so-called ethereal vortices interact with its cross section. This leads to the formation of tension in the entire system and to further ionization of the air. These processes occur at the very end of the winding, forming electrical discharges.

The design of the device uses transformer metal, which enhances inductive coupling. Oscillations occur between the winding elements, and discharges form in the form of dense plexuses.

Another generator circuit uses the power generated by the equipment itself. In order to start the generator, an external push is required in the form of a pulse generated by the battery. The device consists of two metal plates, one of which is mounted above, and the other is installed in the ground. A capacitor is connected between them in the circuit.

A constant discharge is applied to a metal plate, after which certain particles with a positive potential begin to be released. Negative particles are formed on the surface of the Earth. As a result, a potential difference is formed and current begins to flow into the capacitor.

You should take into account the connection specifics that distinguish the Tesla free energy generator. The primary coil requires high voltage and high frequency to operate. This current is provided by repeated spark discharge of the capacitor element. Each spark is formed in such a gap when the voltage reaches a certain level between the terminals of the capacitors.

Main types of coils

Homemade tesla coil.
Tesla himself manufactured only one type of Transformer - a spark gap (SGTC).

Since then, the element base has greatly improved, and many different types of coils have appeared; by analogy, they continue to be called Tesla coils.

Coil types are usually named from English abbreviations. If the name must be said in Russian, English abbreviations are simply spoken in Russian letters without translation. We will consider the most common types of Tesla coils below.

SGTC (SGTC, Spark Gap Tesla Coil)

Tesla transformer on a spark gap. The very first and “classical” design (it was used by Tesla himself). It uses a spark gap as a key element. In low-power designs, the arrester is simply two pieces of wire located at some distance, while in high-power designs, complex rotating arresters are used. Transformers of this type are ideal if you only need a long streamer length.

VTTC (VTTC, Vacuum Tube Tesla Coil

Tesla transformer on a lamp. A powerful radio tube is used as a key element. Such transformers can operate in continuous mode and produce thick, “fat” streamers. This type is most often used for high-frequency adzes, which, due to the characteristic appearance of their streamers, are called “torch”.

SSTC (SSTC, Solid State Tesla Coil)

Tesla transformer, which uses semiconductors as a key element. Usually these are MOSFET or IGBT transistors. This type of transformers can operate in continuous mode. The appearance of the streamers created by this coil can be very different. This type of Tesla is the easiest to control (play music, for example).

Solid State Tesla Coil type.

Main parts of the reel

Although there are several types of Tesla coils, they all have common features. Let's talk about the main details of the Tesla from top to bottom.

Main parts of a tesla transformer coil.

Toroid

Toroids are usually made from aluminum corrugation, although there are many other technologies available. Performs three functions:

1. The first is reducing the resonant frequency - this is important for SSTC and DRSSTC, since power semiconductors do not work well at high frequencies.
2. The second is the accumulation of energy before the formation of a streamer. The larger the toroid, the more energy is accumulated in it and, at the moment when the air breaks through, the toroid gives off this energy to the streamer, thus increasing it. To take advantage of this phenomenon in continuously pumped Teslas, a chopper is used.
3. The third is the formation of an electrostatic field, which repels the streamer from the secondary winding of the tesla. In part, this function is performed by the secondary winding itself, but the toroid can help it well. It is precisely because of the electrostatic repulsion of the streamer that it does not take the shortest path to the secondary.

Pulse-pumped teslas - SGTC, DRSSTC and chopper teslas - will benefit most from the use of toroidoa. The typical outer diameter of a toroid is twice the diameter of the secondary.

Interesting material on the topic: how to assemble a step-up transformer yourself.

Secondary

The typical ratio of the length of the tesla winding to its winding diameter is 4:1 – 5:1. The diameter of the wire for winding a tesla is usually chosen so that 800-1200 turns are placed on the secondary. ATTENTION, I will repeat it again. Do not wind too many turns on the secondary with a thin wire. The coils on the secondary should be placed as close to each other as possible.

To protect against scratches and the turns coming apart, the secondary windings are usually coated with varnish. Most often, epoxy resin and polyurethane varnish are used for this. It is necessary to varnish in very thin layers. Usually, at least 3-5 thin layers of varnish are applied to the secondary.

They wind the secondary on air duct (white) or, worse, sewer (gray) PVC pipes. You can find these pipes at any hardware store.

Protective ring

It is designed to ensure that the streamer, once it gets into the primary winding, does not damage the electronics. This part is installed on the tesla if the length of the streamer is greater than the length of the secondary winding. It is an open turn of copper wire (most often, a little thicker than the one from which the primary is made). The protective ring is grounded to the common ground using a separate wire.

Primary winding

Typically made from copper pipe for air conditioners. It must have very little resistance in order for a large current to pass through it. The thickness of the tube is usually chosen by eye; in the vast majority of cases, the choice falls on a 6 mm tube. Also, larger cross-section wires are used as primary wires.

Relative to the secondary winding, it is set so as to provide the desired coupling coefficient. It often plays the role of a building element in those teslas where the primary circuit is resonant. The connection point to the primary is made movable and its movement changes the resonant frequency of the primary circuit.

There are Tesla transformers without a primary winding. They supply power directly to the “ground” end of the secondary. This feeding method is called “basefeed”.

Primary windings are usually made cylindrical, flat or conical. Typically, flat primary is used in SGTC, conical in SGTC and DRSSTC, and cylindrical in SSTC, DRSSTC and VTTC.

Grounding

A very important part of the Tesla. The question is often asked: where are streamers going? We answer this question - streamers hit the ground! And thus they close the current, shown in blue in the picture.

Thus, if the grounding is poor, the streamers will have nowhere to go and will have to hit the Tesla (short-circuit their current) instead of erupting into the air. I was asked: is it necessary to ground a Tesla? So, the answer is: grounding for a Tesla is mandatory.

Theoretically, for an adze, instead of grounding, you can use the so-called counterweight - artificial grounding in the form of a larger conductive object. There are very few practical designs with counterweights.

Attention! The manufacture of adzes with counterweights is much more dangerous than adzes with simple grounding, because the entire structure is under a high potential relative to the ground. And a relatively large capacity between the counterweight and surrounding objects can negatively affect them.

Part five. Commissioning

The design is almost ready, all that remains is to make the toroid.
I could, of course, post the drawings of the branded torroid named after Zerg, but I’m afraid he will come to my house and kill my dog ​​(even though I don’t have a dog, he’ll suddenly bring it!). So, for example, it can be made from a ventilation pipe with a diameter of 150 mm and pulled from above with a metal disk through a pin to the top of the secondary. The result is this, sometimes even pretty design. We pass the lower outlet from the secondary coil in the silicone wire under the turns of the primary and solder it to the discharge ring made of a copper tube. From this ring we run a grounding wire, which needs to be hung on good, suitable ground.

Using the second bus from the capacitors, you need to look for that turn of the secondary winding, when connected, the discharges are more powerful; I simply connected it to turn 6 and soldered it that way, relying on the calculations.

And so we turn on the motor of the rotating spark gap, check for the absence of chatter and vibration, and turn on the power.

If everything is good, then the device will produce good discharges, a couple of meters long, with a very specific and loud noise. If not, check the phasing of the transformers; perhaps they are turned on in antiphase.

In theory, it was necessary to improve the transformer block, make automation on the time relay to turn on the spark gap, and only then supply voltage, but at that time I did not have any normal relays (this thing eats from 2 to 4 kW for a sweet soul), and I was lazy.

Subsequently, I transported the device to MSC, presented it, and from there to a friend’s dacha, where it was reassembled and launched.

True, as a result of either wet weather or the fig coating of the secondary winding, or all together, it burned to hell and recently I had to fly out again in order to rewind the coil, and the old one was solemnly smashed to hell (in fact, no, just remove the epoxy with blows board - a very bad idea, lol)

The device with the new coil still works successfully and pleases my friend, who really pushes all sorts of things onto the toroid, but sometimes it turns out cool.

Design and assembly

The Tesla transformer was patented in 1896 and is simple in design. It includes:

1. A primary coil with a copper core winding with a cross-section of 6 mm², in an amount sufficient for 5-7 turns.
2. A secondary coil made of dielectric material and wire with a diameter of up to 0.5 mm and a length sufficient for 800-1000 turns.
3. Hemispheres of the arrester.
4. Capacitors.
5. A protective ring made of copper core, like on the primary winding of a transformer.

The peculiarity of the device is that its power does not depend on the power of the power source. The physical properties of air are more important. The device can create oscillatory circuits using various methods:

• using a spark gap arrester;
• using a transistor oscillation generator;
• on lamps.

To make a Tesla transformer with your own hands you will need:

1. For the primary winding - 3 m of thin copper tube with a diameter of 6 mm or a copper core of the same diameter and length.
2. To assemble the secondary winding, you need a PVC pipe with a diameter of 5 cm and a length of about 50 cm and a PVC threaded fitting for it. You also need a copper wire coated with varnish or enamel with a diameter of 0.5 mm and a length of 90 m.
3. Metal flange with an internal diameter of 5 cm.
4. Various nuts, washers and bolts.
5. Arrester.
6. Smooth hemisphere for the terminal.
7. You can make the capacitor yourself. It will require 6 glass bottles, table salt, rapeseed or vaseline oil, and aluminum foil.
8. A power supply capable of delivering 9kV at 30mA will be required.

The Tesla transformer circuit is easy to implement. There are 2 wires coming from the transformer with a spark gap connected. Series-connected capacitors are connected to one of the wires. At the end is the primary winding. The secondary coil with a terminal and a grounded protection ring is located separately.

Description of how to assemble a Tesla coil at home:

1. A secondary winding is made by first securing the edge of the wire to the end of the pipe. It should be wound evenly, without allowing the wire to break. There should be no gaps between the turns.
2. When finished, wrap the top and bottom of the wrapping with masking tape. After this, coat the winding with varnish or epoxy resin.
3. Prepare 2 panels for the bottom and top bases. Any dielectric material, a sheet of plywood or plastic, will do. Place a metal flange in the center of the lower base and secure it with bolts so that there is space between the lower and upper bases.
4. Prepare the primary winding by twisting it into a spiral and securing it to the upper base. After drilling 2 holes in it, bring the ends of the tube into them. It should be secured in such a way as to prevent contact of the windings and at the same time maintain a distance of 1 cm between them.
5. To make a spark gap you will need to place 2 bolts opposite each other in a wooden frame. The calculation is made that when moving they will play the role of a regulator.
6. Capacitors are manufactured as follows. Glass bottles are wrapped in foil and salted water is poured into them. Its composition should be the same for all bottles - 360 g per 1 liter of water. They pierce the covers and insert wires into them. The capacitors are ready.
7. All nodes are connected according to the scheme described above. Be sure to ground the secondary winding.
8. The total number in the primary winding should be 6.5 turns, in the secondary - 600 turns.

The described sequence of actions gives an idea of ​​how to make a Tesla transformer yourself.

Part two. Primary installation.

It is better to make the winding itself from a copper busbar with a width of 1.5x25mm, 8 meters can be bought for quite reasonable money.
1) We make 6 pieces of fasteners 2) We put them on epoxy (or wood glue, for example) on the top stool 3) we take a busbar, drill a hole on one side, solder a piece of copper wire about 400 mm long, with a cross-section of 25 squares. 3) We lay the bus in 8 turns, starting from the center, bringing the wire out from the beginning through the hole in the upper seat of the former stool to the place where we will have the motor with the disk. 4) On top of the same epoxy we glue a wooden block 10mm thick and wide and 22mm thick for final fixation of the tire. 5) On top of the strip, which is attached with two self-tapping screws, we fasten it with ties\wire\whatever is needed to form a closed circle of copper tube. 6) Profit!

Switching on, checking and adjusting

Before turning on, move electronic devices away from the test site to prevent damage. Remember electrical safety! To launch successfully, perform the following steps in order:

1. We set the variable resistor to the middle position. When applying power, make sure there is no damage.
2. Visually check the presence of the streamer. If it is missing, we bring a fluorescent light bulb or incandescent lamp to the secondary coil. The glow of the lamp confirms the functionality of the “Tesla transformer” and the presence of an electromagnetic field.
3. If the device does not work, first of all we swap the leads of the primary coil, and only then we check the transistor for breakdown.
4. When you turn it on for the first time, monitor the temperature of the transistor; if necessary, connect additional cooling.

Let's move from theory to practice

I assembled a Tesla generator into an ATX housing. Power supply capacitor 1000 uF 400V. Diode bridge from the same ATX at 8A 600V. I placed a 10 W 4.7 Ohm resistor in front of the bridge. This ensures smooth charging of the capacitor. To power the driver, I installed a 220-12V transformer and a stabilizer with a 1800 uF capacitor.

I screwed the diode bridges onto the radiator for convenience and for heat removal, although they barely heat up.

The breaker was assembled almost like a canopy, took a piece of PCB and cut out the tracks with a utility knife.

The power unit was assembled on a small radiator with a fan; it later turned out that this radiator was quite sufficient for cooling. The driver was mounted above the power one through a thick piece of cardboard. Below is a photo of the almost assembled design of the Tesla generator, but it is being tested; I measured the power temperature in various modes (you can see an ordinary room thermometer attached to the power one on thermoplastic).

The coil toroid is assembled from a corrugated plastic pipe with a diameter of 50 mm and covered with aluminum tape. The secondary winding itself is wound on a 110 mm pipe 20 cm high with 0.22 mm wire about 1000 turns. The primary winding contains as many as 12 turns, made with a margin in order to reduce the current through the power section. I did it with 6 turns at the beginning, the result is almost the same, but I think it’s not worth risking transistors for the sake of a couple of extra centimeters of discharge. The frame of the primary is an ordinary flower pot. From the beginning I thought that it would not pierce if I wrapped the secondary with tape and the primary on top of the tape. But alas, it broke through... Of course, it also broke through in the pot, but here the tape helped solve the problem. In general, the finished design looks like this:

Well, a few photos with the discharge

Now everything seems to be done.

A few more tips: don’t try to plug a coil into the network right away, it’s not a fact that it will work right away. Constantly monitor the power temperature; if it overheats, it may boom. Do not drive too high-frequency secondary devices, 50b60 can operate at a maximum of 150 kHz according to the datasheet, in fact a little more. Check the breakers, the life of the coil depends on them. Find the maximum frequency and duty cycle at which the power temperature is stable for a long time. A toroid that is too large can also damage the power supply.

Powerful Tesla Coil

Distinctive features of the powerful Tesla transformer are high voltage, large dimensions of the device and the method of producing resonant oscillations. Let's talk a little about how it works and how to make a Tesla spark-type transformer.

The primary circuit operates on alternating voltage. When turned on, the capacitor charges. As soon as the capacitor is charged to the maximum, a breakdown of the spark gap occurs - a device of two conductors with a spark gap filled with air or gas. After the breakdown, a series circuit of a capacitor and a primary coil is formed, called an LC circuit. It is this circuit that creates high-frequency oscillations, which create resonant oscillations and enormous voltage in the secondary circuit (Fig. 6).

If you have the necessary parts, you can assemble a powerful Tesla transformer with your own hands, even at home. To do this, it is enough to make changes to the low-power circuit:

1. Increase the diameters of the coils and the cross-section of the wire by 1.1 - 2.5 times.
2. Add a toroid-shaped terminal.
3. Change the DC voltage source to an alternating one with a high boost factor that produces a voltage of 3–5 kV.
4. Change the primary circuit according to the diagram in Figure 6.
5. Add reliable grounding.

Tesla spark transformers can reach a power of up to 4.5 kW, therefore creating large-sized streamers. The best effect is obtained when the frequencies of both circuits are equal. This can be realized by calculating parts in special programs - vsTesla, inca and others. You can download one of the Russian-language programs from the link: https://ntesla.at.ua/_fr/1/6977608.zip.

What is a Tesla coil and why is it needed?

As noted earlier, a Tesla coil is a resonant transformer. The purpose of a transformer is to change the voltage value of an electric current. These devices are respectively lowering and increasing.

Read more about transformers, their general structure and purpose in our separate material.

From an electronics point of view, a Tesla coil consists of two windings without a common core and with a different number of turns. Tesla transformer is a step-up transformer. The voltage at the output of such a transformer increases hundreds of times and can reach values ​​of the order of a million volts.

Tesla's invention not only works, but works very spectacularly. By turning on the transformer, you can observe spectacular discharges (lightning), the length of which reaches several meters.

Components and operating principle

All Tesla transformers, due to a similar operating principle, consist of identical blocks:

1. Power supply.
2. Primary circuit.
3. Secondary circuit.

The power supply provides the primary circuit with voltage of the required magnitude and type. The primary circuit creates high-frequency oscillations that generate resonant oscillations in the secondary circuit. As a result, a current of high voltage and frequency is formed on the secondary winding, which tends to create an electrical circuit through the air - a streamer is formed.

The choice of primary circuit determines the type of Tesla coil, power source and size of the streamer. Let's focus on the semiconductor type. It features a simple circuit with accessible parts and a low supply voltage.

The first completed and designed transistor Tesla coil . As it turned out, the processes occurring in them are much easier to understand than in lamp or spark ones, although the latter are much easier to make at least somehow working simply by copying the circuit.

The main problem in building SSTC is tons of nuances and properties of parts, circuits and principles of their operation and interaction that are not obvious to a novice coiler, which are very difficult to learn anywhere other than from your own experience, simply because all the descriptions of working Tesla transistor transformers were made by those people , who already imagines these nuances on an almost intuitive level and, as a result, does not consider them worthy of mention.
For example, for me these are oscillograms, so there are none here, although their appearance is a key point in understanding whether the coil is working correctly. In general, a typical SSTC is a device made up of several basic blocks.

1. Power.

The main part of the coil is power, possible solutions are a half-bridge or a bridge (a bridge is simply two half-bridges connected so as to swing the primary winding with double the amplitude). The half-bridge consists of two series-connected field-effect transistors (MOSFET, hereinafter simply fet), alternately opening and closing due to a rectangular signal from the driver. I won’t go into the theory of the work; megabytes of text are devoted to it in other places. To increase the survivability of fetov, the latter are tied with ultra-fast diodes: one in series and one in parallel, and suppressors for the required voltage (for us - 400 volts, for example, is quite suitable). The primary winding is located between the midpoint of the fet and the midpoint of two power film capacitors, so the primary winding swings from 0 to Vpit every cycle of operation. Preventing the opening of both transistors at the same time (this is called the word “draft” - in fact, short-circuiting the entire circuit through the fetas) is ensured by the so-called. grandfather time, the time when both fetas are closed. It is also very desirable to tie the fet with snubbers (RC chain from drain to source, where the characteristic order R is 5-20 Ohms, and C is 500-2000 pF), which greatly increase heat loss and heating of the transistors, but very reliably protect them from booms — We pay for reliability with heating.

The main advantage of the half-bridge: you need half as many parts. The main advantage of the bridge: twice the possible power.

This reel uses a half-bridge for compactness reasons. But nothing prevents it from being extended to a bridge, which will soon be done in the next design of the same class.

2. Control (signal isolation).

Isolation is necessary to galvanically isolate the fet control from each other. In relation to the coil, it is worth talking about only two types of isolation: transformer (GDT, gate-drive transformer) and optical (using optocouplers). The GDT is a small ferrite ring on which three (or five for a bridge) windings are wound as closely as possible to each other: one connected to the driver and two (four) to the gate-drains of the corresponding power section transistors. An optocoupler is a small microcircuit containing an LED and a phototransistor; the signal is transmitted by flickering the LED.

Advantages of GDT: minimum setup, elementary control, significantly lower cost and ease of manufacture, automatic generation of deadline. Disadvantages - you need to find a good ferrite and calculate and wind the GDT itself with high quality - BSVi wrote about this in more detail in his article. Important: when connecting, you must ensure that the gates of the transistors are controlled in antiphase (as required by the half-bridge topology). Advantages of optocouplers: precise control and minimal signal distortion. Disadvantages - a lot of components (for each channel (4 for the bridge, 2 for the half-bridge): optocoupler, its wiring (including SMD ceramics on the legs) and power supply), the need to create a dead time, difficulty in operation, and the optics also suffer from interference from a Tesla transformer .

My choice is definitely GDT.

When using it, by the way, it is advisable to install a 15 volt zener diode between the source and the gate of the feta. I haven’t used them, and that’s how everything works, but it’s better to have it there to prevent breakdown of the gate due to GDT glitches, which can occur when the coil is abused during the setup process.

3. Driver.

To control fairly “heavy” transistor gates, it is necessary to provide a fair amount of pulse current. For this, special microcircuits are used, the most famous are the UCC series, for example, UCC23721. There are single-channel (the power of each individual driver is higher, but it is necessary to install a microcircuit on each channel), double (two drivers in one package), as well as inverting and non-inverting and with or without logical on-off (aka ENABLE). In the Tesla coil circuits I have previously seen on transistors, UCC27321 - 27322, single-channel, were used. But it turns out that there is a wonderful UCC27425 driver, which is an ideal option: it contains two channels, one inverting and the other direct (index 5 at the end of the designation), as well as ENABLE (index 4), which allows you to connect a breaker to it as well as and turn the direct signal into two - normal and inverted. Its only drawback is that the power is not very high (4 amperes per pulse), but, nevertheless, it is completely enough to pull quite heavy 47n60 field trucks. Thus, the driver circuit is simplified to one single DIP8 package. For the power supply of the microcircuit, SMD ceramics with the maximum available capacity are required (I have 10 microfarads). No tantalums, ceramics and only ceramics.

4. Generator.

The generator is a setter of the resonant operating frequency of the primary oscillations. The most obvious way, at the same time the most ineffective: use an external generator, for example, on a TL494, UC3825, IR2153 or other suitable one. It is ineffective because precise adjustment to resonance without feedback from the secondary is practically impossible: any change in operating conditions, even just the very fact of the appearance of a discharge, will instantly take the operating frequency far enough to escape resonance. It is more progressive and convenient to simply use an antenna that will catch the signal. By cutting off the top and bottom of the sinusoidal signal it receives using a plug of Schottky diodes, we get a square wave signal (actually logic 0 and 1) at the driver input. An even better option is a phase-locked loop (PLL), phase-locked loop: an external oscillator, the phase and frequency of which are adjusted in the same way - by an antenna, but this is a separate topic, and it is not a fact that a PLL can be better than a self-oscillator. The topic requires more detailed study.

Alternatively, instead of an antenna, you can use a current transformer from the bottom of the secondary winding. This method is generally much more reliable, but not much more convenient.

This design uses an antenna as the simplest and most convenient method.

5. Breaker.

To reduce the average power pumped through the coil and obtain crackling, beautiful discharges, the signal must be torn. Thanks to the presence of ENABLE inputs on the UCC27425, it is enough to simply connect the output of an elementary generator on a 555 timer to them. The 555 is not the most convenient chip for this, but it is definitely the simplest and most popular. The circuit used is slightly different from the generally accepted one by including variable resistors. A more advanced version may contain a second timer to interrupt the first - the so-called. burst-mode, double interrupt.

In short, the topology of this coil: self-oscillator with GDT and half-bridge, UCC27425 driver, FCA47N60 fetas, tying with 1.5KE400A suppressors and HFA30TB60 ultrafasts.

Resonator (secondary winding) - approximately 250 kHz frequency, dimensions 11x16 cm, wire 0.2 mm. The toroid is made of a copper tube and has a completely open turn to reduce RF heating thereof. The height of the primary relative to the secondary is selected quite accurately to achieve a current in the primary circuit of about 30A (the limit for diodes). The number of turns does not play a special role, since the current depends slightly less than completely only on the coupling coefficient of the windings, and this is adjusted by the position of the primary.

The order of assembly and configuration is approximately as follows. First, we construct a circuit breaker-driver. Next we run GDT. Using an external generator at a frequency close to our operating frequency, we check the functionality of the driver. We make the power part (it’s best to use a radiator from the computer’s processor, they are almost ideal for this, just drill holes for fastening the fet and diodes), not forgetting to isolate all the parts with gaskets from the radiator, connect the free GDT pins to the gates and sources and see how it works copes with signal transmission to the capacitive load of the gate. If the signal is good (more or less an even rectangle), then everything is working as it should. There are tons of other options (bad signal), how to deal with them - follow the links below, a lot of theory and practice on the topic. Actually, after this all that remains is to assemble the power supply for the power section, connect the resonator and carefully, through the latrine and ballast, try to start the coil.

If there is no response, you need to twitch the position and size of the antenna, and also try to change the phasing of the primary winding. You need to monitor the current in the primary (for example, with a current transformer on a ferrite ring of suitable permeability) and adjust the position of the primary winding so that it does not exceed the working one for diodes and/or or transistors.

The most valuable thing: the diagram. I tried to make it as clear and readable as possible. Attention, in 555, for the convenience of the image, the numbering of the legs is arbitrary - do not confuse them and do them according to their real numbered order, and not the geometric arrangement on the diagram! Disadvantages of power and driver - do not connect. UPD: fixed a minor bug in the circuit: the intersection point of the antenna, driver input and 1n5818 Schottky diodes. They should all be soldered together. NO DRIVER CHIP IS SUITABLE FOR THIS CIRCUIT EXCEPT UCC27425. I DO NOT KNOW ANY ANALOGUES, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO BUY IT, IT IS USELESS FOR ME TO WRITE ABOUT THIS. Thanks for understanding.

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THE CIRCUIT IS OBSOLETE and is left here for historical reasons and the presence of a simple breaker in it. There is no longer a need to purchase expensive 47N60s and diodes; they can be replaced by cheaper and much more reliable IGBTs. Scroll below for a more recent and current diagram.

The fully assembled coil fits inside the case from the computer's power supply, and there is quite a lot of space left in reserve for something else.

Recommended links for studying (without them I would hardly have designed anything):

https://stevehv.4hv.org/SSTCindex.htm - Main reference page from semiconductor coil guru, Steve Ward. Its most popular copy reel

partially served as the basis for this project of mine.

https://bsvi.ru/raschet-i-primenenie-gdt/ - calculation and application of GDT from BSVi. https://rayer.ic.cz/teslatr/teslatr.htm - someone RayeR, a good Czech with good reels and ideas. https://www.richieburnett.co.uk/sstate.html - Richie Burnett, a master in the field of coil theory. Including https://www.richieburnett.co.uk/mosfail.html - the reasons for the death of mosfets and https://www.richieburnett.co.uk/sstate2.html - the theory of the SSTC driver. https://danyk.wz.cz/ - another good Czech, including some very crazy projects, such as video x-ray. https://flyback.org.ru/viewforum.php?f=9 - Flyback’s SSTC section is valuable for the number of at least somewhat launched projects, and even some successful ones.

By following the links from the links above you can find a bunch of other interesting things on the topic.

11.07.12

I finished packaging two more half-bridge SSTCs with a chopper on a microcontroller from sifun. Main differences and improvements compared to the first version:

1) The antenna was replaced with a current transformer wound on a blue EPCOS ferrite ring - approximately 50 turns - and placed on the secondary wire going to ground. It is much simpler and more reliable than an antenna. Changing the phasing is now carried out not by re-soldering the primary wires, but by changing the direction of entry of the ground wire into the current transmis- sion ring. 2) Fetas are replaced with IGBTs. It’s time to abandon field-effect transistors in pulse converters forever, leaving them for the same thing that lamps were once left for: for high-frequency applications (for example, the IRFP460A swings at 27 MHz with good efficiency). Modern IGBTs are cheaper, more powerful, more reliable and have higher efficiency than similar field devices. One of the possible solutions, for example, is HGTG20N60A4D, or almost any IGBT of the IRG4 and IRG7 series. 3) A zener diode is added to the diode plug between the upper diode and the minus of the driver. Instead of a zener diode, you can install a white or blue LED, which turns out to be very convenient: it blinks in time with the pulses of the interrapter. 4) As in a full-bridge coil, the secondary is grounded to the network through a capacitor divider from K78-2. 5) A circuit has been added to the coil that ensures its non-explosiveness, namely UVLO: undervoltage lockout. This is a simple three-legged microphone (DS1233D-5+) in a TO-92 package, which simply abruptly cuts off the driver power when the voltage drops below a set level (for example, 11 volts). This eliminates the situation in which the voltage at the gates of the half-bridge transistors is lower than the set one and eliminates the option of their under-opening, which is the cause of 90% of all explosions and failures of power converters in the case of Tesla coils.

The chopper on the Attiny13 controller removes the voltage from two 10K variable resistors, one of which regulates the pulse width, and the other regulates the frequency. The frequency varies in the range from 2 hertz to ~1-2 kHz (I don’t remember exactly), the pulse width is up to 1/5 (20%) of the current chopper frequency. Thus, the maximum possible average consumption does not exceed approximately 400-500 W for any interrapter settings.

This reel is available for assembly to order.

Scheme:

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Selection of materials and parts

We will search and select parts for each of the above structural units:

1. Power supply requires 12 - 19 V DC voltage. A machine battery, a laptop charger or a step-down transformer with a diode bridge will be suitable to produce direct current.
2. Let's find the details for the primary circuit:

— Variable resistor R1 with a nominal value of 50 kOhm. For successful assembly, do not forget to connect the two contacts of this resistor according to the diagram.

— Resistor R2 with a nominal value of 75 Ohms.

— Transistor VT1 D13007 or a Soviet analogue with an NPN structure.

— A radiator for cooling the transistor can be found on powerful transistors in faulty equipment. Size directly affects the quality of cooling.

— Primary winding of the Tesla transformer. The conductor can be a simple copper tube or wire with a diameter of 0.5–1 cm. The winding is made flat, cylindrical or conical (Fig. 2).

• The secondary circuit consists of a coil and, if necessary, a terminal. The winding is made with wire with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.3 mm². The wire can be wound on a dielectric PVC tube. The length of the tube is 25–40 cm, and the diameter is 3–5 cm. It should be wound turn to turn: without intersections or gaps. To prevent the winding from slipping and unwinding, it is recommended to secure the wound sections. The number of turns is from 700 to 1000 (Fig. 3).

After winding, we insulate the secondary coil with paint, varnish or other dielectric. This will prevent the streamer from getting into it.

Terminal – additional capacity of the secondary circuit, connected in series. For small streamers it is not necessary. It is enough to bring the end of the coil up 0.5–5 cm.

After we have collected all the necessary parts for the Tesla coil, we begin to assemble the structure with our own hands.

Part four. Electrical installation.

Cool, super clear diagram of this high-tech device.

The most important part of the coil is, hey, the master oscillator, marked in the diagram as F2. It is made using the latest technology of the early 20th century. Structurally, it is an asynchronous motor 2750 rpm, on the shaft of which a textolite disk with a diameter of about 130 mm and a thickness of 8 mm is fixed. At a distance of 10 mm from the edge of the disk, 12 holes were drilled into which brass pins were inserted, secured with bolts on both sides.

Achtung! Alarm! Attention! Entrust the manufacture of the disk to your uncle turner, otherwise you have a real chance of getting hit with a nut in the forehead. Or a disk. Or something else. On both sides of the disk there are two copper electrodes. Structurally, it’s just two rods pressed into tires, the tires are bolted through insulators into the central board, so that by loosening the bolts you can change the distance of the arrester. Distance - the smaller the better. But don't let it hurt. Ideally, less than a millimeter. The engine is connected via a condenser directly to the network.

Next is MMC (literally stands for “many small capacitors”), C1 in the diagram. But real guys use large capacitors and there are not many of them, yes, yes.

Personally, I used 6 pcs k75-25, 10kV, 10nF. A short lyrical digression - in the circuit C1 - L1, switched by the arrester, kiloampere currents flow in the pulse, so put aside your wiring, username. The switching must be appropriate - the shortest possible connections, soldering the busbars with a soldering iron, bolted connections, wires of 25 squares or more. And the rest can be done as needed, but within reason.

Nutrition. Everything is simple here - we break mom’s microwave, steal from the neighbors and break another one. Well, or honestly we buy two high-voltage transformers from them. We mount two transformers on a common frame, preferably steel or not, the main thing is to electrically connect the magnetic circuits to which the cold end of the secondary winding of the transformers is connected. The resulting midpoint is thrown through a divider on film capacitors of 10-50 nF to the phase and zero of the network, this will save the MOTs from the consequences of discharge impacts into the housing. A healthy 6-8 H mains inductor L4 is not needed at all if you do not feed the coil with a rectified double voltage, since it adds little to the discharge, it takes a long time to make and is a hassle (turn-to-turn, fluoroplastic gaskets / oil paper between layers), wind a lot of.

Filter chokes and containers. To prevent any return emissions from getting into the delicate secondary winding of the transformers, we had to make two chokes of 500-600 turns each on a frame made of a 50mm tube. I stuffed broken ferrite inside the tube. It is also advisable to hang two 1000pF capacitors before and after the ferrites; some KVI-3 disk filters fit perfectly into the cabinet, where they belong.

Design and assembly

We carry out the assembly according to the simplest scheme in Figure 4.

We install the power supply separately. The parts can be assembled by hanging installation, the main thing is to avoid short circuits between the contacts.

When connecting a transistor, it is important not to mix up the contacts (Fig. 5).

To do this, we check the diagram. We tightly screw the radiator to the transistor body.

Assemble the circuit on a dielectric substrate: a piece of plywood, a plastic tray, a wooden box, etc. Separate the circuit from the coils with a dielectric plate or board with a miniature hole for the wires.

We secure the primary winding so as to prevent it from falling and touching the secondary winding. In the center of the primary winding we leave space for the secondary coil, taking into account the fact that the optimal distance between them is 1 cm. It is not necessary to use a frame - a reliable fastening is enough.

We install and secure the secondary winding. We make the necessary connections according to the diagram. You can see the operation of the manufactured Tesla transformer in the video below.

Assembling a Tesla coil yourself at home

Now we have gradually approached the assembly of the installation itself. First, let's create a secondary outline. We wind a thin wire with a diameter of 0.15 mm onto a long frame tightly without overlaps. You need to make at least 1000 turns (but you don’t need too many). After this, we coat the coil with varnish in several layers (other materials can be used) so that the wire is not damaged in the future.

Now about the terminal. It allows you to control the streamers, but at low powers it is not necessary; instead, you can simply move the end of the coil up a few centimeters.

For another coil, we wind thick wire around the remaining frame. In total you need to make 10 turns. The secondary circuit must be inside the primary.

Now we install everything so that the structure does not fall down and the primary and secondary contours do not collide together (this is exactly what the frame is for). Ideally, the distance between them should be around 1 cm.

Then we put everything together. To the plus of the power supply we connect the primary circuit and one resistor, to which we connect another resistor in series. To the end of the second resistor we connect the secondary circuit and the transistor. We connect the other end of the primary circuit to the second contact of the transistor. And we connect the third contact of the transistor to the minus of the power source.

When connecting, it is important not to mix up the transistor contacts. You also need to attach a radiator or other cooling to it. Everything is ready, you can try the device in practice. However, do not forget about safety. Do not touch anything, only in the dielectric!

You can check the operation of the installation by the presence of a streamer, or, if there is none, you can bring a light bulb to the coil, and if it lights up, then everything is in order.

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Self-assembly diagram

This scheme has a minimum of elements, which does not make our task any easier. After all, for it to work, it is necessary not only to assemble it, but also to configure it. Let's start with ILOs.

There is such a transformer in the microwave. It is a regular power transformer with the only difference that its core operates in a mode close to saturation.

Assembly diagram of a homemade Tesla transformer.

This means that despite its small size, it has a power of up to 1.5 kW. However, there are also negative aspects to this mode of operation. This includes a high idle current, about 2-4 A, and strong heating even without a load; I am silent about heating with a load. The usual output voltage of the MOT is 2000-2200 volts with a current of 500-850 mA.

MOT for Tesla transformer.

For all MOTs, the “primary” is wound at the bottom, the “secondary” at the top. This is done to ensure good insulation of the windings.

On the “secondary”, and sometimes on the “primary”, the filament winding of the magnetron is wound, about 3.6 volts.

Moreover, between the windings you can see two metal jumpers. These are magnetic shunts.

Their main purpose is to close on themselves part of the magnetic flux created by the “primary”.

Thus, limit the magnetic flux through the “secondary” and its output current at a certain level.

Attention! We ask amateurs to refuse this work! Dangerous, high voltage, lethal! Although the voltage is small compared to the lineman, the current strength, a hundred times greater than the safe limit of 10 mA, will reduce the chances of staying alive to almost zero.

KAPs mean high-voltage ceramic capacitors (series K15U1, K15U2, TGK, KTK, K15-11, K15-14 - for high-frequency installations!).

HF filter for homemade Tesla.

HF filter: respectively, two coils that perform the function of filters from high frequency voltage.

Each contains 140 turns of varnished copper wire 0.5 mm in diameter.

A spark plug, which is needed for switching power and exciting oscillations in the circuit.

If there is no spark switch in the circuit, then there will be power, but there will be no oscillations. And the power supply begins to siphon through the primary - and this is a short circuit!

Spark plug for a homemade Tesla transformer.

As long as the spark switch is not closed, the caps are charging. As soon as it closes, oscillations begin. Therefore, they install ballast in the form of throttles - when the spark plug is closed, the throttle prevents the flow of current from the power supply, it charges itself, and then, when the spark gap opens, it charges the caps with redoubled anger.

Finally, the turn has come to the Tesla transformer itself: the primary winding consists of 7-9 turns of wire of a very large cross-section.

However, a plumbing copper pipe will do. The secondary winding contains from 400 to 800 turns, here you need to adjust.

Do-it-yourself finished Tesla transformer coil.

Power is supplied to the primary winding. The secondary has one terminal reliably grounded, the second is connected to the TORU (lightning emitter).

The torus can be made from ventilation corrugation. That's all. Remember to be safe and good luck with your DIY build.

Self-production

So, the simplest way to make a Tesla coil for dummies with your own hands. Often on the Internet you can see amounts exceeding the cost of a good smartphone, but in reality, a 12V transformer, which will make it possible to enjoy turning on the lamp without using an outlet, can be assembled from a heap of garage trash.

What should happen in the end?

You will need enameled copper wire. If you can’t find an enamel one, then you will additionally need regular nail polish. The wire diameter can be from 0.1 to 0.3 mm. To maintain the number of turns you will need about 200 meters. You can wind it on a regular PVC pipe with a diameter of 4 to 7 cm. Height is from 15 to 30 cm. You will also have to buy a transistor, for example, D13007, a pair of resistors and wires. It would be nice to get a computer cooler that will cool the transistor.

You may be interested in Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for computers

Now you can start assembling:

1. cut 30 cm of pipe;
2. wrap the wire around it. The turns should be as close to each other as possible. If the wire is not coated with enamel, varnish it at the end. From the top of the pipe, thread the end of the wire through the wall and bring it up so that it sticks out 2 cm above the installed pipe.;
3. make a platform. A regular chipboard board will do;
4. you can make the first coil. You need to take a 6 mm copper pipe, bend it into three and a half turns and secure it to the frame. If the tube diameter is smaller, then there should be more turns. Its diameter should be 3 cm larger than the second coil. Attach to the frame. Immediately attach the second coil;
5. There are quite a few ways to make a toroid. Copper tubes can be used. But it’s easier to take a regular aluminum corrugation and a metal crossbar for fastening to the protruding end of the wire. If the wire is too flimsy to hold the toroid, you can use a nail, like in the picture below;
6. Don't forget about the protective ring. Although if one end of the primary circuit is grounded, it can be abandoned;
7. When the design is ready, the transistor is connected according to the circuit, attached to a radiator or cooler, then you need to supply power and the installation is completed.

The first coil can be made flat, as in the picture.
Many people use a regular Duracell crown to power the installation.

DIY Tesla transformer, simple circuit

Application area

It is incorrect to assume that the Tesla transformer does not have wide practical applications. It is used to ignite gas discharge lamps and to detect leaks in vacuum systems. However, its main use today is cognitive and aesthetic. The table below shows the effects that occur during operation of a Tesla transformer.

Effects that occur during operation of a Tesla transformer.

This is mainly due to significant difficulties when it is necessary to control the selection of high-voltage power, or even more so, transfer it to a distance from the transformer, since in this case the device inevitably goes out of resonance, and the quality factor of the secondary circuit is also significantly reduced.

What is unique about the Tesla Coil?

The main difference of this invention is that its inventor was able to obtain a voltage exceeding 15 million volts at a frequency of several hundred kilohertz. This device looks incredibly strange, scary, but also beautiful at the same time: the absence of an iron core, a thick outer layer of the primary winding and a thick inner layer of the secondary winding. But there are also disadvantages. For example, making a large turn while ensuring excellent thermal contact with the transformer core is quite difficult.

Many are trying to repeat the numerous unique experiments of the great genius. However, to do this, they will have to solve the most important problem - how to make a Tesla coil at home. But how to do that? Let's try to describe it in detail so that you can do it the first time.

What is needed to make a Tesla coil?

To make a Tesla coil at home, at our desk or even in the kitchen, we first need to stock up on everything we need. So, first we must find or purchase the following. The tools we need are:

• Soldering iron
• Glue gun
• Drill with thin drill bit
• Hacksaw
• Scissors
• Insulating tape
• Marker

To assemble the Tesla coil itself, you need to prepare the following:

• A piece of thick polypropylene pipe with a diameter of 20 mm.
• Copper wire with a diameter of 0.08-0.3 mm.
• A piece of thick wire
• Transistor type KT31117B or 2N2222A (can be KT805, KT815, KT817)
• Resistor 22 kOhm (you can take resistors from 20 to 60 kOhm)
• Power supply (Krona)
• Ping pong ball
• A piece of food foil
• The base on which the product will be mounted is a piece of board or plastic
• Wires for connecting our circuit

Having prepared everything you need, we begin making the Tesla coil.

Tesla coil from a hardware store

Having a pathological craving for plumbing fittings, I just can’t train myself to use them for their intended purpose. Ideas always pop into my head about what to make out of pipes, fittings and adapters so that I will never use them in plumbing again. This is what happened this time too. We make a high-voltage Tesla generator using plumbing fittings. Why this choice? Everything is very simple. I'm a proponent of elegant and repeatable technical solutions. A minimum of mechanics, finishing, finishing, finishing. Life should delight you with ease of decisions and elegance of forms.

What will you need?

The store had everything in stock and the purchase took literally a few minutes.
Everything you need is in the picture. I give the original names from store labels 1. Pipe 40×0.25m 2. Adapter ring to pipe 40mm 3. High-voltage varnish (was in the arsenal) 4. Adapter coupling to the smooth end of a cast iron pipe 50mm 5. Rubber cuff 50mm 6. Copper wire 0.14mm PEV-2 (from old stocks)

The cost of all accessories is about 200 rubles. When purchasing, it is better to choose a larger store so as not to explain to security guards and managers why you are connecting unconnected elements with each other and how to help you find what you need. We will also need a few more inexpensive parts, which will be discussed a little later. But first, let's digress a little...

Tesla coils and all that

A lot of different things have been said about Tesla, but most people (including me) are unanimous in their opinion - Tesla did a lot for the development of science and technology for his time. Many of his patents have come to life, but some still remain beyond understanding. But Tesla's main achievements can be considered research into the nature of electricity. Especially high voltage. Tesla amazed his acquaintances and colleagues with amazing experiments in which he easily and safely controlled high-voltage generators that produced hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of volts. In this article I describe the manufacture of a miniature Tesla generator, the theory of which has been studied quite well and in detail. Now let's get down to business!

What should we get?

In the end, we must assemble our device as shown in the photo:

Step 1. Winding the high voltage coil

We wind the main high-voltage coil onto the tube with a 0.1-0.15 mm wire. I had 0.14 mm wire in stock. This is perhaps the most boring activity. Winding must be done as carefully as possible, turn to turn. You can use a rig, but I wound the spools by hand. By the way, I always do something in at least two copies. Why? First of all, skill. The second product turns out to be just candy, and there will always be a person who will start begging for the device (give it as a gift, sell it, let it be used, etc.). I give away the first, the second remains in the collection, the eye rejoices, friendship grows stronger, harmony in the world increases.

Step 2: Insulate the High Voltage Coil

The next important step is to insulate the high voltage coil.
I won’t say that the reel needs to be impregnated with wax 20 times, wrapped in varnished cloth or boiled in oil. All these are Kolchak approaches. We are modern people, so we use high-voltage varnish (see the first photo. I don’t indicate the brand of varnish, you can Google it) and wide heat shrink. Apply varnish in two to three layers. Dry the layer for at least 20-30 minutes. The varnish applies perfectly. The result is great! The reel becomes simply eternal! The cost of varnish is not high. Three hundred rubles cylinder. I think there will be enough for a dozen similar devices. BUT!!! The varnish turned out to be VERY TOXIC!

Literally a minute later I had a headache and the cat started vomiting. The work had to be stopped. Urgently ventilate the room and stop applying varnish. I immediately had to run to the store. I should buy beer and milk for the cat to recover from poisoning:

According to good practice, applying varnish should be done under a hood, but (after saving myself and the cat) I did it outside. Fortunately, the weather was favorable, there was no wind or dust, and it didn’t rain. Then you need to put on a wide heat shrink and shrink the coil with a hot air gun. This must be done carefully, from the middle to the edges. It should be tight and even.

Step 3. Manufacturing the inductor and assembling the entire structure

Perhaps the most critical part of the generator.
I have analyzed many designs of similar devices and many authors make the same mistake. Firstly, a fairly thin wire is used, and secondly, there is no uniform and significant (at least 1 cm) gap with the high-voltage coil and many turns are used. This is completely unnecessary. 2..4 turns in the first third of the high-voltage coil are enough. For the inductor we use a hollow annealed copper tube with a diameter of 8 mm, which ensures minimal inductance and simply excellent characteristics of the generator during operation. We wind three turns onto the rubber cuff into the grooves. To prevent the tube from breaking, fill it tightly with fine sand. Then carefully pour out the sand. After assembling the entire structure, everything should look like in the photo: The copper tube is perhaps the most expensive item in this homemade product. As much as 150 rubles. Also purchased from a hardware store.

Some subtleties...

Subtleties are associated with the design of the inductor contacts. They are made of annealed copper strip and covered with heat shrink. This ensures minimal design inductance, which is very important. The contacts are hidden inside the coupling. All connections should be as short as possible and made with wide copper strips, which reduces various losses. We put an adapter-ring on the top of the device, which presses the copper round contact onto which the upper terminal of the high-voltage coil is soldered. The structure at the top is filled with liquid rubber. There is a mini-jack in the center.

Step 4. Connect and test the generator

There are approximately 2 million ways to power such a device. Let's focus on the simplest - using the diagram shown in this figure:

You will need a couple of resistors, a capacitor, and don’t forget to place a transistor on the radiator. Denominations are indicated. I think the resource of the circuit is not large, but given the cheapness of transistors and the urgency of the desire to see the result, this no longer counts.

If everything is assembled correctly, the circuit will work immediately. If there is no generation, then switch the inductor contacts the other way around. It worked for me right away. Generation starts at 5-7 volts. Already at 6 volts the generation is stable, at 12 volts everything around is blazing. In the photo you can see that the entire structure is blown by a fan, since the transistor gets quite hot, even though it is placed on a radiator. Surprisingly, the circuit is very reliable. At 12 volts it works for hours and is very stable. When the lights are off and the light bulb is “dead,” it shines brightly. It is better to take a more powerful power source for the coil (with an output current of at least 2-3 amperes).

A video of the device in operation can be viewed here.

It's not beer that kills people...

Let's not forget about safety.
Such devices within a radius of up to 2-3 meters can easily damage thin electronics, such as a mobile phone, digital watch on a wrist, etc. A high-frequency high-voltage generator has little effect on humans due to the “skin effect,” but still be careful. Children, cats, birds and unbalanced citizens should be kept at some distance from such devices when they are turned on. Remember this!

PS - At the request of some readers, I am adding a video with some details of the coil design. The video is available at the link.

What is a Tesla transformer used for?

Toy? Nothing like this. Using this principle, Tesla intended to build a global system of wireless energy transmission using ether energy. To implement such a scheme, two powerful transformers are needed, installed at different ends of the Earth, operating at the same resonant frequency.

In this case, there is completely no need for copper wires, power plants, or bills for paying for the services of monopoly electricity suppliers, since anyone anywhere in the world could use electricity completely unhindered and free of charge. Naturally, such a system will never pay for itself, since there is no need to pay for electricity. And if so, then investors are in no hurry to get in line to sell Nikola Tesla’s patent No. 645,576.

Step-by-step assembly of a Tesla coil yourself

So, we don’t need to demonstrate aerobatics, so we will make the simplest coil that uses a transistor in its assembly. It is the most economical in terms of time and money, and therefore is ideal for us.

Switching on, checking and adjusting

It is advisable to carry out the first start-up outdoors; you should also remove all household appliances away to prevent their breakdown. Remember safety precautions! To start, perform the following steps:

1. They go through the entire chain of wires and check that bare contacts do not touch anywhere, and that all nodes are securely fastened. In the arrester, a small gap is left between the bolts.
2. Apply voltage and observe the appearance of the streamer. If it is absent, a fluorescent lamp or incandescent lamp is brought to the secondary winding. It is advisable to secure them to a dielectric; a piece of PVC pipe will do. The appearance of a glow confirms that the Tesla transformer is working.
3. If there is no glow, swap the leads of the primary coil.

If it doesn't work out the first time, don't despair. Try changing the number of turns in the secondary winding and the distance between the windings. Tighten the bolts in the arrester.

Modern look and new developments

Despite widespread interest in creating a free energy generator, they are still unable to displace the classical method of generating electricity from the market. Developers of the past, who put forward bold theories about significantly reducing the cost of electricity, lacked the technical perfection of the equipment or the parameters of the elements could not provide the desired effect. And thanks to scientific and technological progress, humanity is receiving more and more inventions that make the embodiment of a free energy generator already tangible. It should be noted that today free energy generators powered by the sun and wind have already been obtained and are actively being used.

But, at the same time, on the Internet you can find offers to purchase such devices, although most of them are dummies created with the aim of deceiving an ignorant person. And a small percentage of actually operating free energy generators, whether on resonant transformers, coils or permanent magnets, can only cope with powering low-power consumers; they cannot provide electricity, for example, to a private house or lighting in a yard. Free energy generators are a promising direction, but their practical implementation has not yet been implemented.

Alternative source of electricity

This invention can be safely attributed to alternative sources of electricity. Due to its capabilities, the Tesla generator is a possible replacement for solar panels. It features a simple design that is easy to assemble and a minimal amount of materials used. Accordingly, the financial costs are also insignificant. A single device, of course, cannot be compared with a similar solar panel, but if you combine several units into one unit at once, you can get an acceptable result.

Many scientists are still debating the use of free energy when creating such a device. However, most modern technical achievements at the very beginning of their discovery were also considered beyond the reach of practical implementation. Until now, many areas related to energy and physical fields have remained unexplored. Only those species that are amenable to research, measurement and other sensations have been well studied. However, there are phenomena that cannot be measured in any way, since there are not even instruments for these purposes.

The Tesla transformer also fell into the unexplored category, since the principles of its operation diverge from generally accepted theories related to the production of electricity. To many scientists, it seems like a kind of perpetual motion machine that does not require energy for its work, and is also capable of producing other types of energy - electrical or thermal. These statements are related to the use of free energy by the generator, the origin of which has not yet been theoretically substantiated. That is, based on known laws, concepts and definitions, it is concluded that such a design will not work in practice, since it goes against the law of conservation of energy and does not comply with its principle.

While scientists argue, some home craftsmen create completely workable models that confirm theoretical assumptions in practice. For a deeper understanding of the processes, you should carefully study the design and operating principle of these devices.

Generator application

The Tesla generator and transformer were designed by the inventor as universal devices for wireless transmission of electrical energy. Nikola Tesla repeatedly conducted experiments confirming his theory, but, unfortunately, traces of the energy transfer reports were also lost or safely hidden, like many of his other designs. Developers have only recently begun to design devices to transmit energy, but only over relatively short distances (wireless phone chargers are a good example).

In an era of inevitable depletion of non-renewable natural resources (hydrocarbon fuels), the development and construction of alternative energy devices, including a fuel-free generator, is of great importance. A free energy generator with sufficient power can be used for lighting and heating homes. You should not refuse research citing a lack of experience and specialized education. Many important inventions were made by people who were professionals in completely different fields.

What it is

In fact, a fuel-free electric generator is a perpetual motion machine that does not require additional resources to operate. Obtaining free energy is the dream of humanity, which will become the impetus for the reconstruction of social relations of society and will lead to an evolutionary leap in development.

Ether Tesla

The idea of ​​obtaining alternative energy could be realized by a Tesla generator, which draws energy from the ether.

Important. There is a lot of debate about whether ether exists. According to N. Tesla, it is the lightest gas, made up of almost imperceptibly small particles. They move at unimaginable speed. N. Tesla believed that each type of wave operates at its own frequency and in a certain environment. Ether is a medium for almost instantaneous transmission of electromagnetic waves. Its field is capable of transmitting electromagnetic and gravitational waves over enormous distances.

Operating principle of a fuel-free generator

Ether is a source of unlimited energy. Electromagnetic waves permeate the atmosphere around us. The earth has a low energy potential, while light and sun rays have a high energy potential. If you install a trap between positively charged light particles and the negatively charged potential of the ground, you can generate an electric current. In this chain you need to insert a storage capacitor, for example, a lithium battery. It will capture and accumulate energy. When a power source is connected to the capacitor, the storage device will be discharged.

The main components of N. Tesla's fuel-free generator consist of:

1. Receiver located above the ground.
2. Storage capacitor.
3. Grounding.

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Note! A fuel-free electric generator is based on obtaining electric current from the ether. Two differently charged potentials are used. The earth is a resource of negative electrons, light waves, including those from the sun, are positive. One of the electrodes is grounded, the other is displayed on a shielded screen. A capacitor is installed in the circuit as a storage device, which accumulates energy.

Scheme on how to make a fuel-free Tesla generator with your own hands

Similar to a swing

To better understand the accumulation of large potential differences in a circuit, imagine a swing being rocked by an operator. The same oscillation circuit, and the person serves as the primary coil. The swing stroke is the electric current in the second winding, and the rise is the potential difference.

The operator swings and transmits energy. Over several times they accelerated greatly and rose very high; they concentrated a lot of energy in themselves. The same effect occurs with a Tesla coil, an excess of energy occurs, a breakdown occurs and a beautiful streamer is visible.

You need to oscillate the swing in accordance with the beat. Resonance frequency is the number of oscillations per second.

The length of the swing trajectory is determined by the coupling coefficient. If you swing a swing, it will swing quickly and move away exactly the length of a person’s arm. This coefficient is one. In our case, a Tesla coil with an increased coefficient is the same transformer.

A person pushes the swing, but does not hold it, then the coupling coefficient is small, the swing moves even further. It takes longer to swing them, but it doesn't require force. The coupling coefficient is greater the faster energy accumulates in the circuit. The potential difference at the output is less.

Quality factor is the opposite of friction, using the example of a swing. When friction is high, the quality factor is low. This means that the quality factor and coefficient are consistent for the highest swing height, or the largest streamer. In the transformer of the second winding of the Tesla coil, the quality factor is a variable value. It is difficult to reconcile the two values; it is selected as a result of experiments.

Security measures

Once you have collected the CT, you need to take some precautions before launching. First, you need to check the wiring in the room where you plan to connect the transformer. Secondly, check the insulation of the windings.

It is also worth remembering the simplest precautions. The voltage of the secondary winding is on average 700A, 15A is already fatal for a person. Additionally, it is worth putting away all electrical appliances; if they get into the coil’s operating area, they are likely to burn out.

CT is a revolutionary discovery of its time, underestimated today. Today the Tesla transformer is used only for the entertainment of home electricians and in light shows. You can make a coil yourself using available materials. You will need a PVC pipe, several hundred meters of copper wire, a couple of meters of copper pipes, a transistor and a couple of resistors.

Sources

• https://ElectroInfo.net/praktika/katushka-tesla-transformator-samostojatelnaja-sborka-sobstvennymi-silami.html
• https://rusenergetics.ru/ustroistvo/katushka-tesla
• https://altenergiya.ru/poleznye-stati/kak-izgotovit-prostuyu-katushku-tesla-v-domashnix-usloviyax.html
• https://odinelectric.ru/knowledgebase/katushka-tesla-svoimi-rukami
• https://ProTransformatory.ru/sdelay-sam/katushka-tesla-svoimi-rukami
• https://katushkamishina.ru/tehnologiya/kak-izgotovit-katushku-tesla
• https://elektronchic.ru/elektrotexnika/katushka-tesla-svoimi-rukami.html