Build a Plasma Speaker

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

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The Plasma Speakerby Plasmana on October 23, 2008

Table of Contents

The Plasma Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   The Plasma Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   The dangers you must know... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   Schematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 3:   So, how does it actually work!?!?!? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4:   What you will need... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 5:   Build the prototype on the bread board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 6:   Test the prototype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 7:   Build the circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 8:   Final test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 9:   Enjoy and impress your friends! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 10:   How to use the plasma speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 11:   Interesting discharges... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Author:Plasmana––––––––––––––––––––––––

My motto:"Energy cannot be created nor destroyed!"

––––––––––––––––––––––––I have a brain condition called Asperger syndrome, so I may be a bit strange to you... And I tend to take things a bit too literally.––––––––––––––––––––––––I love anything that can light up the skies and ending with an loud band, lighting, fireworks, and EXPLOSIVES! As long as no harm has been done, thereforeI absolutely hate wars, what is the point?

I was born and raised in New Orleans, USA, then my family finally decided to move to England after Hurricane Katrina gave us a push to do so. After wemoved, I developed great interest in electronics, then igh voltage electronics. I have archived many projects I wanted to do, but never succeeded atconstructing the ultimate project, the Tesla Coil...

But I am not that easily discouraged, I will continue working on until I succeed. There is a saying that my Gran always say, "The first you failed, try and tryagain until you succeed!"

Now I go to College and study Electrics (not surprising!) to get my qualification, because all of this dang ultra strict Health and Safety laws!––––––––––––––––––––––––

Intro:  The Plasma SpeakerAre you tired of those old black speakers that only just make sounds? Maybe sound reactive lights are just not enough to impress you? How about a Plasma Speaker?

A plasma speaker is a device that generates an high voltage electrical arc that makes purple light and music! Without any speakers or any moving parts! Sounds toogood to be true? Well, you're wrong, the high voltage arc really does 'sing' by vibrating in the air. (Of course, you will need to give the device musical audio for it to work.)And just leave this instructable if you still don't believe me...

And this is something I always wanted to build - I have been dreaming to build one for about 6 months, until Kiteman has greatly boosted my encouragement to buildone. (Thanks Kiteman!)

The video of my plasma speaker - early prototype.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Image Notes1. Its working and singing away!

Step 1: The dangers you must know...A plasma speaker is no toy...

Health HazardUnlike the ordinary speakers, the plasma speaker are dangerous high voltage device, do NOT attempt to build this device unless you know what you are doing... And doNOT even attempt to build one if you have heart problems or weak heart or wearing a pacemaker, because one little shock from this thing can put you out...I am not responsible for any injuries or deaths caused by this device.

Why should you know all of this? it is because you can ONLY live once, and no more...If you don't think that you shouldn't build one, just watch movies of it working instead, much better than risking your life to build and operate one.If you think you are okay to build one without killing your self, then move on to the next step.

Hazard to ElectronicsSince the plasma speaker generates high voltages, there is a chance there will be high voltage spikes on the low voltage side of the device, which can get onto the audioline and damage (or destroy) the player. They are some safety features to prevent the spikes damaging the player, but they can fail... So I am not responsible if yourplayer gets damaged, and use cheap players like CD players, if you're rich, you can use expensive players if you want. :-)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 2: SchematicsI got the idea from scopeboy's website on his flyback driver section, but the schematic was quite complex and buying four MOSFET's is a little too expensive for me...

So I simplified the design to using one MOSFET.

I get a lot of complainants of this project is not working very well or at all. This new design WORKs, however, for most people it may not work. This is due to the MOSFET(and some other components) is poor quality.

I just recently found out that manufacture who makes the components sell the best quality ones to other manufactures and sell the poorer quality ones to the wholesellers and retailers. For this project, the best grade MOSFET's is critical, and it can only be gotten by salvaging old electronic devices, unless you are willing to pay forthousands of components for the manufacture... :-)

Image Notes1. Sorry, I made an error, I meant 47uF 250v.

Step 3: So, how does it actually work!?!?!?Okay, you must be very curious how the plasma speaker works...

Note: This information is technical, skip this step if you don't understand...

The TL494 acts like an oscillator and a modulator, it generates a high frequency (5KHz to 45KHz) to drive the flyback transformer to make high voltage arcs. Then whenyou give it audio, the TL494 modulates the audio frequency into the main high frequency. Now the flyback transformer is being driven by the high frequency and the audiofrequency, and when the arc is produced, the arc vibrates the air with both the audio and high frequency creating sounds.If you tune up the 22K potentiometer, the high frequency increases, when it goes higher than 20KHz, we cannot hear it, but only the audio frequency...

I hope you can kinda understand this..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 4: What you will need...You will need quite a lot of stuff to make the plasma speaker...

Parts:

TL494 chip (Datasheet for TL494)200uF (or 220uF) - 50v electrolytic capacitor47nF - 250v (or similar voltage ratings) capacitor100nF - 50v capacitor10nF - 50v capacitor2.2K - 1/4W resistor10 ohm - 1/4W resistorUF4007 diode (or other fast diode that is rated 1A (or more) and 500v (or more)10K - 1/4W potentiometer (same thing as a variable resistor)22K - 1/4W potentiometer (same thing as a variable resistor)Audio jackWiresIRF540 MOSFET (other MOSFET's with similar ratings should work)Large heatsinkFlyback transformer (can be found from old CRT.)12v power source (for TL494 oscillator / I used a 9v battery)12v to 40v power source (for the flyback transformer)Breadboard (for testing)Veroboard

I bought most of my electronic parts from Farnell .

Tools:

Soldering ironWire strippersWire cuttersPliersHelping handsHot glue gun

Abilities:

Good with a soldering iron.Can read schematics.Know what you are doing when you are dealing with high voltage.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 5: Build the prototype on the bread boardDo what the title says... Build the circuit on the bread board!

Why on a bread board and not build it directly onto the veroboard?

Well, it is a very good idea to build the prototype on the bread board before you solder the components onto the veroboard because...

You will get a better idea on how to build a 'real' one on the veroboard.You can make sure all the components are working fine, if not, you can replace it easily.You can modify or tweet the circuit a bit to give the plasma speaker a better performance.

I built my circuit using my simplified schematic on the bread board that is connected to the "Electronic Lab" kit that I got a long time ago.

To connect the flyback transformer to the circuit, wind 5 or more turns of thick solid-core wire on the ferrite core. That will be your primary coil.

Image Notes1. MOSFET with a massive heatsink.2. TL494 oscillator,3. part of the flyback transformer.4. 12v power source.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Image Notes1. Sorry, I made an error, I meant 47uF 250v.

Step 6: Test the prototypeAfter you had built it, go ahead and test it!If it does not work, don't get all frustrated or anything like that, go back and check your circuit closely, make sure there are no missing connections, and check thecomponents are properly connected to the circuit...

Mine works quite well, unfortunately, the MOSFET is wasting large amounts of energy into heat, so it is blazing hot... I have to make the heat sink bigger to try keep itcool longer. But it still goes blazing hot after three minutes of continuous operation.Oh well, that is my efficient design so far...

If yours working well with out very much problem, thats great!

Image Notes1. Huge heat sink!2. Tiny MOSFET...

Image Notes1. Its working and singing away!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 7: Build the circuitAfter you have tested to make sure everything is working, start building the prototype onto the veroboard.

If you notice in the pictures, I use an 16 pin socket for the TL494, it is really good idea to use sockets for the IC' s because you won't risk heat damage from soldering,and if the IC fails, you can easily replace it instead of desoldering it and solder another one in..I also added an LED indicator, that is a good idea to add that on too, so you know whether the circuit is on or off. The LED indicator is connected to the TL494's powersupply line.

After you had done soldering, make sure you made nice shiny solder joints and they are no solder bridges. If you think it is all good enough, add some dab of hot glueonto the loose components and wires for strain relief.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Image Notes1. Sorry, I made an error, I meant 47uF 250v.

Step 8: Final testOkay, you are very close...Test your plasma speaker to make sure if it is working or not.

If its working, let out a sigh of relive that you did it!

If its not working, don't overreact of frustrated, (I know it is very frustrating when something does not work).A few things can go wrong with this circuit, here is a list of some problems...

Solder bridge - That is the most common problem in soldering.Some connections missed out - Also another common problem...Damaged components

Try find and fix the problem, there is no point giving up - unless you are really lazy to do so...

After you got your plasma speaker working, it is a good idea to the circuit into a project box. I will protect the electronics from being damaged from foreign objects andprotects people from an electrical shock.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 9: Enjoy and impress your friends!Well, there is the instructions to make your own Plasma Speaker! Go ahead and pump in your favorite music then listen and watch the arc dance with the music andadmire what you had built...

Then show it to your friends and family, I can guarantee you they will be greatly impressed.

When my Dad first saw my plasma speaker in operation, his first words about it are: "What the f... Tha... Thats impossible." He is wrong, nothing is impossible... Nothing.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Step 10: How to use the plasma speakerHere is how you can control the plasma speaker with the two potentiometers.

The 10K potentiometer is used to change the TL494's internal oscillator frequency - from 5KHz to 50KHz. If you want to play music on the arc, tune the frequency up untilyou don't hear it and play the music. Note: The 10K potentiometer does NOT affect the input audio (music).

I am not too sure what the 22K potentiometer's job is, but it seems to change the volume of the audio, fiddle with the 22K potentiometer until you can hear the musicloudly. Note: Making the music louder will shorten the length of the arc.

Step 11: Interesting discharges...Just a little story I like to tell you about...

While I was testing (well, playing) my plasma speaker, the 12v battery is going flat and the arcs are becoming unimpressively short. So I replaced the battery with my labPSU I modified from an ATX PSU and put an 22,000uF capacitor in parallel with its 12v output and ground.The 22,000uF capacitor is used to adsorb any high voltage spikes that may appear on the line.

When I connect the PSU's power to the plasma speaker and turned it on...

The arc are very different, instead of a sting of purple light, the arc flaps furiously and it makes very interesting light display. But this is not suitable for a plasma speaker,because the arcs flaps so much it just simply drowned out the music...

Here is a video of the arcs.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed this instructable!If you have any questions, or need help, or found an error, or anything, make a comment! I like comments! :-)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

Image Notes1. A funny looking Jacob's Ladder...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

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Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 1360 comments

 www.microbike.ie says:  Mar 6, 2011. 1:34 PM  REPLYwhat is the running cost and how loud it is?

 teslacoilguitaramp,helpmeplz says:  Mar 1, 2011. 6:19 PM  REPLYand one other thing, how much does this cost to produce, i have a tight budget, and everything needs to be bought slowly, and the more expensive it is thelonger it will take.

 teslacoilguitaramp,helpmeplz says:  Mar 1, 2011. 6:17 PM  REPLYi created a profiole to ask you, or anyone, will this work with a Tesla coil, all i want to do is make a tesla coil guitar amp and this would be a major step for megetting there. and the more people help me the sooner i may be able to make a page on how to do that. so please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Enoch23 says:  Feb 26, 2011. 3:20 PM  REPLYwhy not use more mosfets. I have seen a scematic that uses 3 or 4 i believe, and they all have little heatsinks on them...

 uberdum05 says:  Feb 20, 2011. 3:23 AM  REPLYCouldn't you parallel up more IRF540's to get more power handling capability and then you could share the load between them all?

 jaaz95 says:  Oct 10, 2010. 6:09 AM  REPLYcan you replace the flyback transformer with a NST and use this circuit in a tesla coil? if so is it even necessary to switch out the flyback transformer?

 TimTD says:  Feb 19, 2011. 9:26 AM  REPLYNo, because NSTs have an iron transformer core, so they cannot handle frequencies above 1 khz, while flyback transformers have feritte cores and workfrom about 15khz to 60khz. Since this circuit puts out high frequency, an NST will not work.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

 jaydenr says:  Feb 16, 2011. 9:43 PM  REPLYHow "reliable" is this plasma speaker? i mean how likely is the mosfet to overheat and fail? etc. i just ask because i see the link to an instructable above thatsays " A reliable plasma speaker".

 imagigadgets says:  Feb 12, 2011. 4:53 PM  REPLYI was thinking of how cool it would be if a guitar could plug into one of these. Is it possible to extend the circuit simply and turn it into a guitar amp?

 j_l_larson says:  Feb 12, 2011. 3:38 PM  REPLYwhy no video of the finished project?

 junojuno says:  Dec 12, 2010. 10:03 AM  REPLYcan anyone help me? just a little favor, the required power source was at least 12 voltis there any specific amp for both power supply (for TL494 and flyback)?is it ok if i just use 12 volt 500 mA?thanks for your answer, and pardon my bad english.. LOL

 lasermaster3531 says:  Feb 1, 2011. 8:16 PM  REPLYA flyback driver circuit needs a lot more than 500ma to work. A circuit like this will draw between 5 and 20 amps. Your best bet would be getting acomputer PSU with a big filter cap or a laptop power brick with a big filter cap or a 12 or more volt lead acid battery like a car battery. Bcantley2010 youare thinking of a 500mAh battery which can supply 500 milliamps for an hour. Amps in an hour is like saying gallons per minute per hour. An amp is ameasure of current flow. A 500mAh battery wouldn't last long at all if it would work at all because the very high power draw. Hope this helps.

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:49 PM  REPLYSomeone correct me if i am wrong but i wired this project and monitored the current draw. It was around 6 amps.

so you have a battery that can supply .5 amps in one hour.

I believe it would work just fine, although i assume the runtime you may anticipate from your battery would approximately last only roughly 5 minutes.

 jbryan says:  Jan 30, 2011. 5:02 PM  REPLYi went to that site and looked for that flyback transformer but idk specifically what specs it requires can you help me out with that?

 Ryan McDougall says:  Dec 13, 2010. 9:20 PM  REPLYI made my the driver on a bread board when i conected it all up....... nothing happend ,The IRF540did't get warm and there was no spark etieri went over the diagram hundreds of times but it don't work

im frustrated..............................

please help.

 Blue_Bird says:  Dec 15, 2010. 1:20 PM  REPLYAre you sure you wired up the flyback transformer correctly?

 Ryan McDougall says:  Jan 11, 2011. 1:29 AM  REPLYI took apart the circut and put it back to gether again and it is now working.......sorry......

great circut !!!!!

thank you

 Fenex says:  Oct 19, 2010. 7:40 AM  REPLYhow many spins in the secondary??

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 2:02 PM  REPLYThe ratio between the primary and secondary greatly varies. if you put a small a/c voltage across the primary and measure the voltage output on thesecondary you can calculate what the turns ratio is.

unless you can find the data sheet then its really easy.

 melkior34 says:  Nov 1, 2010. 1:40 PM  REPLYwell..the secondary is inside the flyback..so i think they are a lot of spins inside ...because the transformation coefficient is very big !

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

 szechuan53 says:  Nov 7, 2010. 9:21 AM  REPLYdoes the inductance of the transformer matter?

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:57 PM  REPLYyes completely ideally you want the transformer to resonate with its supporting circuitry.

 st3vvpidvu says:  Nov 24, 2010. 10:25 AM  REPLYCan anyone help me? Really confused where the negatives go in the schematics. Is it just connected to another piece of metal to ground the wiring? orconnected to the 0v which is hte negative?

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:55 PM  REPLYAll the negatives are tied to a common ground ie: the negative terminal on your power supply.

 grenadier says:  Nov 26, 2010. 2:39 PM  REPLYJust use a circuit that doesn't tend to blow up.

http://teravolt.org/Plasma_Speaker_1.htm

 st3vvpidvu says:  Nov 26, 2010. 10:46 PM  REPLYOh my goodness why isnt this video posted for plasmana lol. thanks a lot!!

 Crazakis says:  Nov 30, 2010. 9:14 AM  REPLYHow you connect the flyback?

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:54 PM  REPLYstep 1. Identify the pin out of the x-former you have.

step 2. identify the primary and secondary windings for mine i used pins 1 and 2 for primary and the cathode and pin 8 as HV return

step 3. start to wire from the schematic one connection at a time.

 isma14 says:  Dec 17, 2010. 11:58 AM  REPLYSo, what pins we connect in flyback transformer??

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:37 PM  REPLYhttp://www.instructables.com/answers/how-to-find-flyback-transformer-pinout/

 taoybb-TH says:  Jan 7, 2011. 7:15 AM  REPLYHI which flyback transformer i can use? Modern or Old (B-W TV) or any?

 taoybb-TH says:  Jan 4, 2011. 11:23 PM  REPLYIt's OK or not if i change fet to IRFP250 or if i want to parallel how can i do seperate Rg or share?

and how about this heatsink this is big enough i bought it for 100baht per one of these (3USD) it weight about 1KG it very old but why modern heatsink arevery lightweight (same size)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

 seabeepirate says:  Dec 31, 2010. 9:02 PM  REPLYSo correct me if I'm wrong, but assuming that you've salvaged the flyback mosfets and power supply, this actually looks like it's a project that can be built forless than $20 USD?

 gobitz says:  May 27, 2009. 7:48 AM  REPLYIf you put a smaller heatsink on the mosfet and put it in mineral oil then the temperature should be quite lower, until it warms up the mineral oil.

 Gasburner says:  May 29, 2009. 12:38 PM  REPLYYou could make a crude water cooling loop with your idea. Simply gain a water cooling loop (a computer one), create a reservoir from something that iwllnot melt, and have an input pipe and an output pipe. Then connect the fans and pump to a 12V DC supply and away you go. The pump may kill itself ifyou use mineral oil, but find something else. Anyway, the liquid is pumped past the MOSFET and then into a radiator, where fans dissipate the heat :DShould be really effective (note: SHOULD be, it may not work)(this is a disclaimer :])

 seabeepirate says:  Dec 31, 2010. 7:37 PM  REPLYGood thinking gobitz. I had forgotten all about this until you mentioned it.

Using a large container with a thin wall, filled with mineral oil, the entire surface of the container could be used as the heatsink. Perhaps a popcorntin? It might not need to be that big, I don't know. I'd still attach a small heatsink directly to the MOSFET as gobitz suggested. I think it would helpdistribute the heat to the oil for better cooling.

As an electrician in the Navy I was given a basic knowledge of transformers and most transformers that I dealt with used the oil and case as theirheatsink. Usually the case was around 2-3 times the size of the actuall transformer if memory serves me. I seem to remember that most of what isactually in a "pole pig" is just oil to help cool the transformer.

I like Gasburner's idea too but I think the oil is a much simpler and probably safer idea. No pumps, the oil works as an insulator, and less chance thata leak will cause any major problems. Not to mention it's probably cheaper unless you happen to have the spare water cooler already.

Theoretically the oil could eventually evaporate and as the MOSFET heats the oil you could end with a fire on your hands, but you'd have to run thisnonstop for quite a while before it became an issue I think. Periodically checking your oil level and temp could easily prevent this though. You couldeasily have too little oil for this but never too much, so don't be afraid to use a bigger container.

Great instructable! I was actually reading this hoping I might be able to use it with a tesla coil. What do you think?

 carebare47 says:  Dec 2, 2010. 4:45 PM  REPLYI get the circuit, but could someone explain what the capacitor from the audio jack does?

 hyperphreak says:  Dec 27, 2010. 12:49 PM  REPLYI´m pretty sure that´s a voltage spike absorber (Correct me if I´m wrong.), if so then it´s suposed to protect you CD player, MP3, phone etc.Wouldn´t be that great to have high voltage feedback going into your precious gadgets or computer!

 ill matics 99 says:  Dec 21, 2010. 6:39 AM  REPLYIf I had to guess, I’d say it acts as a type of filter for the audio input.

 htc109 says:  Mar 21, 2010. 11:32 AM  REPLY can anyone give me advice on a good enough power source or atleast how to make one using some kind of batteries or power adapters????

 bcantley2010 says:  Dec 21, 2010. 3:57 PM  REPLYa car battery will work

 kisalvador says:  Apr 14, 2010. 1:01 AM  REPLYhavent tried it yet, nor have i built this plasma speaker, but i do know car alarm transmitter batteries are rated at 12V

 http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3538773&clickid=prod_cs

radioshack isnt the best place for components but batteries should be fine lol

 Plasmana says:  Mar 21, 2010. 4:54 PM  REPLYYou can use a car battery...

Power supplies are not recommended as they have 'noise' in the lines, it will interfere the performance of the plasma speaker.

 randomapps says:  Apr 18, 2010. 1:57 AM  REPLY i have a power supply which is 30v would a capacitor to filter the noise?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Plasma-Speaker/

 bcantley2010 says:  Jan 10, 2011. 1:43 PM  REPLY3 12 volt batteries in series would give you 36 vdc with less ripple. if you have a o-scope you could always take a look at the ripple with the powersupply you currently have.

If you use a oscilloscope's AC coupling setting it will reject the supply's DC and reveal any ripple

 kool1zero says:  Dec 20, 2010. 11:58 PM  REPLYwhere does everyone get these nice neat diagrams?

 jomac_uk says:  Dec 11, 2010. 4:23 PM  REPLYPlasmana,Another small point to add if i may, i did a little google because something didn't look right and i wasnt sure what, practically every circuit for an EHT flybackgenerator had a flyback suppression capacitor across the UF4007

I also tend to agree with electrojohn and his comments.

I had heard of these systems, but never seen one in operation until i saw your video, and was i impressed!!

 TECHMASTERJOE says:  Dec 10, 2010. 12:48 AM  REPLYrunning 2 mosfet in parallel to help with the load yes you can do it i have ant it helps a lot with heat

 disturbedreaper says:  Dec 2, 2010. 5:22 PM  REPLYI have a MOSFET that has a rating of 100v and 12A while the one used here has a rating of 100v and 22A. do I need those extra amps? Also, is the heatcreated a result th MOSFET used in the instructable not being able to handle the amps or just the use of it?

 ElvenChild says:  Nov 28, 2010. 8:26 AM  REPLYthe flapping arc video is a private video

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