Collaborate Disseminate
Tesla coils are incredible pieces of hardware, but they can be tricky to build. Between the spark gap, capacitors, and finely tuned coils, it’s not exactly a beginners project. Luckily, there’s hope for anyone looking for a less complex way to shoot some sparks: the Slayer Exciter. This device can …read more
Continue reading Compact Slayer Exciter For Your High Voltage Needs
Everyone knows that one of the coolest things to do with a Tesla coil is to light up neon or fluorescent tubes at a distance. It’s an easy and very visual way to conceptualize how much energy is being pumped out, making it a favorite trick at science museums all …read more
Continue reading Visualizing Energy Fields with a Neon Bulb Array
We know, we know – “Kirlian photography” is a term loaded with pseudoscientific baggage. Paranormal researchers have longed claimed that Kirlian photography can explore the mood or emotional state of a subject through the “aura”, an energy field said to surround and emanate from all living things. It’s straight-up nonsense, …read more
Continue reading Simple Acrylic Plates Make Kirlian Photography a Breeze
In the late 1980s, the French musician [Jean-Michel Jarre] famously toured with a laser harp. The word among teenage fans was that he had to wear special gloves to stop his hands getting burned, because 1980s teens were both impressionable and didn’t know much about lasers. In fact we’re told …read more
Continue reading Because Conventional Laser Harps Aren’t Dangerous Enough
Okay, we’ve just left May and stepped into June, why are we talking about Arduino Day — traditionally a March 16th event where makers congregate and share projects? I live in Ho Chi Minh City, and the event tends to take place in mid-May, but the enthusiasm and collaborative …read more
Continue reading Fablab Saigon Celebrates a Belated Arduino Day
While at the Hacker Hotel camp in the Netherlands back in February, our attention was diverted to an unusual project. [Niklas Fauth] had bought along a Tesla coil, but it was no ordinary Tesla coil. Instead of the usual tall coil and doughnut-shaped capacity hat it took the form of …read more
It’s badgelife season, and if you need an idea for a killer piece of wearable electronics, look no further than this PCB Tesla coil. Yes, it’s killer, doubly so if you’re wearing a pacemaker.
This project was inspired by an earlier Tesla coil on a PCB project that used 160 …read more
What do you do when you find a 5 kW transmitting tube in your local electronics store? If you are [TannerTech], you build a vacuum tube tesla coil. This isn’t the usual little wimpy coil, but a big bad boy that would look at home in an old horror movie.
The first power up was a bit anticlimactic, although it was working, it wasn’t very spectacular other than the tube glowing brightly. A few adjustments and some mineral oil did the trick.
Honestly, the build details are a little sparse, but if you have any business building a coil this …read more
We all know the saying: cheap, fast, or good — pick any two. That rule seems to apply across the spectrum of hackerdom, from software projects to hardware builds. But this DIY Tesla coil build might just manage to deliver on all three.
Cheap? [Jay Bowles]’ Tesla coil is based on a handheld bug zapper that you can find for a couple of bucks, or borrow from the top of the fridge in the relatively bug-free winter months. The spark gap is just a couple of screws set into scraps of nylon cutting board — nothing fancy there. Fast? Almost …read more
Continue reading Low-End Parts Make Tesla Coil with a High-End Look
A Tesla coil easily makes it to the top spot on our list of “Mad Scientist” equipment we want for the lab, second only to maybe a Jacob’s Ladder. Even then, it’s kind of unfair advantage because you know people only want a Jacob’s Ladder for that awesome sound it makes. Sound effects not withstanding, it’s Tesla coil all the way, no question.
Unfortunately, winding your own Tesla coil is kind of a hassle. Even on relatively small builds, you’ll generally need to setup some kind of winding jig just to do the secondary coil, which can be a project …read more
