12cm (4.7") Tesla Coil Elements

Click on the photos for bigger picture. 



Primary is a 30deg. 
"saucer" shape with
15 turns copper 
tubing 6mm(1/4").
56'468 bytes

Acrylic supports
give a less-weight
look to the primary
31'583 bytes

Secondary with 25cm
silver plated metal-vase
as topload terminal.
"Jonic motor" on top.
(exagger. perspective)
22'700 bytes

A flat plate cap, made
of double plated PCB,
has been etched for
this small Tesla coil.
See PCB cap story
20'165 bytes

First experimental cap,
and static gap made of 
2 screwdrivers, whose
metal-parts were
replaced by tungsten rods.
At first, the cap was
operated without oil. This
was a big mistake, as 
came to light later: see
the PCB cap story
20'433 bytes

This is an overview,
how, in the beginning,
the TC was set up.
Topload is a 9cm
diameter metal-vase
46'041 bytes

Introducing this
RQ-gap gave drama-
tic improvement of
sparklength: from
about 0.4m to 0.6m
17'933 bytes

22mm hardcopper
tubes are used. Gaps
between tubes are
0.7...0.8mm. Most
often only 4...5 gaps 
are in use.
29'297 bytes

A Swiss-manufacturer
of caps is Leclanché SA.
The paper & oil pulse
caps shown performed
very well, replacing my
Epoxy-PCB-cap,
despite other infos from
experienced US coilers.
Click for cap data.
21'292 bytes

NST protection
filter and -safety gap.
After killing a nice 10kV
100mA NST, I felt this
filter was a need.
48'743 bytes
TC Nov.98
Later setup with
RQ-gap and 2
Leclanché 7nF
caps &10kV NST
40430 bytes

Typical circuit of
this coil, as used
autumn'98...spring'99.
TC live: see "sparks"
8'051 bytes