What's the easiest way to build a tesla coil.

[RayRay1132]

I'm basically looking to build a tesla coil around some of the parts that I have, mainly a 6000 volt neon sign transformer. I've built tesla coils before but they weren't very good(I couldn't get more than 5 inch sparks out of a 15 inch secondary) I'm trying to get at least 10 inch sparks out of that same coil. Any advice/ideas on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance -Ray, KD2JID

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

DANYK.CZ - Electrotechnic schematics, howto, DIY

danyk.cz

scroll down little bit

 

[DerStrom8]

Start by researching how Tesla coils work. Once you actually understand their operation, you'll know how to improve its performance. Tesla coils should not be built by people who don't know how they work - that's a recipe for injury, property damage, and/or death.

 

[RayRay1132]

Start by researching how Tesla coils work. Once you actually understand their operation, you'll know how to improve its performance. Tesla coils should not be built by people who don't know how they work - that's a recipe for injury, property damage, and/or death.

I have a basic understanding of how they work. My main problem is building the MMC capacitor bank without spending a fortune, the previous capacitors that I used were the salt water type but they were very unreliable. Does anyone know of a somewhat decent yet cheap capacitor that would be good for building a MMC?

 

[DerStrom8]

I have a basic understanding of how they work. My main problem is building the MMC capacitor bank without spending a fortune, the previous capacitors that I used were the salt water type but they were very unreliable. Does anyone know of a somewhat decent yet cheap capacitor that would be good for building a MMC?

Sadly, unless you're extremely lucky and find a lot of small suitable capacitors for an unusually low price, the only "cheap" option is the homemade one. Nobody said Tesla Coiling was a cheap hobby