Building-a-solid-state-tesla-coil

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Building a solid state tesla coilby spark light on November 28, 2010

Table of Contents

License:   Attribution Share Alike (by-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro:   Building a solid state tesla coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1:   The overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 2:   Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

step 3:   Parts in parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 4:   The Voltage Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5:   The interupter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

step 6:   Antenna section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

step 7:   Gate drive section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

step 8:   Gate drive transformer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

step 9:   Mounting mosfets to heatsink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

step 10:   The half bridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

step 11:   Primary coil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

step 12:   Setup/test! Yay!!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Intro:  Building a solid state tesla coil!This instructable is meant to give detailed instructions on building a solid state tesla coil based off of steve ward's mini sstc schematic.Ok, here's  the disclaimer. *********************************************************   I do not hold any responsibility or your use or misuse of this information, in any way. I am not a trained professional and I cannot protect you from thevoltages that are part of this project, and any damage this project may cause, wether it be to animal or material. The user assumes all responsibility for theactions they take.*********************************************************   Well, now that that's over, lets get on to what a tesla coil actually is. A tesla coil usually has these key components:*power source*Switching circuit*Resonant Capacitor (only for drsstcs, some vttc,s and regular spark gap type coils)*Primary coil*Secondary coil   The tesla coil was invented around 1891 by Nikola Tesla. His original intention for the device was to create a wireless energy distribution system. Unfortunately, hisdesign could not send power at even close to reasonable efficiency, as the power was almost all being wasted on corona and arcing. Today, we coilers take this to anadvantage.    But what males the tesla coil truly magnificent is the voltage it produces. A typical spark gap type coil takes (usually) the voltage from your wall socket, and steps it upto a couple thousand volts, where it then goes through the switching circuit, through the primary, and is seen on the secondary side as more that 200,000 volts! But howdid tesla do this?   The answer is resonance. A resonant circuit, usually consisting of a capacitor and inductor, is much like a slinky. (stretched out) When you give it a push, it bouncesback and forth losing momentum with each pass. However, if you keep hitting it every time it comes back, it will start to move really far back and forth at the same speed.(Or frequency) The frequency at which you hit it is it's resonance.   The secondary coil is like our spring. But how do we get voltage from it? Certainly not by hitting it. No, you have to use an oscillating magnetic field from the primary coilto excite it. A normal spark gap type TC would use a resonant capacitor and a spark gap to produce the oscillation, where as our coil (sstc) will use feedback from the coilitself to drive the primary. (using an antenna.)~~for more info on how a tesla coil works, head on over to Richie Burnett's site or the wiki.

Image Notes1. Sparkz!

step 1: The overview     Our coil will be a solid state type. The schematic we are using was made by steve ward, and belongs to him. This circuit is a relatively simple circuit as far as teslacoils go, and is a good place to start for a coiler that is new to solid state drive. I will say that you should only attempt this if you are confidant that you can work withmains voltage, as this coil does have direct mains voltage running through part of it.     Unfortunately, I cannot currently put up the steps to wind the secondary coil, but I will put up an intractable as soon as possible. But generally, what you need to do iswind many tight turns of thin magnet wire around a pvc form. Don't make it too tall. A good ratio for height is that the height is about 3 to 5 times the diameter.    Anyway, what you will get out of this coil is approximately 7-8 inch sparks. (Depending on how you set the interrupter) I'll go over this later, but for now, that is what youcan expect. Trust me, you'll have fun.*****EDIT: That mystery symbol appears because instructables cant handle the µ and ? symbol in pictures. go figure! it works here.

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step 2: Equipment    A tesla coil is a very interesting, and fairly complicated device. Aside from building this coil, There is some special equipment I highly recommend using if you powerthis little beast up. There are dangers involved in a mains-powered-hundred-thousand-volt-producing machine, as it turns out. :D     We wil be doing a lot of soldering for this coil. And I mean a lot of soldering. I used up about five feet of solder at least! So, with that considered, our first items are asoldering iron and a desoldering iron/desoldering pump/soldering wick of some sort, that is, unless you can solder perfectly. Now, unless you have a fancy super durablesoldering iron, It is likely that you will be using a radioshack iron. It has been my experience that the tips on these things, even with the most obsessive cleaning, thesetips just get eaten away. So, buy an extra tip. ;) You will also want some flush lead clippers to trim down component leads. In case you don't have a store near you, hereare some links:******************Soldering ironDesoldering ironExtra tipLead clippers******************    Now, As I said before, there is more to the coil than building it. When we test it, we should not just go and jam the plug into the wall socket. The equipment I say youmust have before you power this thing up is a variac, or switch of some sort two protect yourself from full mains. What a variac is is basically a variable transformer. Itallows you to alter the voltage that flows from the wall socket to your device, much like a gigantic kilowatt volume dial. You can find a good variac for around 80 dollars ata local electronics store, assuming they haven't completely turned ti consumer electronics, but I'd recumbent getting one online from say, Fry's electronics. They have twomodels. A low power one and a high power one. The low power on was enough for me to use on this project.********************Low power variacHigh power variac********************    While this Is all the equipment I would require myself, It is nice to have an oscilloscope for measuring gate drive waveforms and looking at interrupter input. It is alsonice to have a variable DC power supply for testing the low voltage electronics, but again, it is not required.

Image Notes1. Damp paper towel for tip cleaning2. Soldering and desoldering irons3. Tip4. Lead trimmers

Image Notes1. GIANT DIAL OF AWESOMENESS2. Power in.3. Controllable output

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Image Notes1. Osilloscope

Image Notes1. Yup.2. Voltage control.3. Current control4. Voltage out.5. Current used.6. Ground7. Voltage plus.

step 3: Parts in partsAs you can see from the schematic, there are plenty of parts to this circuit.So, lets get starter with thefundamental power components:******************************25v 2a transformerbridge rectifierlm7805lm781250v 2200 µF capacitor (X2)25v 1000 µF capacitor 5.6k? resistor2.2k? resistorBlue LED (X2)******************************Now, the Interrupter components:********************************0.1 µF decoupling capacitorNE555 10k? linear potentiometer (X2)1n4007 diode (X2)2.2k? resistor0.1 µF capacitor (This can actually be any value you like, It will simply alter the arc appearance/interrupter speed.)*********************************Next, we move on to the antenna section:***********************************0.1 µF decoupling capacitor74hc14 hex inverter6-8 inch long piece of wire1n60 diode0.1 µF capacitor***********************************

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Now, we move on to the gate drive components:*********************************UCC37322UCC373211 µF decoupling capacitor (X2)0.1 µF capacitor2 foot long strand of wire (X3)Ferrite toroid*********************************Now, for the scary mains filter:******************************Bridge rectifier200v 680 µF capacitor******************************Finally, the muscle of this circuit, the half bride:*************************************************IRFP260N mosfet (X2)    200v 0.68 µF capacitor (X 2)5? 2W resistorsInsulating thermal pads (X2, TO-247 type)**Heatsink with two matching screws and holes*Thick non-stranded wire, about five feet*************************************************ALMOST FORGOT! don't forget****************************************SOLDER****************************************These are the necessary components. I used digi-key because they are easy to use.*I got my heatsink from an old atx power supply. There are full of useful stuff!**Usually also found in tax power supplies.I also recommend getting some terminal connectors. They make everything so much easier.***********************Terminal connectors***********************

Image Notes1. 2200uF 50v capacitors2. 1000uF 25v capacitor3. LM7812 12 volt regulator4. LM7805 5 volt regulator5. LEDs6. Low power bridge recitier7. Terminal8. 2.2k and 5.6k resistors were supposed to be here.

Image Notes1. NE5552. 0.1uF decoupling capacitor3. 2.2k resistor4. 1n4148 diode5. 1n4148 diode6. 10k potentiometer7. 10k potentiometer8. 0.1uF capacitor

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Image Notes1. Actual antenna2. 74HC143. 0.1uF capacitor4. 1N4148 diodes5. Not pictured: 0.1µF decoupling cap

Image Notes1. UCC373222. UCC373213. 0.1uF capacitor (I actually used a 0.4 one.)4. 2.2uF decoupling capacitors

Image Notes1. 0.68µF capacitors were supposed to be here.2. 5.0 2W resistors3. 680uF filter capacitor4. High power bridge rectifier5. Mosfets were mounted with... ---->6. these to the | | V7. Heatsink

step 4: The Voltage SupplySo, the first part of the circuit I chose to solder was the voltage supply. This was primarily because it is connected to every other part of the circuit. Anyway, I first solderedin the terminal for connecting the transformer in, right next to it, the low voltage bridge rectifier. Luckily, they match up!  *A tip for soldering long or high current connections: Lay down a piece of metal wire to the path you want to solder. It makes it much easier to apply.PARTS:******************************25v 2a transformerBridge rectifierLM7805LM781250v 2200 µF capacitor (X2)25v 1000 µF capacitor5.6k? resistor2.2k? resistorBlue LED (X2)****************************** 

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Image Notes1. Transformer2. Bridge rectifier3. 2200µF cap.4. 12 volt regulator5. 5 volt regulator6. I actually used 2200µF7. 1000µF capacitor

Image Notes1. 2200uF 50v capacitors2. 1000uF 25v capacitor3. LM7812 12 volt regulator4. LM7805 5 volt regulator5. LEDs6. Low power bridge recitier7. Terminal8. 2.2k and 5.6k resistors were supposed to be here.

Image Notes1. Terminal block2. Bridge rectifier

Image Notes1. Mah' getto solder wires2. Bridge rectifier3. 2200µF cap4. 12v regulator5. 2200µF capacitor6. 1000µF capacitor7. 5v regulator8. LED indicator. Showing 12v is OK.9. LED indicator. Showing 5v is OK.10. Terminal

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Image Notes1. Terminal2. Ground3. 2200µF capacitor4. 12v regulator5. 2200µF capacitor6. 5v regulator7. 1000µF capacitor8. Bridge rectifier9. Filtered transformer voltage.10. Filtered 12 volts.11. Filtered 5 volts

step 5: The interupterNext, we move to the interrupter. This is the part that turns the coil on and off. (we need to limit the onetime so that we don't completely wear out those mosfets. Thereason we have chosen to make this part before the rest (After the power supply) is so that we can test it before finalizing any connection to turn on the coil.PARTS:********************************0.1 µF decoupling capacitorNE55510k? linear potentiometer (X2)1n4007 diode (X2)2.2k? resistor0.1 µF capacitor (This can actually be any value you like, It will simply alter the arc appearance/interrupter speed.)********************************* 

Image Notes1. I used 0.1µF2. 'Scope this3. Potentiometers4. 1N4148 diodes5. 0.1µF decoupler capacitor6. 2.2k? resistor7. NE555 brain

Image Notes1. NE5552. 1N4148 diode3. 1N4148 diode4. 0.1µF capacitor5. 0.1µF decoupling capacitor6. 2.2k? resistor7. 10k? potentiometer8. 10k? potentiometer

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Image Notes1. NE5552. OUTPUT3. 2.2k? resistor4. 1N4148 diode5. 1N4148 diode6. 0.1µF capacitor7. 10k? potentiometer

Image Notes1. NE5552. capacitor3. potentiometers4. OUTPUT

Image Notes1. Ontime2. Off time3. about 55% ontime4. This is why I recommend an oscilloscope.

step 6: Antenna sectionNow, we will put together our antenna section. This part of the circuit is designed to capture feedback from the secondary to keep the circuit resonating. Because we usefeedback to provide the signal to our halfbridge, the coil is always in tune! No worrying if you have that pesky 555 on the right frequency.***********************************0.1 µF decoupling capacitor74HC14 hex inverter6-8 inch long piece of wire1N4148 diode0.1 µF capacitor***********************************

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Image Notes1. un-inverts the signal2. Inverter/buffer takes the analog signal and turns it into a digital one, inverts thewave.3. Clamp the input to the rails so as to protect the IC.4. Limits input5. 0.1µF decoupling capacitor

Image Notes1. Actual antenna2. 74HC143. 0.1uF capacitor4. 1N4148 diodes5. Not pictured: 0.1µF decoupling cap

Image Notes1. 74HC142. Capacitor3. Antenna goes here4. 1N4148 diode5. OUTPUT6. POWER and GROUND

Image Notes1. 74HC142. Decoupling capacitor3. 1N4148 diode4. 1N4148 diode5. 0.1µF capacitor6. Antenna

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step 7: Gate drive sectionIn this step, we will assemble the part of the circuit that combines and amplifies the interrupter and feedback signals to drive the gate drive transformer. These parts canfail more than others, so it's not a bad idea to instal sockets.

*********************************UCC37322UCC373211 µF decoupling capacitor (X2)0.47 µF capacitor*********************************

Image Notes1. UCC373222. UCC373213. The 0.1µF capacitor, but I chose 0.47µF instead. It improves gate drive!4. 1.0µF decoupling capacitor5. 1.0µF decoupling capacitor

Image Notes1. UCC373222. UCC373213. 1.0µF decoupling capacitor4. 1.0µF decoupling capacitor5. 0.1µF capacitor6. Ground rail7. 12v rail

Image Notes1. where the gate drive transformer connects2. 0.1µF capacitor3. UCC373224. UCC373215. Interrupter in6. Signal in

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step 8: Gate drive transformerThe gate drive transformer does exactly what it's name implies. It takes the signal from the UCC's and sends it to the mosfets, as well as isolating the low voltage sidefrom the high voltage side. To make the transformer, first, take your three pieces of wire, and twist them together. This creates a trifler winding. Next, wind the wirearound the ferrite toroid 16 times. (Each time the wire passes through the center is one turn) after that, cut the wire so there is about 2 inches on each side of thetransformer. Now, take two ends of wire of the same color, and solder each to one output of the gate drive section.********************************2 foot long strand of wire (X3)Ferrite toroid********************************

Image Notes1. Ferrite toroid2. Wires

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Image Notes1. Primary (one wire)2. Secondary 13. Secondary 24. Toroid

Image Notes1. Twisting wires together.

Image Notes1. Tightly twisted.

Image Notes1. That's a nice looking transformer.

Image Notes1. ~2 inches, separated out.2. ~2 inches, separated out.

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Image Notes1. GDT connected to the gate drive section. (pin 6+7 of one ucc, and samethrough a capacitor on the other.)2. Transformer

Image Notes1. where the gate drive transformer connects2. 0.1µF capacitor3. UCC373224. UCC373215. Interrupter in6. Signal in

step 9: Mounting mosfets to heatsinkNow, when you switch 120 volts at hundreds of thousands of times per second, It is almost indefinite that you will generate some heat. We use a heatsink to channel thatheat away from the mosfets, and into the air. To mount them is simple, but DO NOT FORGET YOUR THERMAL PADS. they keep the mosfet drains from shorting out.PARTS: **********************************MosfetsThermal padsHeatsink and matching screws**********************************

Image Notes1. Mosfets2. Mounting screws3. Thermal pads4. Heatsink

Image Notes1. Thermal pads

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Image Notes1. Mosfets tightly screwed on

Image Notes1. The mosfet pis are a lithe fat, so I drilled the holes out a little bit where I wantedto place my mosfets.

Image Notes1. Soldered in place.

step 10: The half bridge.Here is the muscle of this coil, the half bridge. what this is are two mosfets that alternate switching on and off to produce alternating current.  They do this at a highvoltage, mainly so we can pump power trough the primary. this causes a magnetic field to be formed that excites the secondary coil (resonator) and the resonant risebuilds up the high voltage. Once it is high enough, it breaks out into air.PARTS:*************************************************IRFP260N mosfet (X2) mounted to heatsink200v 0.68 µF capacitor (X 2)5? 2W resistors*************************************************

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Image Notes1. Mosfet's are connected opposite of each other.2. Protecting/damping resistors3. Mosfets4. Not needed. The IRFP260s have built in protection diodes.5. Bridge capacitors6. Tesla primary7. GDT8. Terminal block

Image Notes1. Mosfet2. Resistor3. Make sure the two mosfets are connected to the GDT opposite of each other!

Image Notes1. Make sure the two mosfets are connected to the GDT opposite of each other!2. Mosfet3. Resistor4. Filter capacitor

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Image Notes1. Bridge cap2. Bridge cap3. Terminal4. Mosfets+heatsink5. Terminal6. Bridge rectifier7. Filter capacitor

Image Notes1. Mosfet2. Mosfet3. GDT connection4. GDT connection5. Bridge rectifier6. Filter capacitor7. Terminal (AC input8. Terminal (to primary)9. Bridge cap10. Bridge cap11. Resistor12. Resistor13. GDT connection14. GDT connection15. HV ground16. HV posotive

Image Notes1. 0.68µF capacitors were supposed to be here.2. 5.0 2W resistors3. 680uF filter capacitor4. High power bridge rectifier5. Mosfets were mounted with... ---->6. these to the | | V7. Heatsink

step 11: Primary coilThe primary coil is where all of that work pays off. The signals are amplified and pushed through here to make the secondary make sparks. To make the primary, first,find a circular object about the diameter of your primary, and wrap your thick wire around it five times, leaving ~6 inches on each end. then, using a twist tie, or you hands(If you don't have an easy method of securing it) Hold it together.  Get your secondary coil, and put the primary around the base of the secondary. ****As there will behigh voltages present on the secondary, (Hopefully) put some kind of insulator between your primary coil and secondary coil if at all possible. However, if you don't haveany, just keep the primary as close as possible to the bottom, possibly using hot glue.**** Once that is done, we can move on to our first test!

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Image Notes1. Wire stripped at each end

Image Notes1. My circular object is delicious on cake!

Image Notes1. Nice and coily

Image Notes1. OH Nooo! I let it go.

Image Notes1. Pressure is the only thing holding my primary together....

Image Notes1. It's hard to see, but I have a transparency there to protect the coil

step 12: Setup/test! Yay!!!!Now, we're ready to set up for the test of our coil, or the "first light!"1. Attach your transformer of variable dc power supply to the low voltage in, and set to above 15 volts.2. Attach the two leads of the primary coil to your output terminal near the bridge3.  Grab an ac cord that you wont ever want and strip it open, putting the hot and neutral wires into the AC in terminal. 4. Connect the bottom wire of your secondary to the mains ground, if you do not happen to have a better earth growing connection.5. Plug in your variac and DC power supply and set the variac to zero volts, turned off.6. Turn on your DC power supply7. Plug the ac cord into your variac. 8. Turn on the variac9. cross your fingers and slowly turn up the voltage. If you did it correctly, you should see arcs coming out of the breakout point!Good luck! And thank you for reading my first Instructable.

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Image Notes1. Lovely lightning2. My hand on the variac3. Secondary4. I did not use a top-load in this test.

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Comments12 comments Add Comment

 MROHM says:  Dec 26, 2010. 12:30 PM  REPLYMy personal opinion?? A very well designed circuit!! High voltage circuits have always amazed me since Middle School!! Job well done.

 MROHM says:  Dec 26, 2010. 12:26 PM  REPLYIt's really good that you used mosfet's and mounted them to heatsinks too.Using those protection diodes didn't hurt either!! using transistors instead ofmosfet's would have been a disaster!

 Its only one in thousands says:  Dec 23, 2010. 4:34 AM  REPLYHow many hours did you take to complete this ?You're a real professional , i mean really .

 spark light says:  Dec 23, 2010. 5:16 AM  REPLYThank you! I worked on this over the course of a week, ranging from half an hour to two hours a day. All in all, it was probably about 7 hours.

 Its only one in thousands says:  Dec 23, 2010. 7:27 AM  REPLYA Simple PCB involving controlling the whole house , Circuit would have took me 1 whole month .

 spark light says:  Dec 24, 2010. 3:42 AM  REPLYProbably helps that I've built it three times before. :D

 Its only one in thousands says:  Dec 25, 2010. 12:53 PM  REPLYRight now i am preparing to make a 5.1 amp , but i don't know where to start out first , i saw that FK667: POWER AMPLIFIER OCL100+100W. STEREO R1% Kit from my local store , or the FK657: POWER AMPLIFIER OTL 30+30W. STEREO R1% because i only need30W , my only worry is they do not make 70W subwoofer Amps , only , FK671: SUB WOOFER AMPLIFIER 48W. OCL.Oh dear .I am so confused , i need a tone control but i have got no clue how to that up though they do sell it .

 XTY says:  Dec 26, 2010. 9:14 AM  REPLYyou can PM me and i'll show you some nice schematics, of course you have to buy and assemble the discrete parts correctly...

 dr2chase says:  Dec 26, 2010. 6:45 AM  REPLYI don't mean to be rude, but it looks like you used blobs of solder to form wires. Is there a reason for this? Having not constructed a Tesla coil myself, I wouldnot know -- my work is usually in low-ish voltage DC and low frequency AC. I know there are skin effects and induction+capacitance effects to worry about atTesla frequencies.

You can usually buy copper wire by the foot, in varying gauges, at hardware stores. The heavy stuff (12 gauge) is a little tricky to solder with the older,wimpier soldering irons, but a 70W analog or digital iron makes the job pretty easy. If you're worried about overheating a part (soldering 12 gauge directly toa MOSFET, e.g.) you can use a bit of thin stuff for the last few millimeters (not unlike "thermals" on a printed circuit board).

Also, though modern MOSFETs appear to be a bit improved along these lines, they also tend to come with instructions cautioning against static. I've nevergone so far as a wrist strap, but I do work barefoot, and tend to work in cotton -- a piece of synthetic (e.g., Polarfleece) rubbing on hair (yours, wool, or a cat)can crank up quite a voltage.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-solid-state-tesla-coil/

 milkyapple says:  Dec 25, 2010. 5:50 PM  REPLYHey, could i use this circuit as a flyback driver too? I'd rather not wind the secondary.

 LithiumOxide says:  Dec 23, 2010. 8:08 PM  REPLYHi, thanks for the intractable. I've seen some designs that use a transformer to get the feedback, how do you do that?

 spark light says:  Dec 23, 2010. 8:39 PM  REPLYAh, secondary current transformer feedback. How this works is by detecting the current that flows from the secondary coil to ground. What you have todo is wind about one hundred turns of medium gauge magnet wire on one of those ferrite toroids.