sphere or toroid to avoid sharp edges. Most all Tesla coils
demonstrate beautiful electrical arcs or coronas that are
discharged from the toroid by using some kind of
breakout point. The size of the toroid you construct will
make a difference in how the electricity is discharged. If
you use a smaller toroid, electricity will be discharged
more rapidly, but the arcs will not be as long. If you use a
larger toroid, electricity will be discharged less rapidly, but
the arcs will be much longer.
The next most popular demonstration would be the
wireless lighting of gas filled tubes such as flourescent or
even neon. I have purposely kept the power low on this
design for safety, but you should be able to see one to
three inch coronas from the toroid if you attach a
breakout point. With as little as 12V input to the primary,
a five foot CFL glows very brightly, drawing as little as only
100 mA. At 30 volts, the coronas are very pronounced
and make a hissing sound, and just begin to influence
nearby electronics. There is little risk of an electric shock
but there may be a risk of RF burns from nearby metals.
The material is not heating but is actually arcing to the
skin at high frequencies.
Software
The code driving the
coil is the small Basic
program in Figure 13.
Voltage
Check
1) The first voltage
point indicated as TP1 on
the schematic should be
approximately 38V DC. If no voltage is present, check that
there is 120V AC on the primary side of the transformer. If
the 120V AC is present, check for continuity to the AC
terminals of the bridge rectifier marked ~. There should be
an AC voltage of approximately 24V AC. If this voltage is
present, check for continuity to the electrolytic C2. If the
capacitor is connected correctly, the rectifier may be
defective.
2) The second voltage point labeled TP2 should
measure about 3.7V DC that powers the 08M2. If no
voltage is present, check the orientation of the zener
diode Z1. If the diode is installed correctly, check that
resistor R3 is connected to the +V DC potential on TP1.
Conclusion
Even though the design has been intentionally
engineered to be safe, there is always the potential for
electric shock. If you are unsure about working with any
portion of the circuit, please seek help with the design
from a more experienced person. I hope this project will
spark your interest. NV
setfreq m32 ‘remark setfrequency 32 Mhz b2 = 3 : b4 = 8 ‘remark set intial values for b2 and b4 ( 2 Mhz, 50% duty) symbol FRQ = b2: symbol DUTY = b4 ‘remark symbolize variables FRQ and DUTY Do while b0<255 ‘remark loop until voltage on pickup coil is maximum readadc c. 4,b0 ‘remark read the voltage on pickup coil Gosub TESLA ‘remark jump to PWMOUT routine Loop TESLA: DUTY = DUTY + 1 ‘remark increment DUTY cycle FRQ = FRQ + 1 ‘remark increment FREQUENCY PauseUs 1200 PWMout 2, FRQ, DUTY ‘remark frequency generated on pin C. 2 PauseUs 1200 If b0>150 then TESLA ‘remark If voltage on pickup-coil is MAX, repeat loop return ; FIGURE 13.
26 April 2014